“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. — Isaiah 43:18-19
As I have traveled across Japan recently, the newfound hope I am sensing just keeps growing. Everyone seems enthused about the start of the new era as the new Emperor took his place in history. This era has been proclaimed as Reiwa – “Auspicious (or Beautiful) Harmony” ...
One of the highlights of our recent Global Leaders’ Summit as meeting our latest coordinators for A3 in new countries. In this case, the pastor pictured here we’ll call Pastor S to protect his identity as he serves in a country that needs to remain unidentified for security reasons. Pastor S faces ongoing pressures and real-life threats. In fact, recently he was asked, “Why would you even consider doing A3 in your country if you know your life is in danger?” – He said, “It’s too important that we equip our leaders to not face this kind of threats. We must proceed and if I die, I die.”...
"The Harvest is Plentiful but the Workers are Few… Pray to the Lord of the Harvest." (Matthew 9:37-38) I have called our global community to pray as we have entered an 18-month discernment process seeking the Lord’s direction for A3 as we look over the horizon of 2020 toward the middle of the next decade (toward 2025). As such, we have been collecting wisdom from across our community seeking the Lord’s wisdom for what He might have in store for us given all the changes happening in the world today. Next week we begin a pivotal honing process where we try... ...
Several months ago, one of our staff kids went on a school outing. On this outing, the class visited a neighborhood temple near the school to learn more about the culture and religion. As you would expect, her parents wanted to know how the day went and as good parents followed up with her that evening. “How did you day go today?” they asked. She said, "We went to the temple on an outing today." And, upon further prompting, “What was that like?” she proceeded to say...
A Tragic Easter in Sri LankaBy now you have seen the tragic news about Easter Sunday from Sri Lanka. 3 churches were bombed during Easter services as well as three prominent hotels, one safe house and another location where police were stationed. At least 258 people have died and more than 500 people have been wounded. Later I learned that two Islamic centers also saw attacks in the northern part of the island. Our colleagues heard the bombs going off during their church services: "We heard of the explosions during our Easter service. We were on lockdown but proceeded the service and sent the believers home ASAP. We were unaware of the gravity of the situation… It is difficult to understand, but we are holding on to God. We are grieving with our people. We are safe. But we are absolutely devastated. Scared. And overwhelmed." They thanked us for praying and asked us to specifically pray that this act of terror could be a turning point in their nation...
Hi Friends! It’s Good Friday here at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. We just want to let you know how grateful we are as we get ready to board our flight back to Japan where we’ll celebrate Easter. We just want...
Every time I turn around these days there are reports of increasing persecution of believers and churches in various countries. It seems that persecution is on the rise as nationalism becomes the political whim of the moment. 10 of the 16 countries A3 serves have seen persecution expand. Here are a few glimpses from just this past week: “One of our Bible college alumni is beaten by people, accusing of converting people while he was returning with friends helping people with relief material.” ... In another Asian nation, our national director shared this...
I often speak with parents about the challenges of parenting and hear stories of the aches and pains people face or simply the frustrations of raising kids. How encouraging to know that A3 missionary Barbara Bauman, with help from her husband Gary, has updated her outstanding book Discovering the Joy of Parenting. I can’t wait to get a copy! The original book has been a lifesaver and game changer for many Japanese and Mongolian families around the world. It’s been available as a bilingual Japanese and English text since 2002, and in Mongolian since 2012. I’ve heard stories of...
Eight years ago, Silk and I were here in Japan during the horrific triple disaster that hit the country. In a matter of minutes, lives were ruined, the country was disrupted and it was a day that none of us will ever forget. The spirit of “Ganbatte” – never giving up or similarly “Ganbare” – let’s do our best or together carried the nation through the personal and societal loss. It was a significant time for the body of Christ in Japan, as Christ’s Church rose to the occasion to help bring hope and healing to the nation. It was one of the most unifying expressions in modern Japanese church history and the hope that it inspired is still active today. To get a glimpse of how this happened, take a look at this...
One of our core faculty members, Rod Denton, has been going through a trying season the last several years. After wave upon wave of disappointment and agony, he shared the following wisdom. I'm sharing it here with his permission, and I hope it encourages you...
It is not always easy to have clear perspective as we have journeyed over many years of illness and chronic pain. How do we make sense of it all? Where is God in the extended seasons of unceasing trauma? How do we push on when there are no easy answers and we feel like we are hanging on by a thread? What can we share with our prayer partners to encourage them, when there is seemingly little or no encouragement to share?
Yesterday I posted that I recently sat down to interview Terry Looper about his new book Sacred Pace which was released on February 26. It’s a book laying out several great principles that align with our core focus at A3. I know you’ll enjoy the book. You can learn more about it here: Sacred Pace. And I had shared two clips from my interview with Terry Looper here, but these are two additional clips that I want you to see...
Recently, I was able to interview Terry Looper about his new book Sacred Pace being released today on February 26. It’s a book laying out several great principles that align with our core focus at A3. I know you’ll enjoy the book. You can learn more about it here: Sacred Pace. Here are a couple clips from our interview that I want to share with you. Terry talks about his relationship with God highlighting some of the themes from the book. It’s a terrific reflection on A3 first outcome, Living in a Love Relationship with God. Enjoy! I hope it inspires your walk with Jesus...
A3 board member, Kärin Primuth serves as the CEO of visionSynergy, a ministry focused on helping mission movements like A3 become stronger in partnership. They are very impressive and I hope you’ll check them out – http://visionsynergy.net/ Most recently Kärin sent me a letter highlighting the impact A3 has had on a new venture they are doing. Here’s what Kärin had to say:
Serving on the A3 board has not only provided many insights for my own board development, but what I’ve learned about leadership development has also been instrumental in shaping visionSynergy’s network leader development initiatives. We've consistently seen that one of the major barriers to unleashing spiritual transformation is a lack of Christian leaders with skills needed to facilitate collaboration...
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For over half a century, A3 has catalyzed movements in Asia. Now, with doors open in the Middle East, North Africa, and the West, we have boldly stepped in...
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