Jesus Was a Friend of Sinners

My Friends,

I've been thinking a lot about Jesus' reputation as being a friend of sinners in connection with something from my playground days in school. To help think this through you have to transport yourself back to your elementary years.

How it usually happened is you are minding your business when someone approaches you and introduces themselves by telling you their name. Then they ask a simple question: Do you want to be friends? More than likely you said okay and then you began your friendship. Crazy, huh? Our adult intellect probably says something like, "We do a lot of dumb stuff like that when we're kids." I'm not so sure it's dumb. I don't think that Jesus was making idle suggestions when he told us we need to become like little children in order to fully enter and experience the kingdom of God. The question should be, "Did Jesus act more like us or children when gaining his reputation as friend of sinners?"

Luke 19 gives us insight into this. Jesus is on his way to Jericho when he meets a man named Zacchaeus. You know the story. But look closely at 19:3. It is clear that Zacchaeus had never met Jesus, yet when Jesus sees Zacchaeus he invites himself over to spend the day, just like they were long lost friends. Zacchaeus' reaction is telling. He gladly, immediately welcomes Jesus and as a result ends up giving half his possessions to the poor with a promise to restore anything he has cheated from anyone.

But to me it looks and sounds like the above school yard situation.

Jesus: Hi my name is Jesus.
Zacchaeus: Hi
Jesus: Do you want to be friends?
Zacchaeus: Sure
Jesus: Can I come over today and hang out?
Zacchaeus: I'd love that

The Master Teacher was teaching his disciples and ourselves about what it looks like to gain a reputation as a friend of sinners for the clear purpose of winning them to the kingdom. As Jesus said in 19:10, "The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." And what do you do with your friends? You spend time with them doing friend stuff, like eating together and spending time at one another's homes. Your friendship to them has a sanctifying effect. In the Old Testament you touch a leper and you become unclean. In the New Testament you touch a leper and the leper becomes clean. Our Teacher was showing us the profound effect our presence has with those the world considers "sinners." We should take note and adjust our time to accomodate our mission.

One of the main problems is the problem of limited time. We all have commitments and friendships already that we feel we must maintain. Friendship takes work and commitment. It takes a time commitment to befriend "sinners." The question will then become, whose will is going to be done in your life? If your will is going to be done, no adjustment probably has to be made. Plan your vacations, your free time, etc. the way you have been. If the Father's will is going to be done in your life there may need to be an adjustment, because Our Savior spent whole days with sinners he had just met for the purpose of winning them to the kingdom.

I'm preaching to myself right now.

I don't have the answer, because our lives need balance. My suspicion is that they are already unbalanced heavily, but not in the way we would like to admit or adjust. Please pray with me and for me as I and others discern what needs to be adjusted so that we can also gain the reputation that Jesus had as a friend of sinners.

I love you all,

N8

Engaging Grace Through a Posture of Prayer

Grace is really crucial. One of my mentors defines grace as "the empowering presence of God that enables you to do what God is asking you to do and be what God is asking you to be." It is God's grace that empowers us to do God's work. Sounds pretty simple. It is. But how do we engage this grace?

Proverbs 3:34 says that God, "mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble." Clearly humility attracts the empowering presence of God enabling us to walk in the fullness of who God called us to be. But in my mind it seems difficult to think someone could work up humility. Can someone become humble? I want to ensure that there is the empowering presence of God in every area of my life and ministry, so how can I keep this humility that attracts grace?

Both James 4:10 and 2 Chronicles 7:14 tell us to humble ourselves, so it must be possible. Biblically speaking, there are many times when scriptures testify that someone humbled themselves before the Lord (Psalm 69:10, 2 Kings 22:19, Daniel 10:12), and in almost every case it is a posture of prayer or fasting. According to the word of God, you humble yourself when you engage in the activity of prayer. It makes sense when you think about it.

In times when we come to the end of our strength we tend to cry out to God for help. When we're going through something with a child, or on our job, or in a marriage or you name it, and we can't seem to get a break we cry out to God with a certain intensity that shows our desperation. That desperation actually is a form of humility because it says, "I can't do anything in this situation. I need my God to do something." And this humility attracts grace.

So the opposite is true too. When we're pretty sure of ourselves and things aren't so dire, we are tempted to let up and not cry out to God like we did when we were in trouble. What is our prayerlessness saying? It unknowingly communicates that we can handle this on our own and in this certain situation we don't need the empowering presence of God. That is dangerous. So what is the answer?

It is important that we live reflectively and watch out for places in our lives where we have let up on our prayers. It is those places that we have subtly been tempted into thinking we can handle things on our own, and it is then in those places that our pride will resist the grace that we need to live well before God. If this seems simple it's because it is. In a sentence what I'm trying to say is, our life of prayer exhibits a humility that attracts the grace we so desperately need to live.

Selah

I love you all,

N8

Happy New Year People of God,

I would like to begin this New Year with some encouragement for you that has helped me in the past few months. It all began when I made public what I heard privately from the Lord that the street ministry was to expand to Benton Harbor. Not long after that I knew that I was to finish school a.s.a.p. so that I could begin working there full time. At first this was fine, but then the enemy attacked and helped me to meditate on all the implications my obedience would have.

I started to think about how I wouldn't have enough money to drive back and forth every day from Kalamazoo to Benton Harbor. Next I started to think about how I didn't know anybody in Benton Harbor and how much work it would be to start the ministry over from scratch in a city I was unfamiliar with. And as I allowed my mind to wander, doubt and unbelief washed over me like a flood and real fear began to grip me. I couldn't shake it. After I got quiet before the Lord, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "Consider Jesus." What was the Spirit saying?

Well, in speaking of Jesus Hebrews 12:3 says, "Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." That word "consider" can actually mean to star gaze. In order for us not to lose heart we are directed to star gaze at Jesus. So I began to gaze at Jesus and the words He gave to us. I gazed at the promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 which says, "Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." I meditated on Matthew 6:26 where Jesus assures us, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" And slowly but surely the fear melted away and trust in the Father returned.

E.W. Kenyon said once, "Faith comes by continually considering Jesus. Doubt comes by considering circumstances and environment." I can affirm this wholeheartedly. If you're going through something difficult or a circumstance you are feeling anxiety or hopelessness about, check your gaze. It may be that you are considering something the Bible hasn't asked you to. Checking my gaze helped me. I hope it can help you too.

I love you all,

N8

Reward

Good morning people of God,

I've been thinking about "reward" lately as it pertains to a quote I read recently and I want to get your opinion. I have been meditating on it because I sense the Holy Spirit in it and I want to gain any insight I can. It's by a man named Art Katz and it says:

"Salvation is a gift of God by grace, but what we do with the grace, having obtained it as a gift, determines our eternal reward. Works is only a bad thing when we think that we can labor for our salvation."

