It’s not about you; but, you are about it…

If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going: By, Doug Giles

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/28/2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008
If You're Going Through Hell, Keep Going
by Doug Giles
Read Article here

The economic times we are living in are rougher and scarier than Rosie just before getting bikini waxed. With our national cash crisis comes a bazillion other ancillary spiritual and physical spin-off problems. As a columnist, talk show host and minister I'm now getting my inbox inundated with emails asking me how to spiritually field this mucked up mess we're mired in (that's how bad it is . . . people are asking me for advice).

What follows is my attempt to Dr. Phil you folks thru this crap-laden crunch we're currently getting crushed by with seven hard learned lessons about God and life from the last 25 years of getting my butt kicked.

*Note to rabid atheists: This column (to become a book under the same title) is written to the heaven bound Christian who is currently going through hell. Yeah . . . it's not for you. You might want to read Thus Spake Zarathustra or something for encouragement.

Here are seven observations and exhortations to help us keep plowing through tough times.

1. Jesus Promised Pain.

Jesus said in His first YouTube lecture, the Sermon on the Mount, that "storms" are coming to everyone, Christian or not. Note: Jesus didn't say if storms come, but when they come. I know it sucks, but that's reality. At least He gives us a heads up, eh? Also, Jesus didn't forewarn us of tame storms on the horizon but "squalls" so violent that if you aren't well founded on His word that your house could be destroyed. How we have built our lives is revealed in the storm.

2. Are You Gonna Cowboy Up or Lay There and Bleed?

Modern evangelicals by and large are an emasculated group of Nancies who make mountains out of molehills. We aren't like our scriptural forefathers who were hardy and rowdy, tough followers of a rugged God. We are wussies pastored by wussies who grumble and complain when something pinches our flesh. This is a problem because demons love warfare, the flesh is incorrigible, and God's demands are high and holy-and we love Pepsi. To get through hell the first thing the believer has got to do is shut up, suck it up and grow a pair.

3. It's About Character, Stupid.

People have said over the years that there are two things you never want to see made, and that would be laws and sausage. I'd like to add a third to that list, namely Christians. Watching God process a believer from a dweeb to dynamite is about as fun as watching Blagojevich blow dry his hair. God's not in the least bit interested in your carnal comfort but in His crafted character reflected in your life. Y'know . . . who you are at your core, who you are when no one sees, the habits of your heart, all that stuff that gets avoided by the modern feel good pulpits nowadays. Being originally from West Texas and growing up around a lot of cows and crops, I learned at an early age that cow crap helps make plants grow. God allowing the poop to hit the fan in our lives is the only way to produce the fruit He likes.

4. Don't Blame God if You Brought This On.

I created most of the hell in my life that I have had to go through. I'd love to blame others-even God-but if I have to be honest, I spawned most of the monsters that I have had to deal with. Yep, my rebellious nature, my past hatred for God and His ways, and my innate stupidity has blown through the checks and balances of the Word of God, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and the communion of the saints and has landed me facedown in the mud. There is no way I can fault God or the devil for 99.9% of the stuff that has happened in my life. What about you?

5. Solomon Says, "Relax."

Solomon states in the book of Ecclesiastes that one of the keys to surviving the brutalities of life is to relax . . . chill . . . drink some wine . . . and have a good laugh. When one begins to go through the meat grinder of life, the first thing to vanish is joy. Joy is serious business because according to God, without it we're oh so lame. You and I won't be able to stand against difficulties without getting happy in God. Yep, without the gravity-defying virtue of joy cranking through our spirits we won't be able to pray the fuzz off a peach. Fickle and vapid Christians disobey the command to rejoice in all things, and God means all things-this entails all non-yippee stuff. Consequently, they don't transcend their transient trials, and God has no other recourse but to send them around the mountain again until they learn the power of laughing their butt off in the face of adversity.

6. The "Gift" of Hell.

Y'know, I hate to bring the Bible into this, but according to the book of James, the Christian is commanded to view trials as a gift. A gift? Please. Go sell crazy somewhere else, thus says the narcissistic saint of the new millennium. The postmodern, puny dwarf Christians only regard as gifts that which further augments their immediate wants and needs. To have something come into their life that would rock their self love boat is seen not as a gift but as a curse. However, according to God, that which is meant for evil can be turned into good if you realize that this little pain in the butt has come into your life to test your faith, purge your heart and reveal God's mighty power. Joseph's road to the throne was routed through prison, twice. He didn't whine, cry, or become a Buddhist but rather embraced the gift of going through hell and subsequently was eventually exalted. How are you doing?

