Prayer update

God has been blessing at our mission church. The last few months we've had a good number of visitors that have continued to return fairly regularly. In addition, it seems that God is doing a work in the lives of several of our members. Here are a few prayer requests.

1. Please pray for Julio and Joel, two middle-aged men who have been attending very regularly for a couple of months. Julio professes to know Christ and has invited a number of friends to church, but we are still unsure of his spiritual condition. Joel has not yet professed Christ, but both he and Julio are attending a weekly Bible study with David, a member of our congregation.
2. Please pray for a number of married ladies who are regular members of our assembly whose husbands are not believers. Pray that God will use their testimony to bring their spouses to Christ.
3. Please pray for some special evangelistic outreaches that we will be doing from now until the end of the year.
4. Please pray for Obed, a 20-year-old young man who was converted here in the mission about three years ago. For about one year Obed was very faithful and manifested much fruit of conversion. But a couple of years ago he seemed to suddenly lose interest and quit coming. On many occasions we tried to meet with him and encourage him, but always to no avail. But the last two or three weeks Obed has been showing up at church. Please pray that God will work in Obed's heart. If he is a believer, we know that God will bring him back to himself. If he isn't truly a believer, we are praying that he would be converted.
5. Please pray for Rosy, a middle-aged woman who is one of our most faithful and long-term members. Rosy has been going through some very difficult trials lately. Without going into detail, it appears that God is graciously bringing difficult circumstances into her life to force her to make some very difficult and costly (but necessary) decisions. From a pastoral perspective, it is encouraging to see Romans 8:29 played out in the life of our people: "For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Please pray the sanctifying fire of God's providential dealings in Rosy's life would result in her further transformation into the likeness of her Savior.
6. Please pray for a few other individuals who have attended the mission fairly regularly for some time and profess salvation, but do not evidence clear fruit of conversion. Pray that the gospel will continue to be clearly proclaimed and that the Holy Spirit will perform his convicting and regenerating work in their lives.
   
7. As I've mentioned before, Chuy Alanís, who has been serving as pastor of the mission for the past year, is currently raising support to go to Ecuador as a missionary. Chuy hopes to begin full-time deputation in the spring, which means that the mission will be needing another pastor. Please pray that God will meet this need. Finding a pastor for this area is pretty difficult. The "colonia" (neighborhood) in which the mission is located is very poor and is a difficult place to live. Because of the nature of the area and it's people, it is will be very important to find a pastor who is able (and willing) to live full-time in the colonia.
   

Thank you for your prayers.

Photos:
Top: A church-wide meal a couple of Sundays ago.
Bottom: Some of our students (from the university) who help at the mission.

On Fellowship with Christ

“Fellowship with Christ is so honorable that the sorest sorrow is a light price by which to procure it.”

Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, p. 255.

Conference Recap

On Saturday eventing Matt Bixby, Russell Raymer and I arrived home from our 2 1/2 day intensive pastoral ministry class/conference in Saltillo. A total of 22 pastors attended the event which began on Thursday morning and ran through noon on Saturday. Although they were very busy and exhausting days, the conference was very rewarding. The pastors really seemed to appreciate our instruction, and we enjoyed many opportunities to interact and fellowship with them.

On Saturday after the conference ended a group of 12 UCLA students joined us for a youth activity with the young people of the host church. They did a fine job and it was great to see our students minister so willing and joyfully.

Thanks for your prayers for this conference. We trust that God will use this and and the conferences we do in the future to increase the effectiveness of local churches in ministry. Right now we are planning on two more similar conferences in 2008 in other cities. Please continue to pray for us as we seek more opportunities minister to pastors and churches in Latin America.

