In The Field

Thanks Guys!

2011-12-17T22:16:00.000-06:00

Three Sundays is all I have left at NEHBC before heading to Fort Worth. The bitter sweet emotions brought on by the mix of the sadness of leaving and the excitement of starting the next chapter in my journey with the Lord have intensified over the past week. The inevitable "goodbyes" have started. Last Sunday was my final Bible Study hour with the teens and they surprised me with cards and this cake...

You will notice the title "redneck." That is actually an affectionate term. The deer (actually a magnet) is now "mounted" on my refrigerator and will follow us to our new town home at SWBTS where it will have a reserved space on our refrigerator there. Thanks to all the teens for the cards and kind words you shared with me. I have been blessed by each and every one of you.

Last night I joined the youth workers for our annual Christmas party. That party is always one of the highlights of my year. I love laughing and joking around with them. NEHBC, trust me when I tell you that the teens are well taken care of and they will continue to be loved and shepherded as they wait for their new pastor. This group of adults, each of them, is passionate about seeing the teens they serve fall in love with Jesus Christ. I am praying for all of them and will miss working with them.

Thanks guys for being there with me and our teens through these last 3.5 years, and thanks for all the love and encouragement you showed Sharon and me last night. I love you all so much.

So, where do we go from here?

Well, Sharon has a job in Fort Worth, I am praying God blesses me with a job soon, we have not packed a thing for the move which will happen December 31st, and we are still waiting for someone to rent our home. Yikes! The Lord will take care of all the details. Our last Sunday at NEHBC will be January 1st. This next week, we are getting away for a few days with some friends, which is a much needed breather for us. After that, its Christmas and packing madness! God is good.

A New Look for a New Chapter

2011-11-30T13:40:00.001-06:00

In less than five weeks we will move back to Fort Worth and begin the next chapter in our family's adventure to live out God's will for us. It is going to be great to be back with old friends and to have the opportunity to make new friends. Of course we are going to miss our church family at NEHBC, and we are making the most of the time we have left here by gathering with as many of them as possible.A quick update on what is happening behind the scenes: We are trying to lease our home instead of selling it which actually seems to generate more interest. Pray that God will send us responsible tenants so that our business relationship will be free from troubles while we are at SWBTS. Sharon has a job interview at a hospital in Fort Worth on Monday morning and I have academic advising that afternoon. Pray that both go well. Finally, we have learned that we should be getting the townhouse we requested. That is a huge blessing and we are now praying that we can move into it immediately after the first of the year. With all this change and the beginning of a new chapter in our life, I thought a new look for the blog was in order. Enjoy, and keep checking back for more.

FALLOUT 2011 IS 9 DAYS AWAY

2011-11-02T13:47:00.002-05:00

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!

Meet Our Fallout 2011 Worship Leader - David Gentiles

2011-10-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

NEHBC is excited to introduce David Gentiles as our Fallout 2011 worship leader. David and his wife, Emily, live in Huntsville, TX. David travels full-time leading worship and singing all over the state of Texas, and he currently leads for two college worship experiences. The first is TRUTH which ministers to students at Sam Houston State in Huntsville. The second is KARDIA, a college ministry at Houston's First focused on reaching college students in the greater Houston area. David has also served as a Worship Pastor at Providence Church in Frisco, TX, and as an Associate of Worship at First Baptist in Euless, TX (Dallas area). David says that his passion is "to sing and design experiences that help guide anyone attending to hear the heart of God through the Scriptures and experience the presence of God by the Holy Spirit."

David has released his newest album entitled "Prayers." You can download the album on itunes.

You can also learn more about David at these links:
David Gentiles
Facebook
Twitter

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FALLOUT NOW.

Meet Our Fallout 2011 Speaker - Kyle Fowler

2011-10-27T12:58:00.000-05:00

This year's Fallout speaker is Kyle Fowler. He is a graduate of the College at Southwestern and is working to complete his Masters of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He currently serves as the youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Wimberley, TX, and he was recently married on March 18, 2011. CONGRATS KYLE! Here is what Kyle has to say about his calling to lead teens to know and love Jesus Christ:

"I completely surrendered my life to Christ when I was 18 years old, and surrendered to the ministry shortly after. My heart for ministry is really focused on evangelism and discipleship, and that is the way in which I teach and lead. I love working with students and I have been doing so for the last 5 years; working camps, D-nows, and through youth ministry."

NEHBC is excited to have Kyle speak to our teens at Fallout 2011 on November 11-13 at Farrinton Mission. No, he is not bringing the dog. You can learn more about Kyle at these links:

Kyle Fowler Ministries
Facebook
Twitter

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR FALLOUT NOW

Fallout 2011

2011-10-19T16:04:00.001-05:00

It is that time of year! Fallout 2011 is here and registration opens tonight at midnight. We are back at Farrington Mission again this year and we will be focusing on listening to God's call in our lives through the noise of this world. I will post more details for the event in the weeks to come so that you can meet our speaker and our worship leader. For now, all the details you need for the event can be found here: www.nehbc.com/fallout

The Wheeless Family's Next Adventure

2011-09-18T16:44:00.004-05:00

I have had the privilege and honor to serve the family of Northeast Houston Baptist Church as their Associate Pastor to Teens for over three years now. These have been some of the most incredible years in the life of my family. I have had the greatest time teaching, leading, and ministering to our teens and their families. The NEHBC family has been a blessing to the Wheeless family.

Serving under Pastor Nathan and beside the staff of NEHBC has been a once in a lifetime opportunity. They love the local church and devote all of their lives to the uncompromising advance of the gospel for the glory of Jesus Christ. They have been the iron that sharpens me and they have encouraged me to walk even closer with my Lord. NEHBC is blessed to have them and I have been blessed to serve with them.

For about a year now God has been working in my life and slowly changing my passions and redefining my call. I know now more than ever that God has called me to be a pastor of a local church. So many of you have helped me to realize that. God spoke through you into my life to help me see how He has been shaping and molding me. As I prayed through what God was doing in my heart the wise counsel of godly men also helped me see what I can no longer ignore. I have to be obedient to God's call on my life and do all that I can to prepare for what awaits my family and me on our lifelong journey with Christ.

I have made the decision to return to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) in Fort Worth, TX, to complete my Masters of Divinity degree. This is where I went to college and where my family lived before coming to NEHBC. This is a crucial step in my final preparation to lead a local church and pursueing it this degree full-time is the right decision. I could continue to take classes part time over the next five to seven years, but my attention would be divided between studies and ministry. That is not fair to NEHBC and the families involved in the teen ministry, and it does not allow me to give my all to the resources God has made available to prepare me to pastor a church. Returning to SWBTS is the right decision and we are excited about following God's will for our lives.

This all comes down to us being obedient to His will. I have spent the last three years teaching our teens that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ means total obedience to Him at all cost. God has presented me with an opportunity to be a living example of what I have been teaching and for that I am grateful. His way over ours. That is what obedience is all about.

Sharon, Evey, Dash, and I will be at NEHBC until sometime around the end of the year. Another obvious question is "What about the adoption?". For now that is on hold. Most of you know from reading my blog and Sharon's blog that complications extended the process much longer than we expected. Still, God is sovereign and we trust His timing in all things. We want to adopt and our prayer is that God will give us the opportunity to continue our adoption journey sometime soon after we get settled in Fort Worth.

We want to ask you to pray for several things related to this change. First, pray for NEHBC, the teens, and for the next man who will lead the teen ministry. Pray for God to reveal His man quickly and for a smooth transition as he takes over. Pray that the Lord will allow our home to be sold quickly so that we can be ready to start in January. Pray for Evey and Dash as they transition into a new environment. This is an exciting time for us. It is sad that we have to leave but it should also be a time of rejoicing with each other for what God is doing to advance His kingdom. May God be glorified through it all.

Any News on the Adoption?

2011-08-16T11:00:00.002-05:00

That is what we get asked every week by our church family and extended family.Unfortunately, there isn't much to report. The good news is that Ethiopia is making positive changes to their adoption process and they have been able to progress from processing only 5 adoption a day to 15. The bad news is that our average wait time for a referral keeps getting extended each month. We have been waiting over 11 months for a referral and with each passing month it seems we are not making any ground. At the same time we are praying for God to provide the financial resources we need to complete the adoption.

The only picture I can paint to explain what it feels like for Sharon and me at this point in the process is that of a sailboat sitting on a glassy sea with no wind. We are at the mercy of the currents, simply drifting along not knowing when the wind will pick up and give us the chance to move forward in our journey. It is a waiting game leaving us nothing to do but pray for God to bring the winds of change and move this ship where He wants it to go. Don't get me wrong. We are not bitter about this. It is just the reality of where we are in the process. We find encouragement from those who are faithfully praying for us, the fact that God provides little by little for the financial burden of this journey, and through the conversations we are having with other families who are considering making adoption part of their family's witness of the gospel. We will get there one day and be able to look back on this time adrift and see God's reason for it all. Thanks for helping pray us through it.

Where have you been?

2011-08-16T10:59:00.000-05:00

My efforts to blog this summer have been futile. A busy summer schedule has prevented me from making time to blog. Also, I just haven't felt like it. I'm warming up again. I am certain that my pursuit of my MDiv studies, which begins next week, will get my mind fired up weekly and provide me the opportunity to blog about different theological and cultural topics. I am actually looking forward to getting back into an academic setting.

A must read for the preacher and the worshiper

2011-08-11T08:15:00.000-05:00

My pastor, Nathan Lino, has written a great blog post about the relationship between the preacher and the worshiper. I wanted to share it so here it is:

The View From Where I Stand: Preach the Word, Preacher. Be Still and Listen, Worshipper.

I love this story...

2011-06-29T08:38:00.000-05:00

Found this on the North American Mission Board's (NAMB) Twitter feed this morning: Matt stepped in for a haircut on his way to get a drink. God used a quick trim to change his plans forever.

Canada Update #2

2011-06-24T21:57:00.000-05:00

Team Canada has finished working and is heading home. Tonight we are staying in Saskatoon and will fly back to Houston via Calgary at 6:30AM Texas time. We will arrive home around 1:45PM. This team has been incredible. Changes in scheduling, unseasonal rains, thick mud, head colds and allergies...nothing slowed them down. God used them this week to take His message of salvation to the First Nations people and others around Duck Lake. Though we did not see anyone accept Christ as Lord, we had lots of conversations which have lead people to want to know more about God and His Word. Jason's bible study in Duck Lake will have several new faces tomorrow.

Thursday our team assisted the school in St. Louis with their 5th annual Duck Derby. It is a community event to raise money for the technology needs of the school. People buy a rubber duck with a number on it for $5 and after all 2000 of them are sold they are taken to the bridge and dumped in the river. They race down river to waiting boats and the the first three are pulled out immediately and returned to shore. The winning numbers are called and prizes are given. Our team helped set up for the event and provided and ran a bounce house and face painting booth. It gave us great opportunities to talk to people and allowed the community to see that Christians can be loving normal people. It was a great time.

This morning we prayer walked in Prince Albert despite the rain. A few conversations were had and several tracts were handed out. Afterward, we traveled back to St. Louis and did assemblies with kids in grades 3-6. Since it was during school hours they did not allow us to share the gospel, but many of the kids we were with had joined us for our bible clubs earlier in the week or to play hockey with our guys. We did share the gospel with them during those times so this gave us an opportunity to encourage them before we left. The amazing thing about today was the change in attitude among the teachers. Earlier in the week they were tense and unsure about us. Many of them did not want us there. Today, we were being thanked endlessly for helping with the Duck Derby and for taking time with the kids. There were many smiles and good-byes before we left the school.

Finally, before pulling out of town I had the opportunity to introduce Val to Jason. Val is the bus driver who came to us two days earlier to encourage us in our efforts in St. Louis and who faithfully prayed for us all week since she found a flier about our bible clubs on her bus. She also asked me if we planned on starting a bible study in St. Louis. That is why I introduced her to Jason. She is one of several who are interested in coming to a bible study in that community. As of right now there is not one. This is exactly what we came here to accomplish and the Lord has blessed us with a start up group in the town of St. Louis. Jason assured her that he would be contacting her and letting her know when and where the bible study would be starting. Tonight, our team rejoices in what God has done by adding to Jason's group in Duck Lake and lighting a fire in the hearts of others in St. Louis. Please pray for Jason as he follows up with all the contacts we made this week and as he organizes the new bible study in St. Louis. Pray for our team as we travel home tomorrow. See you all Sunday.

Canada Update #1

2011-06-21T22:39:00.001-05:00

Wet and muddy. That is how the first four days of our trip have gone. According to EVERYONE we talk to, this weather is uncharacteristic for this time of year. The rain has brought challenges but our team has met them with grace and steadfastness. The first two days we were here the team had to go door to door in rain at times. When they passed out invitations to our dinner and movie event on Beardy Reservation they had to traverse A LOT of mud. Monday, many on the team purchased rubber boots so that we could walk through ankle and calf deep mud to reach houses that we would have had to skip otherwise. This "at any cost" mentality has been amazing to watch.

Today, we had to change our plans entirely because the rain came shortly after breakfast and set in until after lunch. We took the team to the mall and spent time prayer walking and engaging people in conversations. Two of our teens spent the entire time talking to a First Nations shaman (witch doctor) about the gospel. We still were able to go into a school after classes were over and spend time with some of the children. The gospel was shared with them and they were able to make crafts to take home to remember what they heard.

The weather is not our biggest obstacle here. It is the hard hearts and distrust of religion that is giving us the most trouble. The picture on the right tells a story that I will share in a later post, but the contrast is clear. The man in the middle is known as Almighty Voice. He is a hero to the First Nations people. He stands between their culture and way of life on the right and the white man's culture and way of life on the left. Because of their past encounters with men who did horrible things in the name of Christ they are very suspicious and distrusting of any religion besides their own ancestral and spirit worship. So far our team has been cursed at, doors slammed in their faces, our materials kicked back at us and scattered across the ground, and phone calls have come in to tell us to keep that religious stuff out of their community. Good times!

Despite all of that, the Lord is really working. Everyday we have been here Jason has received a phone call from someone asking questions and wanting to know more about the information we have left on their door. Several new families are coming to his bible study this Saturday. Despite ridicule and persecution from coworkers and some in the community, the school teacher who invited us into the school still allowed us to work with the kids. She admitted that she was scared and confessed that she even backed off a little because of the pressure. We are loving on her as our sister in Christ and taking the opportunity to encourage her to stand firm. God sent us an encourager as well. Today, when we were not sure if we were going to be able to get into the school, a bus driver pulled up and got out to speak with me. She asked if we were with the group coming to work with the kids. I told her we were and she said that she found out about it because a student left a flier on her bus. She said she had been praying for us the last two hours and thanking God that he had sent us to that community because it really needs the gospel. Wow!

We need you to continue to pray for God to break down these barriers and to soften hearts. Tomorrow we will spend more time going door to door in the morning and working with the kids from the school in the afternoon. Pray especially for our teen boys and the men because we have challenged the local teens to a game of street hockey...I assure you this will not go well for us but we intend to go down fighting like true Texans. Finally, pray for our last dinner and movie event tomorrow night from 7:30-8:30pm your time. We will again host adults and children in a community center and have the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Thanks for lifting us up as we advance the kingdom of God.

Pray For Team Canada

2011-06-17T18:29:00.001-05:00

In the morning 16 NEHBCers will leave for Sasakatchewan Canada and spend seven days engaging the First Peoples with the Gospel. I am really excited about his team and one of the reasons is because of the diversity. Here is how our team breaks down:

6 High School Students - 2 are on their 1st international mission trip and the rest are heading to the field for a 2nd time.

1 Empty Nester Couple - I am grateful for their wisdom and their willingness to reach across generations as an example in sharing Christ by living out Acts 1:8.

A Family of 4 - Father, Mother, a son in middle school and a daughter in elementary school. We need more families willing to go to the field together for the sake of the kingdom.

A mother will be joining her high school son on this trip.

A middle school boys' bible study teacher. Teachers you cannot talk to your classes about he importance of missions and the Great Commission unless you are actively living for it yourself.

Pastor Nathan's apprentice and I round out the team.

Among the team there are multiple ethnic groups represented which will certainly play a big role where we are going to be working.

The diversity of age, experience, and season of life make this team unique. They are a snapshot of what the church should be. People from all walks of life working together for the glory of God. I can't wait to see what God is going to do through this team and I will be keeping you updated on our trip right here. Please remember to pray for us throughout this next week.

Still here...

2011-06-13T14:07:00.001-05:00

I'm still here. The next two weeks are going to be a fun but really busy. I am teaching preteens (rising 6th graders) at VBS every night this week and then flying to Canada for a mission trip on Saturday. I will have trip updates and hopefully pictures and videos for you here so that you can know what God is doing through our team and pray us through the trip. In the meantime, I thought I would share this funny video:

Criticism, Ridicule, and the Vulnerability of Adoption

2011-05-23T23:00:00.003-05:00

This past October I wrote a blog about an exciting movement that seems to be taking place among Christians concerning adoption. The attention adoption is getting among churches and church leaders is encouraging. I do believe this is something that we have neglected for years in both our theological understanding of adoption, our efforts to minister to orphans, and in our mission strategies. Today there are numerous adoption conferences and workshops across the country, endless orphan/adoption advocacy organizations, and many new books from evangelical leaders explaining adoption and God's call for the church to care for the orphan. These have produced much needed resources to help educate church leaders and believers about adoption and ministering to orphans. High profile Christian artists like Mac Powell from Third Day, Toby Mac, and Steven Curtis Chapman have all helped put adoption "on stage" through their family's adoption experiences. They, along with others, have done the necessary work of raising awareness of the needs of orphans and God's call for families to adopt.

In April, The Nation published an article by Kathryn Joyce entitled "The Evangelical Adoption Crusade." Joyce is very critical of the same movement I expressed excitement over in October. Criticism should always be welcome if it is constructive. It seems that her overarching concern for the "evangelical adoption crusade" is that Christians are viewing adoption as a way to proselytize children and add to our numbers, to which I will give my answer in a moment. None the less, I appreciate Joyce questioning the desires of this movement, the handling of it by our leaders, and the potential dangers we face. As Jedd Medefind highlights in his Christianity Today article on the "The Adoption Crusade," we should learn from her point of view and examine this movement for ourselves to ensure that our motives are pure, if in fact this is a movement of God, and to ensure we handle it in a manner that glorifies the name of Christ.

I have wondered in the months since expressing my excitement about the movement if the majority of those who are responding to the movement are doing so for the right reason. I still believe that God is calling His people to a deeper and richer understanding of how we are to live out the gospel and express our adoption as His children by loving and caring for the weak and defenseless. Yet, as with every movement, there are some who attach themselves to the journey simply because it has garnered so much attention. To enter into orphan care and especially adoption because it is the newest trend cheapens a biblical mandate. To see it as a means to proselytize is to misunderstand that mandate.

The call to adopt is a call to make yourself vulnerable before the world by becoming a living example of the love of Christ with no other expectation than for God to do as He pleases and thereby put His glory on display. In essence it is the lifting up of Christ before the world which He promised would draw men to Him (John 12:32). In that sense adoption is an undeniable display of the gospel not just to the orphan being adopted but also to the world that is witnessing this manifestation of selfless sacrificial love. Adoption is by its very nature an example of the gospel. For the Christ follower adoption can be nothing less than evangelistic because we are called to unashamedly proclaim the very gospel that adoption illustrates. That proclamation does not guarantee the conversion of anyone be it adopted child or worldly witness to the process.

The fact that proclamation does not always lead to conversion shows how vulnerable and selfless those who are called to adopt have to be willing to become. You surrender to God's call to adopt, go through the headache of filling out form after form, stand in line after line to get finger prints and authentications done, take on the financial burden of fees and travel expenses, wait months or years for a child, and endure courts and set backs before finally bringing a child or children into your home where the challenge of rearing them begins. You pour your life into them, sharing your values, your passions, and, yes, your love for Christ. In the end there is no 100% guarantee that the child or children will give his or her life to Christ.

