While on the World Race I was asked what my plans were for returning home. In Me and the World/Human Race, I wrote,
“I desperately want to take hold of the growth I’m experiencing on
the mission field. I want to share my passion for the Bible with family
and friends. I want to spread my growing desire for intimacy with
Christ to the local churches. I can hardly wait to apply eleven months
of godly fellowship to my current and future relationships back home:
to better honor my family, to further challenge my friends, and to
better love my future wife…”
I meant every word from the bottom of my heart. Upon returning to the US, I’ve found that my personal mission field has done nothing but dramatically increase in size. I have more opportunities than ever before to serve. There are more chances to be a witness for Christ. There is a greater need for God’s love and provision here and now than anywhere else I have ever been. By the grace of God, doors are being opened, venues are being forged, and relationships are being strengthened. My heart is beating a million beats per second at the name of my God! And you know what… thank you. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for enabling this. Just as no part of the body can survive apart from the rest, and just as the heart cannot pump blood without receiving oxygen from the lungs, I would not be where I am now without your support.
There is no doubt in my mind the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. I’ve seen it. I’ve heard it. I’ve witnessed it, and I love talking about it. In fact, if right now perhaps you don’t really know what to believe about Jesus Christ, I would drop everything to spend time with you, listen to you, and pray with you. Contact Me! The book of Psalms is full of men who, after personally experiencing God, are literally consumed with passion and want nothing more than to declare it to the nations. Some faith is blind, and I believe blind faith can be very dangerous, but I suggest to you that some faith is not. Faith itself carries with it the ideas of belief, trust, and commitment. The faith a husband has in his wife, for example, is not blind. He has seen the way she looks at him. He believes the vows she made him and delights in her promises. He has felt her warmth and remembers the times when she was there for him in the past. This is the kind of faith in Jesus Christ that I want to share.
In faith, I trust that Jesus Christ will build His church (Matthew 16:18), and that, in our age, the church is not a finished product, but a continual process. That being said, I believe the Holy Spirit is beginning a new movement in Lima, Ohio, or at least a new movement in my heart. I just want to offer whatever experience, whatever gift, whatever time, and whatever resource God has given me to this church that He is building, and I want to invite others to do the same. I’ve been praying a lot about this, and I believe God has laid some things on my heart. On October 4th I will be sharing about these things at Gardendale Church of God (in the morning and evening services). As usual, I’m terribly nervous. As usual, I feel terribly insufficient. And as usual, I need to give everything over to God and ask for your prayers once again in seeking His guidance, His direction, and His strength.
“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
