Journey To Simplicity

When people ask me what is going on in the ministry of Simplicity these days, I often explain it like this:  The field is in motion, the guards are pulling, but the hole hasn’t opened up for me to run through just yet.

A few weeks ago I finished the series I had been doing on the book of Romans since earlier this year.  As I was bringing that series to a close it was very evident that it was time for Mike to take over the teaching ministry at 805 S. Staples.  For some time the Lord has been raising Mike up to be the pastor of that ministry location.  Even though people have my business card, they call upon Mike…he has truly become their pastor.

At the same time, Carol and I were supposed to be in Kenya in the early part of January to lead a series of pastors conferences.  This trip had been planned during my last visit to Kenya in May.  As we continued to draw closer to January something in my spirit was unsettled.  Carol and I began to pray for clear direction.  About 2 weeks ago she and I had been praying at the church and were leaving to go home.  As I was locking the door I heard very clearly in my spirit that Pastor Adams needed to lead those conferences.   In fact I became very aware that my time with him in May had been preparation for him to step in this role.   I asked the Lord to verify what I believed I was hearing through Carol.  A week later as we were praying once again, Carol looked up at me and said “we’re not supposed to go.  Adams is supposed to lead those conferences.”

So I find myself releasing two areas of my ministry to two very called and very capable men.  The Lord has begun preparing the soil for what I believe will be our next church plant on Padre Island.  We continue to find ourselves entering new and deepening relationships with a wide group of people in that area.   Additionally, the calls to return to India have increased and I believe I will be there once again in March or April.

So while the play has not fully developed, the ball is in my hand and I know that the time to run is not too far off.

Tags: church planting, ministry
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

About a year ago we began ministering to a man that showed up one night in December.   He was very involved with us until May, when he had a setback with his SSI check and cursed God and began cursing us as well.

Over the summer he showed up again for a couple of weeks, before once again something set him off and he left cursing God and cursing us.

A few weeks ago he showed during our addiction recovery ministry on Thursday nights, this time with a new appearance and a new name.   He told the group leader that he was an Old Testament preacher and began to make comments mean to give the appearance that this was his first visit to our facility.  When Mike arrived and greeted him by his “true” name he became very agitated and once again left in an agitated state.

Last night Mike was leading when this man showed up again.  He stepped in and informed Mike, in some rather colorful language, that he had the Old Testament and we had the New Testament.   He decreed that we were a false church and he wanted us “out of town.”

The spiritual implications of this interaction are testimony to all that God is doing at 805 S. Staples.   I’m humbled when I think about the thousands of believers around the world who experiences these types of interactions and much more on a daily basis, because they carry the message of Christ with them.

Tags: opposition, spiritual warfare
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

In my last post I told you about the opportunity the Lord had given us to throw a birthday party for a woman from the streets.  I want to tell you about the events of this glorious BIRTHday celebration.

When we arrived at the church we saw this woman approaching.  She was dressed nicer than we had ever seen her and she had cleaned up.   She was apprehensive as she approached, because she had not seen our children since she left our home last year.  As she entered the building she immediately began to cry and wail.    My children greeted her and gave her a hug, which caused her to cry even harder.   For the next half hour or so while we prepared her birthday decorations she laid out on a set of folding chairs and cried uncontrollably.

It was Mike’s turn to present the message of Jesus last night.  As he began sharing, Diane sat next to my wife and just wept as my wife held her.   She then began to cry out to God asking for His mercy, because she had destroyed her life.   She declared her fear of dying and being under the control of her street life any longer.

When Mike began to talk about our response to God’s offer of new life in Christ, she sat straight up and began to follow him with her eyes.   She cried out to Mike to come pray with her, to tell her what to do.   Mike instructed her to pray what was flowing from her heart.   I could see her struggling to speak and I felt prompted to speak against any spiritual force that was trying to prevent her from moving from death into life.  In a tear filled cry for help, she began to confess the choices of her life, naming things that were so painful and so personal.  She then declared her need for God’s grace and asked Him to take control of her life.

Almost immediately her countenance changed and her tears of pain became tears of joy.  She began to speak of the inrush she could feel deep within her and the enormous weight that had just lifted.  She then reached into her shirt and pulled out her cigarettes and lighter.   She acknowledged the battle would be difficult, but she also knew she needed to make her first change starting now.   With that, she handed those things to Mike and asked him to dispose of them.

When everyone had regained their composure, we sang happy birthday and celebrated her life and her NEW life together.

The journey ahead will be difficult for her as she has lived and worked on the street for over 10 years.   I believe this will be the first real opportunity for us to put the mission of Simplicity Solutions to the test, as we will need to help her keep her hands busy and her thoughts focused in a life giving direction.  We will also have the challenge of trying to find her housing that offers a drug and alcohol recovery program.   Discipleship for an individual in her condition has to be holistic, teaching not only the Christian life, but life skills in general.

