Word & Spirit Telecast - July 4, 2008

Happy Birthday, America...!

After having lived on three different continents and having visted many, many countries around the world, as much as Teresa and I love cultural and linguistic diversity, we still have a deep love for the U.S.A. and a deep gratitude in our hearts toward the Lord for the privilege of being born here. America is not a perfect nation, but I believe it has been a blessed nation, in spite of our sins and our shortcomings. On this July 4th, I encourage you to pause for a moment and thank God for the U.S.A., asking God for His blessing upon it. Happy Birthday, America, and may God's favor continue to rest upon you!

P.S. Pastor Mike and Hazel Simons from the Promiseland Television Network have called for 31 Days of Prayer and Fasting through the month of July. They are televising a live prayer meeting from their studios on our Hillcrest Church campus each night this month from 8-10pm. Be sure to prayerfully consider what the Lord would have you to do to join in this intercessory effort on behalf of the Metroplex, the nation, and the world...! (Click here to watch live via the internet from anywhere in the world.)

Teresa hosts "Word and Spirit" Live...!

On Friday, June 27, 2008, Teresa hosted our "Word and Spirit" telecast live from our campus at Hillcrest Church.

We have begun broadcasting live on "Word and Spirit" ...!

Last Monday, Teresa and I were able to broadcast live on "Word and Spirit" from the campus of Hillcrest Church for the very first time! Please join us in praying that God would use this new form of outreach to our community and that our ministry team would quickly master all the technical aspects of producing and airing such a program. We welcome your comments and suggestions!

Absent Fathers Still Influence

While perusing the internet researching a completely different topic, I stumbled across a fascinating article detailing how many of our nation's Presidents were deeply influenced by their absent fathers. Doug Wead writes,

There is curious anecdotal evidence that some of history’s most powerful leaders came from homes with absent fathers. And we are seeing this scenario acted out again in the lives of our two presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.

Senator Barack Obama, whose father left home in 1963, was only two years old. They were separated by continents. Obama was twenty-one years old when he was told in a telephone call that the father he never knew was killed in an automobile accident.

John McCain, son and grandson of navy officers, had a father who was a four star admiral. He was very loving but very busy and usually faraway.

Many fathers of the American presidents die young. And even the ones who live usually fall into the Obama-McCain category. “I was never there,” says George Herbert Walker Bush, “Barbara raised him.”

Three fathers of presidents died before their sons were even born.

Andrew Jackson
Rutherford B. Hayes
Bill Clinton

And many others died at an early age. James Garfield was one year old when his father died. Andrew Johnson was three, Herbert Hoover six, George Washington eleven, and Thomas Jefferson fourteen. Fully nineteen presidents lost their fathers before they reached age thirty. And only two fathers actually attended their sons’ inaugurations.

There is a very predictable family formula for strong leaders, good and bad. They have an attachment to the mother and an absent father. Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedung all fit the pattern as neatly as Washington and Jefferson.

After giving more examples from the annals of U.S. history to support his thesis, Wead recounts how he was puzzled by the fact that absentee fathers played such a prominent and positive role in shaping the lives of Presidents, even though he knew "...America's prisons are full of young men who also attached to their mothers and have an absent father." Later, he came to some thought-provoking conclusions as to why the impact on each group of children is so very different,

If a father only spends his life serving his sons, reducing himself to the role of a taxi driver, running them to little league and soccer practice and math camp, all to show that they are a loving father willing to sacrifice their own advancement to give their sons an opportunity they never had, don’t expect the sons to grow up to be major league ball players or brilliant engineers. They will likely grow up to be taxi drivers just like their fathers, driving their sons all over suburbia as well.

On the other hand, if a father does something great with his life, achieves something significant or heroic, then, even if he is absent, his son will likely follow and may even do better, just to rub it in.

There is now much evidence that the role of the father, even his absence, is just as important in shaping leaders and presidents as is the role of the mother. Affirmed and empowered by their mother’s love but also hurt and frustrated by their father’s absence, a leader, including most American presidents, will strive to prove their value and worth with their great achievements.

Personally, I am convinced the best fathers do both. They deeply invest their time in their children's lives while also finding and fulfilling their own God-given destiny. I do think, however, that in an attempt to give their kids every possible advantage in life, some parents unwittingly infect them with the intoxicating and corrosive impression that they are the center of the universe, that their own wants and needs should be the focus of their lives.

Jesus, on the other hand, clearly stated that humility and service to others are the key to all true greatness. It is very important to convince our children of our love for them and of their great value in the eyes of the Lord. It is also vital that we point them toward something larger than themselves as the ultimate goal in life.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 NIV)

36% of Americans claim to be Pentecostal or Charismatic

According to the Barna research group's recent findings, the number of churches and adherents to Pentecostal perspectives and practices has grown significantly in the past two decades. Today, fully 36% of Americans consider themselves to have been "...filled by the Holy Spirit and believe that the charismatic gifts, such as tongues and healing, are valid and active today." For more insights, click here.

In a lighter vein...