Here are a number of photos of the conference:

Conference in Satillo, Coahuila

Tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) my colleagues, Matt Bixby and Russell Raymer, and I will be heading to the city of Satillo in the state of Coahuila for a three day Pastor's conference. Over the course of the three days I will speak for approximately 8 hours on the topic of pastoral ministry/pastoral theology. My lectures are entitled "Pastoral Perspectives from Paul." Here are the three main topics I will be giving:

• Pastoral Perspectives in Acts 20: "Take care of God's Flock" (an exposition of Paul's discourse to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:18-38)
  
• Pastoral Perspectives in Ephesians: "Equip the Saints for the work of the Ministry" (an exposition of Ephesians 4:11-16)
  
• Pastoral Perspectives in Colossians: "Present every man perfect in Christ" (an overview of Paul's pastoral vision in Colossians 1-2)

Please pray for this conference. Please pray for me as I share the burden that God has placed on my heart. I'm very burdened to communicate Paul's vision of pastoral ministry to the men who attend and I feel that the message of the passages I will be teaching is crucial for the church in Mexico today. And please pray for Matt Bixby as he speaks on the topic of Expository Preaching. Like my topic, Matt's topic is vitally important and desperately needed here in Mexico. My prayer is that God will use these three days to inspire and motivate the pastors who attend to passionately pursue a biblical model of pastoral ministry and that as a result their pastoral effectiveness will be greatly increased and multiplied.

"And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jer 3:15)

Soli Deo Gloria!

Sabbatical

I'm off to take a weekend (2 1/2 day) sabbatical. I'm going alone and will be staying in nice little cabin about an hour from Monterrey. My purpose in doing this is primarily to prepare for our up-coming pastor's conference. Please pray that I will have a good and profitable time of study, prayer, and reflection.

Ministry update and prayer requests

We are now well into the new school year. The Lord has blessed and brought us a good group of new students. Between the university and the prepa (high school) we have over 50 new full-time students. In addition, in the theology department, we have a good number of new students (both full-time and part time). A number of them are students from other majors who wish to take some extra Bible/theology courses. This year we plan to begin offering a certificate program to students from other majors (like education, business administration, etc.) who wish to pursue a Bible certificate in addition to their own major.

In the theology department, the semester began with three weeks of modular (block) courses. The first week Will Pareja was with us to teach the book of James. Will is a former staff/faculty member of UCLA, having served for three years as the men's dorm supervisor and Bible teacher (2000-2003, I think). Will recently finished his M.Div. at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary and is now living in Chicago where plans to do church planting work.

The next two weeks we were privileged to have Jim West with us to teach Pastoral Theology. Jim is a "regular" here at UCLA, having taught 15 - 20 modular classes for us over the years. As a veteran missionary (to Spain, England, and elsewhere) and pastor, Jim's vast ministry experience makes him an invaluable resource for us.

This semester I'm teaching five classes, including Exposition of Revelation, Exposition of Romans, and Doctrines 1 (which covers prolegomena & the doctrine of revelation/Scripture). What a blast! There's nothing I enjoy more than studying and teaching the Bible.

A number of times I've mentioned a pastor's conference that my co-worker, Matt Bixby, and I will be doing early in October. This will be a three-day conference held in the city of Saltillo, Coahuila. The theme of the conference is "The Pastoral Ministry". Matt and I will each be giving 7-8 hours of instruction. Matt will focus primarily on homiletics and my topic will be pastoral theology. Please pray for this conference. This is our first time to do this kind of conference. Lord willing, we will begin to do them on a regular basis around Mexico (we already have two scheduled for next year). Our prayer is that this conference will be of great spiritual benefit to the pastors who attend.

Another project that you can pray for is a new video correspondence ministry that we're working on. My friend, Russell Raymer of OREMUNDO Ministries (a sister ministry of UCLA) is videotaping a number of our modular classes. Our goal is to offer to pastors from around the Spanish-speaking world and who are unable to take classes here on-site to earn a "Certificate in Pastoral Ministry" via video classes. This certificate (as well as the one I mentioned above) is part of a new branch of UCLA's theology program which is designed to provide more educational opportunities and options to those who are unable to pursue our regular bachelor's degree in theology. Please pray for these new initiatives.

