Archive for the 'Stories' Category

Eastern Europe. There are no wrong numbers…

Published
by
Keith
on January 24, 2008
in Ministry and Stories
. 6 Comments

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.

Sam and Kochumol

Published
by
Keith
on November 2, 2007
in Stories and Travel
. 0 Comments

Sam Varghese, of Bangalore, India, was our host. One of the amazing things about being part of a global mission organization is getting to know co-workers around the world.

Sam, Kochumol, and familyA special treat was to meet Sam’s family, wife Kochumol, and children Toby and Tony.

Sam and Kochumol are Indian and we are American. We are separated by culture and upbringing, but we share a common “culture” of bringing glory to God by introducing people to Jesus Christ. We understand and teach the basics of knowing Jesus and growing as His followers. Although we have little in common from a world perspective, we have much in common from a Kingdom perspective.

Kochumol and Sam ride their motorbikes to campus for ministry. When they speak out of their passions to see others know Christ, Kay and I resonate with them. We all serve in leadership roles, but our greatest passion is that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus.

Improving security for our associates

Published
by
Keith
on November 2, 2007
in Ministry, Prayer Letters, Prayer Requests, Stories and Travel
. 1 Comment

Improving securityA very special opportunity presented itself while we were in Thailand. We helped our associates from the country where 41 were recently imprisoned. We talked about improving their security to help prevent any more of our associates from being sent to prison. We talked about email security, website security, and notebook computer security. We identified steps for them to take. It is a privilege to help protect our associates through helping with security precautions. These are very special people who risk much as they serve God. I am humbled to sit beside them and advise them on security issues. Please continue to pray for the 41 and their families.

The brotherhood of the traveling shirt

Published
by
Keith
on October 2, 2007
in Ministry, Stories and Travel
. 4 Comments

Erik’s shirtI’m participating in an interesting twist on what “global” means. I traveled from the U.S. (Florida) to Bangkok, Thailand. A friend named Erik travels from Singapore to Bangkok. We ride together in a cab to a local tailor named Pinky. We both order shirts. Erik leaves to return to Singapore. Erik’s shirt is delivered to my hotel in Bangkok. I carry Erik’s shirt to Bangalore, India where I meet another friend from Singapore, Ric. I pass Erik’s shirt to Ric who carries it back to Erik in Singapore. Did you follow that transaction? :-)

Wow, that’s a global shirt purchase! I guess we’re the Brotherhood of the Traveling Shirt.

Actually, the shirt is a silly example.

Kay and TipOne of the amazing things about being part of a global mission organization is getting to know co-workers around the world. Kay and I met Tip on this trip. Tip has served over 10 years on the Thai staff of our ministry. She has ministered on campuses in the northeast of Thailand. She has served in the northwest of Thailand. She is now part of the Human Resources team in the national office in Bangkok.

Although Tip is Thai and we are Americans, we share a common “culture” of helping build movements everywhere. We share a common culture of bringing glory to God by introducing people to Jesus Christ. We know what it’s like to minister on campuses. We understand and teach the basics of knowing Jesus and growing as his followers. Although we have little in common from a world perspective, we have much in common from a Kingdom perspective.

Last night in the car, a friend Mark was explaining to Tip that a common Thai friend had accepted Jesus. Tip broke out in spontaneous song:

Praise the name of Jesus.
Praise the name of Jesus.
He’s my Rock. He’s my fortress,
He’s my Deliverer
In Him will I trust.
Praise the name of Jesus.

Global is great. The Kingdom of God is even greater. Laboring with friends like Tip and Erik and Ric and Mark is a tremendous blessing as we help everyone know someone who truly follows Jesus.

Sobering week

Published
by
Keith
on April 22, 2007
in Personal and Stories
. 0 Comments

Today was kick-back-and-relax day. A week of conferences is over. We depart Thailand about midnight tonight. I spent time reading, including reading and watching some of the Virginia Tech stories.

Campus Crusade for Christ has a website relaying up-to-date information of what is happening at Virginia Tech through the Campus Crusade movement there. It is interesting to hear how students are responding.

My friend Shannon documents two amazing stories. You must watch these news clips from ABC and Fox. Their stories are amazing, but it’s even more interesting to watch the TV news commentators trying to grasp the spiritual solutions these two people are displaying. In the first one, Molly Donohue, the first to find the bodies, talks about the role her Bible study group is playing in her recovery. In the second one, Lauren McCain’s father talks about the importance of forgiveness.

There are also sobering news clips of interviews with Molly, a VT Crusade student who was the first to find the dead bodies on her dorm floor. In all, four Crusade students have died. Please pray for the VT students and for the Crusade staff as they minister during a time when they too are reeling from shock and sadness themselves. There are excellent articles that you might find helpful in ministering to your friends who are shocked and confused by the tragedy.

These are must-view clips.

We also received word this week that 3 Christians were found in eastern Turkey with their throats slit. The worked in a Christian publishing house.

At our MinistryNet conference, we were asked to pray for a large number of Christians in a Southeast Asia country who have been arrested for “defamation of Islam”.

I am excited to see our internet ministries learning to take advantage of opportunities that God gives us to interact with hurting, seeking people. At our conference this week, someone shared that crises are God’s opportunities to help people come to know him. During crises, people often realize that their worldview does not work very well. They become open to seeking how to make sense of the crisis, and it often leads them to God.

Ira Glass on Storytelling

Published
by
Keith
on March 17, 2007
in Stories and Thoughts
. 0 Comments

I just watched 4 short videos by Ira Glass on storytelling. If you write prayer letters, if you make presentations to supporting churches, if you teach Sunday School, or if you just want to improve your speaking and writing for whatever reasons, I encourage you to view these short videos. Here are my short notes for these short videos.

The basics of a good story
Two basic building blocks: (1) The anecdote. A sequence of actions. (2) The moment of reflection. Reflecting on the meaning of the story.

Finding great stories
The moment you write the story on paper or record it to video, it is trying to be a bad story. Get rid of the boring parts. Be ruthless in editing.

On good taste
The first stories you write and videos you produce will not be very good. You have good taste and want to do good work, but your skills are not honed. Persevere.

Two common pitfalls
(1) Be yourself. Don’t try to mimic others’ speaking or writing. (2) Don’t talk about yourself. Don’t turn someone’s story into an autobiographical time to talk about yourself.

I recommend these to anyone wanting to improve their storytelling, writing, or videos.

How the ‘Light’ came into John Edmiston’s life and sent him into cyberspace

Published
by
Keith
on November 30, 2006
in Ministry and Stories
. 0 Comments

Want to read the story of a pioneer in internet ministry? How the ‘Light’ came into John Edmiston’s life and sent him into cyberspace is an interesting story.

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