Kevin and Kristi Kneeshaw along with their kids (Caden, Victoria & Isabella) are in Rijeka, Croatia. At least we think they are still there.

Here’s the skinny… On January 25th, the Kneeshaw family and their team returned to Rijeka after two weeks of conferences in Hungary – Midyear and AOA time. They checked their mail to discover that the Post Office had tried to deliver two letters but because we were gone for so long they returned the letters to the sender. One Monday the 28th, they went to the Police Station and found out that basically all the singles were getting or had gotten their visas but the Kneeshaw’s had to return to have a little meeting with the Police.

“The trip to the police station went OK today (Friday)”, Kristi writes. “The whole experience was a little surreal. We walked up three flights of stark stairs, walked down a dark hallway into a room with an unsmiling woman who made no eye contact with us. There were no family pictures on the desk, nor any pictures on the walls. It was a tiny room with two big desks with computers on them, but no sign of life anywhere. We were told they had been trying to contact us several times to verify that we lived at the address we gave them but we were never home. So they placed our visa application in the rejection pile and if we had come in even two days later our Visas would have been denied. We gave a legal statement explaining where we where and were told a policeman still had to come by and verify we live at our apartment. They gave no indication of when they might come. It could be a week or it could be two months. In the mean time one of us has to stay close to the apartment.” The

Kevin and Kristi and their team had been seeing God do cool stuff like when Mirja trusted Christ in November and then Mirja’s best friend, Bojan, trusted Christ in December. But now the reality of their situation is if they are denied visas they would have to leave for three months. Kristi says that they are not worrying too much about this yet but asked that we would pray that they would continue to trust the Lord for daily peace. Needing to stay close to the apartment makes it even more difficult to do the basic things like shopping and getting the kids outside for breaks from the apartment. (The picture is them all bundled up waiting for the police.) So they ask too that we pray that the police would come soon and that they would be home or if not the police would just knock on a neighbor’s door who would gladly verify that an American couple with three very active kids live in their building.

I have been reading Hebrews this month. Yesterday I led the weekly devotion/prayer for our office and just read aloud the whole book in one seating. I read it from a less-than-familiar translation and asked everyone to just listen and imagine they were in the early church when this letter was read. (If you are looking for a team study this week, you might want to try it too. It takes about 30-40 minutes to read. And for those who drift off off 5:11 and 12:25 rebukes them.)

The whole scenario of the Kneeshaw’s visa situation is like the old system of worship. Everyone was guilty even if they didn’t know they had done anything wrong. The Holy of holies had a big desk with signs of death: stone tablets and place for atoning blood. People basically just waited around for the priests to check them out year after year and see if we were worthy.

But… Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

There’s so much in this book but here’s a few gems for this week from chapter 10 as we live in this new life and lead others…

Dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,
· Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
· Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.
· Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
· And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Jonathan and Kristen Whitmore are in Tokyo. They recently returned from Thailand midyear and vacation in Ko Samui. Kristen and Jonathan lead one of the two STINT teams in Tokyo. There are actually 35 STINTers and staff who work on the campuses in this vast city. During their team meetings this year, they have been praying for the Lord to introduce them to students with soft hearts. One of these students is Yusuke who is a freshman. Jonathan met him at an English lunch in the fall and Yusuke has begun to take an interest in studying the gospel with him. Jonathan’s prayer is that students like Yusuke will have their hearts captured by Christ and experience a new birth.

Speaking of new birth…. If you think there are just the two Whitmore’s in this picture, look again. Maybe the 2nd pic will help. Yes, that’s right, Kristen is pregnant! Jonathan explains, “Yes, we were trying. No accidents here, we’re just a crazy young couple who decided to get pregnant while living in a foreign country. Ha. We’re not planning on having the baby in Japan, however, even though I think it’d be pretty awesome to give our child the precious gift of dual citizenship. Here are a couple specifics you could ask the Lord for: 1) a healthy baby! 2) Kristen’s health… she’s been a champ so far, but she’s definitely had her share of queasy mornings. 3) The Lord’s direction for where He wants us next year (it’s pretty cloudy right now, and that affects where we’ll have the baby). Also, Kristen’s due date is August 22nd, in case you were curious. Thank you SO much for your prayers!”

