The Elisha Foundation

Elisha Foundation

If you have sniffed around this blog long enough you will know of my love for Justin and Tamara Reimer and The Elisha Foundation. I was thrilled (yes, THRILLED) to return from my travels and find TEF has a new website that more than ever before communicates what they are about and how to help.

I plan to check out that donation page in a few minutes... maybe you could, too?

Mark Webb and Mike Bullmore sermons available for free download.

One of my true joys this summer was preaching at the Fort William Summer Bible Conference in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was eager to see the work of God in that part of my country and desirous of getting to know more of the saints from the north.

The preaching at the conference by Mike Bullmore and Mark Webb was of the highest calibre. Mark’s last two messages from Galatians were of special notice as he clarified a couple of passages that always stumped me. And Mike brought a wonderful series calling on all to look to the one true refuge: God. If Mark’s strength in preaching is his penchant for captivating illustrations, Mike’s strength is the pithy phrase. The combination over 3 days was rich instruction!

I just checked and you can download these messages (I think for a limited time) from here. I highly commend them!

The Cowboy reviews Planting Missional Churches

Cowboyology: Rain, Rain, Go Away So I Can Finish My Book

I always appreciate the even-handed and thoughtful treatment my friend Clint gives to things. This review of Stetzer's "Planting Missional Churches" is no exception.

This book, Planting Missional Churches, is the kind of manual that would have been helpful for me to be exposed to in seminary. It offers practical advice about how to proceed in all of the logical necessities of church planting. Financial controls, child care set up, and facility usage are shown to be the regular residue under the church planter's fingernails. Stetzer provides guidance in these wisdom issues that keeps a weary planter from the burden to re-invent everything from taking the offering to taking out the trash.

But I'm also glad that I wasn't exposed to it in seminary. The mass of information on methodology, practicalities and do's and don'ts of church planting can easily give a distorted picture. A green seminary student could easily think that the weight of church planting is bound up in these things, and not in clear, gospel priorities.

Here is an EXCELLENT blog to add to your reader....

Good News for Toronto:

Read about our summer intern Paul McDonald's experiences evangelizing in Rexdale, downtown Toronto and Markham.

"I asked him, “have you ever lied?” He seemed stunned by the question, “What?” I asked him, “have you ever lied?” Apparently he had not. I ask him if he had ever stole. He spoke about his religious upbringing. At one point I asked him, “have you ever sinned? Have you ever done anything bad? Have you ever had to confess to a priest?” He was silent, but responded by shaking his head no. Then I asked him if he had ever committed adultery. At this point he went on to tell me of many television programs that he has access to. I think he meant that he can learn about religion from Catholic sources on television, and that I do not need to worry about informing him of religious things.

He keep reassuring me, “Don’t worry, it’s ok.” Throughout our talk he often said, “Come and go.” He used this phrase to speak of how life is to be lived – you just come and go, do this and that, be busy, help people, do good, don’t worry about thinking of serious things like death and the afterlife, just “come and go.” He is 87 and dead in his sins."

John Bell writes at challies.com concerning evangelism in the gay village

"I began this ministry two years ago while working as an intern in a downtown Toronto church. I was told that part of my internship duties would involve three hours of evangelism every week in a coffee shop or pub. This was not happy news. To be honest, I find this kind of evangelism very intimidating. “Cold call” is not my style; I’m too polite!"

Read the whole great story here!:

My Dad - Some refections from Pastor Ken Davis

Read the entire article here...

"I said in a devotional the other day that fathers should do their devotions with their doors open so that their children could see them at it. This was what I grew up with. My father kept a study in our home where he prepared sermons and did his reading. I can remember as a young boy walking past that study and seeing my father on his knees praying. I remember him taking me to pre-service prayer meetings at the church he pastored in Sackville New Brunswick and hearing him pour out his heart to the God he loved. Years later I sat in a prayer meeting with him as a fellow pastor and marvelled at the sense of the presence of God in the room when that man prayed. He was conversing with Someone he knew deeply, personally, intimately. To see that 6′4″, 250 lb. frame, full of arthritis, creek down to its knees and talk to his Friend was a gift from the perfect Father to me so that I could see what grace can do in a man. My father was told by the leaders of his church once that he was not welcome any more as their pastor because he had said in a sermon: “Instead of sitting on your fannies you should be on your knees in prayer.” I am so glad that he said that, that he meant it, and that he was not making demands on his people that he was not making of himself."

