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Great tutorial on using WordPress

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I found this great tutorial on using WordPress. The focus of the tutorial is on using WordPress for a church website. But the principles are very useful for those of us who use WordPress to manage a website that does more than serve as a blog.

Missionaries frequently ask me for advice on creating a website to communicate with ministry partners. I regularly recommend either Blogger.com because it’s easy to use or WordPress.com because it’s very flexible and powerful.

This series has very helpful topics like

  • Picking / Finding a Free WordPress Theme
  • Personalizing Your Theme and Making It Your Own
  • Two Quick Ways to Make WordPress Look Like a Regular Website
  • Six Handy (And Free) Plugins

If you are looking for a good website publishing tool that is both easy-to-use, flexible, and extremely powerful, look into WordPress.

Eastern Europe. There are no wrong numbers…

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The phone rings. “Hello. Who’s there? Who is this? I hear you, why won’t you answer me? If you don’t speak, I’ll hang up the phone.”

No one will speak when our staff member answers. He hears breathing. But since the other person will not say anything, he hangs up the phone.

Later, the phone rings again. “Hello. Who is this? Are you calling me or ringing a wrong number?” No answer. So he hangs up again.

The third time, someone finally speaks. In a timid voice, the caller says, “This is Helena. I’m 17 years old. I’ve been asking God to help me. I want to know more about God. I decided to call the number that was in my mind and see if God will answer me and help me.”

What is the likelihood that a seeker could dial a random number and be connected to one of our staff who is attending a training to learn how to share his faith with others? When the God who created the universe (and who created telephone systems) is sovereign, it is a certainty that he will connect someone seeking him with someone who knows how to lead the seeker to him.

So, the staff did what he had been trained to do. He said, “Have you heard of the Four Spiritual Laws? Law One says that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life…”

And Helena invites Christ into her life.

The next day, the phone rings again. “Hello. This is Alex. I’m a friend of Helena’s. Can you tell me what you told her?” After hearing “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life…”, Alex says “This is something I must think about and we will talk more.”

Days later, the phone rings again. “Hello. This is Andrey. I’m a friend of Alex’s. Can you tell me what you told Alex?”

A few weeks later, the phone rings again. “Hello. I am the father of Helena. Please tell me what you told her. Can you tell me some churches in my city?” After hearing the Four Spiritual Laws, Helena’s father received Christ into his life.

Remember the story I wrote recently about our expatriate staff having to leave a country? Well, this story is happening in the same country! Amazing to see what our God can do.

This story reminds me of Chris Tomlin’s How Great is Our God:

How great is our God,
sing with me
How great is our God,
and all who sing
How great, How great
Is our God.

Eastern Europe. The hard times.

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Imagine this scenario. Dad goes to the airport to leave on a ministry trip. Officials look at his passport and say his visa is no longer valid. He must leave the country immediately. He cannot go home. He must get on the plane and leave the country. His family is at home and doesn’t know this is happening. He is able to telephone them and explain the situation. He has to get on a plane and fly away from his family in the midst of tremendous ambiguity and confusion. It’s two weeks before the family can pack up their belongings and leave the country also.

Over the next days, other expatriate staff (Americans, in this case) are told their visas are no longer valid. They can no longer reside in the country. Family by family, they pack up and depart.

Young national staff are now thrust into positions of leadership earlier than expected. Dealing with ministry strategies, finances, communications, and relationships with churches and other organizations now become the responsibility of those who are just learning how to run a local ministry on a campus.

Stress is high for everyone. God is sovereign and he is never surprised. But this turn of events is difficult for all involved.

This happened recently in a country in this area.

2007 has been a year of trial around the world. Just in our organization:

  • 5 staff couples were evacuated out of a Central Asia country, leaving behind their homes, friends, and possessions — essentially everything. They were under the threat of death by religious leaders in their country.
  • 7 staff members in a communist nation are currently in prison.
  • 2 staff members were martyred in a closed nation earlier this year, targeted by radicals due to their faith in Christ.
  • 5 staff serving in Gaza, along with their families, were recently evacuated from the area after a Bible bookstore manager — with whom they shared a building — was martyred. That manager had come to Christ through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.
  • In another nation too sensitive to name, 6 staff are in prison for sharing their faith.
  • More than 40 staff are imprisoned in a closed nation, sentenced to five years, for insulting the dominant religion of the country. They include several mothers of young children.

How do we think about these difficulties? How to we continue on when facing such persecutions and trials? Some thoughts come to mind:

  • I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
  • And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
  • Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39).

As one speaker here at the Eastern Europe conference reminded, “We’ve read the book! We know the ending! The good news is that God wins!”

Eastern Europe. Lake Balaton.

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Sunset on Lake BalatonSunset on Lake Balaton

The site of the Eastern Europe Staff Conference is Tihany on beautiful Lake Balaton. The first days were foggy, but yesterday, the skies cleared and it was beautiful. The sunset was amazing. You can see the sheets of ice on the lake.

I’ve uploaded more photos. Click here to see them.

According to Wikipedia, Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe. It’s a popular tourist destination, but mainly in the summer months. That makes it a good place for a huge conference in the off-season.

Eastern Europe. Languages everywhere.

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Translator boothsKay and I enjoy being in an environment where there are many languages. Overcoming the results of the tower of Babel take effort. Here at the Eastern European Staff Conference, there are translator booths where live translation takes place. Five booths: Polish, Bulgarian, Albanian, Romanian, and Russian. All speaking is done in English. Those who need translation are given FM radios and headphones. Translators do the grueling work of live translation for the many hours each day during main sessions.

Last night, we spent 2 hours in a concert of prayer. It was great. Kay and I prayed with a staff mom from Albania. She spoke good English, but preferred to pray in Albanian. This is very normal. I was never able to pray in Hausa either, so I completely understand! It’s amazing to sit in a small group of three at the foot of the throne of grace and mercy and know that God hears our prayers and understands our language.

Singing worship songs in English, Russian, Romanian, and Slavic was a challenge, but really fun.

Ahh, heaven is going to be a glorious place. I have no idea what language or languages we will speak, but I’m confident that we will all understand!