Stay Out and Stay Alive

During our day of meetings and getting better acquainted with Spokane yesterday, we stopped to see a gorgeous gorge with white water flowing between the rock walls., The gorge dropped at least a hundred feet from the observation deck. I actually feel the spray from the tumultuous waters below. The view took my breath away.

The Spokane River actually flows pretty calmly before it funnels into the gorge through a dam. On one side of the dam the waters were like glass. After the water funneled through the dam the waters tossed and churned like a boiling cauldron of soup. The force and the power of the water being funneled through the dam, and then through the narrow gorge, held my attention for several minutes. If a person were to fall into that water it would be a death sentence.

I did not notice the sign across the gorge up on the rock wall. The white painted sign with red lettering simply read, “Stay out and Stay alive.” Next to the letters a crude picture of man diving into the water with a circle and line through it had been drawn. I don’t know why that sign captured my attention. My mind really began to turn as I put the whole scene together.

I looked back at the smooth water and saw that as metaphor for how most people live life. Things flow along gently and calmly without any hint of what lies in store. Next, the dam represents the sovereign grace of God which holds back His fury. For those who do not come into a saving relationship with Jesus that sovereign grace will be turned into righteous indignation and fury. As I watched the fury and ferociousness of the water after it went through the dam I could only think of the hundreds of thousands who are headed toward a Christ-less eternity in Spokane., Humboldt, and Seminole.

It was humbling to watch that scene unfold for several minutes. I felt like God was preaching a message but nobody was listening. to He shouts out from nature warning of the impending danger that awaits all pagans who do not turn to Him in repentance. Though I live in the Bible belt back in Seminole, the impending danger is no less real. People perish without Jesus Christ and my mission is to throw the rescue rope of the gospel to trust God to bring people to safety.

Have you ever really sat down and thought what the unleashing of God’s wrath will be like for unbelievers. Being the target of God’s anger, fury, wrath, and hot displeasure is a terrifying thought. It makes me cringe to think about it. What I find more sobering is the fact that such suffering will last for eternity or time without end. God has entrusted those who have been rescued with a wonderful message and we must faithfully share it with those headed for impending judgment and the full fury of God’s anger. I do not wish such an end for even those who hate my guts.

I am grateful that God gave me a not so subtle reminder of what my task is. I am one standing on the banks throwing the rescue rope of the gospel to those who are swimming in the waters of the vengeance of our God. I am also the sign crying out for people to stay out of the waters by entering a saving relationship with Jesus and to stay alive for eternity because of God’s grace offered through the blood of Jesus. If you are not in that relationship impending doom awaits. Come to Jesus and He alone will shelter from the righteous judgment of God.

Mountain View

I love the mountains. I am sitting in beautiful rustic log cabin home in Spokane, WA. Right outside the back window I can see beautiful mountains less than a mile from the back yard. Low lying clouds drape over the top of the mountain much like a scarf draped around someone’s neck. The scenery is breath taking. I feel my soul breathing in new life almost like a runner catching his second wind.

I have traveled a good many miles over the past four days. I am physically weary. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning and did not get to bed until after 1:00 a.m. after flying from Saskatoon to Denver and from Denver into Spokane. Flying in over the city last under the cloak of darkness revealed a dazzling display of lights. I was surprised by the size of the city. Including outlying areas the population is estimated to be around 600,000.

Jase and I are staying with Jerry and Jody who are both retired school teachers. God knew what my soul needed because I have always loved log cabins and nothing reenergizes me like the mountains as far as nature. Just looking out this window reminds me how big God is and how small I am. “For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under Him and the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire, like watered poured down a steep place.” [Micah 1:3-4]

Surrounded by unsurpassed beauty tens of thousands are missing out on the hope of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Many worship at the shrine of the beauty of nature and forget the one who set every mountain in place and formed every waterfall. Our God commands the seasons and reminds us of His majesty as I sit at the foot of these mountains.

Flying in last night I was reminded that God has drawn me here. I do not know why. I do not know anyone in this town. In fact, I do not know our hosts’ last name. I just went in the kitchen to ask and it is Cripps. Jerry and Jody Cripps. They have been extremely hospitable and are going the extra mile, even as I write this, to cook us breakfast.

We have several meetings scheduled throughout the day. I am trusting God to speak clearly to Michelle, Beverly, Jase, and I to show us His heart and His will for our partnership with this area. I wish I had the words to communicate what a beautiful scene I am witnessing right now. The cliché is over used but I am left to say, you would just have to be here.

