25 Years!

This weekend, MCA celebrated 25 years of faithful ministry by Pastor Kent Redfearn and his family. The events of this weekend brought two thoughts to mind.

First, I highly respect Pastor Kent and his family, along with other long-term Pastors in Alaska for consistently obeying the call of God on their lives and being in it for the long haul. They are inspirations to me and set an example for younger Pastors. I believe that longetivity + effectiveness = fruitfulness.

Secondly, I commend MCA for celebrating such an accomplishment wholeheartedly. The weekend was full of events to honor not only Pastor Kent, but also his wife and kids. When we visibily celebrate something, it demonstrates the value we place there.

In Sitka for the Weekend

I had the privilege of filling the pulpit this weekend in Sitka. You may have heard that Sitka recently voted in a new Pastor who will be arriving in January. The church is excited to be moving forward and about their new Pastors, who are from Montana.

I love preaching in Sitka and really enjoyed seeing many old friends. It was great to spend time with my family also. I am perhaps slightly biased in thinking that Sitka is the most beautiful place on earth. The weather was predicatably rainy and overcast, but I am posting a couple of my mom's pictures of Sitka. She is quite the photographer. The first one is the church.

Married for 56 Years and Counting!

Pastor Dale Parker and his wife, Mary Beth, stopped by the District Office today. They are long time Pastors in Alaska, and are currently Pastors in Angoon. They are in Anchorage to visit with family for Thanksgiving. The Parkers are celebrating their 56th wedding anniversary today! Praise God for people who faithfully obey God's call and go where He sends them. They love the people of Angoon and are excited that God is working in the hearts of people there.

Wasilla Master's Commission Being a Blessing!

Today Pastor Scott Phillips, the director of Wasilla Master's Commission, brought several of the students to help decorate the District Office for Christmas. It was great to have a chance to chat with Scott and hear his heart for discipling students for ministry and life. I also enjoyed a chance to hang out with the students and found them to be fun and also to have servants' hearts. They were a blessing to us today.

The guys endured the cold to hang the outside lights.

The ladies helped Aubrey decorate the inside.

Masters Commission is an effective internship and discipleship program designed to assist young people in knowing God and making Him known. Wasilla MC is one of two Master's Commissions in the state (the other is North Pole). Pastor Scott and the Master's Commission will be taking off to minister in Stebbins and Kotlik in early December. Both Masters Commission groups have been a big blessing to the villages of Alaska.

For more information, see http://www.mcwasillaalaska.com/ and www.mcnorthpole.org/mainmenu.html

Welcome to Mark Zweifel!

It's official! Mark Zweifel and his family are moving to Alaska. Mark will be our next District Youth Director beginning in January of 2009. He has been active in Alaska over the years through speaking at camps, conventions, churches, and other meetings. We are really excited to see what God will do with this generation of young people in Alaska. Please be praying for them as they travel and make this transition.

Presbytery

This week the Alaska District Presbytery convened for the October meeting. It was lots of fun to have everyone in the office, and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know our Presbyters. What a great group of people! As the Presbytery considers issues important to our fellowship, it gives me relief to know that these are people who are full of integrity, take their positions seriously, and are led by the Spirit. Continue to pray for our leadership as they seek God's best for His Kingdom in Alaska.

The Cry of a Generation

Last night I went to Youth Convention. It was an incredible time of worship and the Word. I love seeing this generation worship the Lord with abandon. Mark Zweifel, the speaker, issued a strong challenge. He talked about hell and the concept that "proximity equals responsibility." In other words, we are responsible for sharing the Gospel with those God puts around us. He used Jeremiah to remind us that we are watchmen and will have blood on our hands if we neglect this holy responsibility. At one point in the service, the lights went low and people around the sanctuary began to cry out, "Why didn't you tell me, Mark?" and other such cries. When the lights came back on, those who were crying out had t-shirts with blood colored handprints and stains on their shirts. Mark had what appeared to be blood dripping from his hands. It was powerful imagery and moving to everyone there.

