A BIRTHday Celebration to Remember

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Carl

In my last post I told you about the opportunity the Lord had given us to throw a birthday party for a woman from the streets. I want to tell you about the events of this glorious BIRTHday celebration.

When we arrived at the church we saw this woman approaching. She was dressed nicer than we had ever seen her and she had cleaned up. She was apprehensive as she approached, because she had not seen our children since she left our home last year. As she entered the building she immediately began to cry and wail. My children greeted her and gave her a hug, which caused her to cry even harder. For the next half hour or so while we prepared her birthday decorations she laid out on a set of folding chairs and cried uncontrollably.

It was Mike’s turn to present the message of Jesus last night. As he began sharing, Diane sat next to my wife and just wept as my wife held her. She then began to cry out to God asking for His mercy, because she had destroyed her life. She declared her fear of dying and being under the control of her street life any longer.

When Mike began to talk about our response to God’s offer of new life in Christ, she sat straight up and began to follow him with her eyes. She cried out to Mike to come pray with her, to tell her what to do. Mike instructed her to pray what was flowing from her heart. I could see her struggling to speak and I felt prompted to speak against any spiritual force that was trying to prevent her from moving from death into life. In a tear filled cry for help, she began to confess the choices of her life, naming things that were so painful and so personal. She then declared her need for God’s grace and asked Him to take control of her life.

Almost immediately her countenance changed and her tears of pain became tears of joy. She began to speak of the inrush she could feel deep within her and the enormous weight that had just lifted. She then reached into her shirt and pulled out her cigarettes and lighter. She acknowledged the battle would be difficult, but she also knew she needed to make her first change starting now. With that, she handed those things to Mike and asked him to dispose of them.

When everyone had regained their composure, we sang happy birthday and celebrated her life and her NEW life together.

The journey ahead will be difficult for her as she has lived and worked on the street for over 10 years. I believe this will be the first real opportunity for us to put the mission of Simplicity Solutions to the test, as we will need to help her keep her hands busy and her thoughts focused in a life giving direction. We will also have the challenge of trying to find her housing that offers a drug and alcohol recovery program. Discipleship for an individual in her condition has to be holistic, teaching not only the Christian life, but life skills in general.

Here is the other amazing thing about this whole experience. When she walked back into my life on Wednesday, I was meeting with a Vineyard Pastor who leads ministry at an Assembly of God church. He was able to provide clothing for her on the spot, because a woman had given him a stack of woman’s clothing the day before (of course the correct size). The birthday cake, balloons and banner were provided by my friend’s Baptist church that had been challenged 2 weeks ago by an Army chaplain. Of course we were the third piece, cultivating the relationship through our presence in a tough area. This truly was a picture of the body of Christ at work.

If the gospel comes….

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Carl

Since returning from Africa, we have been praying about the direction of our ministry here in Corpus Christi. With our local population being transient, we have struggled to meet the ongoing expenses of the building rent and utilities. Yet, in spite of the struggles, we also see the need for our presence. In the past 9 months we have watched 3 churches in our area close their doors. The crime, addictions and broken lives continue to go on seemingly unchecked. What were we to do?

A friend of mine called me for lunch last week and we met. I shared with him my uncertainty over the next step we were supposed to take and he responded with this story. He had just come from a meeting with 2 other pastors, who were wanting to turn their focus on to our ministry neighborhood. During this conversation, one of the pastors related a conversation he had undertaken with a relative who was a drug dealer in the area. In this conversation, the pastor asked what it would take for the drug dealers to leave. The relative responded with this answer: “If the gospel comes we will leave.” He went on to elaborate that in his lifetime, he had seen the gospel come into an area so forcefully that the drug trade could not continue. When the pastor inquired if just by planting churches and doing ministry the drug dealing would leave…the man corrected him. He restated: “If the gospel comes we will leave.” He went on to elaborate that he was not worried, because he had only witnessed such a happening twice in his life.

