deep FRYED

2009-12-18T11:23:00.006-05:00

Keeping the Gospel Front and Center (Part 5)

5. Study the Gospel
The last part of helping us keep the Gospel at the forefront of our hearts and minds daily, is to grow in our knowledge of the Gospel. If we are to grow in our understanding of the Gospel, we MUST grow in our knowledge of the Gospel. The great thing is that we don't have to go to seminary to do that! I would personally recommend that you be careful and strategic about the resources you use, especially early on, but you don't have to take classes (which aren't bad by the way) to grow in your theology. So where do you begin? Good question!

I would first recommend that you dive into great books of the Bible like Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, or Hebrews, and as you mull over some of the rich passages about the Gospel in these books have a trusty commentary with you. I recommend "The Bible Speaks Today" series (only buy for the books you are studying) or taking advantage of www.monergism.com. Now as you read and study, some pretty freaky words like justification, substitutionary atonement, propitiation, predestination, election, and others are going to jump out at you. Don't be SCARED...Superman (or Wayne Grudem) will help you. Go get his systematic theology book (which is HUGE) but you aren't reading the whole thing. This book is the clearest I have ever read in regards to explaining what some of these theological words actually mean. Another great resource is John Frame's "Salvation Belongs to the Lord".

By the way, if you haven't noticed already, to grow in your knowledge and understanding of the Gospel takes discipline and the work ethic to read and think. At times, you will do better than at other times, but just stick with it. I also recommend reading outside sources to assist you as you desire to grow in your understanding of the Gospel.

Here are my TOP 10 resources (in no particular order): Click here for a bookstore!

The Gospel for Real Life, Jerry Bridges (easy)
How People Change, Timothy Lane and Paul David Tripp (intermediate)
Christians Beliefs, Wayne and Elliot Grudem (easy) *abridged version of the above mentioned Systematic Theology
Prodigical God, Tim Keller (easy)
The Cross of Christ, John Stott (technical)
Redemption Accomplished and Applied, John Murray (technical)
The Disciplines of Grace, Jerry Bridges (easy)
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, John Piper (easy)
The Great Work of the Gospel, John Ensor (intermediate)
Death By Love, Mark Driscoll (easy) *read only if you are ready for brutal honesty and being pointed to the Savior at the same time.

Praying with you and for you as WE seek to understand more of the Gospel!

2009-12-14T12:15:00.000-05:00

Please click the picture below to watch an incredible 4-minute video by Matt Chandler, Pastor of The Village Church near Dallas, TX. Matt recently had surgery for a brain tumor, and is now recovering at home with his wife and family.

Matt has definitely challenged and encouraged my heart in many ways and I hope that his life and ministry does the same for you. Please take a brief moment to pray for him, his family, and The Village Church after you watch this!

If you are a pastor or in ministry of any sort I would really encourage you to listen to the sermon "Ministry Over the Long Haul", which Matt refers to in this video.

2009-12-14T11:12:00.002-05:00

Keeping the Gospel Front and Center (Part 4)

4. Review How the Gospel Has Changed You
Most of us, if we are honest, try very hard to forget the past. Mistakes we have made, sins we have committed, people we have hurt, and people that have hurt us, are not things we love to revisit in our hearts and minds. The Apostle Paul, however, in I Timothy 1:13 is not shy about telling his young disciple about his past. "...though I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy...". Why would Paul be interested in recalling who he was nearly 30 years prior? Because reflecting on who he once was, in light of the Gospel, magnified the grace of God and kept him dependent on that grace.

It is vital that we never forget our past. If you have a personal relationship with Christ, you have a story of redemption, and it does not have to be a dramatic story to show off the glory of God. All salvation stories are miracles of His grace. God intervened in the midst of your rebellion. God changed your heart. God saved you!

Take some time to reflect on your story of redemption today, and let aspects of the Gospel and the grace, love, and mercy of God encourage you!

2009-12-11T12:13:00.003-05:00

Top 10 Most Challenging Tweets/Statements From the Last Month
Below are the 10 most challenging tweets/statements that I have heard from people within the last month and I hope they humble you and get you excited about the glory of God in the grace, love, and mercy of the Gospel. (not in order of importance or value)

"If you only love the people that you can control, that is NOT love, but control." -Bryan Chappell (via Elliot Grudem)
"If we come to Christ God drew us, which none of us deserves. If we don't, God did not draw us, which all of us deserve." -John Piper
"You are only as free in the Gospel as you make people feel." -Elliot Grudem
"Pursue your spouse as a lover, not as a provider of your needs." -Scott Thomas
“Do you worship God, love people, and use things? Or do you worship yourself, love things, and use people?" -Francis Chan
"You can't love people until you are no longer in slavery to their approval." - Jeff Vanderstelt
"When you delegate tasks you create followers. when you delegate leadership you create leaders." -someone teaching at ReTrain (via Tim Smith)
"The church can get another pastor, but your wife only has one husband." -Mark Driscoll
"Every verse in the Bible is meant to have a good effect. Don't throw any away because at first it doesn't. The problem is us." -John Piper
"If you deal with people at the heart level without being full of grace and love, it will be destructive." -Dr. Sam Williams

2009-12-08T23:12:00.006-05:00

Job Update: Cars To Go
After a long and sometimes disappointing road of job hunting, I have decided to try my hand at being a wholesale car salesman with my dad. Kelley and I started talking about this a couple of weeks ago, and as we prayed and weighted the pros and cons, it seemed just as good as any other opportunity.

The benefits would be:

Gaining sales experience
Flexibility (could do this and work a part-time job and/or go to seminary)
The chance to work with my dad
The opportunity to add "marketing" ideas to help increase our ability to serve people

So if you are looking for a car and don't want the hassle of looking for it yourself...we do ALL the work for YOU. Just let me know the make, model, mileage, year, color(s), and budget and I will go find the car you want.

To find out more about CARS TO GO follow us:

Facebook: www.companies.to/carstogo
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CARS_TO_GO

*If you want to earn cash, refer someone to us. If they buy a car at CARS TO GO, then we will give YOU $100 cash. It's that easy!

2009-12-08T22:38:00.004-05:00

Keeping the Gospel Front and Center (Parts 2 and 3)
So I have been a little slack blogging lately, please forgive me. I actually took some time off to focus full-time on finding a job, and to discover what God wants for Kelley and I for this season. I do, however, want to finish up this series because it has been so beneficial to me the last couple of months. If you follow me regularly, I will have new posts up on Mondays and Fridays. Seriously...so stop laughing!

2. Pray the Gospel
I am convinced for us to have right perspective when we come before God in prayer, the Gospel should be at the center. I mean it is the Gospel that allows us to even approach God in prayer in the first place. How do I do that? One way is I implement the verses that I am memorizing about the Gospel into my prayer times. Another way is I begin my prayer times by thanking God for the realities of the Gospel. And then lastly, I claim the promises of the Gospel as I ask God to help me fight sin, serve and glorify Him, and for the power of the Gospel to reign in people's hearts (especially the people I am building relationships with, praying for, and hoping to share the Gospel with).

3. Sing the Gospel
I stink at singing (ask my wife and friends). I am literally tone deaf, but I love to sing about the Gospel. Music does something to my soul! As I read the Psalms, I am pretty convinced a Christian's heart should be full of song, songs about their glorious King. Do I just sing any worship song? This may offend some people but I don't. In fact, I am pretty strategic about the songs that I sing. There are so MANY worship songs today that focus on what we need, or what we want God to do, rather than what Jesus has already DONE! I have found my heart needs to be focused on songs that are Gospel-centered and theologically rich. Here are some songs that I sing routinely, and I would even recommend you finding the lyrics to these songs to have in front of you as you sing, so that you can mediate on the words.

In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross (Sojourn)
It is Well with My Soul (Michael Bleecker)
Before the Throne of God Above (Michael Bleecker)
On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand (Indelible Grace)
In Christ Alone (Page CXVI)
Nothing But the Blood (Page CXVI)
It is Finished-Part II (Red Mountain Church)
Thy Mercy (Caedmon's Call)

Go get by yourself and sing away!

2009-10-26T20:31:00.004-04:00

Keeping the Cross Front and Center (Part 1)
A little over a month ago, when Kelley and I began to make some major transitions in our life together, we quickly realized that a great deal of uncertainty surrounded our next steps. We both felt like where God wanted us long term was much clearer than what our next season would look like. It was a very weird place to be in, but during this time God has really deepened our knowledge of the Gospel, and increased our ability (only by His grace) to apply it to daily life.