I was thinking they could name the baby Excel since Kristen loves it so much. And Excel could work no matter if it’s a boy or a girl. But then again that ‘Excel’ might put too much pressure on them to succeed. Never mind.

When the apostle Paul writes his final letter, he asks Timothy to bring three things to Rome – his coat, his parchments and Mark. It’s an interesting request because we know on Paul’s first STINT, Mark had deserted them and when Mark wanted to reSTINT, Paul didn’t think it was wise. This caused a sharp HR disagreement and the pair of leaders split.

So how did Mark go from being someone Paul didn’t want with him to someone who he most wanted when he was in a Roman prison facing a certain death? I imagine we all have or will have a Mark on our teams sometime. Maybe they won’t physically go back to Jerusalem. (Acts 13:13). But we will be asked to lead those who check out, shrink back, rebel, back-stab, desert us or we wouldn’t say ‘they are helpful to me’.

I am not really sure why Mark left when he did. Things got a lot worse afterwards with stoning and being run out of town. All they had faced so far was a crazy sorcerer. But he left. Perhaps he was jealous that Paul and not his cousin was getting the lead role in the drama. Maybe he didn’t like the ministry to Gentiles. Maybe he didn’t like the Greek food. Who knows? Though Luke’s narrative in Acts follows Paul instead of Barnabas and Mark, we can find a few clues in scripture that might be helpful.

1. An encourager invested time in him. Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement”. He believed in people, including Paul, when no else did. Someone who has ‘deserted’ the team needs a leader to believe in them and encourage them to get back in the game. Encourage means to inspire with courage. No failure is greater than God’s mercy. If the gospel is the gospel to the Japanese, Turks, Serbs, etc, then it’s the gospel to us and those on our teams too.

2. He came to grips that Jesus was a servant and we are called to serve. (Mark 9:34-36; 10:42-45)

3. He stepped out and served again. Not sure what got Mark back on Paul’s good side but we also see as he wrote to the Colossians that Mark was among the very few Jews who worked for the kingdom alongside Paul and he proved to be a comfort to him. (Col 4:10-11.).

There are a lot of Marks out there and when we are honest we might be or have been a Mark to someone else’s Paul too. Sometimes in the life of the leader we need others to help us sort it all out because it feels like failure if we have someone that’s tough to lead. Maybe the best thing is for them (and you and the team) is to finish their stint in a regional office in “Cyprus”. My opinion is those times come when a person either doesn’t want to change or doesn’t have the capacity to change.

But for most, it’s just remembering His call on their lives, renewing their desire to follow no matter what the costs, getting loved-up by a leader who believes in them and being sent back out to serve.

Jeremy Haddock and Elizabeth Ramsey lead the first ever STINT Team in Buenos Ares, Argentina. Students are on winter break until March, so all they do every day is sport paraphernalia from their alma mater and sip licuados. Okay, that’s not true. In reality, their team and two of their students right now are on a week-long missions project serving among the Mapuche Indians in the southern part of Argentina.

and Elizabeth arrived in this city of 600,000 students in September and focused their energy on the Universidad Argentina de Empresas. Jeremy said, “Everything was all new ground for us since our team is made up of five inexperienced STINTers pioneering a new movement. However, we know that we were never alone in this. For example, our campus is a private campus that has high security and the only way to enter is if you are a student, so God opened the door for us. The Argentine staff were able to negotiate with the administrators to arrange for us to take Spanish classes and have private lessons. Within the first week, we learned that two out of three of our professors are born-again Christians that are passionate about reaching the lost! From then on, most of our lessons usually incorporate worship songs or vocabulary to help us in sharing the gospel.”

In the few months they have been there, Jeremy and Elizabeth’s team have seen several students trust in Christ that are excited about telling others about Jesus Christ. Three students from UADE went with them to the Argentine student summer camp (similar to a Winter or Christmas Conference in US) just before this mission trip. Jeremy concludes, “God is doing great things. There have definitely been challenges, but by pressing through those challenges we have seen the fruit of our trust in God, and we are excited to see what God has in store when we return to campus in March.”

