Thoughts! “Other Belief Systems For Ministry Attention.”

Loved Of The LORD,

I was just sitting here after a hard day, (about one hour long) at Internet marketing and was thinking about ministry years gone by. Those who knew/know me, that the Zeal for a long time was seldom delivered with finesse. However, I do remember the many times that The Precious Holy Spirit saved my bacon and no doubt, there was sowing, planting and reaping.

As I have said here before that those who were saved directly by my Preaching/Teaching one could count on one hand. Well maybe we are starting on the other hand, by now; though some will take that as bragging. Evangelist … not per se, yet giving it all that was within me, every chance I got.

I said all of that to say this. Many souls that were in the cults, occult and other faiths/belief systems, even those who professed having none at all, yet even that is one, never gave me a second chance as I was hard shell about my position that JESUS plus NOTHING Else is the only way to The FATHER.

What I am finding out, more each day, that if I just listen to these people and ask them questions, there eventually comes an opportunity to introduce them to my GOD & HIS Anointed SON. Should I never see any results from my endeavors, the blessing I have more knowledge about their belief and all I have invested is some of my time.

I have some more thoughts in this vein and will publish them soon. Feel free and blessed by leaving a comment. Be Blessed, 1aka DP, as I am about my FATHER’s Business!

WILD at HEART ~ By JOHN ELDREDGE (Book Review)

DISCOVERING THE SECRET of A MAN’S SOUL

I read Wild at Heart three years ago because when I read the first chapter … I knew this man had something to say, from a God’s Man’s heart. Having the blessing for my wife and I being able to attend a Southern California gathering of one of his ministries a couple weeks ago, I came home and picked up this book for the second time and devoured it in three sittings.



Not being a conformist in The Traditional Church myself and always having questions about what and why things were taught and done the way they were, I found my self searching for The God of the Scripture. For three decades my search for and finding His Face and learning and knowing His Ways more each day, I was always coming across men who were disillusioned and disappointed in the god presented to them in church.



Over the years I found my God & Savior to meet me at my need and was always there when ministering to other men (And women at different times.) who had problems relating to the hoops we were told to jump through from the pulpit. Some of us were not the preverbal ‘Nice Guys’ The Church expected us to be. To find out that He had made us a certain way and to fellowship with Him in that Uniqueness was so refreshing and revealing. It would have been an easier Trek had I had my learning enhanced and confirmed by the practical and alarmingly revealing perspective of Wild at Heart years ago!



John emphasizes that each one of us were created in His Image of being Wild at Heart. I can remember twenty-five years ago telling men that my Jesus was not a ‘Frail Fromp’ in a white dress, for women and children alone! My Lord was a Man’s Man. He was compassionate and understanding when the time was at hand, yet always ready to confront disingenuous acts and turn over tables in the temple courts.



Am I really a man? Is the haunting question in a male’s life. John give examples of men at the coffee shop sharing a few verses having resolved that “there is no battle to fight!” except “traffic and meetings and hassles and bills.” How many times during my secular and mundane employment was my heart set on fire when given a challenge that looked impossible, but somehow I knew I would accomplish it! The Battle was on!



The Wound that is there that needs to be faced up to and resolved. How awesome that that insight reveals and then a way for it to be reconciled. How many of us can relate to the different examples used, some from out of John’s own life.



The Battle for a man’s heart that so many times is lost to the enemy by it not being affirmed by a father who has not been affirmed himself. Needing to hear the Father’s (Or Male Authority Figure’s.) voice of approval. Then Hearing The Confirmation From The Father Himself!



Showing the wound healed, the enemy engaged, the beauty rescued and living the adventure that is placed before every man who can acknowledge and grasp hold of it.



Now the Nay Sayers will report that John takes Scripture out of context, though I yet have to see them give an example. All I can say is that the appropriate passages were used at the proper time to minister the truth at that moment. The Holy Spirit ministers beyond the nominal critique.



