Year: 2013

My military career ended many years ago. However, I can still remember standing in formation with the company commander’s order of “Eyes Forward” ringing in my ears. There were many rules for formation; but the primary one was to keep looking forward, no looking to the side or, heaven forbid, behind you. This is generally great advice for life. We waste too much time and energy looking back or looking at others. As Christians, we know we should keep our “eyes on Jesus.” That’s a difficult rule to execute.  Do you have trouble looking back? Does your past continue to haunt your present? I have used the analogy of the automobile which has a huge windshield through which we look forward and small rear view mirrors for occasional glances backward. If we spend too much time looking in the rear view mirror, we may crash.  I think some people are haunted by their past because they haven’t dealt with it. It’s usually an issue of forgiveness. We all have things in the past we need to forgive. Primarily we need to forgive ourselves. For those sins we have committed we need to confess them to the Lord and RECEIVE […]

I noticed while watching The Bible on Sunday night that God seems to keep His people at a point of dependency.  Of course, we are always dependent on Him. We just don’t always recognize it. It’s the reason a rich man has such a tough walk in the Kingdom of Heaven. He can easily get the idea that his riches can be relied on. The politician can rest on his power. The famous athlete or actor can sit on his fame.  It makes it easy to forget that on Christ we depend. A parent knows that wonderful feeling when a child looks up to him for his safety, food, and peace of mind. He also knows the difficulty when it becomes time to place his dependency elsewhere. As parents, we often fail in that we don’t teach our kids to depend on God. We make them dependent on us or dependent on something else the world seems to offer.  Where are you in your walk? Are things going to well that you are feeling pretty self-reliant? Be careful. He might have to change your circumstances or send a storm into your life to turn you back to Him.  Does […]

I am always a bit uneasy when the History Channel tackles biblical or church issues. However, The Bible premiered last night and I thought it was great. I recommend it even for older children. There is a bit of violence (you have read your Old Testament right?) so check it out before viewing with real young kids.  If  you missed last night’s premier. The History Channel web site gives these dates and times for repeats: March 4, 2013, 12 to 2 a.m., March 6, 9 to 11 p.m., March 7 1 to 3 a.m. and March 10 6 to 8 pm. The last is right before episode 2. These are Eastern Times. I believe. The acting was very good and the sets and effects were great. There seemed to be a deliberate attempt to stick to the scripture. In reducing any book to film, some things get left out, but it seemed that the story line was kept alive. There was also an attempt to be “real” as characters such as Abraham and Moses seemed to be real people. From episode one I took away the vast difference between God’s eternal nature and our temporal nature. To Him, 500 […]

A Kairos weekend is a great mountain top experience. Because of that the days and weeks after can be a real downer. I was thinking that if I could identify exactly why these weekends are so great; perhaps I could duplicate some of the elements into my daily life and raise the level of those days closer to the mountain top. Well, here goes. 1. Seeing God work. One thing that clearly happens on a Kairos weekend is that God moves. He seems to move like at no other time. Or is it that we are so focused on Him that we notice His moves more than at other times. Isn’t God always moving? Maybe we just need to be more alert and more focused. 2. Focused on the mission. We always talk about the great commission and being used by God. However, it really happens on a Kairos weekend. From Thursday noon to Sunday night, everything we do is about pointing folks to Jesus. It might not be possible to be that focused every day; but certainly we could be more focused that we usually are. 3. Our gifts are used. One of the things I love about […]

I have learned over the years not to expect too much from myself on the Monday after a Kairos weekend. I am usually physically, mentally and spiritually exhausted. I don’t plan important meetings or make big decisions. This is true today. By any reasonable measure Kairos Angola #55 was a great success. It was efficiently handled with good talks. We blessed the participants with great food, letters, and love. We delivered a simple but powerful message about forgiveness and Jesus. By all indications the weekend was well received. The participants seemed deeply moved and expressed new hope for their futures. Our relationship with the camp authority was great and we received great cooperation including requests that our entering and exiting prayers include correction officers.  The chance of making significant long term impact is great. There is only one dorm at Camp J. It houses nearly 100 residents. As of yesterday about 38 of those have been through a Kairos. That may be the highest percent of Kairos graduates in any similar dorm in any prison. Those 100 guys provide food and maintenance to the approximately 400 who are kept in lock down in Camp J. We couldn’t talk to […]

Day three is the heart of any Kairos weekends. The highlight is the opening of the gift bags by the residents and the increased levels of vulnerability in sharing at the tables. Day two went pretty well but there is some evidence you can have too many members on a team. We didn’t have cups for some time in the morning and didn’t have song books for most of the day. These things probably occur to remind us that it’s not about us and it’s God who brings it all together. It is impressive to have two “free people” serving each of the tables and those assigned that task are doing a marvelous job and their servant attitudes are clearly impressing the residents. One continuing problem that we really need to find a solution for is that by the end of the day the team is tired and just wants some sleep; yet the cook teams and agape teams are eager to hear about how the day went. We take care of that on Saturday nights by having each new member share his impressions, but perhaps we need to have some mechanism to pass the word on Friday as […]

The first night of Kairos 55 was a success. It rained heavily but it stopped during the period we went into the tent and again when we emerged. Seven of the selected residents decided not to participate, but we were able to quickly fill their slots. Sand bags had been placed around the perimeter of the tent but by evening’s end, water had gotten through and we were sloshing around on the inside. Please pray for a dry day for us today. Based on the introductions, it appears we have a good group of residents with most expressing an openness for what God has for them. Friday is a day of introspection as the presentations are designed to get the guys to give their lives a close look. We ask them to consider the choices they have made and the mechanisms they have employed to make those choices. We begin to try to build trust and respect and openness by our sharing with them and listening to them. We seem to have plenty enough cookies. Since today is a Friday in lent, I understand that we plan to serve the guys seafood for lunch and dinner. I know it […]

Kairos Angola Number 55 begins today. It seems like I have been waiting for this day forever. It’s not just that we are going into Camp J where we have never ministered before. It’s not just that we have a great and large team serving a small group. The bottom line is that I really need a Kairos. It’s been a tough year. I have had a number of battles and Jesus has been victorious in each. I am just having trouble moving on.  I know a weekend spent watching the spirit move in a place that has a history as dark as any place on earth, is just what I need. I hope to give you guys daily reports on what God is doing the next few days. Please be in prayer for the men we have been called to serve and the team members who will be serving. The first day is pretty easy. We will pick up the last of the cookies and head out of Lafayette about 10 am. We plan lunch with some of the team in St. Francisville, a team meeting, then on to the prison. On the first night we do very […]