This must be devastating to him, his family, his friends, his church staff, his congregation, and the people of Colorado Springs. The news media has had a field day and of course we know everything they say is absolute truth. Sure Ted sinned. His first knee jerk reaction was denial. Duh! Ever since Adam and Eve headed for the bushes in the Garden of Eden we've been in denial. But immediately after that, he owned the sin - at least the part he actually committed. And folks, I'd say that a brother in Christ deserves for us to believe his testimony over an accuser whose "credentials" are less than impeccable. C'mon, now, God set a standard of two or more witnesses! Deuteronomy 17:6 says, "At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness." And Deuteronomy 19:15 says, "A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses." Then Matthew 18:16 follows with, "... at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established." And finally, Paul makes it very clear what our response is to be: 1 Timothy 5:19 - "Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it can be confirmed by two or three witnesses."
There you have it. Ted admits some wrong. And for that, he must face not only human judges, but he must stand before a much higher court - the court of heaven. But for anything beyond what he admits, we the Body of Christ must follow the mandates God established and not accept the accusation of a lone accuser. We need to be in constant prayer for Ted and those closest to him.
Furthermore, does anyone else find it just a bit curious that this accusation comes just days before the state of Colorado votes on the issue of homosexual marriage? For people who might be undecided on the issue, hearing that a well known opponent of the measure has been living in the sin he condemns might just cause them to vote in favor. However, it may just be that the accusation will back fire, and those who didn't care one way or the other will react to the obvious political agenda behind these accusations and voters across Colorado (and other states voting on this issue) will rise up against the measure.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Intentional Spelling Error
I wondered if anyone was actually reading my blog, so I intentionally misspelled Arkansas in the title of my last post. If you buy that, we need to visit about some property I'm trying to sell in New York Harbor. Thanks, Randy, for helping me save face and whatever else might need saving after making that kind of error. Even more interesting is the fact that the "R" and the "N" are nowhere near each other on a keyboard - don't even require the use of the same hand! My sincere apologies to Arkansas - in spite of the fact that I messed up, it really was a great trip.
Ankansas Was Beautiful
Debbie and I just returned from Van Buren, Arkansas and I just have to say that the colors of fall were amazing. I don't think I have ever seen anything like it. I've been in Kentucky in the fall, Colorado and New Mexico in the fall, Missouri in the fall, but nothing prepared me for the absolute beauty of the landscape painted with every shade of yellow, red, and orange imaginable. As we drove along Interstate 540 between Bella Vista and Ft. Smith, I would point to the right and exclaim, "Look at that!" Then Debbie would point to the left at almost the same time and say, "Look there!" We were just silly -- kind of like now! I sound like an ad for the Arkansas Bureau of Tourism or something, but I just had to get the news out that fall in Arkansas can't be overstated.
As for the reason we went - we were equally amazed at the kindness of the Lord in His ministry to the people of Heritage United Methodist Church in Van Buren. On Saturday evening, we had a wonderful time with a group of leaders as they learned how to flow in worship and prayer together. One woman confessed that she had her doubts at first, but as we moved into combining worship with prayer and as she heard the singers actually sing what she had just prayed, a rush of warmth engulfed her. She was hooked.
Then on Sunday, I preached three morning services (same message) related to enjoyable prayer. I showed them that Luke 18:1-8 is a contrast between a wicked judge who doesn't like people, who considers people a bother, and who doesn't care whether people get justice in their lives or not; and God who is just the opposite. He cares infinitely about people. He wants the best for people. He will do whatever is necessary to get justice for people. The whole point of Jesus' story is to challenge the human image of God. People have created a God in the image of the unjust judge and as a result, they really don't want to go to Him in prayer. But if they would learn who God really is -- loving, caring, seeking to get justice for the oppressed -- then prayer would be enjoyable.
That afternoon, Debbie and I worked together to create for the people a model healing prayer experience. We walked them through the kind of experience they might have if they came to the healing prayer rooms at the International House of Prayer. Then we asked if anyone wanted healing prayer. A young woman raised her hand and said she had been plagued by migraine headaches since she was 9 years old. The team of intercessors began to pray for her and in a matter of minutes she said that she felt a warmth begin to build in her head. She said that she felt similar to the way she feels when a migraine is coming on, but then it melted away. The next day, she had not had even a hint of a migraine. We continue to pray for her as she walks out this healing.