The main word used for reward in the New Testament is the word mis-thos and it literally means payment due for labor. Jesus uses it in Matthew 5:12 when talking about our reward in heaven in the context of standing up under false accusation and persecution. Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 3:14 when talking about the reward someone will receive if what they have built survives the testing of the fire on "the Day." Neither Paul nor Jesus are talking about working for the reward of salvation, but about the mis-thos to be received for the work done while in the earth. This brings me to my wonderings.

Is it possible that we as believers are missing out on something because we don't like to teach on and live for the eternal reward? Yes, we believe in heaven in the after-life and teach on it to some extent but are we amiss by not teaching what the scriptures teach about in eternal reward? It feels to me like teaching on that reward may be a wonderful tool for helping us go through trials and temptations. It may also be a tool to help us avoid the toxic nature of praise from men and our need for it. If we have our eyes focused on the reward we are storing up for ourselves in heaven because of our work down on the earth, we can work for years without recognition, we can endure the worst of persecution and trials, and we can learn to sincerely enjoy being the "chief of servants" because we know we are storing up great riches for ourselves in eternity.

I'm starting to believe the enemy has tempted us to avoid talking about "reward" because of the possibility of "works righteousness" getting involved. We are right to want to avoid works righteousness, but not at the cost of avoiding a teaching Jesus taught on. Salvation is a free gift from God. But reward by its very definition is about payment for wages, so Jesus, Paul and the other writers of the New Testament couldn't have been talking about reward for salvation because salvation is free. If Jesus said your reward could be great, then it could also be little. We don't ever want to slide into working for our salvation, but I think we're missing something by avoiding talking about works except only in a negative way. I think it is okay to want to receive a great reward. We don't receive it in the same way the world does but wanting greatness in the kingdom of God is not a bad thing.

One thing is certain, we are going to be judged and rewarded in some manner. Wouldn't it be nice to have thought about and acted on it before "the Day?"

Love you all

N8

Thoughts From "Tha Streetz"

Good morning people of God,

Haven't talked out loud to you guys in a while. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? Anyway...I wanted to tell you guys something that we've been seeing and practicing in the streets so you can use it in your own lives should you choose.

1 Timothy 4:4 says, "Everything God created is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer." The context is that Paul is writing to Timothy over the issue concerning food sacrificed to idols which was a big deal in that day and time, and was counseling him on what to do. What we noted is that Paul doesn't discount the fact that there is power in food sacrificed to idols but instead argues that thanksgiving in connection with prayer and the word of God is powerful enough to nullify the power enlisted by the sacrifice.

What Paul is teaching Timothy is a principal that we are learning in our ministry which is that of the sanctifying power of thanksgiving. When we give thanks to God for anything, our thanksgiving has a purifying power and this is a spiritual warfare weapon that we as a street ministry team had largely ignored.

Instead of giving thanks when we saw small progress we focused on all the work that we still yet had to do. What we realized is that the devil was robbing us of one of the most powerful weapons God had hidden for us to use, that of our thanksgiving. In this we could have accelerated what God was doing and engaged His sanctifying power in each situation instead of ignoring it and not finding room for celebration which would have brought God's purifying power flowing mightily into a neighborhood that needs just that to really live.

Now we are making the change. We are committed to giving thanks for even the smallest advancement realizing that in our thanksgiving we are engaging in life giving spiritual warfare that has the potential to transform any and every situation. Instead of complaining that so-and-so got drunk again, we praise God that so-and-so has been sober four days this week. Instead of complaining that this person has only been to church once in the past two months, we celebrate that they came four times in the past year.

The results are amazing! Not only do we feel better spiritually and emotionally, but we continually see the cup as half full. The enemy has a much more difficult time getting us to lose faith in situations because we are constantly looking for any little thing we can give thanks for to begin the cycle of sanctification that Paul counseled Timothy about.

Think on it.

Love you guys,


N8

May Blog

Hey People of God,

Hope you’re all doing well. We’ve been super-glad about the change in the weather. I definitely appreciate the winter and its beauty, but as you might guess street ministry in the winter is very difficult, cold work and we lose a lot of street ministers until it gets nice out. Anyway…

I’ve been thinking about the cost of making disciples lately and how the enemy would attack us as believers to prevent us from doing so. (Making disciples seems to be extremely important to Jesus so it should be important to us.) As I thought about it, my mind went to conversations I’ve had about people who reportedly had sold their soul to the devil. This led me to think about the word “soul” and scripturally that makes this conversation a little scary. Let me tell you why.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul tells the church in Thessalonica that he is praying that their entire spirit, soul, and body be preserved until the day of the Lord’s coming. The word “soul” there is the Greek word psuche. We get our English words psyche and psychology from it and psuche can be translated as mind, will, emotions, or thoughts. That’s where this gets scary. If someone’s soul is their mind, will, and emotions think about how easy it would be for satan to get in and affect this area. Added to this is what I’ve seen about witchcraft and satanic activity.

We have had the chance to talk with people who have been delivered from witchcraft and wiccan and the one thing they all say is that the foundation of all of this activity is selfishness. They are encouraged to think about promoting their self interests and the spells they learn are all about benefiting themselves. I read some of a satanic bible once to see if it was really evil and the first thing it said was, “Love only those who deserve it.” Do you see how scary this is? How is this any different from the way many Christians act? I know a lot of believers (myself included) that often only love themselves and think, for days on end, about how to better themselves and their own life situations. Now let’s go back to our conversation on discipleship.

The one thing we’ve noticed in making disciples in the street, the church or elsewhere is it takes time. The one thing we’ve noticed about getting people to help make disciples is, they don’t want to give up their free time. It is a costly affair to make disciples. Especially in the beginning, you have to be willing to spend enormous amounts of time with people who don’t have any other Christian friends. Their desire to be more Christ-like hinges on being able to pattern themselves after believers, and if you’re truly in the position of needing discipleship you don’t have any Christian friends. Which means some believer would have to be willing to give up free time to spend with someone they don’t know allowing them to see what it looks like to live a life for Christ in the world. This by definition cannot happen on Sunday. Now, if you have believers who are mostly concerned with how to find more time to relax, and spending their free time and money on things they desire, how do we differ from those learning witchcraft? How are we going to carry out the great commission with a group of Christ-followers who meditate night and day on how to make their own lives more comfortable and have actually given their psuche over to something that looks very little like Christianity?

I don’t mean to be down but I do mean to take a look at my own life and see if Jesus would be able to count on me to help him come into his inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1) and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28).

Thinking carefully on this,

Love

N8

November Newsletter

Hey people of God,

Long time no talk. That’s my fault for getting busy, but I’m back and wondering as usual. Anyway…I have been thinking about what’s happening to America and its steady deterioration morally, economically, socially, etc. and wondering what God’s heart is in this matter. And this got me to thinking about something. Let me explain it through something that I’ve noticed in my own life and experience that may help illustrate what I’ve been pondering.

