Missions Conference in Atlanta was the highlight of the month…so far.

11 Mar
March 11, 2013

I am writing this blog update from the plane as Jamie and I head back to Spain. We have just had an incredible week in Atlanta. I don’t know how it could have been better. We arrived a week ago eager to be a part of the missions conference at Johnson Ferry Baptist, which we had been invited to several months ago. It was our first time going to the conference though we had been to JFBC before on several occasions.

Tuesday allowed us to get our bearings and to run several errands in the area. Then on Wednesday we started to meet with other missionaries who had flown in to be a part of the conference. It was a joy to get to meet other brothers and sisters who are serving The Lord all over the world and who are being used greatly in those parts.

Not only that but we got to meet and network with several pastors who are very interested in coming to Madrid and leading groups over to be a part of what we are doing. This is EXCITING!

For me the great highlight was the missions dinner they held on Friday night. 900 people showed up for the barbecue that was catered in but that is not why they came. They came to see and hear from the missionaries as we were on stage but also to hear the guest speaker, Dr. Gordon Fort, senior VP of the International Mission Board. My goodness, what an incredible sermon he preached. I don’t think there was a single person who didn’t leave thrilled to and desiring to be a part of a mission trip. It was greatness.

On Sunday I got to preach in two Sunday school classes and it was awesome. We had a great time and a bonus was I got to see my sisters, Elizabeth and Sarah who don’t live in the area but they are certainly closer than Spain!

All in all Jamie and I left with full hearts back to Madrid and hoping that the time flies till our return here to JFBC. We are truly grateful to have had this opportunity.

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Conference on Eternal Security

24 Feb
February 24, 2013

Ephesians 2:8,9 leaves the issue quite clear that one is saved through faith and not at all by works. Therefore if a passage appears to be explaining that one achieves salvation but the condition that is stated is something other than faith in Christ then most likely it is not talking about salvation from eternal salvation. Bob made the observation that too many people put on “salvation glasses” when they read the Bible and any use of the word, saved or salvation and then it becomes quite difficult to make some exegetical flaws and bad theology.

For instance, one verse that has given many people problems is 1 Timothy 2:10. In this verse Paul says that “she will be saved through child bearing if they persevere in the faith.” So many see the word saved and think that Paul is saying that a woman will be earn her salvation through childbirth and upbringing of children. This doesn't fit with the rest of Scripture at all. This would be a work. Not only that but what about women and men who can't have children?Ephesians 2:8,9 leaves the issue quite clear that one is saved through faith and not at all by works. Therefore if a passage appears to be explaining that one achieves salvation but the condition that is stated is something other than faith in Christ then most likely it is not talking about salvation from eternal salvation. Bob made the observation that too many people put on “salvation glasses” when they read the Bible and any use of the word, saved or salvation and then it becomes quite difficult to make some exegetical flaws and bad theology. For instance, one verse that has given many people problems is 1 Timothy 2:10. In this verse Paul says that “she will be saved through child bearing if they persevere in the faith.” So many see the word saved and think that Paul is saying that a woman will be earn her salvation through childbirth and upbringing of children. This doesn't fit with the rest of Scripture at all. This would be a work. Not only that but what about women and men who can't have children?

So what is it talking about? Paul has just spoken of what women must do in the church which he explains is relatively little so it fits that they will be saved from insignificance in raising up the next generation and the future of the church. We'll come back to this later…So what is it talking about? Paul has just spoken of what women must do in the church which he explains is relatively little so it fits that they will be saved from insignificance in raising up the next generation and the future of the church. We'll come back to this later…

0 Comments/0 Tweets/posted in Blog, Madrid, Seminary, Spain, Teaching, Uncategorized

Have I told you about Segovia?

11 Feb
February 11, 2013

There are few places in the world that I have toured as often as I have toured Segovia. As a young child I remember that it was a thrill to go to the medieval town, a crown jewel of Spanish history. It was my favorite town in Spain. The beauty of the aqueduct, the magnificence of the cathedral and the majesty of the castle delighted me to no end.

To get to Segovia you must cross the Guadarrama mountain range north of Madrid and as you descend on the other side you see on the vast plains before you a steeple rising from the ground, in the distance.

