I’ve come away to the woods this morning for a time of quiet solitude. I’ve come seeking time with God and God alone. As I was reading, praying through a psalm and listening to God’s voice I also heard another call – the call of nature and knew that it was time to find a restroom.

I struck out cross-country on a beeline to the nearest facilities. It was a pleasant walk but much of my attention was taken up with picking my way through the washed out gullies, around downed trees and, especially avoiding the ubiquitous poison ivy. In a few minutes I came upon a bike trail which I knew went close to the restrooms and I started down it.

I thought to myself, “It sure is a lot easier walking on the trail rather than bushwhacking”. As I thought on this the Spirit revealed that this was an analogy of my life for the past few years. I’ve been on a passionate quest to draw closer to God and I feel like I’ve made progress but it’s been like bushwhacking cross-country. Sometimes I’m just whistling along, walking in the sunshine, enjoying God’s creation and then bam, there’s a gully, a downed tree, sometimes even a big gator-infested swamp. My relationship skids to a crawl as I work through or around the obstacles.

A couple of years ago as I was dealing with some of my spiritual obstacles I began reading about some of the early Christians and how they lived out their faith. I was particularly drawn to the Celtic Christians and other early monastic people. After months and months of spiritual bushwhacking I had stumbled upon a clear, well-marked path. God had led some of my early Christian brothers and sisters in the same direction I was headed and had used them to blaze a trail for me and others to follow.

So thus began my adventure of incorporating into my everyday life the monkish values of:

• Solitude and silence
• Faith and compassion
• Friendship and mentoring
• Contemplation and leadership

It seems I am not the only present-day evangelical that has stumbled upon the monastic path to a richer relationship with God. According to the articles Monastic Evangelicals and A Higher Ecclesiology for Evangelicals in Christianity Today many, especially younger, evangelicals are looking to the early and medieval church for ‘new’ pathways to God.

What are your thoughts on this new monasticism? 

 

 

Here's a story from the Baptist Message on using what you have to help others in need.  A rancher in Southeast Louisiana heard about how the severe drought in Texas was hurting small scale ranchers in Texas.  The drought has prevented Texas ranchers from growing cattle feed and is forcing many to sell their cattle.  The Louisiana rancher knew there was extra hay in his area so he began hauling it to those in need in Texas.

This is a great example of living out 1 John 3:16-17

Pretty interesting article in the current issue of Neue magazine about the current controversy raging over differing views of hell.  In the article Jeff Cook presents the four most common views of hell.  There are also some good Q&A sections with Rob Bell and Francis Chan.  Check it out and let's hear what you think.

This morning I was watching a video of Craig Groeschel’s talk Creating Personal Spiritual Momentum at Catalyst. One of his main points in building spiritual momentum in our lives was “defeating our dark side”. Some of Groeschel’s thought’s went right along with Richard Rohr’s new book Falling Upward, which I just finished. Rohr calls our dark side our shadow self, a persona (Greek for stage mask) we’ve built to hide our real self. This persona or stage mask is not necessarily bad, just not the real you. As Rohr puts it, “Your shadow is what you refuse to see about yourself, and what you do not want others to see”.

Rohr says that to fully mature into the spiritual person that God intended we must do considerable shadow work. Perhaps this shadow work is what Jesus is referring to when he says we must lose our life to save it (Matthew 16:25-26).

Groeschel and Rohr agree that it can be grueling work to uncover and then face our dark side or shadow self. We must draw close to God to see ourselves as we truly are, face up to and overcome our shadow selves. The closer we are to the Light the darker our shadow will be and the more easily recognized for what it is. As Zechariah prophesied in Luke 1 God has sent “a light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:79

A few weeks ago some of my XMA buddies and I decided we would do the Hotter’N Hell 100 endurance bike ride at Wichita Falls TX on August 27th. As guys tend to do when they get together talking we decided that since we were going to do the 100 mile road bike ride we might as well go for the Triple Threat. That’s a 13 mile mountain bike race on Friday evening, a 100 mile road bike on Saturday and then a half-marathon trail run Sunday morning. 126 miles of biking and running in one weekend! Sounded like an awesome weekend!

But, as the date draws closer the reality is starting to set in. What were we thinking? And who’s idea was this? (mine) The training is going pretty well but this heat is a killer. Then I get an email from the HH100 organizers announcing that due to the unprecedented heat this year they are starting the 100 mile road ride an hour earlier. A quick check on my weather app shows 112 for the high in Wichita Falls all week! That’s insane. Why would anyone do that?

