Prayer Update - September 30

I have included my schedule for the next 6 weeks as a prayer request.
A glance at it will let you know why.

September 30 - CCC - 11am
October 3 - FBC Henderson TN - 6:45pm
October 12-26 PTI 3 - Ethiopia
November 4 - FBC Henderson TN
November 11 - CCC - 11am
November 18 - CCC - 11am

Also, the time is quickly approaching for PTI 3 in Ethiopia.
I am departing on October 12, one week from Friday.
We are close to half-way on the funding, and need your prayers for
this provision.

Thanks for praying with/for us.

Beach Week

PTI Round 3 is ON! & It Is a Prayer Request!

In just over five weeks, the third round of PTI will begin. Plans are coming along rather well and all is set for 70+ men to continue their preparation for planting churches among the un-evangelized peoples of Ethiopia.

I will be heading up the training this time around and I am exited about it. I will spend about thirty hours on the Doctrine of Humanity and then thirty more on the Doctrine of Sin. So, there will be sixty hours of teaching/preaching in these two areas combined! It goes without mentioning that I covet your prayers in the coming days. We are headed out of town (whatever 'town' is for us) on vacation this week and I plan to do a major portion of the work while away.
Please pray for the time, both the work and the vacating!

One reality of training these men for gospel ministry is the expense involved. These are extremely poor men who are traveling into the city away from their homes and families in order to participate in the Institute. Their churches as well as some of the men as individuals are paying some of the cost, but it is impossible for them to cover it in it's entirety. (over a month's salary) Please do petition the Lord to show Himself Strong as the great Provider yet again.

Thank you for praying with us concerning this!

Our week to the North

In Pictures.



Ellie & T-Rex
Brandy & Violet
The Strassners
Shish Kebobs
R & R
Ellie, Julia, & a Triceratops
Tobey & Amber
Ellie & Violet

Hymns for the Wedding Feast

Click the text for the tune.

Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
My beauty are, my glorious dress;
’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head.

Bold shall I stand in Thy great day;
For who aught to my charge shall lay?
Fully absolved through these I am
From sin and fear, from guilt and shame.

The holy, meek, unspotted Lamb,
Who from the Father’s bosom came,
Who died for me, e’en me to atone,
Now for my Lord and God I own.

Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,
Which, at the mercy seat of God,
Forever doth for sinners plead,
For me, e’en for my soul, was shed.

Lord, I believe were sinners more
Than sands upon the ocean shore,
Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
For all a full atonement made.

When from the dust of death I rise
To claim my mansion in the skies,
Ev’n then this shall be all my plea,
Jesus hath lived, hath died, for me.

This spotless robe the same appears,
When ruined nature sinks in years;
No age can change its glorious hue,
The robe of Christ is ever new.

Jesus, the endless praise to Thee,
Whose boundless mercy hath for me—
For me a full atonement made,
An everlasting ransom paid.

O let the dead now hear Thy voice;
Now bid Thy banished ones rejoice;
Their beauty this, their glorious dress,
Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness.
-Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf

O, The Bitter Shame and Sorrow
O the bitter shame and sorrow,
That a time could ever be,
When I let the Savior’s pity
Plead in vain, and proudly answered,
“All of self, and none of Thee!”

Yet He found me; I beheld Him
Bleeding on th’accursèd tree,
Heard Him pray, “Forgive them, Father!”
And my wistful heart said faintly,
“Some of self, and some of Thee!”

Day by day His tender mercy,
Healing, helping, full and free,
Sweet and strong, and ah! so patient,
Brought me lower, while I whispered,
“Less of self, and more of Thee!”

Higher than the highest heavens,
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lord, Thy love at last hath conquered:
Grant me now my supplication,
“None of self, and all of Thee!”
-Theodore Monod

The Wedding Feast - Matthew 22:1-14

If you are reading this, the chances are good that you have heard this sermon already.

But, just in case you haven't. Here is your chance!

Are you a Tacit Gnostic?

Consider it for yourself here.

My friend Matt Crawford is guest blogging and has offered us this for our contemplation.

PTI 3

In the opening session of PTI (1), the classes were comprised of a focus on God, what He says about Himself in His Word, and the teachings of His Son, Jesus, in Matthew 5-7, commonly called ‘The Sermon on the Mount’.

In the succeeding PTI (2), we looked intensely at Christ’s life in the Gospel of John and considered the centrality of Jesus as it is portrayed from Genesis to Revelation.

In each of these sessions, several specific areas of concern were revealed with regard to the common understanding of God and His gospel. As these areas arose we were able to deal with them scripturally and with the Lord’s help pastorally.

With that said, PTI 3 may be the most crucial round so far. (it is actually the most important only b/c it is the ‘next’ one on the agenda)

The prominent understanding of Man and Sin among evangelical Christians in Ethiopia is skewed from the biblical idea of the state of man in sin and separated of God. So, this is an incredibly important round of teaching that is coming up in October.

I will attempt to spell out these particular issues more fully in the near future so that you may understand and be able to pray more specifically.

We do covet your constant and continued prayers.

Duncan on Discipleship

There are many ways and places that the Bible teaches us the importance of church membership. But one important way is in how it identifies the local church as the Jesus-appointed place for Christian discipleship. Where do we see that spelled out in Scripture?

