Men of Faith

It's not the sort of thing that makes headlines, even in Christian circles. But it is the heart of story after story in the Bible. The heartbeat of God's kingdom throughout the world. A simple walk of faith. A commitment to serve the Living God and His Son, Jesus the Messiah, and extend the Kingdom of God on earth.

I want to mention a few more of the men and women of faith—true faith—that make up the Body of Christ worldwide. Echoes of their stories are found in the Bible (as in Hebrews Chapter 11) and scattered in all the continents of the world. I featured two families of pastors I know in the Philippines in some recent posts (Extended Family and Fruit). These are men I've mentored over the years. This post is more or less a follow up to those posts. 

Extended Family

Extended family living under the same roof is common in many cultures. It hasn't been so common in America the past few decades, but that's changing because of present economic realities. At Rainbow  we have an extended family on one compound under a few roofs. On special occasions (Christmas, weddings, despididas [farewell parties], we see other members of Rainbow's extended family join us.

Susan and I feel at home when we travel to the Philippines to rejoin our extended Rainbow family. It's a community of young and old (we're the old ones now). Each person has a place within this community, this family. This is what God intends for His family, the church, the Body of Christ [1 Cor 12:12, 14, 18, 25-26]. Seeing God's extended family, the church worldwide, is a great blessing for cross-cultural missionaries.

Faithfulness and the Future

This past month I had the privilege of teaching several young people in two courses at a Bible college. The study and work the students do is quite demanding. I helped one group learn how to study parables, and we studied the Book of Daniel in the other course. Daniel was a man whom God showed the future, and I was reminded that students like these are the future of the church.

I also enjoyed visiting with many alumni during the school's annual Founder's Day conference, and several others in a second meeting before I left. They naturally look to me for guidance as their former teacher, but it's they who encourage me when I see their faithfulness and vision for ministry.

What Would Mom Do?

My wife returned from the Philippines this past week after six weeks. Nowadays we're blessed with the ability to communicate through Skype (when internet connection is sufficient), email, and texting. But it's great to have her home and by my side! We've been partners in life and ministry for forty years.


An element of our partnership is the agreement that I'm the spokesperson, the public persona of our relationship and ministry together. Adjustments have come over the years to how we relate to each other and even our roles at home. This was more apparent than ever while she was gone these past few weeks (overseeing our ministry in the Philippines). As I faced certain situations at home or with the family I often wondered, "What would Susan do?" And even asked my daughters when faced with domestic duties, "What does Mom do with...?"

Exceptions to the Rule

Ever wonder where certain expressions and sayings come from? I do. I often look up the origin of sayings I hear, many times finding that the expression is being used in a wrong or unintended way. One of those expressions that gets used differently than its original form goes something like, "that's an exception to the rule." Wikipedia explained it this way, "The exception [that] proves the rule" is a frequently confused English idiom. The original meaning of this idiom is that the presence of an exception applying to a specific case establishes that a general rule existed. [http://goo.gl/I3GqV]

Lots Going On...But Loving It

Last week's post was titled, "I 'heart' this." This is more or less an extension of last week's post. I just returned from So Thailand via Manila, where our little team taught through four IBS workshops, and I had the blessing of preaching in three church services last Sunday (15th). Yesterday (22nd) I spent flying from Thailand to Manila, including some time in the Kuala Lumpur Intl. Airport. Another flight today back home to Rainbow in Dumaguete where I'll be teaching a Bible College class this week. It's been a busy time, but good.

Influence or Integrity?

Ancient Job's character is clearly described in the opening verse of the book bearing his name [http://biblia.com/bible/godsword/Job1] – He was a man of integrity: He was decent, he feared God, and he stayed away from evil. He was also considered "the most influential person in the middle east." Weighty words of description. I've often read that leadership may be defined as influence. Is a good leader a person of integrity or influence? Can they be one without being the other? Are they one and the same or is there a distinction? These two words have very different meanings. One is based in power, the other in character.

A Governor Holds a Prayer Meeting

Recently a nationally known governor held a prayer rally. It stirred up all sorts of public discussion, not all of it edifying or encouraging. Centuries ago there was another nationally known governor who held a prayer rally of sorts. His name was Nehemiah. It was a pretty impressive meeting. It was led by Ezra the scribe and priest, and started with a reading of Scripture (the Jewish Law), which was followed by some pretty serious feasting (see the story in Nehemiah 8- http://biblia.com/bible/godsword/Ne8.1-18).