About four months ago a group of us began to sense the Spirit of God asking us to start crying out to the Lord for our neighborhood through the avenue of morning prayer meetings. So in obedience to this leading we began to meet every morning at five a.m. to pray. This has been very difficult but very rewarding, and it began to expose some things almost immediately. There were those of us who began coming immediately almost every day as soon as the call went out to morning prayer. There were those of us who came at least a couple times a week and then those of us who came sporadically here and there. This isn’t a judgment on anyone, but through the process of becoming a house of prayer for all nations (Matthew 21:13) I noticed that some who were excited in the beginning stopped coming like they used to and some who came sporadically stopped coming at all. But I also noticed that we would meet new people who would come for the first time and have kept coming very regularly. And this is when I began to think about two things: Our convictions and priorities direct out activities and we develop our convictions without having given them thought.

My son is in basketball and loves the sport deeply. He will get up early, go to bed late, and do whatever it takes to be at non-mandatory conditioning and practice sessions for the game he loves. My father has been getting up at 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. every morning for years to go to work to provide for his family. I know people who will adjust schedules and find child care so that they can work out or attend a function that they feel strongly about. My point is if it is a priority to us we’ll find a way to work it into our daily routine. What I’ve been thinking is that it’s possible that our enemy has made things priority for the Church that seem important but have little effect on his activities against us or the people we’re called to minister to.

I don’t know of many Christians who will say that prayer is not important. Most of us believe that it is. For most of us in the U.S. though it is not a priority. You can see it in our activities. But in places where Christianity is exploding (Africa, Latin America, or Asia for example) prayer is the priority. Through careful reflection it seems like for us here in the United States priorities are relevant worship services, charismatic Bible teaching, or exciting outreach events. All of these are important so please don’t hear what I’m not saying, but as good as these things are they are still leaving us wanting and our nation failing. We’re still seeing our cities going to hell and the majority of our people living for self. If you can truly tell a tree by its fruit, then maybe it’s time for us to begin planting some different seeds.

Frequently, when we tell people about our prayer meetings we’ll hear something like, “Wow that’s a little early.” I know it is but the people who are coming are showing their convictions and priorities by their actions. All I’m asking you to consider is what do your activities show about your convictions and then do your convictions need to undergo an overhaul for the sake of our nation and our mission?

Still thinking carefully on this,

N8

July Newsletter

Hey friends,

Vanguard Street Ministry is doing really amazing!!! We have been expanding in many new directions, and seeing God use us to really impact people for the kingdom, and for this we rejoice. But...lately I've been personally meditating on something that I have to try to express.

There are a lot of patterns in scripture that are supposed to teach us things concerning our Lord and our relationship with Him and each other. In 1 Corinthians 10:11-12 Paul starts talking about Israel's history and the necessity of us learning from it and the written witness of what happened to them. He writes, "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall.” Along with this scripture I’ve been thinking about Paul’s desire in Acts 20:24 to finish the task God gave him, and that led me to this: Throughout the witness of scripture there have only been a handful of people who have finished well.

Moses ended up dying in the wilderness before he made it to the promised land along with Aaron. Gideon ended up leading Israel into idol worship. Samson died blind and ineffective. David ended ineffective on his bed having seen a coup attempt, a daughter raped by her brother, and several sons murdered. Solomon died not even serving God with more wives than he could possibly be with. Josiah died running into a battle he wasn’t supposed to get involved with. John the Baptist died disillusioned and in prison, not even sure if Jesus was the Christ. This has continued through into our era as well. I have been in close contact with SEVERAL ministries who talk about the things their ministry USED to do and now they are in a “restructuring phase,” trying to decide what they should do to avoid becoming increasingly irrelevant and obsolete.

The pattern seems to be: many people start strong with God and, even if they are used mightily by Him to see His kingdom and will happen in the earth, they have an extremely difficult time finishing the race well, and often end disillusioned or in shame. So I’ve been asking God to reveal to me why this happens so often and how to avoid it in my own life and ministry. I think He has begun to give me answers but maybe that’s for another time. (If you’re further interested just call me or drop me an email and we can talk.) I do believe that God was serious when He said through Jesus that we can ask for anything in his name and He would do it for us. Consider joining me in prayer for your own lives and the lives of others you know that we would finish well, because it seems that finishing well doesn’t happen easily.

Love you guys!


N8

May Newsletter

Hey people of God,

I have been considering what it looks like to be a disciple of Christ. As I have meditated on this I have had to decide whether or not I could be considered a disciple, according to Jesus' own criteria, as well as how many true disciples I really know. Let me explain.

In Luke 14 Jesus starts explaining the importance of counting the cost of following him before making the decision to follow him. At the end of his teaching he says, "Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." At first I downplayed this hard verse. But as I began thinking about it and trying to remember if there were any other scriptures to back this thought up John 15:13 came to mind. In it Jesus explains, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Additionally 1 Corinthians 6:19 clearly states, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price." What does this even mean?

While considering this I was forced to think about something else: the commitment level of the disciples Jesus ended up using and the commitment of those he rejected. Luke 6:57-62 describes those who almost became disciples. Although they were ready to follow Jesus they were reluctant to completely lay down their lives to serve him. On the other hand Mark 2:13 and Matthew 4:18-22 describes men who eventually became disciples of Christ, and all of them immediately laid their lives down to follow Him. And now the big question is, am I really a disciple of Jesus or am I a church-goer pretending I'm a disciple?

Can I say my finances are truly His or do I still ignore His nudging so I can spend my extra money on toys and vacations I want? Is my free time really His or do I make up excuses for why I didn't make it to prayer meetings, or why I can't volunteer for this or that program? Do I consistently make up reasons why now is not the time to obey Him in certain leadings, so that I don't have to become uncomfortable in my lifestyle? If I am going to be a true disciple I cannot ignore these questions because apparently Jesus believed that if you wanted to be one of His followers you had to be willing to give up your life. And apparently the church can't function very well with people who claim to follow Him but won't die to self.

I guess I'm just asking you to think more about this with me, as I have not yet thought out the implications of a group of halfway committed Christ followers or if we can even call ourselves Christ followers without laying our lives down. Maybe we should consider that it could be necessary (almost imperative) for us to raise the bar when it comes to what it means to be a disciple of Christ and not let ourselves get away with pseudo-Christianity any more. I don't know.

Still carefully praying on this,


N8

February Newsletter

Hey people of God:

I’ve had a recurring theme come into my path recently and I would like to share it with you. One thing I have learned is to make careful note of any patterns or repetitions that I see in the world around me (I don’t believe in fate or coincidence) as God may be trying to teach me something. This is one of those things.

