India, Day 1

We left Tri-Cities on Saturday march 6^th at 6:00 a.m. I don’t think I slept for more than 2 hrs the night before. Knowing that I was going to be away from my family for two weeks made me sick, but the excitement of what we were about to be doing gave me strength. The joy of the Lord is indeed our strength.

The airport turned out to be more of a hassle than I expected. We had two oversized suitcases packed with medical supplies for Dr Kumar, that weighed about 70 lbs each. The airline would only allow us to have two checked bags at 50 lbs each. I knew we would be over, but I did not expect to have to pay $500 to get them flown over. Whatever. At least we were able to get them through.

So our first flight was a short one to San Francisco, where we would have a 3 hour layover before boarding our longest leg of the trip, a 15 hr flight to Hong Kong. Wow, is all I can say. That was absolutely agonizing. Poor Richard was pacing the plane for almost the entire flight. I will say, however, that Cathay Pacific is a very nice airline to fly. We had our own tv screens with hundreds of on demand movies, games and tv shows and also had our own power outlet at each seat. I killed a lot of time on the laptop and watching movies. Tried to sleep, but only got about 1 or 2 hours. By the time we got to Hong Kong, I was like a zombie. Our flight from there to Chennai was only 5 ½ hours, and I ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep there.

One thing I will warn you of, is not to ever travel on too tight of a schedule with Trevor. We waited around for a half hour at every security checkpoint for this joker. I think he watched too many MacGyver episodes or something. You wouldn't believe the amount of knick-knacks he kept in his carry-on. He argued for 20 minutes about a set of screwdrivers. Screwdrivers! Anyone knows you are not getting on an airplane in 2010 with screwdrivers in your pocket. Anyhow, it made for interesting travel conversation and allowed us to partake in ministry-by-ridicule for a while.

Once we landed and got through immigration, we met with Josh, who greeted us with a traditional Indian welcome. We have pictures of us standing outside Chennai airport with shawls. Thank God for a good brother like Josh, who was willing to meet us at 1:30 a.m.

Day 1 Monday, March 8

Originally we had planned to arrive in India on Tuesday the 9^th, so we did not have any ministry arranged for Monday. Our original plan was to spend one extra day in Chennai at the tail end of the trip, but it turns out we saved about $200 per ticket to purchase our airfare on a Saturday rather than a Sunday, so we ended up bumping the whole trip up one day. We used the day to get acquainted with the culture and some of the pastors we would be working with. We met with a group of about 8 young pastors for lunch, then went to the St Thomas Mount and saw the traditional place where the Apostle Thomas is believed to have been martyred. I got to pray on the rock where the legend is that the Apostle Thomas used to kneel to pray.

After that, we went to the crusades grounds t

o pray over them for a great harvest in a couple weeks. The area where the local govt gave permission for the crusades was pretty run down, filled with trash, and the ground was uneven, but the believers worked very hard to clean it up and level it off before the crusades.

We also went to the pastor’s church who was the major player in organizing the e

vent and prayed for him and his ministry. They had all the billboards and signs for the advertisements, as well as the hand-outs for the crusades.

Josh sat the group down in the afternoon for an orientation to India. It was fun to s

ee the rest of the team get their minds blown away by the culture here. Josh is used to hosting missionary teams, so he was able to give valuable information to all of us.

We got to bed early because we were to fly to Rajahmundry the next morning and begin our ministry.

Stay tuned in to these blogs, because what you are about to read over the next few weeks will blow you away!

See you on the streets!

India, 2010 Mission Trip

Hey guys and gals,

Thank you for your patience over the past two months as I have not put up any posts for a while. Things were getting really hectic as the time drew near for us to head off to India. But, God be praised, we have now returned safely and I have so much information to share with you.

Over the next few weeks, I will be chronicling out our time in India, day by day, on this blog. I can't guarantee that you will receive a new blog every day, but each one that comes will tell the story of each individual day of the trip.