My oldest son Luke is fascinated by deserts. He likes to draw desert scenes with cacti and scorpions and wants us to take a family vacation to Arizona. He also is fascinated with Africa. So this week as a family we sat down and watched a National Geographic video on a desert in Namibia. Killing two birds with one stone, you might say.

Along the coast of Namibia is the 1000 mile-long Namib Desert. Talk about a huge beach! There are species of animal and plant-life that don’t exist anywhere else in the world. Robin and I were mostly fascinated though by the woman scientist from America they profiled. She had lived on the edge of the desert something like 20 years. I kept wondering what would drive someone to leave everything and live in virtual isolation in a desert in a poor country in Africa. There she was for years living in obscurity faithfully studying these sand beetles, reptiles, plants, etc. I am sure apart from desertphiles she was forgotten by many back home.

When you think of it many great leaders of the bible – Moses, Joshua, David, John the Baptist and Jesus – all spend time in deserts – and not just literal deserts. We think of Jesus and the great crowds but we forget how close followers turned and walked away. Paul is famous to us but it seems like he always had to say stuff like he ‘doesn’t need to commend himself again’ and how he was ‘known, yet regarded as unknown’. I am sure he was forgotten by people back home. “Whatever happened to that guy Paul?” They certainly forgot him at important times.

Jesus appoints us and called us to bear fruit (Jn 15:16). But Jesus (Matt 24:44-46) and Paul (1 Cor 4:1-5) also tell us also that those who have been entrusted as his servants are to be found faithful. I am sure I have been far more pleasing to him in fruitless times when I was found faithful than in times where I saw great fruit but my motives where self-centered. I got my reward then. I hope I enjoyed it.

Perhaps too my faith was greater in the desert when I believed for things unseen. It takes more faith to believe life will come to the desert than to a fertile land. Yet as I watched this video there was life. Fog would roll across this Namib Desert and life would spring up even plants and animals that had lived in doormat for years. Even ministering in the desert there is hope and faith.

The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

Laura Hennings, when not performing magic among the cafés in the South of France, leads the STINT team in Montpellier. Her team of three girls is the first one in Montpellier. “One of the great things about being the first STINT team is that nothing we do is a failure!” Laura writes. “Every day we are learning new things and so we are constantly evaluating and revising how we do ministry in this city and this culture. We’ve been choosing to take first steps and see what happens and what we can learn from it. It’s been a really exciting process!”

Laura adds, “Since we’re the first STINT team in this city, we want God to use us to lay a foundation for others to build on in the future. Our hope is that what we do and how we incorporate prayer, evangelism, fellowship, time in the Word, etc. will help form a solid base from which the movement will grow. One of the aspects of the ministry that we have moved forward in is establishing a student leadership team to help give structure, organization, vision, and momentum to the movement. We have talked a lot about the difference between just being a group on campus, and being a spiritual movement. We want that heart and vision to be integrated from the beginning. We’re excited to see how God will multiply our efforts through these committed students, and to see how they will gain a vision for what a movement can look like.”

Speaking of foundations… I was studying recently in the Book of Haggai . The exiled Israelites who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon along the remnant rebuilt the foundation and the altar as recorded in Ezra 3. However, because of opposition they stopped there. They got sidetracked and spent all their time fixing up their own apartments to feel nice and homey. The Book of Haggai is a story of how the prophet mustered them to get back to the task at hand of building God’s house… the temple… the place where His glory dwelled.

In chapter 2 of Haggai, he asked. “How many of you saw the house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?” The Lord Almighty through Haggai proceeds to give three encouragements that we can all apply no matter where we are in the movement launching / temple building process.

The first two are:
“Be Strong and work for I am with you”
“Don’t fear because my Spirit remains among you.”

