Sara and I receive lots of Christmas cards and greetings from people all over the world and they overwhelm us with the joy of our connection to a vast and rich pool of friends who share many of our passions.  I’m deeply blessed by all the people I know and love in the world.  We havent sent out our own cards or family newsletter in years.  For one, most of my life is already public and two, it only adds to a to-do list that is already too long at year’s end. 

But I enjoy reading the ones that are sent to us as long as you remember that Christmas newsletters like Facebook postings only include the highlights, as perhaps they should.  But real life goes on beneath the milestones in our children’s lives, the birth and growth of grandchildren, and new opportunities at work.  I’ve read many a newsletter, celebrating the high moments, but knowing that life was much more difficult for them than any would think reading it.  Life is filled with challenge and pain for all of us.  While they may not be appropriate in a newsletter, I am concerned that as others read them they thing others’ lives are awesome, while theirs is difficult and painful.  Don’t forget, everyone knows pain, times of doubt, rear, and struggles that at times push them to their limits.  They are not going to put that in a newsletter so don’t think the newsletter defines their lives.  

In this last year Sara and I have known absolute bliss and times of searing pain.  We’ve known God’s wisdom, and we’ve stood amidst perplexing circumstances horribly uncertain of what’s next.  We’ve laughed hard with good friends and we’ve cried as people we love endure excruciating pain.  We got to go to Israel with forty people who became an expression of God’s family not just for those ten days, but in growing friendships since.  We came back to be with my parents through challenges to my mom’s health, then her passing, then to help Dad in his life now in the valley of the shadow of her death.  

I blew up Finding Church in February and had to rewrite it past summer.  And now Sara has been busy shipping them all over the world.  The response has been overwhelming, both with those who love it and those who consider it a grave threat to what they think is the “real church.”  

We’ve seen people we love find new dimensions of grace, we’ve watched others nearly give up in the struggle. We’ve enjoyed our children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends in the passages of life.  We’ve celebrated when new layers of revelation open up a wider vista for a friend, groaned in prayer as others go through deeper pain and challenge.  We’ve deepened old friendships and began new ones.  We have been with people in the pain of coming away from abusive religious systems, who struggle to believe their is a God who loves them, even at their most broken.  We’ve sat in dark moments with those overwhelmed by disappointment or fear.  

As a complete surprise to us we got involved with a 120,000 people straving to death in the upper reaches of Kenya and through your generosity were able to send over half a million dollars for relief,  provision, medical needs, education, and to drill four wells to provide life-giving water.  Half a million dollars!  I can’t even imagine how God was able to put that kind of resource in our hands just by making a few invitations on my blog or podcast! We sent it all to Kenya, even more thatn we took in and have listened to the stories as those we helped have been opening to Jesus because their gods had failed them. We’ve seen our Kenyan friends rush to their aid out of their own poverty and heard how blessed they were that we entrusted the money to them without sending a white guy over to administrate the funds because we didn’t trust them.  They don’t think that has ever been done before.  They have grown tremendously in their capacity to live beyond themselves and be a blessing to others when their needs are great as well.

But mostly this year has been like every other year, another opportunity for grace to unfold in our lives and the challenge to keep embracing his reality when life beckons you so many different directions.  We’ve grown in love and gratefulness for a Father who is with us through whatever comes our way and has the words that lead us to life.  Our prayer is that this season you will know the reality of “God with you!”  You are not alone, not matter what circumstances argue to the contrary and no matter how dark the night feels.  You are deeply loved by the creator of the universe, and in that increadle truth Sara and I pray that you will have a blessed Christmas season, and the fullest of joys in the year ahead.  Thank you for all the love and friendship you’ve extended towards us in large ways and small ones. Thanks for being on the journey of Life and by doing so give encouragement to ours. 

I get a lot of these kinds of email from people wanting to know God’s will for their life, and despite many prayers and hours contemplating what that might be, they don’t think they are gtting any closer to an answer.  Maybe we are asking God for information he can’t really give, or at least if he does we will misunderstand that.  In my younger years, I was in that situation a lot, looking for answers God didn’t seem to want to give.  It was frustrating and made me doubt whether I could listen to him at all.  Now as I look back on my life with the gift of age I see how impossible it would have been for God to answer a prayer like that.  What would he have said back then given the arc my life has taken.  I’ve done lots of things in lots of different seasons, and in the end I think it was far important important that I become a free person in his love than that I 

I got this from Jim just this morning:  

I have been reading and listening to many of your resource) at Life Stream for two years now.  My relationship is getting closer with Him on a daily basis but I still am seeking some answers to unknown questions. I have held the questions in front of Him for almost two years but no certain answer has fallen into my heart. Questions like, what is my next step Lord?

