Ceremony With The President Of Peru

On Thursday, Dorcas & I were honored to be part of a ceremony with Alan Garcia, the President of Peru.

The ceremony was a thanksgiving service hosted by the evangelical church community of Peru, as part of the "Fiestas Patrias" Independence Day holiday celebrations throughout the country. President Garcia has attended each of the past four annual thanksgiving ceremonies, and we have been privileged to have been invited to each of them as well.

Romans 13:1 (NIV) says, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

What are you doing today, wherever you are ministering in the world, to partner with your country's leaders to help them draw near to the feet of Jesus Christ and also to help them reach their God-potential?

Felices Fiestas Patrias!

Today & tomorrow are Independence Days here in Peru. Both days are national holidays. The celebrations are called "Fiestas Patrias" locally, & everyone in Peru goes around & greets each other by saying, "Felices Fiestas Patrias!" It's kind of like celebrating July 4 in the USA - but over two days!

The first part of Psalm 33:12 (NIV) says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ...." While the author of Psalm 33, be it David or someone else, is specifically referencing Israel here, the verse nonetheless serves as an important spiritual guideline for divine blessing for any country around the world.

What are you doing today, in the country where you are ministering, to ensure that your nation is a blessed nation whose God is the Lord?

Criticism

John Maxwell has written a great book called "Leadership Gold: Lessons I've Learned from a Lifetime of Leading."

I just finished reading & leading a study group about Chapter 4 in Maxwell's book. Chapter 4 talks about how to handle criticism. I love the title of the chapter: "When You Get Kicked in the Rear, You Know You're out in Front."

Maxwell says, "when you're out front and ahead of the crowd, everything you do attracts attention." He gives advice on how to handle criticism and how to hold up under criticism. The chapter includes a great quote from Perry Noble, the Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina (USA), with regard to always defending one's self against criticism. Noble says, " ... I realized I was spending way too much time defending myself to my critics and not getting done what I really needed to get done."

Maxwell concludes, " ... (As) leaders, we will give others our best, and we will sometimes take hits from others. But that's okay. That is the price for being out front."

How do you handle criticism? How do you hold up under criticism? What are your deficiencies? How secure are you as a leader? How do others you lead handle criticism? How do they respond? Are they (and you) open to improvement and change?

The answers to these questions may determine how impactful you can and will be in your church, ministry, and life.

Swine Flu Hits Home

There are now close to 2,400 cases of the swine flu in Peru, & 8 people have died. The government has ordered all schools to begin a forced, early winter vacation here, & in advance of the "Fiestas Patrias" national holidays at the end of the month, the government also is cancelling many public events & patriotic parades.

There are now also rumors that the government may cancel other public events and gatherings, including even church services. Some churches already have begun to cancel services.

And this week the swine flu hit home for us, too, as we learned that 3 relatives of my wife, Dorcas, have been quarantined with the swine flu. Dorcas' aunt, uncle, & cousin all now have the swine flu. Please pray that they all are healed very soon, along with everyone else who is suffering from this debilitating worldwide virus.

Up In The Projection Booth

Since we have church in a cinema, there are always interest things happening.

Recently we've noticed something pretty cool happening in the cinema during both our Spanish & English services.

We've noticed how there are always a group of anywhere from 6-10 cinema workers huddled together up in the projection booth, silently watching our services. Sometimes after the services are over, they'll come down to tell us how much they liked the worship or the teaching.

It can be easy for us to forget them at times, but it's cool to think that we are reaching these cinema workers - right in their own workplace!

Who else could you reach in a similar way?

Jacuzzis For Jesus!

Here in Peru, we've held baptisms in the Pacific Ocean, in the Amazon River, in a men's maximum security prison, & in an outdoor swimming pool. We've baptized over 100 people in Peru in the last year-and-a-half.

This week we added a new locale to our list of Peruvian baptism sites, as we baptized two people in a jacuzzi!

The two folks were a couple who will be getting married later on this month, & they wanted to get baptized, together, before the wedding.

Well, it's winter now in Lima, & so an outdoor baptism in the Pacific Ocean or in an outdoor swimming pool was out of the question.

But Josue, our worship leader leader @ FRC-Lima, has a jacuzzi in his home, & so off we went! It worked out great!

As a result, we've christened Josue's jacuzzi, as well as any other jacuzzis that we'll use in the future for baptisms, with a new name:

"Jacuzzis For Jesus!"

Swine Flu In Peru

The swine flu all of a sudden has hit Peru with a vengeance.

There are now over 1,000 cases of the swine flu in the country, & 2 people have died. Many schools are closed, & it's becoming more & more common to see people who work w/ the public - especially @ the airport - to be wearing masks over their faces.

Thankfully, no one @ FRC-Lima has the swine flu. Please pray for healing for all those that do.

Religious Buffet

US pollster George Barna was recently a guest on Gov. Mike Huckabee's TV show on FoxNews.

On the show, Barna stated that fewer people are attending church in the USA, & that the influence of the Christian church in the USA has declined. This also seems to be the case in Europe. People still seem to be interested in spiritual & religious things, but they seem to be picking & choosing what they like from a variety of religions, & then forming their own, personal belief system, as if they were going through a religious buffet line & choosing different items to add to their spiritual plate.

Barna's conclusions were both fascinating & jarring at the same time. They require much thought & analysis. If indeed this is the typical mindset to be faced in the USA, & perhaps worldwide in the near future, then how should it be confronted? The answer to this question may change the way that we approach church & outreach & ministry, both in the USA & globally.

Apprentice

I recently participated in a conference in Lima where all of us were asked to stand up & tell the crowd about our educational background & our professional experience.

All of the conference participants immediately began to tell the crowd about all of the wonderful universities, institutes, & seminaries that they had attended, & about all of the wonderful degrees that they held, & about all of the wonderful work that they now were doing.

It was all very impressive.

And very self-congratulatory.

Then they all looked at me.

I suppose I could have told them all about my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Boston University, & my Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, & my various careers as a lawyer, a writer, & a pastor.

But I didn't.

I chose not to do so.

Instead, I merely told the conference crowd what I truly was, & what I truly am.

I am an apprentice to a Jewish carpenter.

And that's all the education & professional experience that I'll ever need.

I Speak English!

Dorcas & I frequent a large supermarket in Lima called Wong. It is the largest supermarket chain in Lima, & there's a Wong right in the rotary across from the cinema where we have FRC-Lima.

On occasion when we are @ Wong, we'll notice a cashier or a bagger wearing a yellow, smiley-face button that reads, "I Speak English!"

Anytime we see a cashier or bagger wearing an "I Speak English!" smiley-face button, we immediately give them a promotional card for FRC-Lima, since we feature English-language services & many young Peruvians attend our services in order to be spiritually fed & to practice their English at the same time. We're delighted to have them!

English is the international language of business & commerce, no matter where in the world you are living & doing church or ministry. How can you leverage the English language to take your international church or ministry to another level? Are the natives in your country learning English? Can you use this to attract them to your church or ministry?

Whenever I see a Wong cashier or bagger wearing a button that says, "I Speak English!", I always respond, "So do I!" We then normally engage in a brief, friendly conversation, & it always ends w/ me inviting them to check out FRC-Lima. Happily, many of them do.

Leverage language no matter where you are in the world! Don't just babble like @ the Tower of Babel!