Here is the other amazing thing about this whole experience.   When she walked back into my life on Wednesday, I was meeting with a Vineyard Pastor who leads ministry at an Assembly of God church.   He was able to provide clothing for her on the spot, because a woman had given him a stack of woman’s clothing the day before (of course the correct size).   The birthday cake, balloons and banner were provided by my friend’s Baptist church that had been challenged 2 weeks ago by an Army chaplain.  Of course we were the third piece, cultivating the relationship through our presence in a tough area.   This truly was a picture of the body of Christ at work.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, church planting, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, ministry, organic church, prayer, religion, Simplicity, spirituality
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

I met with one of my pastor friends yesterday and he shared with me that he had been haunted by the question a guest speaker had asked in his pulpit the week before.   The speaker told the story of a pastor who had encountered a group of prostitutes in a diner late one night.   One of the prostitutes was lamenting that the following day was her birthday, and that no one had ever celebrated her birthday before.  The pastor having overheard the conversation plans a birthday party for her and she is overwhelmed by the kindness shown.  After telling this story, the speaker in my friend’s church asked this question:  “Is this the type of church that would throw a birthday party for a prostitute?”

This morning I was meeting with another pastor at our church telling him about our ministry.   I told him about the woman from the streets my wife and I had taken in last year.  Not ten minutes later, guess who came walking through the door this same woman.   She had just been released from the hospital and is still on the streets.  She asked if she could give me a hug and when I hugged her she just held tightly to me and sobbed.

After we had prayed for her and began working on her immediate needs, she told me:  “Friday’s my birthday.”  She’ll turn 47 on Friday.  She told me that she had never had anyone to celebrate her birthday with her.   I knew immediately what needed to be done.  I called my friend and told him:  “I think God is asking your church to put up or shut up.”   I told him that we had a birthday party to plan for on Friday.

I find it so amazing how God works and stretches us.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, church planting, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, ministry, prayer
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

Since returning from Africa, we have been praying about the direction of our ministry here in Corpus Christi.   With our local population being transient, we have struggled to meet the ongoing expenses of the building rent and utilities.   Yet, in spite of the struggles, we also see the need for our presence.   In the past 9 months we have watched 3 churches in our area close their doors.   The crime, addictions and broken lives continue to go on seemingly unchecked.   What were we to do?

A friend of mine called me for lunch last week and we met.   I shared with him my uncertainty over the next step we were supposed to take and he responded with this story.   He had just come from a meeting with 2 other pastors, who were wanting to turn their focus on to our ministry neighborhood.   During this conversation, one of the pastors related a conversation he had undertaken with a relative who was a drug dealer in the area.   In this conversation, the pastor asked what it would take for the drug dealers to leave.   The relative responded with this answer:  “If the gospel comes we will leave.”  He went on to elaborate that in his lifetime, he had seen the gospel come into an area so forcefully that the drug trade could not continue.   When the pastor inquired if just by planting churches and doing ministry the drug dealing would leave…the man corrected him.   He restated:  “If the gospel comes we will leave.”  He went on to elaborate that he was not worried, because he had only witnessed such a happening twice in his life.

For the next 24 hours, I found myself haunted by those words.   Last Tuesday night as we were praying, I found the Lord giving me a vision and a renewed sense of purpose for the corner of Staples and Coleman.   The vision was simple, the gospel would be proclaimed and lived out at that location 7 days a week.   As others begin to join with us to carry this load, this proclamation will ultimately be done 3 times per day, 7 days per week.   The Lord also impressed upon me that this message was to be declared, even if no one was present.

This Sunday we began this new chapter in our journey.  My wife prayed as I preached to chairs and passers by.   Interestingly enough I had just finished reading God’s Smuggler, one of the stories told in that book was of a minister in Holland who was led to do a similar thing.   It was noted that even when no one was in the building, the message and invitation always seemed to be received and responded to by someone on the street.

Tags: Bible, church planting, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, ministry, missions, organic church, prayer, religion, Simplicity, spirituality
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

There are some incredible things happening in our life and the life of the ministry right now.  The Lord has not given me permission to update this blog, until He is done with this process.  I can assure you the story is incredible and you will be left in awe and wonder at God’s glorious work in our midst.

Carl

Tags: church planting, ministry
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

In my last post, I talked about the spiritual battle that ensued in our Tuesday prayer time last week.   Saturday night we held a Christmas open house for those who have taken an interest in our ministry.

The man who had brought such a spirit of distraction with him on Tuesday showed up with a “friend” accompanying him.  This second man brought with him a demonic presence unlike any I have ever encountered.  As this man would speak, he would begin to speak unintelligibly.  He would call himself by different names and he would throw around Bible verses like a rapid fire machine gun.

