James and Monica’s PCS dinner

It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle. - Norman Schwarzkopf

James and Monica moved to Ft. Campbell with the expressed interest in getting training and discipleship so that they might be able to engage in the mission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations.  Some have arrived at Campbell- through nothing of their own choosing….  But the Carters arrived through a direct, intentional, and purposeful choice.  They recognized the command of Christ to make disciples- they were already doing as best they can to do it- they saw people at Ft. Campbell who can help them to do this effectively.  They made intentional decisions to be away from the comfort of their own homes, their own families, and their own friends- to get the training in how to lead others as they engage in Christ’s work to make disciples. 

            Over 500 miles to move away from the familiar, from the comfort, security, and safety of home- to allow others to invest into their lives so that they can meet the mission of Christ.  That’s what they did…. That’s what they are doing again…..

            The decision to move here, for training 7 years ago….. has culminated to what is going to happen in the next few days… and the next few months…. And the next few years.

            Not an issue of safety, comfort, security- but one of dedication, courage, and commitment to Christ.  I'm reminded of a great quote from John Shedd.

            "A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for.- John A. Shedd

            We’re not here for safety, or comfort, or our happiness…. We’ve been chosen by God to do a work, to execute his gameplan, to fulfill His desires to see the world come to know Jesus Christ.  That is going to take men and women who are not worried about playing it safe.  They've chosen to take on the great adventure as God matures them and uses their lives to send them out and make disciples of all nations.  

Matt 28:18-20  All authority on Heaven and Earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  And teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely, I will be with you till the end of the age.

Maybe there are some risks... maybe there isn't safety... maybe we have to take a step away from the familiar-  But Jesus promises He will be there for us.  That's enough for me.   That's enough for the Carters as well.  Godspeed to our fellow laborers, our team-mates, our friends.

The Search .... The Man Hunt for a Worthy Man

Flipping through some movie clips of "The Fugitive" with Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford, where US Marshall Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) is on the manhunt for Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) who just escaped from a prison transfer.

Reminded of a conversation and question we had at this past Spring Conference….

Cecil Bean had just finished talking about Jesus being our Example…. And how we must follow what He did and How He did it- meaning we must be making disciples as He did.

One of the questions was “How do I bring this back to my church back at home?”

The Response “You don’t have to … just find one worthy man.”  That’s what Jesus did. 

Matt 10:11 "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 

Jesus’ pattern was to find a few… someone who was hungry to know God and to grow as a believer- He found several- but He picked out 12 to invest in and train.  In turn- these men would pick out a few “worthy” men themselves and invest and train them as well.

This is what we are to do in a nutshell.  As we are growing and progressing in our own, personal walk with Christ- as we are investing in the Basics of the Christian life (prayer, biblestudy, QTs, fellowship, outreach) then we are to be on the search… on the lookout… on the manhunt for that particular one that not only says they want to know more- but are willing to move forward in doing something about it as well.  That’s what a worthy man looks like- not only ‘curious’ and interested about the bible… not only interested about God… but willing and able and determined to DO what they are finding and seeing

The Battle is What Unites Us and Heals Us

Hope everyone had a Great CHRIST-mas and good New years as well...

Looking forward to a great new year of ministry..

The Battle is what Unites Us

Sharing some thought from my biblestudy this past week with our STS team at Campbell….

We are doing our STS study through Acts and we just finished Chapters 3-4…

I just wanted to share some thoughts from chapter 4.

Acts 4:23-35

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

Everyone is looking to develop this kind of community among believers… they early church had it-

BUT…..

It was the result of a focus, concentration, and direction toward meeting the mission. The Apostles were about making disciples and bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to EVERYONE. They set the stage and set the face and the direction to focus on this mission- everyone who bought in and threw their lot in with them- understood this AND they wanted this too. Therefore, everyone looked after each others’ needs because they saw the mission as being the most important- so they looked out for each other- so that each one could continue with a focus on the mission.

Also…the banding together and engaging in this mission together is what built the foundation for the community as well. Its amazing too- to see and experience the building of trust- which is the mortar that holds the community together is built through the working together in ministry and in our pursuit of Jesus Christ… together, with each other.

It even solves a lot of conflict that unfortunately plagues every group of people- even those in churches, even those involved in ministries such as ours…

Jim Downing, one of the great leaders of the Navigators ministry, wrote in his book, Living Legacy, “Although the Navigator family was exceptionally close, there were some wounded souls who felt like they were outsiders and second-class citizens. They were only healed as they banded together and bonded in new spiritual battles, of which there was an abundance of opportunity.” (Living Legacy 2007 Navpress)

Community was built through the focus on Christ’s Mission.