Then Sunday evening, I continued the message I began on Sunday morning and walked the church through 4 elements necessary for enjoyable prayer. Perhaps I'll share those over the next few days.
On Monday, I met with a group of area pastors to talk about establishing a house of prayer for the purpose of advancing the prayer movement in the Arkansas River Valley. On Monday evening, I preached again and challenged the people to become discontent with their current definition of "The Presence" of God. I shared with them several passages of what really happens when the presence of God breaks in. Then I shared with them several current experiences of what is happening in places like Fiji and Guatemala when the Presence of God shows up. I told them not to be content until they know that same Presence of God in their midst.
This morning, I preached again at a men's breakfast and challenged them further to learn to seem themselves the way Jesus sees them - to see themselves the way Jesus created them to be.
I'll share more this week, but for now - Arkansas was beautiful in more ways than one!
As for the reason we went - we were equally amazed at the kindness of the Lord in His ministry to the people of Heritage United Methodist Church in Van Buren. On Saturday evening, we had a wonderful time with a group of leaders as they learned how to flow in worship and prayer together. One woman confessed that she had her doubts at first, but as we moved into combining worship with prayer and as she heard the singers actually sing what she had just prayed, a rush of warmth engulfed her. She was hooked.
Then on Sunday, I preached three morning services (same message) related to enjoyable prayer. I showed them that Luke 18:1-8 is a contrast between a wicked judge who doesn't like people, who considers people a bother, and who doesn't care whether people get justice in their lives or not; and God who is just the opposite. He cares infinitely about people. He wants the best for people. He will do whatever is necessary to get justice for people. The whole point of Jesus' story is to challenge the human image of God. People have created a God in the image of the unjust judge and as a result, they really don't want to go to Him in prayer. But if they would learn who God really is -- loving, caring, seeking to get justice for the oppressed -- then prayer would be enjoyable.
That afternoon, Debbie and I worked together to create for the people a model healing prayer experience. We walked them through the kind of experience they might have if they came to the healing prayer rooms at the International House of Prayer. Then we asked if anyone wanted healing prayer. A young woman raised her hand and said she had been plagued by migraine headaches since she was 9 years old. The team of intercessors began to pray for her and in a matter of minutes she said that she felt a warmth begin to build in her head. She said that she felt similar to the way she feels when a migraine is coming on, but then it melted away. The next day, she had not had even a hint of a migraine. We continue to pray for her as she walks out this healing.
Then Sunday evening, I continued the message I began on Sunday morning and walked the church through 4 elements necessary for enjoyable prayer. Perhaps I'll share those over the next few days.
On Monday, I met with a group of area pastors to talk about establishing a house of prayer for the purpose of advancing the prayer movement in the Arkansas River Valley. On Monday evening, I preached again and challenged the people to become discontent with their current definition of "The Presence" of God. I shared with them several passages of what really happens when the presence of God breaks in. Then I shared with them several current experiences of what is happening in places like Fiji and Guatemala when the Presence of God shows up. I told them not to be content until they know that same Presence of God in their midst.
This morning, I preached again at a men's breakfast and challenged them further to learn to seem themselves the way Jesus sees them - to see themselves the way Jesus created them to be.
I'll share more this week, but for now - Arkansas was beautiful in more ways than one!
Van Buren, Arkansas
Debbie and I are off to Van Buren, Arkansas for a few days. I will be leading a "Prayer Encounter" weekend at Heritage United Methodist Church. I'll try to check in periodically just to let you know how things are going.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Fall Has Fell
Last Christmas my kids gave me a tree - not a Christmas Tree, but a sure 'nuff, real live tree. Actually, they gave me a gift card that I could use to purchase a tree of any kind. As soon as it got warm enough to plant, I went to the tree farm and picked out a nice one. It was a five year old maple with a name that I didn't fully appreciate until just the last few days. The name? Autumn Blaze! And boy does it live up to it's name. I've included a picture of it here, but trust me, the picture is not even close! Of course, I quickly took the shot after the sun had gone down, so a flash was required. It's also cold outside and I didn't wear a jacket, so I was trying to move quickly. The flash washed out some of the color, and I didn't want to stand out there shivering to take enough pictures to get just the right color composition. So use your imaginations and perhaps, tomorrow, I'll take more and better pictures to share with you.
