I'll soon be leaving for 2 trips. The first one is to San Antonio June 20th. I'm very excited about this trip because I set up the whole trip. That is also why I'm a little anxious. I mean, if the trip doesn't go well there's a good chance it's my fault. I mean, yes, Satan is working and would like nothing more than to ruin what God has planned for our week in San Antonio, but there's still the thought of "well, if I had only planned a little better maybe this wouldn't have happened." So please be praying for me, Dawn Delaney, and the 40 5th and 6th graders (yes, I said 5th and 6th graders) that will be in San Antonio June 21-28.

I'm even more excited about my second trip. Last week I learned I'll be leading a trip to England!!! I've always said the best way to see the world is while on mission. Now that I think about that statement, shouldn't we always be on mission? I mean, at what point do I get out of the bed and think, "Today, I'm going to such and such a place and I will not be a living example for Christ?" I don't think I've ever had that thought run through my head. I'm sure I've lived that out through my actions, but I can't remember ever making a deliberate decision not to live for Christ on a given day.

Well, as I as saying before I was interrupted, I get to go to England July 2nd!! That's right, I'll be celebrating our independence from Great Britain in Great Britain...what a concept. I'll be leading a group of 22 Sr. High students on a trip filled with prayer and the work of the Spirit. Please be praying for me during this time as this will be my first trip leading alone. On previous trips I've had a team of people with me, but this time I will be the primary, if not only, leader. Also pray for spiritual and physical strength on this trip. My boss has lead several college break trips to this area and always come back exhausted and shares stories of the spiritual oppression he encountered while there. I know that in my own strength I am not prepared for this kind of attack. Last summer alone, I was sick every time it was my turn to lead a trip. Through these times it became clear that it was God who was leading in my weakness and for that I was very grateful. I am not a very humble person by nature, and so God allowed me to have severe sinus infections so I would have no choice but to rely on His strength and that of my team. I have no doubt that if I fail to prepare for these upcoming trips or begin thinking that I am somehow worthy of being on these trips that I will once again suffer through debilitating sickness while on the field. Therefore, I ask for you to begin praying for me as I seek to prepare for these trips even now.

As a side, but not so side, note...my financial support is not looking good right now. I'm actually about $1500 behind at the moment. If you would, please pray about supporting me on a monthly basis, or if you already are, please let someone know about this blog and my ministry at AIM so they can partner with me as I minister at home and around the world. Thanks!

I promise to post something new and original very soon, but for now enjoy reading someone else's thoughts on which translation of scripture is best...

#228. NIV vs. KJV vs. ESV (Bible wars told via GI Joe)

Community Life:training & apprenticeship for Christ-followers

One year of growth, community, and ministry.

We're excited to introduce a new opportunity that many of you will love.  We're taking our best coaches and disciplers and matching them up for a year with our most passionate young people (up to age 31). At Adventures In Missions (AIM), we love the next generation. We want to see people launched into a whole new way of doing life. In a culture that esteems independence, we want to restore the value of interdependence that was so prevalent in the Early Church. By living in authentic community, disciples of Jesus learn how to be "salt" and "light" in a way that transforms the world around them. It's a year of training and apprenticeship in community.

Community Life is a place where you can continue to grow in your identity and role in the kingdom of God. The people of AIM will pour into you during this year in a number of ways. Our leaders will train you and hang out with you. We'll help you sharpen your life focus and call to ministry and even help you develop your skill sets. We provide housing in Gainesville, GA, where a select group of 30 young people will live together in several houses in a neighborhood with easy access to the surrounding community. There are five major aspects involved in Community Life: 

·         Mentoring: As part of creating a personal development plan, you will be paired up with a leader at AIM that will regularly meet one-on-one with you and provide coaching, encouragement, and discipleship. Seth Barnes and Scott Borg will guide a team of top leaders as we return to discipleship as Jesus practiced it.  This includes intensive teaching to help you understand your past, who you are in Christ, and how to move forward in the plan God has for your life and ministry. You will work on your own, in small group settings, and with some of the most experienced and inspirational mentors AIM has to offer.

·         Skill development: You will expand your life skills. Many of you will have an internship in the office in an area such as recruiting, marketing, creative writing/editing, media, missions mobilization, web design, or program development.  Your internship will be tailored to develop your passion.  It's an opportunity to develop valuable work skills through hands-on training.

·         Ministry: In order to stay connected with ministry, we've partnered with a local outreach to the 60,000 marginalized Hispanics in and around Gainesville. It is important to us that you continue to be exposed to the poor and have the opportunity to engage in hands-on ministry.  We'll also partner with a camping and sports ministry.