Many of you supported us financially and this will be a good opportunity for you to see that we were faithful with the funds and just where they went. I should be sending out the first blog tonight, so enjoy!

Thanks guys and gals, for your prayers!
See you on the streets!
Billy

Great Example

This blog, written by a friend of mine, is a great example of what I am talking about in this weeks blog.
http://thelawmanchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/01/invest-and-invite-how-modern-church.html

Reality Check

Well, lets face it. The world isn't exactly pounding down the doors of the church to get in. In fact, I would suggest that the church is the last place that those who sit in darkness will want to find themselves. The church building has about as much appeal to a sinner as the county jail does to the average criminal. It just isnt a very comfortable place to go when you're guilty.

So how do we get them in? With what means should we make the whole experience more attractive? Maybe we could add padding to the pews, get better sound equipment, hire a hip worship leader, or have the pastor dress as casual as possible, and refrain from using the words, "sin, repentance, judgment, righteousness, blood, cross, hell, damnation," and anything else that might scare them off. After all, we want to be as seeker friendly as possible, don't we? We wouldnt want to come on too heavy, and imply that following Jesus requires any kind of real change. That might send them straight to the doors.

This way, coming to church on a Sunday morning can be a pleasant and enjoyable experience for anyone. The attendees can walk out the doors, having their backs padded and their ears tickled, and walk straight back into their sinful lifestyles with no real fear of judgment or threat of consequence.

Why are you being so sarcastic, do you ask? Because this is the kind of nonsense that happens when we are too fearful to tell the truth. If the pastor is not bold enough to preach the gospel the way Jesus and the apostles did, how can we expect the church to go out into the world and do so? In other words, if there is weakness in the pulpit, there will be weakness in the pews. If you have a group of people who have been brought into some kind of religious experience of accepting Christ, but are strangers to repentance, who were not told why Jesus died on the cross, then it is no wonder why they lack any kind of zeal for building up His kingdom.

The trouble with the contemporary western church today is that we have a country club attitude. Too many of us subscribe to the mentality that we should enjoy an easy, laid back life. Leave the world outside, we don't care. Don't bother to tell them about what we know, they wouldnt be interested anyway. Besides, even if they were, would they not come on their own?

Listen to this quote by Samuel Chadwick, "Why does the church stay indoors? They have a theology that has dwindled into a philosophy, in which there is no thrill of faith, no terror of doom, and no concern for souls. Unbelief as put out the fires of passion, and worldliness garlands the altar of sacrifice with the tawdry glitter of unreality."

If we do not have a sense of the terror of doom ,we will not have any concern for the fate of the ungodly. Many understand what the Word has to say, but apparently they either do not believe it or have no compassion for those who will fall under the wrath of God. It is either unbelief or apathy that paralyzes the church. Which is it? We either have little love for our neighbor or we have little belief in what God says.

Everyone clings to the promises of God. Promises of forgiveness, freedom, blessing, future paradise, etc., but how often do we groan in sorrow for the promises he has made to execute his wrath on those who refuse to repent? How often do we consider what lies ahead for the ungodly? This is what kindles the fires of passionate preaching. This is what motivates a preacher to carry the message of salvation to his family, friends, neighbors, and the ends of the earth. An awareness of the awful consequence of being in one's sins on the day of judgement is what gives urgency to the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is also what drives sinners to the foot of the cross. Recognizing that it is only the blood of the Savior that can wash away their sins is what makes lost men and women put their faith and trust in the One who died for them. These converts do not backslide. They didn't come to Jesus for a better lifestyle, or because they were missing something, or because they had a God-shaped hole in their heart. They came to be forgiven of their sin. Nothing will separate them from Jesus now.

They won't bail out on Jesus when their portfolio disappears, or when temptation rears its ugly head, or when they lose their job, etc. They didn't come to Jesus for a happy life. They came because He is life itself. If anything, all the hard circumstances in life only make them cling tighter to the Lord, and even make them look forward to getting out of here.

