I am off to serve as a member of God’s team this weekend for the East Ohio Emmanuel Emmaus Walk (yes, that IS a mouthful).  I love serving with a group of guys that are all focused on God like this.

This is my third time to serve on team and this time I will be playing a new part.  In the past I’ve done music but this time I will be a table leader.  Facilitating discussion for the pilgrims at my table.  On Sunday morning I will also be giving a talk on the Body of Christ.

I’m excited and nervous about it all and would value your prayers for me, the rest of the team and those men that are making the walk.  My talk is on Sunday at approximately 10:45 am so any extra prayers for God to shine through me for about 30 minutes there would be really appreciated.

Blessings!

Like everyone else I am brought to my knees as I see the videos and pictures coming out of Haiti right now.  I like so many others am wondering how we can help.  I’ve seen a lot of tweets and blogs with different links to various organizations that are helping out and I think that’s great.

I know the United Methodist Church has a the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) that is also organizing a relief effort.  There were three UMCOR executives that were in Haiti that have not been able to be reached since the earthquake hit.

If you would like to give through UMCOR you can by click this link.  Know that 100% of your donation will go to support relief and development efforts due to emergencies in Haiti.

Also, we are in the early planning stages right now – but on Super Bowl Sunday the Rittman United Methodist Church will be hosting a “Big Game” Watch Party after the 6:00 Evening Connexions Worship Service (don’t worry – you won’t miss any of the game OR the commercials).

In addition to enjoying fellowship and the game a major priority for this event will be to raise awareness and funds to support the UMCOR relief effort for Haiti. Admission will be free and there will be a Chili Cook-off for those who wish to participate.  More details will be available here on this blog and on the church’s website as they become available.

A few weeks ago I shared about little Ellie and her diagnosis and battle with Leukemia.  I want to ask that you continue to pray for her, her family and the doctors as the battle this and live through this nightmare.

Ellie continues to go through her treatments and the family is praying that after this weeks round that they receive a report of remission.  If you haven’t stopped over to the Caring Bridge Page that was set up for Ellie by her family and friends I would encourage you to do so.  Take a moment and sign the wall to let Chris & Nikki know that you are praying for them.  It doesn’t matter if you know them or not – every word of encouragement is important.

As a father of three beautiful kids my heart aches for this family.  I can not imagine what they are going through.  I am just thankful to have a God that hears our prayers, a God that can and does perform miracles, a God that loves us and weeps with us.

I just found out that a classmate of mine from high school’s three year old daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia this past Sunday.  Her name is Ellie Kate Herberghs and she is currently in Akron Children’s and has begun treatments yesterday.

There is a Caring Bridge website set-up that you can follow along on how little Ellie is doing as well as leave words of encouragement for Ellie, Chris (former classmate), his wife and their entire family.

Please just stop what your doing right now and lift up a word of prayer for this little girl and keep her and your family in your prayers.

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.  – Psalm 62:8

A group of people from The Edge Young Adult Ministry over at Wadsworth United Methodist Church are leaving this afternoon for a two week trip to Kenya.  The Mustard Man and his wife are leading a group of eight college students as they travel across the world to build chicken coops, play soccer and serve the Lord.

You can follow their trip through the Empower Worldwide Outreach web site and possibly Mustard Revolution (if he can get a signal).

Please keep them in your prayers over the next few weeks.  They leave today and will arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday night.

I wanted to begin by thanking all of you who have lifted my Aunt Joan up in prayer.  Here’s the latest.

She went to the ER last night and had suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm.  There was severe bleeding in the base of her skull and she was life-flighted to the Cleveland Clinic.  The doctors were not hopeful as she has other health issues as well and were not expecting her to make it.

Tonight, when I got home from seeing the play there was a message on my answering machine from my mother.  She was obviously in tears and I was ready to hear the worst.  What I was actually hearing were tears of joy.  It turns out that Joan has turned around.  The bleeding has stopped and the doctors are expecting her to recover.

This can ONLY be due to the power of prayer.  I want to thank everyone who lifted her up in prayer and ask that you continue.  She’s by no means out of the woods yet and is still in need of healing.  Please continue to pray for her, the doctors and the family.

Mark 10:27 – “ALL things are possible with God.”

I Just got a call from my mom.  We just found out that my Aunt Joan Blubaugh (my dad’s sister) is not doing well.  She was taken to the hospital and the doctors are saying that they don’t think she’s going to make it.

Please pray for peace – peace for my aunt, peace for my dad and mom, for her two kids, for all of the family.  Pray for the doctors that are treating her, for the nurses and all those that will come in contact with her.  Pray for God’s loving arms to wrap around everyone as they go through this.  Pray for healing – healing that only God can provide.

Most of all pray that God’s will be done and that whatever the outcome that God’s peace and love surrounds us all.  We know that when God calls her home he will be calling her home to be with Him and with her husband who went home to be with Jesus earlier this year.  Her family has been through so much over this last 12 months.

