December 5, 2007   Dear Friends and Partners,         As Senior Pastor of Trinity Evangelical Free Church, just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, I look back on the last two years with awe for God and delight in His people.  Early in the Katrina chaos, I wondered how Trinity Church would survive.  Jim Snyder, of the EFCA Touch Global Ministry, told me, "Michael, you are going to have to learn to receive!"  Being desperate, I started to learn.  The needs were great and still are in many ways - yet much has been accomplished because of people like you who have either:               1.   Prayed for us.       2.   Provided financial support.       3.   Sent relief teams and/or supplies.       4.   Encouraged us.   These partnerships have yielded great fruit.  A friend wrote the following words to me:   "Gather in all that has happened since August-would the mighty wind of the Holy Spirit be seen like it is right now without disaster?  Would you have witnessed the mighty unstoppable hand of God like you have without the hurricanes?  Would Trinity Church have become "Jesus with skin on" without a community desperately in need of His arms, His strength, and His love?  A community which suddenly had nothing but Him?"   Nothing but Him - What a great statement and an apt description of who we have become.  People have been scattered, houses destroyed, jobs lost, keepsakes ruined and futures left with great uncertainty.  All of the props of life were kicked out from under us.  Yet, in all of our devastation, brokenness, weakness and finiteness, we can say, "We bet the farm on God and He is able."   We have survived as a church.  10,000 volunteers later, we are still the church of the stained carpet.  New Orleans is slowly being rebuilt and we are poised to make our 3rd year of Katrina relief the most fruitful.  Our long-term staff is in place for the next year, and we are welcoming returning teams and new first time teams.  God's daily provision has been a new kind of manna from heaven.  The manna has come in the form of prayer partners, work teams, water, food, RV's, bobcats and lots of the love of Jesus displayed through God's people.  This miraculous supply has yielded people coming to Christ, the renewal of believer's souls and good rumors floating around our community all because of the amazing grace of God.  Thank You, God!  Thank you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ!  Thank you!   Many have asked, "How are you doing?  What can we do to help?"  I ask you to pray.   1.   Pray for the people of our community.  It continues to be hard for many.  Pray for strength, renewal and spiritual revival through our region.  Pray that we keep our hand to the plow at Trinity.  The work of the great Commission is at stake.  Our labor is to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ and share the amazing story of the grace of God with all who will listen. We may walk with a limp at times but we know we serve a great God. 2.   Send a team or come as a family.  Our Trinity mobilization center is open and ready for you.  Call us at 985-893-0218 to get an information packet or reserve a slot. 3.   Give - Our Trinity Church Katrina Relief Fund enables us to continue the work of helping the needy, running teams and doing assimilation and follow-up. Some parts of our facility and furnishings are getting run down or broken from so much usage.  A few generous gifts would help us make the needed repairs.   As God leads and enables you, please consider helping us financially this Christmas.  We trust that our finest days of ministry are still ahead.   Betting the Farm on God,   Michael   P. S. I will send one more letter this year about the exciting things going on at Urban Impact in Central City, New Orleans. The new ministry center will be coming soon.  Merry Christmas everyone!         November 12, 2007     More Yea God Stories   "You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people" (Ps. 77:14).   Someone gave me this verse on a 3x5 card a few months ago, and I have been carrying it around in my Bible ever since.  Indeed, it is the Word of God and I just wanted to pass on a few more "Yea God" stories that reflect the truth of Ps. 77:14.   1.   On Tuesday a pastor flew into New Orleans to join his team that was working out of Trinity.  He caught a cab and was dropped off on a street corner.  After the cab departed, he realized that he had lost his wallet, probably in the taxi.  He had no idea what cab he had used or how to find out.  He only knew it was a brown taxi and the driver was an African-American woman with a gold tooth.  By 8:00 pm he had located the cab station of the brown taxi company.  They knew exactly the driver he was talking about.  Her name was "Grace".  She pulled in with his wallet right after he arrived, and Grace started preaching to this pastor about the sovereignty of God and need to trust in Him.  He also discovered that she worked for the "Amazing Grace Cab Company."  No joke!  The pastor said he needed this message.   2.   A dear woman Christ-follower shared how she sold $2,500 worth of candy in 10 days so she would make a $1,250 profit to allow her and her niece to serve in New Orleans.  What ingenuity.   3.   One of our new long-term couples moved here for the first year.  They recounted to me the divine interventions of God to get them here.  Upon arrival, they noticed the need for two lawnmowers and a weed-wacker for the ministry.  They were amazed that the next morning two lawnmowers and a weed-wacker showed up on a truck.   4.   One man told about chaperoning a group of rambunctious teenagers to serve in our Compassion Ministry for the week.  He wondered what they were getting out of the time here, yet as the week continued, the teenagers were seeing Christianity in action and four teens trusted Christ.   5.   I was amazed a few weeks back seeing and hearing the heart of a volunteer named John from MD.  He wanted to become the "Mark Lewis" of his community and I had an appointment to eat dinner with him on Wednesday evening.  