Corpus MIssion Trip Day Three

Corpus Mission Trip Day 3 Every mission trip has a "big day." That would be yesterday. With our church shuttle down for the count, I called the church administrator (a girl I went to school with) to ask for a recommendation for a mechanic shop. When she heard about the shuttle she immediately brought me the keys to their new church van and she and her husband even packed up ice chests for us for our Family Fun Day sno cones. Then, at the very last minute she said, "oh yeah and we have a block party trailer full of games and inflatables if you want that! So, she gave me the keys and the permission and it took our Family Fun Day to a whole new level to have a three story football, soccer and baseball inflatable. God is good. We arrived and started the massive job of setting up pop up tents, children's games, tables, sno cones and more. At starting time we were a little worried because there were only two families there. We scrambled our forces and sent people door to door and to McDonalds and Whataburger (both very near the church.) To my surprise both managers loved this little church and both started immediately handing out our flyers with every meal. The crowd grew and by the end we were singing and presenting the bridge to life to between 60 and 80 people (including some members from River Hills Church that had come to work side by side for a harvest. When I brought brother Ronnie Morales, the pastor up to give the altar call 19 people prayed to receive Christ! And that's the reason for the blood, sweat and tears! Special thanks to all CHFBC members and leadership for your prayers and for supplying the games, vehicles, and the support it took to pull off such a fantastic mission trip. Also, a special thanks to the Richeys for hearing a call from God and investing their lives in our Young Professionals ministry. We are leading worship today at River Hills Oak Park and then heading home. Thanks again for your prayers. This trip started with prayer at the altar in Grace chapel and this is why people were saved and we were protected despite all our vehicle problems. One inspiring story. For some, like Terry Walker, this is their very first mission trip. I know it won't be their last, especially with stories like this one. Terry immediately bonded with Corey. He is going into 7th grade this year and he was one of the oldest boys that attended the Family Fun Day. He was drawn in by the football inflatable and showed incredible accuracy in throwing through the various holes in that station of the game. Terry asked if he's played football and to his surprise he stated he had not. Terry simply said: "you've got a real arm and all the right mechanics, you'd make a great quarterback." Corey lit up like a Christmas tree. It seemed like no one had ever paid him a simple compliment. Later, at the bridge to life presentation Corey prayed to receive Christ. But, when one of our team members asked him if we could fill out a follow up card, he refused. Terry went to talk to him and found out the best we can tell- he was embarrassed because he and his father lived in Austin but his father had dropped him off with his grandmother here in Corpus Christi probably because they don't have a permanent address right now. David Spann made an interesting observation. Someday when Corey is the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys and he is interviewed after a big win he will say: I never believed I could do it, until one day this group came to Corpus Christi and...

Corpus MissionTrip Day Two

YP Mission Trip Day 2 Day 2 (Friday) started with us loading up on the church shuttle to find that it wouldn't start. So, no problem, (a favorite saying of ours) we used another vehicle to jump start it and got on the road to make the 15 mile trip from the church where we are staying to the church at which we are ministering. 5 miles down the road the engine went dead at 60 miles per hour. But God is good...we put it in neutral and coasted off a nearby exit. Thanks to the grace of God (and the YPs are convinced...thanks to everyone leading forward) we coasted off the freeway and right into a parking lot of a dance studio in the middle of nowhere. After a bit, we got it started again and limped over to the church where we met waiting church members from River Hills Church at Oak Park. The next two hours were spent with them going door to door giving out flyers for our Family Fun Day. We hit all the streets surrounding the church as well as several apartment complexes. Our hope is that this kind of outreach blitz will help put this church on the map in this area of Corpus Christi letting residents know there is a loving church waiting to minister to their families. From there we enjoyed awesome seafood and steaks at Nolan's and it was back to work...this time at my parents house. As most of you reading this know, my parents have both had lots of physical problems lately especially my dad who had extensive GI surgery and then fell while recuperating and broke his hip. Then, at age 83 he underwent a hip replacement and has only been home from rehab a few days. So, they were blessed to the point of tears by our group taking time to mow and weed eat the yard, replace a leaky drain pipe, clean windows and redo our front flower bed. My father prayed over us at the end of our time and not only prayed a wonderful blessing over all the group but asked God to move in a mighty way as we ministered here in the city. In the meantime I took the van over to run some diagnostic tests that were inconclusive. The van started right up after lunch so we decided to chance it and take our scheduled evening off at the beach. We came out to load up at my parents home only to find a flat tire on the rear tire of our shuttle bus. We aired it up and limped into Discount Tire where there was a two hour wait. I told the group to pack into the waiting area and be obnoxious which I figured would get us at the head of the line! (o.k. so I thought about doing that.) But as everyone waked over the Wal Mart we made friends with one of the guys in the shop and we were back on the road in less than an hour. We finally headed for Padre Island and had a restful time before the big day tomorrow that ended with a praise and worship circle with the guitar that was a good witness to all.

