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I’ve been watching the Olympics and really enjoying them.  A couple of commercials however have really caught my eye.  The first is one on Coke.  It talks about how in 1886 - 122 years ago a man came up with a formula and the rest is history.  Another one is GM - how they started 100 years ago and to celebrate you get the employee discount if you want to buy a vehicle. 

Think about it - a little over a century ago - these two things didn’t exist.  They have changed the face of the world.  You can’t go to a village in the jungle or outpost in the desert and not find a coke - it’s impossible.  Cars are also global - if it weren’t for GM’s international market she’d be sunk.  I think Toyota came to the U.S. in the mid 70’s and it’s done in 30 years what it took GM to do in 100.  In other words, as things connect more - you can distribute faster and broader.  I was told in ‘94 there were a handful of web-sites - now there are millions.  The internet in just 14 years has connected the world, business - every domain in ways we couldn’t imagine. 

Soooooo - what is the implication for everyone getting to hear the good news about Jesus?  What is the implication for us being salt and light to the world?  What is the implication for all of us being able to be a part of fulfilling the Great Commission? 

In the past - people worked hard to fulfill the Great Commission with what they had.  Today -fulfilling the Great Commission is a matter of obedience.  Their dream, is now our opportunity.  What will we do with it?  All of us - will be held accountable, because all of us were given the Great Commission - not just the preachers, missionaries, denominations, agencies, and religious organizations.  It is not unrealistic AT ALL, that if a group of people came together and focused resources on it - every person in the world could hear the good news and every city in the world could be engaged in transformational ministry.  This is what God is doing in the world today - when we stand before him - his measure for us of “well done good and faithful servant” will be - these things …

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http://www.globalartinferno.org is up - you can go there to visit and see what’s about to happen with my son Ben Roberts who’s a young businessman.  If you’re a NorthWooder and you’ve been to Vietnam, chances are you’ve been on Hung Gai street and the surrounding streets and seen all the shops where they sit and paint throughout the day. He wants to bring that to the U.S.  Go Ben Go!  He’s one of those millennial who wants to use his job to make a difference.  As they’d say in Australia “Good on ya Ben!” 

My prayer and hope is that you see the future of faith in America not defined by “preachers” and how we do “church” but by “disciples” and how they live their faith in “society.”  When that happens - we’ll have a healthy church.  I’m becoming convinced more and more churches don’t make disciples - disciples make churches - those disciples in those churches make more disciples and we get more churches and more disciples - i.e. Antioch.  It may seem unimportant - but it’s a huge issue - if what I’m saying is true - then as a pastor, and as a disciple - my primary function is that of making disciples. 

HEY I NEED AN ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: 
As some of you may know, my long-time Executive Assistant, Johnnie Morgan retired this month (I’m still in denial).  We are actively looking for an exceptional, experienced executive assistant to take her place.  If you know of anyone in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area who may be a great fit, please have them email their resume to info@northwoodchurch.org.  I need someone who is highly organized, possesses superior phone as well as face-to-face communication skills, and would be comfortable working with international government, business and ministry leaders and their staffs.  A lot of my assistant’s time is spent on arranging my travel and coordinating my schedule.  My crazy, fast-paced life can’t overwhelm them.  (Johnnie please come back!)  I’D LOVE IT IF THERE WAS A “MALE-DUDE” WHO WANTED TO DO THIS THAT WANTED TO TRAVEL SOME!!!!!! 

Right now the economy is the worst its been in years.  We are also at a time when so many things are so much out of wack:  housing market, stock market, energy market, global food market, add some wars and conflicts in Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan, and the picture is very very depressing. 

Omar Reyes and I were on the plane from DC having been to some meetings there - and as we were flying he began to talk about “reframing” the problem.  It led to my sermon Sunday where I preached on “Stressed or Blessed” and took Hebrews 11 and read all 19 “by faith’s” that were listed. 

The church is preaching a lot on money right now because things are tight.  You hear two kinds of messages.  One is the “pentecostal” message of give and be blessed - looking for the money miracle.  The other is the “presbyterian” message of organize and control spending - looking for money management.  While both of these have some truth in them - what if God is saying something different?  What if God is trying to teach us something?  What if God has orchestrated things to put us right where we are because all of life is discipleship and this is a chance to grow?  Would it make sense?  If our God in America is the greenback and we worship that more than the Father - then would he not be within his right and responsibility to do a “child” correction in the family market?!  So what could he be teaching us?  I believe 3 things and we get them all out of Hebrews 11.

