After Solzhenitsyn was stripped of his Soviet citizenship in the seventies, he wrote a parting letter, “Live Not by Lies”, to the intelligentsia admonishing them not to participate in or support a lie. He wrote, “In our country, the daily lie is not the whim of corrupt nature, but a mode of existence, a condition…
Category: Mission
How do We Overcome Weariness?
I’ve been thinking about weariness and its cure. I enjoy thriving (who doesn’t?), yet I am continually compelled to pioneer in dark places. When Christine Caine spoke at the Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis and the Christian Response a few days ago, she said, “We run TO the darkness. We should be God’s search…
What if We Invited Jesus to Dine with Us?
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) When I was a child, I thought fear was a monster. Now I know it’s a paper tiger. Fear of what could happen coupled…
The Joys & Challenges of Trailblazing (Planting Churches)
As we prayed for the men and women who are preparing to plant churches in North America at the end of Every Nation’s Boot Camp for church planters in Nashville, I was moved by their vision and desire to go to new cities to preach the Gospel, make disciples, and start new churches. Each has…
If My Worlds Could Converge
I have moved five times internationally. Three moves were planned and two were sudden. And yes, there’s a huge difference between the types of moves. During one move, I felt like I had stepped out of a black and white indie film into a Disney movie. Throughout the span of our lives as missionaries, I have…
Trafficking and Social Justice: A Voice for the Voiceless
She stood on the train platform away from the crowd, frozen in her tracks, disheveled, with a vacant stare that grew fearful as he approached. She clinched her hands by her side. She held no belongings to offer a semblance of security. “Where are you going?” he asked her. “What is your name?” Through broken…
Speak, “Friend”, and Enter
In Lviv, Ukraine, I was often moved by the varied, profound stories of the people who showed up in our church meetings. Over a span of time, we welcomed prostitutes, a monk, African exchange students, soldiers, gypsies, mafia members, opera singers, and a woman who survived the siege of Stalingrad and imprisonment during Soviet times….
What’s on Your “Not-to-Do” List?
Have you ever felt overwhelmed when a well-meaning person offered advice that adds to your already busy, stressful life? – start an exercise regime, start a blog, read a book, upgrade your strategy, invest more time in your important relationships. You want to do it, but you don’t see how you can add one more…
New York City, Microcosm of the World
People often pass by the miraculous unaware. Like royalty in plain clothes, God moves through humanity in mundane settings unaccompanied by the crescendo of a musical score to hint at what is happening. Yet when I’m in New York City, I become more cognizant of the miraculous as if the entire city were a miracle…
Myra Watkins 