7. Once You've Made it Through "Hell", Don't Become a Jerk.

God exhorted Israel to remember that they used to be slaves in Egypt. It's prudent for the believer and profitable to the church for the person who has weathered storms not to become an insensitive jerk but rather a sensei who shows others how to navigate life's tricky streams. And don't get too comfortable or cocky just because you're currently out of this storm because the NOAA weather system says another tropical storm is brewing out in the gulf, if you know what I mean . . .

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Merry Christmas, from the BlackTribe!

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/25/2008

Merry Christmas from the BlackTribe! As we wake this Christmas morning and sit around with our family's – remember – life goes so fast... I think the Lord calls it a "Whisper" in proverbs. Enjoy every moment you can.

We so appreciate every one of you that read our blogs, comment and bring life to our journey – thank you again for being a part of our family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Gary, Lisa, Tyler, Alexis, Emily, Michael, Caleb and Noah

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Interview for the World Race

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/16/2008

Here is an interview Jeff Goins did with us to share with World Race parents and supporters:

1. Gary and Lisa, your love for family and community is evident; can you share a little bit about where you came from and the family environments in which you grew up?

I was raised in a very Godly home, way too religious! Performance, trying to please, never good enough; that was the picture I had of God, from my father; an angry guy that I could never please... it took some years, but my dad and I are best friends, he is my hero! But, growing up I knew God as the King and Judge, but not the Lover; when I first experienced the lover side of God, it changed my life radically!

2. How did God bring two passionate people like you together? Can you briefly tell about how you met?

Lisa had been a widow for 5 years; her first husband died tragically and left her and her two small daughters alone. I had an international youth ministry called Rock The Nations – we were just changing it into "The Call" – my first wife had major mental and physical issues. We were hit by a car driving to Church and she received head injuries and that was it. She left me and our three boys. Lisa was a counselor at the pregnancy center here in CO Springs; some of my interns from RTN were serving her in that ministry and we met. Come to find out that one of my friends was close to Lisa and set us up on a date, so God had a plan. Lisa explains; "When I first met Gary I thought; that would be the perfect guy for me, we both love the next generation, we both love the nations, to bad"! Been married 8 years this Nov with our six kids!!

3. You both have been married before and have children from other marriages. Without going into too much back-story or bringing up too many painful memories, how has the unique structure of your family shaped your ministry and calling?

It is everything! Jesus had a step-father and most of this generation is fatherless or has father/mother wounds that they just haven't dealt with... God gave us our own wounded to know how to heal a generation!

4. Who are you guys, really? Besides being a married couple that is passionate about orphans, missions, and the kingdom of God - what makes you tick?

We love life and we really do live "Fully Alive" not that we don't have our struggles and fights, but we really enjoy each other and we really love this generation. Life is simple, we work hard and we play hard! Our kids know they have us and we love them unconditionally, but they also know we are their parents before we are their friends... family, discipleship, preaching, Jesus.

5. What is your dream?

Disciple a core of Eph 4 young people, travel around the world releasing a generation, serving orphans/widows, establishing the Garden of Eden, (making the barren places, look like the Garden) all over the earth – having my family do it with me. Oh, I am living it!!

6. Why are you coaching the next squad of World Racers? What do you hope to give and what do you expect to receive?

We really can't imagine doing anything else... we learn so much from them and we may have a little of life to give! My greatest thrill is when I see a young person "Switch on"! When they finally get that the are loved beyond anything the can or can't do and that they get all of the Kingdom! When that revelation of the Father comes – I am rewarded beyond what you can imagine!! We get to take back more of the Kingdom...

7. You took your whole family to Africa last year, spending your time in Swaziland, caring for widows and orphans. What was that like? What did you learn about the kingdom and how you will apply that to what lies ahead?

