Our church recently started small groups for our growing number of adults, and we have been talking about the vision of our particular church, which is Loving, Reaching, Growing. The first two weeks were on loving. Loving God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and translating that into real-life. It was an awesome two weeks.

Today is the third week and the start of the second area, Reaching. I came from a very evangelistic church, so “reaching” is sort of in my blood. But recently, that task has slowly become secondary, and not a primary function of who I am as a follower of Christ.

This morning, Pastor Scott showed a video that I sent him called Jesus Loves the Outcast. In the video, Jason Harper, outreach pastor at Capital Christian Center discusses his relationship with a man he calls “Gay Joe.” Through his friendship with “Gay Joe,” he has broken down many of the stereotypes that Joe had/has of Christians because of his sexual orientation. I love the video, because it truly displays the heart of Christ. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That rings true in the video, and it rings true for all mankind.

I loved the video because of it’s about something that is very real, loving homosexuals. I also hate it because it makes me ask what kind of outcasts am I loving? Who am I reaching? I mean, I am a pastor, it should come even easier! But the truth is, it isn’t. I was personally convicted, thinking, “How many people in my apartment complex even know that I am a pastor? How many have I talked to about Christ, let alone talk to at all?

I’m glad my senior pastor has the guts to show a video like that to our church. Sometimes believers need to be rocked out of their comfort zones and even have some of their paradigms challenged. We say, “Love the sinner, hate the sin!” But more often than not, it’s easier to hate the sin than it is to love the sinner. It’s easier to cast judgment and label someone than it is to actually get down with them, enter their world, and love them the way Jesus does.

My wife and I had a great conversation about it afterwards. Sometimes we think evangelism is a huge event or witnessing on the street. That isn’t to say that God can’t use those methods, He certainly does. My life was changed at a huge event. But I think the downfall to those methods is that it can cause the believers to place themselves above the sinner. I love the relational approach because it builds an environment of trust. And that environment is far more fertile soil than a tract, an event, or a street evangelist. As my good friend and mentor Jeanne Mayo says, “Friendship is often the highway the Holy Spirit travels on most.”

In the opening chapter, he boldly writes, “I have become a paid professional Christian.” For me (like many), the tendency is to get so good at doing God’s work that we forget about the God of the work. The work becomes the god. Primal is all about getting back to the roots of Christianity, back to it’s raw form, when it was all about loving God with everything that we are and have.

Anyways, it’s a phenomenal book and I encourage every Christian to read it!

Get Primal today!

In dating relationships, most people settle for the average person that sort of measures up to their standards, if they even have any other than physical criteria. If you compare a dating relationship to a car, God doesn’t want us to settle for the average, cheap car. He wants us to have a Ferrari. He wants us to have the best spouse available! Who you choose to marry is the 2nd most important decision we will ever make, the first being our choice to serve Christ or not.don’t settle for a Ford when God wants you to have a Ferrari.

Unfortunately, far too many people settle for the Ford. They make the choice based on looks, they go too far physically, they don’t truly get to know the person before giving their heart and emotions away. They don’t seek the wisdom and advice of their parents, leaders in their life, pastors, etc. They don’t seek God for His will regarding their relationship. They don’t wait until they are ready to actually take the relationship to the next level.

Our goal is that teenagers and young adults would make the best decisions in regard to their dating choice. There is so much heart break and hurt over relationships when it’s not done correctly. We want to avoid as much of that as possible. We had a tremendous discussion each week as well as the Guys Only/Girls Only C9 groups.

*Thanks to Pastors Matt and Lynn Clayton for the original “Pimp My Ride” material

It’s estimated that Americans spend $450 billion on Christmas every year.* And for what? For a gift that he/she MAY like? How long are they actually going to use that? How long until it’s being sold at a garage sale, given to a church or homeless shelter, or worse, thrown away? My wife and I have decided that this year, we are going to go minimal on the consumer type gifts this year, and instead try to do something a little more helpful to those in need.

I want to mention a few organizations that have really got me thinking in the last year.

TOMS Shoes

One of them is TOMS Shoes. I love the “One for One” model of business they represent. With every pair of shoes we buy, they give away a pair to a child in need. Sustainable giving to help. I love it.

Trade As One

Another is one I recently learned about is called Trade As One. Trade As One is an organization that sells “fair trade” products. In case you don’t know about fair trade, let me give you my version of it. Fair trade employs workers in poverty stricken areas of the world to produce quality products while being well paid. Fair trade helps fight poverty in developing nations by giving opportunities for enterprise and sustainable business. From the Trade As One website:

There are two crises that keep us awake at night. First, the crisis of extreme poverty that defines much of the developing world. Second, the empty consumerism that has left much of the developed world bereft of meaning and purpose. We believe Fair Trade is a way to alleviate both.