Corpus Mission Trip Day One

Young Professionals Mission Trip Thursday, July 4th I am definitely older than I have ever been! And this deep truth was never driven home more deeply than yesterday when I trying to keep up with this bunch. We have such a dedicated, enthusiastic and energetic group of YPs that although they can make you feel old...they also inspire everyone around them to be more for The Lord. Our day started yesterday with loading and loading and loading. It was clear this was a spiritual army deploying by the amount of hardware and equipment we were stowing. Food, children's games, a bouncy house, cups, plates, napkins, tracts, bridge to life boards, giant cross, power generator, sound system, publicity flyers, suitcases for 16 people and on and on it went until there was just room left for people to squeeze in. After an awesome season of prayer we were off. After settling in at our gracious host River Hills Church of Calallen, we loaded up and headed for the Bayfront of Corpus Christi. By 5p.m. the crowds were swelling and The Lord showed us an awesome place to park for free. We lugged all the necessary stuff across water street to the base camp and set up our pop up shelter. After setting up all our equipment and generator I realized we had left the box with our extension cords back at the church 20 miles away. I called my mom and dad and they immediately got some cords ready. I picked them up along with a homemade brisket sandwich to eat on the way and we got our sound system operational. We then got in our evangelism teams and took off handing out friendship bracelets to families who were sitting around relaxing with hours to kill before the fireworks display. I am still amazed that God uses such small and foolish things to do mighty works of glory. Every child wanted one of these beaded bracelets with each bead representing a truth of the gospel message. And- most of the parents wanted them too. After kneeling in the grass and tying these bracelets on we would offer to explain what the colors meant. Again, no one refused and our 5 teams shared the gospel over 100 times in the next couple of hours. We returned to base camp and started singing about an hour before sunset. We sang praise songs that the Corpus Christi wind carried to hundreds of onlookers but no one really gathered around us. They simply went on grilling and chilling with family as we sang over them. Then it happened. A few kids gathered and started listening so we got on the microphone and offered to let the kids come up "on stage" and sing with us. Within 60 seconds there were dozens of kids dancing and singing silly songs like The Fruit of the Spirit's not a Coconut! By the third silly song parents had come over to see their kids sing and the iphones had come out as they shot video of their kids singing and dancing in the park. This is what we prayed for- an audience to whom we could present the gospel. The Bridge to Life presentation was ready in the background and we quickly transitioned to this dramatic demonstration that shows the futility of trying to get to God through good works or religion. The kids were surprised when the bridges of good works and religion broke sending me crashing to the ground and they cheered right on cue when I made it across the valley of sin on the strong wooden cross! As I led in the sinners prayer at the end several children and adults prayed to receive Jesus. This was it...why we came...and Jesus honored our prayers...your prayers and already people have given their hearts to Jesus. We did stay and watch the fireworks but really, after seeing God move it was pretty anti climactic. Two great reports. One of our evangelism teams stopped to talk with two teenage boys (not the age we typically try to impress with a beaded bracelet). When we offered the bracelet one of the boys put his arm out but then drew it back and asked: "is this a religious thing?" At first the team took this as a negative but in reality he was glad. He shared that he had suffered a severe asthma attack and had just spent 5 days in the hospital. His spiritual interest was high and both he and his friend bowed their heads and prayed to receive Christ. Also, one of our teams shared with a guy that had been saved recently out of a life of severe addiction. And, as God would have it, one of the ladies on this evangelism team works with our Celebrate Recovery and was able to really encourage him along his path to healing in this area. Thank you again for your support and your prayers. Today we will be hitting the neighborhoods around the little church we are here to support. We will be handing out flyers for our block party tomorrow so please pray that each flyer will be anointed to draw families to River Hills at Oak Park church.

