new season

On one hand my sabbatical is now over but on the other hand I am learning to remain in the Sabbath (learning to rest in God and to experience the rest of God).

My favorite book on the subject of rest is "The Rest of God" by Mark Buchanan.  If you have never read his stuff, you should.

In his book he describes the sabbath and the Jews this way,

"The most moving stories of the Jewish people keeping Sabbath are the ones when they kept it in the midst of crisis and terror.  They kept Sabbath under siege.  They kept it in famine.  They kept it in drought.  They kept it in Warsaw's ghettos and Hitler's death camps and Stalin's gulags. They kept Sabbath when the world was falling to pieces.
Their keeping it in their days of peace and abundance and freedom prepared them for keeping it in times of war and scarcity and captivity.  Their keeping it nurtured something deep and hidden in them that came to light only on the day of testing.  As the rabbis are fond of saying, more than Israel ever kept the Sabbath, the sabbath kept Israel."

Jesus said, Come to Me ... I will give you rest for your souls.  It is my prayer that I deepen my relationship with Christ and experience His rest and bear much fruit to the glory of God.

So, I am off tomorrow to Orlando for GCM's Ministry Team Development. This is for building my missionary support team -prayer, financial and coaching/training team.

be rooted and grounded in His love,

doug

celebrating irrelevancy

As I am closing in on the end of my sabbatical, I am musing on the theme of being irrelevant.  This has been one of the many internal battles that I am learning to wrestle with and embrace instead of dread.

The reason for this is simple:

I have nothing (1 Corinthians 4:7) ...

I can do nothing (John 15:5) ...

I am nothing (1 Corinthians 15:10) ... apart from Christ!

However, in Christ,

I have all things (1 Corinthians 3:22-23) ...

I can go through every circumstance (Philippians 4:13) ...

I am new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

We, humanity and I, tend to struggle between too low a self-esteem and a too high self esteem.  Both by the way are rooted in the same soil of pride.  It is in this soil we try to find something valuable in us, about us, around us, or through us to give us a sense of self-worth.

Christianity provides a new way of seeing.  It matters not what others think of me or even what I think of myself. There is a third way which only Christianity provides.  It is how God sees me, 1 Corinthians 4:4-5.  "It is only His opinion that counts." — Timothy Keller in The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness.

And what is God's opinion?  Here are two beginning points:  Romans 8:1, 31-39.

This is where freedom is.

Good night,

doug

Road Trip

We are about to embark on a road trip to see family, friends and places I grew up.  We will stay with some friends in Ohio and visit the east side of Cleveland in a small village called Bratenahl right along Lake Erie.  I grew up here for a good part of my life.  I hope to get pictures of the three places I lived and visit with those who live there now.  We hope to see an Indians game on Tuesday night if the game isn't rained out.  We also hope to see Sharon's brother and wife who live in Toledo and we are praying for opportunity to share Christ with them.

Next, we will go to Wilkes-Barre PA.  I lived here in the Appalachian Mountains from 7-9 yrs old with Keith, my brother and my Dad.  The mountain was our backyard and playground. We learned to ice skate on a farmers pond across the main road.  We lived in a house with a coal burning furnace and a wood burning stove in the kitchen.  I first learned to ride a bike on the long uphill driveway there.  We had a party-line phone (do you know what that is?).  I hope to be able to find this house and compare it today to when I lived there.

Taking off from there, we will go to Baltimore, MD to visit family, (Sharon's sister - Wendy and Greg, her husband). Greg and I used to be roommates in college. He also is a pastor and travels to India some. We used to have annual family reunions with them until all of our kids got in school and into careers.  They have 7 children and we have 6.

After Baltimore, we head to Nashville, TN to stay with Rachel (our daughter) and Konrad, her husband.  Nashville is a fun city, great coffee shops, a fantastic used bookstore, the best homemade ice cream in the universe (Jenny's), great food and entertainment.

Then, we make it back to home sweet home.

in the grip of His grace,

love, doug

newlyweds of 35 years

That's right - we are newlyweds of 35 years as of March 4th.