Advent Conspiracy

The last is probably the most spiritual, and I think really hits the heart of consumerism at it’s peak moment. Advent Conspiracy was started a few years ago by a group of pastors who were fed up enough with the consumer version of Christmas that they decided to bring the story of Christmas back to it’s roots. Instead of spending hundreds of billions on gifts that will most likely be tossed aside, spend less on those gifts, and give gifts that people REALLY want. Gifts of relationship, hope, and life. And the money that wsn’t spent? Give it to really help some people. What started as a few churches in the first year giving $500,000 to build wells in Africa, turned into $3 million the second year. And it’s continuing to grow.

This holiday, lets not forget what they are REALLY all about. Worshipping God the way the shepherds and wise men did. Giving like the wise men gave. Loving like our God did.

*From adventconspiracy.org

The typical human lies at least three times every ten minutes. I don’t mean the flat out, intentional lies. I mean all the tiny ones. What do we lie about? Usually, we lie about what is really going on inside of us. We would rather have the appearance of being ok than being real and vulnerable to people and to God.

I wish that at the moment I accepted Christ into my life and my sins were forgiven, that all of my flaws and weaknesses went away too. But they didn’t. The rest of my life is now a journey to become more like Christ. I have now been in this thing for 25+ years, and I can honestly say, that I haven’t grown 25 years in Christ. Many times, I repeat the same months over and over again.

The sad part is, for many people, this is where the lie comes in. We think that the amount of years we have been saved equals the amount of maturity we have in Christ. And this is simply not true.

The people of Judah are like those who remove landmarks…The people of Ephraim will also be crushed because of My judgment. Therefore, I will be to Ephraim like a moth and to Judah, like rottenness.
Hosea 5:10-12

God was fed up with Isreal when He said this to Hosea. But what does this mean? In order to really get this verse, some background is necessary.

Landmarks in the Old Testament served two purposes. They served as tokens of remembrance of something that God did in the past. Our nation has monuments. Same idea. Remember the past.

Landmarks also served as boundaries. Much like the Rio Grande is a boundary between the United States and Mexico, Old Testament landmarks were geographical boundaries. They were also moral boundaries. They were standards set for the people by which they were to live their life.

So what does that mean for us? As a Christian, I can look back on a time when God did something very real in my life. He came at an opportune time, He provided when there was no provision, etc. I can look at definite moments where God stepped in to my life. Those are my “landmarks.”

Along with that, I can also see times where God was trying to get my attention about an area in my life, and I was either too stubborn to change, or didn’t think it was THAT big of a deal. There were times when I let a little attitude slip past. I let a little negativity slip by unopposed. I let a thought stay a little too long in my mind. Everyone does it. It’s these things, if left unchecked, that cause us to move the landmark. We move the boundary.

And it often looks something like this. As we get older, we might watch a movie we wouldn’t have watched a few years ago. We justify it because we’re older now, and we can “handle it.” Maybe we listen to that popular song, even thought we know we shouldn’t have. Maybe we get a little too close to that guy or girl. Maybe we let our eyes look a little too long at the girl that walks by. And so we move the boundary. Inch by inch, and nothing happens.

What usually happens is that we get to the boundary, and take a tiny step past it, waiting for the giant “DO NOT DO THIS” emotion to hit us so we can turn around. But there is no such emotion.

The rest of the verse talks about moths and rottenness. Both moths and rottenness are things that destroy silently from the inside. If left unchecked, you don’t tend to notice rottenness until the thing is fully rotten. The more we push this envelope with God, the more we are lying to Him. We think we are doing fine, when in reality, we are rotting from the inside. But the Father heart of God says, “Don’t Lie To Me.”

“Fifty years from now, when you’re looking back at your life, don’t you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?”

I love that. When you look back on your life, don’t you want to be able to say you had the guts to be a part of something bigger than yourself? Don’t you want your life to mean something?

525,600 Minutes From Now is exactly one year. A lot can change in one year. As I look back on the last year, I can tell you that is SO true.

Over the last year, I got engaged to the most wonderful woman in the world! And just six months later, we were married! Malia has brought an entirely new dimension to my personal life as well as Adrenaline Student Culture.