On Wednesday morning he had worked at a house and led the homeowner to Christ.  Immediately after that he got a call that his son had died unexpectantly.  We helped him get back to MD.  Pray for John.   6.   Gene Johnson from Montana is back for a month.  I heard Gene tell about fixing up a home along with a team of volunteers.  They then lined the 700 ft. driveway with balloons and a banner saying, "Welcome Home."  The homeowner was astounded.  Her tears of despair had been turned into tears of joy.  Her children said, "You gave my mother's life back to her."   I could go on and on.  Yea God!   Donna, my mother, and I went to Waco, TX last weekend to visit Jonathan.  He was very sick the entire time.  The good news is that gave his mother a chance to mother her son.  Jonathan is a junior at Baylor University.  He's growing up quickly.  We are so proud of him.  Pray for him if you get a chance.   Betting the farm on God,   Michael     October 31, 2007     Disasters, Disasters and More Disasters   Is it just me, or does it seem like there is another disaster every few weeks?   1.      California Fires - Daily I'm getting updates from churches in California including Green Valley Church in Rancho Bernardo, California.  Six families within this church completely lost their homes and now the church has launched a Compassion Ministry to those with severe smoke and ash damage.  Great video footage can be seen at www.gvcfamily.blogspot.com.   2.      Peru - Mark Lewis and Steve Nelson just returned from "ground zero" and the latest Peruvian earthquake.  A ministry is up and running there.   3.      Kansas Tornado - Compassion Ministry established   4.      North Dakota Drought - Team sent   5.      Florida Tornado - I visited this area along with others earlier this year.   The now famous FEMA emergency training session in August 2001 concluded that three major disasters most likely to strike the United States were: a New York terrorist attack, a massive hurricane hitting New Orleans, and a major California earthquake.  Two out of the three have happened and the third is likely.   Think of these three areas:   1.   Earthquake probabilities:  A U.S. Geological Survey working group in 2002 estimated a 62% probability of a Richter 6.7 or greater earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area by 2032.  A 6.9 earthquake in the Bay area could leave 360,000 people homeless, according to the Association of Bay Area Governments.  William Lettis of the U.S. Geological Survey group said, "Certain communities in the East Bay have the potential to become ghost towns."   2.   Nuclear Terrorism:  About the only thing presidential candidates agree on these days is the serious threat of terrorism to American national security.  Graham Allison, founding dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and author of Nuclear Terrorism, says a nuclear attack on U.S. soil within the next ten years is probable.  Former Secretary of Defense William Perry put the odds for an attack by 2010 at 50-50.  Other experts, according to a survey by Senator Richard Lugar, put the likelihood over the next ten years at only 30 percent.  CIA Director Porter Goss told the Senate Intelligence Committee, in 2005, that enough nuclear material to make a bomb was missing from Russia.   3.   Hurricanes:  We dodged the bullet in the U.S. the last two years but we know this threat is here to stay.   In a disaster four kinds of help are needed:   1.   Rescue - Rescue from rising waters, fires, collapsed buildings, etc.   2.   Relief - Initial food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.   3.   Recovery - Repairs, rebuilding, etc.   4.   Restoration - Emotional and spiritual.   The role of Faith-Based Organizations:   President Bush said, "Because they are closer to the people they serve, our faith-based and community organizations deliver better results than government.  And they have a human touch:  when a person in need knocks on the door of a faith-based or community organization, he or she is welcomed as a brother or a sister."  Franklin Graham noted, "Pastors usually know their community better than government officials do . . . While the government talks about systems and infrastructure problems, faith-based organizations are able to provide immediate assistance thanks to established relationships with churches on the ground."   I am honored to be part of the emerging conversation on how the church of Jesus Christ will respond with heart and hands to the challenges of our world.  I have seen the passion and sense of calling volunteer faith-based people bring to the table.  What an opportunity!   Philosophers, political pundits, news people, and religions of all stripes weigh in on the why of these disasters.  Perhaps the best apologetic answer is, "You know, I could give you some classic answers of philosophy and theology that have been presented throughout the ages, but to be honest, I really haven't a clue on this one.  What I do know with absolute and crystal clear certainty is how Jesus would respond to such loss, tragedy, suffering and pain, because there are four books of the Bible written about how He did just that.  We, Christ-followers, are trying to reach out in His way with hope, grace, help, hands, heart, money and the message of the cross."   Please pray for Trinity, Touch Global and Urban Impact as we enter year three of our Disaster Response Ministry:   1.   Pray for volunteers. 2.   Pray for financial resources. 3.   Pray for strategic focus. 4.   Pray for our new long-term staff. 5.   Pray for revival on the North Shore and New Orleans. 6.   Pray for Trinity Church as we continue to reinvent ourselves.  These are exciting days as we have added staff and many new families.  However, you can imagine how difficult it is after losing so many members from Katrina and still losing people who move out of the area as a direct result of the storm.   