Praise & Prayer–April 2014

Praise and Prayer—April 2014

Redeemed to redeem —Some reflections taken from VERGE 2014

“God will take you where you have no intention to go or could not go to produce in you what you could not produce on your own.” —Paul Tripp

Your Redeemer is going to ‘mess’ with:
explode:
YOUR Plans
Ambitions
Strategies
Dreams
Discipleship—process of moving from disbelief to belief in every area of life.

Affection: drives Action
to Jesus
Fueled by love
Produces joy
Identity in Christ:
Propels to joyful service
Produces a love for God’s
People
Actions: don’t define who we are
Reveal: who we are
where our affections are
Disciple is spelled L.O.V.E.R.
of God
Others

Is Jesus ‘Better’ than everything to me?

Jesus + nothing = Everything
No Entitlement!
Alert everyone, in every way to: the fact that OUR GOD REIGNS!
the universal REIGN & RULE of KING JESUS!

Praise
-for Father’s leading, strength, and enablement in our lives. We were blessed during the month of March to: 1) share and participate in Good Samaritan Community Church’s missions conference at Good Samaritan Village in Kissimmee, Florida—theme: The Miracle of Redemption. 2) spend time at Media (AIM’s retirement center in Minneola, Florida) interacting with a number of the ‘retired’ missionaries—some of whom are our personal ‘heroes of the faith’. 3) participate in the Healing the Wounds of Trauma Community of Practice (COP) in Philadelphia (Debbie has been endorsed as a Master Facilitator for this worldwide movement that offers a Biblical response to all kinds of experienced trauma). 4) attend the VERGE 2014 conference {Steve} (theme—Redeemed to Redeem) in Austin Texas. 5) meet extended family while in Florida (Debbie’s aunts and spouses—it was a special treat to spend time with my cousin Jeff Ames, to hear his story, and begin to explore together kingdom building possibilities through initiatives Father is leading him in to. 6) spend several days with Audrey and Francis following the COP meeting in Philadelphia.

-for the opportunity Debbie has to be involved with the Institute for Biblical Community Development (IBCD) that Dr. Kim and his wife started and oversee through their growing base across the state line from Siloam Springs in Oklahoma. In May she will be facilitating a Healing the Wounds of Trauma training at IBCD.

-for the provision for me to be able to return to Central Africa to continue focusing on encouraging and strengthening the church in what I have come to refer as “The Black Hole of Africa.” (I am writing at 37,000 feet, en route from Minneapolis to Amsterdam) It is an area in which the battle of the ages for the souls of men, women, boys, and girls rages. In recent years, months and even days the battle’s brutality and expansion has been demonstrated again and again—particularly in Northeast DRCongo, S. Sudan, and CAR. In my mind, the area in which Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army have since Dec 2008 continued to commit brutal atrocities against innocent people resulting in mass trauma that has fomented debilitating fear, instability and insecurity has defined “The Black Hole”. But with other militias (Seleka, anti-Balaka, etc.) and rebel leaders and their followers perpetrating atrocities in CAR, S. Sudan, DRCongo the ruler of the kingdom of this world is clearly opening avenues for the penetration, infiltration, and expansion of I$ lam. This is basically the same area that the founder of AIM (Peter Cameron Scott) envisioned ‘the establishment of a line of mission stations from the East Coast of Africa to Lake Chad as a defense to the spread of I$ lam southward’. The church is being severely challenged and tested in this expanding area. Our brothers and sisters need encouragement and strengthening in order to not only stand as a defense to the spread of I$ lam but to boldly proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God and see her expansion north. I was invited by Phil Byler to join him, Ian Campbell, Steve Entwistle, Wendy Atkins, and one of the AIMAIR pilots next week on a flight to Central Africa Republic (CAR) in order to once again visit and encourage our brothers and sisters. At this point it doesn’t look like there will be room for me on the flight (Cessna 206). So, I will follow up on making arrangements for the purchase and transport of building supplies to be taken to Banda, DRCongo so we can begin rehabilitating houses for the team that will be moving there later this year to encourage and strengthen the church in this part of ‘The Black Hole’.

Prayer
-Am in Entebbe, Uganda preparing to hit the ‘Send’ button. Just heard that Abbie is scheduled to have gall bladder surgery tomorrow. Debbie is looking for a flight ASAP to go to N. Carolina to be with her and take care of Timothy. Bo is currently in Atlanta most of way through a rigorous training toward managing a Panda Express restaurant.

