What would happen if...?

I was once told that the biggest barrier to students following God's call on their lives to be a missionary is parental disapproval. I remember thinking "There is no way, not in the kinds of churches I am a part of." Then I began to see it for myself. Parents, good church people, getting in the way of their students believe God is calling them to do and be in this world.

What would happen if a large group of parents publicly released their kids to follow God's call. And what if those parents made a commitment to help them pursue that call no mater what it is or where it would lead them? I don't know for sure but I suspect God would have an open door to move people to make a significant impact in his world.

This past weekend I was speaking at Sunwest Church about following God's call on your life. At the end of all three services parents were invited to publicly release their students to follow God's call on their lives and commit to do everything they can to support their children as they follow God's call. Students were also invited to publicly declare their desire to follow God's call on their lives. I don't know exactly how many people responded but many people came forward to publicly make their declaration.

About 2000 years ago there was a relatively small group of people who were willing to radically follow Jesus' invitation to "follow me". Look what God has done with that small band of fully devoted Jesus followers! Can you imagine what God might do with a significant group of students who have their church and family behind them as they radically follow God? Only time will tell but I suspect now God has that opening to move people to make a significant impact in His world!

Launch of The Face to Face Book

The maiden voyage of the new 8 week, seeker sensitive course on friendship, to be titled, The Face to Face Book is complete. You never really know for sure when you are passionately typing into a computer how your words will be received by a live audience. It was rewarding to see the avid interest of the women during the talks and their enthusiastic participation during the discussion times. We are aware of at least one woman who accepted Christ into her life during the eight weeks of the course. Four others indicated other major spiritual decisions. We believe, based on our experience with 10 Smart Things that the majority of these women who have experienced life change, will stick around, learn more, and eventually learn to serve and even lead. Here are some of the comments recorded on the evaluation provided by the host church:

Thank you for the opportunity to be involved in this learning group. I am looking forward to the next phase, and to reading the book.

All the topics were excellent. I have become more conscious of of relationships; I will strive to be a better friend.

This course has enhanced my understanding of my relationships and I am already reaping the benefits.

It has made me take an in depth look at what kind of friend I have been and what changes I need to make.

Donna said that Jesus is your friend: this is hard to understand... I would like to understand more...

How exciting it is for me to open the door for people to understand how they can know Jesus as their friend. Ministry leaders around the world who are passionate about evangelism are looking for tools to touch people's felt needs and enable them to explore their ultimate spiritual needs. In learning about their friendships with others, women can learn how to be a friend of God.

I am excited about the possibility of offering another outreach tool to the body of Christ. So much still needs to be done as we research publishing options, and look for the right opportunity to tape the sessions live. Of course all this costs money. Please ask God if He is directing you to be a part of making this new tool available to ministries around the world.

What do you say to fathers and their sons?

My normal target audience is usually somewhere in the 12 to 18 year old bracket. Put me in a room with 500 screaming Jr. Highs and it is a piece of cake! This past weekend I was booked to speak at a father/son retreat. Now I have to admit it is pretty cool to hang out with dads and their boys. You know there is going to be a lot of playing in the fire, some good laughs and a little competition, especially when their is paintball involved. But what to do speak about when your audience of 64 is aged 6 to 60?

As I prepared I decided I would just talk about some of the stuff I am learning and/or and passionate about these days. Friday I spoke about being a radically sold out Jesus follower that plants a flag and says I am going to live for Jesus no matter who knows and what it costs me.

I decided that Saturday I would speak about worry and Jesus prescription for it in the morning. Saturday afternoon I would talk about the Haiti earthquake and how I am becoming absolutely convinced that God is about redeeming the earthquakes in our lives.

I was amazed at how open the men were to what I was saying. After each session men wanted to talk to me. Some were really short, like one man who said in passing "Thanks for your session this morning I really needed to hear that. It was right on." Some were really quite in depth like the one that started "God really convicted me about how I need to take a stand at work for what I believe is right but it sure is hard."

I am convinced that most men and boys feel terribly isolated. They don't feel like they can really talk about the stuff that is going on, on the inside especially if it is hard or scary. It was really fun this past weekend to be with a group of men and their sons who took the risk to talk about some of the inside stuff that we all tend to wrestle with.

Part of me wonders what kind of an impact will it have on those younger boys to get to an adventure just with Dad and see him allow God to work in his life?