What do you want me to do as a career? Also, what do you have for me today Lord? I am totally open to Him and His direction. Am I missing something?

Here’s how I responded:  I’m glad some of our resources have been helpful to your journey and grateful you’d take the time to let me know.  As to your question, I’m not sure what you are looking for?  Are you looking for God to tell you to go be an airplane pilot, or university professor, or a carpenter?  Honestly, I don’t know that it works that way.  If he had something to tell you about any of that, I suspect he would in a way you’d understand.  Otherwise he wants to live your life with you?  His will is mostly about shaping you with is love and making you a better lover in the world, wherever you are doing whatever you do. 

What does your skill set, desires, or opportunities draw you toward?  Can you make a living at it?  When I ask God for these things, I don’t expect an answer out of the blue, but I anticipate that he will direct my paths as I go through my day, living inside my godly desires, with an eye on him if he has something to nudge me toward.  It’s a process, where we mostly stumble into the things God has for us, rather than he tells us what to do and we go about trying to make it happen.  If that makes sense…  In other word we don’t live our lives from a divine strategy he gives us, but by our growing ability to live inside his love as we navigate the life that is before us one day at a time.  That’s the adventure of it. We don’t have to know where he’s leading, only that we’re following him as best we see him.  . 

I don’t know what his next steps in me are, or what he wants me doing next month.  I simply follow his nudges each day. Some of the best things I’m involved in today, I didn’t set out to do.  One small decision, led to another door, and a decision there led to a different opportunity and his will just unfolded as I lived alongisde him.  Now I look back and see more clearly what he was doing in my life through all those things, but at those times I was mostly clueless, except to follow my passion and my conscience as I best understood them.  You, too, may be looking for something that he doesn’t give.  He doesn’t want to control every detail of your life, but to be include alongside you as you learn to live in his love…

A few months ago I was asked to contribute a chapter to a book being written by a number of authors about their passion for Jesus’ church. Unfortunately it was at a time when I was too busy to meet the deadlines.  As it came to publication, though, I was approached about writing the Foreword and was happy to do so.  The book just released this week. It is called Simple Church:  Unity Within Diversity. I’m not crazy about the title, but titles are never easy. I hope people don’t confuse it with a technique for “doing church” that some call “simple church” and see it instead as those who embrace a simpler way of seeing Jesus’ church in the world, becasue that’s what the book is about. This book was published by a friend of mine and brings together twenty-four different writers who are living, loving, and serving outside the institutional model. I enjoyed reading it and having some of these same passions rekindled in my own heart.  

I also love what it represents—people from diverse backgrounds coming together to share their piece of God’s gift in their lives. We need far more of this as Jesus brings the pieces of his church together to share life, not to create another overarching institution or movement. I wrote about this crowing connection and unity in Finding Church and I love it when people find more identity in Jesus than they do a particular theological point of view or way of “doing church.” We need more of this, and not just by writers, but by every member of his body learning to love people around them knowing they are only a piece of a greater revelation God is giving to the world. We don’t have to agree on all the details, when we hold Jesus in common.  I’m grateful this book is broadening the conversation in the world. 

I don’t know what more to say about it than I already wrote in the Foreword, so I’ll let you have a look at it here:  

You hold in your hands a unique compilation of the insights of twenty-four different individuals chosen from across the world sharing what makes them passionate about the church of Jesus in the world. While each of these articles is unique and fascinating in its own way they harmonize in a glorious symphony of the ways Jesus wants to make his multifaceted-wisdom known in the world. 

I love to read what makes someone’s heart beat faster when they contemplate the reality of the Father’s family taking shape in the world.  By focusing on the positive side of church life, instead of where its broken, many common themes emerge such as the supremacy of Christ, laying down our lives for others, handling Truth lightly so others can access him even in their brokenness, and each of us learning to follow him as we support and encourage each other. 