It really did change everything for us as a family; the world looks a whole lot different. Our kids don't need all the "Stuff" that most American kids think they need and Lisa and I parent much differently... At about the 5^th month of living in Africa – we all hit a wall. It was hot, lonely; it seemed nobody cared that we were living where we lived. 3 and 4 year old baby girls were being raped everyday about a mile from our house. The kids had NO friends, you couldn't go out after dark, it was hard. Each of the kids came to us in tears. "We want to go home, it is too hard to live here", we felt there pain; the Lord had us tell each child to go find Him. "We can't fix your pain. Pain is the greatest teacher; if we fly out of here and fix it, we won't learn what God is trying to show us as a family"!

Every one of our kids found why God had called them to Africa. They dug deep, sought the Lord and he revealed why He had them in Swaziland. The stories and life change is amazing... (All blogged)

8. What advice do you have for the World Racers before they launch out for a year of ministry and self-discovery?

Press in now; the way you come in, is the way you will leave – if you're not doing it now, you won't do it when you're out there some where! The Kingdom of God is now, and it's where ever you are, right now, at this moment – are you bringing "Life" to everyone around you? The kingdom of God is not about right and wrong, it's about life and death – this trip around the world will awaken you to REAL life, take you out of the American fog, but the measure you come, is the measure you will receive...

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For a generation...

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/12/2008

From Seth Barnes Blog:

I'm here in CO Springs. Ali Page's wonderful mom Tammy got me an unbelievable deal to stay in the Broadmoor Hotel. What a treat.

While here, Andrew, Gary, Tom and I met and talked and prayed over how our covenant with one another is doing and how we're going to raise up a generation of radical young Jesus-followers. Later, we hung out with a few of those radical guys, my son, Seth, Andrew Maas, and Kyle Crimi.

Gary's dad, Dwayne, and I also met to discuss his company, Horizon. He has such amazing prospects that, if only half of them are realized, the book about his business career is sure to be a bestseller.

The main thing I have to report is that covenants are hard work. Three years ago, somewhat impetuously, sensing something we couldn't understand, but that we knew we could only discover together, we made a promise to one another. We drank a toast and said we'd always be there for one another and that together we'd seek the dream of a generation that would bring hope to a dark world.

We had no clue about what lay before us. We didn't really give much thought to the fact that we'd be dragging our wives and children along with us into this mysterious thing called covenant. We didn't really consider how hard it would be to do it living in four different states. And we didn't understand how our own brokenness would get in the way.

We've sacrificed a lot of time and expended a lot of effort to dive into one another's lives. We've all wanted to give up. Often our wives think we're crazy. This thing is so counter-culture. We have no good points of reference other than the Bible.

And yet, we choose to believe. We know that there is magic in it. We know that just the example makes an important statement to those following us. How can we preach community and covenantal commitment if we don't live it? So we press in. And along the way, we're finding that it's one of the greatest gifts God has ever given any of us.

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Update on Nsoko and a thanks from pastor Gift

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/10/2008

The clinic walls are all up, there are 6 rooms in the building. 4 exam rooms, a reception center, 2 rooms dedicated to the live-in nurse, and 2 bathrooms. The clinic should be open by the end of Jan and ready for the vision trip coming in. Here are some photos (taken on 12/8/08).

The community center is finished and functioning, the church has been using it every Sunday since March 2008, and they have hosted several workshops and community meetings.
The church had their end of year celebration this past Sunday. Every month, on the first Sunday of the month the church provides a meal to the parishioners.

We have built a house on site for Pastor Gift and his family and they are now living in it, though they do not have electricity yet. They are able to minister to the children and community from close proximity.

Fencing - The fencing that is around the property only encloses the Pastor's house, the Center, and the Clinic. There is still a need to fence in the fields for farming.

We are currently helping more than 30 HIV positive men and women and a few children with accessing their Retro Viral Therapy and food. This is going to be the basis of the Home-Based Care wing of the project.

Future Plans:

· Leadership School will fully function in 2009

· Agricultural project for sustainability

· Orphan houses

Prayer Requests and Praises:

· Baby is going in for surgery on the 11th of this month to have her tonsils taken out.

· Philile was sick and not doing well for a while but now she is stable again, Praise the Lord!! She and her family are living in their new home, but it still needs to be painted.

On behalf of Pastor Gift, he would like to extend his thanks to all of you, thanks for assisting us throughout the year!!

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Thank you from Pastor Walter in Swaziland

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/9/2008

From Jumbo

First of all. I just want to thank every one for their prayers and donations towards Walter and his family. I had the privilege to give him the money for the cow and a new cell phone today. Also we already secured his house with a new, strong burglar bars and a new safety gate.