This was also the night when we honored Jen for her years of service as DYD. Jen has been a great leader of the youth of our state and her impact on this generation will remain. It was also good to see many friends from around the state at Convention. When I see the youth of this state worshipping God and giving everything to Him, together with their Youth Pastors, Pastors, and other leaders, I am encouraged about the future of God's Kingdom in Alaska. God is up to something.

From the Top of the World!

I got to spend some time with Pastor Harvey Fox, the pastor of Kaktovik A/G. Kaktovik is located on Barter Island in the Arctic Ocean off of the North Slope of Alaska. Pastor Harvey and his wife have pastored there for about 8 months. The congregation in this small village numbers about fifteen. Pastor Harvey and his wife feel called to live in this community and minister to the people. The ocean is already frozen up and the temperature in Kaktovik had hit single digits already. I enjoyed getting to know Pastor Harvey and appreciate his service to the Lord. Be praying for all those ministering around Alaska this winter. Pastor Harvey sent me the picture below of a polar bear around a whale carcass in Kaktovik.

Reaching, Teaching, and Keeping Boys for Christ

This past Friday I was privileged to speak at the Royal Rangers camp-in at MCA. My two boys attended this event as well. Commander Chuck and the team of commanders did an excellent job and put on a great event for the boys. There were several active and creative games which I know the boys loved. The fun, sweaty game time was followed by a time of listening to what God had to say around the campfire. Pastor Billy led us in worship, and then I spoke. We had an altar time in the cold wintery night, and three or four boys prayed to receive Jesus. We should never underestimate the importance of a commitment of a young boy to follow Christ.

I have had the opportunity to get to know District Commander Art Braendel, and it excites me to know that high caliber men such as Chuck, Art, and a multitude of commanders and workers around our state are committed to reaching, teaching, and keeping our boys for Christ.

Life-Giving!

Don't you love hanging around someone who builds you up and is encouraging? Daren Lindley is one such person. When I am around him, I can't help but feel blessed. I got out to KingsWay A/G last Saturday evening. Daren was speaking there, and is also helping them publish a new book. His publishing company comes into a church and unearths stories of people who have been changed by the power of Jesus. They then write these stories in a masterful, compelling manner, and publish them professionally. The church then has this resource to use as a tool to share the good news. What an incredible resource for the community and church.

Daren talked about being a life giving person. I was challenged to consider how I could be a blessing to people and allow God's grace to flow through me to others. It's a lot better than being judgmental!

District Office Mission

We had our District Office staff meeting today. I really enjoy working with the staff in the District Office. We have been working on a mission statement for the office. We want to answer the essential question of why we exist.

After much consideration, our mission at the District Office is "serving, equipping, and providing counsel for the ministers and churches of the Alaska District." We want to come alongside and assist pastors and churches however we can as they pursue their mission of making disciples in their communities. Isn't that what it is all about?

Kenai New Life A/G

I just got back from attending Kenai New Life A/G. This church is led by Pastor Steve Brown. I also got to attend a men's breakfast yesterday, which is where I took the first picture of Pastor Steve. I truly enjoyed the service today. It was a challenging message from Pastor Steve about service and sacrifice for our Lord. Pastor Steve and JoLynn how served this church faithfully for twenty years this October. I can tell this is a great church with people who love the Lord and serve Him authentically.

There was one thing they did that I thought was really cool and haven't seen done before. During the prayer time at worship, as I have seen at several churches, people were available to pray with you at the front. However, there were also people available at the back to pray with you. Perhaps this is a common practice that I have simply missed out on.

I think it in very innovative because although insiders have no problem marching to the front of a large public gathering for prayer, people who are new to church find this intimidating. I know that when I am at a public gathering where I am not comfortable, that is the very last thing I would want to do. If people can quietly slip out to the back to have a powerful encounter with Jesus, I think people would feel more free to do that. Jesus never put obstacles in the way of people encountering Him. He met people where there were. There are also practical benefits, such as easier access for people who have physical difficulty in walking to the front who may sit in the back. Anyways, something to think about. Now we are going to lunch and drive back to Anchorage.

