State of the Union

I thought to do something different tonight. Two days ago I learned how to track the churches signing up for NET 11, and looking at the map of them scattered across this great division, I couldn't help drawing some preliminary conclusions.

So, let's get on with the data.

First of all, as of this moment, 303 churches have signed up to participate. This is good progress, which I hope continues at this pace for weeks and months to come. When you check each state in the map at the website (http://host.propheciesdecoded.com/), you find only 242 of them have actually been placed. The reason is the webmaster does not add the churches on the map the moment they sign up, so the map count will always lag behind some.

Are you ready for the state of this union? Below are the states, provinces, and nation (Bermuda) and the number of churches signed from each region, according to the map count, not the actual count. I've also decided to highlight where things look positive, so far. The "awards" are labeled as the top 1) OS or Outstanding Progress, and the encouraging 2) NW or Nice Work. Of course, the assessment is considering the potential number of churches in that state. As you will see, Tennesse and Montana get top honors, and Alabama, Hawaii, Kansas, New Jersey, Ontario, and Washington get "atta boys!"

And the others? That's why we need to pray so the Holy Spirit may move mightily on the hearts of members, pastors, and leaders alike. Would that every province and state get the awards!

Keep in mind this is only an assessment to date.

BERMUDA - 1

CANADA
Alberta - 3
British Columbia - 3
Manitoba - 0
New Brunswick - 1
Newfoundland - 0
Nova Scotia - 1
Ontario - 9 (NW)
Prince Edward Island - 0
Quebec - 1
Saskatchewan - 1

UNITED STATES
Alabama - 10 (NW)
Alaska - 0
Arizona - 2
Arkansas - 8
California - 15
Colorado - 6
Connecticut - 1
Delaware - 1
District of Columbia - 0
Florida - 14
Georgia - 10
Hawaii - 1 (NW)
Idaho - 2
Illinois - 6
Indiana - 7
Iowa - 2
Kansas - 10 (NW)
Kentucky - 7
Louisina - 3
Maine - 2
Maryland - 8
Massachussets - 0
Michigan - 6
Minnesota - 6
Mississippi - 4
Missouri - 0
Montana - 5 (OP)
Nebraska - 3
Nevada - 0
New Hampshire - 0
New Jersey - 10 (NW)
New Mexico - 1
New York - 7
North Carolina - 0
North Dakota - 0
Ohio - 2
Oklahoma - 0
Oregon - 7
Pennsylvania - 9
Rhode Island - 2
South Carolina - 0
South Dakota - 1
Tennessee - 27 (OP)
Texas - 8
Utah - 0
Vermont - 0
Virginia - 4
Washington - 12 (NW)
West Virginia - 3
Wisconsin - 3
Wyoming - 0

Pray especially for the states showing zero, or even only 1 to 3 churches. Some larger states showing among the largest number of churches signed up actually reveal a relatively poor response vis-a-vis their potential.

There is only one month left before the Early Bird window closes, and resources for NET churches become either scarcer or more expensive. Let's pray the Lord will wake us all up from our slumber.

"Come, let us return to the Lord.

For He has torn us, but He will heal us;

He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

He will revive us after two days;

He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him.

So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord,

His going forth is as certain as the dawn;

And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain waterning the earth."

Hosea 6:1-3

Update on Love

One of the reasons I hurried back from my lightening quick trip to California last week was to be with my good wife (not that I have others, such as a bad wife) for our anniversary. Yes, when we were 25 and 22, respectively, we had the bright idea of getting married on Valentine's Day. It may not be unique, but it allows you to buy one card for your beloved, instead of enriching Hallmark by paying for two.