About her situation in France, Laura says, “It can feel overwhelming at times, just being three girls here. There is so much we want to see happen, and it can seem impossible. But I know I have been really stretched in bringing everything before the Lord and entrusting it to Him and asking Him to be at work. It’s been amazing to see how He has provided in really specific ways. It has also been hard at times too, leading alone and having to make decisions, but I think in those moments God continues to show me my dependence on Him and to teach me to bring everything before Him. It’s been cool to see God be so faithful to work in my own life, as well as in the lives of the students here.”

God calls us to work but really, as Laura writes, He is at work. He really doesn’t need us. And yet He calls us into the work with Him. His presence is here. His Spirit remains among us. There is no reason to fear.

Haggai goes on to give a third encouragement. It’s a vision… a promise of a future that’s far surpasses what they were seeing with their own eyes.

“In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory. The silver is mine and the gold is mine. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house. And in this place I will grant peace.”

This is amazing. And yet God could not have been talking about this building they were working on. This temple didn’t last. It wasn’t even the temple that Jesus visited. So he is not speaking of this temple building built nor Herod’s temple and certainly not Solomon’s temple. But there is a house… a temple… a kingdom… a Spiritual movement… He is asking us to work with Him on building. This temple will have greater glory. He will shake the heavens and the One that all nations desire in their heart of hearts will come. This temple – the Spiritual One that He is asking us to build with Him that is a mosaic of many nations and colors – will be filled with his glory as the waters cover the sea.

…and that’s no slight of hand in a street magic show.

B & N along with G form the STINT leadership on a team in East Asia to work with high school students. B and N are serving their first year helping G, who has been in East Asia for three years, lead a new team. Their STINT team consists of one other active American and two Asian National staff interns (plus one other Asian national staff intern who just had a baby this fall).

The Americans on the team take language classes three times a week and are also teachers in a public high school teaching English to 9th and 10th graders. Needless to say, it has been a busy first semester for them trying to juggle learning and teaching, as well as, launching movements and not to mention, just life in general. Then you throw in the mix that this is the first real multi-cultural team of Asians and Americans working to reach high school students.

While they are busy, they are ministering to Asian students whose lives are the same and yet have no opportunity to rest in the Lord. B writes, “No one is telling these high school students that life has meaning beyond being top of their class and getting into the best college. So, they are covering up their emptiness with endless hours of classes and studies, making them too busy to think about real heart issues. We want to help these students think about heart issues of life, faith, and ultimately their relationship with God.”

During the recent Christmas season, they hosted four Christmas parties each complete with a gift exchange, the Nativity movie showing, and a pre-evangelistic talk given by one of the East Asian interns in her heart language. Over 80 students came to the parties and heard the message of Christ! Now, the team is in the process of following up contacts from the events before they head out to for their mid-year conference.

I know busy too as I just returned yesterday from the Denver Christmas Conference followed by two days of a regional staff conference. We had the privilege of hearing from Ken Cochrum at our staff conference. We heard the same talk he gave at Cm2007 on Ministries to Movements. (And for those of you who missed Korea, which Dan gave at the STINT Briefing.) It was good to hear it again and be reminded of what we are being called to do.

Before Ken gave his m2M talk, he led us in a time in the word in Jeremiah 9:23-24: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.”

I didn’t take great notes and can’t do total justice to what Ken shared but will try. Ken pointed out that a wise leader who boasts is self-assured. She is confident that in her ability to know the right answers or what course to take. A strong leader who boasts leads to competition. He becomes dismissive of those strong in other areas. I am not sure on your STINT salary you are in a position to boast in riches. But Ken pointed out that we can boast on the riches of accomplishments or the works of our hands.

All this boasting is futile. We are to boast that we understand and know the Lord. That we know He is LORD and that we know what he practices and delights in.

How do we know God in this way? We have to learn to hear his voice, to listen to the Spirit, to cultivate intimacy. May we boast this week that we understand Him, know Him, and know His ways… and in that alone. May we be true followers of Jesus as we seek to launch movements where everyone will know one.