For the next 24 hours, I found myself haunted by those words. Last Tuesday night as we were praying, I found the Lord giving me a vision and a renewed sense of purpose for the corner of Staples and Coleman. The vision was simple, the gospel would be proclaimed and lived out at that location 7 days a week. As others begin to join with us to carry this load, this proclamation will ultimately be done 3 times per day, 7 days per week. The Lord also impressed upon me that this message was to be declared, even if no one was present.

This Sunday we began this new chapter in our journey. My wife prayed as I preached to chairs and passers by. Interestingly enough I had just finished reading God’s Smuggler, one of the stories told in that book was of a minister in Holland who was led to do a similar thing. It was noted that even when no one was in the building, the message and invitation always seemed to be received and responded to by someone on the street.

Testing the defenses

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Carl

In my last post, I talked about the spiritual battle that ensued in our Tuesday prayer time last week. Saturday night we held a Christmas open house for those who have taken an interest in our ministry.

The man who had brought such a spirit of distraction with him on Tuesday showed up with a “friend” accompanying him. This second man brought with him a demonic presence unlike any I have ever encountered. As this man would speak, he would begin to speak unintelligibly. He would call himself by different names and he would throw around Bible verses like a rapid fire machine gun.

When I asked him, who Jesus was? He gave a myriad of answers, but never said “Jesus is Lord.” The spirit within this man began to directly antagonize me and challenge me. “Who do you say Jesus is?’ “What makes you a follower of Jesus?” “What is your favorite Bible verse?”

The Lord told me to be quiet and not contend with this spirit. Over the next few moments, this man patted our children on the head and touched each wall, each table, etc… The Lord instructed me to begin worshiping Him, so I began to sing the words that the Lord was giving me. Immediately both of these men got up and left.

The Lord showed me that this was a testing of the spiritual defenses of our ministry. We prayed over the children once these men had left and spoke a word of blessing upon them.

We wrestle not against flesh and blood

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Carl

Last Thursday we had a guy walk into our Organic Group who just wanted to talk incessantly and pull us away from our Bible study. It took nearly an hour before he chose to leave and the whole time he was there, you could feel a spiritual battle going on. As soon as he left, I remembered this man had been encountered a year ago and continued to interfere as I tried to minister to a hurting man at one of the local missions.

Tonight when I arrived for prayer, I found Mike engaged in conversation with a man. About 10 minutes later, the man from last week re-appeared and began to commandeer the conversation. The Lord instructed me to begin worshiping Him. I sang for the next two hours. Singing until it hurt….the defiant spirit within this man refusing to yield to the glory of God. The Lord continue to tell me that I could not quit until both of these men left, as the first man was drawn in by the spirit of the 2nd man.

After 2 hours both men left and we continued to worship, but I was exhausted. I have never been in such a prolonged, intense spiritual battle as I was tonight.

All I can say is “WOW!”

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Carl

You never know what, or who for that matter, to expect on Sundays at Simplicity – Corpus Christi. With Mike and Kim being out of the country right now, we feel like we’re “incomplete” to begin and we will be glad when they return this coming weekend.

Shortly after we arrived this morning, a man rode up on his bicycle and asked if we could bless him. We spent time praying for him and gave him a sack lunch and some coffee. As he and I were talking, a woman we had last seen a year ago appeared with a friend of hers. This woman has struggled with drugs and alcohol for years, living on the streets estranged from her family. Her greatest desire is to have a relationship with her 16 year old son, but her addictions drive the wedge deeper and deeper. She allowed us to pray with her and the Lord gave words that I believe will be significant in His working in her life in the days to come.

We were joined for service by a young, soon to be married couple that I believe will become co-laborers with us in this ministry at some point. With them was a young lady who has only been to church 5 times in her life (3 of those were funerals). Before service was over we were also joined by a man I met a few months ago. Although this man has not beaten his addictions, he sees where our first encounter has begun a process of transformation deep within him. I prayed for him again today, but felt a new certainty about his ultimate deliverance from the addictions that have held him in bondage. I look forward to the day that my certainty becomes a reality in his life.

Reflections, re-acclimation and renewal

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Carl

I’ve been back from India for just over a week now. My body is finally getting back to normal and the case of Delhi Belly that hit me upon my return home is finally gone. I’m finally sleeping at normal hours and getting back into my normal routine.