Fatigue
It is no accident that the first syllable of fatigue is "fat!" The Forerunner School of Ministry has launched a new "modular schedule" this fall, and it is killing me!
Let me quickly add that I really love it -- it gives the students an opportunity to get into a rhythm - to lead a more focused life - to set a schedule and keep it - to be in class at the same time every day all semester long - to go deep into one subject at a time -- it is really good. HOWEVER, I am teaching a subject that I have never taught before - at least not as an entire course on the subject - and so I am having to scramble to get enough material to present for 3 hours on Monday - go home and pull together enough to present for 3 hours on Tuesday - go home and pull together enough material to present for 3 hours on Wednesday - go home and pull together enough material to present for 3 hours on Thursday. Then on the weekends, I have to pull together enough material to present for Monday's three hour class period PLUS grade any homework or tests the students have turned in. So, my point is, I am fatigued and too tired to exercise - hence "fat!" So, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I feel much better - still fat - still fatigued - but much better. Thanks for listening -- I'll try to do better next time.
Let me quickly add that I really love it -- it gives the students an opportunity to get into a rhythm - to lead a more focused life - to set a schedule and keep it - to be in class at the same time every day all semester long - to go deep into one subject at a time -- it is really good. HOWEVER, I am teaching a subject that I have never taught before - at least not as an entire course on the subject - and so I am having to scramble to get enough material to present for 3 hours on Monday - go home and pull together enough to present for 3 hours on Tuesday - go home and pull together enough material to present for 3 hours on Wednesday - go home and pull together enough material to present for 3 hours on Thursday. Then on the weekends, I have to pull together enough material to present for Monday's three hour class period PLUS grade any homework or tests the students have turned in. So, my point is, I am fatigued and too tired to exercise - hence "fat!" So, now that I've gotten that off my chest, I feel much better - still fat - still fatigued - but much better. Thanks for listening -- I'll try to do better next time.
Great Time of Teaching and Ministry
Yesterday (Sunday) I had a great time with a home group led by Connie Cheung. There was a great spirit in the group and the Lord gave us some real clarity in the area of forgiveness. We looked at hidden anger, forgotten offense, bitterness buried beneath years of denial and came to the conclusion that the vast majority of us have some kind of offense that we simply are not aware of - something we have just become used to. In a physical analogy, there is such a thing as "accommodation." It occurs in the nervous system in such a way that nerves send signals to the brain, and the brain instructs the person to do something to "fix the problem." If the problem is not fixed, then after a while, the brain just ignores the signal. An example of accommodation is the sense of smell. When you walk into a steak restaurant, your sense of smell is suddenly overcome with the wonderful aroma. By the time you've been in the restaurant for a while, you don't notice the ambient smell any longer. It happens with good odors and with foul. For example, if you live next to a garbage dump, eventually you won't notice the odor -- you just get used to it -- or your nervous system "accommodates" the constant input.
I said all that to say that unforgiveness / offense is the same. If we don't deal with offense completely - let it go AND restore the offender to a position of love and respect - then the offense remains and we just get used to it.
Now the point: We said that there is probably no place on earth where the Church has more cause for offense than the underground church of China. Daily, something happens to believers that would cause offense. And yet, there is no place on earth where more signs and wonders are occurring. So the conclusion is that these Chinese believers have learned to forgive and God is willing to release His power to them because He knows they will not misuse it. We, in the West, on the other hand, are experiencing almost no release of power. Could it be that the reason is we are not dealing with offense, we are just getting used to it. Look at our society. Look at our culture. Look at the Church. We live in a society and culture of anger. The Church is the same. Perhaps it's time to get honest -- to wake up and "smell the stench" of unforgiveness and stop making excuses and justifying our anger and offense. Then God would be willing to release His power.
I said all that to say that unforgiveness / offense is the same. If we don't deal with offense completely - let it go AND restore the offender to a position of love and respect - then the offense remains and we just get used to it.