And then the Spirit reminds me why I do this. I live at 63 feet above sea level in flat Louisiana delta farmland and God has called me to serve unreached peoples in the high mountains of Central and SE Asia. The main reason these people are still unreached is because they live at elevations of 8,000-12,000 feet and it takes days of hiking to get to their villages. The only way I will ever be able to reach these villages and these people with the love of Christ is if I train my body daily.

I remember back on January 21, 2002 when the Lord told me through Acts 13:47; “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth”. The ends of the earth are a long way from the fields of Louisiana and they are tough to get to. Over the next few months we’ll be mountain biking hundreds of miles in SE Asia. Early next year we’ll be hiking, road biking and kayaking in remote North Africa.

That’s why we are doing HH100 now. Want to join Team XMA at HH100? Or maybe on an adventure at the ends of the earth?

It’s a glorious sunrise off to our east as we cruise at 36,000 feet over Northern Sudan headed to Ethiopia.  The horizon progresses from red to orange and then yellow as the sun once more crests the Simeon Mountains.   There’s always been something about sunrises that forces me to break out in worship of the God of creation.  The beauty. The creativity.  The awesome power to create it from nothing and keep it in place for untold thousands of years.

But, this morning there is also something else on my mind.  XMA has its first trip into Sudan planned for later this year and I think about and pray for the thousands and thousands of people below me now who have lived in refugee camps for decades.  There are actually many people in these camps who came in as young children years ago and these same people are now parents and even grandparents.  Imagine, generation after generation who have known nothing but life in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) refugee camp!  (By the way, isn’t IDP a nice, sanitary way to describe these people who have been forcefully driven from their homes to live for generations in the crowded squalor of refugee camps?)

But even as we are making plans for XMA Eye Doc in a Box eye care clinics and to show the Jesus Film in these camps violence has once again broken out between Northern and Southern Sudan.  News reports say Northern Sudan is bombing the very airstrips used to bring humanitarian aid to the refugee camps.  Until this violence settles down again there will be very little aid to the people in the camps and no XMA team to share the Good News of Jesus through word and deed with the ones who so desperately need it.

Please join me in praying for peace in Sudan, for the people effected by decades of war and for our XMA team to be able share Christ in the IDP camps.

This is not a movie review.  I haven’t seen the movie or even read anything about it.  However, during a flight back home with a team a few days ago a little teaser for EAT PRAY LOVE on the cover of the inflight magazine caught my eye.  As soon as I saw it my mind turned to the Bongay of Central Asia.  These three words succinctly describe how we live out Christ’s love among these rural Muslim people.

EAT  It seems counter-intuitive to Americans but they only way to accomplish anything in Central Asia is over a long, slow meal.  As Joel Rosenberg, author of Inside the Revival, states, "The Muslim culture is an Eastern culture, not a Western one.  It is based on relationships and storytelling and on people spending long periods of time with one another.  People in Eastern cultures are not so worried about schedules and quotas and sales figures and returning emails and phone calls quickly.  They are interested in firm handshakes and good food and strong coffee and sweet tea and looking in a man's eyes to see if he is a good man or a bad man and whether he can be trusted or not."

With this principle in mind we must first slow down, drink some tea, eat some goat.  And then we drink some more tea and eat some more goat.  And then we drink some more tea and eat some more goat.  And then…well you get the point.  It is the hardest thing for most Americans to do but the first step in demonstrating Christ’s love is to slow down, get to know them and let them get to know us.

PRAY  Prayer is the key to opening the Bongay’s hearts to Christ’s love for them.  We believe that the most effective way to pray for them is to meet them in their villages, stay with them in their homes, see firsthand the challenges they face.  As Frank Laubach, early missionary to the Moro people in the Philippines, says, “I do nothing that I can see except to pray for them, and to walk among them thinking of God.”

We pray for the Bongay.  We pray for God to open their minds and hearts to his love for them.  We pray for them to see Christ’s love on our faces, in our actions and in our words.  We pray before we arrive.  We pray silently as we first arrive, as we meet new people, as we enjoy tea and a meal together. 

We also pray openly with the Bongay.  By the time we have shared a meal together they understand that we are followers of Jesus.  In most cases they gladly accept our offer to pray for them and openly share about needs in their lives. 

LOVE Christ loves the Bongay just as he loves me and you and everyone else in the world.  It is this love of Christ that compels us to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”.  It is this love of Christ that is drawing the Bongay to Christ in spite of all the odds against it happening.  It is this love of Christ that is now in the hearts of the first few Bongay believers to ever call on Christ as Lord and Savior.

Won’t you come join us as we EAT PRAY LOVE among the Bongay and other unreached people?