I don’t know all that will unfold before us today. I pray for God’s discernment as we meet with people and try to learn the heart of God in this place. I hope to get more written as the day unfolds and of course I will write them as I get a chance.

For those of you who have prayed I want to say thank you. I have seen God at work. I will continue to seek Him and to lead our church to the gospel to the remotest parts of the earth. [Acts 1:8b]

Sunday Morning in Humboldt

I awoke early on Sunday morning. In some ways I kept my same routine. The major adjustment I faced was being fifteen hundred miles from Seminole. It snowed over night leaving a light dusting on the ground and roofs of houses. We saw freezing rain and snow off and on all day Saturday. Over the past three years I have preached and taught the FBC Humboldt at least a dozen other times. It was not until Saturday morning the Lord gave me a clear direction about what to preach.

The attendance has never been great on previous trips and with the bad weather I expected the same. Everybody on the team played a part in the service. Mile welcomed everyone and helped me serve the Lord’s Supper. Jase led the Lord’s Supper. Beverly played the piano while Michelle, Shalea, and Stephanie all sang.

There is something special about worshipping in Humboldt. I guess what really sticks with me is the simplicity of it all. There are few people who show up. Their were only six in attendance from Humboldt and seven of us from Texas; making a grand total of thirteen.

Before the service began our team gathered to pray for God’s presence and blessing. Afterward some distributed hymnals, others greeted the few who braved the elements that morning. Once we actually began the service I lost all track of the attendance. I busied myself praying for the message and singing to my King. The acoustics in that building are special. The sounds reverberate off the hard wood floors as well as the walls to touch the soul.

I have never taken communion with this special little flock. It was sweet to my soul to celebrate the sacrifice of m Lord. I preached from Mark 11:23-24 about God moving mountains. We identified five mountains that only God can move.

First, there is the mountain of the church never having had a pastor. In five years they have limped along with different men coming to preach to them. Very seldom have they known the blessing of having the same man preach four Sundays in a row. All attempts to secure a pastor have come up empty. I believe God will put His call on someone to go and shepherd that group of believers. I am sure I am not the man because I asked the Lord again if it was me while in Humboldt. Once again the Lord told me my calling was in the States and more specifically the FBC of Seminole.

The second mountain we identified dealt with the attitude of the townspeople and the resistance to the gospel. Only God can break up the fallow ground which is exactly what must happen for souls to be saved. Some resent the intrusion from the Texans coming to down. Most are very polite but when spiritual matters come up they shut down and walls of defenses come up. Only God make the gospel attractive for them.

We identified the third mountain as the church needing a pianist. They do not get to enjoy live music. Week after week they sing from a cassette player (yeah a cassette player) from a tape with prerecorded music. This greatly limits the variety of songs that can be sung as well as spontaneity of God’s Spirit moving. Imagine how you would feel if week after week the only music in your church was from a music from a cassette tape. Would you not grow tired of singing the same songs week after week. This is not a hard mountain for God to move.

The fact that Satan opposes this work marked the four mountain. Satan blinds the lost and hardens their hearts. Though the truth is preached the seed does not germinate in the hearts of the people. Even though many people claim to be Catholics that does not mean they are practicing. Catholicism is a clever cloak to hide behind to keep from having to listen to the truth. Satan is a deceiver. We actually heart the story about a lady attending church for the social aspect. She got involved teaching a class and actually made the comment that she did not even believe the Bible. Satan is a master of deception and many have been duped into thinking they are in a right relationship with the Lord when they are not.

We identified the fifth mountain as being the fatigue and discouragement of the few church members. I know they are tempted to give up and it would be the path of least resistance of throw in the towel. More than one person has recommended it. Still they press on with the ever fragile hope that God will step in and save the day.

When I finished preaching I had a person pray for God to move each of those five mountains . Two prayed from our church and three prayed from Humboldt. Their was passion, desperation, and the hope that maybe those prayers would finally move God to do the impossible.

We worshipped in simplicity but we met with the Lord. We take so much granted in the Seminole. We have at least six ladies who can play the piano at our church back home. What a shame that we have ladies who cannot even get in the rotation and Humboldt cannot find one. We take our hundreds for granted who gather each Sunday to sing, to give, and hear God’s words. How long would the membership hang in if we only had six.