As part of her critique of the Christian adoption movement, Joyce sights Dr. Russell Moore's position in Adopted for Life that adoption is "evangelistic to the core" due to the commitment that the Christian parents are making to years of gospel proclamation (page 181 in the book). After reading Dr. Moore's book I drew the conclusion that he was challenging the church to embrace the biblical mandate to care for the orphan as part of its global mission strategy and to understand that adoption is a part of that mandate. He says, "Because genuine faith is orphan-protecting, a culture of adoption and a culture of evangelism coexist together. Indeed they grow from the same root," (pg. 75). Joyce also mentions Jedd Medefind and Christian Alliance for Orphans for their vision that every orphan would experience God's love and come to know Jesus as Savior. Of course that is our desire for the orphan and for Joyce as well. As Paul said to King Agrippa, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am - except for these chains." (Acts 26:29)

Joyce views this desire as an aggravating factor affecting already flawed processes of internal adoptions from differing countries. It is a fair question to raise especially when courts want to know why you wish to adopt from their country and expect you to explain your value system and how you plan to raise the children they are deciding whether or not to entrust to your care. A Christian cannot exclude their faith while answering those questions without lying to the court and denying Christ. What Joyce doesn't understand is that while proclamation of the gospel is a mandate Christians cannot leave out of the adoption process, conversion is not up to us. That is the supernatural divine work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of an individual (John 6:44; John 16:8-15). We cannot convert anyone. We can only proclaim truth and pray those who hear respond to the power of the Holy Spirit working through that proclamation. Anytime a follower of Christ proclaims the gospel he makes himself vulnerable to rejection and ridicule, or worse. Proclaiming the gospel through the act of adopting and through years of teaching your children about Christ places you in a very vulnerable position.

As Dr. Moore reminds us, adoption is countercultural and that fact lends credibility to the proclamation of the gospel (pg. 79). Understand that you will be ridiculed simply because you are daring to participate in something as countercultural as adoption. Add to that our biblical mandate to proclaim the gospel to the world and our vulnerability to ridicule increases greatly. Know that it is inevitable and before it is over criticism will hit a lot closer to home than an article by a journalist you have never met. Leave your expectations behind before you start on an adoption journey and understand that it will be one of the most challenging and sacrificial endeavors you ever submit to. Adoption is a calling that should not be taken lightly. The only guarantee you have is that the Lord will never leave you. It is risky. At times it is scary. Yet, it will be worth it if you have counted the cost and understand that surrendering to the call to adopt is purposefully making yourself vulnerable for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God.

picture source

Osama Bin Laden - My Thoughts on His Death

2011-05-02T21:41:00.004-05:00

I was watching a movie with Sharon. As she knitted I casually grabbed my phone and began to scroll through my Twitter updates to see what had changed in the last hour since I checked it. When I saw it I dropped my phone and nearly flipped my recliner over fumbling for the remotes so that I could get the news on the television. I went through three remotes before I found the right one. The whole time Sharon was laughing at me and asking me what in the world I was up to. Immediately that laughter was halted as the headline on the screen read "Breaking News: Osama Bin Laden is Dead." We did not finish watching our movie.

Instead, we watched the news coverage through the initial speculations, President Obama's address, and as the crowds began to gather in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Afterward, I spent time thinking through what I had heard and about the scene that unfolded after the President confirmed that Bin Laden was dead.

I am thankful that God has removed such a threatening and murderous man from among mankind. This man's actions and his influence have led to the deaths of thousands around the world. He has sought to destroy anyone who disagrees with his ideology and was a danger to all men. His disregard for human life and his murderous actions placed him under the wrath of God who Himself declares, "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image," (Genesis 9:6). Thankfully, through God's sovereignty, this murderer's hiding spot was discovered, he was confronted, and his reign of destruction and hatred was ended.

I think that President Obama, our intelligence agencies, and our military rightly handled this situation and faithfully executed the power that has been entrusted to them by God. Paul reminds us in Romans 13:1-4, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment... for he does not bear the sword in vain, For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer." Having the power and authority to protect life by taking life is one of the greatest responsibilities God entrusts to men. It should never be taken lightly or used recklessly. If everything was researched, discussed, planned, and executed as we have been told, I feel confident that our leaders and soldiers exercised that responsibility well.

I am disgusted by the reaction of the media and by those who have taken this as an opportunity to celebrate. Many of the headlines in papers and magazines across this country should have never been printed. Gatherings like the ones that took place in Washington, D.C. and New York ought never to have happened. The comments posted on twitter and some made by media hosts last night were appalling. Many people were giving praise to God that Ben Laden had been killed. What does God say about the death of this man?

"Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?" Ezekiel 18:23

"For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live." Ezekiel 18:32

I understand that this brought some closure and relief to grieving families of those who lost loved ones on 9/11/01 and to those who have lost loved ones serving in our armed forces fighting terrorism and pursuing this man. My heart grieves with them and I am glad that some sense of justice was carried out that aided in their grieving process. However, rejoicing in justice served and rejoicing in loss of a human life are two different things. Celebrating the death of Bin Laden is a display of the same disregard for the value of human life that he ultimately was hunted down and killed for. It makes us no less a murderer than he was. Bin Laden was a man created in the image of God just like you and me. As an image bearer of God his life had value and Jesus died so that Bin Laden's life could be redeemed just as our lives can if we place our faith in Him alone for salvation. Because Bin Laden rejected Christ and refused God's redemptive plan he is now separated from God for all eternity. God finds no pleasure in that and neither should we.

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him." Proverbs 24:17

How should we respond to the death of Bin Laden? I believe we should give praise to God that He has protected us from a great enemy and has delivered him into our hands. Throughout the Psalms, David always gave glory to God for delivering him from his enemies but he never rejoiced in their death. In fact, he mourned over the death of his enemy (2 Samuel 1:11-12). Also, even though our leaders used the power of the sword given to them by God to kill a murderer, we still must treat his death with the dignity that all human life deserves. Joshua used the sword to executed five Amorite kings who were his enemies (Joshua 10). Joshua pursued them, cornered them in a cave, brought them out, and forcefully executed all five of them. He gave praise to God for delivering him and his men from their enemies (10:25), he made an example of the five kings for all to see (10:26), and then he buried them (10:27) which showed his regard for the dignity of human life.

Give thanks to God that He has worked through His appointed authorities to remove an enemy of mankind from our midst. Thank Him for protecting life by taking the life of someone who does not value life. Be grateful for the courage and resolve of our President, his staff, and our military, and ask God to protect them and continue to give them wisdom. Finally, learn to love that which is most precious to our Lord Jesus...ALL human life. Death is not natural but is the result of sin which separates us from God. This is why God does not delight in death, even the death of a wicked man. For this very reason Jesus died on the cross and overcame death through his resurrection that we might have forgiveness of our sins, be reconciled to God, and have eternal life. How horrible to rejoice in the very thing that destroys us and not that which restores us to our Creator. Bin Laden delighted in the deaths of those who opposed him. By the grace of God may we not be like him.

"I am the resurrection and the life.Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25

Whatever It Takes

2011-04-30T17:55:00.002-05:00

Last Wednesday, Sharon and I listened in on the monthly conference call from our adoption agency meant to update families in their Ethiopian adoption program. It was discouraging to say the least.

We have asked you to pray with us about the slowdown of the adoption process in Ethiopia. Although our agency is once again issuing referrals (notifying parents they have been matched with a child or children), it was made clear to us yesterday that Ethiopia is only processing 5 new adoption cases per day. That's the abbreviated version of what is going on. It was also mentioned that should this rate of processing continue our adoption process could be delayed for years. That means that we could receive our referral within the next few months and have to watch our children grow up in pictures and hear of their well being through medical reports for 12 months or longer before we could ever hold them.

Why don't we change agencies, pick another country, adopt domestically, or just quit all together and have another biological child? There is not a doubt in our minds that God has called us to adopt and more specifically that He has called us to adopt from Ethiopia. The very minute He called us to adopt He made us the father and mother of two children in Ethiopia. They are already ours.

I started thinking more about this after reflecting on a conversation I had this past week during a lunch meeting. One of the men I was with asked me about my family and wanted to know if I had any children. Without even thinking my response was, "I have a daughter who is almost nine, a son who is twenty months old and thinks he runs the house, and I have two children somewhere in Ethiopia that I am waiting to bring home." He looked a little shocked at the last part of my comment, but who expects to hear someone say they have two children they can't get to right now?

My children in Ethiopia are just as much mine as Evey and Dash are. There is nothing I wouldn't do, save dishonoring my Lord, to get to them if we were separated. I would endure anything I had to in order to ensure they were safe in my care. I certainly would never give up pursuing them and I would wait as long as I had to in order to be with them. It is the same with our two in Ethiopia.

In discussing this with Sharon, we both agreed the easy thing would be to count our losses, leave the Ethiopia program, and either take another route to adopt or have another child of our own. The funny thing is, we could have had one child and be expecting our fourth in the time we have already invested in this process. We both know that would be a selfish and cowardly reaction to what we are going through. As Sharon said, "I don't want to stand in front of God and answer for leaving two children behind." I also had a friend remind me that things didn't go so well for the Hebrew people when they complained against God in the wilderness. We fear being outside the will of God much more than we fear being in a long drawn out wait to bring our children home.

I know that my Lord has been more than patient with me. He overcame sin, death, and the grave so that I could be His child and have all the blessings of being in His family. I don't have to go through as much to get to my children as He did to get to me. Even through my rebellion He never stopped pursuing me. Since we are His children, we are to be imitators of our God (Ephesians 5:1-2). Like our God we will pursue our children in Ethiopia and do whatever it takes until God places them in our arms or He completely closes the door to Ethiopia and sends us elsewhere. Please continue to pray that God will quickly bring them home.

Dealing with Anxiety

2011-04-22T15:14:00.000-05:00

Our entire lives are a spiritual journey either toward or away from Jesus Christ and His glory. The different seasons we face throughout that lifelong journey shape us in ways we can never fully comprehend until we are further down the path and stand upon the next rise looking back over the terrain we have just traversed. Yet, it is important that we pay attention to what is happening around us as we progress in order to learn important lessons that can save us much trouble before that season of life comes to a close. After all, our spiritual journey has to continue and we can only stand upon the hill for so long gazing across our recently conquered domain before we must turn and press on to the next challenge.

I have stated in conversations with friends that this adoption journey has been the most intense season of my spiritual journey I have undertaken since committing to serve God and the local church as a pastor/teacher. This portion of my journey has become even more frustrating because Sharon and I have no idea when we will reach that next hill and be able to look back on what we have been through. Changes in government processes along with other delays have brought a dense fog over our adoption journey and we cannot see the end of the road. It was always comforting to know an estimated time of when we will reach the end and have our children home with us. With that element removed, the frustration I encountered had begun to weigh on me. This week I stopped and took a look around me to evaluate my circumstances and see what I can gather about where I am spiritually. Here is what I have learned.

Being anxious for something is not necessarily wrong. Anxiety can reveal where our deepest passions reside. Paul dealt with anxiety in the midst of one of his most intense seasons of his lifelong spiritual journey. While he was being held captive, he was anxious as he thought of the well being of the churches he had planted (2 Corinthians 11:28). His passion for those believers and their pursuit of righteousness weighed heavy on him as he faced the reality that in his present state he could not go to them, teach them in person, and help them grow as a living community of God. He did what he could by writing them, sending them instructions and corrections, but this was not enough to stop him from being anxious for them and their success in Christ. The danger in dealing with our anxieties is that the manner in which we respond can either place us in the center of the will of God or outside of it. Paul understood this and, as he sent the church instructions on dealing with the unmarried and the widowed, he told believers in Corinth that he wanted them to be free from anxieties so that they could secure their undivided devotion to the Lord (1 Cor. 7:32-35). Clearly our anxieties have the potential to distract us from the will of God.

Now the obvious question becomes, "How did Paul deal with his anxiety in a way that honored the Lord?" Well, here are his instructions for dealing with anxiety:

The Lord is at hand; Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:5b-7

First, Paul understood that Jesus was present in the midst of our anxiety. There is no other who understands better the intense pressure and stress that anxiety injects into our lives than the Lord. Our Savior pleaded with the Father before his arrest and the weight of the anxiety over what awaited him was so heavy that Jesus was overcome with agony as he prayed causing him to sweat blood (Luke 22:44). He alone knows the weight we feel when dealing with anxiety.

Since Christ is the one who understands what we are facing during those times, it is He to whom we are to go when the weight of anxiety begins to press us down. That is why Paul instructs us to not be anxious but to make our request known to God by humbly asking (supplication) through prayer that He provide and deal with what is making us anxious. In addition to making our requests known, we are to give thanks to God in the midst of our suffering and stress. We must never forget that the God we are making our humble request to owes us nothing but has already provided all we need (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The amazing thing is that God wants to hear our requests and He desires to bless us with so much more than we deserve. That is why Paul assures us that if we follow his prescription for dealing with anxiety, God will faithfully respond, bring peace to our hearts and minds in our most frustrating situations. When we humbly approach our Lord with our requests and give thanks for what He has and will do, we reaffirm that He alone has authority over all things; especially in those situations for which we are so passionate to see His will be done that we self-impose the burden of anxiety. To place that back upon the Lord is not only liberating but it is God's desire to bear it for His children (Psalm 55:22). For us to have peace in the most difficult of life's circumstances is incomprehensible. This is lived out today as we watch believes who suffer from loss or illness rejoice and praise their God despite the unknown outcome that awaits them in the future.

Is there any evidence that Paul practiced what he preached in regards to dealing with anxiety? Absolutely. You can see it in every letter he wrote, whether it be to churches or to individuals. Remember that in 2 Corinthians 12 Paul had stated that he was dealing with the pressures of his anxiety for the churches. So what did he tell these churches and the young men who were leading them in the letters that he sent? Paul called for God's grace and mercy to fall upon them, stated that he gave thanks for them always, and made sure they knew he was praying for them (Romans 1:8-10; 1 Corinthians 1:3-4; 2 Cor. 13:7-9; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:16; Philippians 1:3-4; Colossians 1:3&9; 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3; 2 Thess. 1:3; 1 Timothy 1:2&12; 2 Timothy 1:3; Titus 1:4; Philemon 4). Paul faithful prayed for and gave thanks to God for the churches and the people for whom he felt the pressure of anxiety. Paul never wavered from what God called him to do and the grace that he exhibited in some the most intense times of his life is evidence of the peace he found by laying his anxieties at the feet of the Lord. Beaten, stoned, slandered, lied about, arrested, shipwrecked twice, questioned before kings and authorities to see if he deserved death for what he preached, nothing brought so much anxiety into his life as to make him break. The peace that surpasses all understanding given to Paul by God is available to us if we will pray and confess our anxieties to Him.

I believe frustration is the result of succumbing to the weight of anxieties. Frustration can lead us to a multitude of sins. The longer we go in the waiting portion of our adoption journey and the thicker the fog gets because of the unknowns, the more I feel the pressure of anxiety weighing in on me. As I stopped and assessed my situation, I saw my need to repent and my God has been faithful to forgive. I am not sure when the fog is going to lift, the summit come into view, and the climb to the top be complete on this portion of my life's journey. However, I am no longer carrying the heavy weight of my anxieties. I am too weak to do that, but the Lord is at hand.

I hear the Savior say,

"Thy strength indeed is small.

Child of weakness, watch and pray,

Find in Me thine all in all."

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe;

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow.

Baptizing My Daughter

2011-04-13T15:59:00.001-05:00

Sunday I got to baptize Evey. That was one of the most exciting yet humbling experiences I have ever had. I am so glad that God has entrusted her to me as a daughter, but even more grateful that she has a personal relationship with Jesus and I can call her my sister in Christ. We are both on a spiritual journey to be more like Christ each day. I get to point her to where she needs to go, teach her how to get there, and set examples for her to follow in her walk with Christ. At the same time, she will help me see things in my journey I may have missed, encourage me to fight the good fight, and as I watch her journey I will learn things about my Lord that I have never known. Thank you Lord for this great privilege. I love you, Evey.

Solving Ethiopia's Orphan Crisis

2011-03-31T16:41:00.002-05:00

In Ethiopia there are five million orphans and less than 1% of them will ever be adopted. At the current international adoption rate it would take 5 million families, 2500 years, and $125,000,000 to end the orphan crisis in that country. When you consider the statistics that are stacked against children who age out of orphanages it becomes even more heartbreaking. International adoption alone is not the answer.

There will always be orphans in this world until Christ returns and makes all things new, but there does not have to be an orphan crisis. Care of the orphan has been entrusted to believers by God and it is through the local church that He intends for this to be accomplished. That is why I am so thrilled and excited about this effort of "seed adoption" being implemented in Ethiopia by organizations like Gladney, Kidmia, and their partners. The local church is the body through which Christ reaches the world with His love. Empowering local churches to do what God has called them to do in ministering to orphans is critical to Ethiopia's orphan crisis. May God bless their efforts and may He give us opportunities to plant local churches in hurting areas all around the world.

Seed Adoption - Ethiopia Project from Wiseacre Short Films on Vimeo.

Ozona Mission Trip Recap

2011-03-25T14:15:00.000-05:00

"...And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Acts 2:47

There really isn't any other way to describe what God did through our team in Ozona, Texas, than quoting that verse.All week long we were blessed to lead people to faith in Christ. From decisions made at the basketball camp to those made while going door to door, we saw 23 people accept Jesus as their savior. I am proud of all of our teens who went on this trip as well as the adults that helped lead them. The stories they can tell of God working in their lives are inspiring and I encourage you to approach them and ask them to share about their trip to "the biggest little town in the world."

Our week in Ozona was spent conducting a basketball camp for kids K-5 in the morning, door to door evangelism in the afternoon, and an outreach in the town square on Friday evening. It was busy but well worth every minute.

The basketball camp was a great way for us to reach the kids in the community. We had over 36 kids attend the camp and we were able to share the gospel with them every day. Our teens built relationships with the kids throughout the week as they led them through simple basketball drills, small group devotions, and scripture memorization. It was incredible how excited the kids got about memorizing their daily Bible verses. By the third day kids started approaching us asking to accept Jesus as their God and Savior. There were days when Pastor Chris and I did nothing but counsel with kids about a decision to accept God's gift of salvation. At the end of the week almost a dozen of our campers had accepted Christ and Pastor Chris followed up with their parents the same day. On the last day, one of the boys who had been attending the camp said that he had prayed and asked Jesus to forgive him, but we were not able to follow up with him before he was picked up. Pastor Chris had his contact information and planned to meet with him and his parents the next week. Fortunately, he did not have to wait. This past Sunday the young man accompanied by his parents attended church at FBC Ozona and came forward during the response time and asked Jesus into his heart. Wow!

The door to door evangelism was the most productive outreach I have ever seen in terms of people accepting God's gift of salvation. Every evening our teams would share incredible stories of divine appointments and of decisions made to accept Jesus. One night we had 7 people make decisions to follow Christ! Some of these encounters were incredible:

Two of our teens spent an hour talking with a 73 year old woman who was in tears because she thought it was too late for God to forgive her for the sinful life she had lived. After sharing the gospel with her and walking her through Scripture references about forgiveness, this woman prayed to receive Christ as her Savior. We saw her again a few days later at the party in the town square where she laughed and had a great time meeting other believers.

One team encountered a young mother with four kids. As they shared the gospel with her, she began to weep. One of the teens stopped and asked if she was alright. As she held her baby, she told the team that only days earlier the baby's twin had died after being crushed by a television. She too prayed to receive Christ and FBC Ozona will continue to minster to her and her family.

Then there is Tevin, a sixteen year old young man who works at the Sonic beside our hotel and who was active in the Catholic church. Earlier in the week some of our team members began witnessing to him. After listening to our team members, Tevin asked to speak with Pastor Chris who had already started building a relationship with him before we arrived. Pastor Chris talked with him and Tevin prayed and asked Jesus to be his Lord. Pastor Chris and his team offered Tevin a ride home from the Sonic. When he asked our team what they were about to go do, Pastor Chris explained that they were going out into the community to knock on doors and tell others about Jesus. Tevin looked at the team and said, "I'm not going home. I'm going with you." A new believer going door to door right after accepting Christ! He went out with our teams three days in a row. On the last day, his team encountered an older man who was Catholic. He argued with our teens, was rude to them, and ultimately dismissed them because of their youth. Finally, one of the team members called Pastor Chris over to talk with the man. Tevin came with him. Once the man discovered that Tevin had a Catholic background and had just placed his faith in Christ for his salvation a few days earlier, he began to attack him. He told Tevin that he was confused and was simply looking for a new fellowship. The man said that boys like Tevin are the reason he is studying to be a teacher in the Catholic church so that he can keep them from buying into the lies of other religions. Tevin, only three days old as a believer, looks at this man and tells him that all he has ever sought was the truth, that the Catholic church had only given him a bunch of rules and laws to follow which never brought him peace or understanding about his God, and that what he learned about Jesus a few days ago is the truth and he will no longer accept the lies and works based faith of the Catholic church. Incredible.