The average US household has about $90 in spare change just sitting around.  Why not turn yours into a blessing for those in need and you'll receive a blessing as well?  Simply take your penny jar to a nearby Coinstar kiosk.  But instead of cash request a CVS/pharmacy gift certificate.  You then mail the gift certificate to XMA and we'll use it to purchase over-the-counter medicines for our teams to use in remote villages.

I read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 this morning.  As I read on to Jesus' explanation of the parable; "When people hear the message about the Kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their hearts".  I felt the Holy Spirit asking me; "Who's fault is it that they did not understand?"  The hearer?  Or is it the speaker?

 

I have always assumed it was the hearer.  The faithful farmer sowed the seed as he was taught but the ground (unbelieving people) did not accept it.  But, perhaps the sower is at fault for not sowing the seed in a way they could understand.  Perhaps we are at fault when we present the Gospel to oral learners (which includes most of the remaining unreached peoples) using literate means such as printed Bibles, tracts or even preaching three point sermons and they do not understand it.  For these oral learners it is our responsibility to share the Gospel in a way which they can understand and accept.

We just finished an exciting week of exploration into the jungle mountains between the Patuca River in Honduras and the Nicaraguan border.  Tripp Sloan, Robert Jackson, Chuck McDaniel from Lexington Baptist Church in South Carolina and I were trekking with Marlon Muñoz.  We were investigating mission opportunities and humanitarian needs in the Rio Platano Biosphere, one of the most remote areas of Honduras.

 

Our first stop was at Pastor Juan’s.  After a brief night at his house on the river bank in the village of Subterraneo he led us on a six hour hike to Jardines, one of the five villages where he pastors.  News of our arrival spread quickly and by two o’clock the locals gathered at the small wooden church for worship and testimony.  Pastor Juan is doing a great job of ministering to the people in this isolated area and he welcomes our help to more effectively reach these villages.

 

From Pastor Juan’s area we moved on up the Patuca for another long hike into Agua Frescas.  There we met Roberto Calderon, his wife, and thirteen children.  We went to bed that night on the dirt floor in the large common room of the Calderon house with the sound of a Honduran soccer match blasting from a small transistor radio.  There was celebration throughout the household as the radio brought news of Honduras’ victory over Mexico.  The next morning we had church at the Calderon’s as our team shared testimonies and witnessed to the family.  No one accepted the Lord that morning but they were open to our message and welcomed us to return as soon as possible. 

 

After the house church service we moved on deeper into the jungle.  We met a local Christian named Alejandro on the trail and he led us on to La Selva.  Once again we were warmly welcomed into the homes and encouraged to return as soon as possible.

 

This was a very tough week for us gringos as we struggled along the steep, muddy jungle trails.  But I believe it was also a very profitable one for the kingdom.  We were an encouragement to the few local Christians we met and a blessing to the sick we encountered as we prayed for them and shared what medicine we had.  We made contacts and laid the groundwork for future XMA teams to help share God’s love with these warm, gracious people.  Please join us in prayer for these new friends and consider joining an XMA team in 2009 as we come back to share Christ through personal testimony, the Jesus Film, medical and dental work, and other human needs help.

 

Randy Pierce

 

Click this link to see Jardines on Google Earth.  You can see the Patuca River on the left and the Coco River/Nicaraguan border on the right side http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=14.4081,-85.3356&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Check out our TribalConnection channel on YouTube for short videos from this trip:

www.youtube.com/tribalconnection1  

 

Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;

Uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

Rescue the poor and needy;

Save them from the hand of the wicked.

They don't know or understand;

They wander in darkness

                                                Psalms 82:3-5

 

These verses struck a chord in my heart this morning as our team is returning from Central Asia.  A few days ago we visited one of the women's sewing centers XMA help start.  Through translators the local village women told of the rapes and other abuses they endured during the civil war that ravaged this country a few years ago.  Most of these women and girls are now widows and orphans.  And their tragedy continues as they struggle to live without adequate food or housing, very little electricity, no running water or sewer, only scarcely available wood or dried animal dung for heat and cooking. 

 

I'm reminded of the song Emma by Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier from Sudan who was rescued by an aid worker named Emma McCune:

 

Emma

This one goes to Emma McCune

Angel to the rescue one afternoon

I'm here because you rescued me

I'm proud to carry your legacy

Thank you, bless you, R I Peace

 

What would I be if Emma never rescued me?

What would I be?

What would I be, another starving refugee?

What would I be?

What would I be if Emma never rescued me?

