Sometimes, you need NOW funding to assist an emergency situation. When an earthquake hits, people need resources immediately. They have no house and only the clothes on their back. If its cold, their families will freeze. Rescue workers need to be fed or they will stop shifting bricks and more people will die. Fundraising takes time…
Read MoreA crooked and perverse generation and a room full of prostitutes
Bali: This morning I went over to the “Prostitutes House” to bring some breakfast. Least I could do. The ladies over there have been cooking us breakfast everyday and some of us thought we should return the favour. Lovely, generous, beautiful ladies, from all over Indonesia, mostly young, mostly HIV+. When I got there, they…
Read MoreWhat Would Jesus Wear?
Classic cut out exercise from a Grace service in London. Related: Top 10 Images of Jesus
Read MoreKa-Ching in the Ka-Church
In Nigeria, Bishop David Oyedepo of Winners Chapel has accumulated US$150 million. He is currently selling 2 of his 4 jets. He is not selling his jets because of the recent documentaries that criticize his lifestyle for being “at odds with the poverty and helplessness that exists” in the communities he operates in, or the pressure from other…
Read MoreSomething is Happening in Egypt
We left Egypt a week ago, right before Revolution II broke out. Something is happening there. In some ways I wish I was still there but at the same time, I feel we were present for the beginnings of a spiritual revolution that is just as important as the political changes, and instrinsically linked to…
Read MoreHappy Thanksgiving
My wife is American so its customary for me to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. Its also customary for us to cook a GINORMOUS turkey dinner and invite everyone and their dog in to eat it with our family. Yep that really is Turkey and Gravy Soda but its made by some other person named…
Read MoreEgypt: Media Messages
Cairo: An Egyptian friend tells us what happened when the public broadcasts lied about Christians killing 3 soldiers and encouraged people to run to Maspero and attack them. Download “Media messages” [.AIF 45MEG]
Read MoreEgypt: Ev. church treating victims
I just spent a week and a half in Cairo, Egypt. People have asked me what’s behind all the violence – is it the Christians or the Muslims? Neither. This is more political than it is religious. Muslims are standing up for Christians and vice versa. It’s not hard to figure out who or what is…
Read MoreMinistry Real Estate: Buy or rent?
Real estate investment for churches and ministries can be a curse or a blessing. It’s one area you can’t afford to get wrong. Learn from the new church movements around the world that are RENTING URBAN and BUYING RURAL. RENT URBAN: Urban real estate is expensive. And if you buy too early, your ministry gets…
Read MoreSeeking unity in the Egyptian Revolution
Egypt: 33 bodies in the main Cairo morgue right now. Might be more in Alexandria and other cities. 1700 injured, many blinded by rubber bullets. Last month’s violence against Coptic Christians, which resulted in 23+ deaths, was the bloodiest sectarian violence in Egypt in 60 years. This week, things got even worse. Its a mixed…
Read MorePassionFest 2012 in New Zealand
Last summer we were at Parachute Festival as well as PassionFest. But this summer our family will only be at PassionFest who have asked me to teach a workshop. I offered to speak at Parachute but they already have their speakers this year and don't need me. [sob sob] They are very different festivals, as…
Read MoreVideo of Egypt’s All Night Prayer Gathering
I was one of the only foreigners at this month’s historic all night prayer gathering in Cario’s cave church complex. Heres some shaky video that I took. There is some English translation in real time, thanks to my friend Samy who accompanied us. Sound is not great. Just listen harder. I should mention that this…
Read MorePoor and Poorer
Our time in Cairo has given me a new perspective on poverty. There are people who are poor. Some people are even poorer. And then there are the poor that are absolutely destitute, robbed of everything and broken almost irreparably in every way. – We visited 2 garbage cities in Cairo, one with 30,000 inhabitants…
Read MoreThe Skinny on Egypt’s Prayer Gathering
“I saw signs of the beginning of revival that I have never seen before!” an Egyptian evangelical leader told us yesterday. On 11.11.11, Egypt had a historic prayer meeting that we attended. It was amazing and we were so privileged to be there. Egyptian leaders are telling us there has been a significant spiritual “shift”…
Read MoreKing Tut and his ear plugs
I took my daughters to the Cairo Museum where King Tut’s treasures lay on the upper floor. And they made an historic discovery of Indiana Jones proportion: They noticed that King Tut’s mask had large holes in his ear lobes and pictures of him confirmed that he did indeed have stretched holes that were worthy…
Read MoreI tell you a story about Egypt
Some stories go viral because they somehow capture the heart of whats going on. This one has been told to me here in Egypt a few times now, by different people. I ask about the revolution and what God might be doing. They reply . . “I tell you a story.” And tears well up…
Read MoreA school in the garbage city.
Cairo, Egypt. We went over to Ezbet El Nakhl, the second largest garbage city in Cairo, with 20,000 people who live there. It’s smaller than the main one but the needs are just as great. Perhaps greater. There is a great ministry at this garbage city with a school for kids. The Mahaba (Agape) School…
Read MoreEnjoying Egypt
I am still in Egypt. Having a great time. Yesterday our group went out to see the pyramids and ride a camel into the Sahara. I don’t usually do the tourist thing but this one made sense. The pyramids are fantastic. Here’s our tour group on camels. As for tourism in Egypt, now is a…
Read MoreLargest Christian Gathering in Egypt in a Thousand Years
A thousand years is a long time. As far as we can tell, the prayer meeting last night that I attended in the cave church of St Simon, which they said had 70,000 [update: official count was 71,000] by the time I was leaving, was by far the largest Christian gathering in Egypt in over…
Read MoreCoptic Cross Tattoo
My Coptic cross tattoo was quite a spontaneous decision, a spur of the moment thing, but it made sense. The Coptic cross, tattooed on the right wrist, is an ancient tradition here in Egypt. The first and only question the tattoo artist asked us was “Are you are Christian?” The cross tattoo is not a decorative…
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