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Trip Takeaway Mexico Spring 2019

One thing the Lord did for me on this trip was to reshape my view of ministry. It’s a recurring theme that He started showing me before the trip and on which He continues to elaborate since. Basically, He’s been showing me that relationships are perhaps the most important part of ministry. It’s not the “what,” nor the “where,” nor the “how many.” It’s the “who,” even if those “who” are just a few. Jesus loves the few. He comes and ministers to just a few. He returned to and spent time with and taught and ministered to the same few over and over again. Even though His life, and especially His ministry, were so brief. My previous focus in missions has been the “what” and the “where” and the “how many.” There were bonds formed on previous trips as a team, some of them that lasted a long time, and I was thankful for that; but the main goal — at least to me — was to help as many people as I could as quickly as I could and make sure I feel somewhat uncomfortable while doing so, so that I could relate to them in that sense; but don’t really bother to get to know them otherwise because this is a one-time thing and you’ll never see them again — you’re just there to help. It was work and duty and obligation at the expense of relationship. It was religion.

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5 Levels of Leadership

Some years ago, I came into contact with the idea of 5 Levels of Leadership, I believe through a “cassette tape”… remember those? 🙂 To my knowledge (and memory, haha) it was an audiobook by John Maxwell, entitled, Developing The Leader Within You. Even tho it was years back, I haven’t forgotten it. It has helped my perspective on leadership and influence since that time, and has helped me understand more about how leadership works.

Recently I had an encounter that reminded me of this concept, and discussed it one of our core team members. I pass it on here, in hopes that it will add to your growing perspective and worldview on the subject of influence, authority and leadership.

At the time I initially encountered the 5 Levels of Leadership idea, I have to admit most of the authority I was familiar with (and was operating in) was level 1. Surprisingly, that was no discouragement to me. I was happy to find out that this was a good place to start and that you could only grow (or go up) from there.

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Nicaragua Nicaraguita – Update February 2019

One of many volcanoes in Nicaragua… Photo taken by “good friend” as we were heading north on the PanAmerican Highway.

A good friend and I have just returned from Nicaragua, where we spent a week visiting and affirming friends and brothers, intending to encourage them of God’s goodness and nearness to them in the midst of difficult time.  This title comes from a song that is sang in Nicaragua, and it is sang there as an expression of affection.  Nicaraguans are proud of their country, heritage and have a hope for good things to come.  Let’s join them in that hope.  As you likely know, violence and bloodshed gripped the country in the Spring of 2018, with much loss and damage reaching on a far scale.  While estimates vary, it seems 500+ were killed, thousands wounded, and several hundred are still unaccounted for.  This is not including those who are currently political prisoners. (To read our post from the time surrounding the eruption of violence in Nicaragua in 2018, click here)

We knew we had to get there to stand and show love to those who are dear to us, and weren’t sure what we would find, and what danger was looming…

What we found, in my opinion, was a country in trauma.

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Leaving the Path

A lot of times when people think that others have left the path of the Lord, what is really happening is that the other people are actually just no longer pacing with them, or they have been led in another direction. We see ourselves as the standard of what it means to follow the path of the Lord, but we are not.

Let’s be gracious to others and not impose ourselves as the standard of what it means to follow the Lord and keep pace with Him.

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An open letter to my brothers and sisters

Contending for the faith once delivered – James

The Standard of Expectation

Seems like, for the most part, we Christians continue to primarily organize ourselves around public, group meetings.  Doesn’t it seem like the “Sunday morning meeting” is highest priority in the congregation you attend?  This is the one you get the most social demerits if you miss, right? Continue reading “An open letter to my brothers and sisters”

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Ken’s Take On Mexico Spring 2019

Left town a little after 10 on a sunny, Thursday morning. Dropped off the dog and got on our way. Plane left O’hare airport around 6am, making an early Friday for us. And don’t forget to arrive well ahead of time! Two and a half hours in drive seemed best to land the day before. 

Grabbed lunch at a dine in Ottawa. The sky had now darkened and the rain was setting in. Place had a little bit of everything. Ordered an app of the Greek descent – cheese, set on fire before us (the name escapes me). Holly had a plate of fancified fruits and vegetables. I requested an Italian beef sandwich. Dipped in Au jus, an additional masterpiece to an already delicious sandwich!

Hotel was decent. Just needed a place to crash for the night. The bonus was that they allowed you to park your car while you traveled – not free, but at a reasonable rate. Had a restaurant on hand, which we made well of.  The bar was open till 4am. We arose early enough to say hey to some of those folks as they hobbled out. One gentleman voiced some drama around the abuse of his blow up pillow or mattress – I cannot remember which. Some of his more coherent cohorts advised him that Walmart could help him out at no large expense. This didn’t seem to settle things… We took the shuttle to the airport, less than ten minutes away. Wheels left the runway and I was beginning to feel the thrill of adventure. Today, we would be in Mexico!

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