Now the point: We said that there is probably no place on earth where the Church has more cause for offense than the underground church of China. Daily, something happens to believers that would cause offense. And yet, there is no place on earth where more signs and wonders are occurring. So the conclusion is that these Chinese believers have learned to forgive and God is willing to release His power to them because He knows they will not misuse it. We, in the West, on the other hand, are experiencing almost no release of power. Could it be that the reason is we are not dealing with offense, we are just getting used to it. Look at our society. Look at our culture. Look at the Church. We live in a society and culture of anger. The Church is the same. Perhaps it's time to get honest -- to wake up and "smell the stench" of unforgiveness and stop making excuses and justifying our anger and offense. Then God would be willing to release His power.
Glad To Forgive
Duh! As I was recommending the previous book, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not even 
recommended my own book on this little blog space. Although the readership is limited, it's worth a shot. I have visited with so many people over the years about the topic of forgiveness and I have discovered that most people know they are supposed to forgive; and a lot of people think they have forgiven. But the sad reality is that people carry loads of anger, and bitterness that they are completely blind to. In west Texas there is a town that is surrounded by feed lots - that's a fenced in structure where ranchers bring cattle to feed them and fatten them up for market. There are literally thousands of cattle penned up behind those fences, and of course, with cattle comes a very distinct and foul odor. I once asked a person who lived in that town, "How do you stand the smell all the time?" To which they replied, "Oh, you get used to it." The same is true of anger and bitterness. After carrying it for a while, people just get used to it and don't even know it's there. But that can be very dangerous. So I want to recommend that everyone read Glad To Forgive right away!
recommended my own book on this little blog space. Although the readership is limited, it's worth a shot. I have visited with so many people over the years about the topic of forgiveness and I have discovered that most people know they are supposed to forgive; and a lot of people think they have forgiven. But the sad reality is that people carry loads of anger, and bitterness that they are completely blind to. In west Texas there is a town that is surrounded by feed lots - that's a fenced in structure where ranchers bring cattle to feed them and fatten them up for market. There are literally thousands of cattle penned up behind those fences, and of course, with cattle comes a very distinct and foul odor. I once asked a person who lived in that town, "How do you stand the smell all the time?" To which they replied, "Oh, you get used to it." The same is true of anger and bitterness. After carrying it for a while, people just get used to it and don't even know it's there. But that can be very dangerous. So I want to recommend that everyone read Glad To Forgive right away! Book Recommendation
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
BLACKOUT!
We had an interesting evening yesterday. I was quietly working on my hermeneutics notes for Thursday, when sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 the lights went black, then back on, then black, then back on... I was in a panic trying to get my computer turned off before everything was toast ... Then black. This time it stayed that way. I stepped out of the office (after banging into the corner of the desk - it really gets dark around here when house lights, street lights, and moon are all out - no relax, the moon is not part of the KC power grid, it was just cloudy)...Anyway, I stepped out of the office, and there sat Marisa at the kitchen table - face illuminated by her laptop screen - she made some kind of wise crack about me knocking a hole in the wall when I hit the desk. I made my way to the light. Then Debbie, who had been upstairs reading, tried to make her way down the steps without serious bodily harm. In a matter of minutes, there we were, a little nuclear family gathered around the comforting light of a laptop computer screen. Suddenly, talk of being Amish was beginning to flow. And of course in our IHOP world we wondered if we were having trouble making it now, how would we do during the tribulation. Interesting how a little power outage can cause us to wax philosophical. As we waited for the lights to come on, we fumbled around for flashlights which were not anywhere close to where we KNEW they were. Then the candles came out. Marisa, sitting at the kitchen table, grading papers by computer screen and candle light made a somewhat anachronistic statement. Continuing to wait, I decided to drive around the neighborhood just to see how widespread the blackout was. Also, I had lights in the car! It seemed that several square miles were dark. But I could find no cause - like a tractor/trailer sitting on top of a power pole. So I headed back home to report ... Nothing. About an hour and a half later, the lights suddenly popped on and we were able to go about our business as usual. What was so disconcerting was just how utterly lost and helpless we were without power -- and that is the sermon of the day.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Clutter
