Ripples Conference

Europe is known for movements. Some of the worlds sizable shifts, within the church, happened and began on the stage that Europe has set. Today Europe still holds the memories and is still producing a lasting fruit of what God did even centuries ago.

Masters Commission Europe celebrated their ten year anniversary this past week. It was revered within the annual conference, held in Brussels Belgium, the heart of the European Union. Testimony after testimony could be heard as it echoed the theme of this years gathering, Ripples. So many lives have been transformed by the endeavors and intentional pursuit of God’s calling. It is apparent that God still uses small encounters, like we read in the scriptures, for a global impact. Most of us don’t even see or feel the magnitude of the impact.

Masters Commission Europe has seen 700 students go through 22 programs in 17 different nations. That is what this gathering was about...recognizing the profound impact that one life can make by taking the chance to be different.

It is truly an honor for me to direct The Summons in the midst of this network. I believe what separates these programs from many other training schools is the focus and attention that is paid for the long-term impact by living life together in community; facing “life” as a group of people committed to one another. This is astounding, this is transforming, this is the church that the Holy Spirit intended to see release God’s Kingdom on the earth.

Please watch this video.

alerts to threats

this was something handed to me via email from my mother in law. i thought it was quite humorous. if you know anything about john cleese, this is his brand of humor which i find funny, especially as it pertains to belgians and their summer holiday schedules.

enjoy

ALERTS TO THREATS

IN 2013 EUROPE

From JOHN CLEESE

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be right, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we'll need to cancel the Barbie this weekend!" and "The Barbie is cancelled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the last final escalation level.

Regards,

John Cleese ,

British writer, actor and tall person

And as a final thought - Greece is collapsing, the Iranians are getting aggressive, and Rome is in disarray. Welcome back to 430 BC.

Life is too short..

i'm loving this

paris has become quite a place of opportunity. this last weekend the opportunity expanded even further. connecting with jeff slaughter here in brussels we were invited to participate in a converge event.

converge is a worship teaching seminar. leading worship, teaching song writing, leading band members in practical aspects of worship, and fellowship are just some of the things that make up these wonderful all day meetings.

we held the event at assemblée chrétienne du bon berger. the turnout was fantastic with nearly 80 people in attendance. allyster and laetitia held a songwriters workshop while danny lankenau and myself took care of the band workshop. it was such a wonderful opportunity to teach the band practical ways of serving their worship leader and imparting just a few ideas on how they could make the worship less about them and more about leading people.

the day was packed from 9 in the morning til 11 in the night. with no room really to rest or have an official reflection on the days activities. the next day we kept it in high gear as we served the local church of the bridge in paris.

the bridge is an international church that meets in a hotel. this 75+ community was such a great experience for our team. meeting new faces and joining with people who literally are from around the world under one roof. one guy i met, named chris, is from australia, married a swedish woman and has a coffee shop in downtown paris! talk about reaching the world in one discussion. i was really impacted by the servants in this church. the situation of the church requires that they set up hours before and tear down moments after the completion of the service. it is not a job for those who are lacking commitment.

after a wonderful chipotle experience we headed home. thankfully we arrived home early enough to gain a great night of sleep. the next day was right back to the grind. meeting with a german pastor who is married to a dutch woman in antwerp. he has a heart to unite the churches in antwerp and it is a massive undertaking. he has connected with me and my friend here helping with the summons discipleship school. he has such a big vision for this, i can't say no to help him.

god is doing some amazing things in europe!
keep praying,
keep supporting, and
keep looking for what god is doing.

TheCall Geneva

never being apart of an event like the call i didn't really know what to expect. i've been around the gateways beyond crew long enough to know what i was getting into when accepting the invitation to come and help with the worship. lou engle has spoken at my home church before, i've seen him on video clips, and i even saw him on a documentary called jesus camp a few years back. he is very passionate and very real. if you ever get the chance to talk to him or see him you will meet very few like him.

my buddy allyster and i left early on friday morning to fly to geneva, switzerland to be a part of the call. one reason we were targeted was because of our ministry to the francophone world. it might come in handy to know the french speaking people when calling them to a solemn assembly.

first let me just confirm geneva's beauty. it truly is a magnificent city and i wish i had been able to visit and tour the entirety of geneva. that leaves room for next time i guess. it was very clean, very clear, but very expensive. it puts brussels in a completely different perspective. switzerland uses the swiss franc as currency and it is .82 euros to the franc. however, they have a hike in price of nearly 30% making a standard cup of coffee at 5 swiss francs nearly 4 euros! the euro to dollar is already bad. the franc to u.s. dollar is about the same but you are still paying 5 dollars for a small cup of coffee. i skyped with my wife one evening and told her i was thankful the lord has not called us to switzerland.

the new people we worked with were beyond amazing. matthieu, remi, audrey, and joel just to name a few. i love making new connections with people who are passionate about the lord and yet they don't get the center stage/spotlight nearly enough. they are the one's who do the dirty work that most people don't want to do and they excel at it. they make an impact in people's lives because of their christ-like character. these are the ones that i walk away from the banqueting table feeling like i've met, face to face, the inspiration behind the story of the good samaritan.

over all i was deeply moved by the things i saw. you don't see europeans get excited about god much. this assembly broke that stereotype. i am so excited to see this happen all over europe!

please be in prayer for a move of god in the european nations. i know you get that request a lot from me and maybe a few others here but i implore you to please not grow tired of this assignment. as long as i can pay the bills and feel god's direction for my family over here i will stay. it is a struggle getting europeans to move from their status quo and express a deep longing for change without it coming off as emotional hype. the majority just don't express themselves that way. i am longing for a desperation for god's presence to flow from their heart out of their senses.

the responsibility

i am currently reading a book entitled christianity and liberalism. the book offers a clear picture of the ideas that are beginning to form in the modern church, and even our current state of "church". this book was written in 1921 by j. gresham machen. even in that day there were men who recognized a shifting tide in the doctrine of what previous centuries had always been made a standard of the local church. he speaks to this shift and calls it "modern liberalism." it has taken me a while to get through it because i have been actively engaged in it while highlighting to be sure and not miss out on revelation. here is one of the most recent highlights that struck a chord in my heart:

the christian way of salvation is narrow only so long as the church chooses to let it remain narrow. the name of jesus is strangely adapted to men of every race and of every kind of previous education. and the church has ample means, with promise of god's spirit, to bring the name of jesus to all. if therefore, this name of salvation is not offered to all, it is not the fault of salvation itself, but the fault of those who fail to use the means that god has placed in their hands.

i think this struck me so hard because i am living in a country where christianity has painted the landscape so many times, the canvas is completely raw and beginning to tear (if not already torn). it has been preached and preached again. the pervasive spirit of the anti-christ has made a rubble of the divine marriage. certainly this is not the case amongst all the communities of faith. i love that god has entrusted me with a responsibility that runs deeper than my immediate family and it overflows into the community. like a pot that is filled to the brim with the cleansing and rejuvenating water of the word his spirit boils me causing it to splash all around me.

get filled with the word

pray with fervency for the spirit to boil your pot

splash on your community the riches of the personal impression the most personal god has given you