Theologically and practically I feel like the last month of our lives individually and together have been very rich. Definitely not free from struggle, in fact it has been full of struggle, but God has restored and deepened our joy in the midst of the struggle. During this time, we have been going through the Psalms of Accents as a church, I have been studying the Book of Ephesians still (probably pound-for-pound the best book in the Bible... just sayin'), and also I picked up a book by C.J. Mahaney called, The Cross Centered Life. If you have never read it, you should and here are a couple reasons why:

It is about keeping the Gospel the "main" thing in your life. In I Corinthians 15:1-3, Paul tells the Corthinthian church that one thing is of the utmost importance, and it is the Gospel. We all need to be reminded of the Gospel constantly!
It is small and short, only 85 pages, and it will dominate your world.
It leaves you wanting more Jesus!

Sounds like a best seller doesn't it men?! In this book Mahaney gives you some great practical ways to "preach the gospel" to yourself daily, and what I wanted to do is give you a modified version of how I have been using these practicalities in my daily walk. I will do this in 5 parts. Hope you enjoy them!

1. Memorize the Gospel
Now, I know that some of you just went, "Really... I stink at memorizing". That's okay because about half the people in the world do, so you have some good company. Don't give up! Work at it because God is not keeping a scorecard. I promise you will not regret giving a good effort here.

Why should I memorize? Psalm 119:11 says, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." What a great reminder that as we tuck away the Word of God in our hearts, there is a greater propensity for us to stay focused on the glory of God and honoring Him rather than trying to rob Him of His glory, which is at the root of sin. Having verses/passages accessible throughout the day is priceless. If you are like me, I float in and out of proper perspective constantly throughout the day and need to be roped back in. There are many other verses that speak to memorization that I would encourage you to cross-reference if that didn't suffice, but for time sake I won't go into all of those.

Which verses/passages should I memorize? Good question. If you already have some favorite verses/passages that center on the Gospel, I would start there. If you don't, not to worry I will give you some below. Now, I recommend more than just simply memorizing verses/passages. For me, I have found it more effective for my heart to meditate on (mull over, think on) and pray through verses/passages that I write down on note cards throughout the memorizing process. You can do this in your quiet time in the morning, on your commute to work, during your lunch break, and/or when you pray with your family at night. Kelley and I have even been reading a verse before we bless the meal at dinner time. It is just a simply way to keep these verses front and center in our day. Memorizing is definitely a discipline and you will have to have a plan if you want to take more successful steps in this area. Come up with a plan that works best for you and ask the Holy Spirit to assist you during this process. You will be surprised at the progress you will make!

Here are some of the verses I recommend (start small and work up to larger passages):
2 Corinthians 5:21
2 Corinthians 8:9
Hebrews 10:14
I Corinthians 15:3-4
Galatians 2:20-21
Titus 3:4-7
Romans 5:6-11
Romans 5:12-19
Romans 8:28-32
Isaiah 53:4-6
Ephesians 2:1-10
Ephesians 2:13-16

Praying for your joy!

2009-10-15T13:18:00.009-04:00

Next Steps...

As some of you may already know, Kelley Ann (I love to call her that) and I have been in a transitional season of our lives. Back in August, we felt like God was moving us away from being in full-time ministry for a period of time, and calling at least me to the business sector. I say at least me because Kelley Ann is now the Administration and Finance Director for the church (Christ the King Presbyterian Church) that we have been attending for over 3 years now. CTK and its leadership have been a huge blessing for us during this time. They have not only loved us well, but have helped me greatly in the job finding process. We recently have become members there, and are trying to serve the church in anyway possible.

Over the last month or so, we have had up and down days both spiritually and emotionally, but God has been so faithful to us. As family and friends (including past and present supporters), have come beside us in this time, our understanding and daily application of the gospel has increased, our marriage and friendship has taken leaps and bounds, and our desire to dream about what God may have for us together in the future has been filled with joy and longing, not doubt and worry. Thank you so much for loving us and praying for us! Here are ways you can continue to do that if you would like:

That Kelley Ann and I would continue to preach the gospel to one another and REALLY believe the gospel on a moment by moment basis. We long to experience more joy in the midst of our circumstances.
That I would be able to find a job soon, and with the "right" company. Finances have been tight as we try to raise money to pay off our support deficit and live off of one salary. I have had several encouraging interviews, and I am asking God for clarity moving forward.
That we would continue to build relationships and share the gospel with the people that live in our neighborhood. We live right between a low income area and a historic (high dollar) area, so the harvest is plentiful!
That God would give us clarity on His Will moving forward. My long term desire is to get more formal training and church plant at some level.

Psalm 126
"When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him."

I don't ever regret having to endure tough times because I get to go through them with my God, my incredible wife, and my family and friends. Your faith will be tested and strengthened ONLY in tough times, not easy ones.

Please leave comments...we would love to know how you are doing!

2009-10-10T11:20:00.005-04:00

American Idol Worship (Pastor Mark Driscoll)

2009-09-28T21:30:00.002-04:00

This is an awesome picture of why we must continue give our lives to reaching the the nations with the Gospel!

2009-09-28T20:01:00.007-04:00

I have gleaned much from Mark Driscoll over the years and thought some of you might find this helpful...

Leadership Is Lonely (Part 1)

Mark Driscoll Preaching Pastor at Mars Hill Church

Leadership Is Lonely series: Click | View Series

Leadership is lonely. Anyone who disagrees is likely not a leader.

By definition, a leader is out ahead of his or her team, seeing, experiencing, and learning things before everyone else. On one hand, this causes great excitement and enthusiasm because the opportunity to learn and pioneer is incredibly invigorating. On the other hand, however, the distance between a leader and his or her team is incredibly lonely, even to the point of becoming debilitating.

The more successful a leader becomes, the more extreme the joys and sorrows of leadership become. In extreme cases, the results are akin to being bipolar, with intense mood swings when stress and pressure turn the cracks in our character into fault lines.

For those who are leaders, the question is, what should we do when we find ourselves out ahead of our team? Recently, God has convicted me of sin in my own life and leadership. Specifically, he has graciously revealed to me ways in which I have patterns of sinful response to the feeling of loneliness that accompanies leadership. I am sharing this in hopes of helping other leaders and the people they lead.

For leaders and those who love them and can help them see their own sin, especially their spouse, the following self-assessment statements may prove helpful in diagnosing sinful responses to the loneliness of leadership:

I feel that God has abandoned me to an impossible task and have begun to question his goodness.
I become annoyed by my team because they do not understand me or the difficulties I face as their leader.
I wish someone would just tell me what to do, give me permission to not do so much, and sort out the complexity of my life.
I am annoyed by others because I believe they are stupid, lazy, slowing me down, and simply unwilling and/or unable to keep up with me and all the work I have to do.
I question if anyone really loves me and secretly think that almost everyone is simply using me.

Does this sound familiar? Many leaders, in an effort to appear more spiritual than they are, think these things in their mind and feel them in their heart even if they don’t say them with their mouth. Is there hope? Yes, and we’ll explore that in the next blog post.

To be continued.

Leadership Is Lonely (Part 2)

What should leaders do when they find themselves out ahead of their team, in over their head, and lonely, tired, frustrated, and bewildered?

I am coming out of a season covered by this exact cloud and, as a result of time in Scripture, prayer, and coaching from an older Christian business leader whom God has used on more than one occasion to speak wisdom into my life, I am finding the following steps to be invaluable to lonely leaders.

1. Accept that leadership is lonely.

There will never be a time when there is not distance between you and those you lead. We find that many of God’s leaders, including Jesus himself, spent much time in lonely places and living lonely lives. Even leaders surrounded by crowds need to accept that leadership is lonely because those crowds usually include fans and foes but few friends. Because leaders build community, oftentimes they find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to having true peers and true community.

2. Use silence and solitude to write down what you need.

Rather than being frustrated because no one understands you, knows your needs, looks out for you, or helps you, use your energy to write down exactly what you need. You are truly the only person who really knows what you need. Personally, I carry a Moleskine with me at all times and make note of things I need in order to be healthier and more productive. This can include anything from a good place to Sabbath, a decent vacation, and the right technology, to staff help, exercise, dietary changes, and so on. Too often leaders do not practice sufficient times of silence and solitude when such times can be invaluable to working on their life rather than staying at the office and continue working in it until they become angry, unhealthy, depressed, and burned out.