As I think about Adrenaline and what it could be like a year from now, I begin to dream. I begin to dream about the lives that will be touched. I begin to dream about the new areas of ministry that we will launch. I begin to dream about how God is going to use our students.

This next year is going to be a huge time of growth. It will be a time where many students are going to decide to either be a part of the exciting things that God is going to do, or they will sit on the sidelines and watch, secretly wishing they had been involved. I hope that you decide that you want to be right in the middle of what God wants to do! I want you to look back at this year and be glad that you chose to be involved.

But that comes at a price. It’s not cheap to see God do something awesome. It’s going to take some personal prices for us to be a part of it. Anything worth having is worth working hard for. I dare you, be a part of something bigger. Don’t look back on this last year and wish you had the guts to be involved.

Pastor Tony

That avenue continued as we talked about launching small groups to be the friendliest place in the city. In a recent survey of things most looked for in a youth ministry, over 70% said that the number one thing they want is a friendly atmosphere where they can be themselves. We have worked very hard to create that environment at Adrenaline.

Last night, we had a visitor that most would label as a “rough” student. At first glance, he seemed like a person you might walk on the other side of the street from. But our students were so amazing. They actually went after him, pursued him. They talked to him. They hung out with him. They played games with him. They made him feel very welcome. The girl that brought him is also fairly new to Adrenaline, and her mom had this to say to one of our adult leaders afterward:

Joey said he really liked youth group last night, he said everyone made him feel very welcome and is wanting to come back!!! He also thinks pastor Tony was “cool” Thanks for being such a wonderful blessing Tony, Ken & Sandy.

To me, this is the big win for Adrenaline.

Then I met Malia at her home, and she was finishing getting ready for our night out. Since it was her birthday, she got to pick where she wanted to go. We ended up at a Japanese steak house called Hibachi (much like Benihana) in Marysville. At one point in the meal, she asked me if I got her a card for her birthday. I said that I didn’t, but that I got her a gift. She said a kind of disappointing, “Oh.” BUt I didn’t say anything about it after that. We enjoyed a great meal and great entertainment by the cook. Meanwhile, this entire time, I am going over the plan in my mind… “After dinner, I am taking her to the fountain in downtown Yuba City…”

The dinner went without a hitch, and as we walked outside to get into the car, we both shivered in the freezing cold. Knowing that the intense frigid weather would cause severe distractions, I decided against the fountain idea. It was simply far too cold. So I got her in the car, and then said, “Oh! I need to give you your present!” I proceeded to go to the trunk of my car, and shuffle some things around making it sound like I was getting something out of the car. I then told her to close her eyes, and I walked to her side of the car. I opened the door, getting on one knee, and I held the ring out there. She opened her eyes (before I could tell her to!) and gasped as she saw the ring! I then looked at her straight in the eyes, and said, “I just have one question for you…will you marry me?” She gave an exuberant “YES!” to be followed by a big hug!

I then got back in my side of the car, because it was REALLY really cold out! She immediately began texting her ENTIRE contact list on her phone telling them the news. I called my family to inform them of the news as well. Within minutes, she began receiving phone calls and text messages congratulating her on our engagement.

It was an exciting time, and thank you to all who are a part of both of our lives.

My incredible soon-to-be fiance wrote this, and I thought it was worth sharing.

Human beings have such an ugly tendency to be selfish. It’s not news. We all know that selfishness winds an invisible thread throughout the essence of every person. The holiday season broadcasts the selfish weakness of God’s creation with a resonance of a boom microphone with messages like, “What do you want for Christmas?” And “you deserve_________”.

I believe what was once intended to help celebrate the glory of God’s most definitive act of mercy has become a tool to skew our line between need and want, desire and necessity. Commercialism has taken the name of Christmas, the representation of the purpose of Christmas, and fluffed up the most significant moment in human history. Somewhere lost in the glitter of our tinsel, garland, little lights, massive inflatable snow globes and amazing food, lays the message of God’s love for His creation. The message is hidden, but it’s a message of giving. It seems as though we’ve become caught up in giving with the purpose of receiving something in return. In reality, God gave the first Christmas gift: a life. He only longed for relationship from us. Not a watch, expensive perfume or cashmere, etc. rather; He desired us. He so longed for communion with us that He gave.

How often do we give, just for the sake of giving? It doesn’t have to be monetary; it doesn’t have to be expensive. But, how about just a note letting someone know we care? Or baking an extra 12 cookies for someone? Giving doesn’t have to be expensive. Giving just has to be sincere.