Here is Walter's letter to each one of you that prayed for his family and also to each one of you that gave so unselfishly so that his church can have their Christmas Party.

Thanks again!!

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Helping Pastor Walter

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/8/2008

From Jumbo and Saturday's Blog:

Pastor Walter is a faithful child of God and that is why I think there was so many people out there responding on our blog of Saturday. Many of you requested to let you know how to help. So here we go.

First of all thanks for wanting to help Past Walter. I think there is 3 ways that we can help him.

1. We need to try and replace the money that was stolen. $500 - $540 - he was going to use this to buy a cow for a Christmas celebration with his new church plant.
2. We can secure his house - I think this will cost roughly $300 - $350. This will get him good burglar bars and a new door that locks.
3. His cell phone was also stolen - It would be great if we can replace that. I think a good one will be around $100.

Thanks again for wanting to help.

Here is the ways to help.

If you want to make an online donation, you can click on Support Me! (on the left of this page). There will be a block where you put in the name of the staff member you want to give the gift to; my name is in there currently. Please delete my name and type in Swazi Base Fund. Please forward your receipt to us at jumbo@adventures.org.

You can mail a check to AIM. Make the check out to AIM and just add a sticky note saying that it is for the Swazi Base Fund. Please shoot us an email at jumbo@adventures.org telling us about this after you've dropped the check in the mail.

AIM's new mailing address for donations:

Adventures In Missions, Inc.

P.O. Box 534470

Atlanta, GA 30353-4470

Hope to hear from everyone that wants to help. Thanks again and I will let Walter know that you want to help him.

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Be a Saint

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/7/2008

From Seth Barnes Blog; drinking a cup now...

I love what some Christians are doing to minister to widows and orphans through imaginative ways. Take Product(RED), for example: Bono saw the consumerist tendencies of Americans and, instead of beating them over the head with statistics, utilized corporate revenue to bring life-saving drugs to AIDS victims in Africa.

Or, take my friend Tom Davis, who helped start Saint's Coffee, which promises that for every pound of coffee you buy, an orphan is fed for an entire month. I see more and more of these types of businesses springing up these days. It is a creative way for the ministry-minded and business-minded to get together and collaborate in ways that advance the kingdom of God. For more on Saint's Coffee, check out the following:

It's that time of year when our minds turn toward giving gifts to those we love.

This year Saint's Coffee is offering several special coffee blends and Christmas packages for the holiday season.

This reasonably priced, fair trade and organic coffee is among the top 3 percent of all coffee in the world. And when you drink it... you are helping more than yourself.

Saints Coffee has faithfully donated 1/3 of it's net profits back to Children's HopeChest to help feed children in Swaziland.

Order a bag or box today for the coffee lovers in your life!

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Wake up call

Posted in General Articles by Gary Black on 12/6/2008

Just received this from Jumbo, our man on the ground in Swazi... this is unacceptable and we must do something! More prayer, more giving, more of us... living there taught me a lot of things; the most important - we are all family and we all need each other.

Today was our last carepoint Christmas party and it went really well, but this blog is not about the party. We will do one on Monday. But early this morning I went to Pastor Walter's house to pick up him and his wife so that they can be part of the last party. The news that awaited me there wasn't so good. At 4 am this morning men broke into their house, told Pastor Walter to keep quiet, otherwise they will shoot him; then they asked for the money of the bags / purses the ladies are making and the money the ‘white people' are giving them. Of course Pastor Walter didn't have any of these, but he was saving money to buy a cow for his church to celebrate Christmas. This was about R5000 or US $500 and the thugs got away with it. After they took the money they told Pastor Walter that they will be back and they left.

Walter is of course upset, because he feels like he is trying to help the community and this just happened to him and he is also afraid for the safety of his family. (Luckily the children are unharmed and they slept through everything.)

By being one of our main ministry partners and by stepping up in the community to make a difference, Pastor Walter has become a target for things like this. Why? Because there is a misconception that he is receiving a lot of money from us or ‘the white people'.

Please pray with us against this way of thinking and lies, that something like this will not happen again, and for the protection of his family.

We are definitely going to help him make his house more secure. We do not want a repeat of this and we want his family to be safe!

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