Each of these contributors was chosen because they practice something called simple church.  While definitions of that term may vary as does the way each of them lives it out, at its core simple church refers to people who are no longer engaged in institutional congregations that gather weekly.  Though many of them did so for multiple decades, each of them came to discover greater reality and freedom away from those structures and embrace the church as a family sharing his life together in homes, coffee shops, and anywhere else people naturally get together. 
But even if you see the church differently than they do, you will find their heartbeat transcends simple church itself and strikes to the core of what it means to be God’s children in the earth.   You will find many people in more institutional settings that long for these same priorities and seek a church that reflects God as an endearing presence in the universe, inviting people everywhere into the reality of his life and truth.
I hope these themes become the fodder for conversations among his church, however they happen to gather.  We need more conversation about these things, not less.   And we need it not just with those who are like-minded, but even those who see things differently than we do but have the same heart for God and his kingdom. 
This book is like a very long and very full buffet table as the contributors wrestle with the implications of doctrine, holiness, unity, giving and sharing.  You’ll want to devour it all, but you’ll soon realize that there isn’t enough time in the day or enough energy in the mind to live out all that’s here.  Just keep in mind that they are not talking about the church as an institution having to do all these things, or even as one individual doing them all. 
They consider the church as a communion of persons, each part responding joyfully to the Head. It is enough to embrace the part he’s given us as we encourage others around us to do the same.  How he uniquely he takes shape in each of us will make the glory of the whole far greater than the sum of its parts. We may not be able to do them all, but these don’t dwell in the world of obligation.  This is not how we have to live for him, but how we get to live in his unfolding glory.
So take care not to reduce the table of contents into a list of objectives we have to achieve by our own effort. We couldn’t even on our best day. What is described here is how Jesus takes shape in his church as each of us learns to live at his pleasure in this broken world.  There will be strength enough, grace enough, courage enough and wisdom enough for these priorities to shape the way we live.  It is in learning to live in his love that we will be free enough to revel in his priorities and demonstrate his glory in the world.
This is his church to build and he does it well, often in mostly unseen ways.    But she is taking shape in the world as he draws people together that share many of the passions outlined in these pages.  May this book encourage your own journey and stimulate your passion to experience his life and share it freely with others. 

We had a great time that Saturday as thirty-five people from all over the So. Cal area got together to meet each other and talk about their journeys learning to live loved, love others, and disentangle themselves from the kind of religious thinking that destroys our security in Father’s affection and limits our ability to love others in that freedom. We had people just starting out on this stage of the journey and those who have been on it for a bit. We met some great people, heard some incredible stories of courage and passion to find freedom in him and got a brighter vista of what God is doing in others that resonates so deeply with us.

It’s much like the gatherings I enjoy being a part of when I travel, except this time we hosted the day. And yes, the garden was a hit, as was Sara’s chocolate chip cookies! I wish you’d all be able to join us, but know that would be impossible for us and for many of you.  But it is in such gatherings that the seeds of community are sown. They begin with relationships and where people are free to talk about their journeys honestly and openly without being judged or criticized.  I love the look of wonder that often comes over people’s faces as they listen to others share the passions that are on their heart and they thought they were all alone in that desire.  I wish we could have had more than a day, but one of the people came back the next day to watch some football with my family and extend the conversation.  That’s how this church grows in the world, friends and friends of friends finding each other, exploring the new found relationship and seeing if it grows into a friendship that expresses God’s life.  

And it all begins simply by taking the risk to meet some others on the journey and opening a bit of your heart to them to see if they will treat it well.  Such fun!  

Two quick items.  I did a phone interview this morning with Chicago3Media if you want to listen to it.  And we have some new artwork to highlight postings others might make on Facebook from their reading of Finding Church:

“One act of love speaks more than millions of words…”  You’ll find that in Michael’s report below as he shares just how much the people in North Pokot have opened to the Gospel because of the outpouring of generosity there by so many of you.  Those are great words for anything that has to to with touching our world with the life of Jesus.  Here are some pictures and the latest report from our friends in Kenya. Whenever I travel, people ask me what is going on there and I’m so amazed and blessed that so many of you carry these people on your heart.  Since March your generosity has placed over $400,000.00 into the needs of Kenya, most of that to rescue 120,000 people dying from starvation and poor sanitation in North Pokot.  You literally saved thousands of lives and their gratitude is overwhelming. We drilled four wells there, built a dispensary and a school, as well as launched a grain enterprise that will provide the necessary income for those ongoing needs beginning this spring. 

It has been on our heart not only to help them with immediate needs, but also to create the economic opportunity that will allow them to have the resources to maintain them going forward.  We never wanted to breed their dependency on the west, but to give them tools to watch God’s provision for them.  I am pleased at how all this has worked out. 

Someone handed me a check a few weeks ago for $50,000 to help get the medicine and supplies for the new hospital.  Others of you give $100 either one time or some even monthly. All of that has caused my heart to be overwhelmed with gratefulness for those who have given, and for those who have spent it in Kenya with great care and with amazing fruitfulness as you can see in the report from Michael and the pictures below. 