Betting the Farm on God,   Michael         October 22, 2007     Forgiveness   One of the things many people are wrestling with along the Gulf Coast is bitterness and forgiveness issues . . . maybe you can relate.  The truth is . . . if you live long enough . . . sooner or later you will get hurt.  Little things happen and you forget about them but some things are not so easy:  betrayal, abuse, abandonment, divorce, unfaithfulness, lying, injustice, etc.  These things are heavy, hurtful and hard and can lead to bitterness, resentment and a preoccupation that tends to color everything.  Have you ever been in the place you wanted to hold a grudge, point a finger and replay the tape over and over?   I remember last December 31 having the opportunity to speak at Hershey Evangelical Free Church.  Afterward, I went out to lunch with Pastor Dave Martin.  What a wonderful pastor!  This was the week that there was a buzz in the news about Time Magazine's 2006 "Person of the Year".  Remember . . . it was YOU!  Honestly, that's who they picked!  Dave said that their Pennsylvania paper selected their own person of the year - the Amish.  They picked these people for teaching the world about forgiveness in response to the horrendous shooting at the Amish school.  For 500 years, the value of forgiveness has been burned into their DNA.  They have learned that it is often complicated, difficult, and painful, yet they choose to forgive as an act of the will, giving up the right to hurt back or seek revenge and then allow the emotions of forgiveness to catch up over the coming months or years.  This does not mean approval, excusing, justifying, denying evil or wrong.  I'm amazed that as monies came into the Amish families, an equal portion was given to the shooter's widow and children.  I learned that 50% of the people at the shooter's funeral were the Amish and that all of the Amish families that lost children have had the shooter's family into their homes.  What an example of Ephesians 4:32.  "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God, in Christ also has forgiven you."   I remember one time in my life going through a hurtful time that I couldn't shake easily.  I ended up talking to a counselor/pastor type who focused me in on Eph. 4:32 and other passages of scripture.  He asked me to read a book entitled Total Forgiveness, by Kendall.  Great book!  He then suggested that I write out my loss in a letter, share my heart and hurt, and then make a declaration of forgiveness as an act of the will.  The counselor said I should take the letter and release it.  He told stories of how one person burned the letter, another flew it as a paper airplane from a mountaintop and another let it go in the ocean.   I carved out some time and carefully wrote out a letter and made a choice to forgive.  I took that letter to an old abandoned cemetery with tombstones dating back to the 1800's.  I read the letter before God, tore it up, and placed the pieces under a broken tombstone.  Interestingly, while I was walking out of the cemetery, I saw danger signs for a Wasp (as in bees) Research Testing site being conducted by a University, and I kept my distance.  It was like the Holy Spirit was saying to me, "Don't come back here, or you'll get STUNG."  I went home feeling free.  Forgiveness does that!   Maybe you remember the old Andy Griffith show.  Remember Barney, Aunt Bee, Opie, Thelma Lou, Goober, and my favorite - Howard Sprague.  Remember the town drunk?  Otis?  Otis would be put in jail and the keys would be put right outside the cell door.  Anytime he wanted to leave, he could let himself out.  God does the same with bitterness.  We lock ourselves in our own jail, yet, God leaves the keys of forgiveness for us to let ourselves out and be free.  What a great truth!  Do you need to reach for the key?   Betting the Farm on God,   Michael         October 18, 2007     Overcoming Approval Addictions . . . People Pleasing   These last two years since Katrina have been stretching and eye-opening in so many ways.  In some ways I've found out what I'm made of and in other ways I've discovered where I need to grow.  One of the areas I've learned I need to grow is overcoming good old "people pleasing" tendencies.  On the one hand I desire to please God, but sometimes I waste time on the impossible task of trying to please everyone.  Some modern day writers refer to this as "approval addiction."  Truth be told, in some ways, I know what this drug tastes like . . . I know what it's like when it's withheld . . . I know what it's like to hear that inner voice, "What will they think of me?"   Over the last couple of years God has been rooting out of me the need to please . . . in fact, I don't know the exact date that I started giving up the need to impress.  This motivation came from a combination of personal experiences and the Word of God. First, personal experience is a great teacher, isn't it?  You know when you run into a wall full speed . . . and your nose is soft, and the wall is hard and the wall wins every time.  Over time you learn . . . don't run into stuff that doesn't move.  You learn from experience . . . you don't have enough noses not to learn.  I'm learning people pleasing doesn't work . . . people want more . . . people want opposite things . . . people don't really want what they ask for.  You simply get weary from people pleasing.   Second, I also learned from God's Word:  Jesus always played to the audience of One.  Always!  He was about God's will and not His own.  I learned from:   Gal. 1:10 -"For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."   1 Thess. 2: 4 - "But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts."   I have been called by scripture to a life of not measuring myself by someone else's measuring stick . . . not having to be someone else . . . not to an image but to simply be who Christ made me to be.  My worth comes not by performance. . . . but from the One who alone can satisfy . . . God..   Here are the "Top 10" things I'm in the process of learning:   1.  Live for an Audience of One If everyone applauds me but God, I'm a failure.  