Last, I had several divine appointments of my own including sharing the gospel with four teens in the middle of the street, all of which asked Jesus to be their Savior. On the last day that we went door to door I had the chance to meet a Texas State Trooper. While I was riding my streets and checking on my team I came to a stop sign. I noticed a man working on his barn. I turned right and as I passed in front of his house I saw a State Trooper patrol car parked in the driveway. Having been a State Trooper in Georgia I thought this was an open door to share my faith with this man. I turned my truck around, parked, and approached him. After telling him who I was and about my past as a Trooper, we spent an hour talking about life, law enforcement, and ultimately salvation. This Trooper, also a retired Marine, was a believer but his work schedule made it hard for him to keep his family in church. Before leaving, I prayed for him, his wife, and his eight month old daughter who was sleeping in a baby seat near by. He choked up and with tears in his eyes thanked me for stopping. When I got back to the church and told Pastor Chris about the meeting, he said there was a strong believer in his church who is a retired TX Trooper and a former Marine and that the two of them will follow up with him. Perfect! That night I went to Subway for dinner. While at the register, I noticed the woman ringing up my purchase had a Department of Public Safety pendant on her necklace. I asked her who she knew with DPS. She told me that her husband worked for them. When I called his name she looked at me with amazement. I told her I had just met her husband and precious baby girl about an hour earlier and that I had prayed for them and for her. You can't make this stuff up!

FBC OZONA

This was one of the most fruitful and exciting trips I have ever been a part of. Pastor Chris Johnson and his people have a lot of work ahead of them as they follow up with the 23 new believers and other contacts we made throughout the week. Please pray for them as they work to reach the people of Ozona. Pray for the new believers to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Pray that Tevin will keep his passion for reaching his Jerusalem. Ask God to send others to water the seeds of the gospel that were planted. Pray that God will continue what He started and that FBC Ozona will be a powerful tool for the kingdom of God in the years to come.

Wildlife Video from Ozona

2011-03-24T08:00:00.005-05:00

The team shared their stories and experiences from the trip last night during midweek worship at NEHBC. I will post a trip recap later today. For now, check out the video highlights of some of the wildlife we encountered while in Ozona.

Pictures of God's Creation in Ozona

2011-03-23T15:22:00.000-05:00


Whitetail Deer north of Ozona. This buck has dropped his antlers and is shedding his winter coat.


Rio Grand Turkeys


Dusk in Ozona. Looking SE across I-10.


Sunset in Ozona, TX. Two people prayed to receive Jesus as their Savior with this as the backdrop.

Ozona Mission Trip Highlight Video

2011-03-22T15:16:00.001-05:00

The team will be sharing about the trip this Wednesday night at 7pm at NEHBC. I will post some stories and pictures from the trip here in the next few days. For now, enjoy the highlight video:

We Need Your Prayers

2011-03-10T23:36:00.002-06:00

My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord - how long? Psalm 6:3

The one year mark in our adoption journey is turning out to be a bitter sweet experience. There was no guaranteed time line when we started, only estimations, goals to reach, and paper work to be approved. As of now, we have no time line and the uncertainties in our journey continue to grow.

This past week our adoption agency informed us that the Ethiopian government has decided to process only 5 adoptions per day instead of 40. The reason for this is not quite clear, but according to an alert from the US Department of State the agency in Ethiopia responsible for processing adoptions has cited the need "to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues." There are many blogs as well as orphan and adoption advocacy groups that are speculating about why this has happened. I will not give any credence to them here simply because they are only guessing at the reasoning behind the decision. Even the State Department has said they are working with the Ethiopian government to learn more about this change in procedure. The only creditable article I can find so far that isn't speculative is from the Associated Press and posted online by the Washington Post. The one thing that is for certain is that we no longer have any idea when to expect a referral or how long we will have to wait for a court date in Ethiopia to finalize the adoption and bring the next two Wheeless babies home to be with their family. This is a major development that not only impacts our family but more importantly it impacts the well being and futures of the estimated 5 million orphans in Ethiopia.

Sharon and I feel helpless and heartbroken over this situation. We have discussed what this means for us and our adoption journey and have talked with our adoption agency about our options. They have been wonderful and very understanding. Here is what we are certain of at this time:

First, God has called us to adopt. The way that God led us to this decision makes that very clear to us. The love God has given us for the people of Africa is also very strong. That was one of the major factors that led us to pick Ethiopia. We can't just walk away from this call in our lives.

Second, the door to adoption through Ethiopia is not closed. The current situation simply means that there are more unknowns than when we started. Will we be matched with boys, girls, or one of each? What situation caused them to be orphans and how do we deal with that? How is God going to provide the funds we need to complete this adoption? How are Evey and Dash going to adjust to having two new siblings? The list goes on and on. We just simply added "How much longer will this take?" to the top of our list. Unless God closes the door to Ethiopia we will not pursue another route. We truly feel that our children are waiting for us there and we will get to them eventually. So, we will continue to walk by faith and trust the Lord.

As I said before, we feel helpless in this situation. However, we are not hopeless. Our Father, Who has adopted us, is all powerful and He works through the affairs of man and governments to accomplish His eternal purposes. Our hope is in Him and we are praying that He will be glorified through this. We want to ask that you join us in this prayer. Here are some things you can specifically pray for:

Pray for the orphans in Ethiopia. Above anyone else this impacts their precious lives. If this decision by the Ethiopian Government is what is best for them then we want God to bless it. If this aggravates the horrible conditions and situations of the orphans then we want God to change the hearts of those who provide leadership in the government agencies overseeing the care of orphans.
Pray for the other families who are waiting to adopt from Ethiopia. We are not the only ones experiencing the stress, anxiety, and heartbreak of this potential delay and complication. Ask God to give them peace and for His grace to fall on them as they wait.
Pray for the adoption agencies and our State Department officials as they interact and discuss this with the Ethiopian officials. Pray that God will give them all wisdom to discern what is best for the orphans and the future of international adoptions from Ethiopia.
Ask God to plant churches in Ethiopia and to train and equip believers in country to care for orphans. God has called the local church to care for the orphan and adoption is only part of that ministry.
Pray for our two children who are waiting in Ethiopia. We haven't met them yet, but our hearts are heavy at the thought of what they might be going through. Pray that God will make a way for them to be brought home quickly and safely. Pray for their protection and health.
Finally, please keep Sharon and me in your prayers. We need wisdom and discernment in the midst of all the emotions and uncertainty we are facing. Pray that God will give us understanding and insight into what he is doing through this. We want nothing more than to glorify Him. I am sure there is much for us to learn as we wait.

In the end, we trust that God will take care of his children...us and His orphans in Ethiopia.

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home...(Psalm 68:5-6a)

Photo above taken from Children's Hopechest website

How the Homeschooling Battle Impacts You

2011-02-27T00:06:00.000-06:00

We made the decision to homeschool our children because it fits our family situation, lifestyle, and personal convictions. Being a youth pastor means that my summers are slammed with ministry opportunities, mission trips, and camps. Because this is a crucial time in my ministry I do not get to take summer vacations and family trips have to wait till the fall. If our children went to public school they would be on summer break while I was in one of the busiest times of my year, and they would start back to school before we had the opportunity for family vacation or extended outings. In regards to our personal convictions, we feel that homeschooling is the best way for us to teach our children a Christian worldview and prepare them to be godly adults. For Sharon and me, it is the most effective way to live out Deuteronomy 6 and honor God by caring for what He has entrusted to us as parents. We believe parents have to make this decision for themselves and homeschooling is one option. You should have the right to choose the best option for your family and your children. Most of you are probably sending your children to public schools, and you may have checked out wondering what in the world homeschooling has to do with you. Let me show you.

The battle for the legal right of parents to homeschool children has been heating up for years. A recent article from Baptist Press reports that other countries, namely Germany and Sweden, are fining parents thousands of dollars because they are homeschooling their children instead of sending them to government schools. Germany has been particularly harsh on families who homeschool. The article reports that a 15 year old girl in Bavaria was taken from her home and placed in a psychiatric facility "because they believed the girl had been brainwashed by her conservative evangelical parents who homeschooled her." But that is only in Europe right? It is for now, but there are some alarming trends happening in the US.

The number of families choosing to homeschool is rising every year and with it a number of court cases and legislation challenging the right of homeschooling is increasing. This means that homeschooling is going to be taking center stage in our political arena in the years to come. The Baptist Press article notes that there have been past efforts to quash homeschooling in our country. The first was based on the argument that homeschooling fails to provide the proper education needed for children to succeed in college and the work force. That has been disproved with homeschoolers exceeding standards in all testing areas and colleges are now looking for new ways to recruit homeschooled students. The second effort to stop the homeschool movement was directed at the idea that homeschooling leaves children socially inept. That too was proven to be false. However, according to the article, there is a third wave of attack coming that is expected to be more intense than the last two. The article says that those wishing to stop the homeschooling movement are asserting that "Christian homeschooling parents are effectively transmitting values to their children...that are dangerous to the well-being of both these very children and society as a whole."

What exactly are those values they feel are dangerous, threatening the well-being of children and society?

Homosexuality is a sin.
Men should be the leaders of their families.
Jesus is the only way to God.
All other religions are false.

Now, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ and believe the Bible you hold these beliefs as well, even though you most likely send your children to a government school. Homeschooling is an easy target because even though it is on the rise, it is certainly not the norm. It is also closely associate with our Christian faith because the majority of homeschooling families profess to be Christian and teach the Bible as part of their curriculum. The opponents of homeschooling are fighting against the movement in the name of tolerance, which is hypocritical as they have no tolerance for the values embraced by Christians. One professional interviewed in the article states, "The people who are preaching tolerance are actually opponents of liberty...Persecution is on its way. It is in the law reviews today. It will be in the courtrooms tomorrow." As I stated from the beginning, you should be free to choose how to educate your children and no one should be allowed in impose a particular philosophy on you or penalize you for making a responsible informed decision. Yet, I feel that this next attack on homeschooling is just an arrow aimed at a larger target...evangelical churches.

My question is this. If they are successful in stopping homeschooling because Christian parents are teaching values that are seen as a threat to society, how much of a stretch is it for the opposition to move from attacks on homeschooling to attacks on evangelical churches and pastors? I don't think that it is a stretch at all. In fact, I believe it will be the next step. If opponents get a court to declare that teaching these values is a danger to the well-being of children to whom they are taught and to society, the door will have been swung wide open. Anyone who teaches or professes these beliefs will be seen as a threat to society. That means you, Christian.

The current political mood of our country is certainly positioned against Christian values. Only days ago President Obama stepped away from the defense of marriage, opening the door for same-sex marriages. This didn't surprise anyone, but it was disappointing none the less. The atmosphere is right for these kinds of battles and the voice of "tolerance" is very loud in our country today. The battles that are coming against homeschooling are an attack on the beliefs of our Christian faith. While a decision for or against homeschooling in our country may not directly affect you or your children, a decision against the liberty of parents to choose how to educate their children, based on the argument that Christian values are a threat to society and to the well-being of the children to whom they are taught, will create momentum for those who wish to silence evangelicals in this country.

Either way, we must trust God to know what is best for His church and we must stand firm on the Word and proclaim truth with love at all cost. Maybe persecution is exactly what is needed in this country for the gospel of Jesus to advance. In that case, may it be so. In the meantime, may God grant us the wisdom and courage to stay the course and proclaim Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation and His Word as true.

Being Daddy

2011-02-23T12:27:00.000-06:00

"Daddy, can we go on a date this weekend?" Not a week goes by that Evey does not ask me that question and I hope she never stops asking me for those dates. Our last date was to NEHBC's Daddy Daughter Dinner this past Friday. It was a special night and we had a great time. Evey curled her hair and dressed up in a beautiful dress. I donned a suit and tie and waited at the bottom of the stairs as Evey came down to meet me. I gave her a wrist corsage and we took pictures together. I opened every door for her and even helped her with her chair at our table. It was a big deal and she loved it.

I still remember the day that we found out our first child was going to be a girl. When the ultrasound tech announced, "Its a girl," I was speechless. Sharon swears I turned pale and she thought I was disappointed. The truth is all my mind could process was the question, "What am I going to do with a little girl?" Those of you who know me understand that I strongly embrace being a man and all the manly things that come along with that. I never saw myself as a daddy to a little girl, but God knew I needed her in my life to change me for the better. Maybe he did it to tone me down just a bit. The next thought that ran through my mind after discovering I was going to be the father to a girl was, "I gotta get more guns and start saving for a wedding." I was never disappointed with the news of a baby girl and today Evey is one of the greatest blessings that God has ever given me.

The one thing I have learned more and more over the last nine years of Evey's life is that she will develop her understanding of what a godly man should be from our relationship. I will be the one to show her how a man should treat her. She will learn what to expect from a man by the way I respond to her. She looks to me for affection and attention and the way I treat her, and Sharon, will imprint what she will accept from a man in the future. It is my job to protect her and to provide for her. I have to reassure her through scary times. I am the one who has to guide her to Jesus Christ and teach her that He loves her more than I ever could. I have to do all of this for her until the day comes when God entrust her to another man in marriage. That's a lot of responsibility and it is hard to do as I strive to follow Christ.

Being "Daddy" to a little girl has taught me a lot but I know I have much more to learn. My most recent effort to be a better daddy has been to read through the book Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson. Fathers, this book will open your eyes and I consider it a must read for all men who are raising daughters. Take your role as Daddy seriously because the stakes are too high for us to fail. Take the time to learn from our heavenly Father the right way to do it and pray for His grace, mercy, and wisdom to guide you as you raise all your children. We cannot do it without Him. He knows more about being Daddy than we ever will.

Lessons Learned While Waiting: One Year Into the Journey

2011-02-21T16:40:00.002-06:00

One year, three weeks, and one day...Sharon has an adoption ticker on her blog that keeps a day by day count of how long we have been journeying through this adoption process. February 6, 2010 we made the announcement to our family and friends that we were going to adopt. A lot has happened in the last twelve months to get us to where we are now but the one constant has been the waiting. I spent Sunday afternoon reflecting on what I have learned in the past year of our journey as we wait for our referral. Here is some of what I have learned or have been reminded of over the past year's wait.

1. God will plant seeds in your heart that may not grow until years later. - That's the way it was for me and my decision to make adoption part of our family's story. I tried to think back to when it was first planted in my heart that adoption could be part of my life and all I can think back to is being around foster children in high school. Several of them were my friends and I listened to them express their hurt over the fact that they felt as though they had no family. Some of them bounced from house to house, but a few made their way to a godly foster home with other foster children. Most of them "aged out" of foster care and were never adopted. I remember thinking to myself, "Why won't anyone take my friends in and make them a part of their family?" That had to be where it started and since then God has done things in my life to water that seed. I wrote about how God moved us to adopt in my blog post, How God Called Us Over Time.

2. A step of faith is a step of faith no matter how many times you take one. - Accepting Jesus as my Savior, asking Sharon to marry me, surrendering to His call for me to be a pastor, making the decision to go to seminary, moving my family to Houston to join God's work at NEHBC, all of these were major steps of faith for me. I don't care how many times you take a major step of faith and place your trust in God to handle a situation that He calls you to, it is still a nerve-wracking decision. A life of faith is simply one step of trust after another in both the small things and the big things, and God always puts greater opportunities in our path to teach us to trust Him more and more. No matter how much you prepare, how much Scripture you memorize, or how much prayer you offer up, you still have to determine in your heart to be obedient to the Lord and trust Him to walk you through unknown territory.

3. Patience is a virtue that only gets stronger the more it is stretched to its limits. - Wait, wait, wait, and wait some more. While you are waiting, you still must wait to wait some more. There are so many players and so many obstacles in the adoption process that I am surprised I haven't cracked yet. I am not a patient man, though I have gotten better over the years. This process by far has been the biggest test and learning opportunity regarding patience that I have ever had. Learning to wait on the Lord has been a blessing because He has shown us things and used this waiting time to impact the lives of others around us. Even when we think nothing is happening, God intervenes and we witness Him perform a work that we never expected. That makes the waiting worthwhile.

4. Gaining a deeper understanding of the theology of adoption has caused me to examine and rethink numerous areas of my life. - When you understand that your very position as a believer before God is that of a child adopted into His family with the same inheritance given to the Son it changes the way you think about life. When you see the lost as orphans you understand more deeply the love God has for them and why He is so passionate about us inviting them into His family through a relationship with Jesus Christ. When you realize that God expresses His love for the orphan and the widow in His Word you learn more about the compassion He has for you and the love we must have for those hurting and suffering in this world. It changes the way you see other nations and peoples because it challenges stereotypes and prejudices you may have hiding in your heart. A deeper understanding of adoption has deepened the passion I have for my family and the role I play as a husband and father. It does the same for me as a pastor because I realize more deeply what God has entrusted to me and I know I am unworthy of such a position.

5. My family will never be the same. - One year into talking and teaching about adoption in our home and we know for sure that our lives have changed. Our priorities have changed. Our allocation of God's resources have changed. As a family, we are learning to sacrifice together in order to accomplish the will of God. We are learning to rely on one another because we are the ones making this journey together. This is a huge blessing.

Tomorrow will be the one year, three weeks, and two days mark according to Sharon's adoption ticker. New lessons will come as we wait for God to open the next door. Somewhere in the future, hopefully this year, the wait will be over and this portion of our journey will end. Who knows how far that ticker will have to count before its no longer needed, but it will be worth the wait. Just wait and see...

So Much We Take For Granted

2011-02-19T23:00:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow morning we will gather with our church family to worship our God and praise the Lord Jesus Christ. In our worship center almost every other chair has a Bible underneath it so that those who need a copy may follow along as our pastor preaches. They are even welcome to take a copy with them if they do not own one. Many in the service will use electronic copies on their phones or other devices. Upstairs, on the youth hallway, it is inevitable that I will find a Bible left lying around in the game room or in another classroom, left there by a teen who got distracted and forgot to take it home. The same thing will happen in the lobby as adults engage in conversations. One will be left on a counter or bench. Our lost and found gets full of Bibles that have been left behind never to be claimed again. Maybe they have multiple copies at home so leaving one behind is no big deal. But that's just the point isn't it? It's become no big deal.

Too often we take for granted that we have the written Word so readily at our disposal. We have no concept of what it is like to not have accessibility to the Scriptures, to have to listen to someone tell you what God's word says and not be able to read it for ourselves. We forget that men died so that we could have the written word and study it for ourselves, intimately knowing our God and listening to Him in our hearts and minds. We have taken so much of this for granted. Perhaps, if we could go back and witness what it must have been like to read the written word in our own language for the first time ever we would have a deeper love for Scripture, a more earnest desire to study it and to love God's word. While we can never go back and see God's written word in our own language or hold it again for the first time we can see how others respond when they receive Scripture in their language for the first time.

The Kimyal People Receive the New Testament from UFM Worldwide on Vimeo.

Lost Tribe Found in Brazilian Jungle

2011-02-01T13:36:00.001-06:00

I found THIS STORY today and it made me feel really excited and burdened at the same time. Apparently, there are reportedly over 100 tribes around the globe that have never had contact with the outside world. Those are the ones that we are aware of. There is some question as to whether or not this is a legitimate discovery or a hoax, but most of the evidence seems to support the fact that this tribe has remained isolated until now. Either way, stories like this should remind us that our work is not done. We must be witnesses of the love and salvation found only in Jesus Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth, and we cannot rest until every tribe, tongue, and nation has been introduced to the King of kings. I am praying for this tribe and that God will send someone to them. Maybe it will be me. What about you? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to reach one lost person in the jungle with the gospel? Let's get out in the field and make His name known.

Thank You West Point Baptist Church Youth Ministry!

