Mission Conference and Revival

What a great time we had in our 2005 Mission Conference. We were blessed and challenged by what God is doing in and through His people. I am humbled to think of how God has allowed me the blessed privilege of pastoring such a mission minded people. I'm overwhelmed by the readiness of LBC to take up the challenges of sponsoring missionaries and supporting missions in our nation and the world. There are some other areas that God is moving and burdening my heart. One of those is in sponsoring and sending a missionary stateside. Whether that is in our state of Indiana, or some other area of our nation isn't clear yet. But I have begun praying that God would burden our hearts for the place and prepare and send the man He would have us to send out as our missionary. I am also burdened for a school in our state for the training of pastors and Christian workers. There are pastors and missionaries whom God is burdening about the need in our state for a school. Too many who surrender to Christian ministry and service are leaving our state for training abroad. The fact is that they are staying abroad once they leave. While we understand that there is a great need for pastors, missionaries and Christian workers all over the world, we need them here as well. Please make these two things a matter of prayer.

The revival is going well and the people at Landmark, LaPorte are a blessing. We are being challenged, and I am being revived and fed by the opportunity to worship, praise and preach with the good people here. I pray that God will use this time together to grow us and that we might truly see revival of hearts, home and nation.

Mission Conference

We had a great conference this year. The prayer time, praise time and preaching time were all awesome. We were challenged, fed and nourished by Missionaries Jerry Chandler, Rusty Teer and Mike Prince. We experienced the power of God's presence and clarity of purpose for our lives and church. We pray that God will continue to make us more mission minded by giving us a heart for missions and eyes for the harvest. Pray with us that we will again step out in faith to seek out the next area of missions for our church. Pray for our ministries as the AWANA year begins. Pray too for my new mentoring ministry One on One. I also want to begin our Hearth and Home small group this fall.

The Proud Parents
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Proud Parents X 2
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Safe Arrival

Brent and Tawm have arrived safely to the States and also to their new home in Texas. Both Brent and Tawm are attending Texas Baptist Institute. They are planning on a one or two year course of study to enable them to better serve the people of Thailand and our missionary Nicky Barnett.

I would also like to ask that you pray for the Barnetts who are taking on the added responsibilities and roles that Brent and Tawm were handling. Pray too for the Teer family who are planning to be in Thailand with the Barnetts as they begin their ministry there with Nicky's help and guidance. Their target date is January 2006.

Business or Busyness

I have reflected back on the past couple of weeks. I have lost a friend and church member, and have ministered to that family. I've been busy with wedding plans and arrangements as well. The paradox of grief and joy being able to encompass our thoughts and hearts is at times a cundundrum that face us. Pastors are always asked to answer questions and riddles of life that seem unanswerable. These are times that press our faith to move ever deeper in commitment to God and His eternal purpose and will. We are not asked to understand or know, but we are called to trust Him. The wedding was beautiful, and my daughter radiant. We worshipped together at the altar of God. I took special joy in watching both Andy and Mandy worship Him. I enjoyed watching my wife sing, and then looking over to Andy's parents and seeing them rejoice and sing praise to God. How awesome is that! I continue to pray for Andy and Mandy as they seek out the will of God on that grand adventure we call life with all its turns and surprises.

It's a rush...

Well the family and friends are gathering. The wedding plans are coming together and being finalized. There are yet many things to be done, and their is a gammut of emotions that ebb and flow. There is the tension of last minute details yet to be done, and then the joy of seeing family and friends that have been too long absent. It's always wonderful and stressful working a wedding. It is the more so when you are both pastor and father of the bride. We did this just last year with Jonathan, and now with Mandy. The dynamics are different when you're the father of the bride. I'm just thankful that both Mandy and Andy are dedicated Christians who are seeking and desiring God's will and glory. Both Cathy and I are proud of our children and pray that God will use them to fulfill His purpose and mission through them. They are such a blessing. We are still waiting for more family and friends to drive in safely.