When I asked him, who Jesus was?   He gave a myriad of answers, but never said “Jesus is Lord.”   The spirit within this man began to directly antagonize me and challenge me.   “Who do you say Jesus is?’   “What makes you a follower of Jesus?”  “What is your favorite Bible verse?”

The Lord told me to be quiet and not contend with this spirit.  Over the next few moments, this man patted our children on the head and touched each wall, each table, etc…  The Lord instructed me to begin worshiping Him, so I began to sing the words that the Lord was giving me.  Immediately both of these men got up and left.

The Lord showed me that this was a testing of the spiritual defenses of our ministry.  We prayed over the children once these men had left and spoke a word of blessing upon them.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, church planting, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, ministry, prayer, religion, Simplicity, spirituality
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

Last Thursday we had a guy walk into our Organic Group who just wanted to talk incessantly and pull us away from our Bible study.  It took nearly an hour before he chose to leave and the whole time he was there, you could feel a spiritual battle going on.  As soon as he left, I remembered this man had been encountered a year ago and continued to interfere as I tried to minister to a hurting man at one of the local missions.

Tonight when I arrived for prayer, I found Mike engaged in conversation with a man.  About 10 minutes later, the man from last week re-appeared and began to commandeer the conversation.  The Lord instructed me to begin worshiping Him.  I sang for the next two hours.  Singing until it hurt….the defiant spirit within this man refusing to yield to the glory of God.  The Lord continue to tell me that I could not quit until both of these men left, as the first man was drawn in by the spirit of the 2nd man.

After 2 hours both men left and we continued to worship, but I was exhausted.  I have never been in such a prolonged, intense spiritual battle as I was tonight.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, church planting, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, ministry, prayer, religion, Simplicity, spirituality
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

You never know what, or who for that matter, to expect on Sundays at Simplicity – Corpus Christi.  With Mike and Kim being out of the country right now, we feel like we’re “incomplete” to begin and we will be glad when they return this coming weekend.

Shortly after we arrived this morning, a man rode up on his bicycle and asked if we could bless him.  We spent time praying for him and gave him a sack lunch and some coffee.   As he and I were talking, a woman we had last seen a year ago appeared with a friend of  hers.  This woman has struggled with drugs and alcohol for years, living on the streets estranged from her family.  Her greatest desire is to have a relationship with her 16 year old son, but her addictions drive the wedge deeper and deeper.  She allowed us to pray with her and the Lord gave words that I believe will be significant in His working in her life in the days to come.

We were joined for service by a young, soon to be married couple that I believe will become co-laborers with us in this ministry at some point.   With them was a young lady who has only been to church 5 times in her life (3 of those were funerals).   Before service was over we were also joined by a man I met a few months ago.  Although this man has not beaten his addictions, he sees where our first encounter has begun a process of transformation deep within him.  I prayed for him again today, but felt a new certainty about his ultimate deliverance from the addictions that have held him in bondage.  I look forward to the day that my certainty becomes a reality in his life.

Tags: Bible, Christianity, church planting, faith, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, life, ministry, prayer, religion, Simplicity, spirituality
Posted in The Journey | No Comments »

Today we began with a monthly pastors meeting with about 200 people in attendance.   A local pastor was the first to speak and he spoke on taking “your” limitations off of God.  This pastor was very energetic and animated, engaging the group as he spoke.  As he was speaking Tom showed me his message notes for the day.  He was also going to speak on taking “your” limitations off of God.  

When Tom finished speaking, I was given 10 minutes to conclude.  I challenged the group to move from “amen” to “action.”   I gave an invitation for them to commit to removing the barriers that were preventing God from using them corporately to redeem this city. 

Tonight we did another open air crusade.  Tom took a new step and preached without notes or a manuscript (which he normally uses).  It was a great message about life changing encounters with Jesus.  When the invitation was given many came forward.  We spent 30-45 minutes praying with the people for their needs.  

This is our last evening with Tom as he will be flying back to Canada tomorrow evening to be home for a few days before leaving on his next speaking trip.  He and I have begun to develop a good friendship and I hope that God will continue to build our relationship and dialogue in the days to come.

Tomorrow we are speaking to a group of pastors and church leaders at Pastor Paul’s church.  He has advertised that we will be speaking on end times prophecy (good thing Tom has his Blackaby Study Bible with him).  Tom is going to speak on the first 3 chapters of Revelation, discussing Jesus examination of His church.  I will be speaking on God’s judgment and grace.

Later this week I will be ministering in a leper colony and speaking in the cities Dindigal and Tirchy, where I have spoken previously.

Posted in India Mission Trip, The Journey | No Comments »