“Overloaded” is the word that best describes me right now. Normally when a preacher describes himself as overloaded it is because he is juggling his teaching preparations, administrative responsibilities and family duties. But that is not what I mean by overloaded.

I could use the term “overloaded” because we received our books today. What a blessing to receive good resources to use in our ministries. But that isn’t why I use the term, “overloaded”. I use it because of the preaching / teaching I have received today.

Today I have listened to Mark Dever and Al Mohler preach two tremendous messages. One started the day and the other ended it. Mark Dever answered the question, “Why people don’t believe” from John 12, while Al Mohler presented a Ministry Manifesto from Colossians 1.

A favorite quote from Mark Dever: “I am trying to protect you from people who are trying to make money off of your conscience.” Let me give you the context. One of the stated applications for the message was “Unbelief is somehow part of God’s larger plan of redemption.” The quote was in reference to people who ignore the fact that some people are hardened against God and offer another program that will somehow miraculously manufacture salvation decisions.

Another favorite quote from Mark Dever: “You don’t need special glasses to tell who the elect or non-elect are, just preach to them all!” One of the stereotypes of Calvinists is that they are not evangelistic. Dever emphatically contends that we need to preach the gospel to all men and let God handle the election.

Al Mohler gave us his counseling method. He said that he asks three questions:

1. What is your problem?
2. What would God have you do about it?
3. Why are we having this conversation?

This was a lighthearted way of him driving the point home that we are first and foremost servants to the Word, not our own wisdom. In giving us his Ministry Manifesto, Mohler gave us a job description of a preacher based on Colossians 1:24-29. One of the descriptions was to rejoice in suffering (verse 24). Mohler profoundly stated, “Christ’s suffering was for our salvation; our suffering is for our testimony.” And he also added, “Does the ministry of the Word shine through the suffering?”

I think my favorite quote from Mohler was, “If you’re going to teach, you need to know something your congregation doesn’t already know, or they won’t need you!” Very true . . . I have a desire to study like I haven’t had in a long time.

Mohler left us with a sobering statement, “Failure is too awful to contemplate.”

So ends another great day . . . I wonder how I can take in more tomorrow.

Please note that yesterday’s disclaimers are still in effect today.

Ok, I admit it. I am at the Shepherds Conference. I have been given my name badge, my discount card to the bookstore and my leather portfolio. I have eaten from just about every snack table they have set up for us; I have had my shoes shined; I have purchased books from the bookstore – I am officially here at the Shepherds Conference.

I have never been to California before let alone a Shepherds Conference. So today, like a kid on Christmas morning I woke up ready for the unknown. I wasn’t sure what the church looked like; I wasn’t sure if listening to John MacArthur preach would be the same in person as it was on my ipod; I wasn’t sure what to expect other than the fact that I was about to be blessed.

Blessed I was! In the opening session, Pastor MacArthur preached about the importance of the church – a true biblical church. His main points from Matthew 16 were:

1. A true church is known by a great confession – vs. 13-16
2. A true church is built on great communication – vs. 17
3. A true church is marked by a great contrast – vs. 20
4. A true church is marked by a great conquest – vs. 21
5. A true church is marked by a great conflict – vs. 22
6. A true church understands the great contradiction – vs. 24-26
7. A true church has the great consummation – vs. 28

My favorite quote from the message was in reference to verse 23: “Show me a man-centered ministry and I will show you a ministry that helps Satan.” Right on.

The blessing continued in the two workshops I attended. Both were about preaching. The first was a case for expository preaching by Dan Dumas. I like what he had to say about the lack of expository preaching. He listed three effects:

1. Illiteracy in the Pew
2. Impotence in the Pulpit
3. Irrelevancy in our Culture

In the second workshop, Carey Hardy quoted John MacArthur as saying, “A boring preaching is a contradiction of terms.” I like that. The session discussed four key ingredients for effective preaching. They are:

1. It must be accurate.
2. It must be clear.
3. It must be passionate.
4. It must be Christ-centered.

Today ended with our second general session. Soul stirring congregational singing, fabulous special music and John MacArthur preaching from Luke 15 summed up the evening. The main point of the message was God’s joy over one sinner’s repentance. He explained that the Pharisees couldn’t totally believe this story of the father with two sons (as he refers to this parable) because of the culture of shame / honor in which they were immersed. A crucial point to understand is that the father took all the shame that the son should have endured.