And she died in jail

Of all the ministry stories I have shared with the young minister's who I've had the privilege of mentoring in some way, this is the one they have come back to most. Not only because it's just weird but I think because eventually they all come to know what it's like to have someone decide to come after you. It all started many years ago before I was even married. I was serving as the Minister of Youth and Music for a church in Denton, Texas. I had moved to Denton to be close enough to attend Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. It's always hard to leave a successful thriving ministry to start over, especially if you are going to a place that is spiritually dry. This was the case with this church and in particular with this youth ministry. There were few students there and most of the ones that were there had a drug problem: "they were drug to church by their parents against their will." There were two boys in particular that were extremely rebellious and some bright person had decided that the way to deal with them was to make them the sound techs for the morning worship service. These teenage boys were given the keys to the sound booth and it became their own personal hideout/clubhouse. Obviously, as the minister of music I needed access to the room so I got my own key. When I entered the sound booth for the first time I was shocked to find the walls plastered with posters of acid rock bands of the era. In a fit of indignation I tore them off the walls and discarded them. (in my own mind it was like Jesus angrily cleansing the temple.) Well, one of the boy's moms did not see it that way. My youthful mistake was in not carefully removing them and notifying the families in a calm manner. When the boys discovered the posters were missing they went to this woman and complained. Suddenly she appeared. Out of nowhere on a Sunday morning, just before I was to lead worship- she verbally blasted me saying that what I had done was illegal because I stole their property. She later made it clear that no matter what it took, she would have my job. The next few months were brutal. This lady dedicated her life to destroying mine. She was able to stir up enough controversy to keep our youth ministry from bonding and when the pastor refused to check her divisive activities it spiraled out of control and I could see that it was time to leave. I have now been in full time ministry since the summer of 1975 and in all those 35+ years this is the only time I have been forced out of a position. I was devastated and called my dad often for counsel. Again and again, he urged me to simply leave quietly and trust God. He reminded me that God would not only take care of me but that the truth would eventually come out as to the character of this lady. I moved on from there to serve a church in Proper, Texas. And then it happened. On the front page of the Denton newspaper, it was reported that this lady was embroiled in controversy at her job as well and she had been indicted for embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the Denton County Courthouse. She was later convicted and given a prison term. Early during that prison term she was diagnosed with cancer and died in jail. Now- I new better than to take any joy in her demise. It was truly a tragic situation. But, I was exonerated to some extent by the fact that these personal attacks were not about me. They were about bitterness in her heart that eventually leaked out into every arena of her life. In the years since, as I have shared this story there have been many who have drawn their own conclusions or lessons from it. Some have made reference to the fact that David refused to "touch God's anointed", others have focused on how bitterness can destroy your life. There are probably multiple lessons that could be gained from it but my main takeaway is my dad's lesson. Don't fight your own battles...leave that up to God. This story did come up in a curious way many years later. There was a young minister that I had mentored since his high school days and we eventually ended up serving on staff together. One night I was under attack at a church business meeting for a decision I had made in local missions. As I was sitting on the front row enduring this angry outburst I got a text at that moment from this young minister seated behind me it simply read: "and she died in jail." Knowing this young man well, I know it was his way of trying to encourage me in the heat of the moment. In truth, I realize that all of us will be attacked at some point and I do not believe that pastors enjoy any more or less protection than any othe believer. We are all, always under His watchcare. Only in heaven will we really see situations like this clearly in the light of eternity but there is one more punctuation God put on this whole situation. Although it was an extremely painful time for me and shook me to the core at such a young age in ministry- this was the church where I met Trinetta! And the rest is history!

Undeniable Truth # 10

UNDENIABLE TRUTH #10- PRINCIPLES MUST BE HONORED OVER PERSONALITIES It was my father that first taught me a simple definition of a principle: “it is a decision you only have to make once.” For example, if my values and biblical convictions lead me to adopt the principle: "lying is wrong" then, I can make a one time decision: "I will tell the truth". Then comes the hard part. Applying this principled conviction consistently regardless with whom I interact. Even though I determine this value once- there will be a thousand times it will be called into question and integrity demands that I stand firm on it regardless of who raises the question. One of my greatest temptations in life has been to let my principles operate on a sliding scale for those I truly love or even worse, to adjust them to get what I really want. That’s hard to admit. It hurts to say it. But isn’t that the universal disease of self that has plagued us all since the garden of Eden? You see, God had a principle of His own that day: “anyone who disobeys must die.” And, when the awesome creature that was His own handiwork defied Him, the principle had to be upheld and the punishment meted out. He held firm to the principle because it flowed from his character. He could do no less because he could be no less. Adam and Eve had a principle that had been operative in their lives: “obey the Father.” But the day came when this principle was tested and when Eve found herself interacting with a sly and charismatic person called the devil- her desire for knowledge overpowered her principle of obedience. We are flawed people. We will not live perfectly by our principles. But I am passionate about teaching our children about the power of a principled life. The world is increasingly personality driven. Decisions are made based on who is involved, who I might offend, or who I might endear to myself. The apostle Paul stated emphatically: "do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ," (Galatians 1:10). In the end it's not my intestinal fortitude that will make me a godly man. It is my love for Jesus and my desire to honor Him that will allow me to live by my convictions.