C and K are in a college city in East Asia that has over 160,000 students on 13-14 universities. C says, “We’ve recently completed our Christmas season full of parties and activities. We had around 150 students attend Christmas parties where the true Christmas story was shared. From that our team has been following up with interested students and has seen 16 place their faith in Christ. We’ve also been blessed with seeing a few of our students really step up and take the lead in helping younger Christians grow.”

C goes on to say, “We’re excited about the prospect of several students joining seeker studies and even the potential of these being led by some of our newer brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re also excited about getting to begin some mercy related projects with students, specifically getting to help an orphanage and children’s hospital. Some of our girls have already had the chance to participate in ministering with students in this way. We’d love prayers as we prepared to end our semester and send students home to potentially hostile environments. Pray that these students would be able to stand firm in face of pressure from friends and family who do not understand. Pray that the students would be bold and even share with their families at home.”

I am posting this from the Denver Christmas Conference. So this week we will have a guest writer: Keith Bubalo. The following are Keith words… unedited of course since he’s my boss and I want to keep this WSN gig.

A cold New Year’s greetings from Orlando! It’s actually going to freeze here tonight, the coldest night since 2003. I know some of you hit that your first month on campus. I’ve been thinking of you often these past several weeks. I know the end of a semester brings a lot of fatigue. Combine that with the holidays, and sometimes this can be a pretty tough time of year for a leader and his/her team. I wanted to let you know that all of us in WSN are so proud of you, for how you take on challenges each and every day in proclaiming the great news about Jesus. This is no small thing you have entered into. As if the cultural, emotional, and physical struggles aren’t real enough, there is also the reality of a spiritual struggle that is going on all the time.

I was reading yesterday in Matthew 11 about John the Baptist. He was the new Elijah, preparing the way of the Lord. He ended up in jail, and was asking for a little confirmation about the identity and ultimate success of Jesus’ mission (and his own.). Jesus response was strong affirmation to John: the sick are being healed, the gospel is being proclaimed, it’s all happening just as it should…including the jail chapter of your life, John. So stand strong, don’t stumble and quit on Me now.

I don’t know what each of your personal or team experiences were this past semester. More than likely it was a mix of the stunning work of God, and some low points that had you asking “what are we doing here anyway?” Many days were perhaps just…tedium and persistence. Don’t worry. That’s all pretty normal, whether you are overseas or on campus in the US. I’ve had those thoughts for 28 years in ministry. So did John the Baptist apparently. So why should you not share a big piece of all the drama?

It’s all part of a vicious, intense struggle for the advance of the Kingdom of God in the lives of each person and in the ultimate transformation of the world around you. In fact, verse 12 seems to indicate a pitched battle is taking place, people shoving their way into the kingdom and others trying to keep people out. And guess who is right in the middle of this spiritual mosh pit with forces pulling in every direction? Yep, that would be you, oh Stint Team Leader. Take heart though, for He is greater than all the powers of darkness. Stand strong in that truth, His truth, as you consider your role in the next few months. Do not shrink back from all that God has put on your heart. And thank you again for accepting your role for this year.

If you’d like to stay up with what I’m hearing about God’s work with students around the world, or His work in my own life, you can catch me “On the Global Road”, where there’s always plenty of free coffee. And feel free to send me stories of how you see God at work. I’ll be glad to post it there.

Berlin glitters with a festive Advent season. Concerts, arts and crafts, carefully decorated booths and sweet delicacies put everyone in the Christmas spirit. Among the more that 50 Christmas markets in Berlin, we find Dan and Krista Trepod. (Dan’s not a fan of the mulled wine.)

The Trepod’s are leading a STINT team of six pioneering the campus ministry in Berlin. There were once a thriving campus ministry for decades of campus ministry but this is no longer true today. Berlin is known today as a ‘wasteland for missionaries’. Speaking of this moniker Krista says, “One thing I know for sure is that each member of our team would be a LOT slower to say ‘Germany is such hard soil.’ Actually, we have not found that to be true. Almost daily we get into conversations where people are genuinely searching and asking questions and thinking deeply.

