In the most recent edition of the Southern Baptist Texan I read an article about an Iranian man who came to Christ from the Muslim faith.  The article is titled "Life threatened, Iranian believer finds refuge in the U.S."

The story itself is very encouraging to college students who are thinking about foreign missions as a vocation as it follows Bighash through his life as a Muslim and coming to faith in Christ and the perils and persecution he faced upon conversion.

He recounted about what was going through his mind when he started questioning the Muslim faith;
 "The question had lingered in his [Baghesh] mind, 'If God wants someone killed for a sin, why did he create them?'

'If he didn't want them, he wouldn't create them,' Bighash said. 'And a lot more things, like the difference between man and woman in Islam.  I prayed in Islam for years.  Sometimes for two or three hours I would be in the room, just me and Allah, and I prayed, prayed, prayed with Quran.  But as soon as I came out and I left teh house, I didn't have any faith.  I didn't have any result of my conversation with Allah.'"

Bighash then relived his experience of seeking out Christianity in Iran and how difficult it was to find someone who was a true Christian.  Finally he found an underground church and got plugged into it.  He became active in the underground church and actually led his wife to Christ.  After hosting a worship service at his home, police came and arrested Baghesh and some of the other Christians with him.  He recalls,

"'They took us to a jail and I was there for two or three weeks.  I was interrogated.  They beat me, punched me, insulted me.  then they broke my rib.  They wanted to know about our pastor, but fortunately before they arrested me, our pastor had left our house,' Bighash said.  "After three weeks they sent me to the judge, and the judge said, "You made a safe place for some people that are Zionists and are trying to do something against the government." Because of this, they sent me to jail for one year.'"

The article is really a great story about a faithful man of God who experienced great persecution because of his faith in God.  Bighash is currently in Colorado Springs, CO. Share this story with others so that they may see the great need of missionaries throughout Iran and throughout the world.

To read the entire article go to the following link: Bighash's Story

Just wanted to let you know that christianaudio.com has a digital copy of David Platt's book The Radical Question available for 98 cents to download at the following link:

http://christianaudio.com/the-radical-question-david-platt

They also have a digital copy of Radical for just under 5 bucks available for download at that link. 

Hope you can take advantage of this great deal!

Every once in a while we like to share neat videos with y'all and Lance came across this creative/unique video telling the gospel story through twitter.  It's pretty cool and so I thought I'd put it up on the blog.  I couldn't embed this video so if you want to see it you must click on the following link:  http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FB0CEMNU

Some time last year I came across this article from Guy Chmieleski where he discusses characteristics of college ministers who tend to blame other people or circumstances for shortcomings in their ministry.  They never tend to take responsibility for their own actions.  Guy points out that these types of leaders are "bad leaders" and need to embrace a more servant minded leadership. 

The name of his post is Bad Leaders Blame Others and it was originally posted on November 22, 2010.

"Bad leaders blame others.  It's sad, but true.

Many leaders out there tend to believe that if something has gone wrong (ie. a failed ministry initiative, a wayward team member, a floundering layperson, a buster ministry experience, etc.) that it MUST be someone else's fault.

And while 'others' might have something to do with things not going 'according to plan,' we cannot be the kind of leaders that fails to acknowledge, own and learn from our part in the failing entity.

I've heard a couple of stories recently of key leaders, within Christian institutions, who threw their team members under the proverbial bus - placing all blame for the current troubles within their context on everyone but themselves.

You can see the painful damage being done.

It's like a train wreck happening right before our eyes.

And you know that the wounds will be deep when all is said and done...and you hope that the damage will not be irreversible.

But only time will tell.

Leadership - REAL leadership - seems to be a rarity in our culture today.  And this sad reality is bleeding onto our campuses...and into our ministries.

Our students are seeing it... our students are experiencing it... and our students are learning to replicate it.

They can sense that it's not right... but they're not seeing another way of leading.

This is where we MUST step in.

