Call for Prayer

Pray for my dad this week. He's somewhere in the middle east (I can't disclose exactly where) preaching the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray that hearts would be open and receptive to gospel, that the Holy Spirit would begin to soften hearts and that dad will have many great conversations with these dear people who need to hear the truth about Jesus.

Enoch Mag

My friend Carter and some friends of his out on the West Coast started an indie webzine a few years back called Enoch Magazine. These guys are totally in love with Jesus and are reaching the down and out of Skid Row, L.A. as well as all over the world. Enoch is a platform where they document and describe the things they've seen God do. They also allow little-known writers like me to have a go at publishing some articles. Carter just put up my latest article on church competition that he called Church vs. Church. Check it out here and go ahead and bookmark Enoch on your browser. They could use your prayers and support.

Uganda '09 Here We Go

Heading off to Uganda this afternoon. I'll catch up with the rest of the team in D.C. tonight and then we'll be on our way. Pray for us. Pray for my family. Pray that the Lord will give us a harvest of souls and that these young village churches will raise up an army for the kingdom of God. Why should the devil have all the armies? Why should he be allowed to take young children in the North and turn them into indoctrinated, blood-thirsty soldiers and completely rob them of their childhood? Pray that the domain of darkness that controls Uganda and Sudan and neighboring countries will be utterly broken and that the light of Christ will radically transform East Africa.

Check back here often for updates. Even if I can't post on the field, I'll try to have Tasha making some updates for me.

2.9.09

It was good to be back at Ridge Church yesterday and to be a part of their second official baptism service. It was awesome. One of the young men who was baptized was just recently saved at Ridge Church, both he and his 60-year-old dad. Tragically, the dad passed away about three months ago, but not before Pastor Chris Brown had the privilege of leading him to the Lord in his hospital bed. That's just one small story among hundreds that describes the work God is doing in Charlotte through Ridge Church and the many churches and ministries which we are blessed to partner with. It's a blessing to be a part of it.

We played:
1. Salvation Rising (Via)
2. Divine Romance (Wickham)
3. Your Grace is Enough (Tomlin)
4. Dear Money (Josh Wilson)

Covenant Eyes is Awesome!

I'm excited to announce that our ministry has just been approved as an affiliate of Covenant Eyes. Covenant Eyes is an internet accountability program that provides help and support for men, women and families desiring to steer clear of the filth and garbage that plagues the internet. Covenant Eyes is perfect for churches, families or individuals. I signed myself up and all of my brothers about a year ago so that we could hold each other accountable. Every week we each get a summary e-mail from CE detailing where each of us have been on the internet, with the questionable sites scoring high on the scale. It's a pretty awesome deal, it's relatively cheap, and it has saved each of us a lot of heartache from the dangers of internet porn.

If you, your family, your church or ministry are interested, you can get a free 30-day trial here using our promo code, "joshandtasha". I know, I know. It sounds like I'm a salesman. Well, I kinda am. The truth is, that if you sign up with our promo code, it actually helps support our ministry as well--it will help us continue writing and recording worship music, taking short-term mission trips to countries such as Uganda, and much more. I'm shameless. So, think about it. I highly recommend it. And really, you can't afford not to have accountability. Your wife (or future wife) and kids (or future kids) will love you for it!

Students Crave Spiritual Disciplines

Monday night we rolled back into town after an exhausting yet totally rewarding weekend at Camp Bethel in Fincastle, VA leading worship for the student ministries of Rainbow Forest Baptist Church and Calvary Baptist Church. The event was pitched to the students as a "prayer retreat." And though the typical student would steer clear of such an event, these students came out by the droves expecting God to move and to do something big in their lives. It was an exciting weekend.


Pastors Jay Richards and Clif Williams brought the Word to the students in a powerful way. Many students made commitments to begin each day with prayer and Bible study--to give God the firstfruits of their day rather than trodding through an entire day of school or work and waiting until the very end of the day to have fellowship with the Lord. It was cool to see so many of the students commit to establish this spiritual discipline in their lives in a way that was sincere--not out of a sense of obligation or duty, but out of a heart overflowing with love for the Lord.

Tasha and I always feel like we receive the biggest blessing from these kinds of events. And once again, we weren't disappointed. We were grateful for the opportunity.