2011-01-19T14:54:00.003-06:00

Few things excite me more in this adoption process than seeing God work through our lives to impact the hearts of others. He continues to give us opportunities to share our journey and has even moved some to think about making adoption part of their life. Others are joining us in praying for our adoption and their prayers are having a huge impact on us as we wait and wonder when we will see our child. I can't imagine doing this without the love, support, and encouragement that those prayers give Sharon and me. Then there are some who God has given the opportunity to participate in our journey through financial gifts. I just never expected Him to use an entire youth group in Alabama in that part of our journey.

Brent Colee is a dear friend of mine. He is without a doubt a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Some of you may remember him from Fallout 2009. He is the youth pastor at West Point Baptist Church in Culman, AL. A couple of months ago, about the same time we were studying it at Fallout @ Farrington, he began walking his students through the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. You should stop and read that before you continue here. To help them grasp Jesus' teaching, he gave each of his students $10 and instructed them that they were to use this money to do ministry projects of some kind and try to multiply what they had been given. At the end of four weeks they would turn in the $10 they had been given along with whatever profit they had made. The money they raised would be given to help God's work somewhere around the world.

I remember talking to him while his students were in the midst of this project. He told me how some had taken the money and purchased baking supplies so that they could hold a bake sale. Others bought buckets, sponges, and soap to hold a car wash. Some made crafts to sell. Another group spent their money buying supplies to do maintenance work which they were paid for. When the time came to turn the money in there were some that only gave back the $10, but many had worked hard and multiplied what they had been given, just as the parable talked about.

When it was all over and the money was counted, Brent called me up. He told me that he thought they had learned a lot from the lesson and he was excited about the outcome. When it was all counted and the $10 per student was given back to the church, they were able to send a few hundred dollars to help His Voice Global (an organization that ministers to widows and orphans run by our friend and 2008 Fallout speaker Vernon Burger) build a boys home in India. I thought that was wonderful and I was excited for that group and what God had done through them. Then, Brent told me there was something else. They had also raised enough to send a few hundred dollars to help us with our adoption journey so we could be one step closer to bringing our child home from Ethiopia.

The effort that these teens put into that project has allowed them to impact hundreds of lives in India, to change the life of an orphan from Ethiopia, and to touch our hearts with God's love here in Houston, TX. What they did may not seem like much to some people in light of the grand total, but to the Wheeless family this is a huge gift. You have helped us to see God working in this process and that gives us hope which helps us continue on in our journey. We are so grateful and we cannot express our gratitude enough for what you all have done. Thank you for coming alongside us and sharing in God's work. We will be sending you videos, pictures, and updates all along the way. You are an answer to our prayers for God to provide and for Him to use our story to teach others about his love for orphans and our adoption as His children.

There is a little more to this story before I close this post. What makes this an even more generous gift is that Brent and his wife, Marianne, are in the midst of an adoption journey of their own. They are waiting to be matched with a sibling group from Peru which may take years and they have financial needs of their own that need to be met. Yet, they understand that God is bigger than all of our needs. While waiting on God to provide for their adoption, they selflessly found a way to serve and provide for orphans. You can read about their adoption journey and connect with them over on their blog, Scrambled Eggs, or contact Brent through the church office at WPBC. I want to ask you to join me in praying for them and ask God to bless them for their sacrifice and to continue to use their adoption journey to impact more lives for Christ.

As for the Wheeless clan, continue to pray for our journey as well. We are getting closer every day and God continues to bring others alongside us. If you would like to get our monthly update and see how you can pray with us for our adoption and be part of our journey as well, send me an email and I will put you on our newsletter mailing list: twheeless@nehbc.com

A Big Step for Evey

2011-01-19T13:32:00.002-06:00

We are truly blessed to be at NEHBC where our children can participate in an amazing children's ministry. Jill Blest and her team do an outstanding job in all they do. This past Monday night was no exception. The children were given an opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Farrington so that they could share the gospel with children who came with their families to the mission. We took Evey and we were not disappointed.

All week she was excited about telling others about Jesus and on the way to the mission we practiced what she was going to say. Once we got inside, there was no hesitation. She jumped right in and started sharing and had an opportunity to pray with a young girl she meet that night (Thanks Mrs. Jill for helping her through that.).

I was pumped! It was exciting to see my daughter engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission. I would have never done that when I was 8 years old. I didn't know how then. Evey has talked with children in our neighborhood about Jesus and we have been coaching her on how to present the gospel. However, this mission trip really got her excited. We are still answering questions she has and looking forward to the spiritual growth that Evey will gain from this experience.

As I watched the other children from NEHBC share the gospel I was reminded of how simple the message of salvation is and how stubborn adults can be. I watched the courage the children displayed and thought of how hesitant we as grownups often get when the opportunity to speak truth is presented to us. I marveled at how God was working in the lives of these children to advance His kingdom. Thanks to all who helped make this possible and provided me the opportunity to teach my daughter the importance of evangelism and missions in the life of a believer. We will never forget it.

Ready for the Super Bowl? Consider this...

2011-01-19T12:45:00.000-06:00

Only 2.5 weeks before the big game and we still have divisional playoffs and the pro-bowl to watch. The Texans crashed and burned earlier in the season and my home team, the Atlanta Falcons, laid an egg in their playoff game against Green Bay. That leaves me trying to decide who I am going to root for. Out of the four teams left its tough to decide. I love Steelers' football and it would be great to see that franchise add one more title to their legacy. However, I like it that Rex Ryan talked trash all last week and then backed up what he said. The Jets want it bad and it looks like they will do what it takes to win. Put that with the fact that I would like to see Tomlinson get a ring before he retires and goes into the hall of fame and pulling for the Jets seems like fun. Then there's the NFC side. Da Bears defense is beastly and I remember the "Super Bowl Shuffle" from the 1985 Bears. As for Green Bay, they beat the Falcons which gives me reason to not cheer them on, but Rogers is fun to watch and it would be great to see him put more distance between him and the "Farve shadow" by winning in Dallas. It will be interesting to see how it plays out and I just hope it will be a good game. Ultimately, the outcome doesn't matter, but there are some things related to the big game that do. Here's one matter to consider.

Thousands of lost souls will flock to the Dallas area and they will embrace the things that lost people do. Among those will be predators who are looking for women and children to exploit for their sexual pleasure or profit. I am ashamed to say this, but the thought probably would have never crossed my mind without a friend sending me a document today that revealed statics of human trafficking in Texas and Houston in particular. Hundreds of women and children will be brought into the Dallas area so that others can pay money to do with them as they please. That takes some of the excitement out of watching the big game doesn't it?

Of course this happens every year at the Super Bowl but the awareness of this problem is being raised to a new level this year because of the game's location. In 2006, 25% of reported trafficking victims were in Texas. Our state is prime territory for the trafficking industry's 9-32 BILLION dollar annual business. Several things contribute to this. The I-10 corridor, our unsecured border, the vast size of our state, and the ability for traffickers to blend their victims into the Hispanic culture. Unfortunately, it gets even closer to home for NEHBC. The majority of the 25% of victims reported were in Houston. Our city's proximity to I-10, the Mexican border, and our port make us a prime spot for this industry. This is happening in our Jerusalem and our Judea. We cannot ignore it. So what do we do?

First of all, I'm not asking you to boycott the game like some groups are advocating. If you feel called to do that by all means do so. I will be watching the game. However, I bring this to our attention because it should matter to us. It should shake our souls and wrench our hearts with pain. Certainly this happens worldwide. Just ask our missionaries in Estonia, Tom and Jennifer. This is a major problem in Tallinn where they live. Yet it is happening at an alarming rate right outside our front doors here in Houston, TX. This is where God has placed us to live our lives and to reach the lost for Jesus. We must be aware of what is happening around us and that includes the spiritual needs of those we are called to reach. The chances of you and I encountering someone sold into slavery through human trafficking are great. I raise this issue only to open our eyes once again to the pain, suffering, and sin that is destroying lives around us. This practice violates the image of God and devalues human life which is precious to our Lord.

Second, I am simply asking you to pray for these victims and for those who exploit them for profit or pleasure. Pray for the families whose children have been kidnapped and sold or forced into this industry. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to what is happening around us and to reveal to you ways that you can help these victims or change the hearts of their abusers. Pray for the ministries at Farrington Mission as they are in a high risk area for human trafficking. This is just one of many social justice issues that we face as believers in a lost world. May God give us the wisdom and resources to face these challenges with the gospel and change lives for His glory.

Natalie Grant and Tenth Avenue North PSA for Traffick 911 from Nate Bernard on Vimeo.

SBTC Article on Human Trafficking

Thinking about Joseph

2010-12-25T00:07:00.001-06:00

As I celebrate Christmas this year in the midst of waiting for our referral, I can't help but think about Joseph. He adopted Jesus. The bible calls Joseph his father (Luke 2:33), which means Joseph got to hear the King of kings call him "abba" or "daddy." He had the responsibility of being the spiritual leader to Jesus. Talk about pressure. However, did you ever stop to consider that God picked Joseph to be "daddy" to His Son?

Consider the circumstances. Mary, who had been promised in marriage to Joseph, comes to him and confides that she is pregnant. Joseph's heart had to sink. No doubt Mary explained to Joseph what the angel had told her about the Spirit conceiving the child in her womb, but all natural evidence pointed to the fact that the young woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with had committed adultery. Imagine what he felt at that moment; embarrassment, anger, a broken heart, confusion, disbelief. What was he supposed to believe? Joseph's first reaction was to divorce her quietly so that Mary would not be publicly shamed. He had the right to. The law permitted it (Deuteronomy 24:1). Yet Joseph did not make a hasty decision but rather he paused to consider the situation (Matthew 1:20). I've often wondered if he followed the words of Solomon and sought godly counsel (Proverbs 15:22). Who would he have talked to and what would they have advised him to do? But it doesn't matter in the end because God intervened and spoke to Joseph in a dream (Mt. 1:20-25).

Joseph took Mary as his wife and he loved Jesus as his son. He was there the night Jesus was born and he heard the shepherds' story of what the angel said to them in the field. Their account had to bring back memories of his dream. Joseph stood in the temple to present baby Jesus before God as was instructed by the Law of Moses. He was Jesus' protector as any father should be to his children (Matthew 2:13-23). Jesus was submissive to Joseph (Luke 2:51), and Joseph felt the horror of losing Jesus and searching for him frantically (Luke 2:41-52). Can you imagine what he must have felt when Jesus went missing? Misplacing the child God has entrusted to you and who he has told you is going to save the people from their sin is no small matter. After that incident, Joseph fades from Scripture. We know nothing about what happened to him after that, except that others recognized Jesus as "the son of Joseph" (John 6:42). While Joseph and Mary had biological children, Joseph accepted Jesus as his first (Luke 2:23) and loved him as his own.

As I write this on Christmas Eve in my living room, it is Christmas morning in Ethiopia. I wonder which child God has picked for me to be a daddy to this time. I wonder what that child is doing and does he or she even know what we are celebrating today. I wonder how much longer it will be before we get to meet each other. I wonder how God is going to orchestrate the circumstances of this adoption and what divine appointments await us. I wonder what God is wanting to do in the life of all my children to impact the world for His glory, and I pray for the grace to be as humble as Joseph, to raise them faithfully unto the Lord, and to be understanding as they pursue God's will for their lives. After all, they belong to Him and he picked me to be their daddy regardless of if he blessed me with them by birth or by adoption. Finally, I pray that God will give me the wisdom that Joseph had in raising Jesus and that he will grant me the humility to raise my children according to His Word no matter what the world says about us. May God bless you and your family as you celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Depraved Indifference

2010-12-08T13:23:00.000-06:00

This is one powerful video.

Painting a Picture of God's Family

2010-12-07T15:24:00.001-06:00

Sitting in the new worship center at NEHBC this past week I could not help but notice the different ways in which we worship. Some sing aloud while others prefer to read the lyrics and focus on their meaning. Some are animated, clapping or raising hands and tapping feet, while others are docile, often closing their eyes and becoming more internal. During the sermon it is the same. We have those who sit quietly and listen, and we have those who prefer to interact with proclamations of “Amen!” or “Praise God!” After noticing these differing approaches, I began to think about the diversity of our church family. Pastor Nathan has often pointed out that NEHBC has people from all walks of life, different countries, numerous seasons of life, and many backgrounds and cultures. Yet, we all join together to lift up the name of Jesus and glorify Him as Savior and King before the world. I love it!

This is just another reason I am excited about our call to adopt a child from another country, race, and background. The Wheeless family is being given an opportunity to paint a picture of God’s family for the world to see, and we are getting to do it in two ways. First, through the adoption itself, and second through the diversity that will be part of our family.

Paul uses the illustration of adoption to describe our relationship with God in Romans 8:15-17. As believers, we have been set free from sin, have been adopted by the Creator of the universe, have the privilege of calling him Father, and will receive an inheritance with Christ in heaven. The deep concept of adoption here must not be missed. When Paul wrote this his readers would have understood it clearly. The one who was adopted took on the name, customs, and heritage of his adopting father. Wherever the child went from that day forward he was recognized as a member of his father’s family and was expected to represent that family in all he did. It is the same with us. Believers are God’s children, bearing His name, taking on His righteousness, and conducting His business before the world. Our child will take our name, learn our traditions, embrace our background as his own, and he will be known as one of us. We will certainly teach him or her about their place of birth and hopefully will be able to take them back there once they get older, but his identity will not be wrapped up in his past. Instead, it will be defined by his entrance into our family as he is loved and embraced as one of us regardless of his past. This is why adoption is such a beautiful picture of the gospel. We too have been taken from a hopeless past and given a glorious future with our Father and his family for eternity.

The diversity within our family is also another opportunity for us paint a picture of God’s family. The adoption doesn’t make the Wheeless family diverse because we are already diverse. Gender, different likes and dislikes, passions and interests, and individual callings from God make our family, and your family, diverse. Adopting a child from another country simply adds to our diversity. When you consider what heaven is going to be like, this makes the diversity in our families and churches a powerful picture of the family of God. John tells us that in heaven there is a countless multitude of believers from all tribes, peoples, nations, and languages standing before the throne of God singing praises to him (Revelation 7:9-10). All of us get to be a picture of heaven here on earth when we worship with our families and when we gather with the church. The Wheeless family has been blessed with the privilege of embracing a child of another race and nationality as one of us. What a huge responsibility and joy to be a picture of heaven on earth!

The family of God is diverse and open to anyone who will believe in Jesus. God’s family is exclusive in that way only; faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sin is required to become a child of God. Race, nationality, and language, these do not prohibit entrance into the family. If we are going to be children of God we must take on the character of our Father and embrace diversity. Remember, we represent Him to a lost world that needs to know his love and forgiveness. What picture of our Father’s family are you painting for the world to see?

Our December newsletter is available. If you would like to receive a copy and learn inside details of our adoption and how you can pray for us, email me and I will send you a copy: twheeless@nehbc.com

NEHBC Grand Opening

2010-12-01T08:56:00.001-06:00

Humble Area News is running a story about our grand opening this Sunday. READ ABOUT HERE.

A Family Affair

2010-11-30T14:51:00.000-06:00

Last year, I took Evey to serve at Farrington during Feed the 5th. This year the entire Wheeless clan was able to make it. Evey once again jumped right in and had a great time serving desserts. She loved every minute of. A special thanks to all the women that helped disciple my daughter throughout the night. Sharon and Dash helped greet guests as they arrived and I assisted with the parking team. I did get to sit and share the gospel with two men before the night was over.

Sharon and I want to take every opportunity to serve together as a family and to teach our kids the importance of serving God, the local church, and others. There were several NEHBC families that took this opportunity to do the same. What we teach them in word must be backed up by example. It was a great night and a perfect way to start our Thanksgiving celebration.

Post-Fallout Reports

2010-11-30T14:36:00.001-06:00

I continue to hear stories from our teens and workers about the impact God has had in the lives of those who participated in Fallout 2010. Here are a few stories I have heard in the past two weeks:

A student was motivated by her encounter with Christ over Fallout weekend to go home and share the gospel with her entire family, all of whom are lost. They rejected the message, but the student is even more confident than ever and has started sharing her faith at school.

A fallout participant told me that he didn't want to come to Fallout. He wasn't so sure about taking part of something in the 5th ward of Houston. He decided to come anyway and as he watched others share their faith and minister to people on the streets he realized that he had been prejudice toward the people who lived there. They were people just like him and they too needed the love of Christ. God convicted him, he repented, and decided to learn to love others the way God loves them. He showed up at Feed the 5th and served with excellence.

Two students who attended Fallout returned to school and began to engage classmates during their lunch hour. Together they began witnessing to a Mormon student. They are sharing Scripture with him, he is asking questions, and they are seeking the answers he is looking for and taking them back to him. Pray for them as they continue to share Jesus with their classmate.

Another student was convicted about her behavior toward a particular teacher. During Fallout she prayed for God to give her a chance to correct the situation. When she walked into her school the Monday after Fallout, the teacher was the first person she saw. Our teen found the courage to approach the teacher in the hall with others watching. She apologized for her behavior, confessed that she had not honored Christ in the way she acted, and told the teacher that Jesus loves her. The teacher began to cry, hugged the student, and professed her love for Christ to our teen. They made a commitment to work together to share their faith with the entire class before the school year ends.

To God be the glory for all He accomplished that weekend and for what He is doing now as a result of our teens being obedient to His will.

More Fruit from Our Oklahoma Mission Trip

2010-11-30T14:10:00.000-06:00

Before Thanksgiving, one of the chaperons from our mission trip to Tulsa, OK this past summer shared with me a letter that she received from a young woman who we counseled with the last night of the revival. She was unmarried, and pregnant with her second child. She had placed her first child up for adoption and was struggling with the decision to do so with the second child. Our chaperon spent quite a while talking to, praying with, and encouraging this young lady. This was a big decision that would impact her, her child, and many others. In the end, she left feeling reassured that God would give her an answer about what to do in her situation.

In her letter she thanked our worker for praying and counseling with her. She had made a decision to put the child up for adoption and God had blessed her child with a mother and father who are able to care and provide for her child. She is at peace with the decision and wanted to let our worker know that she is doing fine and that her counseling and prayer helped. This is what it is all about...changing lives through sharing the love of Christ with lost and hurting people. Praise the Lord! Please continue to pray for this young lady and for our worker as she follows up with her in the months to come.

Teens and Adults Comment on Fallout 2010

2010-11-14T23:49:00.001-06:00

Here are some comments I have found on Facebook and Twitter from teens and adults who were at Fallout 2010. Thank you God for all you did this weekend:

"Best Fallout yet......"

"this fallout out really got my life strait with god and made me feel things I've never felt before and made me feel so much more accepted. i just want to thank you and everyone else. this was truly a amazing life changing weekend for me thanks."

"reflecting on the amazing way God moved this weekend in the lives of Houstonians, in the lives of the participants in Fallout, and in my very own life as well."

"This fallout was the best of the 3 I've been to. God was moving in me and others like I've never seen before."

"I cannot describe how much fallout moved me.:) that was the most amazing weekend ever...God moved a lot of people, and it was absolutely amazing watching friends come to Jesus. that was the best fallout ever."

"Fallout was totally & absolutely amazing! Learned a lot & spent a lot of time thinking about things i need to change. Wonderful weekend, super happy i went. lots of funny stories & great memories. Definitely the best Fallout I've been to."

"So proud of my daughter who is joining the NEHBC youth to take the Gospel to Houston's 5th Ward today. "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?And how can they preach unless they are sent?" Rom. 10:13-15"

"Spent the weekend in the 5th Ward at Farrington Mission with the youth at my church at the event we call Fall Out. It was an awesome thing seeing them walk the streets of 5th Ward sharing the love of Christ with random people they encountered. This group of teens are very bold and courageous. I am so very proud of them!"

"so thankful for Northeast Houston Baptist Church! Such a great weekend at Fall Out and was good to see everyone at church this morning!!! Now: bedtime... yes, before 8 p.m."

"Fallout was really fun it brought me close 2 god! At 1st when i went i wasn't 100% sure if i was 2 die that i would b going 2 heaven but that all changed bc yesterday i talked to some people i didn't know and i told them about Jesus and that was a big step up 4 me. I was really scared of where i was and turns out it wasn't scary at all its was really fun and I'm glad i went bc god told me 2"

"Being a teacher for fallout was so rewarding this year. All you kids did great and I am proud of you all."

"Bruised and hurting everywhere, limping, sleep deprived... One of the best weekends iv had in a long time."