·         Travel: To continue engaging in different cultures and learning about God's heart for the nations, we'll provide you with opportunities for travel to put into practice what you have learned.  In addition there may be a summer opportunity to lead various discipleship programs for high school and college students around the world. You will be able to call others to a life of sacrifice and to fulfilling the Great Commission.  In the future, we'll plant new leadership training bases in places like Spain and Africa with our colleagues Andrew Shearman and Gary Black and partner with them in developing those training centers.

·         Sample apprenticeships: Recruiting Team, Marketing Team, Multimedia ministry, discipleship ministry coordination, short-term mission project coordination, and many others. You will have the opportunity to use your gifts in mobilizing people for God's kingdom.

For more information: click here

To apply, click hereto fill out a Quick App. 

If you are an AIM alumni, please call 1-800-881-2461 ext. 270 or email SerenaLivingston@adventures.org

One of the first few days I was in the office, Jimmy came up and introduced himself and invited me to a birthday party. Introvert that I am, I originally declined the invitation because I didn't know anyone. But, Jimmy reasoned, how would I ever get to know anyone if I never left my apartment? So I attended the party and was instantly accepted into a wonderful group of people.

That was over a month ago and a lot has happened since then. Now we get together every Thursday night for fellowship, once a week for "church", and then various other times during the week to play games or hangout.

The Band is made up of about 10 people, give or take, but is always open to new members. At first we were just "the community of single people," but eventually someone suggested we should come up with a name for ourselves. Well, one day we were hanging out with some of our married friends, who are also in The Band, playing Guitar Hero (of course!) and someone said we were just like a band and it kind of stuck. So yeah, now we're The Band.

Community is a funny thing though. We all thought we were joining a community just to meet new people and hangout. We've since discovered that living in community is hard! It's hard to love your neighbor as yourself when you spend so much time with your neighbor. It's also hard to truly love someone; to love someone enough to be vulnerable around them. But this is what God has called us to and we are embracing it. We are each learning what it means for iron to sharpen iron. I'm beginning to think that what Jesus had in mind for the church is more like what we're experiencing in The Band than what most people experience on Sunday morning.

Since my last real post I've moved back home, done some traveling, and moved to Georgia. What follows is a brief summary of the last few months. Check back in a few days to learn about my joining a band! 

I came home from Mexico December 18th and had a wonderful time with family and friends over the holidays. For New Year's I was blessed to spend time with friends in Asheville, NC and also went on my first tour of the Biltmore Estate. It was still decorated for Christmas and was absolutely amazing! If you've never been, you must go. I plan to go back this spring to see the gardens and maybe take another tour of the house!

After the holidays I spent a lot of time traveling and visiting friends all over NC. I was honored to speak in a couple of churches and share the vision the Lord has given me for the next few years.

February 2nd my parents and I loaded up a U-Haul and drove to Gainesville, Ga., my new home! The day I moved in I met several of the kids that live in my apartment complex and one of the dads, George. He later told me that, as far as he knew, I was the only "white guy" in the complex. You see, everyone else who lives in my complex is from Mexico. I quickly told him that I was just moving back from Mexico so living there would be great for me. It's now been over a month and I love my little apartment more and more each day. Just this past weekend I bought homemade tamales from my next-door neighbor! What a blessing to get real Mexican food at home!

Most afternoons I will see George outside with his daughter, Audrey. He only lives a few doors down from me and we often have talks while watching Audrey run around with the other kids. Just incase any of you were wondering if my Spanish had really improved that much, you should know that George speaks English. He and his wife are separated and their other two daughters live with her. George has been very faithful to support his wife during the separation and told me this week that they might be getting back together. I value these conversations with George and ask you to pray for George and his family and also for me as I continue to develop this friendship.

I copied this from Pastor J.D. Greear's blog site (link can be found under "My Links" to the left). I don't normally blog by copying someone else's, but thought this one was especially helpful. Enjoy!

Back in October...yes, October...a group of men came to The Gateway for a construction trip. They were able to build 4 houses, providing homes for 4 families. They were also challenged to dig deeper in their spiritual lives; to be better men: husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, etc. They did not expect this challenged but I believe they accepted it and returned home with a new vision for themselves and their families.

Although I know most of these men came to "work", they did much more than that as they shared their lives with the people in the communities. Below are just a few videos I shot while we were hosting a Fiesta in one of the colonias. As you can see, the kids had a lot of fun, but I believe the men had even more!!