3. Pray for God to go before you act.

Most leaders are doers and pushers. This means our first instinct when an opportunity or an obstacle arises is to do more and push our team to do more. Instead, the first thing we should do is pray. The past few days I have decided to write down the list of things I need to do, people I need to meet with, and situations I need to involve myself in. Rather than picking up the phone, sending an email, or taking action, I have decided to wait twenty-four hours on any non-emergency issue and sincerely and specifically pray for God to go before me to move other people to meet the need or for God to take care of it himself. I have been able to check more than half of the items off my to do list by doing nothing but praying, as God has faithfully revealed himself to care more about my ministry than I do.

4. Emotionally wait for your team to catch up.

Don’t default to other-centered contempt and assume everyone else is stupid, lazy, unspiritual, unloving, selfish, and incompetent (though admittedly some may be). Don’t default to self-centered contempt and assume that you have failed as a leader because you are lonely and wallow in the bottomless pit of introspection and self-condemnation. Instead, prayerfully and patiently wait for your team to catch up. Give them time to see what you see, feel what you feel, and know what you know.

5. Teach your team.

Don’t verbally process your feelings out loud with your team, lash out in anger, or cry out in despair. Instead, use your times of silence and solitude to jot down your thoughts and needs as an act of journaling to God, get your heart lined up with God in prayer, and then lovingly pastor your team by teaching them to see what you see, feel what you feel, and know what you know so that together you can do what you need to do by being who you need to be.

6. As a last resort, use a sanctified shove.

Sometimes, when the previous five steps have been followed, there simply needs to be a sanctified shove to get people focused on their task and faithful to it.

I can assure you from much personal experience that doing this process in reverse does not work in any way or for anyone.

2009-05-26T17:32:00.003-04:00

ADVANCE 2009

Want to be a part of seeing the church advance in our world? Go to Advance09! Register at www.advance09.com. Advance09 is a conference about furthering the local church and equipping pastors, leaders and the laity to help further the church. Hurry tickets are selling fast and the dates of the conference are the 4th-6th of June!

2009-05-13T13:09:00.001-04:00

Amen!

2009-05-13T10:27:00.007-04:00

Support Update
Due to the economy and current job lay offs, Kelley Ann and I have had some supporters that could no longer give to us and Campus Outreach at NC State. To these supporters, thank you for how you have lovingly and sacrificially supported us in the past. We are praying for you and hope that you trust God in such difficult times - He is your loving Father who knows best and promises to provide. Our greatest hope is that even when it is hard, you can know and trust God more. We know that when God does bless you with the means to give again you will...thank you.

With all this said, Kelley and I do have a financial need moving forward, and we are asking God (along with our entire regional staff team) to meet the needs that we have as a region in the summer months, especially in the month of May. Here is what Kelley and I are praying for:

$600/monthly: for 3 people to commit to give $100/monthly and 6 people to $50 monthly
$2000 one-time need for The City Project (read below)

We would greatly appreciate your prayers toward that end, and also if you have any contacts who you think would be interested in impacting the lives of students on the college campus feel free to pass those along to me at kfrye@campusoutreach.org. Lastly, if you would like to give, please contact the COR office at coraleigh@campusoutreach.org. Philippians 4:19!

2009-05-09T20:28:00.000-04:00

Campus Outreach NC State- Year in Review from Keith Frye on Vimeo.

Year 2 is complete at NC State for Campus Outreach, and God has been moving greatly. Hear from staff and students about how God has been dramatically transforming their hearts and lives through the power of the Gospel.

2009-04-03T22:50:00.004-04:00

During the summer, the majority of CO staff coordinate and manage “projects” that are structured around the development of students. Most of you have heard us talk about our Summer Orlando Project, where students work at Disney World or SeaWorld during the day and receive spiritual training at night. Or perhaps you recall that last summer Keith and I were part of a Cross Cultural Project to Thailand, where key students ministered outside of their typical culture by joining the full-time CO Thailand staff’s ministry to the campus of Khon Kaen University.
This summer, Keith and I are thrilled to have a unique opportunity to lead a project designed, not for students, but for the development of ten CO Raleigh staff -- us included! Several aspects of ministry will be emphasized in our development plans over the course of June and July:

Seminary training at RTS and at the Summit Church in Durham
Mercy ministry to Raleigh and Durham
Ministry to single and military mothers
Church planting
Missionary work in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Stewardship training

Along with this development plan, our team will be spending the month of May raising support. Please join in praying for this process as the financial needs of our region have heightened over the past several months. Along with most of you, Keith and I, personally have seen the effects of the economic situation.
God has sustained us financially every step of the way, often through your commitment to us and to the Lord. We see it as a joy to trust God with our checkbooks and thank you for helping minister to us, as you partner with our ministry to college students in Raleigh. You have blessed us by being an active part of Christ’s body in our lives. He is trustworthy to provide -- we pray that you find your confidence in Him now and thank you for how you love us!

2009-04-03T21:03:00.010-04:00

Our Life in Raleigh
AN UPDATE ON US

The two year mark is vastly approaching for Kelley and I in Raleigh. For us, that also means celebrating two years of marriage and ministry together! Man, time flies, doesn’t it?
As I glance back at our time here, it can best be described as two sinners trying to scrap and claw to believe the Gospel and live out its implications in the midst of tons of uncertainty and weaknesses/failure. The older I get, the more I realize that I will not lead and love people well with my own strength. I feel like I am at a time where my performance is always under par, but God is teaching me a whole new understanding of grace. More so, He is teaching me how to live my life in response to what Christ has already done for me (Romans 12:1) rather than what I hope He will do for me or what I, myself, hope to accomplish. I am overwhelmed that God gave me a wife that is stubborn and passionate enough about God’s glory to continue to love and encourage me towards grace and not performance. Please continue to pray for me as I learn more about what it looks like to lead and love Kelley and other people like Jesus and with Jesus.
For Kelley, the past two years have been a work in progress. She has been doing various things from discipling girls to working administratively in the CO office. She has gifts and experiences that are unlike many of our staff because she did not “grow up” in CO and she worked corporately for a couple years after college. This a great benefit to our region; however, it has forced her to be very patient in discovering her specific benefit and fit here. We are trusting God to help Kelley determine the unique calling that He has for her as we work to advance His kingdom.
We are both learning that life is all about seeing the depths of God’s character and trusting Him more and more. We pray you enjoy being called into the same journey.

Thank you for supporting us with your prayers and financial giving. We pray for you often that God would bless you and increase your faith.

2009-03-26T16:50:00.002-04:00

The Latest on Summer Orlando Project 2009

Mason Goes Home from J. Stephens on Vimeo.

CO Raleigh Student Video #1 from J. Stephens on Vimeo.

Molly is a sophmore at University of North Carolina. Her life was radically transformed by the Gospel when she made the decision to attend the Campus Outreach, Summer Orlando Project last summer.

2009-03-04T14:52:00.002-05:00

If you don't know John Piper, you should! Listen to him and soak up Jesus Christ! I hope to one day know Jesus and rest in Jesus like this man does.

2009-03-04T14:14:00.004-05:00

Be careful about what you listen to and what you teach...
"Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." 1 Timothy 4:16

The reason that I wanted to include this post is because I believe many Christians today (especially the younger generation) are being sold and taught a slightly different gospel than is found in the Scriptures, and I believe the implications of that are and will continue to be devastating if we are not "watching" carefully what we are taking in and giving away. A movement that I believe is the major contributor to producing and selling this different gospel (which is not the true gospel) is the "Emergent Church". Now, I would recommend that you do your research about the "Emergent Church" before you draw the same conclusions that I have and many of the reformed community draw today. Below is a link to a 3-part critique that Greg Gilbert, the director of theological research at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, does on Rob Bell, who is a front runner of the "Emergent Church" and produces NOOMA videos that are the new craze in youth groups across America.

Read more about Greg Gilbert's Critique

2009-02-25T15:34:00.000-05:00

Campus Outreach SOP from J. Stephens on Vimeo.

2009-02-25T14:53:00.007-05:00

God's Movement
"Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 5 Thus says God, the Lord,who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it,who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 “I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Isaiah 42:1-9

Above is one of four Servant Songs found in Isaiah that prophesy about Jesus, and what He would fulfill in His life, death, and resurrection. So in light of this passage, I wanted to give you an update on what we, as a staff team, having been trusting God for this semester, and how He has been graciously and faithfully (despite our weaknesses and failures) answered those prayers in Christ. Now, I want you to know that numbers are NOT as important to us as is believing and living out the Gospel, but we will not and should not be scared to ask God for BIG things.