The ways we lead - our staff, our student leaders, ministry initiatives, within partnerships across campus and out in the global community - must be shaped by, and infused with, the faith we profess.

I'm talking about the kind of leadership that is defined by "we" and NOT the typical "us and them" mentality.

It's the kind of leadership that is willing to take part ownership in the failures, not just the successes.

It's the kind of leadership that is willing to highlight "others" for the great work they do.

It's the kind of leadership that knows when to step up and take the lead, but is also confident enough to let others take on that role, when it seems both appropriate and most beneficial to accomplishing the overall objective of the team.

It's a leadership that exhibits: humility, character, authenticity, integrity, appropriate influence, grace, co-ownership, love, connectedness and peace.

It's a leadership that is modeled after the life and leadership of Jesus, and seeks to honor and glorify God in both 'ends' and 'means'.

Sometimes it doesn't feel like leadership, at least not based on what we see exemplified in the world around us, but it does have a way of creating more space for God to work in our midst - both in us and through us - in such a way that TRUE leadership happens and God's purposes (all that they might be) are ultimately accomplished.

We cannot be leaders who blame others.

Something has got to change.

May we be part of this MUCH NEEDED change!"

I recently came across this article from JD Greear and thought it spoke to the suffering we are currently seeing over in Japan and all over the world.  The article is titled "What does God expect of us in light of global suffering?" 

The following article was originally posted on March 24, 2011 on JD Greear's Blog

"The below is from a chapter in my forthcoming book GOSPEL: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary (due out October 1).

Contrary to popular opinion, the Great Commission does not begin with “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” The Great Commission begins with “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and in earth.” Before Jesus gives the Great Commission, He reminds us the Apostles [that] ultimately the Great Commission is His. He is the One with the ability to build the church, and He is the One who must do it through us. I love the words of Michael Horton here: The Great Commission begins with the Great Announcement."(1) Only by believing in the sufficiency of the God of the Great Announcement will we ever have the confidence to attempt bold things for the Great Commission. Jesus did not tell us to build His church, and to let Him know when we needed some help. He told us that He would build His church, and He will tell us how He wants to use us in that mission. That’s a big difference.

We often talk as if God has asked us to take over His job as it relates the salvation and healing of the world. Saying we will “eradicate world poverty,” “build the Kingdom of God,” and “finish the Great Commission” is to speak as if we were deity. “Faithfulness” is language more befitting of creatures and servants. Certainly, God commissions us to work faithfully for His kingdom and to do our part. But this is not the same as taking upon ourselves the weight of what God has said that He alone can do. At one point the Psalms, God even tells David to “be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations.”(2) The completion of His purposes on earth is a responsibility He takes upon Himself, and there is a time to be still and reflect on that.

In other words, responding to the needs of the poor and giving to the Great Commission are secondary matters for us. Our first response is to God. What has God given to us, and what is a faithful response? In light of how generous God has been to us, and the needs of the poor and the lost in our world, what should we do with the time and money He has given to us?  Faithfulness and response are the responsibilities of servants.

So, meditate on the humbling but liberating truth that “God doesn’t need you.” But then, think about how generous God has been with you and how great the needs in the world are. Do you not eagerly desire to be used by God in His rescue operation? Do you not yearn, like David did, for the grace that has been given to you to come to others? Do you not want the resources that God has placed in your hands to be used to bring help, healing and salvation to others? If so, you will find yourself saying naturally, with Isaiah and the earliest Apostles, “Here am I, Lord, send me!”

Have you ever offered yourself to God in grateful response for His grace and asked Him to use you to bring healing and salvation to the millions dying body and soul apart from God?

What are you doing in response to Jesus and what He’s done for you? When you stand before Jesus on that final day, what will you point to and say, “That, King Jesus… that is what I sacrificed as a response to what you gave up for me.” Will you feel good, on that day, with what you have to offer?

(1) http://www.modernreformation.org/default.php?page=articledisplay&var1=ArtRead&var2=1201&var3=main

(2) Psalm 46:10"