If no one applauds me but God, I'm a success.  The question is, "whose applause am I living for?"  I must not play to the audience who pays me but to the audience that made me.   2.  Listen to criticism when it's appropriate.  Dismiss invalid criticism.       No matter how hard you may try, you can't please everyone.   3.  My life is not based on the unstable foundation of human opinion but on Christ.   4.  Endure Maturity is moving from a thin skin and a hard heart to a thick skin and a soft heart.   5.  Learn to say "No" Busyness does not = Fulfillment   6.  Refuse to ask permission from those who have no authority over my life.   7.  Do not cower to someone with an opinion just because they are loud about it.   8.  Controllers cannot control you unless you let them.   9.  Love people without needing their approval.       10.  Live in the loving care of the Father.   There is a freedom, security and safety that comes from living to please One.  Do you remember when you were in those good old days of elementary school and your teacher needed something taken down to the office?  You were given a hall pass.  You'd walk confident and secure past other classrooms.  You'd smile real big at your buddies stuck in their classes and flash them your hall pass.  Some teacher would stop you in the hall and say, "Young man, aren't you supposed to be in class?"  You'd hold up your hall pass.  Hall pass, Hall pass . . . you had a hall pass!   God gives us all a hall pass . . . an assignment.  We are to do what He calls us to do!  When people question you, doubt you, pull out your hall pass.   Betting the Farm on God,   Michael   P.S.  Call us at 985-893-0218, if you want to get an "Information Packet" to learn how to schedule a missions team here in New Orleans.  You can check out our website at www.trinitychurchonline.net.  Many are starting to sign up for Thanksgiving week, Christmas break or spring break.       October 10, 2007     Turning 50   I'm writing not long after celebrating the big one.  The Big "5-0"!  I know that most of you can't believe it.  Others might say, "With all that gray hair I thought you were 60."  I've been encouraged by the comical gifts:   Colonoscopy Instructions Preparation-H Metamucil Boost Depends Denture Adhesive Cream   I loved it when I came home and found that my staff had filled my house with balloons, and placed dozens of "Over the Hill" notes in secret places room-to-room:   "You know you're over the hill when . . . you suck in your gut and it doesn't go away."   "Be kind to Jonathan.  He'll be choosing your nursing home."    "You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake."-Bob Hope   "You know you are over the hill when people call at 8:00 pm and ask, "'Did I wake you?'"   The "make-over" of my church office was spectacular!  I thank Margaret, Elizabeth, Donna, Bart, Earl and others for being such servants.   All of this has made me rather reflective.  It's a time to assess the fruit of my life.  As the saying goes, "the unexamined life is a life that's not worth pursuing."  I don't want to experience the regret of a casually lived life.   It's also time to look forward to the second half of my life.  I'm trying to work through three key questions:   1.  What kind of person am I becoming?  (Character question)   2.  Where am I going?  (Direction question)   3.  Who am I investing in?  (People question)   My life vision has been to glorify God through becoming a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.  This involves responding to truth and love to God, my family, my friends, my church, and my world.  These questions are helping me flesh out the next steps and priorities in the journey of life.   I'm committed to:        I.    Continuous Growth   If you stop growing and learning, you stop living.  Heaven forbid I fall into stagnation.  "Without a vision the people perish" (Prov. 29:11).  I want to stay on the cutting edge.  Vision is a preservative and keeps us from getting old.       II.     Living with Unquenchable Optimism               I want to bet the farm on God.  I want to be like Caleb who at 85-years-old was vigorous and had no interest in retirement.  He wanted to take the hill country - the land of the giants.  I want to believe God for more and refuse to play it safe all of the time.      III.     Cheerleading for the Younger Generation   So many people just complain about the up and coming generation.  I refuse to give up on them.  In fact, I have been in awe of many young adults who are carrying the torch for Christ at a young age.  I can't wait to see what God is up to.  I believe Francis Schaeffer's words, "One of the greatest injustices we do to our young people is to ask them to be conservative.  Christianity is not conservative, but revolutionary.  To be conservative today is to miss the whole point, for conservatism means standing in the flow of the status quo, and the status quo no longer belongs to us.  If we want to be fair, we must teach the young to be revolutionaries, revolutionaries against the status quo."    IV.     Mentoring/Multiplying   I want to pass the baton on to emerging leaders.  Paul wrote to Timothy, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others" (2 Tim. 2:2).   My heart is to pour myself into others for the glory of God.      V.     Enjoying Life   In Jim Elliott's words, I want to "Live to the hilt every situation I believe to be the will of God."  With Donna and Jonathan I want to "choose life" (Deut. 30:19).     VI.     Living for an Audience of One   1 Thess. 2:4b says, "not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts."  I've got to be about caring for what the Father wants more than how much people like me.  I need to remember that when I serve the Father first, I best serve people, but when I serve people first, I don't always best serve them.   Enough ramblings ...  I need to get on with living.   Betting the Farm on God,   Michael   P. S.  We have plenty of room for teams.  Everything is just starting to gear up again.