Look at what God has done:

Trust God List for the Year

All staff at 100% by the end of May (moving there thanks to your faithful giving and prayers)
Fall Retreat – 50 students (58 students went to Myrtle Beach!)
New Year's Conference – 40 students (39 students traveled to Atlanta)
Converts – 17 students (over 10 students have come to Christ this year, totaling 25 in the last year and a half!)
Evangelistic Bible Studies – 8 (6 Bible studies have been going with students who are exploring the claims of Christ)
Weekly Meetings – 75 student average (we have been averaging this and more!)
Winter Retreat – 60 students (63 students went to Asheville!)
Summer Orlando Project – 35 students (please keep praying for this!)
Student leaders (The PACK)- to catch a vision for communing with God deeply, discipleship, evangelism, and the Church (I have 100's of stories...they are getting it by the grace of God!)

2009-02-25T14:32:00.005-05:00

Love always wins

Recently, I have been reading a book by Paul Miller called "Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus", and I want to make a bold statement about it: "Every Christian should have this book in there top 5 books to read! I am convinced that if the Gospel is to go deeper into our hearts and overflow into the culture around us, we MUST understand how loved we are in Christ and how to extend that love to others." Go grab a copy and learn to stop being efficient. Love is NOT efficient. In fact, it is risky and messy, but that is how the Kingdom is going to be advanced. Praise be to you God because you have designed the Kingdom to be advanced by you being the hero and not us!

2009-02-10T15:11:00.005-05:00

Support Update

Dear Supporters, thanks to your prayers and your generous and faithful giving, Kelley and I were able to finish 2008 in the BLACK! We are so thankful that you have continued to sacrificially honor God with your money during this tough economic time. Just like Paul tells the Church at Phillipi in chapter 4 of his letter to them, that he is thankful for their partnership in the Gospel, we say "thanks" for not only helping meet our personal needs, but also freeing us up to evangelize on the campus at NC State. I am sure that if they could, there would be about 50-60 students that would love to thank you for being apart of changing their lives forever. God is using you to create a movement that I believe will continue to ripple out for many years to come. Things to pray for:

Our support over the next year. With the economy struggling, we are feeling the effects greatly, like I am sure many of you are. We have about a $400-600 monthly need (depending upon how the government handles the present crisis), and we only received $1,600 in January. So please pray for us! We need you!
Our marriage. Ministry can be hard (although very rewarding) on a marriage as you give and give to others. Please pray for Kelley and I as we seek to love and submit to one another in a Christlike manner. We desire for people to fall in love with Christ as they see our marriage.
Our student leaders. Pray that they would be Jesus-centered, Spirit filled, and Spirit led.
Students. There are many students that we have been building relationships with and taking spiritual steps towards over the last two years. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will convict their hearts and open their eyes to the Glory of Christ (We have seen 27 students come to Christ in less than 2 years and we are praying that many more would come to know Him personally before the year is out).

Love you!

2009-02-10T14:52:00.005-05:00

The Red Zone

"I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 2 Timothy 4:1-5

"The Red Zone" is our weekly meeting, where we seek to bring people that we have built relationships with, in order to do what Paul charges his son in the faith Timothy to do...preach the Word! The Red Zone is a place that we want seekers, doubters, and believers to come and be challenged by the Word of God. So far this semester, we have been exploring questions that many of us tend to have as culture and Christianity collide. We have ONLY had 3 of these weekly meetings since we got here over a year and a half ago. Last meeting blew us away as around 80 students showed up and heard the Gospel (we are going to have to get a new room already) . Please pray for us as we preach the Word clearly, relevantly, and honestly. Also, pray that as we seek to care for and love students after these meetings, that their hearts will be convicted and that they will submit their hearts and lives to Christ.

2009-02-10T12:26:00.005-05:00

Developing Men

Mason Bednarczyk and Mike Hall- Please meet two guys that God is developing into men of His Word, lovers of His Glory, and leaders for His Kingdom. Mason is from Wilmington, NC and Mike is from Apex, NC. Just to give you a little bit of background on these guys; we (our team) met them late last Spring. Mason was a believer when we met him (although he didn't know much about practically walking with God) and Mike "thought" he was a Christian, but had a very "works" based mentality. After a lot of relationship building as a team, I began to met with these men several times a week to open up God's Word and see how it could be applied to our hearts and lives. Over the Christmas break, at NYC 2008 (read below) Mike surrendered His life to Christ. Myself and our team were ecstatic because we had been praying for Mike for a long time.

Now, these men and I are continuing to dive into the Gospel and how it applies to our daily lives. I am completely blown away by their desire to know God more, love people, and be a part of a local church. I can see the fruits of the Spirit all in their lives, and they are making some pretty remarkable decisions to love God wholeheartedly and be missionaries on the campus at State. Please be praying for them as they continue to seek the face of Christ, be emptied of themselves, love the students around them, and grab a vision for what God might do through them in light of His heart for the world.

Supporters (both prayerfully and financially) you are changing lives by freeing us up to do evangelism and saturating our days in your prayers! God is moving!

2009-02-10T12:09:00.005-05:00

New Year's Conference 2008

Dec. 28- Jan. 1, we took around 40 NC State students to our annual conference in Atlanta. It was a great time in the movement that God is graciously building at State. We were challenged by the realities of the Gospel and how Christ died on the cross to satisfy the justice of the Father. It was amazing to have God pierce Kelley and I hearts, along with our students. God really used this time to not only call seekers and doubters to Himself (we had 2 students submit their lives to Christ), but He also enlarged our student leader's hearts for His Glory, and seeing His reign and rule advanced in Jerusalem (NC State), in all Judea (Raleigh) and Samaria (the Carolinas), and to the the ends of the earth. Rejoice, God is building an incredible movement here!

2008-10-28T16:57:00.006-04:00

Fall Road Trip 2008

Our Fall Road Trip 2008 was a blast! Above are 58 students plus staff from NC State that joined together on the retreat in Myrtle Beach, SC to explore the claims of Christ and spend a weekend of fun at the beach. If you remember, we were trusting God for 50 students to attend, and God brought that many and more. God is really doing some exciting things in our relationships, and we ask you to continue to pray for us and with us as we all continue to learn more about what it means to follow Christ.

2008-10-07T22:17:00.001-04:00

2008-10-07T14:59:00.002-04:00

Please pray for our Fall Road Trip 2008, which will be on October 17th-19th in Myrtle Beach, SC. We are expecting around 80-90 students from NC State, UNC, and Duke to attend. Many of these students will hear the gospel for the first time. Please pray that as we all encounter God our lives will be changed!

2008-10-07T14:38:00.004-04:00

"The Red Zone" is our weekly meeting, where we strive to explore the claims of Christ with students by being Word centered and culturally relevant at the same time. Over the past couple of weeks we have averaged around 55 students at these meetings. Please pray for these meetings! Pray that it would be a tool that gets people before the Truth of the Gospel, and leads to deeper friendships that hopefully lead to more time in God's Word and changed lives.

2008-08-02T11:27:00.005-04:00

We Are BACK!

The Farewell Party:

Kelley and I are back in the US after 30+ hours of traveling and then visiting the Summer Orlando Project in Orlando, FL. Thank you so much for your prayers as we traveled. The plane rides back could not have been any better, and right now we are trying to get settled back into our home in Raleigh, recover from jet lag (we are falling asleep at 8pm and waking up at 5am...crazy huh), and then get ready to begin another year at NC State. Just to give you a summary of Thailand; it was more than we could have ever imagined as God renewed and changed our hearts, marriage, and our vision for seeing the gospel reach the nations. God graciously used the Thailand staff and the students there to help us see more of the glory of God and realize at a deeper level that life/ministry are all about relationships. It is an experience that we will never forget and has changed who we are for a lifetime!

The Airport:

Update from SOP:

It was very encouraging to visit Orlando and see what God has been up to in the hearts and lives of the students from NC State. God is building a movement of college students that long to know Him and make Him known for a lifetime in our midst! It is very humbling and crazy all at the same time to watch God grab hold of a group of people's hearts and watch them begin to desire to live counter-cultural. The beauty of the love and grace of God!

Kelley and I are very excited for what lies ahead for us and the staff at State this year. Please continue to pray for us, as you always have, and know that what God is doing here in Raleigh is because YOU have been faithful in your praying and giving.