Here are a few of the songs that seemed to connect well with the students:

What It's About

I've got to give a shout-out to my good friend Scott Spruill and Crosspoint Church in south Charlotte. Scott is the worship pastor at Crosspoint and has become a dear friend. He played keys on our latest record and did a phenomenal job. He's been pushing our CD like crazy to his church community there in the Balantyne area and he informed me the other day of what their church was able to accomplish through CD sales*. Just through CD sales alone they raised enough money to feed 5 needy families during the Thanksgiving holiday! And that doesn't include all of the other insane outreach their church is doing to reach the down and out. Scott, thanks so much for your heart for the Lord and for the fringe of society! That's why our ministry exists. I'm blessed to partner with you.

*When you purchase Josh & Tasha's merch, just know that none of it goes into our pockets. It all goes back into ministry efforts to reach the lost and to bless Christ's bride. And a large part of it goes directly overseas to help plant churches, provide for widows and orphans and to train local pastors in Uganda, Africa through our partnership with Arise Africa International. Thanks.

Sudan: Blanket and a Bible

As a Christ-follower wanting to be a part of local and foreign mission efforts but sometimes not quite sure what to do, I sometimes feel stuck. Stuck because there are so many valid ministries out there that are doing great things for the kingdom of God and not knowing which ones I should partner with. So I wanted to share one such opportunity that our family has decided to invest in, especially during this Christmas season. It's a very simple opportunity, but one that is making a tremendous difference. It's an effort called "Sudan: Blanket and a Bible" by The Voice of the Martyrs. If you're not familiar with this ministry, you need to set aside some time to spend on their website, persecution.com. It will rock your world. VOM is committed to the suffering, persecuted church all across the globe--not only through making others aware of the need, but also through practical efforts to help the persecuted church as well as innovative ways to get the gospel into closed countries.

Here's a little excerpt from the flyer I received in the mail recently that will help you understand what Sudan: Blanket and a Bible is all about.

"Sudanese Christians have faced horrific persecutions at the hands of a radical Islamic regime. An estimated two million Sudanese have been killed during two decades of civil war, including many Christians. A glimmer of hope exists with the peace accords, and we can help our Sudanese brothers and sisters rebuild their lives and Christian witness. Sudanese Christians live a simple lifestyle, owning few or no material possessions. However, some items are essential to their survival. One blanket can make a difference.

Now with VOM's Sudan: Blanket and a Bible ministry outreach, everyone can have a part. Along with each blanket sent, VOM will provide a copy of He Lived Among Us, an illustrated Bible storybook. This program sends a strong message to our Sudanese family that they are not forgotten, and we stand with them in rebuilding their communities with the love of Christ."

So here's all you do:
1. Collect good quality, new or used blanket(s).

2. Add $2 per blanket for handling, shipping into Sudan.

3. VOM will add a He Lived Among Us illustrated Bible storybook.

4. Send blankets and collected funds to:
"Sudan: Blanket and a Bible"
The Voice of the Martyrs
510 W Adeline
Bartlesville, OK 74003

If you and your family have been looking for a mission effort to give to this Christmas season, I definitely recommend this one.

The Deaf Need the Gospel

This morning a deaf missionary named Steve James shared about his recent experience battling leukemia. Steve serves among the deaf population in Hungary, and was diagnosed about 3 years ago with the disease. Steve had to come off the mission field for treatment in the states, and was determined to get back on the field. After months of blood transfusions and finally a stem cell transplant, the Lord has fully restored Steve and he's now 3 days back onto the field with his wife serving again in the country they love among the deaf population who also desperately need to hear, or rather see, the Gospel. Thanks, Steve, for being so faithful to the calling of God on your life.

Basketball and Blood Clots

When I was in seminary, I had several classes with a guy named Steve Brown. Steve was one of the many guys that I would see almost everyday, but just never really interacted with--probably due to laziness on my part, but definitely not due to a lack of coolness on his. Steve's a sharp guy. Witty and hilarious. Loves his family. And definitely loves Jesus.

When we arrived here in Hungary on Friday night, I immediately recognized him. We talked and caught up and I soon discovered that he is ministering and church planting in the Czech Republic. Steve and his wife, April, have 3 kids (soon to have four through a Czech adoption) and have been serving Christ among the Czech people for about 4 years now. Steve shared a little bit of his story yesterday.

A year ago, he blew out his knee playing basketball. They immediately left town to seek better treatment. During surgery, a blood clot developed and moved to his lung. The doctors were not hopeful. In fact, they put Steve on blood thinners to ease their conscience and told him to prepare his will. Before going to bed that night, Steve and April had the most difficult conversation of their marriage--about organ doaning, arrangements for their family, and all the rest. He told me it was one of the toughest nights he had ever had, not knowing if he would wake up the next morning. But he did. And he and April were convinced that God was not through with him.