My prayer this year is that with all of the economic turmoil, that we would re-focus the purpose of giving. That my own giving would be consistent and that I would remember the faces of people who have nothing. I pray that God will burn the image of a person on each of our hearts, so that we can offer up a prayer and perhaps, a meal or warm blanket. I pray we won’t lose our purpose in the frenzy of commercialism. I pray that Christians will begin to act instead of gossip, pray instead of scowl and hug instead of turn away.

Christmas can [still] change the world. This year, Give Presence.
- Taken from Advent Conspiracy

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!
AUGUST 27, 2008
Dear beloved sponsors and friends of Good News India,

We have never seen anything like this.

We knew that Orissa was the most resistant and hostile State in India as far as the Gospel is concerned. And we brushed off the continuous threats and harassment we faced as we went about His work.

But none of our staff imagined that they would see this kind of carnage….

And it seems to be totally under the radar of the Western Media…. Let me explain….

A militant Hindu priest and 4 of his attendants, who were zealously going around the villages of Orissa and “reconverting” people back to Hinduism, were gunned down by unknown assailants in Central Orissa last weekend.

Immediately the Christians were blamed. The cry rose up…”Kill the Christians!”

And the horror began….

In the past 4 days, we have first hand witness to hundreds of churches being blown up or burned and many, many dozens of Christian tribals have been slaughtered. For no other reason than they bear the name of Christ.

Night and day I have been in touch with our Good News India Directors spread across 14 Dream Centers in Orissa… they are right in the middle of all this chaos.

In Tihidi, just after the police came to offer protection, a group of 70 blood-thirsty militants came to kill our staff and destroy the home. They were not allowed to get in, but they did a lot of damage to our Dream Center by throwing rocks and bricks and smashing our gate, etc. They have promised to come back and “finish the job.” Our kids and staff are locked inside and have stayed that way with doors and windows shut for the past 3 days. It has been a time of desperately calling on the Lord in prayer. More police have come to offer protection.

In Kalahandi, the police and some local sympathizers got to our dream center and gave our staff and kids about 3 minutes notice to vacate. No one had time to even grab a change of clothes or any personal belonging. As they fled, the blood thirsty mob came to kill everyone in the building. We would have had a mass funeral there, but for His grace.

In Phulbani, the mob came looking for Christian homes and missions. The local Hindu people, our neighbors turned them away by saying that there were no Christians in this area. So they left. We had favor. The same thing happened in Balasore.

All our dream centers are under lock down with the kids and staff huddled inside and police outside. The fanatics are circling outside waiting for a chance to kill.

Others were not so fortunate. In a nearby Catholic orphanage, the mob allowed the kids to leave and locked up a Priest and a computer teacher in a house and burned them to death. Many believers have been killed and hacked into pieces and left on the road…. even women and children.

At another orphanage run by another organization, when this began, the Director and his wife jumped on their motorbike and simply fled, leaving all the children and staff behind. Every one of our GNI directors that I have spoken to said: “We stay with our kids…. we live together or die together, but we will never abandon what God has called us to do.”

More than 5000 Christian families have had their homes burned or destroyed. They have fled into the jungles and are living in great fear waiting for the authorities to bring about peace. But so far, no peace is foreseen. This will continue for another 10 days…. supposedly the 14 day mourning period for the slain Hindu priest. Many more Christians will die and their houses destroyed. Many more churches will be smashed down.

The Federal government is trying to restore order and perhaps things will calm down. We ask for your prayers. Only the Hand of God can calm this storm. None of us know the meaning of persecution. But now our kids and staff know what that means. So many of our kids coming from Hindu backgrounds are confused and totally bewildered at what is happening around them. So many of their guardians have fled into the jungles and are unable to come and get them during these trying times.

Through all this, I am more determined than ever to continue with our goal: the transformation of a community by transforming its children. Orissa will be saved… that is our heart’s cry. If we can take these thousands of throw away children and help them to become disciples of Jesus, they will be transform an entire region. It is a long term goal, but it is strategic thinking in terms of the Great Commission.

What can you do? First, please uphold all this in fervent prayer. Second, pass this e-mail on to as many friends as you can. We must get the word out and increase our prayer base for this is spiritual warfare at its most basic meaning. We are literally fighting the devil in order to live for His Kingdom.

The next 10 days are crucial. We pray for peace and calm to pervade across Orissa.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please pass it on and help us to get as many people to partner with us on this cutting edge effort to fulfill His mandate: Go and make disciples of all nations….

Blessings!
Dr. Faiz Rahman
Chairman/Founder
Good News India

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