The
freedom of your heart and soul will manifest in the freedom of your
body and actions….. “Where the spirit of the Lord is there is
freedom.”
Howdy
Cornerstone MKE!
I
consider myself blessed to have experienced those first services held
at the guys house, and to have been a part of the church plant.
There was just this feeling in the air, of great things to come.
Sure enough, I have been hearing stories of all the sweet things God
is doing through the church in Milwaukee. I can’t wait to get back
and see how the church has transformed in the past year.
Through
this letter it is my hope to both encourage you and challenge you.
Let me tell you a little bit about the last nine months of my life on
mission.
As
some of you already know, since October of 2009 I have been on
mission with The World Race. The World Race is an 11 month mission
trip, to 11 different countries. We started the mission by flying to
Central America, serving in Guatemala and Nicaragua. In Guatemala we
partnered with a ministry that makes water filters for people in
villages, including some Mayan villages. We also took shifts at Casa
Jackson spoon feeding formula to extremely malnourished babies. In
Nicaragua, we served at an orphanage called “The Quinta”.
Then
we flew to Southeast Asia and ministered in Thailand, Cambodia and
Vietnam. In Thailand, the guys and girls split up. The guys helped
to clear land and build a bathroom at a property that is now home to
a dozen refugee children (email me and ask about the Karen people,
the Burma Conflict, and our boat ride down the middle of it all).
The girls ministered in bars to girls stuck in prostitution. There
are ministries that work to get the girls out and set them up with
jobs. In Cambodia we taught English to kids and shared bible
stories. In Vietnam my team worked with the underground church (ask
me about our contact who is on the “black list” and the time we
got pulled over by the police).
After
Southeast Asia we flew to Africa and spent three months there. My
team spent two months in Ghana, partnering with Campus Crusade and
evangelizing at the University of Cape Coast (ask me about the two
African Traditionalists who gave their life to Christ, knowing they
may face extreme persecution). Nigeria was our last month in Africa.
My team traveled all over the country preaching at Crusades,
teaching in churches, and leading worship sessions (ask me about the
extreme circumstances of this month).
Our
last continent switch finds us in Eastern Europe. In Romania we
worked with a Hungarian Pastor visiting Gypsy villages, and also did
some street evangelism in the city. In Prague partnered with the
IHOP (International House of Prayer), leading worship and prayer
sessions. I am currently in Moldova doing sports and music ministry.
Our final month will be in Ukraine, and then I’ll be home in
September!
What
I’ve Learned?
I
have learned the importance of community. On the race there is no
escaping it, you are part of community 24/7. Community forces you to
face things about yourself that you otherwise may never address, or
even notice. Think about all the openness and accountability you
experience once a week for a couple hours during church or small
group, and now imagine being in that atmosphere everyday, throughout
the entire day, for eleven months…. yeah, its been a season of
quickening!
It’s
easy to hear and believe that God has the ‘best’ for you, but God has
brought me to a new level of understanding, where I know deep down in
my spirit that God has the BEST for me! This year I have experienced
incredible highs and lows, and through it all God has shown me that
He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.
I’ve learned that most of the time God wants to save us through
the trial, instead of from the trial. I’ve learned the
urgency for quick repentance, no matter how small the wrong, and the
power of humility in every circumstance.
Being
a Christian is not just about thinking about God, surrendering to
God, praying to God, worshiping God, its also aboutbeing
with God. Sometimes
it’s important to earn the right to speak into someone’s life. We
live in a Kingdom of honoring and celebrating others. To accomplish
all that is before you, you need to give all that is within you.
It’s good to see where you’re going, but It’s important to value the
process and not focus only on the breakthrough. There is something
to be celebrated along the way, before the great breakthrough, and if
we’re not careful our hunger for what we don’t yet have will cause us
to actually disregard or disrespect what we do have. Take what you
have, treat it faithfully, and then your promotion comes.
Encouragement
I
have visited hundreds of churches all over the world, and come across
very few that come close to what you have. You are very blessed by
Pastor Fisher, by his teachings and example and passion and radical
love. Be confident in his headship and the leadership of the church.
You have an amazing worship team that worships in Spirit and in
truth. You belong to a church that is not just talking about Jesus
Christ. You belong to a church that spends time with Jesus, and
becomes Christ to the community. You are surrounded by incredible
Christ-centered individuals who truly love God and desire to walk in
His paths. Please do not take these things for granted. There are
places like Vietnam and Burma where the body of believers may desire
to worship freely, teach Biblically, and allow the Spirit to move,
but because of government oppression they don’t have that privilege.
Embrace the freedom you have and use it to honor God and bring Him
glory. Continue to surrender everything at the throne of Christ,
because God wants to bring you so much more!
Challenge
Here
are some challenges for you! If I elaborated on everything here, I
think this letter would be about 50 pages long. If you want to hear
more about any point, email me!
never
settle ~ be accountable to each other ~ call each other to a higher
place with the Lord ~ get prophetic, listen to God, pray for people,
get words for them ~ pray for your leaders, submit to their
headship/authority, allow them to speak into your life, get
vulnerable ~ befriend someone you normally might never talk to, love
them, listen to them, serve them, learn from them ~ lay down all that
would hinder you, don’t waste your life, there is no time to waste,
give all that you have ~ find that thing that will ignite passion in
your heart, that you know is from the Lord, and then focus your
prayer and focus your devotion on it, don’t be so wide spread in your
purpose that you’re ineffective ~ be with Jesus, allow yourself to go
places with God you’ve never gone ~ feverishly remove hurry from your
life, enjoy the journey, thank God for the small things ~ rebuke fear
and be ruled by peace ~ humble yourself, forgive each other, confess
sins, declare truth, listen to God ~ Finally,
some lyrics that challenge me:
“I
don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door, and I join
the oppressors of those I choose to ignore. I’m trading comfort for
human life, and that’s not just murder it’s suicide, and this too
shall be made right.” (Derek Webb, This
too shall be made right)
I
hope you’ve been challenged and encouraged, thanks for reading! God
bless and see you in September!
Mike