Upon leaving for the hospital, he told his Czech people that he would return on such-and-such a date to continue ministering. About 6 months later, after three excruciating surgeries and weeks of rehabilitation, Steve and April returned to their city and to their people on the very day that they said they would, attesting to the amazing mercy and kindness of their all-powerful God. Steve and April haven't looked back. Almost a year since the accident, they are more resolved than ever to continue the work God has for them in the Czech Republic as they truly give of their lives in service to Christ and for the sake of the Gospel.

Leaving the Delta Dream Behind

I've been a slacker since we arrived here in Hungary. We do have an internet connection, albeit slow at times. I simply have not pulled away to write. Tasha is doing much better about writing on her blog. Nonetheless, here we go:

It's been an amazing trip so far here in Budapest, Hungary. We're actually about an hour and a half outside of the city (not sure exactly where), at a little place called Villapark. We're here with missionaries who are scattered abroad all over Eastern Europe with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. This is one week out of the year they all really look forward to, to come together, have fellowship, give testimonies of what God is doing in their respective cities, to sit under some biblical training and teaching (by my good friend, Jeff Long) and to worship together in English, which they never get to do--a small commodity I take for granted back home.

We met one couple, Wes and Tamara Banks, who gave up a comfortable lifestyle in Atlanta, Georgia to come to the mission field of Eastern Europe to interface with the gypsies of southern Romania. Wes left his job with Delta after 16 years of climbing the ladder, and gave it all up for the cause of Christ, to answer God's calling on their lives. They have 2 little boys, Wesley and Colter (8 and 6), whom they are seeking to raise in the admonition of the Lord, and with the understanding that the American Dream is just that--nothing more than a dream--fleeting--a chasing after the wind that only leaves you more empty than when you first began the chase.

The gypsy culture that Wes and Tamara are working in is unique, to say the least. Gypsies have a culture within a culture. They are drifters--roamers. They have their own hodge-podge of religious belief borrowed from numerous currents of religious thought mixed together with superstition and family tradition. But nonetheless in need of the light of the Gospel. They are loyal and committed to their family traditions, whether it be circus bear trainers, musicians, metal workers ... whatever. They stay true to their traditions. The Light of the Gospel is the only hope for gypsies. Pray for Wes and Tamara as they seek to find in-roads for the Gospel.

I'm doing a study of 1 John while I'm here in Hungary. Here's some things the Lord has shown me so far.

Chapter 1

1. THE REASON - v. 4 - "...that our joy may be complete..." - The world is looking for sincere joy - not fabricated.

2. THE MESSAGE - v. 5 -

A) God is Light

B) There is no Darkness in Him

Cross-Reference - Ps. 119:105 - "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

3. THE WARNING - vv. 6, 8, 10 - "If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we are lying ... If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves ... we make Him a liar."

I would never make these claims verbally, but I think sometimes I speak them with my lifestyle. My actions take the place of my mouth. Actions become words.

4. THE REWARD - vv. 7, 9 -

A) Fellowship - (koinonia) - this is not coffee and doughnuts fellowship - this is genuine fellowship. Fellowship that holds each other accountable. Walking in the light means exposing the truth to one another in love. It means sin confrontation, weeping with each other, etc. It involves holding the blacklight of the Word of God over our lives and exposing the nasty sin that is hidden.

B) Cleansing/Forgiveness - means genuine change - Isaiah 1:18 - "though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." Ps. 103:12 - "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Back from Korea

Many of you are wondering if I ever successfully made it back from Korea. Rest at ease. I'm back. Jet lag has never really been an issue for me until now. I guess I'm getting old. I've been dizzy all week, falling asleep at the dinner table, hallucinating while rolling on the floor with my kids. Pretty amazing. But the best part of all about Jet lag is the 3 am wake-up calls from your internal alarm clock. So, during those brief moments between sleep and slumber and dusk and dawn, I roll out of bed, make my way to the kitchen to devour an entire box of Nilla Wafers and down a jug of orange juice. Sure beats Kim Chee and jellyfish salad! Thanks for stocking up, Tasha!

You can read on my last post about how the mission trip ended up. But here's a quick summary: We experienced a real moving of God in the churches where we served. The relational nature of Koreans stretched me out of my comfort zone as we made countless home visits to people who were desperate to receive the love of Christ. One of the things that really overwhelmed and amazed me was the ripe condition of the Korean people, as a whole, to the Gospel message. In a country whose technological advancements make the U.S. look like the stone-age, the hearts of the people are not altogether hard and indifferent toward the message of Jesus like Americans. Koreans are searching for the truth. And they're willing to hear you out as you explain the simple message of the cross. It's a harvest field that is ripe. Praise God for that. Maybe one day, America will once again experience this type of openness to the Gospel.