Let me know what you think!

Last week a group of 4 people flew down to Harlingen from Macon, Ga. This group consisted of a Children's Minister, his Administrative Assitant and 2 lay leaders, one of which owns a construction business and the other is a mother. These 4 people came from Martha Bowman United Methodist Church to talk to a local pastor about investing in his colonia, or neighborhood. This was my first opportunity to be a part of what AIM calls a "Vision Trip." The vision of this group, as described by Mickey Moring, the Children's Minister, is to partner with Pastor Salvador in an effort to build him a Community Center/Church, a home, and reroof the homes that need new roofs. As you can imagine this is quite a large project. But this is not what impressed me about this group of people. You see, most groups come to Matamoros once a year or twice at best, but when they are gone they are gone. What I mean is, they come for the trip and if relationships are formed then they are and if not, then that's ok too. The group from Martha Bowman is different. They are prepared to begin a partnership that will last several years. They are not intrested in traveling to other colonias; they want to invest all their resources into Las Palomas. They are intentional about building relationships!

As we shared with Pastor Salvador on Saturday, he asked us repeatedly when we thought we could start on the construction projects. We explained to him that the church had to return home and then we needed to plan some trips. But this didn't seem to satisfy his curiosity. I began to wonder if he was missing the point. "This church wants to form a LONG-TERM partnership." And then our translator, Eleazar, explained to us what was happening. Pastor Salvador, like other pastors, had heard these promises before and never seen any fruit. He was afraid to tell his people about the plans and then never see anything happen. What a blessing Americans are (thick sarcasm)! This pastor was afraid to trust this group because he had been misled too many times before. What a sad commentary on the philanthropic nature of American churches. But I digress...

I praise the Lord for that small group from Martha Bowman. Aside from feeding me quite well the 2 days they were here..'thanks guys!', they are real people, with real hearts, and a real desire to see this colonia reclaimed for the Lord. It is our prayer that Martha Bowman will serve as the model for future trips and other churches.

Gloria a Dios!!

A few months ago I met a guy who impressed me greatly. Not only is he an up and coming musician, but he also manages 5 rental properties and does some consulting for a church. Did I mention he's also married? If you, like this guy, are an entrepreneur you're probably thinking, "What's the big deal?" Well, I'm not an entrepreneur and so I thought it was pretty cool that he had all of that going for him. About a month ago I met another guy who is a missionary and a writer. This guy has written a couple of books, movie scripts, devotions, and is currently writing curriculum for a large evangelical church in the States. What do both of these guys have in common? Ambition. That's right; they are driven to accomplish great things. I don't have the "ambition gene." Ok, I'm not even sure there is an "ambition gene" but if there were I'm pretty sure I don't have it. This began to trouble me. I mean, it's un-American to not be ambitious. How will I ever achieve the American Dream if I'm not ambitious?? Then I turned to the book of Genesis and began to read the story of Joseph.

            Do you remember the story of Joseph? His brothers sold him into slavery and claimed he had been killed by wild animals. As a slave he was sold to Potiphar, the captain of the Egyptian guard. Joseph worked hard for Potiphar and was eventually given the rule of the house. Potiphar's wife wanted Joseph for herself and when he refused, she accused him of rape and had him thrown in prison. Joseph again served with humility and was exalted to a place of leadership within the prison. Later, he was released from prison and brought before Pharaoh. When asked to interpret a dream, he replied that he could not, but that God could (Gen. 41:15-16). After a successful interpretation, Joseph could have easily suggested that he be appointed to oversee the collection of grain since he had been to the one to interpret to the dream, but because of his humble spirit, he stepped back and was once again exalted. He was exalted to 2^nd in command, second only to Pharaoh. While I know most you remember this story, I wanted to remind you of the details.

I have always said I'm very content being a #2 guy. I don't need to be up front all the time, just let me be close to the one that's up front all the time. I was beginning to think this was not a very worthy goal until I reread the story of Joseph. Never in his life do we see him striving for power. On the contrary, he seems to serve wherever he finds himself. His greatest desire is to see the one above him achieve great success. What an honorable calling, living a life of humble service. I'm not saying that all ambition is bad. We need ambitious people in this world. But I am saying, to those of us who are not naturally ambitious, "It's ok." The Pauls of this world need the Timothys to support them in their work. Look at Jesus; He never sought to make a name for Himself, only to bring glory to His Father. But don't confuse laziness for a lack of ambition. Ambitious or not, you should always be working for the good of someone, whether yourself or others.