2008-07-17T12:31:00.004-04:00

40 Years Old and Still Laboring?

Today, both CCP groups (40 students and staff in all) got together with the Thailand staff (some Americans and some Thais) to have a day of vision building. Each region (Raleigh, Charleston, and Thailand) got to share about what God has been doing on each of their campuses, and then we had opportunities to labor for one another in prayer. It was a very encouraging and challenging time. One of the things that was very challenging for me was when one of the staff quoted the Regional Director from South Africa, saying that if we don't have 40 year olds from our ministry that are laboring beyond the campus then we have failed. Two thoughts crossed my mind when I heard this:

I have a very small vision! I have somehow lost sight of "building laborers on the campus for the lost world". I have just been trying to build campus laborers. How in the world did I get here?!
I want to make sure that I am laboring for the gospel at 40 years old, and just because I am in full-time ministry doesn't mean that I automatically will.

Then the same staff person said that he believed that there aren't many 40 year olds laboring for the gospel because ,yes, life is full of challenges and changes, but much more than our hearts are more full of ourselves than it is with people. WOW! I hope that just convicted you as much as it did me. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 9:

"When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

This passage says that Jesus saw people! That means He wasn't so consumed with His world, His success, His job, or managing His reputation that he couldn't see people. He noticed their physical, emotion, financial, and spiritual needs. And guess what?! He didn't get mad or judge them. He had compassion for them! And then he turned to His disciples and said pray for laborers. Be careful what you pray for though because guess what happens in Chapter 10? Jesus sends out the 12 to labor. He might answer that prayer in sending you! How is your perspective? Is it that you and I are saying, "I'll go if you want, but I am planning on staying" or "I am planning on going, but if you want me to stay I will." He wants us to "see" people and go, give, and pray for them. No multiple choice there, but rather a call for us to do all three. Let's ask God where we can go, how we can give until it hurts, and pray until we can't cry out any longer. The nations need the "entire" body going, giving, and praying. We have a decision to make don't you think?!

*To be 40 years old and laboring we MUST believe:

God is in control- He has a plan and He is making it happen
That God is a glorious reality and not just a concept
It is God's work and our work (grace vs. work)- if you fall out on either extreme you will run out of gas
Lastly, we must believe that God wants to redeem people's hearts- We should long for people to be doing well spiritually

*Thoughts from a COT staff person's talk during the Global Vision Day.

2008-07-12T03:13:00.006-04:00

The Home Stretch

Sorry that we haven't been able to update you guys much over the last couple of weeks. It is the rainy season here in Thailand, and the internet is often times down or extremely slow. Nonetheless, Kelley and I are excited to get you caught up on what God has been doing here in student's lives as well as our own.

Update from Keith:
The last two weeks have been great relational weeks for my ministry team and me. My ministry partners are Brian Firpo (Regional Director of COT) and Clay Carter (recent graduate from The Citadel), and we have been praying that God would give us around 4 groups of men that we could build friendships with and then begin to step toward spiritually. As we prayed and began to engage men in the beginning it seemed like we were going to get nowhere, but God has begun to show us His power and grace by giving us crazy favor with several groups of men. We have been taking trips to the city with them, eating lunches with them, doing things outside campus life that they like to do, and this past week we have had a blast watching them compete for their majors in what is called the "Freshy Games". This is a very cool competition that the university created to build unity and momentum amongst each major. I wish this happened in the states, but we are "too cool" for it sadly. Right now, we believe that God has us in a great place with these men relationally, so next week we are trying to take a step toward the spiritual by having them over for dinner and watching movies like Narnia or Amazing Grace, and discussing them afterwards. Please pray for our times with them. This is our last week here and we want to finish strong with these men. We are praying that God would remove the blinders and allow them to see His glory. Here are the groups of men you can pray for:

Non
Game
Bad
Beer
Gong

Mia
Bow
Thong
Pack
Ple (pronounced Bun)

Wynn
Todo
Tdee
Ohm

Nick
Happy
Gok

Update from Kelley:
Much like Keith, I feel like the last two weeks have been very encouraging to me and my ministry team, consisting of Kara (a humble and obedient American who has been with the CO Thailand staff for over 3 years), Taan (a recent graduate from KKU who grew and continues to grow in the Lord through the CO Thailand's willingness to share the gospel with her regularly), and Liz an American student who is involved with CO at CSU in South Carolina).

As a team, we are attempting to establish solid friendships with around 15 freshmen (typically, we meet them in groups) and to cultivate spiritual interest with around 10 of the upperclassmen with whom Kara already has friendships. All of this is underscored by the fact that on July 25th, Kara will be leaving Thailand with our team to spend 3 months in America (raising support and seeing family and friends). Also, Taan will be looking for a full time job after the summer. Thus, we are trusting God with these relationships, knowing that He cares more about the Thai students than we do and that only He can bless Kara's ministry by keeping these relationships strong during her time away.

Building Friendships
Each day, my ministry team splits up into two groups and goes to the KKU campus for lunch. One group will usually eat with students we already know while another group is trying to meet new groups of freshmen. We are focusing on English majors, so it has been easier than I expected to have great conversations with these students (although Kara and Taan help a lot). After lunch, we sometimes will do an English activity (i.e. watch an English movie or teach English classes). At night, we often get together with students to cook American dinners or baked goods at Kara's house. These cooking sessions are coupled with playing games and/or followed up with a fun outing (i.e. Karaoke)!

Sharing the Gospel
At least once a week, we have a book study with 4 of the upperclassmen girls. Each week, we read through one of the reasons that Christ suffered and died for us, from John Piper's book, The Passion of Christ. It can be difficult to explain the concepts because they don't fit within the cultural context of Thailand and they can get lost in translation. For instance, they do not understand sin nor have they ever heard of an unmerited love. Idols and spirits that are worshiped in Thailand require that you earn your merit - the message of Christ is brand new. This past week, we studied forgiveness. The girls really understood what Christ did on the cross and even why he did it. Sometimes, I wonder if they are just concepts or if the girls know how to apply them to their lives, but one of the girls said that she loved studying forgiveness. She said, "when you are forgiven, it is nothing that you have done to be forgiven and it is free to you. It cost the one who forgives you everything." Both I and the girls really look forward to these times together.

This weekend, several of the freshmen and upperclassmen girls will be going on a CO retreat where they will continue to hear about the gospel and even see a Jesus film in Thai. Please pray that God would give them ears to hear and eyes to see.

I am really beginning to see God work in our routine and in our relationships here in Thailand...it is hard to think that our time here is drawing close to an end. In fact, last night, I was telling Keith that it would be hard to leave now because it seems like many girls that we have been building relationships with and sharing the gospel with are finally starting to respond. Of course, he reminded me that I can trust God with their lives. Please join me in praying that God will continue to reveal his loving kindness to the following students: Jute, Booey, Wee, Booey, Meow, Pbar, Lee, Tdom, Boi, Pbar, Knot, Blue, Oiy, Neigh, Jao, Apple.

Thanks so much for reading about God's work. Our hearts are anxious to see and share His glory.

Kelley with Knot at Teacher Appreciation Day

Kelley hanging out with Pbar and Jute

Jute's birthday party at Greenleaf

Kelley with Kara and Taan

Karaoke with the girls!

2008-06-20T11:56:00.006-04:00

Futsal and Snookers

The first couple of weeks here, we as a team, have been focusing extensively on meeting new people and building friendships. Relationships are very important to the Thai people, and many of the students who have come to Christ in the past have been attracted to Christ because the love that they experienced while in a relationship with a staff person or CCP (Cross-Cultural Project) student (John 13:34-35). So the men have been doing this by going to eat lunch in strategic places on a daily basis hoping to meet new students, and then inviting these students to play either futsal (this is basically indoor soccer), basketball, ping pong, karaoke, to watch the Euro Cup (soocer) on TV, or even learn new games with them like snookers (this is a game similar to pool, but much harder). Below are some pictures from these times with students. Please take time to pray for these men, and also being praying for us as we continue to try and build friendships with these men with the hopes of sharing the Gospel with them. Evangelism is often times a very long process here because of their lack of knowledge about Christianity and who Jesus Christ really was. We are daily praying that God would convict the Thai students of their sins, and allow them to see His goodness and glory. Lastly, Kelley will be giving you an update on the girl's side of ministry here next week.

This is us at a place called Raja City playing futsal with Thai students.

This is Clay and I with (left to right) Nun, Gok, Game, and Ben.

This is Clay and I with (left to right) Tdee and Oam.

Snookers definitely humbled me!

Brian Firpo (COT Regional Director) and Gok.

Dang (the pastor of Covenant Church, which Campus Outreach planted), myself, and (left to right) Ben, Gok, Game, Beer, and Nun.