My favorite quote was “The Pharisees could not comprehend the actions of the father because they could not comprehend grace.” Praise God for His grace. What was the application? Christ took our shame and God rejoices over our repentance. Amazing!

It was a good day, however I am still processing it all. It is like drinking water from a fire hydrant – but I am blessed, my heart is stirred, my conscience is pricked, I am ready to continue serving Christ.

Disclaimer: Please forgive any grammatical or spelling mistakes. Two reasons will contribute to the great possibility of those happening as well as incomprehensible sentence structure.

If I can stay awake long enough each night I will update the blog about each day’s activities. But if you want to follow a more professional blog about the conference you can check out www.challies.com

We wanted to let you know that Anouk and I have finished our term and had a safe trip to Rhode Island. After giving a report to the church, we drove to Michigan to spend time with family (we get to celebrate Christmas!). Lord willing, this Monday we will finish our travels by driving home to Illinois.

We will be posting more details about our final weeks of ministry soon. More to come . . .

Well, we’ve been here a week - and it’s been a very good week! We’ve been able to get lots of painting done at Della’s - over 1000 feet of trim and baseboard! I never realized how much trim goes in a house, but now I’ll never take it for granted again! A team from our home church, Morning Star, is coming in at the end of the week to paint the walls and put up all the trim. Della’s house is coming along! It’s been a long haul for her, but she is so thankful for all the work that has been done at her house.

The other ministry we have had down here is following up on a list of people who have received help from Christ Fellowship Baptist Church. The church has a wonderful testimony in the community of Pascagoula. Jeremy has been able to talk with many people and give them good books (”How to Handle Life’s Hurts” and “Ultimate Questions“) and a “Katrina, Why?” tract. Everyone has nothing but great things to say about the church. The love of Christ is being poured out to very needy people, and their hearts are stirred by it. Not only are houses being rebuilt, but the Gospel is being shared at each one of them.

Let me tell you a little bit about the ministry of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church here in Mobile, AL. Soon after hurricane Katrina hit, church members & staff went down to Pascagoula, MS and talked with people to scout out who needed the most help rebuilding (i.e. - older people, disabled people, single moms, etc.). After talking to many people (and encouraging many along the way), they chose over 50 houses to help, and told these households they would send help as funds and teams came down. We’ve heard testimonies that Christ Fellowship was a “ray of hope” to many of these people who didn’t know where to even begin.

Christ Fellowship quickly became the home base for hundreds of people coming down to help with rebuilding. The church houses the teams in rooms off of their gym. They provide cots, bedding, showers, towels, shampoo, soap, washer/dryer, and best of all, DELICIOUS suppers (more about that later). They have become the channel through which much needed help is being sent to Pascagoula, MS. Danny Chance, an elder of Christ Fellowship and lay worker, has taken on the immense task of organizing all the logistics of the teams and work going on . . . and he’s doing a great job! Whenever we mention his name down in Pascagoula, big smiles come on people’s faces!

As churches sent teams down to help, Danny Chance would put them in contact with someone on their list. The first few teams mostly focused on tearing down all the moldy drywall and flooring in all the houses. Some of the houses were “torn down” from 4 feet down and some were down to the bare studs. Pascagoulans, overwhelmed by the sheer work to be done, were so thrilled with this help.

After the “tearing down,” rebuilding started. One by one, houses started being “adopted” by churches and individuals (some still need adopting, even 5 months later). That’s how we got in touch with Della. Our church decided to adopt her, so every work team we send down and money that is designated is funneled to Della’s house. And the wonderful thing is, it’s almost done!

Jeremy and I are so thankful for this ministry of Christ Fellowship Church. They have housed literally hundreds of workers from all over the country. Their footwork has enabled so much work to be done! They have also been a blessing to both of us: the people are some of the friendliest folks we’ve ever met; the food every night is out-of-this-world delicious (better than most restaurants); and the ministry of the Word has been encouraging and refreshing.

We met up with Mark last night for dessert (Mark is the assistant pastor at Morning Star - he wrote the article on Della). He’s down here for a few days helping at Della’s house. Today, Jeremy and he are working there on different projects . . . and I’m packing stuff up to send back with Mark, so we don’t have to ship it! Yippee! It’s fun to figure out what you can live without for 3 weeks . . . after all, we are going to be downsizing from an RV to a 2-door Cavalier (and don’t forget the cat!). So we REALLY need to send stuff on ahead! Thankfully, we’ll be at different churches each week (in AL, RI, MI), so no one will know if we wear the same thing to each church service . . . oops! I guess the secret is out now!