I will not soon forget our Sunday morning in Humboldt. My heart rejoiced to see our people experience what I have experienced and to bond with those wonderful people. I am not sure when the Lord will allow me to travel back there but I know I always treasure Sunday mornings in Humboldt.

Hope for Humboldt

I sit writing this in my old familiar corner in the basement of Nick and Mary Kalynuik”s home in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. I have made at least eight trips here over the past three years. Each time I stay in the same room and get up early in the morning and sit in the same rocking chair next to a furnace to meet with God in their basement.

When you read the word basement you do not know what I am talking about. Their basement has two full bedrooms, a kitchen, bathroom and a living room. It is like another home within a home. In this very spot I have interceded on behalf of Humboldt, read scripture, sought the face of God and studied for messages. My prayer today is much the same as other prayers have been over the course of the past three years. “Lord, please call and send a pastor to this church,”

Like I have done on every other trip I have asked God if I was the man. Just like I have heard on every other trip I have been told that I am not. My calling is in Seminole and to prayerfully funnel people in this direction.

While praying I made a list of all the challenges stacked against this church ever succeeding. The first one is obvious. In the over five years they have been meeting they have never had a permanent pastor. Never. Still they keep praying, pressing on, hoping and trusting that God will send someone to them. It looks pretty hopeless though. There are not enough pastors in Canada for the existing churches much less the two thousand more churches the Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists want to start by 2020.

I cannot imagine getting up close to two thousand times on Sunday mornings to go to church without ever having had a true shepherd. I am inspired by these people who simply will not give up. They keep meeting. They keep praying. They keep opening doors. If nothing else this little group is tenacious. Isn’t there something to be said for simply showing up over and over again for five years? They could have grown weary and walked away. They could have found an easier road with less challenge but they keep walking the road of starting this church. I am moved by their dedication and humbled by their dauntless faith.

There are other challenges. The few core members of FBC Humboldt are tired and discouraged. For five years they have had a rotation of different people come and fill the pulpit. They have not had a true shepherd, a leader, or one who week in and week out would feed their souls the life giving word of God. I am not saying that fine sermons have not been heard but there is no consistency. Some of the members are losing heart and can you blame them. They have very little to offer a prospective pastor. What pastor wants to come to FBC Humboldt where there are less than a dozen people and most of them over fifty five? Which pastor wants to come minister in a place of such hard hearts spiritually among the people of the town and harsh winters?

The winters are long and brutal. We saw freezing rain yesterday. There is no snow on the ground but they had four inches just a week ago and it melted. One man told me once that it can begin snowing as early as October and there can be snow up until May. As I write this it May, 01, 2010. The forecast calls for rain the entire time we are here. There are only three good months to get to enjoy being outdoors and then the cold weather returns. Who really wants to live in these conditions? Only the person whom God calls.

How will the members of FBC Humboldt ever be encouraged and inspired to do more if God doesn’t call a pastor here? That is the most critical key issue facing this church. The members could be encouraged if they really had hope that God was going to send them a shepherd. If they really had that hope they could press on. Hope can help people press through adversity. Hope does amazing things for a person’s attitude.

The other challenge facing this church is that they do not have a music minister or even someone to play the piano. Most Sundays they play a tape of someone who recorded some hymns played on piano. One of the men gets up and leads the small band of believers in these songs. Week after week they are the same songs.

Stay with me here. Suppose you were looking for a church home and you happened to visit FBC Humboldt. When you walked up the stairs at the Seniors Hall and into the main room, this is what you would see. Less than a dozen people in a room that would comfortably seat three hundred. Next, you see a man pull out the portable tape player and push the play button while trying to lead the small congregation in worship. This man often sings off key and the whole scene is demoralizing. This is followed by a man preaching who has no vested interest in the group. If you were to come back the next week there would be someone different preaching. One man has at least committed to coming every other Sunday of the month.

The next thing you might notice is the absence of children and young families. There are none. They do not have any kind of Sunday School program. Now let, me ask you. Would you come back to visit that church and to get firmly entrenched in the life of such a fellowship? Many have visited over the years but few have ever come back.

The challenges are monumental. While praying this morning I asked the Lord what difference our being here for these few days really makes. Where is the hope? In those moments the Lord impressed a scripture on my heart to answer the question and to preach in the morning. [Mark 11:22-24] The hope is found in prayerfully believing God can move every mountain. God has been, is, and will continue to be the hope for Humboldt.

I know we are not here in vain. I have a message to share with these people and in every way possible I want to point Humboldt toward hope. Perhaps these verses may be used to minister hope in your hearts as well. They certainly have mine.