Also please be praying for the following men:
*Todo
*Winn
Duey
Gay
Mai
Arm
San
Ken-we have had the opportunity to share the gospel with him already and he has lots of great questions.
Jep-we also have shared with him multiple times. Please pray that God would open his heart and that he would stop giving himself to women and partying.
Pop
Thong
Tham
Thawm

*These two are guys that I routinely have been playing futsal with and am asking God to give me an opportunity to dive into spiritual things with.

2008-06-20T03:05:00.007-04:00

The Snake Village

This past week, our entire team was able to explore and experience more of the Thai culture as we took off for the countryside about an hour outside of Khon Kaen. And believe me it was one of the CRAZIEST things I have ever experienced. As you well know, King Cobras are one of the deadliest snakes in all of the world, and most of us see people handle them and defy death by coming eye-to-eye with them on TV, but we got to see these incredibly large and deadly snakes within a couple of feet away. Not only that, but we witnessed as men and young boys courageously (or stupidly, which ever perspective you have) stared these serpents in the face and dared them to strike. I guess when you live out in the middle of nowhere you will find anything to do for fun or to make money. Better them than me!

As you can tell this guy has been bitten a couple of times. He is missing some of his fingers.

Look how young this kid is!

Look at my brave wife!

2008-06-10T03:09:00.005-04:00

I wanted to give everyone a brief overview of what we are praying for this summer and ask you guys to be praying with us and for specific students. "The Kingdom" is our overall theme for the summer, and throughout the summer we are asking God to unpack what Jesus meant in Mark 1 when He said, "the kingdom of God is at hand". Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, which is the same as Great Britain, but here the king is deeply loved and has more power. He really serves the poor and relates well to the common people, even though he makes them serve idols. Huge pictures are up of him everywhere, and they do not allow you to say anything negative about him. So as we learn to serve the one TRUE KING in Jesus Christ, the Kingdom civilians (community of believers), and those outside the Kingdom, we are hoping that the Thai people fall much more in love with Christ than they do their beloved king. So please beg with us for these students because 95% have zero concept of Jesus Christ. Below are ways you can be praying for Kelley and I, our team, and the Thai students:

Is that we would be able to grasp at a deeper level this idea of what it looks like to experience the Kingdom of God right now. The Scriptures seem to be very clear that the gospel is not just reduced to personal salvation, but involves God's plan to redeem everything around us. We desperately need His wisdom and understanding to help us draw specific application for our lives.
That Kelley and I's consumerism would be exposed in our marriage, and that we would fight to give to and serve one another. God has given us one another in order to compliment one another and push one another to the Cross, but we often reject one another's nudges toward the Cross rather than receive His grace in it.
Please continue to pray for our support. We have no idea where we are right now because of being here in Thailand, but we are continuing to ask God to raise up people, churches, and businesses to be a part of advancing His Kingdom throughout the world.
Please pray for the following students:

This is Clay and I with Tdaem, Tdong, Breeze, and Note.

This is me with Pop and Tdawn.

This is Clay with Nat.

Also please pray for:
Gok
Chi
Boa
Arm
Ken
Jade
Top
Meow
Por (2)
Miew
Blue
Ju
*These are girls Kelley has met and is trying to build a relationship with.

"and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation" Romans 15:20

2008-06-09T04:34:00.010-04:00

Who or what do you worship?
Today, Kelley and I took a tour of Khon Kaen with Brian Firpo, who is the regional director of Campus Outreach Thailand. He wanted to give us a more intimate feel for the city and the culture. Each city in Thailand has a "holy place" that is revered and cherished by the people, so we visited there first, and later we ventured over to a Buddist temple. It was my first time being in any such place. To be honest the places were very beautiful, as you can see below, but they broke my heart as well. It blew me away to see people bowing down to idols, and offering up cries of hope to gods that cannot hear them, and will never faithfully meet their needs. Sadly, they pay for these prayers as well, hoping to somehow earn merit or good luck.

I began to think that open idol worship was one of the more heart wrenching things I had ever seen, but then God reminded me of my own heart, and I was quickly led to repentance. The Thai people may worship idols for all to see, but I have a tendency to worship idols that I can mask or temporarily hide. My job, success, the approval of others, my wife, my reputation, and financial comfort can all be things that I find life in and/or become more important to me than my worship of God. The Scriptures are very clear in several places like Psalm 115 and Romans 1 that our hearts are "idol factories" (as John Calvin puts it), and the wrath of God is to actually turn people over to their idols; to give them what they really want, which hardens and perverts the heart and mind. I don't know about you, but I want to make sure that I am constantly dismantling the idols of my heart by "putting off" the things that so easily entangle in this world, and "putting on" the character of God by allowing the Word of God to dwell in my heart richly (Col. 3:1-16). I want to encourage you to please examine your heart, as I examine my own, and ask the Lord if there is any grievous ways (idolatry) within our hearts. He has called us to pursue holiness, and constantly dismantling the idols of our hearts, by His grace, is definitely a big part of that. May you and I be a people that are not consumed with anything but the Glory of God!

2008-06-08T10:14:00.009-04:00

Swatatdee Krap (Hello from Thailand)

Well, after 43 straight hours of traveling (yes that is right, kind of crazy huh) we have gotten safely to Khon Kaen, Thailand. Things are really different here, but we are enjoying ourselves.

Here are some key differences:
Food in Thailand is good, but very spicy (the red sauce will light you up). Thai's drive on the "other" side of the road, have tons of outdoor food markets, don't have many air conditioned spaces (even though it is more hot than back home), and love to sing karaoke. They have karaoke places everywhere, and they definitely get into it. Of course, this is very fun to watch and you know we have to sing a little as well! They love soccer, have more motorcycles per capita than any other place in the world, and the entire bathroom is a shower (no tub). The culture is very laid back and the people here are extremely nice. It is not a competitive society like ours, which is a breath of fresh air.

We all have ministry partners from the Campus Outreach Thailand staff and have been on campus a couple of days already with them. We are meeting new students, and trying to build relationships with the Thai students that the staff already know. It has been cool to begin dreaming about what God may do in these students lives...especially in a culture that does not have a context for the person of Jesus Christ. Below are some of the pictures that capture our first couple of days here in Thailand:

2008-04-24T11:29:00.006-04:00

OUR NEW WEBSITE!!!

Please check out what God has been doing in Raleigh at www.coraleigh.org

2008-04-24T11:13:00.007-04:00

Support Update

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19

"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." Jeremiah 33:3

Kelley and I wanted to let you know that God has been hearing our prayers, along with yours, and is raising up people and churches to be apart of our lives and what God is doing at NC State. Recently, we had a church here in Raleigh come on our support team for $250 monthly (can you believe that?!) and then we had a IT guy that works in the Research Triangle come on our team for $100 monthly, possibly $200 monthly. Isn't that incredible! God is truly moving despite our struggling faith. Please continue to pray with us as we still have around $850 monthly left to raise.

Our Need

$100 monthly supporters: 1
$50 monthly supporters: 10
$25 monthly supporters: 10

*Also please being praying for us as we try to raise $3,300 for our 2 month trip to Thailand. For more information please contact us or go our new website (www.coraleigh.org) and click on Cross Cultural Project.

2008-04-24T10:41:00.004-04:00

To Him be the Glory

'Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.' Psalm 115:1-3

I just wanted to share with you the miraculous things that God has done on the campus of NC State this semester. The following are things we have been trusting (or trying to trust) God with since the beginning of the year and how He has answered them by His wonderful grace:

Trust God List

We asked God to draw 17 students to Himself this year: 17 students have prayed to receive Christ this year
We asked God to bring 20 students to Atlanta for our New Year's Conference: 20 students attended the conference
We asked God to bring 15 students to our summer Orlando project: 15 students are attending
We asked God for 4 or 5 evangelistic Bible Studies to be happening on campus: 4 Bibles Studies were happening by the end of the year

Isn't it incredible what God has done here...and this is not all that He has done! Man I can't wait to see what He is going to continue to do. To Him be the Glory!