We are planning on working at Della’s house for the last dozen days we are down here. Mark will be here until Thursday morning . . . then Bill, also from Morning Star, will be joining us. Bill is a carpenter, so Della will have nicely hung trim in her house - I shudder to think what it would look like if I attempted it! We will be doing a lot of finish work like painting, installing sinks, caulking the tub, and such. I’ll try to remember to take pictures!

Here is the itinerary for the rest of the month . . . ready? Hang on, cuz it will take you all over the country!

Feb 19th after church - leave to go to Rhode Island (21+ hours)
Feb 20th - arrive in Rhode Island
Feb 21st, 22nd - return RV to its owners, give a report to Cornerstone Church
Feb 23rd - drive to Michigan (13 hours)
Feb 24th, 25th, 26th - spend time with Jeremy’s family and celebrate “Christmas in February”
Feb 27th - drive to Illinois (6 hours)
Feb 28th - Jeremy flies out to California for a conference

Phew! I’m out of breath just thinking about it! Seriously, we are looking forward to seeing friends in RI, and spending time with family in MI. And, of course, going home! Thank you all for your prayers. They mean so much to us!

First, I want to apologize for the long delay between posts. We were in the middle of a transition time, and unfortunately the blog got put on the backburner for a while.

This past week, we were wrapping things up in Lafayette, LA so we would be prepared for the last “leg” of our journey. The last weekend in January brought about new and exciting plans for our last few weeks in the South. After discussion with Global Grace’s board, we decided to go to Mississippi / Alabama to help finish the work on Della’s house (remember Della? Our church in Rockford - Morning Star Baptist - adopted her. Click here for her story).

So, the first week of January was spent tying up loose ends and finishing up what needed to be done in Lafayette. The storage unit is now empty (except for some literature). We estimate that we passed out over 600 boxes - praise the Lord, that means 600 families got the Gospel! We’re so thankful for all the teams that helped us pass those out (my back thanks them too! ). Also we said goodbye to some friends we had made: I went out for coffee with Gina (PR manager at the Day’s Inn), and Jeremy and I went out with Felix to, of course, Chili’s! (In case you didn’t know, Chili’s is Jeremy’s favorite restaurant . . . or should I say obsession? ). We also said goodbye to Robert and Michael, our Bible-study”ees”, as well as Rebecca and her cute kids. It was sad to leave them, but we all said we would try to keep in touch (ah! the beauty of cell-phones!).

Monday came, and we unhooked the RV, paid the bill, and got on the road. I drove the car and Jeremy drove the RV. It’s about a 4 hour drive from Lafayette, LA to Mobile, AL where we had reserved an RV spot. We thank the Lord for safety - we passed 2 accidents on the road, and avoided one when the RV ran over a tall pylon in the road and sent it spinning back toward me. I praise God He made it miss me at the very last second, literally. My heart was beating a little faster after that!

We made it safely to Mobile, AL around 5pm and hooked up the RV at our “new place”. Mobile is about 50 minutes away from Pascagoula, MS, so we’re going to try to find an RV place a little closer; I doubt we’ll find anything closer because a lot of the parks are still full of evacuees and workers. So we’ll probably end up staying here - it’s nice and quiet and has a great wireless internet connection!

I’ll tell you more tomorrow about what the plan is for us in the next few weeks. Thanks for your patience in waiting for a post! Thanks for your prayers!

Yesterday, we had our regular Bible Study at 3:30 pm. Rebecca (Miracle’s mom - see Christmas eve entry) called and asked us to pick her up. She had tried for a few weeks to come, but obstacles had always come up. So finally this Sunday, I picked her up with two of her children (Miracle and Dorothy).

Now, normally our two guys – Robert and Michael – are faithful like clockwork coming to the Bible study (or if they can’t come, they call and reschedule). But for some reason, which I believe to be God’s sovereignty, they didn’t show up. So instead of me watching the kids and Jeremy doing the Bible study, Rebecca and I sat down together and studied the Bible. It was a great 45 minutes. Poor Rebecca was so tired (she’s been working long hours at her new job) but she listened so attentively. I’m so thankful for her efforts to come even when she was so tired. I talked to her again today and she said she read some more of the study and the Bible last night. Pray for her salvation.