The Engagement in the Mission builds Trust

Trust is built among people in the community that CHOOSE to focus on the Mission of Christ together with those who are engaged in it.

So…

Are you engaged in the Mission?

Are you battling along with others who are engaged in the Mission?

The Need for Training

MORE Training is NEEDED

Just wanted to share with everyone an email I received from a good friend of mine, Matthew Clark. Matthew is currently at Ft. Rucker, AL undergoing the rigors of flights school. At the same time, he is contributing to the Laborer led ministry at Ft. Rucker AL which is being led by Perry Alliman and Alan Simmons. Matthew has been with our ministry at Campbell for over 6 years and although it wasn't always the smoothest- Matthew has endured and has seized the essence of what the Vision of Jesus Christ is- Generations.....

And since Christ is about the Generations- we must train others...

And since we are looking to develop laborers who will labor for the rest of their lives- we must commit and invest in training...

I'm looking forward to continuing our search to find men like Matthew who God is working in and encouraging those guys at Ft. Rucker as they are doing a tremendous job!!!

[Matthew to Joe]

Ok so I think the ministry at Rucker is doing really well. Perry and Alan are focusing more on sharing vision more often and more consistently so there is no mistaking what we are about. Perry has grown into leading the ministry and has taken responsibility for the vision and direction. As a result he is continually upping the standards with the leadership and guys are continually rising to the challenge. I think a fear in the past was not to put too much on the guys because of the rigors of flight school but the guys are consistently rising to the challenge. We have a few very healthy guys and some up and comers as well as some fringe guys who are starting to poke their heads up. It is very exciting. We are also having an expanding impact with the AIT here and growing influence among the chaplains.

Perry has also changed his thinking into training the few rather than helping the whole. Most of our focus is directed towards the next generation of leaders and in turn encouraging them to take responsibility for the people in their group. A recurrence at Rucker is that there is no need to recruit. Guys come out of the woodwork to come to study. So we put guys in groups but the group leaders haven't necessarily taken responsibility for them in the past as they thought Perry or Alan would. With a growing emphasis on training the leaders the young guys are developing that responsibility. And as a result Rucker is becoming more a community rather than an additional study to attend.

There are so many challenges to TRADOC that I am not sure I can or will figure out in my remaining time here. But I am very encouraged by Perry's vision and direction. The ministry has changed faces dramatically since I've been here and all for the better. Christ continues to open doors and work in the hearts of the people here. One of the questions Perry and I have been praying about is the idea that we only have a short time with guys because of the schedule and length of flight school. I think in the past the idea has been we will do the best we can with the time but don't expect a whole lot. If a guy can do a quiet time when he leaves that's successful. Lately as Perry and I have been praying he has been asking why not. Why can we not start to train guys? Why are we not asking for guys who will be fully committed all the way through flight school? Why not give a guy everything instead of just some Bible Study and Quiet Time skills. Guys are very hungry for Christ down here and as Perry is figuring out how to train and communicate vision we are asking for committed guys who want to know Christ, not just attend the study. And God is giving us those guys.

I hope you all are encouraged by Matthew's email as I am....

"If you build it- they will come"- Field of Dreams

"If you play a Man's game- men will Come"- Cecil Bean

"If you focus on the Person of Jesus Christ- He will send you men that will pursue Him as you are"- me

Matt 11:25-30.... Jesus Revealing God through Challenging us to Labor

Jesus Reveals God to Us… Jesus challenges us with Laboring for God= THIS is what He wanted to Reveal to us about God…

Matt 11:25-30 At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. 27 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." NIV

Sharing some thoughts from my QT this past week with our STS group…

Interesting thought for me as God is revealing more to me about Him through Christ and through His Word.  I never connected verses 25-27 to verses 28-30.  Verses 28-30 are REALLY popular with most Christians- as most see it as God wanting to give us rest… one thing about this one is that God’s idea of rest- that Jesus is telling us- is that HE wants to put on HIS yoke on OUR necks…. A yoke is a device placed on the necks of beasts of burden in order to harness their energy to do work—WE are those beasts of burden- God wants to harness our energy to do work- to labor for Him…

The first thing with this passage is that God WANTS to hide some things from people- verses 25-26

The next thing is that in verse 27 we find that Jesus is telling us 4 things:

• ·         No one knows the Father except the Son
• ·         No one knows the Son except the Father
• ·         Jesus will be the one to reveal God to us
• ·         Jesus will be CHOOSING the people who He will reveal God to

Then He tells us that He wants us to Labor for God and that this labor will be REST for us…

Connecting the dots….