We got married 29 years ago. I know this is a blog to discuss NET things--and that's coming--but indulge me a bit to tell you about my girl. Lisa is one of the sweetest persons you'll ever meet. And when she is not that--which is very rare--she doesn't kill you with snake eyes. She's been the faithful mother of our three kids since before each of them were born. And she continues to be so (they're now 24, 22, and 20, whew!), thinking and praying for them each day, sending pictures, and quotes, and stories, and occasional care packages to wherever they are in the world. My wife is not a complex woman, but she's still a woman, complex enough to a man like me. She's faithful and supportive and quietly puts up with things others would not. She's actually a Christian. And I'm a very blessed man. I miss her these days because she's in the West Coast taking a course, and the house is too big without her. Fortunately, our daughter is with us this year, and she will make sure Dad eats and sleeps, even if ocassionally.

Tonight I came back from an evangelistic meeting preached by Dwight Nelson in South Bend. The subject was Hell, a hot topic any day. The truth is that this is one of the clearest opportunities to talk about the true character of God vs. the medieval notion that God delights to turture forever any who choose to rebuff Him. Oh, the great love of God! So many very bright people over the centuries have gone to Christless graves because of false concepts of God! If we would give ourselves the chance to explore the picture given of God in the Bible, I'm convinced it would be nigh impossible to be reduced to total surrender to such overwhelming grace.

One of my favorite songs of all time is "The Love of God." Frederick Lehman wrote the first couple of stanzas on a scrap piece of paper while seating on an empty lemon box against a wall one day in 1917. His daughter later put it to music. Look up the words on Internet. The rapturous stanza is number three, written in 1050, yes, almost a thousand years ago, by Rabbi Meir Ben Isaac Mehorai, a cantor in Worms, Germany. Lehman found the words penciled on the room wall of an insane asylum, after the patient had been carried to his grave.

You've got to digest these words:

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

The love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forever more endure
The saints' and angels' song.

Yes! This is what it's all about! To share the lavish love of a God who does not ever quit giving us more and more of Him. This is what I pray we may do every night we have the privilege to open the Bible for people longing for something to snap in place in their lives.

So, here is the list to pray for this week:

1. The Manual. I'm a third of the way through a fairly detailed manual that will go to every church involved with the NET. The deadline is upon us.

2. The Implementation DVD. We've encountered major setbacks in the taping and production of this 4-hr DVD which is also to go to the churches. We've been set us back a whole month. Please pray we may find an outlet that can help us get this taped (again!) and produced quickly (and not expensively)

3.  The Churches. As of yesterday, 262 churches had signed up to be part of NET 11. Praise the Lord! However, some who wish to do so have already allocated moneys for other things. The same thing with conference evangelism budgets. Pray the Lord will help people find a way to invest in evangelism for the sake of the lost in their communities.

According to Paul (see text below), love is seven things, and it's not eight. May you know God's love more and more every day, and may His love spill over to others with abandon.

"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag, and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never fails."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Tired

I’ve been nursing a cold for a couple of weeks now, and I’m not used to being sick. At times, I get these coughing attacks it sounds like I’m going to keel over right then and there. Two weeks ago I even had a fever, and felt quite miserable for a day. I think I’m worn out. I haven’t been running this winter, due to the weather and the book writing, and it has taken a toll.

It’s so much easier to lose your health than to gain it. At this stage of my life, if I don’t run or exercise regularly, the loss of strength and stamina is quick and easy. I guess I’m just plain tired.

Writing on a red-eye flight from California to Atlanta adds to the realism of it all. And last night, I arrived at my destination at 3:30 a.m. This was a 42-hr trip to California and back to meet with a number of conference presidents regarding NET 11.

There are times like these when you appreciate the Sabbath in a more existential way. Getting a full-night’s sleep, rising to simply read/study the Word at your leisure, with no pressure to present or do anything major. Tomorrow, Dwight Nelson will interview me about the upcoming Astonishing Discoveries in the Land of the Bible archaeology program Michael Hasel and I will be doing in March (this is not the uplink from Nashville, that will take place in September). Thousands of handbills should have arrived yesterday for members to use to invite friends and neighbors. But that is small fare and no real pressure.

My next urgent writing project is the manual for NET 11. There are only a few days left to get that done. Yesterday, I spent some time with Tim Standish, from the GSI, who will be my presenting partner for The Greatest Show on Earth: Making Sense of the Creation-Evolution Debate. We have a lot to do to produce that as well.

