"Serve Where You Are" by Lonnie Carpenter

I just got back from our annual family get-together at Gravel Lake, which is located in southwestern lower Michigan. On the map above, Gravel Lake is pinned, and is just to the south of the village of Lawton, Michigan. When we're there, I have the privilege of worshiping God with the brethren at First Baptist Church in Lawton. This year, they had a fellowship meal after the church meeting, and I got to spend some time chatting with Pastor Lonnie Carpenter, and it was a great time.

I really appreciate this body of believers: though we only see them once a year, they usually remember us and welcome us into their church family. Lonnie has a heart to reach the lost for Jesus Christ in the Lawton area, and preaching and teaching the word of God and evangelism seem to be the heart and soul of the ministry.

Pastor Lonnie Carpenter (left) of First Baptist Church

Lonnie shared a message out of Acts 6-8 at the meeting I attended, and I thought it might be an encouragement to others who, perhaps, feel discouraged with the ministry the Lord has given them. We all could use a little encouragement, right? I mean, many of us cannot go to far off places to reach the lost like, a Jim Elliot or an Adoniram Judson did, though we thrill at the stories of these and other "heroes of the faith". And, probably, we don't have the organization, support and skills to gather a big crowd and record YouTube videos while street preaching, like a Ray Comfort. But God gives all of us opportunities to be faithful in small, perhaps unnoticed or mundane ways. 

I am reminded, however, that we are called to be faithful, not necessarily "successful", at least in the way we look at success from a worldly perspective. Lonnie's message was a good reminder for me to be content with that which God has given me to do, and trust God to be content with that until or unless God calls me to something else.

Lonnie titled the message, "Serve Where You Are & You Will Go Far." Click on this LINK to listen to the audio message by Pastor Lonnie. Enjoy and be encouraged, my brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ!
Paul.

Book Review: Gospel Reset by Ken Ham

Gospel Reset: Salvation Made Relevant by Ken Ham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a must-read book dealing with which could possibly be the biggest problem plaguing the evangelical Christian church. This book is in the form of a wake-up-call to the church to start teaching the bible and evangelizing the American culture the way Paul did in Acts 17.

For many, many years we have been witnessing and sharing our faith to a Greek culture (who does not have the biblical foundations of God, and how He created the heavens and the earth) the same way we share our faith to the Jewish culture of Acts 2 (Who has the biblical foundations of God and creation). No wonder why when we are sharing our faith to the lost in America that they look at us as nuts. Even when using the Romans Road, or Ray Comfort's way of evangelizing and using the 10 Commandments to show a person they are a sinner, people still have no concept of what sin is, or that they violated any moral regulations to a deity who created them and everything in the universe. We have got to change how we evangelize to our Greek culture and first give them a foundation to set the whole house of the gospel on.

This book was revolutionary for me in that I need to change how I share my faith to people. I need to stop using the Romans Road, and start using a modified version of it, applying creation and our accountability to a just, holy, righteous creator. I need to be absolutely careful what tracts I use so as to not confuse people any further. I need to consider that people have no idea that there is one God, what sin is, or that they are accountable themselves. I have met multiple people right here in the bible belt of America that had no idea who Jesus was. Never heard of Him. Shocking. I need to be prepared to give an answer TO THOSE PEOPLE as well. To prepare yourself...first read this book. It is a quick read, and full of information. Straight to the point with no irritating filler.

Whether you are a Pastor, Youth Pastor, Evangelist, parent, or millennial, you need to read this book.

View all my reviews

Witnessing At Iowa State Fair 2018

Words cannot express how awesome this year was witnessing at the Iowa State Fair this year. This was the first time since 2004 we have been able to do witnessing inside the fair, instead of just witnessing outside the gates, talking to people leaving or going in, or people parking cars on their front lawns. This was a huge opportunity to be a part of.