With the Gluths in Kenai

We are having fun with our good friends Ryan and Heather Gluth in Kenai this weekend. They are Youth Pastors at Kenai New Life. Today we did what all people who have kids do when they get together....we went to McDonalds for lunch and let them run crazy at Playland. It's been a great time and we even got to see some moose yesterday and caribou today. Tomorrow we will be attending Kenai New Life A/G. I'll put up a blog about that tomorrow.

Voice to the Village

I had a great time today chatting with Terry Hull. Terry and his wife Danean are U.S. Missionaries to Alaska, from Alaska. They have a vision to reach the villages with the good news of Jesus. Terry spends a lot of time in the villages ministering to the people. He also enables video streaming from churches around the state. Currently, services from Fairbanks First Assembly, Bethel, Nome, and Anchorage Native Assembly can be viewed online. What an awesome opportunity for people to gather in villages to listen to the Word online from an Alaska Pastor who understands where they live.

Terry is a humble servant of the Master who is accomplishing great things for the kingdom in Alaska. Terry and Danean have a great vision to see people all around Alaska have access to the living Word. I want to encourage you to check out their website. You can actually link to services from these churches from their website. www.voicetothevillage.com

You can also find out how to support them on the website. Ministry in Alaska costs money, and I believe this is fertile soil in which to sow seeds.

A Little Help, Please?

I've been thinking on something Pastor Kent said on Wednesday night. Hosea talked about plowing the fallow ground in our hearts, comparing our spiritual condition to a field. When I was in Israel this past May, our professor showed us an example of a plowed field and an unplowed field. You can see here the vast difference. The plowed field has been freed of all weeds and rocks and is ready for seed to be sown. Getting our hearts into that type of condition takes a lot of work.

In fact, sometimes the rocks are so big that we need help moving them. Sometimes we face things in our lives that we simply can't handle on our own. We need someone to help us in lifting those rocks. I'm afraid that we don't cultivate the type of culture that allows us to seek help without being judged. I have friends right now who have hard rocks to lift and I have talked to ministers in various contexts who are struggling to lift the rocks in their fields.

But I think that there are many people who are attempting to cultivate their fields on their own, struggling in isolation. I will be honest and say that I am sometimes lacking in knowing how to help other people. My question is this: how can we change our culture to facilitate the idea that it is ok to ask for help and to release people from fear of judgment? Personally, I don't think this is a change that can be legislated through programs, but that we simply need to do a better job relationally. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Mom and Dad

Wes and Susan Kesler, my parents (pictured above), were in town last week. It was great having them here, and we always have such a good time. Our kids love it! Dad has been pretty busy lately with church stuff . . . he is the chairman of the board at Sitka A/G and on the pulpit committee. In fact, they have a pastoral candidate preaching tomorrow! Please be in prayer tomorrow morning for Sitka Assembly of God. I love that church! There are so many good people who have had a role in shaping my spiritual formation over the years.

My Daughter, a Future President?

When I tucked my daughter in to bed on Friday night, I thought something I have never thought before: My daughter could be President of the United States. We used to be taught in school that anyone could be President. Former Presidents were raised in a log cabin and attained the highest office of our great nation. Honestly, I had stopped believing that could be repeated. It seems like now it takes being raised by the right family, going the right school, having the right friends, and having enough money. And you might even have to be a little dishonest as well.

That changed on Friday. Gov. Palin grew up less than an hour drive from where I now live in a small Alaskan town. She grew up as an everyday type of person. It has restored my confidence that character, integrity, and having the right ideas can actually get you to the White House.

I know, an election still has to occur, and she would not be the President, but the Vice-President. But, it's a great start. I'm not intending to make a political statement, but I do think this is a great day for Alaska. And it is has gone a long ways in restoring my confidence in American politics.