I remember "marching fourth" on March 4th, 1978 to marry my best friend.  I met Sharon in Forestry 310 class, Howlett Hall at The Ohio State Campus.   I was attracted to her the very first day of class in September.  We first talked on October 15, 1975 when she invited me to attend a Josh McDowell presentation at St. John's Arena.  That is the night I trusted in Jesus as my Savior and Lord.

Over the two and a half years of getting to know Sharon before we were married I was not only struck with her physical beauty but I was also deeply attracted to her inner beauty and her love for the Lord.  I was impressed by her desire to follow the Lord from her heart.  I am still "struck" by her beauty.

We had a wonderful time together in Naples Florida where we spent a couple of days alone and then a couple of days with Sharon's dad.  One of our favorite places is the beach and so we soaked in the sun.   As I was sitting on the beach, I reflected on this:  in order to "soak" in the SON, I need to sit, be still and place myself in an environment where I can enjoy being alone with Him.  There are a lot of people in Naples - driving, working in office buildings, moving around, shopping, .... going through the daily routines of life but they do not soak in the omnipresent sun.  They miss out.  I wondered how often do I miss the omnipresent SON with all of my "busyness".

Psalm 37:7 Be still in the presence of the LORD and wait patiently for Him to act.

blessings

doug

Today, if you hear His voice.....

Could this be heaven — orange homes in Hong Kong?

We had a rich time of fellowship at our three and half day Asia Leader Summit in Taichung, Taiwan

One of the highlights for me was on the second full day we went out prayer walking around the community where the new Great Commission Church plant will take place.  We had the privilege of sharing the Gospel with this delightful restaurant owner in this neighborhood.  I had some Taiwanese believers with me who are going to go back and follow through with her.  Below is a picture of the Taiwanese restaurant owner (she is in the middle).

After Taiwan we traveled to Hong Kong, China - a number of places, and then Hong Kong again.  In each place we met some wonderful followers of Christ.  We talked through opportunities for short term missions to long term missions, discipleship and leader development.  I had the privilege of sharing at a Calvary Chapel Church in Hong Kong. I also had the privilege of sharing the Word many times in small groups and various gatherings. 

During this trip I was collecting memories of how God has led me and guided me into the calling He has on my life.  On the plane home, I began to write down all the ways the Lord has guided me.  I asked the Lord to remind me of His ways and the promises He has impressed on me for His calling.  I got home last night (love the snow) and the Lord spoke to me and reminded me of this calling as I was reading from the Ransom Heart monthly letter.  John Eldredge referred to Acts 15:32 in his letter.  I put the letter down and thanked the Lord for hearing my request for the Lord had impressed on my heart many years ago this very verse as a calling on my life.  

Today, if you hear His voice do not harden your heart.  Psalm 95:7-8

from the land of Hong Kong

We landed last night in Hong Kong.  As we boarded the plane in San Francisco, I talked to a Chinese man who looked like a college student. So I asked him if he was and guess where he goes to college -- Case Western Reserve ... and where is that?  In Cleveland, of course!  He is from China but goes to graduate school at Case (I know where this is) and he told me he likes Cleveland a lot!

We are on our way to Taiwan today to start our Asia Leader Summit which is made up of leaders from 5 countries.  Please remember us in prayer.

Galatians 2:20 -- is a verse Tim G, Ching Yu and I were talking about this morning.  Galatians 2:20 is the Christian life all neatly wrapped up in one verse.  What an amazing truth all the way through this verse, especially the part that says, "who loved me and gave Himself up from me!

in the grip of His grace,

doug

embark

I am about to embark on my Asia trip to Taiwan and to a creative access country.  The time I had away in Bennett Springs was restful as I enjoyed just being with the Lord.  The theme of my four days at Bennett was inspired by Isaiah 30:15 — in returning to Me and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust is your strength.

One of the mornings as I was reading, the author referred to this verse.  I was encouraged. Then Stephanie, one of my daughters, responded to a text of mine with the very same verse.  I called her and asked her why she chose that verse.  She said, it just came to her.  I was so stirred.  The Lord was speaking to me — for me to just be in fellowship with Him, to enjoy Him and His handiwork all around me ... and to trust Him!

God is personal and wants to be personal with each one of us.  Oh, I pray that I travel and serve WITH Him while I am in Asia!

shalom,

doug