Fellowship Around the Table

Some of my favorite times in Humboldt have occurred around the table over meals prepared by Mary, the ladies from Paradise (salsa and sweet tea by the gallons) and in the homes of some of the church members. We have laughed, shared our stories, and pondered deep theological questions. Hours have passed while I have been seated at Nick and Mary’s table.

That was the case on this trip as well. I loved watching the team from Seminole really begin to connect with the people from Humboldt. The Seminole crew jumped right in to help prepare breakfast. The ladies cooked and I even saw the men on two occasions clear the table and wash the dishes.

Questions abound around the Kalyniuk’s table. We talked about everything from how to get this church off the ground to what the Bible says about certain topics. We laughed like lifelong friends I really feel that most of the bonding takes place around that table. Mary reveals her heart and deep burden to see people get saved in that town every time I am welcomed into her home.

I watched as Stephanie played a power point display on her computer for the Humboldt church to see. They were fascinated by the cotton crops, the flat geography, the schools, and pictures of FBC Seminole. One picture of our youth group and children prompted one lady to say you have so many children. I wish we had that many in our whole church. Our fellowship hall often filled with families fellowshipping produces greater attendance on a Wednesday night than FBC Humboldt will have on three months of services combined. We take so much for granted.

It was around Mary’s table we met a teenager named Ryan. Ryan is a college student at Saint Peter’s college in Muenster about eight Kilometers from Humboldt. He often attends FBC Church and has only one other Christian friend who just moved away to Saskatoon. Ryan has nobody else but these believers at FBC Humboldt. It was odd watching an eighteen year old young man gather around fellowship table with everyone being at least twenty to thirty years older than him. He has never known the blessing of a youth group like Solid Rock or an event like Disciple Now.

There is not one child in FBC Humboldt. We have over a hundred in Seminole and several great programs and people who volunteer in these programs. Humboldt could use just one such volunteer. They have no other teenagers or person to develop a Bible Study for students. Surely God is placing this call on someone to leave the American dream in pursuit of God’s dream to plant a healthy, growing, and reproducing church in Humboldt, SAS.

Maybe in the days ahead you and I will be seated at a table fellowshipping and this very topic will come up about volunteers needing to go there and you will feel the tug on your heart to go. It will hurt. I will miss you. I also live to promote the glory of God by expanding His kingdom. If you find yourself fellowshipping around Mary’s table count yourself blessed. If God unites your hearts with the heart of a small band of believers on Canadian soil count yourself blessed. You will be partnering with God for a purpose that will have eternal implications.

Fellowship around the table just might translate into a new life calling and vocation. If you find yourself seated at Nick and Mary’s table please tell them I love them and pray for them. I hope you have the opportunity to fellowship around their table in the furtire and fall in love with them, their church and their community just as dozens of others have as well.

Canada: Day Two

Being somewhere around 1,500 hundred miles from Seminole we encountered snow on May first. The temperatures hovered just above freezing all day and therefore the snow did not stick. Most of the day it either snowed or was drizzly.

We had waffles with fresh whipping cream and strawberries for breakfast. Mary always goes the extra mile to make us feel welcome. She has taken to the team from Seminole like I saw her take to the many teams from Paradise. The waffles were delicious. We spent the morning listening to Mary tell us about how the church came into being and updating us on the last five years. Mary has such a passion to see this church firmly established. The history of this church is filled with challenges, hopes, and many disappointments. On a couple of occasions they thought they were close to getting a pastor only to come up empty handed.

Jase, Mike, and I drove over to Melfort, a town about the same size as Humboldt close to an hour north from here. We met Brad, Jeff, and Todd Goudy. These are three brothers who have all preached and helped FBC Humboldt during the past couple of years. Todd is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Melfort. His church nearly disbanded before he went there. There were only five people but the church has dramatically turned a round. Today the church averages about one hundred and fifty in attendance. Brad has done some lay preaching and Jeff is serving as interim pastor at Humboldt along with several other different ministries. Jeff only comes every other week and is contemplating giving it up so as to invest his time in other places.

We spent a good portion of the afternoon visiting with these brothers about what God is doing in Saskatchewan and Humboldt. God is at work in this province. Yet there is much work still to be done. It is estimated that there are forty to fifty towns in this province alone with no evangelical church much less a Baptist one. That does not take into account the many small farming communities where there really are no towns but there are people living without a gospel witnessing church in these communities. There could be hundreds of such communities.