Have some questions or issues with the god of The Church, men this is a must read!

1 aka Dr. D. P. Gatten dpgatten dot com ©2008

Tip A Cashier

While checking out a link on Blogosphere I came across an article:
"Spiritual Discipline: Tip Your Cashier" by Pastor Jim Moss. It caught my eye and I left this comment:

Very Interesting!
Hi Jim,
The Wife of my youth and I were in a restaurant yesterday and we watched an elderly, somewhat handicapped woman tip the cashier, looking at wonanother we question our selves about it, to no avail. Taaaaaaa Daaaaaaaaaa!

And today 'Jim' comes up with an answer for us. Now we know that that might not be the answer for her, yet we will consider your contribution to being a part of our expenditures.
Thanks, and I will make a link on our Blog. dp aka www.wonpreacher.com

Jim has a Good Perspective in this post and I recommend that you take a look!

©2008

Cowboy Missionary Activities

Loved Of The LORD, as I go along I will drop in different activities that a Cowboy Missionary find themselves doing, this post being one. You might find this bizarre, yet it makes a general point to what follows.

While ministering in our own ‘Hood’ (Neighborhood back Home) some of the homeboys would tell me that they were going to a different town to get away from the influence of their peers and the supply of their addiction that was always stumbling them. Nevertheless, when I would see them months or years later, I would hear the same stories repeatedly. Finding themselves in a different place it was only hours, if not minutes that they would hook up with the same type of crowd.

This must be typical with almost any kind or type of crowd. Missionaries are not any different, especially when the turf is open, thirsty, and hungry. The former USSR having been closed to any Spiritual happening for, … (what was it, … 80 years?) was really open to any Preacher, Mystic or Charlatan that had a god type message. One could spot the SLC Boys, even without their bicycles. They were there on ‘Humanitarian Aid’ Visas.

The Saws being there less than a year had already made connections with several evangelical groups. When I arrived on the scene, they were in the process of setting up a conglomerate organization to pool information, mostly on how to thread the needle of Belarusian Bureaucracies and use the different resources that were available.

It was amazing to see how Baptists, Pentecostals, Word Of Faith, Salvation Army and several others including the “NonDenom-Denomination” that I wrote about earlier were coming together to Publish The Good News, of course in their own flavors. Hadley being somewhat affiliated with them, back home and Pat had hooked up with their Minsk Church and were all a part of it. It was working Great and The Ministries were contributing, mostly on how to go about registering with the (Government Agency) ‘Ministry Of Religious Affairs’. The SLC crowd had it figured out at the get go, as to skipping the Missions Registration and starting out with the Humanitarian Aid premise, and almost (If Not Outright) covertly introducing their Doctrine with their dispersing of aid. While discussing this during a meeting, it appeared as a possible way of skirting around the Biggest Hurdles and propagating The Gospel!

Soon there were containers coming in on a regular bases, and Pat somehow had us plugged in to the un-loading and stocking of clothes, foodstuffs and Medicine and in turn we partook of some of it to help in our Ministries. Everyone was generous and blessed to share!

Keep in mind that this was working great for the four months I was there. Yet for a closing note on this post; when my wife and I returned the following year, we found out that the ND-Denom had pulled out of the “Ministry Organization”, because Word Of Faith were a part of it! Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face, I was incredulous! The prejudice that was in The States finally made it self known in Belarus! How Sad!

OK Next week, some stories about the different ministries in action. i. e. Some Good News!

©2008

Cowboy Missionaries That Are Not Cowboys!

How far do you have to back up to get continuity? I will fill in this gap, as The Book progresses;

To Continue:

We met this family in a Church that “we found our selves in”, (A Story in Itself!) and to us they were believers … yet not judging, they seemed some what nominal to us. We tried every thing not to fellowship with them, except outright rudeness. Every Sunday and I mean ‘Every Sunday they invited us over to their house for dinner and fellowship. Now I did not need to Talk about GOD all the time, yet our conversations were always mundane and secular. When we would interject something a little bit spiritual, it very seldom got much traction. Nevertheless, we kept plugging along. And AND A N D we soon ‘Knew’ that GOD had put us together. And we became really good friends!FAMILY!