It started at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission. Vanguard has the privilege of leading the chapel service from 7:30-8:30 every Wednesday night there and we take turns presenting a short meditation to the men and women living there. We have had dozens of different presenters of all ages and races but I started to see a pattern that I began meditating on. If the presenter for the evening was over the age of sixty and had been serving God for many years their message was always the same: Come to Jesus. Please don’t get me wrong, the other presenters have all been wonderful, ministering on everything from life in the Spirit to freedom from oppression to the healing power in the blood of Jesus. But as the months progressed I began to note that when it came time for an older saint to present the Word, I could count on it being a message of salvation. And this got me to thinking.

Two years ago I went to the Willow Creek Leadership Conference. The speakers were wonderful preaching on things like “Putting Your Family First” and “Fruitful Church Life.” But the most powerful message of the conference was the last one done by Bill Hybels, lead pastor of Willow Creek. He very carefully, very passionately, presented the gospel message of salvation through Christ.

Three years ago I was with my grandfather and he was asking me if I had ever considered searching for my biological parents. I told him that I rarely, if ever, thought about it which didn’t surprise him, but I remember his response: “But if they don’t know about Jesus it would be worth any amount of search.”

Last week in my Systematic Theology Class (a fancy way of saying, “thinking about what we believe”) we got into a discussion on if Jesus could or should be preached from every scripture, whether preaching from the New Testament or Old Testament. Some students thought that this was reaching too far and some thought every message should be about Jesus. Each argument had valid points but the professor finally pointed out that the early church fathers, including first and second century believers, all believed that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament and couldn’t see preaching any message that didn’t include Jesus since the entire book was about Him anyways. And that got me to thinking.

Is it possible that we’ve grown too familiar with the gospel? Have we grown so wise that we have forgotten that Christ is all and is in all? Have our doctrines outgrown the centrality of the message that without Jesus the entire world is going to hell? What I think the Lord has been trying to show me is that when a saint becomes truly grown up, they realize that the only message that really matters is, “Do you know that Jesus died for you?” I know that we get excited about teaching on the Melchezidek priesthood, or the Tabernacle of David and apostolic church building, but in the end if there is someone in the hearing who doesn’t know Jesus you’ll just have succeeded in producing a really educated future resident of hell. And this does have me thinking.

I love you guys

N8

October Newsletter

Hey people of God,

I've been really struggling with a couple of scriptures lately in relation to my own heart and The Church of America. The first is hidden in Ezekiel sixteen. God is confronting Israel for her unfaithfulness and towards the end of the chapter reveals why Sodom was destroyed. In verse 49 God says, “This was this sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and the needy” (Somehow I had always assumed Sodom was judged for something else). If you have ever carefully listened to commentary by anyone from outside the United States, especially citizens of third world countries, this scripture could be word for word what they say about us. We're arrogant, gluttonous, and unconcerned with our poor. I've heard several marvel at how the richest country in the world could have any homeless or hungry at all.

In juxtaposition to this troubling scripture is the one we've talked about before in 2 Chronicles 7:13-14. God is speaking with Solomon and gives him the remedy for his nation when and if it starts to crumble. This time God says, “When I shut up the heavens so there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” After a closer look at these verses it is apparent that when a nation starts to crumble it is a commentary on the state of the believers there. God said when you start to see craziness happen in your nation Solomon, my people (believers in the only True God) need to humble themselves, repent, and pray.

Why do I mention any of this? I mention it because if there is any truth in either of these scriptures our nation is crumbling because the believers here are not what they should be. That means me. That means you. And I sense it in myself. I sense the grief of the Holy Spirit as I daily choose almost everything over My God. I am a product of church culture, and outwardly the picture of what committed Christianity in America looks like. I pray daily. I fast. I read my Bible. I attend church weekly. But as I sit before God and look at men and women of God from other nations or other eras, I am embarrassed to stand along with them. They face(d) death for the sake of Our Savior and I am concerned with how to afford more things to make my life more pleasurable and enjoyable. A friend of mine will be going back to his home country (A Muslim nation) within the next few months and will risk losing his wife, his father, his mother, and brothers and friends because he has given his life to Christ. My sacrifice for my Lord pales in comparison to that. I remember watching an interview of Bono by Bill Hybels. Bono had been doing a lot of work for the AIDS epidemic in Africa and began looking for help in his mission. He mentioned how disgusted he was with The American Church because the one organization that had this kind of work written right into its mandate from God wasn't doing anything but building its programs and facilities with barely a slight nod to foreign issues.

Here is the problem: I cannot tell what is wrong with me. Even though I sense it I cannot see it. I can see that I am the one in need of prayer but I have no clue what I would look like, or what The Church of America would look like if we were truly pleasing to God. I guess I am asking anyone who hears me to join with me as I pray and ask God to reveal to me what needs to happen next to us, as His Bride, for us to come out of this backslidden state we've fallen into so that ours is not the next nation to be destroyed by fire because the believers within were concerned with everything else but pleasing God and who were not living up to the declarations we religiously vocalized during our quick gatherings each Sunday. Heavenly Father, please deliver us from that kind of Christianity! You're the only One who can.

Sorry so glum...

N8

July Newsletter

Hey people of God,

I've been thinking about our role in seeing God's justice happen to the poor and oppressed. What role does God expect us to play as His agents in the world? How much does he hold us accountable for when the cries of the oppressed are not answered? Are we the Church, part of the oppressors? Probably I should back up.

As I have mentioned before, Kalamazoo is in the middle of the worse increase of violence in its history. Last week another young man was shot and killed in our neighborhood which makes six deaths by gun violence in the last few months. Because Vanguard is a street ministry we have direct contact with the friends and family of those affected by the deaths and have taken many heart-breaking prayer requests over the last several months. But last week Friday was a different evening for us for many reasons. First of all, many of the young people were really upset that their friend had just been killed and we took many prayer requests that asked God for his presence in the lives of the young man's family as they grieved his loss. But as we moved through the neighborhood, we began to hear the cry of those living in the heart of the violence. And this is where I again began to consider our role as ministers of peace and justice.

It began with a lady who had lived in the neighborhood for around 18 years. She had gotten divorced years ago and had moved back into the neighborhood she had grown up in. But as the conflict between the north and south sides of Kalamazoo increased, the level of violence increased right outside her doorstep. As more homeowners moved out and rental properties increased she began to see the social capital of her neighborhood decrease. She was trembling as she told us about the gunshots every single night. She was trembling as she told us about witnessing her neighbor lady being beaten by her boyfriend in the street and calling 911 to get help for the lady. She was near tears as she related that because she had tried to help she was getting threats as someone who was a tattletale. She was near tears as she told us about her friend who was walking home one morning and was followed by a young man who was trying to have sex with her. Her friend had to run into an abandoned house and yell for help. And this has become part of her every day life! She doesn't want to leave the neighborhood but there is a problem: no one is hearing her cry.

