CHINA MISSION 2005: “A Great Wall” Part II

(Note: Except for the Hope for China team, some of the names and locations have been changed to protect the innocent.)

“Are there many house churches out here and how is the government?” I asked Ann, an orphanage worker.

“Yes, many house churches,” she replied, “but the government leaves us alone unless there is a contest. The [Public Security Bureau] knows where all the house churches are, so if someone wants to be a champion, they go get them.” She paused. “We pray for no contests…”

E-vangie Tales #68 “Gang Fight”

You don’t see this everyday driving in your car: four teenagers kicking and punching one lone kid as he lies helpless on the side of the road. Without thinking, I hung a right hand turn from the far left lane into the heat of the action…

I was ready to jump in –though I’m not a fighter and I would probably have gotten my butt whupped– still,

E-vangie Tales #67 “Pearls and Pork”

Hard-headed, hard-hearted – that’s how they grow them in Ventura. I wanted to shake the dust off my feet and call down fire from heaven. Or worse still, just plain give up. But I couldn’t. I was on a mission…

While at a Foursquare leadership conference and full of the Holy Spirit and power, I knew that God would knock ’em dead for His kingdom. People would clamor to be saved when confronted with the Law of God, the coming judgment and the eternal reality of hell. Why then did the checker at Vons want to argue with me?

E-vangie Tales #66 “Stiffneck by the Sea”

The nerve! This guy claimed to be without sin, but was a big, fat liar…

I walked along the Redondo Beach pier with my daughters and we stopped at the Corndog on a Stick stand to give the owner a million bucks and ask about his eternal destiny. He answered that he’d go to heaven because he was a good person.

“So God will let you in?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said as he wiped down a counter distractedly.

“What do you think the Bible says?” I continued.

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t believe the Bible; it was written by men. In fact, I think that people who talk about the Bible are not good people. That book is just a bunch of opinions.”