We discussed at great lengths the challenges facing Humboldt. The church has no pastoral leadership. The town is closed to the gospel due to the heavy Catholic influence here. The few people left in the church are tired and discouraged. It is a hard work. All the bothers seem to think that the best solution would be to combine the Baptist and Bible churches to get at least one solid church. I think they reported the Bible church has barely twenty people coming while FBC has less than a dozen. These three brothers seem content to let the Baptist Church disband and to begin meeting with the Bible church. My question to them concerned what the Lord wills for FBC Humboldt. Nobody seemed to have the answer to that question.

We talked late into the afternoon. Some of what they said I agreed with. At other times my heart did not bear witness with their direction. I felt extremely awkward when we returned from this meeting and the ladies from Seminole and Mary all wanted to know how the meeting went. Mary was quite persistent. There were things I did not feel at liberty to share. The little I did talk about did not sit real well with her. She is resistant to disbanding and joining these other churches.

I went straight to my bed after dinner crying out to God for His direction. I recall feeling like I had heard from the Goudy brothers and I had heard from Mary but God was the one I most wanted to hear from. My one question for the Goudys, Mary, and for the Lord was and still is, “Does God want this church to exist?”

I prayed until my eyes could barely stay open. I woke up this morning pleading with the Lord to speak to me. I read the last part of I Samuel, all of Second Samuel, and ten chapters into the book of I Kings looking for God’s answer to that question. I don’t know that I found a direct answer other than the peace in my heart.

I have enjoyed watching Mike, Jase, Beverly, Stephanie, and Shalea all relate to these people. I can see a bonding taking place and God giving our people a heart for Humboldt. It is a hard work. The town is gospel hardened and only the Lord can make this work. Seeing the persistent faith of this little church is inspiring.

It’s pretty frigid outside. The climate is hard here. Snow in May is unexpected in Texas. In many ways I think the weather outside epitomizes what this church has been through. Their journey has been like a never-ending winter filled with snow, blizzards, and cut off from most others. Just when they thought spring had arrived four more inches of snow fell a week ago and we had more snow and freezing rain since arriving here on Friday.

Today we get to lead the worship service. We will meet as a team later this afternoon to debrief what we have experienced. God draws me to the work here and after making this trip eight times I know it is work. To see this church turn the corner and to see God use these people to reach the lost of Humboldt would be worth more than I could ever put into words. God, thank you for giving us your heart for Humboldt.

Rocky Mountain High

The second leg of our journey is complete. We are sitting in the Denver International airport waiting for our connecting flight to Saskatoon. We are talking about technology and such with i-phones, i-pads, Kindles, and other things. Coming in we could see the snow capped Rocky Mountains on our left.

We have a flight and then the drive from Saskatoon to Humboldt. I’m excited to introduce our people from Seminole to my extended church family in Humboldt. In some ways it is like I am going back home to a place I love and hold dear to my heart.

Thousands of people travel through here headed for somewhere for many different reasons. Some going to reconnect with loved ones. Others travel on business. There are some who travel for pleasure. Our travel is with purpose and mission. We are going to take the gospel and light of Jesus to shine in the darkness of a nation who has by in large rejected Christ.

Many come to Denver and Colorado for the mountains, to ski, and for the scenic get way spots. We travel as ambassadors for Christ. There is an eternal purpose attached to our trip. I don’t have a Rocky Mountain High because of anything else other than Jesus has given us a mission and a purpose..

There are thousands of people in this little town in Saskatchewan who do not know the Savior. They do not know the hope and freedom of grace. They do not know the peace of being righteous in Christ. In vain they strive with good works to earn God’s approval. By in large when I traveled there in the past there are two distinct reactions to our coming to town. People are curious which gives us the open door to witness for Christ. The other reaction is to politely reject us and our message.

The spiritual soil of people’s hearts are fallow. The Holy Spirit can come and break up the fallow ground. We are not traveling in vain. I do not know what the Lord will do and what we will experience over the next few days. I only know that God goes with us and He will guide our steps as we wait on Him.

It was not easy to leave Brenda and the boys but I know I have a mission and a mandate from God. I will get to preach in FBC Humboldt on Sunday morning. I do not know what I will preach but I am grateful for that opportunity to preach Christ on foreign soil as well as in Seminole. My Rocky Mountain High is Jesus Christ and gladly do I take Him to Canada today and in the future to the ends of the earth.