September 15, 2007

Michael Speaking in Maryland this Week

If any of you are in the Washington, DC area, I’d love to see you this week.  I will be speaking at the following times and locations:

Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7:00 pm

Forcey Memorial Church

2130 E. Randolph Rd., Silver Spring, MD

301-622-2200

Wednesday, Sept. 19^th, 2:45-3:30 pm, and 6:45-7:30 pm

Thursday, Sept. 20^th, 10:45-11:30 am, and 2:45-3:30 pm

Washington Bible College
6511 Princess Garden Pkwy, Lanham, MD

301-552-1400

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to speak six times (that’s a record for me) at the Missions Conference of Mt. Life Evangelical Free Church in Park City, UT.  What a great church with a big heart for missions.  Mountain Life has sent 88 people over the last two years to serve New Orleans and are preparing to send another team in February.

At Trinity, we are gearing up to host teams for a third year.  Our new long-term staff will all be in this week for training and preparation to host teams.  Please let your church know that they are invited to serve!  Please pray for laborers.  Jesus’ hand is still on the ministry and people continually tell us that God rocked their world while they were in New Orleans.  If you are wondering … here are two new stories that tell it all:

1.  While in Park City, I met Kurt and Sara who told me about their daughter and her boyfriend who came to serve us in New Orleans.  Here’s the kicker – Lauren and Patrick decided to skip their March 25^th prom and use the prom money to serve in New Orleans over spring break.  “They “gutted and ‘mudded out’ houses, using hammers and shovels to tear down water-stained walls and remove caked mud that Hurricane Katrina left behind.  Though they sacrificed prom, Lauren, Patrick and three friends created their own promlike memories for cheap.  On the night of their school’s dance, they dressed in formal clothes they already owned.  They skipped the limo but were chauffeured by an adult involved in their youth group.  They dined on salads at a reasonably priced restaurant.  They had their pictures taken by a professional photographer at a mall.  Instead of dancing, they saw a movie.  ‘Going to the real prom might have been fun, but it doesn’t help anyone,’ Patrick said.  The New Orleans visit ‘benefited not only the people we helped, but also myself as well.  It helped me grow strong in three ways:  physically, mentally, and most of all, spiritually.’”

2.   Here’s one story that a volunteer from MD called “Ms. Pat’s Story – Katrina Experience July 22-28, 2007”:

“She heard the hurricane warning lots of times in the past. This time would probably be no different.  In her 30 years in New Orleans there were storm warnings every year and she had always stayed put and managed.  Besides, Ms. Pat had no car, no money, no Kin, and no one to help care for her sick dog.  Where was she going to go?  So, like most of her neighbors in New Orleans East she decided to wait out the hurricane at home - August 29, 2005.

“The winds of 150 miles per hour were horrific and trees were blowing down all over the neighborhood. And when the rains came it was scary, but Ms. Pat felt confident that with her house foundation several feet above ground level, she would be OK.  And then the 17^th Street Canal levee broke.  As she looked out the window, the water seemed to be rising faster than anything she had ever seen.  Water rising in your house six inches per minute doesn’t give you much time to think.

“When the floodwaters began to cross the threshold of her front door, Ms. Pat knew she was in trouble. All of her possessions and stuff were going to get wet and be ruined.  Two minutes later she began to be worried about her life.  At 5’2” tall, 66 years old and about 105 pounds she began to panic.  Somehow she heard her neighbor across the street yell to her, “are you OK?”   When she screamed back “NO” he yelled for her to go upstairs.  Although that sounded like a good idea, her furniture was now beginning to float and with no electricity she couldn’t see that the door to the upstairs was blocked.   So she headed for the kitchen towards the back of the house.

“As she waded into the kitchen Ms. Pat looked for a way to get above the rising water and saw the stove.  So she climbed up there and waited as the water quickly rose to the middle of her chest, terrified and trapped and thinking she was going to die because the only higher ground was on top of the refrigerator.  There was no way for her to get up there so she sat in the pitch black all night mostly submerged in filthy flood waters.  It was a horrible night and whenever she drifted off to sleep her head would touch the floodwaters and she would jolt awake.

“At dawn Ms. Pat heard some men in a motor boat outside her house asking if anyone needed help.  They could not hear her in the back of the house, so she began to swim towards the front of the house. Now she had to dodge her furniture, which was floating in her path. In her desperation to reach the boat she somehow cut the arch of her foot severely and didn’t even realize it. The good news is that these wonderful volunteer firemen saved her life and got her to dry land.

“In the two years since Katrina happened, life has been very difficult for Ms. Pat.  The good news is that she survived, got her foot fixed and received wonderful attention from the Red Cross and several churches who spent countless hours gutting her home of all the rotted drywall, insulation, trash, etc.  Turns out she didn’t have to worry about her furniture because vandals cleaned her out when she was in Alabama healing her foot.

“In the meantime she sits ‘paralyzed’ in a FEMA trailer waiting for a White Knight to come in and rescue her.  Two years later, she’s broke and sits in front of her broken house with no hope for the future in sight …

“I went to Katrina to serve and to connect my heart to my intellect.  I needed to ‘taste and see’ what a disaster really feels like, even two years later.  This will break your heart and change you.  Thousands of homes are still in shambles and tens of thousands of people displaced.  And in the middle of this I heard tales of generosity and miracles of faith that will take your breath away (just one little one – a single Mom and her 12-year-old daughter flee to Texas and are broke and in a hotel parking lot and a couple drives by, rolls down the window and asks ‘are you hungry?’  The single Mom says ‘yes’ and so begins a relationship/adoption/caring for 2 years that will bring you to tears).

“I don’t know about you guys, but I long to feel things deeply – I often want to cry to know I’m really alive.  Serving people who have lost everything but still maintain their faith will shake you and convict you.  Families who lost all their stuff yet still so joyful in the opportunity to reprioritize what is important in life and to bask in their faith in God who has seen them thru this season of winter.”