Jesus is revealing to us something about God- and that something is that God wants us to Labor.  Therefore, those who labor- will be understanding more and more about who God is and what He is about- we will understand God more in a way that others will not- since they are not joining in on the labor for God…

THIS is what God wants to hide from people…

Is that IF we want to KNOW God and Understand Him- then we must Labor for Him…

There are alot of implications that go along with this too...

One of them is that... IF we don't labor- then we won't know God- and this may be because we are resisting Jesus revealing God to us through us laboring...

SO... if we don't labor- that may mean that we DON'T want to Know God...

Navigators Military SE Regional Conference 2011

Our SouthEastern Regional conference kicked off with a strong message and theme about Laboring for the Cause of Christ and bringing to fulfillment what was on God's mind to reach the world.

One of the slides from our 1st talk of the weekend that centered on Vision and how each one of us can be part of bringing God's objectives to fruition.  God said what He wanted to see happen in:

 1 Tim 2:3-4 This is good an pleases God our savior who wants all 

men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the Truth.

If we are going to be part of meeting God's objective here- we must accept the Lordship of Christ.  That means WHATEVER is on Christ's mind- what He wants to do..... how He wants to do it.... that is what we are to do....

Then we must realize that we are sent by God on a mission.... the mission is Matt 28:18-20

Since we are charged with a mission to accomplish- we MUST mature and grow and develop into laborers and REAL disciples of Jesus Christ.  As we are growing through the Basics of the Christian life- we must also be growing in 3 roles.... those roles are:

• Ambassador- A Representative of God bringing a Message of reconciliation to others
• Recruiter- A Representative of God that pulls other Christians in to join in on the mission
• Trainer/ Disicplemaker- A Representative of God who is able to train, develop, and mature believers to become the same thing he is.... a fisher of men  Matt 4:19

IF.... we mature....

then we will be able to reproduce spiritually.

If we reproduce spiritually, then we will be able to meet God's objectives that He showed us He wanted in 1 Tim 2:3-4.  

This is the strategy and gameplan installed by Christ for us to use.....

Can we come up with another plan??  Probably- but Christ outlined this pattern for us...

We must accept the Mission because this mission is given to all those who believe.

so....

Great time at this years Fall South East Military conference.  I had a great time talking with several people about this topic and helping them understand how they might speak vision to their fellow Christians around them that have not yet joined in on the 'War Effort'.  The need is urgent and our task is daunting.... but our Lord is MORE than a match.... He has ALL AUTHORITY  (Matt 28:18) and He has ALREADY OVERCOME THE WORLD  (John 16:33)

So...

consider how you might join in with us in the war effort.... 

Get in the Word...

Get trained...

Find a worthy man...

Exciting and Terrifying!!

Exciting and Terrifying all at the Same Time!!

Great conversation with one our young soldiers attending biblestudy at our Soldiers Chapel study. This particular soldier was led to Christ by a chaplain and was referred to us to begin discipling him and helping him grow to maturity in his pursuit of Christ.

“John” (as we’ll call him) just started coming to the biblestudy and one of our biblestudy group leaders has been encouraging him to continue spending time in the Word in daily quiet time and also in investing in biblestudy. As John continued doing biblestudy- he realized more and more how he was to look to God to answer questions for him such as “should I get out of the army?” or “does God want me to move my family somewhere else to reach out to people who are not being reached?” Great questions!!

John’s response to it all was that he was excited to realize that God could be directing him toward what GOD WANTED FOR THEM and to realize that he needed to submit more and more to God’s directing rather than directing things for himself and for his own thoughts and desires. But John also said that it was terrifying as he saw more and more that ‘someone else’ would be doing the directing and not him…

“Its Exciting and terrifying all at the same time!!” John exclaimed at biblestudy that evening…

“John” eventually deployed and is currently overseas. We’re hoping and praying that God will put us in touch with more and more soldiers like “John” who have a hunger to meet Christ and know Him personally and submit to Christ’s call and direction for their lives….

As Peter told Christ so many years ago… "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."- John 6:68-69

At Ft. Campbell, we are creating an atmosphere where soldiers can discover these truths and find a face to face, personal interaction with Christ…. And eventually come to the same realization that Peter did in those days that Christ walked with the 12 disciples…

Then we encourage them and challenge to take the plunge and begin the adventure of laboring for Christ wherever He might take them…