Celebrating 18 Years

Today was Norma Gott's last day in the District Office as an administrative assistant. She has served the Alaska District faithfully for eighteen years. What an accomplishment! She has been a great blessing to many ministers in the District and has served well. There was a party at First Assembly of God tonight to honor Norma and her service to the Lord and to us. The first picture shows Norma on the right, and Judy, the District Office receptionist, on the left. Judy does a great job and is a joy to be around.

Youth Pastor Collaboration

Today was a great day in the future for Alaska Youth Ministry! In the last District Council, a resolution passed to approve a full time DYD position. One of the stipulations was that a job description be created for this position. Pastor Bill and the Presbytery invited representative Youth Pastors from around the state to the office today to gain input and insight into what Youth Pastors would like to see in the job description for this position. Pastor Bill led the meeting, and Pastor Fay gave insight and participated.

I was also privileged to attend this meeting today. I am impressed by the caliber of Youth Pastors from our great state. I have known many of these Youth Pastors for over 10 years and am just getting to know some of them. There was an atmosphere of collaboration, teamwork, and friendship that was a blessing. One of the most significant themes which emerged from this meeting was a desire for relationship and a belief that teamwork is key to reaching the youth of Alaska.

I am certainly excited about the future of youth ministry in Alaska and will be in prayer for whatever God has in store.

Ice Cream in the District Office!

Have you ever noticed that when someone does something really nice it brightens your day? It especially helps if that something is bringing Cold Stone Ice Cream into the District Office. Pastor Gary called today to ask what kind of ice cream we liked, and then he brought it on over. Wow! I've enjoyed getting to know him and realized he is a great Pastor with a heart for God and a great love for people. And I'm not just saying that because he brought ice cream (although it can't hurt). It serves as an example that the little things we do can make a difference in the hearts and lives of people.

Finishing Strong

I have absolutely enjoyed watching the Olympics this year. The swimming has been spectacular, seeing all the world records broken. I love watching Michael Phelps swim. He is a swimming animal. I truly enjoyed his race a couple days ago, I believe it was the 100 Butterfly. At the turn, he was only ahead of one person and was lagging behind. But in the final 50, he kicked it into high gear and won by a fingertip. He finished strong.

I got to see someone else finish strong yesterday. I attended the funeral of Ed Hughes. He was a long time Pastor and someone who served the Lord faithfully and genuinely. After hearing everyone's testimonies, it was obvious that Ed was the real deal. And He finished strong. In our times today, that is certainly something to celebrate.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Cool Weekend Services

I was able to attend a few services which I really enjoyed this weekend. I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. After I took them, I realized I had the wrong setting on my phone/camera. New Chance Assembly of God, a Russian Church, celebrated their sixth anniversary this weekend. Their services are held in Russian, but they translated to English for the sake of visitors, such as myself, who attended this celebration. I was impressed by the dedication and spiritual passion of these believers. After the sermon, there were many at the altars seeking God with all their hearts. It was a pleasure and honor to worship with them. Below is a picture of Pastor Sergey and the translator.

I also had the privilege of attending a new venue at Muldoon Community Assembly. This venue is led by Aubrey Welch, and Billy leads the worship. I love this venue, as it combines two vital elements which are rarely found together in a church setting: an attractive atmosphere and passionate worship. The setting has a coffeehouse feel, with modern colors, hardwood flooring, and yes, coffee and a juice bar. It has been my experience that often when a church goes for this type of atmosphere, they fall short on the spiritual dimension. But this venue has a heart to go after God and experience Him. The sermon is fed through a video format from the live service, and the sermon by Pastor Kent was awesome today. He challenged us to excel in the grace of giving, and brought attention to those in Burkino who are going without food.

God is Faithful and He Still Speaks If We Will Listen!