Well, for instance, in the Great Commission! In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing . . . and teaching them." So where does Jesus say that the discipleship he commands us to foster is supposed to take place? What is the context of discipleship, according to Jesus? Where does he want you to be discipled? The answer is clear and simple. We are to be discipled in the place, in the context, in which baptism is administered. And where is that? The para-ministry? The campus Christian fellowship? Our favorite Christian voluntary organization? The small group of Christian friends who gather regularly to pray in one anothers homes. No, not primarily. These may all be good things. But Jesus answer here is different and fundamental.

His answer? In the local church. Jesus wants us to be discipled in the context of the believing community where the vows of baptism are taken and where a whole fellowship of Christians is committed to mutual encouragement and accountability - "make disciples, baptizing and teaching them," he says. In other words, real Christian discipleship is inescapably corporate and ecclesial. The discipleship and teaching that Jesus enjoins is to take place in the context where baptism is administered, right smack dab in the middle of the baptized community. Jesus says that’s the place where discipleship happens – the local church. And that’s just one reason why church membership is so important.

Ligon Duncan

Pastor's Training Institute

The Pastor’s Training Institute is a newly implemented program designed for the training and instruction of gospel ministers in Ethiopia. Beginning in April 2007 and continuing for about two years, our hope is that God will raise up His men for the planting of new churches among the un-evangelized of Ethiopia.

The curriculum consists of biblical and systematic theology taught in two-week module style classes every other month. The teaching pastors are invited from the United States to come and teach in their desired topic/subject area. Also included in the training will be relevant cultural issues and practical guidance.

There are currently 75 new ministers enrolled from the local churches throughout the country. Upon their completion of PTI, and upon giving credible evidence of meeting biblical qualifications to pastor, the men will be sent out to ‘un-reached’ villages/areas to begin a new gospel work with hopes that God will establish a church there.

Prayer Update - August 8

* My health does seem better and improving...thanks for praying.

* The work with the Addis Kidan and PTI 3, which begins in October. Doctrine of Sin & Man

* That God would raise up whomever He pleases to lead the teaching/preaching in PTI 3.

Prayer Update - July 31

* Please pray for my health, that it will continue to improve. (Malaria)

* Terry Waller (WFA-I) is in Ethiopia for a couple of more weeks Agua Para Todos

* The work with the Addis Kidan and PTI 3, which begins in October. Doctrine of Sin & Man

Prayer Update - July 18

We are home...

A vehicle has been provided as well. Thanks for praying.

For those of you who have not heard...

WE ARE HERE. THAT IS, IN THE U.S.A. FOR ABOUT THREE MONTHS.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL SOON.

Prayer Update - July 10

We will be home in August...A vehicle for traveling is a wonderful blessing while we are there. Please pray with us in this.

Correlation?

Do you think that there is something behind the fact that over 80% of those who commented to the question have set their feet on the ground here in Ethiopia?

Prayer Update - July 8

* Terry Waller (WFA-I) will be coming to Ethiopia for a one month stay (Terry's link is below if you don't know him) Agua Para Todos

* Wisdom and Direction with the training of the Addis Kidan Pastors

* Dina - Orthodox Neighbor, 17 year old girl, seems colder by the day

* Ben & Pipo - Newly Married

May I Offer an Answer?

It is quite possible that to many of you it appears sort of odd that we would be ‘missionaries’ serving in an overseas setting, yet be so committed to working with and through the local church.

So, if you are in fact wondering, or if you haven’t considered it until I just brought it up, here is a quick synopsis of why we are unwavering in our commitment to labor within and for the local church.

The short answer:
There is NO other means (other than the local church) of doing ministry even hinted at in the holy scriptures! God does not offer any other alternatives (not agencies, organization, or NGOs); He ordained that His kingdom would be built in and through His church.

The longer answer:
Is the church not of utmost importance to God? He Himself saw fit to place His electing love on her in eternity past…and then paid an unimaginable price to redeem her, the blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
God has sought out His enemies, conquered them with His extraordinary love, and then did the unthinkable…adopted them into His family! And not only that, but He is God-eternal and therefore He does not/cannot stop there, but lavishes His children with all that they need for life and for godliness in this life as well as guaranteeing them a splendid and distinguished inheritance in the life to come.
He chooses to display His own worth and excellence in the lives of His children (former enemies have been transformed into Majesty mirrors). And if that is not enough… consider Who He has placed at the church’s Head; none other than the ultimately glorious one, Jesus of Nazareth.
The same Jesus that when He left His followers on earth promised that He would not leave them as orphans but that He would send another comforter in the person of the Holy Spirit, Who is God Himself. It was when this Spirit of God came in such awesome power that the church of our Lord was actually birthed.

And now here we are, a score of centuries later, living in this reality…that God has established His church, for His people, to worship His Son, and spread His kingdom.


A round about way to say a few things, I know. But, I hope I have been at least a tiny bit clear that whether a long-time church-member, a new pastor, a believing child, or a international missionary, we all have absolutely NO other option of being a part of kingdom work except for working/serving in and through His local church.