Answers In Genesis Booth: August 9-14

Pella Tulip Time Festival was a great outreach not only for me witnessing, but meeting more evangelists, becoming friends and also networking with them. Not only with those from Iowa, but all over the U.S.. It was at this festival where I met guys like Tony Ramsek from Answers In Genesis. While I was at Tulip Time he invited me to join him and others to work the Answers In Genesis Creation Booth at the Iowa State Fair. Starting July 11, I signed up and started my Creation Apologetics 101 training and completed it a few weeks later. This was necessary tools to work the booth, and prepare me to answer tough questions in Creation Apologetics. 

The highlight of the booth was an 8 foot replica of Noah's Ark under glass with two trains underneath to show in relation how big the ark would be. It was pretty cool to share with people how big the ark would be in relation to the Varied Industries Building where we were. It was neat to see their eyes light up when I said that the ark was 10 feet longer than the building and 7 stories high! But what was even cooler was to share how the ark only had one door for salvation from the water. This was a picture of Jesus, the only way to salvation and escape hell. 

We also had a station where we gave children and some adults tattoos, which were the biggest and brightest tattoos of the entire fair. As I am writing this on August 20th, my tattoo I put on my leg is still visible since the start of the fair on August 9th! This is what I wrote on my Facebook wall about putting tattoos on kids. 

"Matthew 19:14 - "Jesus said, Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

For the past 2 days for the most part I have been putting these tattoos on children. From the outside looking in, one might call it a failure and a waste of resources. One person said to me that ive been to really rough environments, shared Christ to the toughest cults, and open air preached to people who would rather see me dead, and here I am giving kids tattoos. Though I imagine I've done several hundred tattoos or even more, I have enjoyed each one. I find it that I am more blessed than they are. Here I get to fully engage children, hold their hands, or arms, or even legs, look them in the eye, and tell them how much God loves the, cares for them, and that He even sent His own Son so that they can be with Him forever. That Jesus is the ARK for today. The only Ark with the only door for the only way that leads to salvation. Any other time this is not possible. I am an extremely blessed man."

 The booth also had a plethora of tracts, booklets, DVD's and featured two TV's displaying videos of the Ark Encounter in Kentucky, where they built a life-size ark. We met many people who were planning a trip, or have already gone.

The booth did attract the attention of cults as well. I personally spoke with 3 Mormons, 2 Jehovah's Witnesses, and we even had the President of the Iowa Atheist group come. Most of his time was telling us how sad we were and hardly got a word in.

Gideon's International Booth: August 10th

I was also blessed to be a part of the first ever Gideon's International booth at the Iowa State Fair. We were located on the East Exhibition Hall underneath the grandstands. Here we gave out personal worker's testaments to adults and testaments to kids 5th through 12th grade. We did have a young man named Vince, who spent alot of time getting questions answered. He was a professed atheist, but was really interested in what the bible had to say. The group worked very well with each other, and throughout the fair days there were calls and emails for more pocket testaments needed for the booth. It was a great success and hope this will continue in the future. 

Interview on 99.3 FM The Truth Radio: August 10th

Probably the amazing unexpected thing happened that I couldn't have forseen. While I was waiting for the bus to get to the fair, Chris Rohloff, Station General Manager of 99.3 fm The Truth, contacted me through Facebook Messenger and asked Tony Didlo or I, if we would like to be on the radio talking about evangelism in the Iowa State Fair. Since Tony couldn't get there this year, I volunteered to be on the show Faith Works Live with Mike Demastus and Chris Rohloff.  

The radio spot went well, and I was really excited to be a part of it. Without going into great detail I talk about how the Iowa State Fair affected me in ministry, conquering fear, and answering other questions regarding witnessing at the fair. You can listen to it HERE on facebook. My spot starts at 20:15 and lasts two segments between commercials. 

Even though I only spent the 9th through the 14th doing evangelism at the fair, it was an unbelievable time spent serving God and promoting the gospel of Christ. It was really cool working together with other evangelists, learning from each other, fellowshiping with one another, and being the church we were called to be. I love the men and women whom I work with, and look forward to being together again.