Krista writes, “We share our faith pretty much daily on campus and in the Mensa. We have had the opportunity of sharing the gospel more than 125 times in the first three months in Berlin. Our team is currently meeting on a regular basis with 6+ believers and 30+ non-believers. We’ve launched a women’s bible study, and have had 4 parties where we invite all of our friends. Most recently we had a Christmas cookie baking and eating party where 20 people came (15 of which were nonbelievers) and all heard the ‘true meaning of Christmas.’ “

“It has been very encouraging”, Krista says. “We all love it here. We love Berlin and each other and doing ministry in such an influential city and country! It is not a wasteland.”

The town that experienced the first festive advent season was Bethlehem. (At least festive to Mary, Joseph, some certain poor shepherds and later some guys bearing strange gifts.) One of those minor prophets Micah foretold of the birth of a ruler in small Bethlehem Ephrathah. Of this ruler, this Messiah, this babe Micah wrote, “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.”

Jesus stands and shepherds us, his flock. He shepherds in the strength of the Lord and in the majesty of his name.

The strength of the Lord. Jesus was conceived when the power of the Holy Spirit came over His mother. Power, Dunamis in Greek the root of words like dynamite. Yet this glorious event was not of a destructive power, it was a power of life – a God becoming man life. This same power the Father used to raise Christ from the dead. This same life-giving power dwells in you and me as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. This is the power that enables us to shepherd as Jesus does. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing.

The majesty of His name. The angel told Joseph that God’s son was to be called Jesus because He would save His people. Jesus means ‘the Lord saves’ or ‘the One who saves’. He would also be called Immanuel, “God with us”. It is because He is the God that saves that He can be God with us. We are entrusted to shepherd His flock and we are given the majesty of His name. At this name every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord; this name is a promise of His abiding presence in a harvest field and not a wasteland.

“Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago. ‘As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show them my wonders.’ Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power… they will turn in fear to the LORD our God.” – Micah 7:14-17

S and D are serving in a Namestan location. This is S’s first year as a Team Leader and D’s second. “The Lord has consistently provided opportunities to share with students”, D writes. “I have even occasionally been surprised at how ‘easy’ it has been to share Christ with students in a natural and relevant way. Ozzy is one student I meet with regularly. Ozzy knew our team last year and when I was able to reconnect with him this year he was in a place of brokenness having just been betrayed by his best friend and girlfriend. He told me that he felt very stupid, very lonely and hopeless. Ozzy listened as I shared that true acceptance and true freedom from our mistakes is found in Christ. Since then we have been able to discuss the Gospel several more times. Slowly he is understanding that the Gospel is about what God does for us, not what we do for Him. Though he is not ready to accept the Gospel for himself, he knows he needs to investigate who Jesus is because the opportunity to hear from Christians is rare here.”

In their city where S and D lead are also ICS. D says, “One of the unexpected blessings of serving in my city has been the chance to know the long-term staff here. While we do most of our ministry by ourselves as a STINT team we get to spend time meeting, praying, and socializing with the long-term couples and families. This is not only great because is provides a social outlet but it also enable us to experience life with some slightly older and more experienced people. I have especially been blessed by the chance to get to know older men who are married and have children. Through talking with them and watching them lead and love their families I have learned a lot about the challenges and joys of marriage and family. It is an unexpected blessing.”

Speaking of family, this morning, I read the story of David and Goliath to my boys acting out with a real slingshot and all. (If you haven’t figured out yet, I Samuel is my December Book of the Month.) It helps that they know the story from Dave and Giant Pickle.