This Church was basic Fundamental, Evangelical, Non Charismatic, where we could probably be labeled as Pentecostal who had served in a light … well Charismatic Denomination for over 20 years.(That said, They were not a Denomination) … (You figure that out, tho It will eventually be a part of The Book too. See : Where Do I Fit In The Body Of Christ? VI (2nd Para.); Below.)

After a couple of years, now finding ourselves singing from hymnals, and being directed by The Holy Spirit, our friend found himself in a fuller relationship with God and in more light in understanding Spirituals. 1Cor. 12:1 ff.

He told me one evening, that God knew that "I would never step foot into a Pentecostal Church and that is why HE sent you to me!"

Sometime in 1993 or 4 a couple on Deputations visited, the Church on their way to China. (Going to China will become an interesting portion of the Book later on.) My friend’s wife received the calling during this visit, yet he wasn’t going to have any part of it. Our Pastor’s wife told her to just start praying and believe it or not … Oh Yea, you’re a believer, within 2 months he was called to the Republic of Moldova, former USSR. I can still hear him now (Writing and) Singing, Moldova, Moldova, I hear the cry from Moldova! (Which was a completed song by the time they left.)

When I asked how he was going to get support … IF … When it came in, he had found a support group that were not a Spiritual Covering yet collected & dispersed support revenue and for lack of a better term “Cowboy Missionaries”. This had no reference to Cowboys per se, it meant those who were on their own, going into the Mission field.

This group was Aviation Missionaries that dropped Scripture & Tracks into Villages in Mexico, until the laws changed that prevented them from doing it. It evolved into what it is today and the Acronym ACI now stands for Assisting Christian Individuals, International.

Click on their Link (above) and Take a look at what is available. If you have any questions, Email Nancy Hagerman, She will be blessed for an opportunity to assist you in getting started as a Missionary.

Funny now, as I Googled , there does not seem to be anything that uses that term for that meaning. As a side note, should you know anywhere it is used like this, I would appreciate hearing from you.

Next Week “Cowboy Missionaries On The Go ©2007 !”http://www.bigdadgib.net/2008/01/20/good-baptist-cowboy/trackback/

BookWise

Loved of The LORD,
We are still in the process of (Learning) Building our Blog Site, i.e. Won Preacher's Thoughts
So "Just to be honest" we need to experiment, in order to get it up to speed. As slow as it has been, we are excited that we are starting to move and as soon as I complete some of these learning curves, getting them under my belt, I will concentrate on the purpose of the Blog. In the Mean Time, if you have any Questions about this building process, let me know and I will be blessed to share what I know. I have not been able to Hot Link the "BookWise" side panel yet, (Edited 071112 "We have it working now! Try It Out!) Nevertheless the Title of this post and name above, will take you there. Now that that is done, Let me just say that we have been able to minister without raising support in "The General Way" and our hand in Business (Like "BookWise") and our Regular Income has sufficed thus far. As The Apostle Paul encouraged the Philippians by commending those who had a part in his ministry, (Philip. 4:17
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.) *Come Turn A Page!* & have a part in ours. Thank you for your indulgence in this short recess from the main direction and I will now get back to Business Now! 1 ©2007

Another Book Review!

Loved of The LORD,
No moss growing under my feet. Have T. D. Jakes 'REPOSITION YOURSELF' under my belt. It was an informative and found it to be a good read. As I have said before, "Have not found a man (or woman) of God that I agree with 100%, yet Bishop Jakes' book is helpful. Check out my reviews on the link above. NOTE! This is the 1st time I tried this link thing, now watch it work!