Costly Worship

We just finished up Day 4 of our week and a half of ministry here in Korea. During the day we've been visiting people in their homes and businesses - friends of church members. These people are serious about doing whatever it takes to get their friends to Jesus. Their faith is amazing. In the past 2 days we've seen many come to Christ on their living room couch including several Buddhists. I've been focusing on the university and high school students near and around the local schools and the Lord has really blessed. We've seen many students open their hearts to Jesus.

Each night we head back to Daejeon Church, our host church, for services. This is a clip from the worship tonight with my new friend Hyo Suk (Philip). He's the 27-year old kid I mentioned earlier who spent a year in Bangladesh as a missionary. Yesterday he related to me and dad some of his experiences.

While in Bangladesh, he served alongside a local pastor and director of the evangelistic outreach in their city. Sometime before Philip arrived, the pastor was told by muslim authorities that he must discontinue his evangelistic efforts. After refusing, Philip's pastor-friend was attacked by four muslim men. His jaw was then ripped open with a knife as punishment for preaching the Gospel. When he told us this, we asked Philip if he himself had ever been hurt or threatened while in Bangladesh. Here's what he said.

During his year there, a famous news journalist caught word of his ministry in the city in which he was working. After anonymously attending a service in the church where Philip was serving, the journalist went back to the papers and wrote an article completely defaming Philip's name and creating lies. He claimed that Philip was coercing young muslims into Christianity through gifts and bribes. The authorities soon arrived at Philip's home and told him to stop evangelizing immediately or it would mean disaster. Philip looked at them and said, "Or what? Are you gonna kill me? Go ahead and bring the knife then!!" Amazing! Philip told us he is ready to go back to Bangladesh long term.

Philip is teaching me what it means to really follow Christ when there's a cost involved. So when you see him worshiping the Lord in this video through the musical gift that God has given him, you know that it's from a heart of overwhelming gratitude toward Jesus Christ. It's real. It's sincere. It's costly worship. And that's what I'm still learning.

Sleepless in Seoul

Dad and I finally made it to Seoul, Korea. The flight was a grueling 14 hours, but we made it. I watched more movies than I ever care to watch in any given stretch of time ever again. With the time difference the way it is, we basically missed Friday altogether. It's 7:00 am Friday morning Charlotte time and 8:00 PM Friday night our time and we're about to hit the sack. We're doing good though. We're at the Hilton for the first night and then tomorrow we'll have a breakfast orientation with the rest of the team, receive our assignments and head out from here.

I'm a bit dizzy from the trip and I'm getting frequent waves of nausea from lack of sleep. I can never sleep on airplanes, try as I may. Even with the whole air neck pillow thingy. I gave that up a long time ago. But after tonight, I should be good to go.

How to Pray: Pray for the churches and church leaders we'll be ministering alongside - that God will give them wisdom - that we will be as effective as possible. Pray that the Gospel will penetrate hearts. I found out that Franklin Graham just did a crusade here a couple of weeks ago, so we are praying that there will still be a sensitivity to the Gospel that has carried over from that.

Romania Report

We made it back. We saw the Lord do some pretty incredible things in Romania the past 2 weeks. I can see that Tasha was busy posting everyday keeping you guys updated! Just kidding! (I love you, baby.) She was unbelievably busy with our 2 terrorist children, so I don’t blame her in the least.

The Lord was gracious to allow us to see roughly 600 people come to faith in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord! We worked with a local church in the city of Satu Mare who will be very busy following up with these individuals. We used many different methods of ministry and evangelism – sports events with Crossfire Ministries, street evangelism, school ministry, medical clinics, kids’ clubs, and evening church services.

On the flight home, I was praying and asking the Lord to help me make a list of some of the highlights of the trip that I experienced as well as some of the things He taught me that I want engraved forever in my heart. Here’s a synopsis, though certainly not exhaustive.

Teaching Points:

1. It’s pretty easy to be religious, harder to be a true follower of Christ – Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church are engrained in the Romanian culture. Elaborate church structures with beautiful Gothic architecture pepper the Romanian horizon – beautiful yet heart breaking - heart breaking because both churches teach that salvation is found in the church. Salvation is achieved through the keeping of the sacraments – repentance is unnecessary, even antithetical to their cause. Equally connected to this point is . . .


