Commentary - Down the Home Stretch

Dear Praying Friends,

I know that many of you have been praying for strength for me and God has been giving it.  I have had a few times where my schedule pushed me to the edge, but frankly, it has been good for me to have to depend on God alone in many situations.  Often, I have been "spent" but God has given me the little extra that I've needed as I have asked him for it.  It has been an exhilarating trip from that perspective.  And now I am down the home stretch.

It has been an amazing journey in terms of culture....the Philippines, India, Pakistan, and now Kenya.  Currently I am in Nairobi and we have CTK leaders gathering from five districts in Kenya.  The ministry here has expanded since I was last here in 2007.  Many of them have travelled long bus rides to be here in Nairobi.  These are very dedicated men and women who are advancing the kingdom of God.  Some are achieving success simply by not giving in and quitting, because circumstances are stacked against them.  Some have told me that my coming is very important to them because they need the encouragement to keep going.  It is a distinct privilege to bless these men and women in whatever way I can.  I feel very inadequate to the task, but God is nevertheless using me.

During this trip I have been reminded of the passion that I have for leaders.  I want to support these men and women in prayer, materials, and encouragement!  I need to do this better.  They deserve it.  I have an idea to start a special blog that is for our national leaders to correspond with each other and with me.  They are in such different time zones that we need a forum that allows them to interact as they are able.

Our leaders are very different in personality, but so similar in heart.  I am struck by some recurring themes as I am seeing expressed in the various cultures where CTK is operating:

1.  The leaders are strong, but humble.  I'm impressed by the character and giftedness of our leaders in every country.  One section of my seminar is about "leading yourself," but I feel that I am preaching to the choir on that point.  It is a comfort to me that the ministry is being led by "faithful men who are able to teach others."  This is a credit to God, certainly.  For whatever reason, He has been pleased to bless our story with the type of leaders described in Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3.  I would be glad to follow these men if they were my pastor.

2.  Our leaders are young, but old beyond their years.  Everywhere I go I am struck by how relatively young our leadership core is - many are in the 20s and 30s.  In the next 30-40 years, if the Lord should tarry, this collective group is going to make a dent in the world.  I don't want to overstate it, but I think that CTK may be THE hope for many of the countries in which we are operating.  I've been greatly encouraged by the leaders in their young 20s, who "get" what CTK is about, and they are sharp!

3.  The people worship with all their heart.  I've enjoyed worshipping in various contexts, and while the style of music changes, the Spirit is the same.  I have often thought that what binds us together is Christ the King - not the organization, the person!  If you could hear the worship that I have heard, you would be thrilled.  I want to get some recordings of our various worship leaders to post on our web site.  We have some very talented musicians around the world.  In Pakistan CTK even operates a music school.  It would be awesome to some day have a global worship festival and bring together teams from around the world, but this is probably not practical.

4.  The willingness to sacrifice for Christ.  All of our leaders are working in challenging surroundings.  Some under threat.  All with little resources.  Yesterday I walked through one of the world's largest slums with Pastor Austin Oyula, and it was pretty heartbreaking.  But our people are overcoming evil with good.  Austin is working with an organization from France to teach families in the slums how to create their own garden.  They provide the seeds and know how.  The goal is to establish 2500 vegetable gardens in this particular slum, and so far they have 600!

5.  The utter dependence upon God.  For the most part our different Worship Centers stand on their own, with the Lord's help.  Everyone is glad to see me, but it is clear that they are not depending upon me to do their ministry...Praise the Lord.  There is a LOT that I need to process from this trip, but I have been personally challenged on this trip to depend 100% upon God.  I am wanting to have the faith that those under me have!

There is so much to say, and I know that I have not been able to give a consistent commentary because of communication limitations.  I'm sorry about that.  But I'm going to be writing a more complete report during my return flight next week and post that by the end of November, Lord willing.

For now I want to close with the lyrics of a song written by Pastor Bashir of Faisalabad, Pakistan after his life was threatened by the Taliban (they called him on the phone and told him he would be killed within a week).
They told him that they knew where his relatives lived, etc.  Pastor Bashir stood his ground, and in the end over 40 Taliban were arrested and jailed (they tracked the phone numbers, and actually captured many of them along a route in which they were going to ambush him).  During this time of threat, Pastor Bashir wrote a song.  He sang this during one of our meetings in his native tongue and my translator whispered the words to me in English as he was singing it.  The song moved me deeply, both the passion in which it was sung, but also the eyes of the people, as they were listening.  The lyrics say it all.  The song is entitled, "I will serve you and I will love."  On a few occasions in the song, the phrase "I will love" was repeated a number of times for emphasis.

I will be thankful to you
I will obey the vision
I will even die to do the job

I will serve you and I will love

I will wash myself with your blood
I will carry my cross
I will obey your will daily

I will serve you and I will love

Holy and Divine wisdom
Blessing of Jacob
Please give me your weapon
And I will not be defeated by anyone

I will serve you and I will love

You have lifted me up from dust
You made me sit with you
Your mercy is amazing
I will not forget that my whole life

I will serve you and I will love

Please keep me in your presence
Please fill me with your Holy Spirit
Please give me courage
And I will not be afraid of anything

I will serve you and I will love

Please help me in preaching
Please make me like you
I will die just like Peter (upside down)
I will beat all the persecution.

I will serve you and I will love

Amen.