As I’ve taken time to reflect on my time in India, there are a few things that stick out:

First of all, God used my absence to bring about some strengthening in those around me.

My first Friday out of the country, Mike and Kim learned that their brother-in-law had been killed in Afghanistan. Mike and Kim were able to be a source of strength to their family, even though they did not have my presence to draw from. Mike and Kim were forced to lean on the Lord in a way they had not had to draw on His strength before. Carol also felt led to join some meetings that I normally attend, and also led out with our monthly overseer’s meeting. This was a large growth step for Carol as well and she now sees her role as my ministry partner much more clearly.

I believe the second primary purpose of this trip was my influence on some key people:

My interactions with Tom and Santhosh, in particular were part of a molding, shaping and directional process that the Lord is taking them through. In the case of both of these men, I watched God take them through some stretching of their comfort zones and standard modes of operation. Additionally, in two of the cities where I led meetings, the pastors came under conviction about their need to work cooperatively towards the purposes of God’s kingdom. In the wake of our meetings, these pastors have committed to working together towards the fulfillment of God’s plan for their individual communities.

The third key issue was the reminder of the completeness of God’s power and strength.

On two particular occasions, I was speaking with almost no physical or mental strength. On both of those occasions, I spoke not with force or vigor, but the power of God was incredibly overwhelming. On the first occasion a demon manifested in a man as I was speaking and threw this man into the adjacent river. He was immediately delivered from the demon and received the life giving touch of Jesus that night. The second time I gave the invitation after making a very simple gospel presentation and I watched as over 30 people came forward to give their lives to Jesus.

It was good to be back home on Sunday. Sunday was the first anniversary of the launch of Simplicity – Corpus Christi and the Simplicity Church Network. We all marveled at how quickly the year has gone, and how much God has molded, shaped and changed us in this first year. We also decided to replace our big orange water cooler outside with some of the sack lunches we have put together. Sunday we set out 6 lunch bags with Vienna Sausage, fruit cups, and crackers. By the time church was over, only one bag was left.

Tuesday was a great day of victories as well. Carol and I were short on making our house rent. Our rent is $1,000/month and we only had $179 to our name. We asked some people who are close to us to pray with us over this need. One of those individuals told Carol, “I’m praying that someone will show up at your doorstep with a check in hand.” Not 10 minutes later this same individual called back and said she would be bringing a check by…she ended up being the answer to her own request.

Tuesday evening we were praying at the church when we heard a knock on the door. A young man entered and said, “I believe God sent me here.” We then told him how he got to us and he agreed…I told him we were praying for him to come, we just didn’t know it was him that we were specifically praying for. This man has been in Corpus for 2 weeks. In the past his life has included many pitfalls, and of course he found himself in the epicenter of those things here in Corpus Christi. He knows he has a call on his life, but his frustration with his circumstances had led him back to some places he swore he would never go again. After speaking into his life we offered to walk with him as he works to rebuild his life. Over the past two days I have had the opportunity to help him find new housing arrangements and to begin looking for work. While I was in India, the Lord spoke to me about someone he was raising up to become the leader of Simplicity – Corpus Christi…something in my spirit, says this man may eventually be the one God was speaking to me about.

India wrap up

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Carl

After an all night train ride to Chennai, we arrived at 6AM yesterday. We went to our dorm room at teh campus of Emmanuel Methodist Church and I tok a 2 hour nap. After a shower, we were off to Church of the Living God in Chennai.

This was my second time to preach in this particular church. There are approximately 2000 people who attend each Sunday. This church was founded by Pastor Paul’s brother Paul Kiraburakan.

The service was very energized with fervent prayer and several pieces of music by a group of children. After I had finished preaching, I spent the next hour praying for several hundred people.

I was also privileged to have Pastor Sam who has a television ministry here in Chennai, come by to seee me. Pastor Sam and I have been communicating by phone and internet for over a year.

In the evening, I returned to Hebron Prayer Incense Church. This church is pastored by David Anand Kumar. The church meets on the top floor of his home, near the local medical university. Since my last visit, his congregation has grown and become somewhat international. He now has people from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania worshipping in his church. This has forced him to move his services to primarily English. Once I was done speaking, I prayed for about 30 minutes with those in attendance.