This weekend marked a historical time . . . the time of our last scheduled team and the last of the food boxes! A team of 5 men and 5 ladies came from Cleveland Park Bible Church in Spartanburg, SC. Six of them arrived Thursday night and were up early Friday to go down to Faith Baptist in Abbeville. The ladies focused on cleanup and mowing the lawn while the men hung siding.

The other four arrived around 1:30 pm on Friday and helped us hand out our last 76 food boxes. Jeremy and I put boxes in 31 trailers that Jim, our FEMA contact, told us would be occupied within a few weeks. We also got to meet a new FEMA worker, Jeanne. Then after the team got here, we loaded up the van with the last 45 boxes and went to the Plantation Inn where evacuees are still living. We’re so thankful for the four that helped us . . . the job got done quickly and well, and we got a really good contact out of it.

On Saturday, all of us went down to Abbeville. The men continued with the siding and started putting up crown molding. All of us ladies painted all the trim that wasn’t being put up. Then, after lunch, all the ladies went to a mobile park in Lafayette and went door to door to hand out the last of the children’s coloring books and toiletry items. The five ladies were troopers, not letting the occasional rain (both mist and downpour) dampen their spirits.

While at the mobile home park, we noticed one trailer that was pretty much surrounded by a moat of water. Knowing we had pallets at the storage unit, we decided to get into the “bridge building” business. We returned to the storage unit, loaded up the van with a dozen pallets and headed back to the mobile park. Jeremy was quite a site with his rolled up pants and running away quickly so as not to get splashed when he dropped the pallets. What a sight! ☺ Finally, the bridge was built and the people were very thankful to not have to wade through water to get out of their mobile home. (Sorry the pictures are a little fuzzy).

The team was such a big help and blessing. They were not afraid of hard work and were very flexible as plans sometimes changed (the rain was one factor). So thank you all (Harry, Phil, Mike, Robert, Shaun, Pam, Brandy, Mandy, Miriam, and Victoria) – you were a huge help and blessing!

A few days ago, I received a call from one of my FEMA contacts asking me for help. You see, there are typically two options of housing for the evacuees. One is a 3-bedroom mobile home and the other is a small travel trailer. Most of the time, families get the mobile homes and individuals or couples get the travel trailers.

My FEMA friend, Jim called me needed help with the travel trailers. The problem was that the people were running out of propane. Normally, this isn’t a problem – the people take the propane tank off, get it refilled and then reinstall it. But for some people this is harder than others. There are several single, elderly ladies who have no transportation and shouldn’t be lugging these things around anyway. So, they call the FEMA man.

Unfortunately, FEMA can’t really do anything about it. Their job is to get people into housing, not fill propane tanks. In acts of kindness, Jim has gone over to the trailers and made sure the propane tanks were refilled anyway. But as he explained to me, if he is constantly refilling propane tanks, he can’t move people into trailers. Hence, the call for help.

Of course, I told Jim I would do anything that I could to help him. As Anouk and I talked about it, we were reminded of how ministry opportunities come in various forms. Jim was asking us to help him with mundane tasks; God is presenting opportunities to minister.

We were reminded that this is really what the Christian walk is all about – serving others while growing closer to Christ. We must remember that the life of a Christian is an active one. We are not called to stand and watch, but rather to serve and be active. Even the terms we use to describe a Christian life denote action – Christian walk; spiritual journey; pilgrim’s progress etc. Paul tells us to “walk” in Christ – Colossians 2:6. In the first chapter of his book, James teaches us that action is the only option for a believer: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (verse 22). He makes the point even stronger in chapter two when he tells us that works (action) are the proof of genuine faith (verses14-26). The writer of Hebrews also underscores the importance of action when he wrote in the twelfth chapter, “ . . .and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (verse 1). Finally, consider II Peter 1:5-11 – here Peter tells us we should be adding things to our lives. (All emphasis mine)

Look around: ministry opportunities abound! Helping refill propane tanks probably won’t get you an invitation to speak at the next Bible Conference or people asking you to sign their Bibles; but it will help build relationships so you can present Christ in a personal way – by reflecting a small part of His sacrificial love.

Don’t wait for your pastor to approach you with a ministry opportunity. Don’t wait for the announcement from the pulpit or in the bulletin. Be active! Open your eyes, look around – people need the Lord. Go and serve them, because in doing so you are serving Christ (Matthew 25:31-46).