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

September 5, 2007


Michael Speaking in Park City, Utah on Sunday

Information:  Please pray for me as I speak Sunday morning and evening on September 9th at
Mountain Life Church in Park City, Utah.  Their services are at 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m.
and the evening conference is from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  Pastor Scott Fine and this
Evangelical Free Church have co-labored significantly with us in the work of Katrina.  It
will be an honor to be one of the speakers at their annual Missions Conference.  Please
pray that lives are impacted for Christ and this church is even more set ablaze in their
devotion to Christ.

After the TV Cameras and Politicians Are Gone …

The two-year anniversary of Katrina has passed.  The TV cameras have gone home, the
politicians are in New Hampshire and Iowa, the President is in Iraq, TV anchors are
searching for the new hot story . . . yet the people of New Orleans face the same
challenges and slow progress.  We are gearing up for year three.  We can’t solve all the
problems but are called to faithfulness – touching one life at a time.  By God’s grace and
partners like all of you – people are coming to Christ. 

· Nine people expressed their commitment to Jesus last week in our services.

· Last Wednesday a man shared that his brother brought him along on the trip to LA.  The
man shared a 10-year struggle with alcohol and talked of its power over him.  For years he
felt like he really had no place of significance; his life had no meaning.  He shared that
this week has changed all that.  He felt at home, valued, and blessed to be able to give. 
He expressed a gratitude to the other believers for their acceptance of him as he is.  God
is changing lives.

· A lady on a team also shared that she had been praying for 22 years that others in her
church would get as excited about serving in missions as she was.  The church had not sent
a team outside of their home state in 22 years.  But here they were with a relatively
large group in LA, with much conversation already amongst the team about planning their
return trip and bringing others.

· We have been collaborating with Campus Crusade for Christ on a “Power to Change New
Orleans” project surrounding the Katrina anniversary.  This media campaign has blitzed the
region with powerful commercials during the news hour.  3,300 people have responded. 
Trinity Church is following up on every one from the Northshore who has asked for help.

· Our Free Store has been reconfigured into a “Trinity Cares” ministry.  Ministry is now
done through individual appointments so we can minister deeper into the lives of people. 
The ministry is more fruitful than ever.  The fruits of evangelism and discipleship are
evident.  Someone trusted Christ last week.  A woman named Sue lost her home in Katrina
and lost her mom shortly after.  She trusted Jesus and now regularly attends Trinity.  God
turned “losing everything” into finding everything she needs for eternal life.

Someone this week sent me a Radio/Internet poll from my old stomping grounds in the D.C.
suburbs on people’s thoughts about New Orleans.  The overwhelming percent of the comments
were negative, vile, disgusting and filled with racial prejudice.  Comment after comment
described New Orleans as a dump that should be flushed . . . or hurricanes as God’s way of
draining the swamp.  What a wake up call as to what’s out there.  I guess I live too much
in the bubble of the terrific, wonderful people who have traveled here to serve.  The vast
majority of people tell us over and over, “You have to see it to believe the extent of the
devastation.”  They leave with big hearts for the people they ministered to in New
Orleans.

I guess our newspaper heard about many of these comments and responded Sunday on the
editorial page:

“During the last two years, Louisiana has been talked about as if the state and its people
are nothing more than a colossal drain on the federal coffers, an unsympathetic burden to
the rest of God-fearing America, a quasi-American outpost from which quasi-Americans beg
for charity.”

Here was his suggestion:  “A Louisiana Day of Absence”

“How can America truly know how much it will miss us unless one day we decide to be
absent?  Let’s show them how much they will.

“Let’s first shut down the Port of New Orleans.  Nothing goes upriver.  Nothing comes
down.  Got some steel that needs to reach U.S. auto manufacturers?  Got some grain from
the middle of the country that needs to be shipped to other countries?  We’re awfully
sorry, but Louisiana is closed.  So, too, is the entrance and the exit to America’s most
commercially significant river system.

“Let’s put the kibosh on all the offshore drilling.  Let’s shut down all the refineries. 
Let ‘em eat Chinese crawfish.  Our shrimp and fish will be for our bellies.  The rest of
America can do the best they can with cod … this column is a fantasy, too.  If only
Louisiana could withdraw for a while.  I guarantee they’d pay us just to come back.” 
Jarvis DeBerry, Times-Picayune

Something to think about.  Well, I can’t solve the political/economic issues but I can be
about My calling to the Great Commission.  We are keeping our hand to the plow and moving
forward.  By the way, to all of you volunteers and supporters . . . the headline in HUGE,
BOLD PRINT in the Times Picayune on August 29, 2007 was THANK YOU to the volunteers who
have helped the people of New Orleans.  Certainly, there have been lots of questions and
failures swirling around the response of government at national, state and local levels. 
FEMA too!  However, everyone has seen the amazing work of church groups.  There is nothing
like the church when the church functions as it should.  Matthew 5:16, "Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father who is in heaven.”

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

August 27, 2007


My Adopted Home of New Orleans

Note: Before I start this letter, I want to sincerely thank the
prayer warriors, volunteer teams and donors who have sustained
the work of Jesus for two full years. I am grateful. Heaven
is richer because of your commitment. God has been glorified.
My heart is full. Trinity Church and the New Orleans area are
being rebuilt. The hand of Jesus is being felt and seen
through His wonderful family. Thank you! We are looking ahead
to our third year of ministry after Katrina. I am super-
excited about what Jesus has for us next. It always seems to
be a surprise. Never a dull moment. We are ratcheting up our
attention to reach people for Christ. This is our #1 goal at
Trinity in this new ministry season.