Home after home that we went to that evening said the same thing: no one is helping us. The police are receiving the blunt of the blame but there is limited funding and the job is bigger than they can handle. The people who we talked to from the city felt hopeless and actually admitted that they had lost control of certain parts of the city, with no tangible plan to regain it. We even heard, on several occasions, anger directed at the churches of the neighborhood. Residents wanted to know how we could drive into the neighborhood to do Sunday mornings, spend two hours fellowshipping and high-fiving each other, and then drive out and call that good enough. One of the ladies even said to us, “We'll take any suggestions you have, but do something. Help us, PLEASE!”

And so now I am in the middle of going to God to ask him what (besides prayers of intercession which I have had to increase sharply) should I be doing for those who are crying out? Will it be good enough on judgment day to say I prayed for them occasionally? Will God be looking at me when another family loses a son because they couldn't afford to move out and instead of helping I was trying to figure out how to adjust my budget so I could afford a more expensive vehicle? Am I accountable in God's eyes when I know that part of the city's slow moving may be because no one from outside of that neighborhood is filling up the city commission meetings and demanding that justice is served? What would it look like if the many successful men and women that fill up the churches of that neighborhood Sunday mornings took action to see justice happen to those crying out for it? Is my inaction an indictment against myself in the eyes of heaven? After a quick glance over history it seems like power, influence, and wealth are very rarely given up voluntarily. Will God have to give my power, wealth, and influence to someone who will use it for the reason God gave it to me? (Because believe it or not, compared with what we see in the neighborhoods, the majority of us have much more of all three than all of those living in the hood.)

Unfortunately I don't have any answers yet. You are just part of my ramblings as I press myself and my Maker to see where I fit in the conversation. I would ask you to join me because if we are God's agent to help see justice find the poor then our inaction is an action that will be judged. And I don't want that and neither do you.

I love you guys!

N8

P.S. - Thanks for putting up with a little of my madness. It helps to think out loud sometimes.

May Newsletter

Hey wonderful People of God!

I've been pondering John 3 in conjunction with our work in the streets and a conversation I had with Dan, the leader of Vanguard on the east side of Kalamazoo. (How's that for an opening sentence?) It all started when Dan and I began talking about how completely odd it looked for Christians not to have friends who were sinners. As our conversation progressed the Holy Spirit jumped into it and we started to ponder what being the light of the world looked like. Our conclusion led us to consider that much of Christian activity looks similar to turning a lamp on in the middle of a lighted room and getting excited about its light production. Wouldn't that be odd? Yet that's kind of what much of our Christianity looks like. We gather in our small groups and have a wonderful time fellowshipping in community with other believers. On Sundays we gather together and enjoy each other's light along with the presence of Our Maker. During the week we get to the business of life, brushing through our work or home responsibilities having very little contact with sinners only to come back to our small groups or churches again. This is good but not best. Before we move on let's look at John 3.

You remember the scene. Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night confused about what's happening. He questions Jesus about several things and they have a wonderful discussion about what it looks like to enter the kingdom of God. But as I was considering my conversation with Dan I began to see why Nicodemus was so confused. It had to do with Jesus' company. You know that in Jesus' day fellowshipping with people over dinner was a big deal. For a serious Jewish person to agree to have dinner with you was actually implying that they were entering into friendship with you. Extending dinner invitations and accepting them was huge especially because the rigorous class system that was enforced forbid mingling with those who were considered sinners according to the law. Therefore it was no wonder why the people muttered, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” (Luke 19:7). Jesus was breaking strict religious rules by eating with prostitutes, tax collectors, beggars, etc. Nicodemus didn't understand how this lawbreaker could be used by God. Yet there was no question God was with this lawbreaker. The signs were indisputable. You can hear Nicodemus' confusion in verse 2, “We know you have to be from God because no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” And in his actions Jesus was showing us where our lights need to be if they are going to truly shine. He didn't forsake the assembly of the brethren, (Hebrews 10:25) but he did spend a large amount of time with those known to be sinners, giving us a pattern to follow after. Now to us.

What kind of time are you spending with those known sinners? When is the last time you went out to dinner with “that person.” Your light doesn't shine like it should when it's in a lighted room. It's at its most useful and brightest when it's in darkness. I take a man out for lunch that we met during one of our street ministry events. He knows I'm a pastor, but he knows I love him or I wouldn't be seen with him. After a few such lunches it was obvious that he had a serious lust problem and was in the habit of dating married women. He was confused about the problems going on in his life and just wanted to sit with someone whom he respected as someone who was trying to serve God as well. I never had to condemn him for his actions. All I had to do was talk about the blessing, in my own life, of obeying God's will and word. Within a few months he told me about how he told a woman who approached him how he was changing and didn't want to disrespect his Jesus by sleeping with her. Wow! And it wasn't just me. There were others who scorned the cultural taboo and invited him into friendship with themselves and life was imparted to him, with the result being he is now a home leader in an organization for recovering addicts.

Listen friends, pregnant teenagers don't have to hear from you that they messed up. They know it full well and need your company over a cheeseburger that, without saying a word, reminds them they are accepted by the Holy and only true God. Adulterers don't need a Bible lesson. They need your time. Fornicators and drunks don't need lectures. They need your presence and your life in their own to give them evidence that there is a life that is available if they'll “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1). They need to sit across the table from humanity so beautiful and transformed that they long to have the same. This doesn't happen if we keep pot-lucking with each other or going out to movies, dinner, or drinks with only other Christians. Jesus' rolodex included a large number of sinners and so should ours. This is my challenge to myself and to you on this day.

Think about it.


I love you guys!

N8

April Newsletter

Hey beautiful people,

We need your prayers! Vanguard is in the middle of some very difficult times and we need everyone who knows how to pray, to pray for our city and the neighborhoods we are working in. Let me explain.

Gang activity in Kalamazoo, historically, hasn’t been too intense. Sure we have had our share of murders, shootings, and drug activity, but overall the situation has not been as violent and chaotic as a lot of other cities. But over the past two years the hostility between the young men of the south side of Kalamazoo and the young men of the north side of Kalamazoo has intensified. Last year there were 357 calls to the police department for shots fired. There were 22 homicides with a gun in the last seven years. From January through March of 2007 there has already been 85 calls to the police for shots fired, several homicides, and we’re not even to the summer yet. I personally believe that the enemy started setting us up for this moment generations ago, and here is how:

Within the inner city neighborhoods there is an enormous void of fathers. There are boyfriends and uncles but fathers are few and far between. Vanguard did interviews at the Boys-n-Girls Club a few months ago and, of the 40-or-so kids we interviewed, ONE had a father in the home. ONE! Many of them only had a picture of him and had never met him in person. What am I saying? We have two whole neighborhoods (The north and south sides of Kalamazoo) full of fatherless young men. One thing I have learned about manhood is that it is conferred upon you by another man. When my sons want to know if they’re becoming strong, they don’t test it out on my wife. Yes they wrestle around with her sometimes but when they really want to test themselves out they come after me. They love hearing from their mom about how well they did during their football games, but regardless of what she says they ask me if they did good. My affirmation brings them into the belief that they have what it takes to become a man because another man of significance in their lives has told them so. This cannot be done by a woman. Can you see the connection?