Fallout 2010 Opening Video

2010-11-12T19:00:00.010-06:00

I meant for this to post this past Friday, but for some reason the delayed post setting did not work. This is the video that we showed at the opening worship service of Fallout. In a later post I will share what God did this year. For now...I'm going to sleep.

FAQs for Fallout

2010-11-09T11:02:00.003-06:00

Here are some frequently asked questions that will help you prepare for Fallout @ Farrington:

Q: What is the latest that I can register online?
A: You have through 11pm Thursday November 10 to register online at www.nehbc.com/fallout.

Q: Can I register at the door on Friday?
A: Yes. However, the cost for registering at the door is $75 instead of $70 if you register online.We will only accept cash or checks made out to NEHBC if you register Friday at check-in. You still need to bring the Thanksgiving Meal Box as well.

Q: What do I need to bring to Fallout?
A: Everything you need to bring for the weekend is listed on the bottom of the participate permission form that must be signed and turned in at registration Friday night. This form is available at www.nehbc.com/fallout.

Q: What items are needed for the Thanksgiving Food Box?
A: The shopping list is available at www.nehbc.com/fallout. You need to get all the items on the list so that we can provide a full meal for a needy family during Thanksgiving. The total cost for the meal box is under $15 depending on where you shop. Students can also go door to door in their communities to ask neighbors for the items on the list.

Q: Are students meeting at NEHBC Friday night?
A: No. Parents will drop students off at Farrington Mission at 7pm Friday November 11th. Directions are available at www.nehbc.com/fallout

Q: Do I need to pick my student up at Farrington on Sunday morning?
A: No. Students will be picked up at NEHBC at 11:45am following our 10:30am worship service. Our youth workers will be transporting students back to the church Sunday morning. These workers have submitted to and been cleared through background checks.

Q: What if my teen is driving to Fallout?
A: Teens who will be driving to Fallout will park inside the gate on the north side of the mission. Vehicles will be locked inside the gate for the weekend and they will not be allowed to drive their cars until they are dismissed to come to NEHBC on Sunday morning. They cannot transport any other teens unless those teens arrived with them Friday night. Teens who drive will not be allowed to leave for any reason unless me or our staff is contacted by a parent who gives permission for the teen to leave.

Q: What if there is an emergency that I need to get in touch with my teen about during Fallout?
A: You can call or text me anytime. If you would like my cell phone number send me an email request and I will be glad to give it to you: twheeless@nehbc.com

Q: Can my teen bring a cell phone or other electronic items (ipods, etc.)?
A: Teens can bring cell phones to communicate with parents if necessary. As for other electronic devices, we want teens to leave them at home for the weekend. Fallout is a time for our teens to slow down and examine where they stand with Christ. The less distractions the better. If it is determined that a cell phone or some other device is distracting from worship, service, bible study, or if it keeps a teen from engaging with the group, that device will be taken up and returned at the end of Fallout.

Q: Does my teen need to bring any extra money with them to Fallout?
A: That is up to you. If they want to stop by a convenient store for a soda while out in the community on Saturday they will need to bring a few dollars. Also, our worship leader, David Gentiles, will be selling his CDs and a few other items from his ministry and teens will need to bring extra money to purchase those items.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, visit www.nehbc.com/fallout. You can also email me with your questions: twheeless@nehbc.com.

A Dangerous Place To Be

2010-11-04T13:15:00.000-05:00

Consider this list of crimes:

Bank Robberies
Drive-by Shootings
Burglaries and Theft
Home Invasions
Drug Abuse

The neighborhoods of Atascocita, TX are a dangerous place to be. What? You thought I was talking about some other area...like maybe the 5th ward around Farrington Mission? Nope. All those crimes happened right here in Atascocita, and I could have listed a lot more than that. In fact, the first time I ever came to Atascocita and visited NEHBC someone stole a box trailer from the church parking lot. I sure am glad I did not let that keep me from moving my family here to serve at NEHBC. A few months ago I walked out of my front door to find stolen property laying in my front yard. I had to call the police to come pick it up and they informed me that someone had been on my street that night breaking into cars. Not too long ago a sex offender tried to abduct a jogger on the same street where my 8 year old daughter rides her bike.

Click on any of those crimes above and you will be taken to a page that gives you dates and details of those crimes taking place in Atascocita. It would be easy for me to take these stories of crime along with others and paint a picture of the neighborhoods around NEHBC in such a way that no one would want to come near us. Still, this is our neighborhood. This is were we live, work, play, and gather together for worship. These things happened within miles of our church and homes and they happen everyday in this area because we live in a world corrupted by sin. There is nowhere you and I can go to escape that. God has not called us to live in fear and flee from sinners who may cause us harm. As a matter of fact, as disciples of Christ we are called to do the exact opposite. We are called to go to them:

"Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter." Proverbs 24:11

"...I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:17b-18

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

"For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?" Romans 10:13-15a

Furthermore, Scripture is very clear that disciples of Christ are not to live in fear but that we are to be bold and courageous regardless of what sinners may do to us:

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." Proverbs 28:1

"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:18-19

"Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled." 1 Peter 3:13-14

How hypocritical it is for us to avoid the 5th ward of Houston because of the crime reports we hear coming out of there when our own neighborhoods have the same problems. How ignorant it is for us to think that avoiding the 5th ward will keep us safe and allow us to escape being a victim of a crime. How selfish it is for us to embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior while being afraid to take the message of hope, love, and forgiveness to the lost because of what might befall us. How little faith we have when we allow crime reports and rumors from the world to shape our minds about a particular community and prevent us from influencing them with the gospel. How sad it is when believers focus on the consequences of sin and the actions of sinful men instead of on the power and strength of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and change lives.

Think back to the crimes that I mentioned that have happened in our own community. You and I don't think twice about going for a walk, letting our kids play outside, going to church, shopping, eating out, or even sleeping while all of this is going on around us. We do life in the midst of it all. That reveals how irrational our fears are. If you can do all of that in Atascocita without allowing fear to cripple you, you can do it in the 5th ward. If you can overcome your fears and allow your kids to play, live, and sleep in Atascocita, then you can do the same and let them spend one weekend at Farrington Mission doing the work of Christ. Whether you are a student struggling with a decision to participate in Fallout because of what you have heard about the 5th ward, or you are a parent struggling with letting your teen participate in Fallout because of the crime and reputation of the area, letting fear control your decision is sinful.

Parents, take this opportunity to grow in your faith by letting your teen serve the Lord. Use this as a teaching time and explain to your teen, "I am really stepping out on faith in my decision to let you attend Fallout but I am doing it because God has called us to be His witness in a sinful world and I want you to learn that. I am concerned about the 5th ward but I know I have to trust God to do what He wants to do in your life because He is the one who made you and you belong to Him. I love you and I want you to learn to walk by faith, trusting God in all situations. I want you to learn to serve Christ and others and to not be afraid to share your faith." Use the verses above to talk with your teen about your decision. Turn it into a family devotion and discussion. Above all remember that whatever decision you make will set an example that your teen will follow throughout his or her lifetime.

Are there legitimate reasons for not participating in Fallout or for not allowing your teen to do so? Sure there are, but fear of the unknown and of potential crime or danger is not one of them. Disciples must walk by faith everyday trusting God for protection and provision in the midst of a sinful world. When we do not walk by faith and allow our fears to drive our decisions and actions we are living in sin and are therefore outside of God's will...and that is a dangerous place to be.

www.nehbc.com/fallout

A Student's Perspective on Fallout

2010-11-02T21:30:00.000-05:00

You have read my blogs and heard what I have to say about it, and you have heard Pastor Nathan talk about the importance of Fallout. I want to give you a student's perspective on the weekend. Here is what one student has to say about their past experiences at Fallout and their anticipation of being at Farrington this year:

In previous years I have had the opportunity to participate in Fallout on more than one occasion and Fallout weekend has always been one that I look forward to. It’s a weekend of faith, fun, and fellowship. Sounds cliché, right? But truth is, these three words define it perfectly.

Fallout weekend always seems to come at the perfect time of year when school is hectic and life feels like it is moving at a pace of one hundred miles an hour. For me, this is the weekend that I look forward to for quite a while during the fall semester. I mean, what is more fun than a weekend away with all of your friends, awesome worship, crazy speakers, and we can’t forget the classic pranks. (Last year, some leaders trucks were covered in sticky notes and team mascots were kidnapped!) Needless to say, the memories and funny stories that are made each fallout weekend last a lifetime and you certainly don’t want to miss out this year and be one of the students who has no clue what is going on when we share laughs over our memories from this awesome weekend!

During the midst of all the crazy fun, bonds are created with other believers of all ages in our youth group that last through most of your years in the youth ministry. There’s opportunities to share life with those going through the same things that each of us face everyday as we walk the halls of our school. The opportunity to fellowship with people in our youth group that we have never taken the time to sit down and talk with are placed in front of us and through conversations with them we are grown not only as individuals but more so as a body of believers. Every year, I have met other teenagers that have encouraged me in numerous ways and hopefully God has opened doors for me to encourage them too. I have left rejuvenated and ready to be a more bold witness, as well as a little more confident in knowing that I really do have other believers around me, going through the same things that I do.

Most importantly, the spiritual growth that happens over the course of fallout weekend is phenomenal. All throughout the weekend, we get to sit on big group lessons and learn from some pretty awesome speakers who are very mature in their faith. We also get to break into small groups and discuss things deeper and on a more personal level. This small group time is essential in our spiritual lives because it allows us to open the door to hearts and share important things with each other and learn answers to questions about word of God that help us to grow and mature in our walks with Christ. During these times, our awesome leaders take the time to discuss the things on our hearts with us and help us to dive deeper into the word of God. At fallout, The Holy Spirit is alive and powerful and moving in the lives of each student and each of us are grown and challenged spiritually. It is awesome.

Some moments of greatest life change in my life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ have taken place over the course of Fallout weekend. I have seen close friends come to faith in Christ and some even surrender to a calling in ministry of different sorts. Personally, at past fallouts God has used the things we have discussed and learned about to convict me of things that haven’t been right in my life and pointed me in a direction to fix the issues, as well as getting help from people that are further along in their walk with Christ than I am. I have surrendered to things greater than I could ever imagine that Christ has called me to do and had the support from those around me at Fallout to take the next step forward. Fallout can be a life changing weekend if we get rid of the “I can do it all on my own” mindset and surrender to a purpose, a calling, a love so much greater than ourselves.

I personally am really looking forward to change in locations of Fallout this year. I must admit, I am a little nervous to sleep down at the mission, not so much for safety reasons, (there’s nothing to worry about there!) but simply because it is something that’s out of my comfort zone. For me, I enjoy sleeping in a nice house in a neighborhood that I am familiar with. I like sleeping in a place where I can have my own bed, a nice bathroom to get ready in the mornings and being able to walk outside and drink my coffee before I start my day. Obviously, this wont be the case staying at Farrington. Over the course of the past couple weeks as I have kind of wrestled with the thought of sleeping at the mission, God has really humbled me and showed me that not everyone gets to wake up in the nice environment that I do each day. I have learned that stepping out of my comfort zone in order to learn to love people the way that the Father wants me to is exactly what God has called me to do. He has called each of us to live according to His will and that includes the things that don’t seem too appealing to us. Sometimes it can be hard for me to love people or really reach out to people that are “different” than I am or not in the same social class as I am or whatever, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter. We have talked so much lately about reaching our Jerusalem and how are we supposed to do that if we can’t even step out of our comfort zones and step into the areas that the people on the outskirts of our Jerusalem live in? I mean, Jesus loves these people, why is it so hard for me to?

Overall, I am REALLY looking forward to Fallout. I am praying that God would captivate the hearts of each of us there and make us fall deeper in love with Him. I am begging God to, as PT puts it, make God's want-to, my want-to. To make His desires, my desires. This weekend is going to be action packed, fun filled, and probably leave you spiritually and physically exhausted but it is totally worth it! I promise that if you allow God to move in your life, then He will. Open your heart to the things that He wants to teach you and it will be a weekend you will never forget! Go sign up…right now…like stop reading this and go to www.nehbc.com/fallout and register NOW! You don’t wanna miss out! :) For those of you counting with me.. We have TEN DAYS! See you there!

Our Newsletter and National Adoption Month

2010-11-01T23:42:00.002-05:00

The entire month of November is National Adoption Month and The Christian Alliance for Orphans has set aside November 7th as Orphan Sunday. We are asking our friends and family to take time out of that day to pray for all orphans, their involvement in ministering to them, and for our adoption journey. Also, we are following the advice of a good friend and starting a newsletter to keep our friends and family informed and updated on our adoption process and needs. The newsletters contain details of our intimate prayer needs and where we are in the process. They will not be posted on our blogs but we would love to share them with you so that you can join us in praying specifically for our needs and concerns along the way. If you want to receive the newsletter, email me and I will send you the latest edition and put you on our email list: twheeless@nehbc.com

Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Helping Her Grow Spiritually

2010-10-26T15:40:00.001-05:00

Last week, the Wheeless family took to the streets. We put the boy in his stroller with his sippy cup and some pretzels, grabbed our Fall Festival fliers, and started walking our neighborhood. This was an intentional effort to get our family involved in reaching our Jerusalem. Evey has helped with blitzes before and enjoys putting fliers on doors, but we had different plans this time. I wanted to encourage her to approach people and personally give them an invitation to Fall Festival. It took little to encourage her to approach those we met as we walked, and she even got frustrated with me when I would start the conversation instead of letting her do it. We had a great time and met several of our neighbors. Sharon and I were able to cut Evey off a couple of times and talked with a young couple who live one street over from us. We are praying that they visit NEHBC and we will follow up with them in the weeks to come. Everything was going great until...

Evey ran into a boy that she had experienced some problems with months earlier. His older sister had instigated some rather inappropriate conversations between Evey and the boy, which really embarrassed Evey. Also, days before I had to correct this young man's behavior when he came to our front door wanting to know if Evey could come out and play. He once again embarrassed Evey and I sent him away. Evey and I have had conversations about why this boy acts the way he does. She knows that he is lost and doesn't understand his need for a personal relationship with Christ. Evey has made some wise decisions to avoid playing with this young man when he acts inappropriately, but we have had difficulty helping her balance that with not ignoring her call from God to reach this lost boy.

As we walked through our neighborhood we passed this young man three times. The first time I tried to get Evey to give him an invitation and she begged me to do it. As we walked off, we talked about the need for us to love those who are not like us and our responsibility for pointing the lost to Christ. I explained that she just missed an opportunity to show this young man forgiveness and the love of Christ. She dusted herself off and pressed on. When she passed him again she still did not have the courage to approach him. This time I could tell it was bothering her. She asked me again to give the invitation to him for her and I refused. I told her if she thought that this boy needed an invitation to our Fall Festival where he would have the chance to hear about the love of Jesus she was going to have to invite him. I assured her I was right there with her. On the third try, she got the courage and while holding Sharon's hand she approached the boy, called him by name, gave him a flier, and personally invited him to come. We are praying hard that he and his family will come.

You can teach the biblical mandates of evangelism, sharing the love of Christ, and forgiveness, but they will not take hold in the lives of your children until they see you practice them and they are given opportunities to do the same. Evey has to be around this young man because they live in the same neighborhood and play in the same playground. She has to learn to represent Christ in her interactions with him regardless of what he says or does. That one interaction did more for her spiritual growth than any other conversation she had that day. We must be intentional in our efforts to help our children along their spiritual journey or they will wander astray. Are you creating and taking advantage of opportunities to help your children and family grow spiritually?

If you are looking for a place to start, meet us in the lobby at NEHBC tomorrow night at 6:45pm and help us blitz neighborhoods with fliers for our Fall Festival this weekend. Its fun, its easy, and it will open doors for you to teach and lead your family in the mission of Christ.

Get Info & Updates from the NEHBC Youth Ministry via Text Message

2010-10-26T13:35:00.000-05:00

This week our youth ministry is starting a trial run of a messaging system that will allow us to send updates and information via text messages to registered users. Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you know that teens have made text messaging their preferred form of communication. Email and web-based communications just don't grab their attention. This has also become the norm for many adults. Utilizing this system allows us to jump right into their text based world and put information in front of them where they go to get it the most. We are also inviting parents to register for this service. The system gives us the capability to communicate with different groups individually. For instance, we can send parents information without sending it to students. As a parent, you will have the option to receive both student and parent updates.

If you are interested in signing up to receive text updates about the events and happenings in the youth ministry at NEHBC simply email me your name, cell phone number, service provider, and if you want to receive student or parent updates, or both. There will also be a form available at NEHBC this Sunday (Oct. 31st) that you can fill out and turn in to get started. The standard text rates as set by your provider do apply. You can decide to stop receiving the updates at anytime. If you are ready to take part in this service, please email me the required information: twheeless@nehc.com

Fallout Registration: Providing Thanksgiving Meals for Families

2010-10-18T16:03:00.002-05:00

As I explained in my announcement about Fallout, we are not doing our usual door to door collection of can goods to help the food pantry. This is because we will be working in the area around Farrington Mission during the weekend of Fallout. However, we do not want to miss the opportunity to help the food pantry through the rush of the Thanksgiving season. This year we are requiring students to bring a Thanksgiving meal box as part of their admission to Fallout. There are seventeen items on the shopping list and all of them can be purchased for under $15. If you do not want to purchase all the items, feel free to go to your neighbors, explain what you are doing, and ask them if they are willing to give you any of the items on the list. Do not accept money from them and only accept items that are on the list. Students must bring all seventeen items so that we have a complete meal box for each family. We have an average of fifty to sixty students at Fallout and that means we can provide a Thanksgiving meal to that many families as a way for us to share the gospel and minister to those in need. You can find the shopping list and register for Fallout HERE. I have also put together a video to help you with the shopping:

Another Divine Appointment

2010-10-16T23:29:00.001-05:00

After a great time tailgating and watching the AHS vs. KHS game with friends and family from NEHBC, I returned to the church to unload my truck. As I passed by AHS on Will Clayton, I noticed a young man walking toward W Lake Houston with a backpack. I figured a band student or a football player was walking home after getting off the bus at AHS. Anyway, with the help of a NEHBC teen, I unloaded everything at the church, pulled up to W Lake, and let the teen get out to lock the gate to the parking lot. I heard him talking to someone but thought he was just struggling with the lock. When he jumped back in my truck he told me that a guy just walked by and wanted to know how to get to the interstate. I pulled out and saw the same guy walking by NEHBC that I saw walking by AHS. Pulling my truck up to the north entrance, I waited on him to walk up to us. When he saw me waiting, he ran up and we started talking.

His name is Leo. He is 21 years old, former military, and most recently a former college student from Denver, CO. Leo left the military feeling empty and not sure what to do with his life. When he went to college, that feeling only got worse. Earlier today he decided that he had had enough. Why was he even in college? He didn't know what he wanted to do. Even worse, he did not know what life was all about. Leo is wrestling with life questions that everyone of us has to answer at some point: How did I get here? Why am I here? Where is the world heading? What is the purpose of life?

Finding no answers in the armed forces or at college, Leo threw up his hands, packed what he owned in a backpack, spent his last bit of cash on a plane ticket to Houston, and started a journey to the coast looking for answers. And the God of the universe orchestrated time and space so that our paths would cross at 18000 West Lake Houston Parkway at 10pm on a Saturday night. There is no chaos or chance encounters with our God.

I shared the gospel with Leo, talked with him about Jesus for a while, but he did not want to accept Christ tonight. I offered him a Bible. He refused because he did not think it would help. He did listen to all I had to say and accepted the tract I offered him. I encouraged him to stay close by and visit with us at NEHBC in the morning for worship, telling him that he could find the answers he was looking for by starting there with us. He was thankful but felt that he really needed to move on.

My heart breaks for Leo. Please pray with me that God will continue to put the Truth in front of him. Pray that he will find his way to NEHBC in the morning. Pray that Leo will meet Jesus Christ somewhere along his wanderings and start a journey to life.

Meet the Fallout 2010 Speaker

2010-10-14T11:06:00.001-05:00

This year’s speaker for Fallout is Doug Compton. I met Doug while I was at Southwestern and we worked together briefly before he graduated. He is from Arkansas and is married with two children. Doug served in local churches for nearly 10 years but is now a full time camp speaker and evangelist. I look forward to having him spend the weekend with us at Fallout and I can’t wait to hear the challenges he issues to our teens as he calls them to a closer walk with Christ. You can read more about Doug and his ministry on his website www.dougcompton.com.