Just pray – thanks.

So, Beth and I took a class based on Gary Chapman’s Book “The 5 Love Languages” years ago.  It was a great class and I really think that it was a big factor in saving our marriage after I had done some really stupid stuff.  One of the things we heard in there, and at numerous conferences and in plenty of books since, is that you need to pray together as a husband and wife.  Now, Beth and I both pray, but it’s always been individual.  This was one of those things we just never really did.  I mean, we tried it a couple of times.  Talked about it a lot, but never made it a habit.

All I can say is – WHY THE HECK NOT!  I mean, this is so basic and fundamental that it should just be a no brainer!  As a couple we want to be on the same page with each other and on the same page with our Father in heaven so why wouldn’t we do this?

And you know what, we haven’t done this on a regular basis.  But tonight we did.  And it was really cool. I really needed it – it was so awesome to hear my wife, my best friend and the person who knows me the best ask God to help me with my struggles, to ask God to help me understand and hear His call on my life.  It was so nice to be able to pray for her and for the kids.  We always say, “I prayed for you” or, “I’ll be sure and lift that up in prayer”, but to hear the person you love the most do that…I mean, that is SO love.

Now – I know one night does not a habit make, but it’s a start.  I’m a night owl and she’s not, but I almost always come up when she goes to bed to say good night and get any instructions for the night such as laundry, take something out of the freezer, dishes, etc. – which I almost always forget after walking out of the room.  So now It’s time to add in our prayer time together as well. She was the one that initiated tonight, but I hope – and pray – that this will become a normal thing for us.

What about you all?  Do you do this?  Is it a regular part of your life together?  If not, why?  If you do, how has it helped you as a couple?  Let me know.

Our mission team left this morning for a week in New York City – Coney Island to be specific. There are 47 youth and adults there that will be serving as the hands and feet of Jesus. They are working with Salt & Sea missions there and will be doing some construction, soup kitchens and some street evangelism. They’re also going to have some down time to enjoy the city, maybe catch a show.

Please keep them in your prayers throughout the week. Pray for safe travels, For their eyes to be opened to the needs of this world, for their safety throughout the week, for them to be full of the Holy Spirit and for the love of Christ to shine through them in all that they do. May they come back safely next weekend. The team member’s names can be found in this weeks bulletin.

A couple of friends of mine recently recommended the book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala. Jim is the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. I’ve gotten through about 100 pages of it so far and I’ve got to say that I think this needs to be on the must-read list for everyone out there – especially those that are directly involved in ministry.

I’ve always believed in the power of pray, in the importance of prayer. As a worship leader I’ve always said that to think of worship as just music not being fair and authentic to the biblical view of worship. I think that when the body of Christ comes together in prayer that amazing things can happen. This book is taking my thinking to a whole new level and giving me even more “ammunition” and things to really dig into and study. Couple all of this with what Ben over at Mustard Revolution recently posted about the book he has been reading (this one is going to be next on my list). It’s really challenging me to think about what God is calling me to do to further his kingdom and to re-think what I can do to reach the lost.

As Ben did I’m going to post just a few excerpts from what I’ve read so far. Please note – THESE ARE NOT MEANT TO CONDEMN but to begin a thought process. I encourage you to read the book yourself. All I ask for now is that you think about this, think about where you and your church currently are and think about what God may be calling you to do.

I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately the need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for his power.

“From this day on, the prayer meeting will be the barometer of our church. What happens on Tuesday night will be the gauge by which we will judge success or failure because that will be the measure by which God blesses us. If we call upon the Lord, he has promised in his Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to himself, to pour out his Spirit among us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, he has promised nothing-nothing at all. It’s as simple as that. No matter what I preach or what we claim to believe in our heads, the future will depend on our times of prayer.”

“You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular the pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.”

Prayer cannot truly be taught by principles and seminars and symposiums. It has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. If I say, “I ought to pray,” I will soon run out of motivation and quit; the flesh is too strong. I have to be driven to pray

The more we pray, the more we sense our need to pray. And the more we sense a need to pray, the more we want to pray.

Salvation itself is impossible until a person humbly calls upon the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21), for God has promised specifically to be rich in mercy to those who call on his name (Rom. 10:12-13).

If our churches don’t pray, and if people don’t have an appetite for God, what does it matter how many are attending the services?

As a preacher myself, let me be blunt here. Preaching itself can easily become just a subtle form of entertainment. When I stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, he is not going to ask me if I was a clever orator. He is not going to ask me how many books I wrote. He is only going to ask whether I continued in the line of men and women, starting way back in the time of Adam’s grandchildren, who led others to call upon God.

What does it say about our churches today that God birthed the church in a prayer meeting, and prayer meetings today are almost extinct?