Tag: Southeast Asia
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Things I Wish I’d Known: Reflections on 10 Years of Overseas Cross-Cultural Ministry
It’s a new year and naturally, it’s time for me to reflect and look back on all the good things God has done. Since the moment I came to faith as a teenager, I’ve been involved in cross-cultural ministry, leadership, and church planting – that was over 20 years ago! It’s only the last 10…
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6 Movement Principles from Original Gangstas
On the streets of many inner cities in America, Original Gangsta’s (OG’s) are people of respect. OG’s are often founders and pioneers of street or prison gangs. They are natural leaders filled with vision and are willing to take risks. They have put in the hard work of paving the way for others to follow. They…
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Denying Jesus With Pen & Phone
DENYING JESUS WITH A PEN Last week my friends were sitting inside a village office in a third world communist country. Local leaders and police with stoic faces sat around the room, one held an AK-47. On a table in front of my friends was a piece of paper and a pen. All they had…
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Modern Day Slavery, From Fear to Freedom
Slavery comes in many forms. It exists in every culture…even among tribes in Southeast Asia. I had never seen a tribe so remote. After 2 hours of motorbiking and 3 hours of boating we finally arrived in a small village along the river. The houses sat on stilts, the roofs were made of thatch and…
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Why Easter is Meaningless (For the Unreached)
The dust and heat of Southeast Asia in March and April is unbearable. It’s Easter Weekend and I’m on my third pair of sweat soaked underwear for the day. But if that’s what it takes to hide Easter eggs in the front yard for my kids to find then I’ll get sweaty. I love bringing…
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Love My Sheep: Discipleship in the Midst of Persecution
We rode our motorbikes down the valley with apprehension and occasional fear, though our hearts were full of faith. The last couple weeks have been difficult for the more than 60 ethnic minority believers in the village churches down the remote valley. Even the strongest leaders felt the pressure bearing down on the young flock.…
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Persecution Story
I was trying hard not to shed tears as I was listening to Chanthi’s story. I had asked him a very simple question, “So tell me about your time in prison for Jesus.” Chanthi was from a remote tribe of spirit worshippers in Southeast Asia. He lived in a simple village high up the mountains…
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The Kingdom of Who?…Model, Assist, Watch & Leave
I walked into an immaculate church building recently and was blown away. It was brand spankin new. You could still smell the sky blue colored paint. It was equipped with everything you would need to do traditional church stuff; sound system, keyboard, projector, laptop, new kitchen, open cafeteria, all-you-can-drink powdered coffee and guestrooms with air…
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4 Christian Responses to the LGBT Community
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states this week leading to a mixture of responses and heated discussions – my wife and I included. As missionaries on the other side of the planet we can’t help but think of the missiological implications, “How will this affect the faith…
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Nameless & Shoeless for God’s Glory
The true heroes of the faith are the ones without faces. They are the ones who don’t own a single pair of shoes but walk miles to proclaim the Gospel. They are the ones who have never written a book but have seen the dead raised to life and the oppressed set free. They are…
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What Next? The 4 Stages of Launching Church Movements
As church planters, “What next?” is probably one of the questions we ask the most. What do we do after reaching the lost? How do we make disciples and train them to train others? How do we form groups and catalyze a movement of reproducing churches? There are so many methods and answers out there…
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Easter Doesn’t Exist…For The Unreached
Last week I found myself with a broken motorbike surrounded by jungle and stranded in a mountain pass with no cell phone reception. There was no other choice but to split the group up and push the heavy ass bike back the way we came – up and down the mountain in the heat of…
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Reblog: Over the Mountain & Into the Valley
I just couldn’t resist reblogging this! Here is a post from a friend where she poetically summarizes the 5 highlights of her most epic journey to pray for the unreached in Laos. You can visit her blog here: The Afterglow The highlight of March was going on a prayer journey to The So People. It all…
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The Curse of Christmas
The absolutely worst thing about Christmas is that not everyone gets to enjoy it. There are more than 3 billion people who do not know the story of Jesus, His birth, death and resurrection. We are part of the blessed few who can truly appreciate this time of year. Ironically we are also part of…
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Thankful for Diarrhea
I awoke to a sharp pain in my stomach. It was the middle of the night in a rural and remote Asian village. The house was cold. Of course it was, it stood on stilts and there were no doors or windows. Speaking of which there were no bathrooms or latrines either. Not a single…
The Asian Rough Rider 