The needs, however, continue on a monthly basis for more months to come.  If you can help, you can direct your gifts through Lifestream. Contributions are tax-deductible in the US.  As always, every dollar you send goes to the need in Kenya.  We do not (nor do they) take out any administrative or transfer fees.  You can use the donation link on our Sharing With the World page at Lifestream. You can either donate with a credit card there, or you can mail a check to Lifestream Ministries • 1560 Newbury Rd Ste 1  •  Newbury Park, CA 91320. Or if you prefer, we can take your donation over the phone at (805) 498-7774.
Here are some new pictures, and Michael’s report below…

Grateful people in North Pokot

People hear about a God who loves

The first drugs arrive at the dispensary

Drilling the fourth well

Meanwhile, back at the orphanage… a celebration of prayer

And now, here is Michael’s most recent report:  

Everything is working on well in North Pokot. Concerning the hospital is now set-up with drugs, equipment and facilities.  The number of patients is increasing daily.  We have now two doctors and two nurses two cooks, two guards, caretaker and two interpreters from the communities who interpret for our doctors from mother language to Swahili.  They volunteer for almost two months and if there is a way of helping with their salary they would appreciate it.  We don’t push you for this because they are flexible and they love their work and all of them they have the family who may need their service.

All is going well with the grain enterprise.  Sometimes we go out with the truck and due to our poor muddy roads we stuck for sometimes for whole day in rural while collecting grains, we love to do it. The work of winnowing, selecting and drying maize is going on, I believe repacking will be in the storage in December.

On  behalf of the entire team, friends, and the people of Lifestream we would like to send gratitude first to the most high God who has make all these to come into reality.  I am not praising any human being here but to the Father of our Lord Christ who had done all this through brother Wayne.  Let me state how I came across Wayne 15 years ago.  I had a passion to find the truth since I was born in the middle of indigenous and traditional churches from early 80s where I got salvation.  I took more than 5 years crying and finding the truth, because I had not experience any change.  After this long cry, five years later I encountered my life with Jesus Christ.  That is the early 90s where the Spirit of God changed my life totally, but still I didn’t realize the truth but I was continuing with institutions and hierarchy structures till 1996 where I founded IGEM ministries.  I thought that I will help our brothers and sisters to reveal the truth but all of us, we were like the lost sheep who had comfort one another without the true direction

I pray to God and I went to search this word Living under the care of heavenly father, through an Internet search when I came across Lifestream.  It was the end of my search. The following day I called over 60 leaders to share with them about the love of God.  I downloaded Lifestream materials especially He Loves Me, this touched me and certified my heart.  I shared this materials without even the permission from the Author, but after the conference everybody was touched and they wanted to know how I came across this material, because in Africa we live in the gospel of criticism and hate.  The preachers teach that God holds the sword of wrath punishing those who are not observing His rules.  So many Christians live with the great fear trying to practice ten commandments without the hope of heavenly Father. After I got Living Loved material through Lifestream my life was totally affected with spiritual affection towards God and since that time I have seen the great transformation and spiritual perspective and through the people I work the Spirit of God has affected the entire region.

The barriers of deception about institutional hierarchy and human structure has now been broken.  We have faced obstacles, criticism and hate but this has not hold us back to declare the truth about the love of God.  Some of the criticism comes from rich denominations that have used millions of shillings setting up the structures and institution which they called it churches and headquarters while failing to care for those who are needy—widows, orphans and our brothers and sister who may need our mercy ministry.

We   would like to acknowledge you before the throne of our heavenly father for the mercy ministry you have done for his name towards our brothers and sisters here this will remain as a good fragrance before the throne of God. I cannot express my love beyond this but just to thank God for your work and for the ministry you have shown and ministered for our brothers and sisters here.  In this soil of North Pokot where they have never ever experienced that there is a living God who exist in the hearts of people.  They have lived in hate and believing in shrines and gods of mountain to ask them even to sacrifice their animals that maybe through their sacrifices they may be heard by their god and he would grant them water.  But all this time their gods remained silent. In the shortest time our living God has answered and touched their lives.  Thousands now according to what we hear have burned the charms of sorcery and they have broken the shrines even without a preacher.  One act of love speaks more than millions of words, because our God has answered and they saw the provision of food, clothes, hospital, drilling wells and the school.  If this could be the way of expressing our love to the world, I believe it will take shortest time for the gospel to be heard. 

We want to express our sincerity of heart, that reaching where we are now takes the prayer of saints, commitment, it has also cost faithfulness and dedication, because it is not easy without God’s divine purpose.  You have poured so much trust through sending huge funds towards Kenyan project, including buying land, setting up the home as well as drilling wells, building hospital and school, as well as sending the donation of food, medication camping which cannot take it for granted. It has taken the grace of God to build this relationship and trust.  In all of this we have not looked to our personal needs or our ministry needs, but rather all the money we have received has gone directly to the proposed need.  We have remained faithful to handle God’s resources.  May the Lord bless you for standing with us.