Whatever Happened to John Hinckley Jr.?

Judge Gives Reagan Assailant Longer, More Frequent Visits:

"Wednesday, Jun 17, 2009 @09:24am CST

(Washington, DC) -- The man who shot and wounded President Ronald Reagan in 1981 will be allowed to visit his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia more often and stay there for longer periods of time.

That was the ruling announced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman yesterday.

Judge Friedman said the 53-year-old John Hinckley Jr. can obtain a Washington, DC driver's license and denied only a few requests.

Hinckley's stays at his mother's house will be extended from six to nine nights per visit.

Hinckley will also be able to work as a volunteer near the house.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the Reagan shooting and was ordered to become a patient at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in the nation's capital."

Christian Woman's Pregnancy hoax revealed

Pregnancy hoax revealed

A 26-year-old Christian who claimed on her Internet blog to be carrying a terminally ill baby has apologised after it was revealed her pregnancy was a hoax.

Beccah Beushausen of Mokena, Illinois, had almost a million hits on her blog when she began writing about her desire to give birth to “April Rose.” For two months she blogged about how she would go full term with the baby and refuse to get an abortion because of her Christian faith.

On June 7, she said she had given birth and was pictured with her “baby.” But her ruse was discovered when one of her readers recognised the “baby” as a doll.

Events like this one always make me thankful for the local church. I wonder how many readers of Beushausen's blog bothered to query her church concerning the verity of her situation and need? To be honest, this is the first I heard of this story, but in the age of instant attention via blogs and web pages, Christians would be very wise to operate through the authority structures God has ordained.

What of you? Ever met someone in great need and gone to their church/elders only to discover it was only a hoax, or at least greatly exaggerated?

Hypocrisy by Another Name?

Orthodox Jews launch 'kosher' search engine - Holy Post

Religiously devout Jews barred by rabbis from surfing the Internet may now “Koogle” it on a new “kosher” search engine, the site manager said on Sunday.

Yossi Altman said Koogle, a play on the names of a Jewish noodle pudding and the ubiquitous Google, appears to meet the standards of Orthodox rabbis, who restrict use of the Web to ensure followers avoid viewing sexually explicit material.

The site, at www.koogle.co.il, omits religiously objectionable material, such as most photographs of women which Orthodox rabbis view as immodest, Altman said.

Its links to Israeli news and shopping sites also filter out items most ultra-Orthodox Israelis are forbidden by rabbis to have in their homes, such a television sets.

“This is a kosher alternative for ultra-Orthodox Jews so that they may surf the Internet,” Altman said by telephone.

The site was developed in part at the encouragement of rabbis who sought a solution to the needs of ultra-Orthodox Jews to browse the Web particularly for vital services, he said.

Nothing can be posted on the Jewish Sabbath, when religious law bans all types of work and business, Altman said. “If you try to buy something on the Sabbath, it gets stuck and won’t let you.”

There is a corner of the human heart that will justify anything. Jewish Rabbi's are not the only ones guilty of this, but so much of modern orthodoxy bleeds this sad hypocrisy.

Do we really think we are fooling the One who sees every intention of the thoughts of the heart?

It's ID Day: New border rules in effect - The Globe and Mail

It's ID Day: New border rules in effect

Don't forget you need a passport now if you want to get in to the US.

Getting a passport in Canada is really quite easy... if you are a Canadian! We got the whole family done in a few hours total. You can download the application, then take it in to your local passport office so they check it over (saves them sending it back with a sticky note). The passports arrive by mail within 10 days or so.