Anyone who knows me well knows that I am fascinated with emerging technologies. Paul and I flew on Emirates Airlines from Dubai on down to Colombo, Sri Lanka on the last leg of our trip. The seat back video screen from the entertainment system had what I think is a very cool feature, namely, live video from a camera mounted on the nose of the plane. This enables passengers to see what the captain sees throughout the flight, including during take-off and landing. I had only encountered this once before, on a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to Singapore, but it was only in black and white it did not show the take-off and landing. Hats off to Emirates (which is a fabulous airline, by the way - I will fly them again any day!) for offering this feature to their passengers. Here is the video Paul filmed of our night take-off from Dubai and the landing at Colombo the following morning.

Almost home...

Pray for Sri Lanka's spiritual leaders

Pastor and Mrs. Darshan Fernando who serve on the ministry team of People's Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Worship

Here's a little taste Sri Lankan worship during one of the Sunday services at People's Church.

What a powerful church!

What a great day we had here in Colombo, Sri Lanka, ministering at People's Church and fellowshipping with Pastor Dishan Wickramaratne and Dr. Colton!



Senior Pastor Dishan Wickramaratne

Founding Pastor Dr. Colton Wickramaratne and Suzanne

The photos below show a portion of the congregation this morning at the 10:30am combined Tamil/Senhala service.

We are nearly there...!

Whew...! It seems like Paul Kerr and I have been travelling forever. Of course, I have to remind myself that we are headed for the furthest international airport from DFW in the Northern Hemisphere, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. During our six hour layover in Amsterdam, Holland, we were able to hop the train, run into town, and meet up with Steve and Rhonda Ashworth who minister in one of the darkest parts of that very dark city for YWAM (Youth With A Mission). Our church has been partnering with them financially for several years and it was great to get an update on what God is doing through them. I was even able to record a TV program with Rhonda from "The Tabernacle" prayer center that your offerings helped build. I will air the interview on "Word and Spirit" when I get back. Thanks for your continued prayers as we fly all night tonight on to Colombop, Sri Lanka for our ministry there at People's Church and some 1,500 leaders!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Greetings from Dubai...!

Paul and I have arrived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, en-route to Colombo, Sri Lanka. Later this evening, we fly to Colombo, Sri Lanka for special meetings at the People's Church and with some 1,500 leaders. After a visit to a local congregation this morning, we went to a nearby mall for lunch. Outside the temperature had already reached some 110 degrees, but look what we found inside...REAL, man-made SNOW(the H2O variety - not styrofoam or something synthetic) and a skiing slope...! In case what you are wondering what this oil-rich, cash-flush country is like, this short video says it all... As prosperous and progressive as it seems, this area also evidences deep spiritual needs. Pray for Dubai, its leaders, and the people from all over the world who are living here. It is a very cosmopolitan city - some estimates put the expatriate population at 90% of its current inhabitants.

We are on the air...!

Teresa and I are happy to report that our new, “Word and Spirit” program went on the air this morning on the Promiseland Television Network…!

Our thirty minute telecast will air every weekday morning at 9:30am and on Saturday and Sunday at 12:00 noon. It can be viewed over the air on KTAQ channel 46 and KTAQ-DT channel 47.1; on virtually every cable system in the Metroplex (check your cable listing to discover the right channel for your TV); on both Dish and Direct TV throughout North Texas; and live over the internet by clicking on either mms://ptn.streamsvr.com/ptn or http://www.mikesimons.com. Please pray that God will help us win many souls and that many new people will be added to our church family through this new form of ministry.

In order to get on the air as soon as possible, we have begun broadcasting with a very simple, taped format. We want to lift the level of technical excellence as quickly as we can, as our viewers respond with the finances necessary to buy our own equipment, etc. Please pray that God will quickly provide for those needs. My desire is that any expenses incurred by these programs be financed entirely by people in our viewing audience, without spending any Hillcrest Church funds.

Please pray as well that the Lord will help Teresa and me quickly acquire the new skills that we need in order to be as effective as possible in this new setting. Our goal is progressive excellence, day by day, in every way. For the moment, we are taping at the Promiseland studio in Greenville. I am hosting the program, ministering to the viewers, and interviewing guests by myself. When PTN moves onto our campus in a few weeks and we begin broadcasting “live,” Teresa will join me as often as she can, given her other responsibilities, especially as mother and home-school educator. Please pray that God will help us and the entire Hillcrest Church staff adjust to this new rhythm of life and ministry.

Home School Humor...!

For all the home school families at Hillcrest and beyond...the "Adams Family" revisted...!

What is the Gospel According to YOU?

Look What God Is Doing! - Paul Kerr/Hispanic Ministry

Haste for Riches Leads to Sin

The Best Is Yet To Come!

Rabbi Marty Waldman - Personal Testimony

I had the privilege of welcoming my good friend, Rabbi Marty Waldman from Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue to the Promiseland Live! telecast recently while I guest hosted for Mike and Hazel Simons on the Promiseland Television network. Rabbi Marty, child of Holocaust survivors, shares his personal testimony of how he came to faith in Jesus (Yeshua) and discusses the prophetic significance of modern Messianic Judaism.

Holy Spirit Fullness - The Gift of Spiritual Language (Speaking in Tongues)

Here is the broadcast Teresa and I hosted for Mike and Hazel Simons this past Monday. During the first hour, we minister to people who are involved in occultic practices. During the second hour, we minister the fullness of the Holy Spirit and share about the importance and role of spiritual language (the gift of tongues).