Please pray for the following students:
Tom
Taylor
Demario
Donovan
David
Dan
Grady
Peyton
Chris
Jebb
Jason
Dustin
Travis
Zach
Will
Kaitlyn
Laura
Juliette
Ashley
Beth

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38

2008-03-25T11:51:00.003-04:00

Prayer

"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:28-31

Please join us in praying for the following:

That the pneumonia in Eric's lungs would begin to heal. This way the rest of his body would begin to recover from the septic shock.
That Jodie would be strengthened by the Word, and that her energy and strength would be restored.
That God would give us all supernatural strength as we spend time at the hospital, take of the kids, and travel back and forth tying up loose ends at home.
That God would give Kelley and I wisdom as we stare at the needs here in Birmingham, but also try to gear up for Thailand, continue to raise support (personal and for Thailand), and make a decision on our living situation for next year. (We were desiring to move closer to campus in May)

"But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

Isaiah 43:1-3a

"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Isaiah 41:10

2008-03-25T01:33:00.002-04:00

Visit Eric's Carepage

This is a website where you can keep up with Eric's progress on a day-to-day basis, send prayers and encourage to Jodie and the family, and even tell the nurses "thank you" for their continuous love and concern for Eric's well being.

It is very simple. All you have to do is go to www.carepages.com, then sign-up to be a member (which is absolutely FREE), and lastly type in his carepage name: ericfrye68.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!

2008-03-25T00:38:00.005-04:00

Forever Written in My Mind

There are many moments in my life that I don't think I will ever forget, and seeing my brother lying in a hospital bed, as I entered the ICU (3rd room on the left), greatly swollen and hooked up to all kinds of machines is one of them. My heart crushed as I see my brother, hero, and best friend helpless in front of me. This can't be reality I thought...but when I made eye contact with Jodie, Eric's wife I realized this was no dream or joke. Then I went over to his bedside and whispered with everything I had in me, "Hey bro, I am here." That has been my promise to my brother over the last couple of days. I am here to pray for you constantly, I am here to love on and encourage your wife, and I am here to walk beside your boys because I know to them I am the closest thing to YOU. This process has been hard for all of us, especially Jodie, as I watch her fight to be strong and trust the Lord, yet deal with the reality of experiencing one of her (or any wife's) greatest fear unfolding before her eyes. In these times is when you find out how strong your faith truly is...Is your faith merely head knowledge or is it a deep conviction? The thought of losing my brother at 33 years of age brings many tears to my eyes and causes my body to shake, but it also takes me to the foot of the Cross. At the Cross, is where the beauty and power of the Gospel humbles me, yet empowers me to embrace the promises of God. God I trust your character and I trust your ways!

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?...37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Romans 8:28-31, 37-39

2008-02-25T15:35:00.011-05:00

Winter Blast 2008

Asheville, NC- This past weekend 23 of us (staff and students) loaded up our cars and headed to Asheville, NC to team up with Campus Outreach Charlotte for our winter retreat. We all stayed in the Holiday Inn-Biltmore West, and the speaker for the weekend was CO-Raleigh's own Rupert Leary. The theme of the weekend was "Price Tag", and throughout the weekend we got to explore the idea of how much our Christianity was worth. The major question we all were being asked was, "Is your Christianity mundane and boring, or is it worth dying for?" It was a very fun and moving weekend. One of the students that attended was one that we had building a relationship with all year and he finally surrendered his life to the King! The Lord continues to move here and the 11 students that have come to Christ this year will never be the same again. Please be praying for them as we continue to teach them the basics of the Christian faith through the power of the Holy Spirit, and God continues to broaden their vision for reaching their classmates all around them.

Campus Outreach..."Only the best and most influential group of people that I have ever met and have the utmost respect for. Love ya'll."
-Donovan Beadle

Kelley Ann with the girls at lunch.

2008-02-11T16:25:00.001-05:00

Support Update

Thanks to you and your generosity Kelley and I had the best month that I have possibly ever seen since I have been on staff with Campus Outreach. In December alone, you gave over $14,000 ($3,000 reoccurring gifts and $11,000 one-time). So Kelley and I wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We have had and still do have a reoccurring deficit, but the Lord in His mercy continues to lay us on your hearts and you respond with such zeal. God bless you! Please continue to join us as we pray and trust God for the following:

For God to raise $1,000 in monthly support for us by the summer (Kelley has had to get a job part-time to make ends meet for us over the past couple of months)
For God to raise $150,000 (around $5000 for each student) to cover our expenses for Thailand.

Love you all and thank you for your partnership in the Gospel!

2008-02-11T16:03:00.000-05:00

CCP THAILAND

This summer Kelley and I will be headed with a team of around 40 people (staff and students) to Thailand for an 8 week cross-cultural project. We are so excited about this opportunity because it will be a chance for us to engage Thai college students with the Gospel, most of them for the first time ever, and have our lives and marriage shaped dramatically by this priceless experience. Below are the some of the reasons why we would go to Thailand:

The need

Approx. 66 million people live in Thailand
0.3% of them are evangelical Christians
49 million of the people there are professing Buddhists
There is 1 missionary currently for every 47,000 Thai
2 million people derive their income from the sex industry
20% of 11 to 17 girls are sold into prostitution

The door

The Thai people are more open to the Gospel right now than ever before
Freedom of religion is guaranteed in the constitution
Thailand is surrounded by communist countries like Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, and could become the catalyst for the Kingdom advancing in Asia.

Please begin to pray with us and our team as we gear up and ask God to do more than we could ever image in Thailand.

2008-02-11T15:27:00.000-05:00

Jesus is the HERO again!

"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

As I take a look back on the past couple of months, it leads me to worship my Faithful Father because He is the ONLY reason that we as a team have seen grace advanced in our hearts, our community, and on the campus with students. We have failed numerous times, and we have been captivated by fear and insecurities at other times. Can I be honest? This job is not a glorious one. I hear so many people say that it is, and it makes me sick to my stomach. This job (calling) is a privilege and honor, but it will cost you your life. God is in the process of breaking Kelley and I down right, and it hurts. The wilderness is rough, barren terrain, but it is definitely God's classroom. He is breaking His servants in order to help us see the magnitude of His love and to teach us to trust Him. The cool thing though, is to watch God advance His Kingdom in our hearts, and take the sardine and stale piece of bread we have to offer and multiple it greatly. It is common theme for us to mess everything up and watch Jesus come in and be the HERO. But that is the Gospel isn't it? We mess it up royally and He swoops down to save the day. Thank you so much Jesus!

Look at how Jesus has been the HERO here at NC STATE:

10 students have come to Christ since our time here at State.
Around 30 students are involved in Bible Studies (many of them opening the Word for the first time)
Around 20 students attended our annual conference in Atlanta, and were all exposed to a greater degree to the Gospel and the body of Christ.
Our single staff are maturing, and learning to embrace the Gospel at a deeper level.
Kelley's vision and desire for ministry, in particular college students, has grown vastly. She has been such a huge encouragement to me.

2007-09-13T17:35:00.001-04:00

These are pictures of our staff team as we remodel the house that was purchased for ALL our single staff to live in near the campus. The 3 girls live on the main floor, and the five guys will be living upstairs. Also we will have the CO-Raleigh office in the basement initially, as well as a game room for students to come over and enjoy. Please pray that God would use this house to make His name famous at State.

2007-09-13T17:04:00.001-04:00

Comfort: The Silent Killer
My favorite line in C.S. Lewis' novel The Loin, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is one made by Mr. Beaver to Lucy when she asks if Aslan is safe. "Safe? Who said anything about being safe? Of course he isn't safe. But he is good. He is the King, I tell you."

Over the last 6 months I have been living a very comfort, safe life and trying to serve a safe God, but recently I have realized that God is calling me as He does all of His children to live radically. Radical is normal in the reality of the Gospel. I mean how could I not abandon everything for a Savior that lived a life I couldn't live and died a death I deserved, but the truth is that I do it often. In fact, if you want to know the truth I am a coward. I know all the Christian lingo and how to minister to students on paper, but diving into the dorms when I am 26 and with a ring on my finger is a different story. It scares the mess out of me! What do I have to offer? The answer is nothing a part from Christ, but God is calling me to give my life away and even make a plan to suffer as I love the broken and hurting students at State. Listen to Paul:

"And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." Acts 20:22-24

Comfort will kill your desire to get outside of yourself, and therefore, it will begin to slowly decay your soul. I (we) must continue to "get" uncomfortable for the Gospel. Not only do the hurting people around us need us to do that, but our very souls need us to do that. Are you comfortably dying? I don't know about you, but I am, and today I make the commitment to fight like heck to finish the race!

2007-09-13T16:50:00.000-04:00

Home Is Finally Home!

No more tailgating chairs for us. After 10 weeks, Kelley and I feel like our home is finally complete. It was a fun time representing the WOLFPACK daily with our chairs, but I have to say I will never take having couches for granted again. The couches also allow us to have more people over, as we seek to build relationships and share the gospel. Please pray that these couches will see many people come to know Christ seated on them.