David is called a Man after God’s own Heart. God sought after this type of leader since Saul was such a disappointment. You know the deal when in chapter 16 God sends Samuel to view Jesse’s boys and look through sons 1-7 and none of them where the one. After seeing the first strappin’ young buck, God tells Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

God doesn’t examine the way we do – He looks at the heart. God seeks after leaders who have his heart. What does the heart of this type of leader look like? *

A heart that loves the Lord (Dt 6:5; Luke 10:27)
A heart fully committed to the Lord (I Kings 8:61)
A heart that rejoices in His Salvation (Ps 13:5)
A glad heart (Ps 16:9)
A trusting heart (Ps 28:7; Pr 3:5)
A pure heart (Ps 51:10; Matt 5:8)
A broken and contrite heart (Ps 51:17)
A steadfast heart (Ps 57:7)
A heart that confess sin (Ps 66:18)
An undivided heart (Ps 86:11)
An upright heart (Ps 97:11)
A heart with the Lord’s word hidden in it (Ps 119:11)
A guarded heart (Pr 4:23)
A cheerful heart (Pr 17:22)
A wise heart (Ecc 8:5)
A heart that seeks God (Jer 29:13)
A compassionate heart for the lost (Matt 9:36)
An untroubled heart (Jn 14:1)
A circumcised heart (Rom 2:29)
A believing heart (Rom 10:10)
A heart where Christ dwells through faith (Eph 3:17)
A heart that makes music (Eph 5:19)
A heart set on things above (Col 3:1)
A heart soft to the Lord (Heb 3:8)
A sincere heart (Heb 10:22)
A heart that loves others deeply (1 Pet 1:22)
A heart that has set apart Christ as Lord (1 Pete 3:15)

May we have a renewed heart for the One Born in the City of David this Christmas!

* These are taken from a post I did two years ago about my dad who is a leader who has a heart after God’s own heart.

K and M are ready for Christmas in Asia. K writes, “This is a very busy season as we are having lots of Christmas parties for all of our friends at the five different campuses we are at. It is a great chance for our team to work together so that many students can hear the gospel. We are finding that even though this season is difficult because we are missing our families and traditions, it is more exciting than it has ever been back in America, getting to share the true meaning of Christmas with so many! It is definitely the most meaningful Christmas season I have ever had! So we are very blessed to have this opportunity and also that we have an amazing team to labor and to laugh with. Sometimes we think, this can’t really be a job, it’s just too much fun. I guess we will all just have to come back for another year…”

Last month K got the chance to visit some of the springs which their city is famous for with a group of seven students from Management, one of the smaller campuses they are on. (These springs are the most famous in Asia… perhaps the world.) K says, “It was cool because a few days earlier I was able to share my testimony and the gospel with all eight girls in their room! One girl, Jane, was especially interested and told me that she used to have a bible until her parents took it away… I had a great time at the springs with these beautiful girls and was able to build deeper relationships with them. This month I hope to start an investigative bible study with them. I am praying that God will move in each of their hearts and give them the grace to know Him, and be in them a “well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:19).

I just got back from South Africa and it made me think of M. Back at Copper, we compared notes of our first mission trips that both happened to be in Kenya. Our mouths watered as we recalled some Kenyan dishes. (M, I ate something similar to ugali last week.) M went to Kenya as a SHERPA (acronym I created for Servant-hearted Enthusiastic Reliable Personal Assistant) for this pastor. When I was in Kenya, M was less than 2 years old.

Speaking of being less than 2 years old and a SHERPA, let’s look again at Samuel but earlier when he first comes on the scene. His mother Hannah desperately prayed for the Lord to remember her and give her a son. She made a vow that she would give her son to serve the Lord all his life. So once she weans little Sammy she takes him to Eli to serve in the tabernacle. She prays a prayer that includes this which I found myself praying this past week… “(The Lord) raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them he has set the world.”

So here’s little Sammy who can barely walk if all and probably speaks gibberish being the littlest SHERPA before the Lord. Sometime after he learned to talk and went by the more formal Samuel, God speaks to him in the night. You know this story from Sunday School so I don’t need to tell it. But look closely at the final call found in I Samuel 3:

Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’ “So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

God showed up and spoke to him. This chapter starts by saying that ‘in those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions.’ Maybe the word was rare because few listened. Eli sure didn’t in fact that seems to be why God wakes up Samuel.

“Speak for your servant is listening.” All his life this was Samuel’s posture. He invited God to speak to him. He listened. He obeyed. Obedience was big to him. Think of what he told Saul. Samuel was a man who knew that to be a leader, he first needed to be a SHERPA. He needed to be someone who knew who the real King was and that he was His servant.