Two whole neighborhoods, full of fatherless young men, are trying to prove to themselves and to each other that they are men and have what it takes to be a man because there is no one to confer that manhood upon them. Throw a match like murder (which happened to a 14 year old young man last week) into an explosive situation like that and chaos is just down the road. The neighbors are almost hopeless. We were ministering in the neighborhood the boy was shot in, the day after his death. I have personally, never seen so much despair and hopelessness as I did on the faces of the mothers there. They are stuck in one of the only neighborhoods they can afford to be in and losing hope in the ability of the authorities in place to keep them or their families safe. Where does their help come from?

The only answer is Our God working through the church. We have to be on our knees in prayer. But one thing about us that is different from them is that we are in different economic and social categories than they are. We are not touched with the feeling of their infirmities as Jesus was with ours. I minister in the neighborhood and get to see first hand what this does to the people living there. When I go to pray I feel the compassion of the Father for the young mothers who are worried sick for their sons. When I pray I see the tenseness in the faces of the teenage boys who shouldn’t have to worry about if they will see tomorrow. This encourages me to pray with a certain urgency which is missing from the prayers of those who are not privileged to minister in the areas I am. My request is this: when you get some time sit down in a chair and allow God to show you what it looks like to live in a situation like this. What does it look like to come home and see bullet holes through your living room window? What emotions go through you as you hear a commotion outside your kitchen window and find that your neighbor boy was just shot in the head at only 14 and you have two sons around that same age? What kind of frustrations would you feel as a single mother if you came home exhausted from work, to a home falling apart at the seams, with bills that exceed your income, and no father to share the burden of raising kids in this neighborhood? If you will take a minute to let God show you his heart in this matter your prayers cannot be the same for the people He cares about so much. And the urgency in your prayers will move His heart and He will not be slow in coming to the aid of people who don’t have any other advocate. We really need your help and your prayers!

I love you guys!


N8

March Newsletter

Hey beautiful people,

We could be great. America could be great again. The church in America could be great again. One major obstacle stands in our way: how to be blessed but not introverted. We must learn how to live in Genesis 12 and be blessed to be a blessing. Where is all of this coming from? I’m glad you asked.

Vanguard, as you may or may not know, has been in the process of forming a tax-exempt community development organization called Urban Alliance (UA). We finally got all the paper work approved by the IRS and are faced with the new task of raising money for the ministry ideas we have been planning. Our first step has to be the acquisition of a building. Part of UA’s mission statement has to do with the work of restoring people and facilities within inner city neighborhoods. With this in mind we have been in negotiations for some abandoned facilities that we can fix up to start bringing hope back to the hood. To do this we need to raise around $80,000. As I began to think about how to do this the Lord began to speak to me about my finances.

The first thing I was confronted with was the fact that I was already blessed beyond imagination. The home that I live in, the car that I drive, the food I consume, all make me extremely wealthy in the eyes of much of the world. Yet in my mind I have been tempted into wanting more. Part of this is I watch too much TV. The media in America in conjunction with advertisement agencies have made sure I know exactly what I don’t have. My desires have effectively been adversely affected (say that ten times fast) and I don’t know that my needs are not actually needs. But as I began to come to terms with this I realized that the money we need to fix up one building is actually very simple to get. The problem is, the people who could give (like myself) who have so much more than they need, don’t realize that they have the money because (just like myself) we spend most of the money we get on ourselves. I looked at my checkbook and, besides tithing and minimal offerings, the rest of my expenditures are spent on myself and my family. And because I haven’t realized how blessed I am, I am considering other bigger ways to spend more money on myself and make more money so I can afford to spend more on myself. This isn’t blessed and being a blessing. This is more like blessed and continuing to bless myself. I repent Lord!

If I could find 100 people to give up $15.38 a week for one year, I could pay for and renovate the building with cash. When I look at my bills, what I pay to watch TV every night is more than that. What I pay to make sure I have more than just Cheerios as a choice in the morning is more than that. What I pay to make sure I have instant, speedy access to the world-wide web is more than that. All I’m saying is if I were a little less short sighted, I could join in with others to make a huge impact in the neighborhood I am ministering in. But if I continue consuming all God gave me on myself this will continue to only be a dream. How can this continue? It can’t. Not if we’re going to avoid the judgment that comes on a nation when they continue considering only themselves and ignoring the widow, the orphan and the downtrodden (And we haven’t even touched on what our resources, if they were put in God’s hands, could do in other countries).

This isn’t meant to be a letter of condemnation but I hope it does challenge us to consider the amazing resources we’ve been afforded in this nation and how to creatively use them to further God’s kingdom in the earth. I am certainly not against being blessed, but I do question the consumer culture I am a part of and how it has even affected the mission of the church. I do wonder what it would look like to spend more of our time and resources on pleasing and serving others than serving and pleasing ourselves. I have even begun to believe that this won’t even cause us to have to live a lesser lifestyle than we desire because if we seek God’s kingdom first, and further his kingdom first, all these other things will be added as well! (Matthew 6:33, 2 Corinthians 9:10)


Let’s spur each other on to great deeds and begin thinking about what needs to happen to us corporately and individually to become the spotless bride of Christ that Our Savior deserves!



I love you guys!




N8

January Newsletter

Hey people:

Happy New Year! It seems weird to write 2007 on everything. Seems like just yesterday we were worried about Y2K and now we're almost a decade away from that. Anyway...

I've been thinking about proximity. It has come up in my prayer time and my discussions and as I began to think about it I saw its value to the church in America. Webster's Dictionary defines proximate as: very near, or close. Proximity then is the state of being proximate. In our case the church should begin to consider what this means for us and how it can be used as a tool of love. Here's what I mean.