A Movement of God?

2010-10-13T09:06:00.007-05:00

One of my constant prayers is "God show me where you are at work and how I can be a part of it." Our adoption journey is turning out to be an answer to that prayer. Today, The Fort Worth Star Telegram is reporting that interest in Ethiopian adoptions are rising with an estimated 2500 children being place in American families from Ethiopia by the end of 2010; a huge increase when you consider that six years ago only 284 children were adopted from Ethiopia by American families. What is even more striking is that Ethiopian adoptions are rising while the total number of international adoptions by Americans is plummeting (22,990 in 2004 down to an estimated 11,000 total this year). Even more exciting is that in the midst of the dropping numbers of international adoptions is the rise of interest in adoption by evangelicals. This comes from a July article in Baptist Press: one adoption agency is reporting that international placements are up 66% and inquiries into international adoption are up 95% from last year. They also report that domestic adoptions are up as well.

The reason that experts are giving for this rise in adoption awareness is that the church is addressing our biblical responsibility to care for orphans, and adoption is a key part of that ministry. Consider these recent steps taken by evangelicals to raise awareness about adoption:

1. Dr. Russell Moore's Book: Adopted For Life
2. Saddleback Church's Civil Forum on Adoption
3. Our Southern Baptist Convention launches an adoption fund for ministers
4. NEHBC's Farrington Mission houses The Source for Women Crisis Pregnancy Center, which will save lives from abortion by helping women when they decide to keep their children and teaching them that adoption is an option.

That is only a sample of what is taking place in the church. Is this a mighty movement of God in our churches that is starting to take hold? I hope so. And I am excited to be a part of it. Sharon and I would love nothing more than for our adoption journey to spark that fire right here at NEHBC. We want our story to stir your heart and get you thinking about how you can care for orphans. Maybe God is calling you to love orphans by serving them through missions. Maybe He has blessed you financially and is asking you to give to funds such as the SBC's Adoption Fund for Ministers so that others can adopt a child into their family. Maybe He is calling you to get involved in foster care here in Houston. Maybe he wants you to volunteer at the CPC in Farrington Mission and minister to mothers who are contemplating putting their unborn child up for adoption. Maybe God is calling you and your family to adopt a child and give them a loving home. God is moving...don't miss the opportunity to be part of His kingdom work through orphan care.

Fallout 2010 @ Farrington Mission: November 12th - 14th

2010-09-29T22:25:00.006-05:00

I have been teasing students with this for weeks now, telling them that a big announcement was coming about Fallout that would be exciting and unlike anything that weekend has ever seen. So, here it is…Fallout 2010 is going to take place at Farrington Mission. We are leaving our suburban campus behind and heading to the inner city to serve our Jerusalem in a more meaningful way.

Students will be dropped off at Farrington Mission on November 12th at 7pm where they will stay on campus for worship, small group discussion, bible study, and a whole night of fun in the gym. We will eat, sleep, and shower at the mission. Boys will have their assigned sleeping area and girls will have their assigned sleeping area with plenty of adult supervision in between. Following worship Saturday morning, our teens will be divided into teams under the guidance of two or more adults and head out into the community to engage people through various ministries. We will come back to the mission Saturday night and do it all again before getting up Sunday morning and heading to NEHBC for breakfast, group time, and worship with our church family. Our youth workers will provide the transportation back to the church and parents will pick their teen up at 12:10pm following our 3rd service at NEHBC.

Why the change? Why do it at Farrington?

For the past year we have been talking with our students about being an Acts 1:8 youth group. We participated in mission trips to Southlake, TX, Tulsa, OK, and an international trip to Estonia. I want to get our teens more involved in our Jerusalem. We live here. We should be doing more to reach our city. In addition to that, God gave Farrington Mission to NEBHC after we prayed and asked Him to expand our campus so we could learn to love our city. It would be a failure on our efforts to teach our teens to live out Acts 1:8 and a dishonor to God if we did not take advantage of every opportunity He gives us to reach Houston. Moving Fallout to Farrington makes sense because it is in line with our church’s vision and our desire to see our students grasp a balanced understanding of God’s call and mission for the Christ follower.

We also want to teach our teens what it means to love others that are not like us. During Fallout in the past, our teens have gone door to door in local communities around NEHBC to collect can goods in order to supply the food pantry at Farrington with enough food to help them get through the Thanksgiving rush. Last year we collected over 4000 lbs of food in one afternoon. That was a tremendous blessing and I am proud of our teens. Their efforts allowed those working at the food bank to have opportunities to share the gospel with families in need.

However, it is one thing to roam familiar territory and ask neighbors for can goods. It is altogether another endeavor to go into a place that is not what you are familiar with, where you don’t know what is around the corner, you may not speak the same language as everyone else, and you realize you are not like those that you are meeting. That sounds like I am describing an international mission trip, but I’m not. For most of us, and especially for most of our teens, that is exactly the situation they will find themselves in only 15 minutes from their front door. We want them to learn to love ALL people and the only way to do that is to get them out of the classroom and put them in the field doing what Christ has called them to do. Taking our teens to Farrington and the community around the mission gives them that opportunity. WE will be the ones sharing the gospel and the love of Christ with those in need.

My desire is that students will leave Fallout 2010 @ Farrington and remember it as the weekend that they learned what it means to be a faithful servant of Christ. A personal relationship with our Lord is about more than passage into heaven. As a matter of fact, if that is all you hope to gain from Jesus you are missing the whole point. A personal relationship with Christ is about learning to do His will and loving what he loves. His will is for us to be his witnesses to a lost world and He loves all people. We need to learn and embrace those truths in our daily lives. What we do in this lifetime matters. If this weekend motivates our teens to live this truth, or even just to start wrestling with it and how it impacts them, we will see lives changed in a mighty way. That is why we are going to Farrington for Fallout this year.

All the details that you need in order to register and get ready for that weekend can be found at www.nehbc.com/fallout. Registration opens on October 3rd. The cost is $60 plus a Thanksgiving Meal Box if you register early. You can register at the door, but the cost goes up to $65 and you still must bring the meal box. I will explain the meal box in a later post and there is a document available on the fallout website which explains it as well. After looking at the website, should you have any questions you can email me: twheeless@nehbc.com. See you at Farrington!

R. Moore on Why Justice for the Fatherless is Worth the Risk.

2010-09-28T11:44:00.006-05:00

Dr. Russell Moore recently wrote THIS ARTICLE on why the Christ follower’s responsibility to orphans is critical and worth whatever risk we may have to endure in order to minister to them. As I have written earlier, adoption is a calling but caring for orphans is every believer’s responsibility. Pray for God to give you the courage and boldness to make this ministry a part of your life in some way.

"Yes, orphan care can be risky. Justice for the fatherless will sap far more from us than just the time it takes to advocate. These kids need to be reared, to be taught, to be hugged, to be heard. Children who have been traumatized often need more than we ever expect to give. It is easier to ignore those cries. But love of any kind is risky. The Gospel means it’s worth it to love, even to the point of shedding your own blood. After all, that’s what made a family for ex-orphans like us." Dr. Russell Moore

IS THE ORPHAN MY NEIGHBOR: WHY JUSTICE FOR THE FATHERLESS IS WORTH THE RISK. by Russell Moore

The Obvious

2010-09-23T09:15:00.006-05:00

To the right is one of my favorite pictures. Here is a Georgia State Trooper in riot gear at a KKK protest in a north Georgia city back in the 80s. The Trooper is black. Standing in front of him and touching his shield is a curious little boy dressed in a Klan hood and robe. I have stared at this picture and wondered what must have been going through that Trooper’s mind. Before the Trooper is an innocent child who is being taught to hate him because of the color of his skin. The child doesn’t understand what he is being taught, and at this point he doesn’t seem to care. Like any other child his curiosity takes hold and he wants to explore this new thing that this man is holding probably because he can see his reflection in it and that’s a neat thing and he wants to check it out. In this picture I see innocence mixed with hate, the irony of a black man protecting the right of white people to assemble in protest against him, temperance in the face of ignorance, and hope that racism can be broken because this young boy may remember that a black man smiled at him once and he didn’t seem so bad after all.

What does this have to do with anything and why am I bringing it up? Isn’t it obvious? We are a white family with roots in Georgia in the process of adopting a black child from Ethiopia. If it isn’t obvious now it will be once our child is home with us. How can we do this? Is it even biblical? How will we explain the “color difference” to our child? Are we aware of the struggles our family might have because of this? Sharon and I have thought through all of these questions and more. It is an obvious issue and so I am going to address it here on my blog over multiple entries. My goal is to paint a biblical picture of race, biracial adoption, and multi-racial/cultural families. So, where do we start? Well, let’s start with racism itself.

First, let’s call it what it is at its core and that is prejudice; the dislike, distain, and disfavor for anyone that is different from us be that because of skin color, nationality, religion, language, etc. It is a position that is feed by ignorance, fear, anger, and hate that is ultimately directed toward God. Here’s why…

In the creation story of Genesis there is a clear suggestion of dignity and significance in God’s act of creating man. Man was created in the image of God and is the climax of all God created. To show dislike or prejudice toward any human being is to scorn the image of God and the Creator’s most precious creation. This is why God told Noah that whoever sheds the blood of another man will pay with his own life (Genesis 9:6). To take this a step further, Jesus taught that being angry with and insulting (or being abusive toward) another person was equivalent to murder. Those who practice anger, hatred, murder, and prejudices have a cheap view of mankind and communicate that God’s image is not of any value to them. In the end, they place themselves in opposition to the Creator and will reap the fruits of Genesis 9:6 unless they repent and begin to see mankind through the eyes of God.

The Christ follower has no room for such a position in his life since he is putting on a “new self” which is being “renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). The process of sanctification is our journey to be made anew into the image of God that was corrupted by our sin. The degree to which we have progressed in that process is marked by the distinctions and discrimination we impose upon our fellow man. Furthermore, the way we view others impacts our service for God. To see people through the eyes of God is to love them and respect them simply because they are people, bearers of the image of the Most High, our Lord’s most precious creation. People are God’s treasure and to love them is to love God. To hate or devalue even one person for any reason is to embrace a low significance for the image of God. God sees that as nothing less than hatred for Him and diminishing of His significance in your life. One of our Southern Baptist forefathers, T. B. Maston, was right when he said, “We cannot love any as we should, in the deepest and fullest sense, unless we love all people as we should, regardless of race or class.”

Sharon and I have both explained our reasons for adopting. The color of a child’s skin does not change the fact that God showed his love for us through adoption and we feel called to live out that example in our lives through our family and our adoption journey. While the transracial setting of our family will be obvious (read more on that here), we pray that the love of Christ for all people will be just as obvious in our lives. It all starts with seeing people as God sees them, by acknowledging the dignity and significance of all men as the bearers of the image of God.

“Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Acts 10:34-35

Admiring Creation

2010-09-20T15:30:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I went on my second south Texas dove hunt. I spent a great day in the field with wonderful friends. Even though it rained in the afternoon soaking us, our gear, and caused one of the trucks to get stuck, we still laughed and got our limit on birds. It was a fruitful weekend and I can’t wait till next year’s opening day. For now, it is on to whitetail deer with bow season in two weeks and rifle season after that. This is without a doubt my favorite time of year.

I love being in the outdoors, not just for hunting, but for the witness and testimony that creation gives about my Creator. The Bible is full of verses that talk about the world around us testifying to the existence, presence, and character of our God. Now, no one can be saved by looking at creation. Salvation comes by placing one’s faith in Christ alone and that comes by the hearing of the Word (Romans 10:13-15). This is the difference between general revelation and special revelation. Creation is an example of general revelation – it simply provides evidence that there is a Creator and that He wants us to know that He is real and active in our world. For a man to be saved he must know that he is a sinner separated from the Creator by his disobedience and in need of a Savior. Special revelation reveals the full character of God to man and His plan for our salvation. The most complete and fullest manifestation of God to man was Jesus Christ. In Him we see the character of our Creator and through him God’s plan for salvation was completed. Today, we know Christ through the reading, teaching, and preaching of Scripture. So, it is through the special revelation of Christ and Scripture that you and I are able to hear and accept the gift of salvation. While general revelation does not save man, it is not worthless, particularly to the believer. Once you and I have accepted Christ we should see creation in ways we have never seen it before.

This past weekened I walked out into the field and watched the sun break over the horizon. As its light began to stretch from the east out across the sky, colors of orange, yellow, pink, blue, and purple were smeared overhead through the rolling clouds. Wow…what a testimony to His majesty and his provision and sustaining of life for without the sun there is no life. Looking back westward I could see a storm cloud moving off to the north. Rain was falling in the distance and flashes of lightning outlined the heavy dark clouds. I stood and watched as the lightning hit the ground and the thunder rumbled through the air, making the ground shake under my feet…what a witness to the matchless power and awesomeness of or Creator. Then a light breeze hit my face and I was reminded of the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit in my life. That very morning I was with my God and worshiping Him as I watched His sustaining hand move and shape the morning around me. That is why I love being outdoors… “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3.

A Story From the Field

2010-09-20T15:28:00.002-05:00

Recently, a NEHBC teen came to me to talk about a paper they had to write for school. The assignment was straight forward: write a paper that describes the two types of people you feel are in the world. The student told me that they wanted to write from the position that there were only those spiritually alive in Christ and those spiritually dead in sin. After talking with the student about the potential backlash from writing about their faith, and encouraging the student to make sure the assignment was being followed as the teacher has outlined, the teen made the decision to do it. I read the paper and gave feedback before it was turned in. It was well written, respectful, and truthful. The student’s parents also read the paper and were aware of all that followed.

The day after the paper was turned in the student was asked to meet with the teacher. The teen was nervous, a natural response, but nonetheless steadfast. When the time for the meeting came, the teacher simply handed the student a note with the critique that the teacher felt like the paper was meant to proselytize and that he wanted the student to write a different paper because he wanted to know what the student believed and not what they got from the Bible. After reading the note, the student went back to talk to the teacher in person and explained that they did believe what they wrote, but the teacher gave the ultimatum of taking a 75 on that paper or writing another one. Wisely, the teen submitted to the teacher’s authority and agreed to write another paper.

At lunch that day, other students who saw the teacher give our teen the note and one that overheard the conversation with the teacher asked questions about the incident. Our teen explained the situation without disrespecting the teacher and in the process got to share the gospel with a table full of students who are lost. One teacher and over a handful of students heard the gospel because of one teen’s boldness. What did it cost the NEHBC teen? Just a tense moment with a teacher and some extra time at home rewriting an assignment. I asked the teen if it was worth it. They said it was. God was honored and the gospel was preached to the lost because a NEHBC teenager was willing to step out on faith and share truth. I pray for this boldness and courage in all of our students.

Sharon's answer to why we are adopting

2010-09-14T09:02:00.006-05:00

My beautiful bride has a post on her blog, KNITTY NURSE about why we are adopting. You have heard the reason from my point of view and I would like for you to hear it from her point of view as well. Here is the link:
For those who want to know why

A Must Read.

2010-09-13T14:04:00.004-05:00

In light of the 9th anniversary of the murders of 9/11, the controversy over the mosque at Ground Zero, and the Florida Pastor's idea to burn the Koran, I am posting this article in hope that my readers will take the time to read it and allow it to inform their worldview. Jesus loves Muslims and desires that they should be saved by grace through faith in Him alone. So should we, no matter what it cost us. Here is the article:

REACHING MUSLIMS: TRADE FEAR FOR LOVE

A Sobering Reality

2010-09-11T20:34:00.001-05:00

I have made several posts about our adoption lately. That is simply because there has been a lot happening in the last few weeks, and naturally it is heavy on my heart. This journey is impacting our family in ways I never anticipated. We are growing spiritually together and seeing the world in a different light through what we are learning. As our journey moves ahead, we are also seeing this adoption in a different light

Last week, we had a conference call with our caseworker from our adoption agency. The purpose of this call was to fill us in on what will happen next in our adoption process. We recently completed all the paper work necessary for our dossier (the document that represents us in Ethiopia), and we have officially entered the waiting stage. This means that at this time our agency is looking across the country of Ethiopia for our child. The process could happen quickly or it could take up to eight months. It was an exciting conversation for both Sharon and me. Our caseworker was very positive and encouraging and congratulating us on reaching this phase of our journey. Then she began to tell us how our child would be brought into our family through one of two scenarios.

First, to be an orphan eligible for adoption, one or both of his/her parents will have to die. Then a family member, either the surviving parent, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling has to relinquish the child to the government. There are any numbers of reasons that the family member may decide to do this. Relinquishment is no small task for them as they must go through government offices, sign numerous papers, and stand before a judge before relinquishing the child. Once that is finalized, the child is placed into the care of an orphanage. The Wheeless baby could be caught up in that process right now.

The second scenario is abandonment. The police in Ethiopia could find the Wheeless baby on the streets with no one to care for him. After every effort has been made to find a family member, the child will be taken to an orphanage by the police. A police report is filed on the incident and this is the only identity that the child has at this point. They will not know his name so they will make one up for him. They will not know his date of birth but instead they will guess his age based on what a doctor is able to determine after an examination. No name, no clue to his background, no known date of birth, and no family. This could be happening to the Wheeless baby right now.

This was a sobering reality for us. Sure we are excited and can’t wait to meet our child, but pondering the circumstances that will bring him/her into our lives really got to me. We knew this from the beginning, but I think it hit me harder at this point in the journey because we are finally done with the paper work with nothing to do but wait and pray as they are looking for this child. These scenarios plus the waiting leave me feeling helpless, and that is exactly where God wants me. The more overwhelming the circumstances, the bigger the obstacles, and the more things that are out of our control, the greater the glory and praise our Lord will receive when the waiting is over and the Wheeless baby gets to come home to his family in Houston, TX.

Pray for the lost in Taiwan

2010-09-09T08:59:00.003-05:00

I found this video on Twitter and wanted to share it with you. People are worshiping the dead in Taiwan at this very moment. God has called us to have a global focus. What is taking place in Taiwan should matter to us. Pray that God will move in the lives of the Taiwanese people and then consider how you could take the gospel to them yourself.

Taiwan's ghost month from PrayForTaiwan on Vimeo.

USA Today Article on Youth Groups

2010-09-08T10:10:00.003-05:00

I found this article in USA today that points out what I have known for a long time now. Apparently, the post-modern mentality of youth ministry is no longer working. I’m shocked. Teens no longer buy into the food, fun, and games as they did when it became the norm for youth groups in the late 90s. Seems it works to entertain middle school students, but they bail out as soon as they hit high school. The article says that 16 is the age at which most teens begin to leave youth groups that practice this methodology. I believe that teens begin to grabble with deep issues of spirituality, identity, purpose of life, and belonging years before that. Sixteen becomes the line in the sand for most and they realize that what was being offered to them is not answering these hard questions so they leave the church.

However, there are some encouraging insights in this article. Teens are craving the Bible over play and mission trips over camps. They have a desire to be part of something more than a social club. This is encouraging. For years now serious youth ministry leaders and students have been praying for a revival among teens in America. Are we seeing the start of that revival? Maybe, but only if the church feeds their hunger for truth, fans their passion for missions, and walks with them along the way.

This also encourages me because it tells me that the ministry to teens at NEHBC is on the right path. I am constantly examining, re-examining, and scrutinizing what we are doing in our ministry to teens. Are we perfect? No. Are there areas we need to improve on? Yes, and we will continue to strive for excellence in all areas. But we keep Scripture at the core of all we do, we embrace Acts 1:8 as our missions focus, and we address issues that matter to students’ lives through bible study, discussion groups, and events such as Fallout and our girls’ retreat that is coming in January. The adults that work with our teens are dedicated to the Lord, they love our teens, and they are ready to walk them through the tough issues that the world throws at them. The opportunities are there for our teens to embrace a life dedicated to Jesus Christ and His kingdom work in this world. We have a lot of work to do but we are on target. Please continue to pray for our teens, youth workers, and all we do to make disciples for Christ among our students.