May this be our posture. Maybe God wants to wake us up and tell us something. Maybe He has something big for us to believe him for. Maybe He wants us to display His glory in a way or to people we haven’t even thought of.

Tonight as Eli told Samuel… “Go lie down (in the ‘temple of the LORD’, where the ark of God is) and if He calls you say ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ “

Jimmy and Meagan are celebrating.

Meagan explains, “(Psalm 34:3) has become one of my favorite verses in the bible as it reminds me of my purpose – to glorify God in all I do and to exalt His name forever! I love this verse because it casts a general emotion of celebration. Many times in the Bible, God calls His people to celebrate, yet I believe this is a command we tend to forget. We get so caught up in our daily lives that we often don’t stop to celebrate all of who God is and what He has done in our lives. I love that twice it (this verse) mentions togetherness in celebration. What a beautiful invitation to come celebrate the glory of the Lord with another brother or sister in Christ.”

Last January when Jimmy and Meagan launched in Geelong, Australia (suburb of Melbourne), they only knew their team of 8. As they near the end of their first STINT year, they gathered students last month to have a little celebration of the Lord. Meagan says, “It was incredible to see around 30 people gathered to celebrate the glory of God and the great harvest He has brought in this year. In Geelong, we have seen 38 decisions to trust Christ as their Savior. We also celebrated the favor of God as we have seen 3 movements launched, with 3 more campus movements primed and ready to begin in February. This year we have gotten to meet with about 20 students on a regular basis and encourage them in their walks with God and disciple them to follow after the example of Jesus.”

Megan – along with Jimmy of course – will fly back to US on the 10th and then return with a new STINT team in January. She says, “Overall (this celebration) was just a tremendous evening. I left joyful and thankful beyond words for all God had done in and through us this year. In the end, it’s not about exalting our names or the name of Campus Crusade for Christ – for we are sinful and unworthy. It is about glorifying and exalting the name of the King of Kings, the one worthy of all honor, praise, and glory – God.

The Sunday before last, Autumn Film led worship at our church. One song Tifah led us in was that old Christian hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. When we got home, Robin asked me what an “Ebenezer” and “fetter” was. Being the Bible-Answer-Man for my family, I nailed the “fetter” and came close on “Ebenezer”. I had to look it up to get the full reference.

In 1 Samuel 7, the people of Israel are in a desperation situation. (When are they not?) A generation earlier, the Philistines captured the ark of God. Eli – who had fatten himself on the priestly tithe – and his corrupt, exploiting sons died. But, it didn’t take long for the Philistines to decide that the Ark of God was nothing to trifle with as their god kept bowing to it and they were stricken with plagues. So they sent it on its way. Not sure why those Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark didn’t read this passage.

Now 20 years later, Israel was mourning and seeking the Lord. Samuel, all grown up and now their team leader, told them to rid themselves of the foreign gods, commit themselves to the LORD and serve Him only. Samuel, whose words never fell to the ground, prophesied that if they did this, God would deliver them out of the hand of the Philistines.

So they did. They came together, fasted and confessed. The Philistines being Philistines decided, “Hey, this is a good time to attack”. Defenseless and sacred, the Israelites told Samuel: “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us.” While Samuel did this, the Philistines drew lines to attack. But God thundered from heaven. It threw them into panic and the Israelites routed them.

God thundered from heaven. Must have been some thunder and a display of His power and glory! In response, Samuel took a big stone stuck it in the ground and called it Ebenezer – a stone of help. It was a celebration. It was a visual reminder that God’s word is sure and that if they repented and cried out to Him that He could and would deliver them.

I wonder if they really had remembered if they wouldn’t be so fearless again when they faced the taunting Giant Philistine Champion only a few years later. God once again would route their enemies when a small shepherd boy would believe God and raise a well-placed Ebenezer.

As you near the end of your Fall (or year, if like the Williams’ you launched in January), throw a party! Glorify the Lord and exalt His name together. Celebrate… and raise your Ebenezer!