Before:

After:

2007-08-19T22:38:00.000-04:00

The Heart of our Marriage

Sometimes it is hard to believe that Keith and I have only been married for a little over 3 months - it seems like we have adjusted quickly to living here in Raleigh and stumbling through life together! We have both grown so much through our marriage and I am thankful for the way that God is moving in our hearts. The way that I interact with Keith reflects my relationship with God, which sounds like a good thing; however, it has shown me how selfish I tend to be with God - even though He is my Savior and Lord. Because Keith responds to and speaks directly to my selfish actions/words, I can finally see how I am cheating myself out of truly trusting in and relying on God...by simply demanding my own perspective.

Likewise, I have seen how Keith struggles to simply enjoy God (and people). He is always moving and striving in his relationships, which I usually love about him; however, it often disappoints him when people don't respond as he anticipates or when it seems there is a failure. I have realized the pressure that this causes him and I can see God asking Keith to really trust that His grace is sufficient (for him and others). Little by little, he is learning to live in that freedom...it is so fun to watch Keith grow through this time. Keith's tender heart and desire for God is such a blessing to me.

We would love your prayers as we continue to learn how to supportingly love each other and God...and, of course, as we grow in our communication :) Marriage is a huge responsibility, gift, and, most of all, symbol of God's desire to have an intimate relationship with His children. We are blessed.

Kelley Ann

2007-08-19T21:35:00.000-04:00

The Start of a Legacy

August 18th, 2007 was a monumental day. It was the day that everyone involved with Campus Outreach Raleigh (supporters and staff) stepped on the campus of North Carolina State University for the very first time. The day started at 7:30am, with my wife and I, along with one other staff guy named Bryan Bender gathering to pray and then heading to the center of campus to register as volunteers for freshmen move-in day. The excitement was incredible, but the excitement soon was met with anxiety as hundreds of volunteers from the Greek system, churches, and on-campus ministries began to trickle in to help 5,000 freshmen get into their dorm rooms. I am not going to lie at that moment I wondered, "what in the world are we (Campus Outreach) doing here?!" I mean having all these groups and ministries reaching out to this campus is awesome, but I wasn't sure how we would or could fit into that. We definitely don't have the thousands of dollars that these organizations are spending towards events and marketing themselves (which is not a bad thing), but God quickly reminded me that He had called "us" here not to establish a huge movement but to give our lives to a few. With only about 10-20% of the student population (approx. 31,000) being reached with the Gospel, there is still a great need for life-on-life discipleship. Not only that, but also that He has already ordained people for us to meet and that He will provide in-roads for us as we continue to step out in faith. Like in Numbers 13, this land is flowing with milk and honey! The harvest is so plentiful, and God has called us here to cultivate relationships for His glory. Ministry starts and ends with relationships, and we are just asking Him for a few laborers that will change this campus and be apart of changing the world for His Kingdom.
And guess what? That is exactly what He did. We all got to meet some really cool students, and genuinely look forward to serving and loving them more in the future. Even today, Bryan and I went to a campus-wide event where we played ultimate frisbee with about 20 guys and had a great time connecting with these students. Who knows the very first guy we see come to Christ this year may have been in that game. I wish I could describe for you how amazing it is to pioneer a campus for the very first time and watch God go before you, and do things that you would not imagine. Giving your life to these students is so much fun! Thanks for your partnership supporters!

Please join us in praying for the following:

That God would grant us favor with the administration, organizations, and students (I meet with the administration of the university this week to discuss recognition)
That God would continue to provide support for the following staff members: Landon Heatherington, DT House, Zach Griep, Betsy Dobbins, Liz Dyar, and Stephanie Hood (I am trusting God that everyone will be on campus by September 13th)
That God would help us cultivate relationships with the following guys: Daniel, Nate, Davis, Jon Eric, Chris, Robert, Harrison, Sam, and Corey.
That God would help us to continue to step outside of ourselves and love people

2007-07-11T18:16:00.000-04:00

Update: Oliver Marmol

Most of you may not know that one of the guys that I discipled for 3 years just got drafted in this year's Major League Draft. He was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 6th round. It has been a definite dream come true for Oli, and I have recently talk to him several times and all our conversations have been extremely encouraging. Why? One, because he is continuing to pursue God wholeheartedly in a very tough environment. Secondly, because he has also continued to value the hearts of people more than he has the game of baseball. He really understands why God has him there, which is to impact the hearts of men with the gospel. And lastly, he made a comment to me that motivates me to want to do this job for the rest of my life. He told me that since he had been away from the campus that he had begun to see the huge impact that life-on-life discipleship had on his life, and that the training he had received the last three years had prepared him greatly for impacting the players around him for Christ. To build laborers for a lifetime is why I do this job, and I pray that you can rejoice with me in celebrating this laborer that God has used us to build into and develop for His glory and the advancement of His Kingdom. May there be many more like him to come!

2007-07-11T17:06:00.000-04:00

My Identity as a Saint

I have been studying Ephesians recently, and to be completely honest I have been utterly encouraged and brokenhearted at the same time. I know that it is hard to imagine both of those emotions existing simultaneously, but somehow my fickle heart has swung back and forth between both of those feelings. In Ephesians, Paul is laying out the vision or purpose that God intended for the Church (the body of believers), but before He dives into that he starts by reminding the church in Ephesus who they are "in Christ". He tells them that they are the following ONLY in a relationship with Christ:

Blessed (v.3)
Chosen (v.4)
Predestined (v.5)
Adopted (v.5)
Accepted (v.6)
Redeemed (v.7)
Forgiven (v.7)
Enlightened (vv.8-9)
Given an inheritance (v.11)
Sealed (v.13)
Assured (v.14)

Ephesians 1:3-14

As I read the words of my Heavenly Father say these things about me, and who I am in Christ without having to earn a single ounce of it, I am excitedly overwhelmed. There is no richer mercy and no greater love than that of our Creator. Oh how I wish I lived in my identity as a child, co-heir, and saint in the Kingdom. That is where my heart begins to break! To many times I fail to rest in and preach my worth and value in Christ to my ever wandering heart. In fact, I fall captive to the expectations and demands of this world more than I fight to preach the gospel to my own soul. I am willing to bet that too many people in churches across America fall victim to the same expectations and demands, but have no idea that they are letting the world shape them more than what their Father says is true about them "in Christ".

Without resting in my identity in Christ it is impossible for me to actively dive in deeply with my God and with other people (especially my wife). Without resting in my value and worth in Christ it is impossible for me to have right perspective in support raising, leading a team, or why I should continue to pour my life out daily as a drink offering. Please God let me be a man who rests and preaches to my heart more than I call others to preach to their hearts because without being filled with Your love and grace I can't give it.

Please be praying the following for us as we fight to pursue the King together, and lay down our lives as His redemptive agents:

1. They we would rest in the Sovereign, Loving arms of our Father
2. Wisdom in how to minister to our staff and approach the campus at NC State
3. That God would continue to lay us on the hearts of people and give us partners in spreading the Gospel to college students ($1500 monthly)

2007-06-30T12:21:00.000-04:00

WE WILL GO ANYWHERE, WE WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THE KING!

We have just gotten settled in Raleigh today, well sort of. As you can see from the pictures we still don't have living room furniture, but the Wolfpack chairs are holding up just fine. Life has been overwhelming at times lately with moving, support, family concerns, and just being married. God, however, has blessed us daily, and we both are growing so much in repentance and trust of Him. Times like these really do expose the idols (things that we run to besides God) in your life, which can be painful to see and struggle through with Christ, but God is so committed to us. He exposes these idols, breaks us, but through the whole process He is gently massaging His character into our hearts. What a loving God and King we serve!

Below is some pictures of our "tent". Please pray that it would be a place where God not only cultivates a Christ-like marriage in our hearts, but that our staff and students would come to and be forever changed by Christ's love in us and the Gospel. To all our supporters thank you for your faithful prayers and giving. This is your home! We love you!

2007-06-03T18:45:00.000-04:00

Going to the Chapel!

May 6th, 2007 is a day that I will never forget, or at least I better not! Haha...it really was the PERFECT day though. It was extremely cool to dream with my soon to be wife about what that day would really look like and feel like, and it was everything we had dreamed and more. I can't tell you the excitement and chills I felt when the doors opened and my beautiful bride walked step by step towards me. It truly was breathtaking! I worshipped along with the singers, screaming on the inside, "Allelujah, Allelujah!" I am so blessed to have Kelley in my life. She is the best gift I have ever received from the Lord besides His merciful grace at salvation.