Persistence and Prayer

2010-09-04T18:41:00.003-05:00

Two years ago I met my neighbor, Steve, when hurricane Ike dropped a tree from his yard across my fence. We talked as I helped him clean up the tree and put the fence back together. Turns out he is a hunter and that gave us a lot to discuss. Occasionally we would meet in our driveways, I would say hello, and we would talk about guy things. Whenever I would turn our conversation to spiritual matters, he always found a reason to go back inside or some distraction would interrupt us. I began to pray for Steve and asked God to give me opportunities to share the gospel with him. I invited him to church on several occasions, bought him tickets to Sportsmen’s day, and never missed a chance to talk with him or help him with some small project in his garage. I almost got through a full gospel presentation with him once but he closed off and told me that he doesn’t really do the church thing. Still, I kept praying for him and hoping that God would change his heart.

Today I met Steve again in his driveway when I got home from helping set up for Sunday AM at NEHBC. He was loading up a moving truck since he and his wife are moving to Kingwood. We talked about his new bow and his plans for hunting season. He showed me the rack he took from a kill last season. As we laughed and shared our hopes for a good harvest from the field this year, I could not help but take one last chance to share the gospel with him. Surprisingly, even with the movers loading the truck, there were no distractions this time and he listened to my every word. When I was done, Steve prayed and asked Jesus into his heart. Before I left him I gave him a Bible and encouraged him to come to NEHBC. I don’t know if he will show up but I am still excited for him and I praise God for what happened today.

In our culture of instant gratification it is easy to give up on God. Our agenda doesn’t always line up with God’s timing and it can be very frustrating particularly when we are attempting to lead someone to Christ. We can’t know what God is doing all the time or what circumstances He is working out in someone’s life to bring them to the point of accepting the truth. There are always deeper spiritual matters at play. Prayer is the only way to intercede in that realm and patience is the proper response. The time of a man’s salvation is God’s business and it is a personal moment between the man and his Creator. You cannot artificially make it happen or force it upon anyone. What you can do is know that God is faithful and pray that he will move. Today was Steve’s divine appointment with the Lord and I am thankful that God answered my prayers and allowed me to show Steve the Way. Who in your life does not have a personal relationship with Christ? Have you given up on them? Don’t. Pray for them, pursue them with the gospel through love and gentleness every opportunity you get, and wait patiently for God to move…no matter how long it takes.

“…male and female he created them.”

2010-08-26T13:32:00.006-05:00

Dash turns one year old this Saturday. There has been no doubt from day one that this fella was all boy. From the way he smiled to the way he looked at us to the sounds he made, Dash was clearly a boy. Now that he is one year old, it's more apparent that he is all boy. As a baby, Evey made little cooing sounds, gentle touches, sweet sighs, she smelled girlish, cuddled and hugged, you know sugar and spice and everything nice. She is now eight years old, has a sweet voice, loves to cuddle with daddy, is very gentle, walks like a girl, plays with baby dolls, tells me about her dream wedding, talks about the children she wants to have, and I absolutely love all of that. Dash…this kid screams, grunts, slaps, head-butts, bangs on everything, is messy, stinky, loud, intense, eats all the time, and I love every minute of it. Sharon will tell you that Dash acts “more manly” when I am around, meaning that he is louder, his voice gets deeper as he tries to imitate me, and he wants to play rough. There is no doubt that God created men and women different and it is apparent from birth. Our Lord has specific roles for each, has given certain traits that help with those roles, and he uses both man and woman equally in his divine plan. Man cannot fulfill the role of woman and woman cannot fulfill the role of man. Sharon and I see this every day as we watch our children and we are blessed to have the opportunity to help Evey learn to be a godly woman and Dash to learn to be a godly man.

A Taste of Things to Come

2010-08-23T15:20:00.007-05:00

This past Saturday, our family went to the Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant in downtown Houston. While there we ate Doro Wat, one of the most popular dishes in Ethiopia. Doro Wat is chicken and a boiled egg cooked in a brown sauce of onions, garlic, seasoned with Ethiopian spices, and it is good stuff. We also had Minchet Abish, a dish of minced beef and spices. The meal was eaten by using pieces of Injera, the local bread of Ethiopia made from teff flour, to scoop up bits of each dish. You can see the Doro Wat, Minchet Abish, and the Injera in the picture on the left. It was a taste of the things we will eat when we finally do get to go to Ethiopia for our court process and ultimately to bring our child home. The food was great and Sharon and I had a blast, although Evey opted for grilled chicken and Dash spit out his Injera with disgust.

Even better than the food was the encouragement we got from meeting other families that are adopting from Ethiopia. Some were ahead of us in the process, waiting on their referral or their court date. Others were at the some marker as we are, waiting for their documents to be sent to Ethiopia so that the referral process can begin. Then there were those who had already completed the adoption process and who were holding their children. I overheard conversations they had with hopeful parets and everyone I heard said the same thing with a smile, "It is worth every minute of the paper work, the struggles, the unknowns, and the wait."

Walking through this process you find yourself wondering if it is ever going to be a reality. The obstacles are overwhelming and the spiritual warfare is intense. For Sharon and me, our adoption journey has become one of the most spiritually challenging callings we have faced up to this point in our lives. Seeing the joy of those who had finished the process was encouraging. It was refreshing and it gave us a second wind to keep pressing forward and to keep trusting God to get us to the day when we can stand, with our child in our arms, and say to others, "It is worth it." Seeing those families with their adopted child gave us a taste of things to come, and it gave us cause to stay the course.

Also, our adoption agency gave us bracelets with the colors of the Ethiopian flag. The Wheeless family is wearing these as a reminder to pray daily for our family member in Ethiopia and for God's guidance and provision throughout the rest of the process. We ask that you pray with us, for us, and when you see us wearing our bracelets, ask us about our adoption journey. We would love to tell you what God is doing in our lives. After all, it's all about Him anyway.

Feeling Incomplete

2010-08-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

This is the latest picture of the Wheeless family taken at the Astros game a week ago (August 9, 2008) at Minute Maid Park. We had a blast watching the game with other NEHBC staff families. This was Dash’s first baseball game and several of our church family said they saw me playing with him on TV during the game. Even more exciting is the viral video of the “bailing boyfriend” that is all over the media and the internet. We were sitting right in front of them when it happened and it has been interesting to hear the comments and read the emails from family and friends across the country who have spotted us in the video. Finally, totally unexpected, the Astros beat the Braves with an amazing rally to end the game on top 10 – 4. That night turned out to be a great memory that we share as a family and will talk about for years to come. The Wheelesses love to build family memories.

For Sharon and me, since we have been walking through the adoption process, these memories have been bitter sweet. Family meals, times of laughter, times of play, and family firsts, all of these now cause one or both of us to pause in the realization that one Wheeless is not present. We know in our hearts that our family is incomplete. We felt this following the lose of a child through miscarriage, but God comforted us with the understanding that this child was resting with Christ. However, we know that we are waiting to hold a child that at this time is living in conditions that in some way are going to lead to his or her need for a family and for provision. This child will suffer, will be afraid, will be lonely, and there is nothing we can do but practice diligence in our role within the process while praying and asking God to protect them until we are able to bring him or her home. Our hearts hurt and long for that day. This is a good thing. It is natural. It is biblical. Consider Romans 8:18-25

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

In this passage Paul is writing about the future glory that believers will receive and that creation will know when Christ returns and makes everything right once for all. For Paul, there is nothing that can befall him in this world that can take away the hope he has in what awaits him when he is finally glorified in Christ and receives all that has been promised him as a child of God. It is for this that he, and all believers, inwardly groan and eagerly await. The illustration he uses is of childbirth. A woman suffers, groans in a longing for it to end, and endures the pain knowing that it will pass and she will see and hold the child she has carried for months.

In the same way, the believer is to suffer, groan in a longing for the fulfillment of God’s promises, and endure the process of sanctification in this life knowing that it will one day pass and he will see the risen Christ, receive a redeemed body, and be glorified in the presence of God forever. That is the hope into which we were saved, a hope of things we must long for in this life but with an assurance that they will one day be realized because we have been adopted as sons of God who always fulfills his promises. And how are we to do this? Paul says that we are to wait with patience.

Right now there is a member of the Wheeless family separated from us by paper work, money, decisions that are in the hands of adoption and government agencies, time, and distance. We long for that loved one to be with us. We groan inwardly every time we think of him or her. We wait on God to remove obstacles in the paper work process, to provide the resources, to guide the agencies in their decisions, for his appointed time, and for him to safely close the distance between us. And we are learning to wait with patience.

This adoption journey is only one piece of our journey to be made in the image of Christ. God has already used it to teach us the depths of his love and he has more for us to learn. In the meantime, we are learning to endure, to know our hope of adopting our child (just as our hope of receiving all the promises of God) will be realized someday when God is ready. God has a bigger plan than the Wheeless family. You see, we feel incomplete as a family knowing there is someone missing. But God knows that his family is also incomplete. That is why he stays his coming. God is patient with the lost, giving them another day to hear the truth and repent. God is patient with his children, teaching them through suffering and trials so they are made more in His likeness.

It is through waiting in patience that God is allowed to move freely in our lives and accomplish more than we could ever imagine. If our adoption journey was simply about bringing another child into our family, God would have done that by now. No, God wants to use this for something bigger. God wants to use this story to call the lost to salvation, to teach others more about Him and His character, and to grow and inspire believers in ways they never imagined.

So, as creation longs to be restored, as Paul and believers long for glorification in the presence of God, we long to hold our child. Just as Paul and believers patiently exercise hope in the glory that is to be revealed, we too exercise a patient hope for the day we will have our child with us. Finally, just as Paul and believers understand that God is not finished working in this world to bring about his will, we understand that God is not finished working through our adoption process to bring life change to others…hopeful, even to you.

Failure on a Major Scale

2010-08-15T12:47:00.000-05:00

Today I had a conversation with a friend from another state who called me for advice and help. Her daughter recently graduated high school and feels called to serve God in medical missions. She is starting college this fall and will be studying to be a physician’s assistant. This young lady has been raised in a Southern Baptist church in the suburbs of one of the country’s largest and busiest cities. In addition to the church she and her parents attend, there are 56 Southern Baptist churches in their local associate. According to the mother, not a single one of them, their home church included, is actively involved in doing missions in any area of Acts 1:8. After some questioning, I believed she did her homework but just to be sure I did some digging myself. I surfed the larger churches’ websites, made a few phone calls in addition to those my friend had made, and all I could find was three trips offered through the association’s website and not a single one of them was sponsored or led by any of the churches in that association. Here is a young girl heading into college with a desire to serve on the mission field, she has never been on a mission trip before in her life (which in and of itself may very well be evidence of the apathy in her church and those around her), and now she is looking for guidance, a place to serve in missions through a local church as she explores the call on her life, and there is none to be found. My fear is that this is an all too common tale.

It would be easy to sit here and point fingers. Her parents, her pastor, her local church, the neighboring churches, the local association, the state convention, and the SBC all share the responsibility to some degree. In the end, the cooperative failure here is not in the life of this young lady who has no firm understanding of the church’s responsibility to missions, but it is in our failure as disciples of Christ to follow the very commands He gave us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). When I think about the global impact that these 57 churches could have had in the past 18 years of this young girl’s life, and the opportunities they must have passed up, it makes me sick. But, let’s forget the past and look to now: Over 3.5 BILLION people have not had an adequate opportunity to hear the gospel, and we have 57 Southern Baptist churches in one association with no plans to do anything about it within the next 12 months! That is a failure on a major scale at the expense of the eternity of millions.

God, starting with me, break our hearts for the lost of this world. Make us sleepless and restless over those that have not yet heard your name. Do whatever it takes to awaken and burden your churches in America with the urgency of your Great Commission. Raise up missionaries, pastors, church planters, evangelists, and laymen to champion the gospel across the globe. Help us, as individuals, to embrace a life of sacrifice, suffering, service, and obedience in order that others may have life in You. Amen.

Summer Intern's Last Week

2010-08-11T12:57:00.003-05:00

Chelsea is in her last week here at NEHBC and will be returning to Southwestern to continue her education this fall. She has been phenomenal this summer and has truly set the bar high for those who will follow her next year. Two mission trips, acting as point person at youth camp, a four week bible study curriculum written, counseling opportunities, organizing and running Yoof Goofs, teaching all grade levels of our girl’s bible study classes, helping with planning for our disciple now, working at Farrington Mission, and a plethora of other duties and she handled it all with excellence. It is also evident that she has impacted the lives of our students. She has built relationships with our girls and with the women who minister to our teens. My prayer is that those relationships and contacts will be long lasting.

Chelsea is going to be an amazing counselor and it is evident that God has gifted her to minister to teens and to help guide them through the challenges of middle school and high school. I hope that her time here has left her feeling better prepared for her ministry and with a deeper passion to serve God’s people through the local church. She will be missed.

Want to know what Chelsea had to say about her time at NEHBC? CLICK HERE

Oklahoma Mission Trip Recap

2010-08-11T10:22:00.005-05:00

I know. It's been a while and this post is long overdue. Once I got back from Oklahoma I turned right around and left for a middle school camp in Florida. The last few weeks have been spent catching up on administrative stuff and spending time with the family. I finally have time to share my thoughts on our time in the field in Tulsa.

This trip turned out to be something entirely different from what I intended when I began planning it last fall. I thought that God was calling our youth to participate in a mission trip to reach Native Americans, so I began to explore that avenue. Through contacts in the North American Mission Board I was informed about a Native American Church in Tulsa that needed assistance. In April I went to Tulsa and met with Pastor Joe Buckskin (pictured with me here) of Hallelujah Baptist Church. After meeting with him and seeing the area, I knew this was where God wanted us to serve our Samaria this summer. However, this was not a trip focused specifically on ministering to Native Americans. God had plans for the youth of NEHBC to be involved in inner-city ministry in Tulsa, OK.

I believe one reason God sent us to an inner-city setting was to further our understanding of how to love our Jerusalem through our own inner-city ministry at Farrington Mission. The team spent days walking the same streets on which the Tulsa morning news reported shootings, stabbings, kidnappings, robberies, home break-ins, police chases, and numerous other crimes. I remember walking past a newspaper stand that had a front page report of a shooting from the day before and remembering that I was on that same city block less than 24 hours earlier. Our teens shared the gospel in the midst of drug deals and never missed a beat. They were fearless. We reminded them that the distance from our hotel to the area we were working in was the same as the distance from NEHBC to Farrington. The setting around Farrington is much the same as that of the inner streets of Tulsa. Yet they were still able to see God moving and working. It really helped paint a picture for them of our responsibility to reach our Jerusalem and to see that God has given us the perfect launching platform from which to do that.

Second, this trip was one of the most eventful God moving trips that I have experienced. I wish I could list all the stories and God moments for you here, but there are too many. A leader following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to move his team to another area and the result was two people giving their life to Christ; teens buying a homeless man a meal and praying with him (see picture to the right); two team members helping a man clean out his garage so that they could witness to him; a student counseling with a woman struggling to get her life on track with God’s will; Spanish speaking students being in the right place at the right time to share with a family who did not speak English; a leader talking with two homeless men and praying with them as all three of them cried and shared the hope only found in Jesus. These are just a few of the stories that I could tell and they were all divine appointments orchestrated by God.

Finally, I can’t say enough about the life change that happened in each of us. From a student who enjoyed the excitement of leading someone to Christ for the first time right before heading off to college to study to be a missionary, to a student overcoming anger and doubt brought on by circumstances in her life and realizing her need to submit to the lordship of Christ, our team did not return to Houston the same as they left. God was truly glorified on this trip and we are thankful that we could be a part of it. Please continue to pray for the people in Tulsa. Some of the children our teens ministered to at VBS are emailing our teens with questions about what they are reading in the Bible. What a joy to know God is still moving in the lives he touched through us in Tulsa.

Middle School Camp

2010-07-24T17:59:00.002-05:00

I've been home for a few days after an amazing trip to Oklahoma. I still haven't had time to properly reflect on all that happened during that trip and I hope to do so and share my thoughts with you soon. But first, it's time to hit the beach for Big Stuf Camp with our rising 6th and 7th graders. I am really excited about this week. The five day camp serves as our orientation camp for students entering our youth ministry. This is the second year we have attended this camp, and the current 6th graders that went last year adjusted faster after entering the youth group and they are more connected. This week will be critical to our teachers and me as we work to build relationships with new students and continue to mentor those students who have been with us for one year already. We leave at 4:30am Sunday and will return Thursday evening. Please pray for our time with the students and for safe travel. I will keep you updated through Twitter and Facebook. Here is the promotional video for this year's camp:

IMB Presentation: Are We There Yet?

2010-07-20T11:41:00.002-05:00

Oklahoma Video Update

2010-07-18T08:23:00.001-05:00

Oklahoma Update

2010-07-14T22:40:00.002-05:00

I have had many discussions with pastors my age, church planters, and professors who have expressed doubts about door to door evangelism as a means to grow a church and advance the gospel. For the skeptics, consider these stories:

A group of teenagers are walking the residential streets of inner city Tulsa, OK. In the past few days, only blocks from where they are walking, a 5 year old boy was kidnapped, several houses have been broken into, drug dealers are selling drugs, homeless people are wandering, and drunks are loitering. These teens are not looking for trouble. They are here to pass out tracts and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Going door to door, they knock and wait for someone to open the door and listen to them tell about the love that Jesus Christ has for them. Most people will not answer the door out of fear. Some of them even lock the door when they see them coming. Multiple times the teens have the door slammed in their face. Still, they keep pressing on in temperatures over 100 degrees. Finally, they get someone to open the door, but he doesn't speak English. He speaks Spanish. Without hesitation, one of the boys on the team, who is on his first mission trip ever, steps up and begins to speak to the man in Spanish. The man is invited to a revival and a Spanish gospel tract is given to him. The teens leave and continue with their mission.

On another street, a youth worker and some students meet a young boy riding his bicycle all alone. They start talking to him and spend time laughing with him as he jumps his bike off the steps doing tricks for them. They tell him about the vacation bible school taking place right up the street and ask him to come. He says he will ask his grandmother and see if she will let him. They say goodbye and keep going house to house.

Later that afternoon, I am out going door to door with no success of getting anyone to answer. I have already had a lady lock her door as I came up her walkway. Then I see two people talking on their front porch. As I walk up to them and say hello, an older lady comes from around the back corner of the house and begins to curse me for walking into her yard and with more obscene adjectives demands to know my name and what I want. Once I tell her that I was there to invite them to a revival she becomes very welcoming. I spend the next 30 minutes sharing the gospel with her, Greg who is her son-in-law, her daughter, another grandmother, and three kids. Two youth workers arrive and join the conversation. We have several good laughs together and before leaving I pray for the whole family.

Tonight, at our first session of VBS and revival, the man who spoke Spanish brings his entire family to the church. His daughter goes to VBS while he, his wife, and his son sit in the revival. I'm not sure how much of the sermon he understood, but by the grace of God there are 3 NEHBC students that speak Spanish and one of them has made a connection with the family and they will be back all week.

The young boy on the bicycle showed up as well...with four friends. They all participated in VBS.

Greg, who was in the family I witnessed to, came to the revival and brought two of his children so they could be part of VBS. They walked over three miles to get to the church.

All total we had 11 kids in VBS and all of them came because they were personally invited by our team. In the revival, everyone, with the exception of our team and Pastor Joe and his wife, came because of a flier or a personal invitation. I'm sorry skeptics, but all the evidence I have doesn't lend any support to your stance.

"And every day, in the temple and FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." Acts 5:42

Oklahoma Day 1

2010-07-13T07:22:00.003-05:00

The team is finishing breakfast this morning and about to head out the door. Our task for the day is to put out 1500 fliers in neighborhoods around Hallelujah Baptist Church in order to spread the word about VBS and revival. I will keep posting updates on Twitter and Facebook throughout the day.

A Mother's Heart

2010-07-11T19:41:00.003-05:00

I love my wife. Her dedication to being a mother to Evey and Dash is astounding. She is truly an amazing woman. I want to share one of her blog entries with you that she wrote about our adoption journey. It shows where her heart really is and the passion that she has for pursuing God's will for our family. You can read her entry HERE.

Team Oklahoma Ready To Go

2010-07-11T18:50:00.002-05:00

Well, our team will be on the road heading to Tulsa, OK at 4AM. We are doing a week of street evangelism, Vacation Bible School, and a revival. Please pray for this team through out the week and ask God to do a mighty work in the city of Tulsa. I will post daily updates with pictures and a few videos. You can also follow the team's progress on Facebook and Twitter (links on the right side of the page).