Segovia is a “must see” for anyone who comes to the Madrid area. My Dad always thought it was a shame that Americans would come so far and not see it so he always took guests out to Segovia. We feel the same way and so in the last 4 1/2 years we have gone a couple dozen times with our guests.

Today it was freezing cold. It is almost always cooler there than it is in Madrid. We were sitting right at 32 degrees when we arrived and the wind didn’t help. Snow was all over but we bundled up and enjoyed a beautiful day in a beautiful city. Enjoy the pics!

0 Comments/0 Tweets/posted in Blog, Madrid, Spain, Travel
Quote of the Day

When you forgive, you in no way change the past — but you sure do change the future.

- Bernard Meltzer

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All Work and No Play…Made for a Very Good Day!

09 Oct
October 9, 2012

One of the saddest things we see here in Madrid (actually come to think of it, we see it throughout the world) is for so much to be invested in students’ education and spiritual formation and only a handful go the distance to ministry and of those, many drop out. Over the years Dad has implemented a wonderful exercise that he learned they do at the Harvard School of Business: I believe it is called a Calendar in Reverse. That said our day is focused on the “Golden Dream.” All of our students come together for a day of preparatory sessions as well as individual work sessions.

josé-1The concept that we challenge the student with is: “What is the grandest and the greatest that you wish to achieve for the glory of God?” We have them design to the most minute detail what that would look like and then we work with them to hone in on how they believe they would reach this goal. This goal is four years away so we ask. Where do you need to be in 3 years so you can reach your dream in 4 years? Then the next question is where do you need to be in two years to reach your 3 year goal? Then where do you need to be in 1 year, 11 months, 10 months, 9 months, etc. By the end of the session they have a 12 month plan that will help them be well on their way to their 4 year goals by the end of the first year. It is exciting to see some of the things they come up with during the day.

I feel blessed to be able to experience this event every year because I love to think that maybe in that room the next Spanish Billy Graham might be thinking and praying about what will be next.

I posted below some of the photos of these guys working, thinking and praying throughout the day.

 

0 Comments/1 Tweets/posted in Blog, Madrid, Spain, Teaching

Carlos and April are Here!!!

01 Sep
September 1, 2012

Carlos and April are here in Madrid!! Just a short year ago, this wonderful couple felt God calling them to go into ministry though they weren’t sure where that would be. In a year, they felt certain God was calling them to Spain, they raised their support, quit their jobs, and moved to Madrid.

They are now here to help with the church plant and be trained as church planters to make a great impact in this needy nation.

Please lift them up in prayer as they are working hard to study and learn the language as well as to better understand the culture of Spain.

We are thrilled they are here!!!

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What an amazing summer of wonderful Blessings!

01 Aug
August 1, 2012

I am once again overwhelmed by what an amazing summer it has been here in Spain with the different mission trips we have put together. God has been gracious to us and to all who have come and we have been used to reach many many people with the gospel and to see the start of great life transformation! It is such a great thing to be able to experience.

I am sitting in a Starbucks at the moment while our latest team enjoys a little free time sight seeing Madrid. (I have seen it.) So I thought I would come up to my place here by the window (yes I now have a place…4 mission trips and 4 weeks later) and post an update on the incredible highlights of this last ministry month.

The Northern Irish Return!!

Just a couple days after we returned from our month long trip to the U.S. and Cuba in June, we received 5 young people from Northern Ireland. We have been so blessed to meet these kids and God has brought great blessing throughout the year beginning from the time they first made it to Madrid last year. Well on June 2nd a few returned to help with our mission trips for the whole month. They have been a wonderful help!

Pantego Bible Church Shares the Gospel with the Terrorists!

SanSebastian-1Might sound a little more dramatic than it actually was. However this is not far from the truth as the terrorist’s party’s front is in power in the Basque region of Spain and they were the ones who granted us all the permits and in primo real estate spots! Two nights we were in front of the City Hall, one night just to right of it in a beautiful gazebo and two other nights in a massive square surrounded by high rise apartments.