Request: Resources are still needed to run this ministry. I
know some churches have Fall Missionary Conferences,
Thanksgiving Projects and end-of-the-year gifts. If Jesus
leads you, would you share the need for resources at Trinity?
As God lays us on your heart, please pray. We are so
appreciative. God is our source. However, we know He usually
works through His people. (Earmark Funds – Katrina Relief.)

It has been just over eight years ago that I moved to New
Orleans. I had never been to the Gulf Coast before. Somewhere
in these last eight years this area became anchored into my
heart as home.

New Orleans is an absolutely unique culture. Think of it:

Mississippi River
Jackson Square
Garden District
Northshore
Bourbon Street
French Quarter
Swamps & Bayou’s

Crawfish
Emeril Lagasse
King Cakes
Beignets
Gumbo
Red Beans and Rice
Po Boys
Jambalaya
Commander’s Palace
Café du Monde

N’Awlins
The Big Easy
The Crescent City
New Orleans

Shotgun House
Antebellum Homes
Above ground tombs
Plantations

Jazz Music
Louis Armstrong
Saints Football
Mardi Gras

Alligators
Cajun
Muggy Nights
Lagniappe
D-Day Museum
Trolley Cars
Tulane University

I’ve learned how strategic New Orleans is to the USA:

1. Energy – Louisiana is the energy coast, with 30% of all oil
and gas in the US coming from the Gulf Coast.

2. Coastal Fisheries – America’s wetlands are the nursery,
which provide 40% of the commercial fisheries in the
continental United States. Louisiana is largest producer of
oysters, and supplies 50% of the shrimp.

3. Port System – Louisiana is home to the #1 port complex in
the nation.

4. Tourism – Greater New Orleans consistently ranks #2 in
desired destinations for Americans.

Should New Orleans be rebuilt? Of course! The United States
of America sent men to the moon. We rebuilt Europe and Japan.
We rebuilt after 911 and Pearl Harbor. We rebuilt after Andrew
and the great Mississippi floods. We are in the process of
rebuilding Iraq. New Orleans is vital for energy, tourism,
agriculture and fishing. There is no place in the world like
New Orleans. I love this place, and especially love the
people.

Many things are challenging and even grieve me about New
Orleans. Climate conditions reveal a sinking city, dwindling
wetlands, flawed levees, rising seas, and powerful hurricanes.
Political/socio-economic realities reveal failed schools,
surging crime, skyrocketing insurance, mountain of red tape,
and inept politicians.

In the past few months we have watched our senator,
congressman, and veteran city councilman caught by law-
enforcement betraying the public trust. The head of the New
Orleans FBI office said, “I’m not going to condone machine
politics, but in Boston we elected a mayor from prison … It’s
not unique to Louisiana. It’s just brazen down here. Machine
politics in the north will skim the cream. Here in Louisiana,
they skim the cream, they steal the milk, hijack the bottles
and look for the cow. And it is brazen, the amount of activity
down here where people think it’s their right as soon as they
assume office to steal from the people” (Times-Picayune, August
19, 2007).

Indeed, New Orleans is a cross between Williamsburg (a national
treasure) and Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet, the Bible says, “Where
sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.” “Is anything too
hard for the Lord?” “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me “. What city in the New Testament didn’t have
as many strongholds as New Orleans … Corinth, Ephesus,
Caesarea, Philippi, Athens, Rome? Isn’t it still possible that
people today would marvel, like in days of old, “Those Christ-
followers are turning our city upside down.” Has the Holy
Spirit lost His power? Isn’t the gospel still the power of God
unto salvation?

I continue to believe that Jesus is up to something Big.
Katrina was not an accident, but a divine appointment. Katrina
means cleansing and this is part of the cleansing work of God.
Jesus is building his church, strengthening His people and
seeking and saving people who are lost. If this city, New
Orleans, can be reached … any city can be reached. May this be
so, for the glory of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

August 13, 2007


The Eve of Hurricane Katrina 2nd Year Anniversary

Little did I know two years ago that my life was soon to be dramatically impacted.  In
fact, I vividly recall having a summer get together with 5 couples the night of August
26th, 2005, less than three days before Katrina hit the coast of Louisiana.  We were
virtually oblivious to the fact that a category 5 hurricane was looming on our horizon. 
My Saturday, August 27th, began early with a lengthy elders meeting, and Donna and I had
tickets to be in the audience of “The Wheel of Fortune" later in the day.  It was
going to be an afternoon with Pat Sajak and Vanna White and then prepare for Sunday’s
preaching.  Our normal life was about to change.  God chose to rock our world.

1.   I never dreamed on August 29th that I would live through the greatest natural disaster
in U.S. History.

2.   I never dreamed I’d see so much pain and hear so many stories of people swimming in
floodwaters or being saved by helicopter rescues. It’s hard to imagine 63,000 families
still in trailers provided by FEMA.  I still do a double take when I see so many boarded
up or bulldozed homes, overturned vehicles, broken glass, and high weeds in neighborhood
after neighborhood.  You almost have to see it to believe it.