Vanguard Street Ministries was born almost eight years ago. As we went into the streets we met a lot of people and began to see a pattern in many of them. The pattern? They loved Jesus but hated the church. Many of them had been judged, criticized, and hurt by some body of believers at some time and (although many of them could acknowledge their need for Christian fellowship) could not force themselves back into the walls of a building. We needed to help bridge the gap, which was part of our calling. As the years went by we saw many other Christian organizations and ministries reaching out to the people we were with but we saw a fundamental error in many of their attempts. They were doing what they thought was best and not necessarily meeting the actual needs of the people. As I sat back to think about this I could see it had to do with proximity. The hearts of those from the church were in the right place but they weren't close enough to the people to hear their real needs. A couple examples:

George is an admitted alcoholic who lives two blocks from the church Vanguard has its offices in. We met him one night as he was having a beer on his porch and he decided to come to the church the next Sunday. But I have seen ministries trying to reach George by bringing gift baskets or tracts or other tested evangelical strategies and they aren't working. Because we're always in the neighborhood and around George we have become friends. As the friendship has grown we have realized that although he doesn't mind the efforts of those ministries, his deepest need at this time is fellowship. So our ministry to him is going to sit with him or just having a BBQ night in his lawn. His need for friendship is his biggest need. The reason we know about it is because of our proximity to the people who we're ministering to.

I talked with my friend Alan at the mission the other day and he was telling me how much he appreciated us there. We are at the mission every Wednesday to do devotions or games and have become friends with many of the people there. As we talked Alan mentioned how impossible it would be for someone to go hungry in Kalamazoo. He mentioned the different soup kitchens and luncheons available for homeless people and pointed out that a person could eat four or five times a day in Kalamazoo if they wanted to. Yet when most ministries or bodies of believers (please hear me that their hearts are in the right spot or they wouldn't even be reaching out) think about serving the homeless most of their minds go to supplying food or clothing, neither of which are hard to get for the homeless of Kalamazoo. The reason Vanguard has become endeared to these people is because we bring things that minister to their real needs. We bring pillows, because sometimes sleeping at the mission would be easier with a nice pillow. We bring new socks and underwear because these are luxuries for homeless people. We bring miniature snacks that they can carry in their pockets as they walk around during the day. But the reason we know what to bring is because of our closeness to them. Our proximity allows us to love them better. This is my challenge to you: get close enough to the people you're ministering to, to actually know what their real needs are, and then love them however the Spirit shows you.

Please hear me: The efforts of the ministries we see in the streets are admirable. But sometimes even though the thoughts are honorable, the ministry is ineffective because the people in the ministries aren't close enough to know the real needs of the people they are ministering to.

My challenge to you and to me for 2007? Be with the people. Jesus was. They called him a drunk and a friend of sinners. The Pharisees had to go to the homes of known sinners to check on him because he was with them a lot. For us to resemble Him and reverse the hatred of the church we're going to have to get our hands dirty. But sometimes it's fun to roll in the mud. Try it sometime!


I love you guys,


Merry 2007



N8

November Newsletter

Hey people of God:

I spent the night at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission a few weeks ago. We’ve been doing street ministry for almost seven years now so we have a pretty good idea about what’s going on in the neighborhoods, but this was different. Two things of significance came out of that evening.

One, I was shocked at how heavy God’s presence was there. I was in a room packed with around 100 men. We all got a mat (about three inches thick) and a blanket, and slept about six inches from the man next to us. When I got there I signed my name in and picked out an empty mat. I sat down on the mat, began to read my Bible, and realized God’s presence was really strong there (I would compare it to when a worship service is really, really good and all the people are participating strongly in one accord). I looked around to see if anyone else noticed and they were preparing for bed like I assume they normally did. Quickly I asked God why his presence was so strong. His answer: “Nate, I’m always with the oppressed and down-trodden like this. I’m surprised that you’re surprised.”

Two, as I sat there I noticed the guy next to me rummaging through his duffle bag. He looked like a regular guy and you wouldn’t know he was homeless if you saw him in the store or at McDonald’s. The Spirit nudged me and said, “You know he’s going through his dresser right now, don’t you?” The realization stabbed me in the heart! The guy on the other side of me was sitting on his mat looking off into space. He suddenly got up, unlocked a locker above where he was, and took out a small package of donuts. He sat down again to eat it. Again the Holy Spirit nudged me and said, “You know he’s in his dining room now and soon his dining room will be his bedroom.” I almost couldn’t take it. Immediately the list of things I have as desires got thrown out of the window. Immediately I realized that I was already blessed beyond imagination compared with everyone in that room. Immediately I realized that the church could be in error. Why? I’m glad you asked.

Is it possible that we’ve been away from “those” people long enough that we don’t really know what’s going on. Is it possible that The Church in America has been so affected by the consumer culture we live in that our desires have slowly become corrupt? Is it possible that we’re so immersed in this kind of life-style that our lives differ very little from our unbelieving neighbors? How is our desire for things and success any different from all those around us? I know I think I need a new dresser but it isn’t a duffle bag. I know I think I need a bigger house (and subsequently a bigger bank note which will take more money and free up less money to give) but it is a mansion compared with a mat. I don’t have anything against becoming prosperous. That’s a natural bi-product of serving God. My question is: has even The Church gotten caught up in the American lifestyle to such a degree that we’ve lost focus on what really matters to God? Maybe one of the reasons that our churches are failing at such alarming rates has to do with the fact that our desires no longer match up with His!

I feel like right now I’m babbling so I’ll stop. I know there is no one shot solution but I also realize that when you get serious about serving God, He eventually shows you things in your life that don’t line up with His way of doing things. This may be one of them, both personally and corporately. Just something to think about.


I love you guys!


N8

September Newsletter

Hey beautiful people:

I have a desire to be faithful and finish the assignment that God has given to me. Unfortunately, in scripture, very few finish well. The Bible is littered with people who had good intentions but ended up faltering in the end, and this has led me to wonder why. What kept so many from finishing well? Are there certain patterns of lifestyle evident among those who stayed faithful? If so what are they? Scripture tells us that the way to life is narrow and hard, and few are they who find it. What clues does God give us about finding (and more importantly, staying on) that narrow way?

While I was thinking and praying about this I was led to consider a butterfly. When a butterfly breaks out of its cocoon it cannot fly immediately. It has to inflate its wings with blood which takes time. If it doesn't do this it will be devoured by predators because it is very vulnerable in this stage. For the butterfly, skipping this step is death. This ministered to me greatly for a few reasons.

Last month I expressed that God had directed me to increase my level of intercession for Vanguard and all of its partners, as well as my level of consecration. After seeking God as to what this meant I found that this would entail a deeper level of commitment to God than I have ever experienced. But as always, I have the choice in it. I can choose not to and begin to coast. Or I can choose to follow Him and begin the fight with my flesh because it would rather relax instead of increase prayer time. But if I don't develop the discipline needed to obey God's direction in this I will, by default, disqualify Vanguard for its next season of ministry and promotion. The reason is (as with the butterfly) the strength I need for the next season is hidden in the process. God had to kill off an entire generation of Israelites in the desert because they had no heart for war (Exodus 13:17, Numbers 13:31). He didn't do this because He didn't want them to enter into the Promised Land, but because they had not developed the tools necessary to possess the land. And therein is a key about why many ministries, churches, and individuals fail to walk in the fullness of what God has called them to.