He’s teaching us to SIMPLIFY.  Abraham had to simply to fulfill what God called him to do as an old man.  He’s leaving his land, many of his possessions, his relationships to go to a place he knows nothing about as an old man - and he wasn’t senile!  If we are going to move mountains we have to pack light.  I know having trekked to the Everest base camp - you don’t carry a lot of gear if you don’t have to. 

He’s teaching us to DEACCUMULATE.  Look at Moses, he “refused” to be called Pharoah’s son.  He “chose” the desert.  Bottom line it was a choice he made.  He knew that things, position, and money could not define him.  He could …

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(UPDATE!!!  IMPORTANT!  The Meeting with Mahzar Mallouhi is at 5PM… NOT 7PM!  If you are planning to be here, please note this change!)

  OK, so my iPhone pictures aren’t the best in the world but you get the point on this one.  Last week we had a great Glocalnet Turbo training and Rick McKinley was the highlight for me.  I showed him some good Texas food beyond our famous barbecue and Mexican food - he loved it.  He’s standing here inside the Reatta restaurant with a buffalo.  He was gobblin’ down things he didn’t know what they were or where they’d been on the buffalo - but he enjoyed them all! 

Sorry for being slow on posting - been super busy since I got back from the other side of the world - but things are calming down to a little bit more normalcy.  If you’re in the DFW area, Mazhar Mallouhi will be with me here in Keller later this week.  Thursday night at 7pm 5pm in The Plex at NorthWood he’s going to meet with a group of us and discuss the Kingdom of God and Islam.  He’s a Syrian born follower of Jesus and considers himself a Muslim - (Submitted to God).  You can read about him in “Pilgrim’s of Christ on the Muslim Road” by Paul Gordon Chandler.  You’re welcome to join us if you’re close by - just call the church office at 817-431-2088 and let us know.  Mazhar is friends with leading Islamic scholars and leaders so if you have some Muslim friends they’d be welcome as well and just may enjoy it! 

I now have relatives in DFW beyond my immediate family!  My niece Bethany was married to a cool dude Saturday night named Spencer - they will be living in Lewisville!!!!!  Yeahhhhh!  There’s an awesome church over there and a good bud of mine Matt Chandler is the pastor, the Village - and it’s not like M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village”.  My niece’s little bother, my nephew, Samuel is moving to North Texas University in Denton - he says he’s excited but he doesn’t want to study.  What’s new! 

This week I’m going to be blogging on God, money and economics - I’ll interview Mazhar - who knows what else - stay tuned.

While I was in Australia I met and hung out with some really awesome people.  You can see their pictures below.  Steve Addison and his son Locky - or Lucky as I call him.  Peter Botross - a young Egyptian church planter who absolutely rocks.  You can read “Defying Death” - by Zakaria Botross - Apostle to Islam - it is his Father.  He is a modern day Paul - I hope to get to meet him as well one day.  He’s in a category all his own.  Google him.  He practices some of what I write about and is a living example of it.  Philip Kua - a Chinese pastor - who’s grandfather built most of the churches in Malaysia - now leading in Melbourne.  Jossy Chacko - you can read his story in his book “Madness” - an Indian who has a ministry called Empart and has planted some 1100 churches in India in the past 10 years.  They will plant over 500 this year alone and are heading towards 100,000!  They have the same philosophy of church planting and community engagement as being the same - there was a lot of chemistry there.  You can see him with his church planters toolkit - not your typical Bob Logan kit but it works, bicycle and all! 

The church in Australia should come together because of it’s strategic location.  It has the benefit of being connected to the West thereby accessing her resources a lot easier.  But, because the people are closer to Asia than anywhere, there is a smaller gap in cultural awareness and global events and life there than anywhere in the West.  The people are also very multi-ethnic.  I’ve been told Sydney is the most multi-ethnic city in the world - don’t know if that’s true or not.  I was told Melbourne is one of the top cities in the world for that as well. 

Sooooo . . . . I threw it out to them when I spoke - what if we came together to tackle the suffering in Sudan . . . . and the response has been fascinating - we’ll see where this goes.  BUT immediately I found out the Chinese pastor is taking his church there - we then went around the room I asked them who knew someone, or had some unusual contact there - about half the people …

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Yesterday Nikki and I got home from Vietnam (and me for a jaunt to Australia).  She led our education team there that taught at the University.  This summer she’s done a lot of stuff - traveling across the country and the world - from Romania to Vietnam to teach anything from special education to health and hygiene.  In these pictures one is the airport with us leaving a couple of weeks ago.  The other two, we are eating supper with Ti’s parents in Hanoi (the Vietnamese boy we’ve adopted as our own), the other is a new exchange student that will be coming to live with a NorthWood family in a week or so.  We were trying to get him ready for Texas life!  Nikki’s been at the heart of all of this, in our family, at NorthWood, outside of NorthWood.  I’m asked a lot how did I get so lucky and what makes an exceptional pastor’s wife, leader’s wife, etc.  Here are some answers . . . . .  .