While in Israel, we had the opportunity to be baptized in the Jordan River. Pastor Craig had faith that God wanted to heal him of cancer. Before baptizing him, we had a powerful time of prayer out in the middle of the Jordan River. He believed that he would go down dead and rise out of the water alive. Today he got his biopsy results back with no signs of cancer. Hallelujah!

I have been blessed attending special services with Allen Ross at Muldoon Community Assembly. The Lord moved powerfully in the prophetic through Allen. This is a picture of Allen prophesying over our new District Superintendent, Bill Welch. God said that Pastor Bill was a bridge builder and a peacemaker. God said that he will be able to piece together the pieces of the puzzle and would be a visionary, bringing balance. There was much more to the prophetic word, and you can go to the Muldoon website to listen to the sermon and prayers. It has been very refreshing.

Confessions

I have to confess something. . . I love the church. Yes, I know that it is in vogue to badmouth the church as being institutional, outdated, or irrelevant. It seems that many want to abandon the concept of the church. I am not one of those people. Does the church have problems? Sure. I've experienced this firsthand in the time I have been in ministry. People do mean things sometimes. But, I love nothing more than seeing people serving God day in and day out in the local church. I have seen so many youths lives changed from the faithfulness of Youth Pastors and youth workers. I have seen too many children's lives changed from the love of a Children's Pastor or children's workers. I have seen too many people led in worship by a gifted worship team led by the Spirit. I love Pastors who seek God's face and choose to be servant leaders and examples for Christ. The church is full of people who love God and are doing their best to love others. Are there problems in the church? You bet. But I still love it and want to do my best to serve Pastors and churches as best I can to carry out the great and crucial mission of the church: to make disciples. The name of my blog is "Ekklesia," the Greek word for "assembly." New Testament writers adapted this word to denote the body of believers, or the church. Jesus said, "I will build my church (ekklesia), and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

It's the Relationships, Stupid!

You may be wondering why I have a picture of Bill Clinton on my blog. In his presidential campaign against H.W. Bush in 1992, James Carville wrote three things on a whiteboard to motivate campaign workers and keep Bill Clinton on task. One of those items he wrote was, "It's the economy, stupid!" Clinton had a tendency to focus on too many issues and neglect larger issues. Carville could anticipate that the economy would be a major issue in the presidential race. What was meant as an internal motivator eventually helped Bill Clinton become the forty second president of the United States. "It's the economy, stupid" even has it's own article on Wikipedia.

I know that in my life, I have a tendency to focus on a lot of things. I can get to be very goal and task oriented. What I have learned most over the past few years is the value of friendships. I love my relationships with my family and with the friends that God has blessed me with. So, to modify the words of Bill Clinton slightly, "It's the Relationships, Stupid!" I appreciate all of you who are my friends and share your lives with us.

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

We have now left Springfield and are in the middle of our move to Alaska. It's been lots of fun, so I thought I'd post a few pictures. Here is our family in the badlands of South Dakota. Awesome place!

We also visited Mt. Rushmore, which was really cool. We watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets right before our trip, which features Mt. Rushmore. My mom took the picture. She helped us on the move.
Of course, if you have kids you have to go to the pool in the hotel every night. Here are the kids and I in a hot tub.

When driving over the Rockies in Montana, we were a little shocked to encounter snow in the middle of June!

And this is a picture of me having a heart attack at the gas prices. We drove a Penske truck 2,000 miles to Seattle, and our minivan 3,000 miles up to Prince Rupert. The worst price we filled up at was in the Seattle area, and was $4.59/gallon. I know that doesn't seem like much to my Alaska friends, but was tough to handle coming from the land of cheap gas in Springfield, MO.

We are getting on an Alaska state ferry tomorrow from Prince Rupert, BC, and will be in Sitka on June 17th, our 13th wedding anniversary. We are still praying about where God wants us and our future ministry.