This year's consecration won't win next year's fight. The thing with God is He is always calling us to greater things which require more faith and deeper commitment. The day that His requests are more than you're willing to give is the day you limit His ability to work in your life. It's different for each one of us. For some He may be asking us to get up an hour earlier each day to spend in prayer and devotions. For others it may be beginning to do devotions period. For still others, it may mean volunteering once a week in a ministry not your own. For some it may mean increasing your giving to your church or another ministry. Whatever it is it will always require more of us than was required before. But the payout is always greater than before as well. For the butterfly, even though it is time consuming to fill its wings (and maybe not desirable), in the end flying is much more glorious than crawling no matter what the price. The question becomes: what are we willing to do to stay faithful, because to resist God's leading is to begin down the path (many have unknowingly chosen) that ends in not finishing the race well. The battle is won in the preparation.

If I can sit still long enough to learn form God that Vanguard's promotion and faithfulness is tied to my obedience to His direction, this can give me enough vision to obey Him no matter how hard. Remember discipline makes no sense without vision. For Vanguard to stay faithful and stay on that narrow road where life is, I must learn to increase my intercession and increase my consecration. For me to refuse is to rob Vanguard of its future and to condemn it to failure. I need to remember that the strength I need to possess the Promised Land will be developed in today's process. If I can remember that, fighting against my flesh will become much easier.

I challenge you today to sit down and consider what God has asked you to do personally, and then meditate on why He has asked you to do it and what it is strengthening in you that is preparing you for tomorrow's promotion. It will help you find strength for fighting through today's battles and may be the key to you faithfully finishing all that God has asked you to do. Think about it.

I love you guys!


N8

August Newsletter

Hey beautiful people:

God has been dealing with me about what needs to happen for the street ministry to go to the next level. About mid-July while I was in prayer God said to me, "If you want Vanguard to go to the next level, your level of consecration must increase as well as your understanding and practice of intercession." As you all know when we feel like we've received direction from the Lord we have a choice: do it or don't do it. The only reason Vanguard even exists is because we have tried to the best of our ability to go wherever He leads whenever He leads us, so I began to search out what He meant by this.

First, I began re-reading an outstanding book on intercession, "Intercessory Prayer" by Dutch Sheets. I was encouraged by the things I was reminded of and decided to make appointments with men and women of God who had successful ministries for more than 20 years. I found some amazing things out but, as a rule, all of them spent much time DAILY praying for their congregations or partners. And God began to teach me that my willingness to intercede for EVERYONE who comes into contact with Vanguard (from financial partners, to street ministers, to prayer partners) allows Him to bring the street ministry to places of greater influence and effectiveness because we are proving faithful with what little we have been given.

And then God showed me 1 Corinthians 15:45 which says, "So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living being'; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit." As I studied I realized there are only two kinds of human beings in the earth: born again "Last Adams," and the unsaved "First Adams." And if you have been born again you have become a life-giving spirit who is a joint heir with our hero Jesus the Christ. How does all this tie into what God instructed me to seek out for Vanguard? I'm glad you asked.

We have been created in the image of Our Father. He is the one who said, "Let there be light," and there was. Jesus said in Mark 11, "If anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself in the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him." Proverbs 18:21 tells us, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." As the leader of Vanguard Street Ministries, it is my duty to call things into place for the ministry and those connected with it. Since I am a born again, life-giving spirit in the image of my Father, co-laborer with Christ (who told us in John 14 that we would do greater things than he did - including speaking God's word into situations and seeing the situations change) now when I get up in the mornings to intercede for Vanguard I pray for you with a new found purpose and authority. I speak protection and understanding into your lives. I call the partners who are not yet part of Vanguard into place. I call provision for you and your families into place. I speak God's will for your lives into place (knowing that Jesus would not have asked us to pray, "God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven," if it wasn't important to pray). I call the kingdom to come into your lives. I call discernment into your lives. I call godly friends into the lives of the children of our partners. I call increased hunger for God and His word into your lives. I call discernment of your purpose and your place in His kingdom into your lives. I call harmony into your lives and the lives of your families.

As I prove faithful in interceding for Vanguard I have faith that God will take us to the next assignment He has for us. And I have to say that working with Him for your betterment and increase has been very enjoyable. It sounds crazy but it's true.

Pray about this to see if there's any truth in it for you and your situation.

Have a great rest of the summer. It's going faster than it ever has!



I love you guys!


N8

July Newsletter

Hey beautiful people,

WE'RE ONE YEAR OLD! Wow! It doesn't seem like that long but it has been one year since we decided to step out into the streets and do this crazy thing called "Vanguard Street Ministries" full time. Praise God! He has certainly come through for us just like He said and I thank Him for being greater than advertised.

Even though we're looking back on God's wonderful provision we're also looking forward to what He is calling us to do this next year. Part of this means looking at what needs improvement and what is doing well. This list is being compiled for our board members to consider, but something I felt the Lord asking me to share with you could be a personal challenge for all of us.

As I was looking at what needs to be adjusted within Vanguard, the Lord challenged me to believe bigger this year than last. I sensed Him asking me to add more line items to our budget and increase our giving to other ministries. When I asked God why He said, "Nate, if you get comfortable where you're at, your faith will become stagnant." Wow! And I could immediately see how getting comfortable with being able to believe Him for the success of Vanguard at last year's level isn't good enough for this next year. If Vanguard is to move forward and take back more territory from the enemy we need to make sure that we are constantly challenging ourselves to believe God bigger than we ever have. This is an uncomfortable place to be sometimes because it means being in a place where if God doesn't come through the whole ship may sink. But this is where He asked me to place Vanguard and so we are in the middle of seeing exactly what that means.

How does this relate to you? I ask you to challenge yourselves as well. Don't be okay with the level of God you have seen in your own lives. Press out in whatever way you sense God asking you to press out in. Increase your offerings to your church. Increase your volunteering in your ministry areas. Start a business. Help someone else start their business. Pay someone's car off for them. Pay someone's house off for them. Begin laying hands on every sick person you meet believing every time that one of these days someone is going to jump up completely made whole. Ask God to help you get up ten minutes earlier to intercede for your neighbors. Pray for your enemies. Forgive and then FORGET ABOUT IT. Love like you mean business. Boycott religion and support relationship. Be a better friend than you have been. Look for God everywhere.

All I'm saying is that when the widow in 2 Kings 4 stopped finding jars to fill with oil, the oil stopped flowing (read the story if you don't know what I mean. It's really powerful). I don't want to hinder God's work in my own life or the life of His street ministry by coming to a place where we can manage by ourselves. I think I have seen the wisdom of always being in the place where, on paper, it looks like disaster is only inches away. Only then can He really be seen for who He is, and only then will we never see our faith go dormant.

Let's spur each other on to greater and greater acts of faith and together see how great our God really is!

I love you guys!


N8

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