Church leaders frequently ask me these days if I feel my workload has eased some, since I no longer carry the division’s ministerial responsibility. Well, I smile and say, “It will…someday; maybe after NET 11 is accomplished.” But my wife smiles, thinking, “he’ll come up with another project by then.” Perhaps. But I’m less eager today to change the world and more determined that God would do that. And that is a good thing. And I won’t be so tired any more.

So, here is the list to keep before the Lord:

1.      The Manual—This will go to all the churches who sign up for NET 11 (220 as of last Tuesday)

2.      The Book Publishing—So the right book cover may be chosen, and all the editing completed in time to meet publication schedules

3.      The Pastors Hoping to Be Part of NET 11—A number of them have expressed interest in being a part of it but their churches have not signed up yet. They need to do that so they can receive the materials needed for a good year of outreach

4.      The Archaeology Program Development—Time is quickly passing and we need to have all the PPT slides redone and updated for our March 11-12 PMC weekend. Pray for the developer and his team

5.      The Funds—We are still a long ways away from raising all we need to meet the demands of the budget. Pray the Lord will lead us to good-hearted people that will give to evangelism

And keep our three children in your prayers. That would be really nice. Thanks from my heart.

“Do not grow weary in doing good.”

2 Thess 3:13

“Come unto Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28, 29

The Book

Over the last few weeks, my life has been in the basement. That's where I've been writing Adventism's Greatest Need: The Outpouring of the Spirit. I'm actually, literally, about six pages from the end (about 200 total pages--should be done Sunday), but Pacific Press, in the meantime, has been trying to get done as much as possible. They've already created a cover and the copy for the back page, settled on the title, worked on a promotional plan, etc. On Monday, I'm scheduled to tape a couple of devotional and promotional segments they can use around the country to promote the book.

All this is a bit sobering, if truth be told. I have a lot of books in my library and have read many of them, so I know about books. But this is my first real book written for the general public. It is scary because it appears there is considerable enthusiasm from the publishers and some of the readers I've sent chapters to about the book--about a book not yet finished, let alone one anyone has even read! What if it is not any good? I feel quite reassured I've done as well as expected with the time I've had, but the subject is so worthwhile that I can't help think it deserves a lot more attention and care.

Oh, well. As my relative from Spain, NT scholar and author, Roberto Badenas, says: "When you write a book, you either finish it, or it finishes you." There is only so much time, and then there is none left.

My hope and prayer is that is will be a blessing to as many people as possible, a tool which the Holy Spirit can use to awaken people, lead them to their knees, and cry out for more of God they ever thought possible before. My hope also is that whatever theological imbalance or inaccuracy it may contain, that it will be minimal and inconsequential. None of us are free from making mistakes, even if sincere and well-meaning. What you don't want is to give the devil an opportunity.

We've promised churches that sign up early for the NET quantities of the book, so they can study it with small groups or with friends or as leaders get together. It would be nice if it went somewhat viral, though I know only great, timely books have that type of a chance.

Anyway, thanks to those who've prayed for me and this adventure over the last few weeks. Pray that

1.  The editing and book publishing schedule may not run into any delays (we still hope to make this available by the end of March), and that the editors can catch as many glitches as possible; that

2.  Many more churches may join the 203 which have signed up to date, so they can be part of a process, not simply an event; that

3.  The Spirit of God may bring conviction to the vast central area of the United States, for pastors and churches from there to sign up (one reason is we have loved ones in that area); that

4.  3ABN reconsider their decision to not run the series, and instead decide to broadcast the three programs--Creation, Archaeology, and Prophecy--along with Hope TV, so we may give many more people the opportunity to hear the Word of God; and that

5. We may start settling on the content for the Creation-Evolution mini-series to be aired live May 4-8, with Dr Tim Standish and me.

There are other pressing needs for prayer, but that will suffice for tonight. Oh, may God take control of all His people, resources, and institutions so the Gospel may be preached in all the world, and then the Lord will come!

Shabbat Shalom.

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:8, 9