1.  They love God.  You can’t force that.  They have to love him, even more than you.  You see that not in just what they say, but how they live and what exudes from the m.

2.  They practice personal worship.  I’d like to think I had something to do with that, BUT, I know that that comes from her.  Generally speaking, the light is on in her study at 5am with her reading her Bible and praying.

3.  You have to be honest with each other.  Nikki and I for all our faults have always been able to do that.  Whether she was challenging me or I was challenging her.  We fight sometimes!  There I said it - it’s true of most people.  It’s OK - as long as it’s not demeaning or destructive.  You have to be able to say what you think - go back and forth - process things. 

4.  You have to force to keep them out of your shadow.  Many men who lead have long shadows - that’s just the way it is.  BUT, help your wife find places she can bloom without you.  It keeps her own sense of self-worth and contribution high.  Sadly, some husbands want their wives under their thumbs and under their shadow.  You bet, your wife should be supportive and involved in your ministry - …

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In a few hours I get on a jet and head home - I’m ready.  Been a great trip, but there’s always no place like home.  I’ve had some time to reflect and think a lot on this trip - it’s been good.  I’m always doing that with so much going on, but doing it with so much going on doesn’t always insure genuine clear thinking - so this has been good. 

As I ran the final time today around Lake Hoan Kiem in the heart of Hanoi - I have seen so many changes since I first came here 14 years ago.  I’ve seen things steadily improve economically, educationally, and in other ways - but there is still so much to be done and so much poverty and so many needs it’s simply overwhelming.  I was also thinking about the list of top poorest countries in the world and as I was running I thought to myself - if the church and Christians would get up on their feet - they could solve most of these problems over night.  The same is true of our urban centers and poverty in America as well.  It’s not a matter of resources, ability, or the fact that we are ignorant to the plight of th poor and hurting - it’s a matter of obedience.

So, why do we refuse to obey God and serve others and come together to touch every hurting person and need?

1.  We’re greedy - we want all our stuff for ourself.  Can we as Americans, having been blessed so much, think we can keep hoarding and God not judge us? 

2.  We’re lazy -  we’re forever hoping someone else will do it.  We love to kick back.

3.  We’re busy - our priorities generally don’t involve those outside our immediate family, friends, or co-workers.

4.  We’ve been cold hearted for so long - we think we will continue to get away with it.  Hopefully we will ignore it, and just not think about it.

So, when will Chrisians start doing it?

1.  When we are broken over the sin in our life and fall in love with God.  When this happens, it sets the stage for God breaking our heart for others less fortunate.

2.  When we begin to not just give our money, but our time and expertise and even use our jobs to …

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My time in Melbourne was awesome.  I’m going to write more about it later.  I met some really cool people and spent time with others that I’ve known.  I really enjoyed hanging out with Steve and several leaders from different groups in the city as we discussed city transformation and church planting.  I met with a couple of business dudes also - really neat guys that love God and have a heart for their city and the world. 

The highlight was meeting a man from India named Jossy - they’ve started 1100 churches in the past ten years and this year alone will plant over 500 churches in India and 100,000 over the next 20 or 30 years.  He has a very similar philsophy to ours.

I got up early to get back to Hanoi yesterday - we got to Hanoi - 8 hours, 2 hour layover in Ho Chi Minh City, then 2 hours to Hanoi - we were about to land, but the weather was so bad we couldn’t.  So so so , we headed to Danang - waited to get off the plane - but it was determined there wasn’t enough hotel rooms there -  - -  -so back to Ho Chi Minh city where they dumped us in the terminal with no one to help - it was a mess - but it finally worked out.  I got here a couple of hours ago in Hanoi.  Some meetings tonight, a good run around Lake Kiem in the morning - jump on the plane and head back home - I’m ready.

Tomorrow, Friday, August 8 is the final day for registering for the August 14 & 15 Turbo.  Register now to lock in your seat by clicking on the above “Turbo” in the menu!  The next Turbo will be March 5 & 6 with registration for that Turbo will be opening up on September 1st.

I’m sleepy but staying awake.  I flew all night and Steve Addison of CMA associates here in Melborne, Australia picked me up.  We spent the day walking all over the city, talking, looking at art, plotting, and a host of other things.  This is the first time I’ve been in this city where it wasn’t a fast stop over - I really like it a lot here.  Tomorrow I speak to a group of pastors and leaders in church planting here in the city - then back to Hanoi.  I’ve already enjoyed this a lot - albeit I’m very sleepy!

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