A Christian View of Dying

Today I came across the following quote by D. James Kennedy who went to be with the Lord yesterday. It's true that Christians live well, but that's not what impresses me the most. What really impresses me is how well they die. Here's the quote:

“Now, I know that someday I am going to come to what some people will say is the end of this life. They will probably put me in a box and roll me right down here in front of the church, and some people will gather around, and a few people will cry. But I have told them not to do that because I don’t want them to cry. I want them to begin the service with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah chorus, because I am not going to be there, and I am not going to be dead. I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life, and I will be looking down upon you poor people who are still in the land of dying and have not yet joined me in the land of the living. And I will be alive forevermore, in greater health and vitality and joy than ever, ever, I or anyone has known before.”

Drug Wars

Our co-worker, Matt Bixby, has a post on his blog concerning the drug wars here in northern Mexico and Monterrey. If you're interested, check it out here. Matt provides some links to Time Magazine's recent coverage of the issue.

And I thought the traffic in Mexico was bad!

Happy Birthday Ruth!!!!!

Yup, that's right. Ruth turns 32 years old today. How 'bout shooting her an e-mail "happy birthday?"

Eye of the Storm

For those of you who have asked or are wondering about our safety with hurricane Dean, it looks like the brunt of the storm will hit a bit south of us (click on the map to see where we're located relative to the projected path).

This is a HUGE storm, though (see below), so we're likely to see at least some heavy rain here. Thanks for your prayers. Please pray for the many families and friends of our staff and student body who will be affected by the storm.

"You rule the raging of the sea...." Ps 89:9a

Visas Acquired!!!!

Thanks to all of you who prayed for our visas to come in quickly. They did come in today, and in record time with minimal hassle. God was gracious to us. Now we have to head up to the Texas/Mexico border to renew our car papers. Please pray that this will go smoothly and that they won't give us troubles for being late (for an explanation of the problem we have with our visas and car papers, see this previous post). Thanks again for your prayers.

The Gospel-Centered Life & Ministry

I've been working on some lectures for a pastor's conference we're doing in October. My topic in general is "Pastoral Theology" and I'm currently (today) working on a couple of workshops on gospel-centered ministry--that is, on the centrality of the gospel in pastoral ministry (and indeed, all of life). My thesis is that the cross of Christ and his work of redemption should lie at the heart of all pastoral work and should be the central focus (or perhaps "obsession" would be a better word) of every Christian. In fact, the last three or four years, this "obsession with the gospel" has become something of a personal life and ministry focus for me (e.g., see the verse at the top of this blog).

Today I ran across a good post by Rick Phillips on the Ref21 blog on this very subject (note especially the words I place in italics):

Here is something on my mind: If we are more fascinated or excited about anything more than the fact that the Son of God voluntarily suffered in our place, bearing the guilt our sins deserved, then we are in big trouble. I get the impression that many today . . . are rather bored with the cross of Christ and the justification of sinners through faith alone. But there is no greater mystery and no more glorious theme than this. Do we get bored hearing the "same old gospel?" If so, our ministries and our lives are heading for big trouble. In my opinion, if there is one there would be no more powerful influence in our lives and our churches than for us sincerely to exclaim with Paul: May I never boast except in the cross of Christ Jesus my Lord.

So what's your greatest fascination and source of excitement today?!!! What's at the center of your mental and emotional and spiritual universe?

Celebrating 11 years of marriage

Today (August 3) Ruth and I are celebrating 11 years of marriage. Congratulations to us! And to God be the glory. I often think that in spite of all of my shortcomings, one of the ways I know that God must love very much is that he gave me Ruth (I'm not sure what it says about his love for Ruth). Thanks, Lord, for this wonderful gift. And thanks for another year to enjoy being with her.