-for Debbie as she continues to look for a place to stay and call home. We have packed our belongings from the cabin and stored them for now. Next week Debbie will be traveling with her mom to visit her sister in New Mexico. Aaron and Bethany will join them for Easter and then they plan to go to Denver to see where Aaron and Bethany have settled in. Debbie has been asked to facilitate a Healing the Wounds of Trauma training out East later in the month and then returns to do the same in May at IBCD. She will be joining me in Africa in June We have been asked to assist the team that Debbie’s cousin and his wife (Jon & Jenni Millet) facilitate each year from Trinity Christian School at Scott Theological College in Kenya. Continue to pray with us for Debbie’s complete healing.

-for the arrangements for the procurement of building supplies, their transport, and the rebuilding of former missionary houses for the team going to Banda. Pray too for the possibility and arrangements for having indigenous missionaries (masons, carpenters, etc.,.) from among members our church partner involved in the rehabilitation of these houses. Pray with us that the details will fall in place for Mark Knoner to be involved in the rehabilitation of these houses. And for the preparation in every way of the team members who will be occupying these house later in the year as they seek to encourage and strengthen the believers in Banda and the surrounding area.

-that the trip to CAR next week by AIM leaders will indeed encourage and strengthen our brothers and sisters in the local churches of the CEEC (our partner church), as well as other church leaders and believers they may have contact with. If you have access to Christianity Today, please take note of the short statement made by the President of the Evangelical Community of CAR.

Report from CAR
Chadian soldiers on their way to Boda (where we visited earlier this month) to act as escorts for the Mu slim population there, fired on the inhabitants of the Pk12 and Gobongo districts of Bangui, killing a number of people. Please pray, as the anti-Balaka are all set to launch counter-attacks.

We thank God, who has led the churches during this month of prayer. Yesterday, the idea was to conclude the time with a big Sunday thanksgiving service, with all the evangelical churches in Bangui gathered together in the Omni-sport stadium. But when they mentioned it to the bishop in charge of the Catholic churches, they (the Catholics) asked if they could take part too – and then so did the Muslim imams. God transformed the occasion into a service of reconciliation, with Christians (Catholic and Protestant) and Muslims crying out to God together. The anti-Balaka and Seleka, though they had not been invited, also had representatives there, who expressed reconciliation in front of everyone, with a symbolic enactment of “burying the hatchet”. The lady interim President of CAR had also not been invited, but in the end was represented by the lady Minister for Communication and Reconciliation. At all events, God surprised us. This powerful occasion was accompanied and concluded by prayers, declarations and the singing of the national anthem. Please pray for how we go on from here; we are preparing another programme for April.

Redeemed to redeem!

For: The Glory of God
The Good of Others
The Fame of Jesus

Steve & Debbie

Stephen & Deborah Wolcott

Email: sdwolcott@aimint.net
Steve’s mobile: 479-233-0823 (USA)
256-772-415201 (Uganda)
243-824-494864 (DRCongo)
Deb’s mobile: 479-427-2598

Africa Inland Mission, P.O. Box 3611, Peachtree City, GA 30269

Further Reflections from VERGE 2014 on Ministry and Leadership
Ministry is War!! A Battle fought on the turf of my heart.
between the kingdom of self (Mt. 6:19-32)
Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33)
What am I seeking to get out of ministry that it was never intended to give me? Position
Respect
Identity
Significance
Power/Authority
Am I building a platform for myself at the expense of others?
Every ounce of my influence belongs to God and is meant for redemption.
Is my leadership/influence being used to: build up self
Increase my image
Position
Respect
Identity
Significance
Power/Authority
Or
Is my leadership/influence being used for Jesus’: Purposes
Plans
Will
Kingdom

Leadership is Powerful & Dangerous
can Empower Destroy
Bless Curse
I have to take ‘ME’ out of the picture

Leadership focuses on God’s image-bearers
people made in the image of God
sons and daughters
How we treat
teach
future leaders
Is cultivating and growing sons and daughters
Enables those we lead to be successful in living out the mission of God

Leaders—find ‘faithful’ men…
start with character
and then teach competence.
Do I see the potential of the Spirit of God released into ordinary (broken) people?
Release potential of men and women who are filled with Holy Spirit.
In the ordinary the glory of God is at its most glorious and most gloriously displayed!