2. It’s hard to break past the surface of religiosity – for most people, the religious motions associated with Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox church are all they know. Interestingly enough, this sounds a lot like our own country. Bottom line: It’s hard for religious people to see their need for repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. These barriers are tough, but not impossible. I was reminded of the amazing work that the Holy Spirit does to soften hearts. In many cases, we just planted seed and prayed that the Lord would soften their hearts. It’s a tough barrier, and one that Jesus dealt with throughout his entire earthly ministry. But if the devil has been dragging religious people to Hell for centuries, why would he need a new tactic?

3. People just want to know that you care about them as individuals and that they are not just a notch on your religious belt – this should be a no-brainer, but we must always see people through the lens of the cross – that they are individuals made in the image of God for whom Christ died and loves. These are real people with names, families, dreams, ideas and, lest we forget, sin that separates and condemns. These are people in need of hope – in need of a Savior. And they need to know you genuinely care about them.

4. The Holy Spirit gifts his children all uniquely and differently not only to function uniquely in the body of Christ, but also to reach the unique and the different in this lost world.

5. I was reminded of the simple power and effectiveness of a gospel tract – our team canvassed the whole city of Satu Mare with tracts (on car windshields, in phone booths and into the hands of pedestrians). One event that I’ll never forget happened on our last day of ministry as dad and I were walking back to our hotel passing out the last few tracts that we had left. We handed one to a young man a block away from our hotel and told him “God bless you” and moved on. But he wouldn’t let us. He turned around, approached us and began talking to us in broken English. He told us his name was Thomas and that he was surprised to see some Americans in his city. We told him that we were there for the one purpose of sharing the love of Christ and the forgiveness of sins through his blood. After about a half hour conversation, the Lord opened Thomas’ heart to the message of the Gospel and he opened his heart to Jesus Christ right there on the street. It all started with a tract.

The folks at The American Tract Society said this: “A tract can travel farther, last longer, say it more effectively and cost less than any other form of evangelism.”

6. Finally, the doors that may seem closed by human standards can easily be opened by the Lord - On our second day of ministry, Dad and I decided that we could be most effective if we could get into one of the public schools to do some ministry, which we have done in many other countries. We asked the pastor of the church we were working with what he thought about the idea and he said that he didn't think it could be done. The headmaster would never allow it. But, we thought, “What do we have to lose?” So, we talked to our interpreter, Leo, and asked him to take us to his high school from which he graduated 3 years ago. He took us. And we were warmly welcomed by the headmaster and faculty. We told them what our intentions were, that we wanted to share some greetings from America and that I wanted to sing and play some American songs. Instantly, the Lord opened the door. The headmaster loved the idea. So, off we went, singing about Christ and preaching the gospel in the classrooms of one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. Amazing!

But that’s not all. The headmaster invited us back the next day for an award ceremony. We arrived early and they gave me the opportunity to sing a few songs during the ceremony. So, I sang and lifted up the Lord and gave testimony to his goodness and mercy and forgiveness. It was a closed door, but not for God.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for us. And thanks especially for your prayers for the lost who were brought into the Kingdom of God. Pray that they will bear fruit that remains.

Arise and Build

It’s hard to know how to begin a blog post sometimes. I feel like I’m always pulling out the “Wow, what an amazing weekend” approach. So, let me try again.

Wow, what an amazing weekend! On Friday, Tasha and I celebrated our 5th year of marriage. We stayed a night in Cary, NC at the Umstead Hotel and Spa. I highly recommend it. It was sweet. The kids were not with us. We dropped them off with our former pastor and good friends, Tim and Debbie Burgess in Henderson, NC. Awesome people.

Tasha and I had an incredible time together. That’s all you need to know.

Then, on Sunday we lead worship for New Sandy Creek Baptist Church, our home church in Henderson, both Sunday morning and evening.

NSC is beginning a new building program called “Arise and Build” as they will be constructing a new family life center. The educational and kids’ areas are all out of space – a good problem to have. So, Sunday night was a night of praise and worship at Vance Granville Community College to give praise to the Lord and thank Him for the incredible generosity of His people to give toward this new project.

I wish I could disclose the figure that was pledged by less than 50 families in a rural farming town – it would blow your mind. The Lord is definitely at work at NSC and Tasha and I were proud to be back there to celebrate that day with them.

Tasha and I were just a small part of the program that night, but it was a privilege for us just to be involved at all. Leading with us were my good friends Robbie Watson on guitar and Tim Norton on djembe. Thank you guys for helping to make it an unforgettable evening for everyone. I love you guys.

Here’s what was on our playlist both morning and evening:

-I’ll Fly Away
-All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name
-Breathe
-Here I am to Worship

-Days of Elijah
-Come Thou Fount
-All in All