An Inspiring Missions Story

2010-07-01T10:41:00.002-05:00

Here is an inspiring video from the IMB. I would love to see NEHBC students devoting one year or even a semester to serving overseas in the field. May God call out bold servants from the youth group of NEHBC.

Follow up from last post...

2010-06-28T08:54:00.004-05:00

After my last adoption post (see below), I found this article about the state of widows around the world and thought I would share it with you:
Study Looks at Persecution of Widows

Our Adoption Journey: Adoption is a calling...but loving orphans is a command

2010-06-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

There are causes, places, and people groups that God gives us a deep burning passion for. These passions help to shape who we are and they are God's specific calling on our life so that we can bring Him glory and honor as we pursue those passions and promote those causes, reach those places, and bring life change to those people groups. The Wheeless family is humbled that God has given us the call and the passion to pursue the cause of adoption. I personally am overjoyed that he is calling us to do that in Ethiopia, a country on the very continent that God has used to capture my heart and stir a passion in me for missions, Africa. However, we have to keep our passions in the proper perspective.

I am not so naive to think that everyone has the same passions I do. God makes us different and gives us passions that direct us to the specific calling in each of our lives. It is an injustice to myself, the people I lead, the church I serve, and my God if I allow my passions to become a mandate for every believer. My passions indicate the callings God has placed in my, but they do not limit the areas God intends for me to focus on. In other words, while God has given me a heart for Africa and its people, it would be wrong for me to neglect my responsibility as a follower of Christ to take the gospel to all nations and all peoples. My love for Africa is something special that God has and will use for the advancement of his kingdom, but my love for the gospel compels me to love and share the gospel with people in Estonia the same as I would in Zimbabwe. To share the love of Christ and the message of salvation with all people is the command of the Lord and it must be obeyed. To do so in Africa whenever God allows is his favor and special calling on my life. The same is true when it comes to orphans. God has given the Wheeless family a specific passion and a specific calling to minister to orphans through adoption. God has given all of us the commandment to love and care for orphans.

In James 1:19-27, James outlines for his readers the importance of being doers of the word and not just hearers. He urges us to not only read and hear the word of God, but, if we are true lovers of Christ, to put it into action in our lives so we will be blessed. If your religion (Christianity) does not move you to action then it is worthless. It is in this context of urging believers to live out the word the Lord has given them that James gives this description of a worthy and pure religion:

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27

Understand that James is giving us an example of what a pure and acceptable religion looks like. It is not limited to orphans and widows, but rather it is the meaning behind this example that is important. Both orphans and widows are victims suffering from the consequences that sin has wrought on God's once perfect creation. Orphans suffer because of parents neglecting their God given responsibility to care for and raise their own children, or their suffering is brought on by the death of one or both parents. Widows suffer because death has taken away their husband, the provider and protector of the family. Both face unknown futures, loneliness, feelings of abandonment, and numerous other afflictions. What James is wanting us to see is that a true doer of the word is willing to comfort, love, show affection in appropriate ways, and share the love of Christ with those who are suffering from the painful sting sin inflicts on lives. This is certainly not limited to orphans and widows, but it is interesting that James picks orphans and widows as his example. Both are groups that are most often overlooked (Acts 6:1) and the most helpless.

Orphans in most cases are hungry, thirsty, lack proper clothing for warmth and protection, stricken with all kinds of sickness and disease, placed in orphanages where no one hardly knows their name, and usually spend their time in isolation so as not to spread disease or cause conflict with the other orphans. Jesus had something to say about people in such a state as this:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40)

Jesus then goes on to say that those who did not do this for the least of these are cursed and will suffer eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41-46). What is clear is that Jesus expects his followers, those who profess him as Lord and Savior, to be actively involved in loving and ministering to people who are hurting and suffering.

God has called the Wheeless family to advance the gospel and minister to orphans through adoption. Maybe God hasn't called you to adopt, but, if you are a follower of Christ, he has commanded you to share the gospel with, reach out to (visit), and assist orphans in some way. Will you pray and ask God to show you how he wants you to bring life change to at least one of the 132,000,000 orphans in the world?

Southlake Mission Trip - My Observations

2010-06-24T08:55:00.005-05:00

One of the beautiful things about mission trips is that God does something different in the lives of each team member. It is always exciting for me to listen to their stories and learn of the personal challenges they had to overcome. As a pastor who desires deeply to see God build leaders for his kingdom, I love to watch the spiritual growth that takes place in the lives of team members, and I am always amazed at how God grows me through these trips. Here are several observations I have made after having time to reflect on the previous week:

1. This is the first year that the youth of NEHBC have adopted an Acts 1:8 focus on missions. Earlier this year we committed to missions in all four areas commanded by our Lord in Acts 1:8 (Jerusalem = Houston; Judea = Texas; Samaria = another state in the US; ends of the earth = international trip). The Estonia trip back in March was our mission trip to reach the ends of the earth and the trip to Southlake allowed us to reach our Judea. We will reach our Samaria when we go to Oklahoma and God has answered our prayers to help us reach our Jerusalem by giving us Farrington Mission. I outline all that to say that our youth are being saturated with opportunities for missions and I am loving it.

2. The make up of this team was unlike any other I have lead. In the past, teams that I have been privileged to lead have been comprised of all adults or a mix of teens and chaperons. The Southlake team had children accompanied by parents, teens, and empty nesters. God worked in all their lives and used everyone to accomplish his will in Southlake. The children on our team were going door to door for the first time and they were doing it side by side with their parents. These children expressed an excitement for missions at the end of the trip and the lasting impact that will have on the kingdom in the future cannot be measured at this time. The encouragement provided by the empty-nester couple kept me going and the wisdom they offered to our youth was priceless. I am so thankful for their leadership and the example they set as servants.

3. There were five members of the NEHBC family on their first mission trip; two adults and three teens. I can't presume to speak for them here, and you will hear from some of them in a few weeks when we give our report to the church, but there is not a doubt in my mind that this will not be their last trip. I am confident that their stories will inspire others in our church family to be bold and go on a mission trip for the first time next year.

4. Spending a week in Vacation Bible School brought back a lot of memories for me, and being at FBC Southlake was almost nostalgic. The church reminded me of my grandmother's church where I have a lot of fond memories. Most importantly, VBS made me relive my conversion experience. It was at VBS in June of 1989 that I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. God has been very patient and has brought me a long way since then, but I know I have a long way to go to be what he wants me be. To those of you who serve in children's ministry and you feel unappreciated or you think your efforts are futile, let me encourage you. You are not just a babysitter and even if no one ever says thank you, remember that God sees your efforts and he will not let them go unrewarded. It took eleven years, six summers of VBS, a praying grandmother, and lots of patient bible study teachers (on whom I inflicted much sorrow and suffering) before I gave my life to Christ, but it was because of adults like you who sacrificed and put the gospel in front of me year after year that I know my Creator personally today.

5. FBC Southlake has a great leader in Pastor Scott Berry. I have had the privilege to serve with him on mission trips to New Orleans, Estonia, and now in his own backyard. His passion for the lost is relentless and his dedication to his post at FBC is tireless. He will do whatever it takes to reach the lost. I hope that FBC realizes what a special man of God they have at the helm. It was a joy to work with him and his people last week and I pray God will bless them for their faithfulness to his Great Commission.

Finally, I want to pass on what Pastor Scott had to say about our team and the trip. He has expressed his thanks on his blog and so I am providing the link here for you: FIRE BONES

Southlake Day 4 Video

2010-06-17T23:57:00.002-05:00

Southlake Day 3 Video

2010-06-17T00:22:00.001-05:00

Pastor Nathan's Recap of the SBC

2010-06-16T23:34:00.003-05:00

The annual meeting is over and I tried to follow the happenings in Orlando as much as possible while working in the field here in Southlake. If you are part of a Southern Baptist Church, you should take an interest in what happens at our convention. Pastor Nathan went as a messenger for NEHBC and he has a recap of the important decisions that were made on his blog: The View From Where I Stand.

Video Highlights From Team Southlake

2010-06-15T23:44:00.003-05:00

Team Southlake Leaves in the Morning

2010-06-13T21:02:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow (Monday) morning several youth and a group of chaperons will leave NEHBC and travel to Southlake, TX to work with FBC Southlake and Pastor Scott Berry during their VBS week. This trip is the second of three mission trips for our youth this year. Southlake is our focus area for fulfilling the "Judea" aspect of Acts 1:8. For a few students, it will be their first mission trip. My prayer is that this week will plant the seeds in their heart of a lasting desire to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. For other students, they are experienced disciples on the field and I am praying that they will step up and provide leadership and encouragement to others. We have a tremendous opportunity to impact a community with life change and to allow the people of FBC Southlake to do the same for each of us. Please pray daily this next week for our work in Southlake. You can follow what is happening with our team right through as I will post videos, pictures, and updates.

Highlights from Wednesday's Yoof Goof

2010-06-10T16:24:00.001-05:00

NEHBC Youth Summer Intern

2010-06-01T16:21:00.002-05:00

Meet Chelsea. She is interning in our youth ministry for this summer and will be with us until mid August. I am excited to have her here for three of the most intense months of the year in the youth ministry of NEHBC. She will be participating in all of our summer mission trips, teaching our girls' bible study classes, organizing our yoof goof events, and learning the ropes of a fast paced youth ministry. Chelsea is a graduate of The College at Southwestern in Fort Worth, TX, she is currently pursuing a MA in christian counseling from SWBTS, and has been very active in teaching D-Now weekends for churches in several states. Her calling and her passion is counseling and mentoring young girls through the obstacles and challenges of being a teenager. I know without a doubt that she will be a great influence and that she will have a huge impact on our girls. Please join me in praying for her ministry here this summer and in welcoming her to the NEHBC family.

A must read article from an atheist:

2010-06-01T09:43:00.001-05:00

Sharon found this while I was in Zimbabwe last week. While the author is speaking of Africa, I believe that what he is articulating is true everywhere that biblical mission work is taking place. This truth is inescapable - the gospel changes lives. How much more humbling is it to know that we get to be the instruments God uses to take the gospel/life change to the world. Here is the article:
As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God | Matthew Parris - Times Online

Off the grid...

2010-05-21T13:08:00.004-05:00

The next 8 days I will be "off the grid." I will be with a small team of NEHBC men who are going with Pastor Nathan to explore church planting opportunities among the Tonga people in NW Zimbabwe. Pastor Nathan wrote about this on his blog: The View From Where I Stand. Pray that God will show us his will for NEHBC and that we will be used to impact the lives of those we meet. You can go to the link below and click on the "people group" tab to learn more about this unreached people group.

IMB People Groups - Tonga

John Piper on Suffering for Christ

2010-05-21T13:04:00.002-05:00

Since Pastor Nathan preached on suffering two weeks ago in Acts 5:17-42 and I preached on suffering this past Wednesday from John 12:20-28, I thought I would share this video with you. Simply put, if we are going to be true followers of Christ and advance his message of salvation, we must suffer...

Our Adoption Journey: Our Adoption in God's Family

2010-05-21T11:17:00.001-05:00

Part of the joy of our adoption journey is talking with Evey about our decision to adopt and the biblical truth behind adoption. The other day she and I were watching Superman I. I love Superman. I grew up with the movies, had the action figures, the sleeping bag, and yes even the pajamas. I have all the movies on DVD today, including Superman Returns. As we watched the 1978 film, Evey pointed out something that had never occurred to me before in the hundreds of times I had seen that movie. She looked at me with a very serious face and said, "Daddy, Superman was adopted." That opened the door for a deeper conversation about who all we know has been adopted.

We started with other movie characters she knows: Mogli from The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty was adopted/fostered by the three fairies, Ferb from our favorite cartoon Phineas and Ferb, and the kids on the movie Jumanji were adopted by their aunt.

Then we talked about those in the Bible who had been adopted: Moses was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus 2:1-10), Esther was adopted by her uncle Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7), and it was in God's divine plan for Joseph to be the adopting father of Jesus, and Joseph protected, provided for, and raised our Savior as his own (Matthew 1:18-2:23).

Then I told her that believers have been adopted by God. We took our Bibles and turned to Galatians 4:4-7:

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer slaves, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

What a huge blessing and theological principle! Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have been adopted by God as sons. You see, our redemption in Christ included adoption. It was not only God's plan to free us from sin through the blood of Jesus, but it was his eternal divine will that those who are redeemed would be brought into his family and given all honor as sons.God did not simple free us from slavery to sin and leave us to fend for ourselves. He made sure that we were his family, his children. The implications are huge. Being freed and brought into God's family means that we have a community, we have value, we are loved, we are cared for, we have provision, and we have protection just to name a few.

Yet, God did not stop by just freeing us and making sure we had community and love. He made us heirs as sons. The context of this declaration means that we are legally entitled to everything that God has. Just as the son inherits everything his father has, we will inherit all that God is and all that he has. Most importantly this means we gain eternal life. The cry of "Abba! Father!" is a deep personal intimate call of affection for our God who has not only forgiven us for our disobedience, but who, because of our faith in the Son, has given us an inheritance along with the Son. We are God's children, not just freed slaves.

As our family continues this adoption journey, we are humbled by the fact that this act is a beautiful picture of what God has done for all believers. Some have said to us that there is no greater picture of salvation in this world than that of adoption. When our child or children join our family, they will not be "our adopted children." They will not be kids that we simply rescued and provide for so that they are not living in poverty and disease any longer. No. They will be Wheeless children with all the inheritance and community that Evey and Dash have. They will be my sons or daughters. It is our prayer that this adoption journey will be a beautiful representation of our adoption as sons and heirs in the family of God through Jesus Christ.

If you want to read an excellent book on the theology of adoption, I recommend Adopted For Life by Dr. Moore.

Sportsman's Day is this Saturday!

2010-05-13T12:22:00.003-05:00

For more info and to purchase tickets go to this link:
SPORTSMAN'S DAY 2010

Want some interesting statistics on world missions?

2010-05-12T15:04:00.004-05:00

Check this out: 10/40 Window

NEHBC Youth Summer Schedule Now Posted

2010-05-03T09:38:00.005-05:00

Summer is almost here and it will be a busy and exciting one for the youth of NEHBC. You can see all the details by going to www.nehbc.com/summer.

NEHBC Sportsman's Day 2010

2010-05-03T09:28:00.004-05:00

This is one of the most important days of the entire year for the men of NEHBC. We get to come together and encourage one another to fulfill the kingdom role that God has given to us as men. It is also a chance for us to mentor and encourage the boys of NEHBC to strive to fulfill that role and to pursue godliness. Most importantly, it is a chance for us to share the gospel with men who normally would not set foot in a church. In addition to all that, we get to participate in amazing outdoor activities and eat wild game together. This is going to be a great day. Are you going to be part of it and who will you bring with you? For more details CLICK HERE.

More News From the Estonia Mission Team

2010-04-29T10:07:00.003-05:00

We have been home now for seven weeks and the news of gospel encounters continues to pour in from our team. This week alone I have heard from three different team members about the contacts they are having with people we met while in Estonia. One of our team members is using Facebook to talk about spiritual matters with two students in Estonia. I know of three Estonian youth that since we left have not stopped reading the Bibles we gave them, and one of them is halfway through the Old Testament. Last night, a team member came up to me with a copy of an instant message conversation she had this past week with a young lady from the school we visited. Our student did a great job sharing about God's will and has opportunities for future conversation about our Lord and his gift of salvation. Finally, I was excited to learn that Jill Blest had the opportunity to share her Estonia experience with our church family, and that we have committed to pray for the salvation of a key leader of the group we worked with. This is nothing else but a movement of God and the potential for the advancement of the kingdom is huge. It is truly exciting to be a part of this. More to come...

Our Adoption Journey: Pressing Forward

2010-04-28T13:10:00.005-05:00

Bear Grylls is one of my favorite celebrities. He is the star of the reality TV show "Man vs. Wild," a former member of the British SAS, and he is the youngest man (at 23yoa) to ever reach the summit of Mt. Everest. I found a video the other day of a motivational speech he gave a few years ago. In this video he talks about how a fall after a failed parachute jump broke his back in three places. The recovery from this accident motivated him to pursue his dream of climbing the deadly Mt. Everest. He describes the assent and the joy he felt when he reached the summit, and then he talks about the dissent. He says that going down is the hardest part of the climb because you are tired and you have used up all your adrenaline and determination to get to the top. Once you are up there you just want it to be over and if you are not careful you can lose concentration, get lost, and even die. I've never climbed Everest and I certainly have no plans to (though I wouldn't pass up the chance). So, my understanding of this concept is on a very small scale, but I do know from climbing mountains in Zimbabwe and hiking through the Appalachians that he is right. Climbing back down into the valley is no fun, but it is necessary.

That is where we are spiritually in our adoption journey. The summit was God revealing to us that this was his will for our lives. The climb back down into the valley is the paper work, the class work, the logistics, the dealing with government officials, and the waiting on others. It seems like every step forward we take we are forced to take two steps backward. When we send in one round of paper work, they send three or four things back that need to be changed and add more forms that need to be completed. We know that it is worth it and that is what keeps us going. Our prayers are that God will keep showing us glimpses of him through this process. You know what...He is faithful.

Every week He has revealed himself in some simple way that helps encourage us. In fact, there are times I look back on the previous week and realize that I missed seeing Him working in this process. Little things keep us going, such as reading about an adoption success story; members of our church family with whom we haven't even talked about adoption telling us that they are praying for us; parents who have adopted children cheering us on down the path they have completed. All of these point to God's presence in our journey and serve as reminders of his promise that he will never leave us or forsake us. But, God has not just left us with encouraging encounters. He has also placed another NEHBC couple on an adoption journey right beside us. Our destinations are different: they are seeking local adoption and foster parenting and we are pursuing international adoption. Still, it is comforting to have someone else along the path with us to share in the adventure.

God always proves himself faithful and we must remember that the process itself is part of our spiritual growth and I would in no way want to avoid it. Besides, that would be like laying down and dieing on top of the mountain. Its like Bear Grylls says at the end of his speech, "Often the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is just that little word 'extra.'" Our God is not ordinary, but rather there is no other like him. His work, even through imperfect people like us is not ordinary, but it is extraordinary. That is why we know he will not take his guiding hand off this process and he will continue to make his presence known as we climb down into the valley. God has called us to this extraordinary journey for his glory so we will press forward to the end, doing whatever "extra" must be done to glorify our King. Finally, we will do it in submission, without questioning, and we will do it with gratitude knowing that he always keeps his promises.

Farrington Mission Tour Video

2010-04-27T14:08:00.000-05:00

Another Interesting Article on Teens and Texting

2010-04-21T10:55:00.005-05:00

Teen Texting Soars; Will Social Skills Suffer? That is the latest article from NPR on teens and texting. Obviously, the impact of texting on our society, communities, and families is only beginning to manifest itself. Time will tell how this resource plays out and to what extent it works for our good or our demise. One thing I know for sure, more and more communication with my students is taking place over text messages. Several times a week I get deep theological questions via text messages. I am excited that my students are thinking about these issues and that they trust me to give them the biblical answers they need, but it is hard to explain such truths as the assurance of salvation in 140 characters of less. I have even had a student send me a text message to ask me a question while we were in the same room, less than 5 feet apart. That is an obvious impact of texting on social skills. Here is my immediate concern...

Jesus wants us to personally share the greatest truth that man will ever hear, the gospel (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). By sharing this truth person to person we are allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to deliver a personal invitation to the heart of the lost calling them to be free from the bondage of sin and embrace their Creator as Lord and Savior (Romans 10:13-17). Also, in the process of making disciples, we want them to be bold and strong in their faith, willing to stand and speak firmly against sin and false teachings, but to do so with love. Confrontation and conflict are inevitable for the believer who has to live in this world, and to shy away or work to avoid confrontation when it is necessary for the advancement of the kingdom of God is not acceptable for a disciple of Christ. If the initial findings in this article prove to be true, our diligence in this area must increase. It is up to parents and church leaders to find ways to engage teens in face to face communication, teaching them the importance of interaction and discussion with others. While we can use new technologies to promote the gospel, there is no substitute for looking in the eyes of another human, telling them Jesus loves them, and watching and listening to their response (Matthew 6:22-23).