Yesterday I also discovered that the power cord to my laptop was no longer working. I think a power surge killed the power box on my cord. Unfortunately, I didn’t discover this until I needed to charge the battery.

Today, I packed my bags to get ready for the airport. After breakfast, Paul took me to a shoe store, because he felt my sandals were in poor condition and I needed better shoes. So I am now breaking in a nice new pair of Indian sandals.

We are having lunch today with Pastor Victor and his family. I led conferences in Pastor Victor’s church last year, but was unable to do that this year. It is good to see old friends again.

After lunch, I will be going to the airport. My first flight leaves at 6PM for Delhi. I will be in Delhi until 2AM when I leave for Frankfurt. Then on to Chicago and Houston. I will arrive in Houston Tuesday at 6PM. I am spending the night in Houston and will catch the 8AM flight to Corpus Christi.

I love India, but I am ready to be home. My mind is exhausted, it has been a great journey.

I will try to post pictures in the next few days…I have plenty, but an unpowered laptop is pretty uselsess.

Saturday update

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Carl

Today we travelled to Dindigul and led a pastor’s conference. I was feeling a bit sluggish this morning as the pace of the past two weeks is starting to catch up to me. To help me compensate, I made the afternoon session a question and answer session. The pastors had great questions and kept mme on my toes.

This evening, I packed my bags will catch a train to Chennai with Paul at 8 PM. Tomorrow I will be preaching in his brother’s church in the morning and his brother in law’s church in the evening. This will be my second opportunity to speak in both churches.

Monday morning I will do one more conference and then I have to be at the airport around 3PM to catch my 6PM flight.

Carol and I are glad my return home is drawing near.

Final day in Madurai

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Carl

I started my day with a visit to a local colony of lepers. I had preached in an adjacent village last year and had encountered of few of the lepers then. This colony houses about 200-300 lepers. Many are missing toes, fingers and various facial features. For many of them they have other serious mental and physical challenges as well.

Benjamin and Elishba have adopted this colony as their ministry focus. Benjamin brings food out weekly and shares songs and Bible stories with them. Many of the lepers believe in Jesus, but they doubt His power to heal them.

For the past two days, I had found myself praying for the miraculous healing of 7 lepers within this community. My understanding is that God is going to do some miraculous healings within this colony as building blocks of belief. There was one woman in particular that caught my attention and I found myself praying over her quite extensively. I believe she will be one of the 7.

After distributing food to the colony we headed back to town and I spent the afternoon resting. I am beginning to feel the physical drain from nearly two weeks of multiple speaking engagements and long hours of ministry.

Tonight I spoke in our final open air meeting in Madurai. I told the crowd that I wasn’t feeling very strong, so I knew it would be a great meeting. I emphasized that in our weakness, God’s strength is revealed.

Several testimonies were given during the service including a testimony of a man who was healed from being very sick after I had prayed for him on Wednesday. I used these testimonies to talk about why God heals in the first place. I explained that He wants us to see His power to save and deliver us from sin. The miracles are simply the building blocks of our faith. I told the crowd that ultimately we all must decide who Jesus truly is.

When I was finished approximately 30 people came and gave their lives to Jesus. I was also asked to pray for another 100 or so for healing, family problems, etc…

It was a great ending to another wonderful visit to Madurai.

Tirchy

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Carl

Today I made my second visit to Tirchy. I visited Tirchy in 2006 on my first visit to India. Today, I spoke at a meeting for local pastors. I spent the morning speaking on personal discipleship.

As I was wrapping up, Pastor Paul began to get very weak due to the heat. I prayed for him and decided that I would make the afternoon session a question and answer time. The Q & A session was very good and the pastors had some challenging questions for me.

When the conference was over we went to the home of Pastor K (I can’t spell his last name) for lunch. I had been a guest in Pastor K’s home in 2006 and it was good renew my relationship with his family.

This evening I have the night off. I will be going to the leper colony tomorrow with Benjamin and Elishba.

Journey To Simplicity