In the five days that we shared the gospel with hundreds upon hundreds of people, we saw 209 people make decisions for Christ! The pastor we were working with there was astounded. He said they haven’t seen this type of response in a very long time. We believe that the 25% unemployment rate might have something to do with it.

Northern Irish Again!!

The day that our friends from North Texas left, Read more →

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Answers to Prayer and Conversations with Gang Leaders

20 Jul
July 20, 2012

SoccerTourney-4I praise the Lord for the answers to prayer that we have seen so quickly. On Wednesday morning I sent out an email requesting prayer for the tournaments in Barajas that we are organizing. This year we have been thrilled as a large group of kids who are “rough around the edges” have come to play in the tournament. This has, as a whole, been good but on Tuesday night we had a challenging night as emotions ran high when some of the “gang” teams lost. We began to pray that nothing would spiral out of control and that cooler heads would prevail. Thus we sent out the email the next day, Wednesday.

Well Wednesday evening here in Madrid (Day 3 of 5 of the tournament) we had all the guys come back but strangely enough the “hot head” kids of the gang who had lost their tempers came up and apologized to the ref and to me. They told us they would be on better behavior today. Praise the Lord!

Another problem with the gang was the smoking, they had been smoking pot at different times in the tournament on Tuesday and after being told, still wouldn’t put it out. On Wednesday I stayed with the guys talking with them for most of the time and they didn’t light up except once (small victory).

I have loved this tournament as I am the camera man through it all and I am putting together a bunch of videos and photos we will show on the last day in the Trophy ceremony. This has provided a special opportunity to get close to a TON of the guys (something that doesn’t happen if I am refereeing…I wonder why…). So at one point, I went and sat down next to Danny, one of the gang leaders. He is about 17 years old (pictured above in the red jersey). This was our conversation: Read more →

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Heading to the U.S.!

02 Jun
June 2, 2012

May somehow flew by and we are on the eve of our trip to the U.S.. Despite everyone’s wishes for us to “get some rest” this trip will not be allowing for that. More on that in a second…

First, I need to share with you about May because it was truly a milestone month…hmm I like that title…I digress.

The great highlight of this past month was the graduation of our largest group in our 21 year history! 17 students walked across the stage of the small (by America

n standards) church stage and received their diplomas. Some were in our two year programs and others in our more rigorous and demanding four year program. All however, are active in ministry and are heading into a life of more involved ministry.

I thought it was a tremendous blessing to see the church packed out with friends and family (many of whom are non-Christians) who came to see the celebration of what their loved ones have been working for these years. They heard the gospel clearly! Not only that but many came to the follow up banquet (which was by all accounts incredible in all of its 4 courses) and heard the gospel there! Suffice to say the graduation was a smashing success.

In other news, our church is transitioning into a new stage and the aggressiveness of what we are pursuing has already begun to yield great  Read more →

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How our Outreach Friday Saved a Woman’s Life.

13 May
May 13, 2012

dani sharing with someoneIt has been a bit of a struggle at times with the church taking off here in Barajas and because of weather and very busy schedules in the last three months we haven’t put together much of an outreach event though we have been sharing the gospel. That said, we set up last Friday as a day to go out with invitations to the church, gospel tracts and Lollipops, yup yup!

I was amazed how we had a group of people show up to help and we talked to a ton of people. It still amazes me how we have handed out thousands of flyers in the area and still most people don’t have a clue that our church exists. Not only that but the reception is good. So many people say they are interested in coming though most never do, I think they are just a few touches away from showing up at our doors.

We have just launched our new church website and so our flyers were to direct people there to see what we are about. You can see it too if you like though it is in Spanish of course: ibbarajas.com

The best news of all was a lady was running to the bus and got to it and she didn’t have the right change so the bus driver forced her to get off the bus. A minute later a few of the members of our team came up to her to share with her (not knowing what had happened). She told them the story and Jean Paul, one of our guys, said, do you believe there is a reason for everything? They shared the gospel with her and she accepted Christ!!

We are giving out water bottles to all passersby next Friday in front of the Subway to create opportunities to share the gospel. I CAN’T WAIT!!

 

0 Comments/1 Tweets/posted in Blog, Church, Madrid, Personal, Spain

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