3.   I never dreamed God would use His Katrina plan to bring me to fuller brokenness and
surrender so that ministry would be more of Him and less of me. 

4.   I never dreamed we would partner with almost 10,000 volunteers.  These sweaty, hard
working folk with out of state license plates are the hands and feet of Jesus.   Prayer
and financial support has come from around the nation.  It’s amazing to have friends now
in 38 states.

5.   I never dreamed that our “stained carpet” would weekly inspire Christ followers.  God
certainly uses the foolish, the weak, the despised, the scum of the earth, and the dregs
of all things (1 Cor. 2:18-31; 4:13).

6.   I never dreamed we would complete our 3000th request for assistance and our 50th home
repair.

7.   I never dreamed every Tuesday night I would hear kids, high schoolers, college kids,
and seasoned adults stand to their feet and in their own words state how “Jesus has rocked
their world”… “How their lives are not the same” … Here is a sample from a recent
Tuesday:

“Pray for Linda, a new sister in Christ.  A follow-up team made up of June, from CA, and
Kathleen, from TN, was traveling in St. Bernard, slightly lost on their way to make a
follow-up visit.  They saw a lady doing yard work in front of a beautiful home … one of
the very few homes repaired in this part of town.  They rolled down the window and asked
for directions.  June just felt this was ‘God-incident’, and a few minutes later she
pulled the car over and they were out looking at Linda’s yard and garden.  They heard her
story and how she had struggled to get her home rebuilt.  Kathleen then asked her if she
had thought about where she might live for eternity.  That led to a great conversation
about a relationship with God.  And a short while later, the three held hands while Linda
spoke to her heavenly Father for the first time, and secured an eternal relationship with
the Lord… all because two ladies were ‘lost’.

8.   I never dreamed there would be a “ripple effect” that is touching local churches
throughout the country to be more outreach focused.  There is a clarion call of God to
“DON’T JUST GO TO CHURCH BUT TO BE THE CHURCH and to BECOME THE CHURCH THAT LEAVES THE
BUILDING. (We release a new DVD production this week illustrating the ripple effect of
God’s choosing in churches across the country.)

9.   I never dreamed I’d get a steady stream of heartfelt e-mails that touch me deeply and
illustrate that Jesus is alive.  A woman who recently served in New Orleans wrote this
letter to her church leaders:

“So, for my 60th birthday, I decided to make my first mission trip, and chose the N.O.
inner city.  I went into places that I was told, from the time I was a child, NEVER to go
into.  I prayed, and God took away all of the fear.  Not only did he take away the fear,
but also I met the most wonderful people that I would never have had a chance to meet, if
I had held onto my fear.  I felt at peace, welcomed, appreciated, and that I was receiving
a new family there.  N.O. has some of the most resilient, courageous, generous, and
lovable people I’ve ever met!  I’d like to go back and do more for them, and I’m sure I
will some day soon.  But my husband was blessed with a job here in Memphis, so we are here
for now.  In the meanwhile, Pastor Mike from Trinity, and the Compassion/Touch Global
director, Mark Lewis, says we should get involved with our local church.  I would like to
take the ‘Urban Plunge’ and spend three days and nights in the inner city of Memphis
through your Urban Plunge Ministry.  Please tell me how to register or go about this.”

10.    I never dreamed life could be such an adventure daily.  I’m learning a little of what
Keith Johnstone said:  “There are people who prefer to say ‘Yes,’ and there are people who
prefer to say ‘No.’ Those who say ‘Yes’ are rewarded by the adventures they have, and
those who say ‘No’ are rewarded by the safety they attain.” 

An old-time preacher was speaking about God sending fire from heaven onto Mt. Carmel (1
Kings 18) and said that the manifest presence of God is “when God shows up, and he shows
off!”  He comes not to take sides but to take over.  When he arrives in splendor and
glory, it is obvious to everyone that he is present and he is in charge.  The human
agendas fade away in the overwhelming awesome presence of the King of Kings.

That is my prayer for New Orleans.  That is my dream for our community.  Let’s pray to
that end.

Betting the Farm on God,

Michael

July 30, 2007


BHAP (Big Hairy Audacious Prayers) Solicited

In this letter, I thought I would just bring you up to speed with some key strategic
planning for the future.  In doing this I am mindful of John Chancelor’s words, “If you
ever want to make God laugh – tell Him your plans.”  Yet, I am also aware of a verse that
has impacted the way I approach ministry and personal responsibility and evaluate
victories and defeats, “There is no wisdom, not insight, no plan that can succeed against
the Lord.  The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord”
(Prov.21: 30-31).  Wow!  Final outcomes are in the hand of the Lord.  His will prevails. 
Yet, I will be held responsible for this:  How well am I preparing my horse for battle?

A.   Trinity Church

It remains a huge privilege to pastor at Trinity Church.  I love the people in this
community of faith as we are called to help people become fully devoted followers of
Christ by functioning with an Acts 2:42-47 style.  Of course, we fall short so often, yet
I am teamed with elders who shepherd with integrity and faithfulness, a staff that serves
with joy and teamwork, friends who keep me sane and rejuvenated, and a church family that
is willing to step in the direction of obedience.  We long for the church to be the
church.  I’d share the 2008 vision for Trinit