Problem is, if pastors and street preachers fail to fulfill their responsibility to preach all of the truth, then we are not only robbing the sinner, but we are robbing the gospel itself of one of its "ablest auxiliaries." God wants his servants to be faithful, and that includes faithfulness to the simplicity and purity of the message. It is tempting to gloss over those parts of the gospel that are uncomfortable to discuss, but to do so does a great disservice to those you intend to reach, and to the Lord.

We don't need to fall into the temptation to make the message more palatable. Study the sermons Jesus preached. See how he faithfully told the truth. To those who were proud, he gave the law, in order to humble them. To those who were humble, he gave grace. God resists the proud, but he gives grace to those who are humble.

So, self examination time. Are you sharing your faith with the people God has put in your life? Like I said at the beginning of this message, they are not exactly wearing out the carpet at the entrance of the church. You are the one who has been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation in their life. Are you being faithful to them and to God by sharing the whole message of the gospel? Do you let the thought of what will happen to those you know and love motivate you to make some effort to share the message of everlasting life with them? Are you willing to let the conversation swing to some uncomfortable things (sin, judgment, hell, repentance) in order to effectively reach them?

Pray about these things, and study the ministry of Jesus and the apostles. Be faithful to God. Be faithful to those with whom you share the glorious message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

See you on the streets!!

Enduring Criticism

Hindsight is always 20/20. Isn't that what they say? It is not unusual to find ourselves in the midst of stark criticism of someone's efforts, especially after they have failed. Often we may be the ones whose mouths are not exactly being used as instruments of righteousness. Its easy for us, and for others to look at each others lives and evaluate the successes and flailings we see, and immediately offer our insight as to how we think things should have happened, or how they could have turned out better. Easy to say when you are looking at the results.

One area where we are dealt especially devastating blows is in the arena of ministry. Every time we see someone step out and attempt great things for God, there are the critics. If you make it your business to begin building the kingdom of God, and to become filled with a passion for urgent zealous evangelism, watch out! Because the attacks and the criticism won't only be coming from the world, but they will also come from places where you least expect it. The enemy will pull out all the stops to shut you down, and if he fails to do that, he will discredit you. Everyone knows how you should be doing your ministry, or how you should have done it. Everyone has an accusing finger that points out your mistakes. Why is it that people are so quick to criticize the good work of others? Why is there this automatic assumption that every good deed is tainted by impure motives?

This is what Theodore Roosevelt had to say about critics who go about to destroy the good work that others would do. I love this. Its so powerful. "It is not the critic who counts. It is not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. Why, the credit belongs to the man who is in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, and comes short again and again, (because there is no effort without error or shortcoming), who does actually try to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, and spends himself in that worthy cause, who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. Far better it is to dare mighty things and to wish glorious triumphs, though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

It is far better to have at the very least attempted to do great things and failed, than to live in mediocrity. You will never achieve great things for the kingdom of Christ until you step out and make the effort, even if you fail and have to get back up at some point along the way. Yeah sure, there will be people who talk about it and whisper to each other how you should have gone about it in some other way. So what? What does their opinion matter? Are they on the front lines? Are they leading and directing and getting their hands dirty? I have had failures in evangelism, but my devotion to the cause of Christ is unwavering. I will not stop serving Him.

One of the greatest blessings that God gives me is when another brother or sister comes up and tells me they have been praying for me, or for something I have been involved in. Or that they have been blessed or encouraged by something the Lord did with me. For every critic out there who is bent on destroying what God is doing in or through you, you will find that God has placed people in your life who are authentic, and who love you like a brother or a sister.

Don't let the fear of what others will say discourage you from attempting great things for God. After all, isn't he worth it? Though the whole world turn against you and ridicule you for naming the name of Jesus Christ, yet to have the approval of the King of Kings turns their jeering into less than a whisper. Enduring criticism comes with the territory of daring to be a doer of great things.

Listen to what Paul said in 1Cor4:3,4 "But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judges me is the Lord."

The only one whose approval we should be seeking is the Lord's. Now go out into the world and be the salt and light he has called you to be!
See you on the streets!