Sharing Your Life

Our Sunday School class has been studying Paul's letters to Timothy. As an icebreaker today, we went around the room (25-30 people) and shared who we considered to be an important mentor in our life. . . someone who helped shape who we are and impacted our lives. While listening, I made a couple interesting observations.

1) Although a variety of mentors were shared, the two which seemed to spring up predominantly were Youth Pastors and parents, specifically, Dad. People are shaped by their parents to a large degree. This places a tremendous responsibility on parents to model godly behavior to their kids. It also almost makes me want to be a Youth Pastor again . . . what an opportunity to impact young people for God! I thank God for all the Youth Pastors I know who love God with all their hearts and showyoung people how to follow Christ.

2) People in the group were not impacted primarily by the teaching from their mentors, but rather from modeling. By loving enough to spend time with people and living a godly life, we have power to shape lives. This is reminiscent of Paul's idea of "follow me as I follow Christ."

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Who Is This Man?

We had the opportunity to take a boat across the Galilee, which was really cool. Ben and I illustrated the biblical event of Jesus and the disciples on the boat. Jesus was asleep and a storm came.

The disciples got stressed and woke Jesus up. He immediately calmed the storm.

When the disciples saw Jesus calm the storm, it caused them to ask, "Who is this man, that even the wind and the waves obey him." As we allow Jesus to move through us in the midst of the storms of life, people will ask, "Who is this man, Jesus?"

We went up Mt. Arbel, which has an incredible view. You are looking at the Northern shore of the Galilee, which is where the majority of Jesus' Galilean ministry took place. It includes Capernaum, Bethsaida, and the feeding of the 5,000.

Refuge

The Judean Wilderness was known to the Hebrews to be a place of refuge. Although it was a dangerous place, people who knew the land had a definite advantage. David and other biblical authors picked up on this theme. David wrote, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." (Psalms 91:2)

We visited this area yesterday. The picture below was taken at Masada on the Dead Sea. This was known as a refuge and stronghold, and a fortress was built upon it. This is the type of area that David had in mind when he refered to God as a fortress or stronghold. And yes, we climbed up.


We also visited En Gedi on the Dead Sea. We got to float on the Dead Sea, which was incredible. You wouldn't believe how buoyant it is until you experience it. You can't keep your feet down. We also hiked David's Canyon, which includes the En Gedi Spring. This is the area where David was hiding from Saul. It is a beautiful oasis in the wilderness. This area, like God, was a refuge to David. Let God be your refuge rest in His shadow today.

We will be in the Galilee region for the next four days, and I don't know if I will have internet access. If I do, I will post more. Otherwise, it will be a few days.

We just got back from 3 days of journeys in the field. We visited the Shephelah (Judean lowlands), the Negev, and the Dead Sea. I have just a few pictures here. A few biblical examples and a few pictures of me in front of beautiful areas.

Moses struck a rock in the wilderness when God told him to speak to it. This simple act of disobedience prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land. The very thing that Moses had given his life for, his dreams of leading the people to the Promised Land, were shattered. Disobedience is expensive!

We are taking turns giving short devotions. I had the privilege of giving the morning devotion in the Judean Wilderness.

At En Gedi by the Dead Sea, we hiked up David's Canyon. This is the area where David was hiding from Saul. It is a beautiful oasis in the Wilderness.

Here is a picture of me in front of the Elah Valley. This is the place where David fought Goliath. The Philistines were encamped on the side of the Valley closest to me, and the Israelites were on the other side. Right behind me is where the battle probably occurred.





This is an excavation at Arad, in the Negev, known as the Great Wilderness in the Bible. This was known as a high place in the Bible. A high place is a place of worship and sometimes used to worship false gods. This altar shows two stones, with two altars of incense. This indicates that two gods were worshipped here. This is one of the reasons for which God punished the Israelites and they went into captivity. It is likely that this high place was torn down by Josiah.


This is Nahal Zin, a beautiful canyon in the Negev. I can't believe all the beautiful places there are here. We hiked up one of the sides of this canyon.