I just looked over my desk and realized it looks a lot like my life -- filled with clutter. Of course, all of the clutter is good clutter. I have a notebook from my "How To Study The Bible" class. Under that (in no particular order) are notes from Mike Bickle - "Prayer Energized by Intimacy with God," and "The Revelation of Intercession." Below that is Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers. Then there is a stack of books: The Mystery of God's Word, The Bible, Life in Christ, A Voice From Home, End Times, and God's Design. Behind that is the FSM Faculty Handbook - which reminds me I need to make a few revisions sometime. Then there are the really random things -- a sunglass cleaning kit (complete with tiny screw driver) -- a pair of reading glasses -- a mug filled with pens, scissors, and of course the ever useful magnifying glass -- a box of tissue -- a CD of Gary Wiens' teaching on healing -- a stop watch (no clutter would not be complete without a stop watch) -- a couple of AA rechargeable batteries -- a stapler -- a hole punch -- another book (How To Understand Your Bible). And that's not everything -- just a sampling of clutter. This is a living parable of what happens when you live an unregulated and undisciplined life. I know by now I should be better at maintaining some semblance of organization, but from time to time I look around and clutter is winning! The hard part is, I don't have time to clean clutter right now, because of other commitments. At least the space where my keyboard and monitor rest is relatively clutter free so I can still create more clutter. Enough of that for now - time to prepare for another session of teaching before heading for the still point in my ever turning world -- the prayer room!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
A Great Surprise!
This Mills family is all about surprises. You may remember that a couple of weeks ago I told you about the saga of Marisa trying to surprise Alicia on her birthday. Well, turn about is fair play seems to be the order of the day, because today at 2:45 pm, guess who showed up at the House of Prayer to surprise her mother and me...That's right, Alicia! Marisa had been working the deal for some time. There is a Women in the Prophetic Conference going on here at the International House of Prayer, and Marisa told us several weeks ago that she had friends coming to attend the conference from Dallas. Debbie busied herself preparing the guest room - not knowing she was preparing for Alicia and Aria. Actually, that isn't exactly true - 
Alicia did bring three women from Madison, Wisconsin who are attending the conference - but the part about friends from Dallas was just not true. Anyway, it is great to see them and we were surprised ... Well, that isn't exactly true either ... Debbie was surprised. I had been let in on the deal earlier in the day because Debbie's schedule was not going to put her in the right place at the right time for the surprise to happen. I was told about the event so that I could keep her occupied until Alicia could arrive. Still, it was a great surprise and we plan to enjoy our time with them for the next few days. Aren't we a fun group????
Alicia did bring three women from Madison, Wisconsin who are attending the conference - but the part about friends from Dallas was just not true. Anyway, it is great to see them and we were surprised ... Well, that isn't exactly true either ... Debbie was surprised. I had been let in on the deal earlier in the day because Debbie's schedule was not going to put her in the right place at the right time for the surprise to happen. I was told about the event so that I could keep her occupied until Alicia could arrive. Still, it was a great surprise and we plan to enjoy our time with them for the next few days. Aren't we a fun group????
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Midland, Texas
This past weekend (September 29-October 1), Debbie and I had the great fun of taking a team from the International House of Prayer here in Kansas City, to First United Methodist Church in Midalnd, Texas. We led a prayer conference and found a community hungry for greater intimacy with God. As we stepped into the first session, we found Methodists (they were the hosts), Southern Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, and a smattering of others joined together for that one common cry - "We are hungry for more of God!"
I was reminded of John Wesley's famous sermon, Catholic Spirit, in which he described just such a scene. He contends that while Christians understand that we are to love all mankind, there is "a peculiar love which we owe to those that love God." He quotes David, "All my delight is upon the saints that are in the earth..." As the sermon continues, Wesley admits that all Christians do not practice this special affection for the saints. He identifies "two grand, general hindrances" to our loving other Christians as "they cannot all think alike and, in consequence of this, secondly, they cannot all walk alike..."
His thesis then follows: "But although a difference in opinions or modes of worship may prevent an entire external union, yet need it prevent our union in affection? Though we cannot think alike, may we notlove alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite..."
We had the great privilege of witnessing this "catholic spirit" this weekend as many different branches of the Body of Christ joined together in worship and prayer. Thanks to the great people of Midland for your hospitality and love. We look forward to watching you grow together as the Church of Midland becomes a house of prayer for all nations.
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