 

You would have seen my face on the telly

Fat hungry belly

Flies in my eyes head too big for my size

Just another little starving child

Running around in Africa born to  be wild

Praise God praise the Almighty

For sending an angel to rescue me

I got a reason for being on this earth coz I

Know more than many what a life is worth

And I, now that I got chance to stand my ground

I'm gonna run over mountains leaps and bounds

I ain't an angel hope I'll be one soon and if I am

I wanna be like Emma McCune

 

I would have probably died from starvation

Or some other wretched disease

I would have grown up with no education

Just another refugee

I stand here because someone cared

I stand here because someone dared

I know that there's a lot of Emmas out there

Who is willing and trying to save a life of a child

 

The sewing center is a tremendous help but it is not enough.  God compels us to do more!  We must be the someone who cared, the someone who dared, the Emma for those desperate souls in need.  We must help them with immediate needs such as food, medical, housing and education.  We must help them develop markets for their sewing products so they can become self-sufficient.  We must help them find the God who loves them and compels us to love them and help them.

The raw beauty of the Central Asian mountain surrounding me are awesome!  It’s the middle of the dry season here and yesterday everything in sight was dry, brown and looked as if there were no life.  But in the afternoon a small rain shower moved through dropping the temperature and a few drops of precious rain.  As the sun comes up this morning it reveals an amazing sight.  Overnight God brushed the parched mountainside a verdant green and brought life back to the dead earth.

This reminds me of the story in Ezekiel 37 where God brought the prophet Ezekiel to the valley of dry, dead bones and asked if they could be brought back to life.  Ezekiel’s reply, “Only You, O Lord, know”.  Then God showed Ezekiel it could be done just as easily as God brought these parched, dead mountains back to life.

Our XMA team is in Central Asia to drill a water well attempting to bring much needed water to a large village of over ten thousand people.  Currently, their only water source within miles is a small creek which over the past few years has turned salty.  We’ve been working on this project for almost a year now.  Researching options for obtaining clean water, raising funds, purchasing and then importing well drilling equipment and recruiting volunteers to come serve on the drilling team.  Will we be able to bring life restoring water to these desperately needy people?  Only You, O Lord, know!

Post script:  Our team did drill one hundred ninety feet into the desert floor as anxious villagers watched.  There seemed to be a small vein of water bearing sand at one hundred seventy-five feet but due to mechanical difficulties and our inexperience we did not get a working well this time.  We are making repairs to the equipment and will return for another attempt.

There are thousands of villages in the desert regions of Central Asia where entire families live on less than five gallons of water per day.  Imagine only five gallons of dirty river water for all of the drinking, cooking and cleaning for a family of six people!

 

Clean water is a vital need for these families.  That’s why we are attempting to equip and train a team of national Christian well drillers who will, prayerfully, go from village to village drilling water wells.  But even more important than clean water is the need for Living Water.  These villages are one hundred percent Muslim.  Clean water projects provide an opportunity for XMA teams and national Christians to enter the villages, demonstrate Christ’s love through meeting physical needs and share Living Water through oral Bible stories.  Although our well drilling was not successful this time our team did share the Living Water of God’s Word with many people.  Our local host told us that this is the first time that any Christians have been allowed to visit the village and if it had not been for the well drilling we would not have been allowed to stay.

 

Please pray for God’s Word to continue working in their hearts and minds.  Also pray for our well drilling efforts.  Due to the harsh winter weather it will be next spring before we can try again.  We need volunteers for our next attempt. We especially need an experienced water well driller to help train the national drilling team.  Please contact our office if you’d like to be a part of this Adventure with a Purpose in Central Asia.

What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?  I will lift up a cup symbolizing his salvation; I will praise the Lord’s name for saving me.   Psalm 116:12-13 NLT  

I’m having my first cup of coffee this morning as I read Psalm 116.  Verses twelve and thirteen make me think, “Yes, I can raise my cup of strong, black coffee in praise to the Lord for my salvation.”  In many ways this café noir does symbolize the Lord’s salvation.  Just as this stout cup of java pulls me from the slumber of a good night’s rest the Lord’s salvation one day awoke me from the dormancy of my previous life into full awareness of the rich, abundant life that awaited me in Christ.  The dark elixir quickly courses through my body energizing me for the day’s activities just as the Spirit fills me with excitement and desire for his service. 

Just last night I read how some of the latest studies show coffee is good for your heart.  It is high in soluble fiber and is also a good source of antioxidants.  Both of these help remove harmful byproducts such as cholesterol and cancer causing agents from our body.  If we allow it the Lord’s salvation will likewise cleanse our hearts of all the crud that has built up over the years.  It will open up our spiritual arteries so that we can hear the Spirit speaking to our heart and so that we’ll have the desire to follow what we hear. 