Undeniable Truth #9

Undeniable Truth #9 LIFE IS SHORT- GOD IS FUN- John 10:10 Growing up in a very conservative, if not fundamentalist, type of Southern Baptist Church had it's advantages. For example, I never took the word of God lightly and I grew up with an active conscience that kept me humble and repentant. But, along with my conservative principles I also picked up another message that although it was never directly verbalized, still came through loud and clear. It sounded something like this: really holy people do not have much fun. In reality, I thought they mostly wore drab colored clothes and sat around reading serious books all the time. I will never forget finding out at age 13 that I would not be able to use my musical talent in church because drums were "not allowed" since they appealed to the flesh and tended to make people act in a sensual manner. Because of this, there came a time when I was close to denying my faith and giving up on the local church entirely. But- my dad and brother came to the rescue by finding creative outlets for our musical talents like valentine banquets and Sunday afternoon concerts down on the T head on Corpus Christi Bay. Now that I think of it- I think my entire 29 year history as a student pastor was spent disproving that idea- that Christians couldn't have crazy fun! The truth is that I have had insane amounts of fun serving Jesus and have still seen God move in truly phenomenal ways. And now, my greatest joy is scrolling through my 1700 friends on facebook and seeing literally hundreds of people who were part of our student ministry who are now serving The Lord around the world and raising godly children of their own. We were much more than a fun and games department and along the way we proved that doing life with Jesus and his family means buckling your seat belt for a ride that has taken me literally around the world. Life IS too short to be lived without laughing and loving and letting God take you places you never dreamed of. Again, I am stunned that a Garage Sale kid from Corpus Christi has had the opportunity to preach the gospel in 7 countries, to make prank phone calls from the stage with David Naser, to bungee jump with teenagers in Florida and all while loving Jesus and loving the awesome family of God. Jesus said: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. He has surely filled ours with people and events we will never forget. May your life with Him be unforgettable and free.

Undeniable Truth #8

8. We are better than me- Exodus 18:13-27

I love my father in law for a lot of reasons but one of the main ones is because as my sons say: "he is wicked smart!" Seriously, he just knows stuff. And through our 27 years of marriage he has given us wise counsel on many occasions. (he also taught me what I call my "father in law knot" which I have used to tie down everything from motorcycles to the luggage on top of the car).

Moses had a smart father in law as well. His father in law, Jethro, watched him struggle with the impossible task of being the sole judge for all the problems of all the people, day after day. And then he spoke these words of wisdom:

"What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

Jethro started his advice with words as strong as garlic. In fact they may have sounded a little condescending. After all, who wants to hear his father in law say: "What you are doing is not good." ? But his heart for Moses quickly comes through and it's apparent that he just doesn't want his son in law to burn himself out. I admire Moses for not freaking out at those first words. He could have turned Jethro off or he could have immediately become defensive and filled with pride. After all Moses was over 80 years of age and he had managed to lead millions of people out of Egypt.

But Moses listened. And what Jethro was really teaching him was that if he would train others and raise them up to form a team of wise judges that their "we" would accomplish much more than his "me."

My greatest joy in ministry has come through serving with ministry teams. The most life changing ministries I've been a part of have come from the collective wisdom of volunteer teams.  And- serving with those teams has filled my life with joy and proven another truth that "we" is also more fun than "me."

I close by saying thank you to all of you who are reading this who've served alongside me in crazy projects like the mud coaster, homemade t-shirt launching, 4th of July at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, open air concerts at the market in Africa, celebrating New Years on the roof in El Salvador, bottle rocket fights in a field in Illinois, and too many more to mention.

You have made my life full...and that's why this blog is called the Evangel Adventure.