Even the old guy rocks….
On the last day of the conference, just before things ended there was a time of ministry in which people were being prayed for and God was moving among them, blessing and strengthening people who were hungry for a touch from God.
Just prior to this time the leadership from Brazilian ARC asked me if I would take an offering to cover the short fall. I shared how God had blessed Lamb of God as a result of our willingness to share the abundance which God has blessed LOG with over the years. After the offering was taken nearly twice the amount we asked for was given. Praise God.
A few minutes later one of the brothers who lead the worship encouraged me to come up and play some guitar. It was pretty cool, and I had a great time playing with these brothers.
Last night (Sunday) I preached at Buritis (Belo Horizonte), in an ARC church lead by Gerson. It was a wonderful
experience. The church is called Buritis Christian Community and is made up of almost exclusively young people. I brought a message on justification by faith alone, and the importance of experiencing one’s justification as a living “heart” reality. I really had a great time and God used our time there to bless the folks. Afterwards I spent several hours ministering and encouraging these young brothers and sisters.
This morning (Monday) a group of Brazilian leader meet with Ned Berube (President of the ARC) and myself for a kind of Acts 13 summit in which we sought the Lord together concerning various needs that have emerged in the growing movement of churches in Brazil. It was a great time of sharing and seeking the Lord for His will regarding direction for the churches in Brazil. By the time we had finished we really believed that God had spoken and we knew what it was He wanted to do.
(right) Braw & Lu are husband and wife from a region called Taubate in Sao Paulo. Bauw gives pastoral oversight to about 5 ARC churches in that region. He has been discipled by Tom for the past seven years. Bauw is 32 years old.
Ele Clama is a church and a ministry to street people, drug addicts and other disgarded people. They have over a 100 people in their residential program. Magrao, was himself a resident of this program and has gone on to recover and find the Lord. He is full of joy and a delight to be around.Next Sunday, the 5th I will be at Ele Clama preaching to the residents and church members.
raising up young leaders.) Raquel is an evangelist who has lead nearly a dozen friends to the Lord in the last year. She has started two bible studies, all with new Christians. She also works a full time job. This is not unusual here in Brazil. Young men and women who are zealous disciples of Jesus, and who He uses to do wonderful work here in Brazil.
One of the very best things about Brazil is the worship. Many of the churches in Brazil have a special anointing for worship. It is one of the things which God seems to have deposited in these churches.
I want to do a better job of introducing you to a great man of God and a real servant of the body of Christ. I tried to film some video of him and his family last year in the Amazon, but I totally underestimated the impact of the engine noise while we were on the river.
I want to draw your attention to several really good articles on our own Ben + Vesper. The first is pictured on the left from Magnet, and mentions Ben’s role as an elder at Lamb of God Fellowship. You can read that article in a pdf by clicking 
Greetings… Here is the eye feast the Lord prepared for my first morning in Nova Lima. This is a shot from the front porch of the Padley’s at about 5:30 a.m. (u.s. time)
I left NJ at 7 P.M. to get to the airport in plenty of time for a 10:05 flight. It was pretty smooth, and I actually slept on the flight for about 5 or 6 hours. But after the first leg lets just say things got a little dicey. I didn’t end up arriving in Belo Horizonte until about 5 P.M (almost 22 hours of travel time)
Somewhere under that cover is Sagares and Melissa’s new baby Ryan (10 months old). Also in the picture is Sandro, a real servant and formerly committed bachelor with his new wife, Simone (the new Brazilian ARC secretary).
On Sunday night (22) I will leave for several weeks to visit our sister churches in Brazil. I will first be present at an ARC conference in Belo Horizonte, and then visit and teach in a number of churches in Belo Horizonte, Nova Lima and several other local areas. I am very much excited and looking forward to the trip, although I will miss Gail and the girls.
I am not a loser. Though there have been many occassions when that moniker might have stuck. I made a profession of faith when I was about 8 or 10 years old. When I was 12 I was baptized in a Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio called Madison Ave. Baptist Church. However, I was never discipled. I had no real idea of how a person was supposed to live a Christian life. I had rules. (those I knew) I had the group social pressures (which worked somewhat), but I had no real idea of how to tame my inner desires, or how to stand against temptation, or how to grow as a Christian.
By about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening, (July 11th) I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. The weather had turned pretty menancing and the skies looked like they were ready to unleash a real storm.