And finally, just as I like my coffee pure, strong and black the Lord’s salvation is sufficient in itself.  No need for added ‘sugar and cream’ to complete it.  The work is done.  The job complete.  My part is to accept the Lord’s salvation as he offers it and enjoy the bold, full-bodied, abundant life.  Of course, there is much more to come in this life as a Christ follower.  That first cup of coffee will not nourish me for the full day.  It is only the beginning – a great start for what lies ahead.  Just as I need meals and snacks throughout the day to maintain my energy I must continually learn and grow in my walk with Jesus if I am to fully embrace the abundant life he offers. 

So, yes Lord.  I lift my steaming cup of joe in praise to you for saving me and for filling me with a desire for your abundant life!

But there is a God is heaven who reveals secrets... Daniel 2:28

I woke up this morning with a desire for a fresh word from God.  I usually do most of my Bible reading from the New Testament but this morning I felt led to the Old Testament - specifically the prophets.  As I read through Daniel I was struck over and over again with God's intervention in human lives.

These interventions reminded me of times when God has disrupted my life.  My calling to missions.  The many times he has given me visions of future possibilities and new directions for XMA.  The latest of these is TribalConnection.

Just as he has fulfilled many of the earlier visions I believe he is currently fulfilling TribalConnection.  I don't have a clear picture where he is leading us with TribalConnection but I do know he intends to use it to show his love to overlooked people that we have not even known about or yet considered.

Our clean water project in Central Asia is moving along quickly.  We still lack a good bit of the funding but we have placed the order for the well drilling equipment.  It is scheduled for delivery to our partner in Central Asia in November.  We desperately need an experienced water well driller who will volunteer to spend a few days teaching the local guys how to use the equipment.  This is an outstanding opportunity for a very small investment of time to have a lasting impact in the physical and spiritual needs of a very dark land.  The local people we train will have a permanent water well drilling ministry.  They will spend 1 or 2 weeks in each village drilling several wells.  During this time they will stay in the local homes teaching them oral Bible stories and demonstrating God’s love through their actions and words.  When they leave they will not only leave behind sources of clean, healthy water.  We believe God will use their faithfulness to plant churches in many of these previously unreached villages.

This trip will be about 10 days long and can be scheduled at the well driller convenience.  It may be possible to schedule it this fall but most likely it will need to be late next spring due to the harsh winter weather.  Financial assistance is available.  Contact Randy Pierce at rpierce@xmaonline.com or 318-381-9884.

Please help locate this volunteer by spreading this need at your church, work and anywhere you can.

Team XMA (at this point only me but you are invited to join) is planning to compete in the 2007 Tyler State Park Sprint Adventure Race September 8th.  We will mountain bike 10 miles, trek 5-8 miles and kayak 1-3 miles.  The trick is you have to make your own boat from any non-boat materials.  My daughters and I got out on the shop and scrapped up some stuff to make the Team XMA flagship boat.

 

It’s made from our XMA travel trailer sewer dump wagon, 2 pieces of conduit, 2 seven gallon water jugs and the seat off my grandson’s old highchair.  It looks funny but, hey, it floats

 

And it looks like it might just hold together for the race.  The first thing I’ll have to do is pull the boat from the starting area to the beach on the other side of the park so the wheels will come in handy.  This is a great way to train for upcoming XMA adventures and have some fun.

Whether you decide to join me in the race or not come on out to the park for The Gathering on Saturday afternoon and evening.  Osmany, Jennifer & Rebeca and Marlon & Trish will be there.  We’ll also have the Tribal Connection system set up for you to see and we have some great videos on tap.  It will be a great time of fellowship and catching up on what XMA has planned.

 

 

 

Jesus saves from the American dream.  Find out more at dontwasteyourlife.com

I have the satellite equipment in hand and have been doing some testing from our office in LA (rural LA is about as backwoods as you can get).  We made our first video link today from the TribalConnection laptop to our office computer.  I'll be doing some traveling around the US the next couple of weeks and will do more testing.

 

Americans spent $15 billion on bottled water last year when most of us have access to safe, pure, almost free tap water.*

One billion people have no reliable source of drinking water and 3,000 children a day die from diseases caught from tainted water.*

As Christians what should our response be?

*Information taken from ‘Message in a Bottle” by Charles Fishman in July 2007 issue of Fast Company

 

I picked up the book Risk by Kenny Luck last week. I started it last Friday evening and wound up reading the whole thing over the weekend. It's a great book that will challenge you to follow God's leadership in your life. I highly recommend it.