A Defense of Christian Education

This semester I will again be teaching a class called "Aprender a Pensar" or "Learning to Think." I teach this class to all of our new incoming freshmen. It is the only non-Bible class that I teach and I enjoy it very much because it gives me a chance to get to know all of our new students, including those who are not theology majors. I've been working on a new lecture for that class that deals with the Christian's use of the mind and with the importance of education. While preparing that lecture, decided to re-read a chapter from John Piper's book, The Pleasures of God, called (somewhat cumbersomely) "The Pleasure of God in Concealing Himself from the Wise and Revealing Himself to Infants."

There are several things that I like about this outstanding chapter. One is Piper's masterful theological exposition of Luke 10:21-24, which serves as an excellent introduction to Christian epistemology (the study of the nature, foundations and origin of knowledge).

Another thing I like about this chapter is Piper's excellent defense of Christian education. Since Luke 10:21-24 indicates that knowledge of God comes to us only though revelation from God himself, why do we need to study, search for knowledge, and educate our children? As an educator this is a question that greatly interests me.

So why is education important? Here's one of Piper's answers in what he calls "a compelling reason for rigorous training of the mind." (It's a long quote but well worth the read.)

One basic and compelling reason for education--the rigorous training of the mind--is, very simply, so that a person can read the Bible with understanding.

This sounds too obvious to be useful or compelling. But that's just because we take the preciousness of reading so for granted or, even more, because we appreciate so little the kind of thinking that a complex Bible passage requires of us.

The book of Hebrews, for example, is an intellectually challenging argument from Old Testament texts. The points that the author makes hang on biblical observations that come only from rigorous thought and mental effort. The same could be said for the extended argumentation of Romans and Galatians and the other books of the Bible.

This is an overwhelming argument for giving our children a disciplined and rigorous training in how to discern an author's thoughts from a text--and especially a biblical text. They must learn an alphabet, vocabulary, grammar, syntax, the rudiments of logic, and the way meaning is imparted through sustained connections of sentences and paragraphs.

The reason Christians have always planted schools where they have planted churches is because we are a people of "the Book." It is true that the Book will never have its proper effect without prayer and the Holy Spirit. It is not a textbook to be debated; it is a fountain for spiritual thirst, food for the soul, a revelation of God, a living power, and a two-edged sword. But none of this changes the fact that apart from the discipline of reading, the Bible is as powerless as paper. Someone might have to read it for you; but without reading, the meaning of the power of it are locked up.

The ability to read does not come intuitively. It must be taught. And learning to read with understanding is a lifelong labor. The implications for Christians are immense. Education of the mind through the rigorous discipline of thoughtful reading is a primary goal of school. The Church of Jesus is debilitated when his people are lulled into thinking that it is humble or democratic or relevant to give a merely practical education that does not involve the rigorous training of the mind to think hard and construe meaning from difficult texts.

The issue of earning a living is not merely so important as whether the next generation can grasp the meaning of the Word of God. We need an education that puts the highest premium, under God, on knowing the meaning of God's book and growing in the abilities that will unlock its riches for a lifetime. It would be better to starve for lack of food than to fail to understand the written Word of God.

Very helpful. I find that in teaching exegesis and biblical exposition, one of the greatest challenges is that my students simply don't know how to think logically and/or read well. I don't mean that they are slow readers. I mean that often their minds simply have not been trained to follow a hefty and rigorous argument. As Piper pointed out, following the argument of Hebrews or of some of Paul's writings requires a great deal cerebral energy and strength. Reading (well) is a skill that is developed over a lifetime of mental exercise and discipline. But it is also something that can be taught and cultivated in the classroom by others who have already acquired some of the necessary skill.

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom 11:36a). Among the "all things" of this verse is education. All knowledge and intellectual pursuits are from him (all truth is his truth), through him (all knowledge comes through his gracious revelation), and to him (it's all to be done for his glory). May God be glorified through the training of Christian young people at La Universidad Cristiana de Las Amércias. Soli Deo Gloria!