Monthly Archives: April 2014

20 Quotable Quotes

April 30, 2014 By in Events, People Tags: Leave a comment

Greetings all!!  Welcome to the end of what has been an incredibly chilly month of April here in Atlantic Canada…

It’s been said that…

As I prepare my next post – a summary of the month of April (check back on Saturday) –  I thought I’d share with you some of the quotable quotes that have motivated and inspired me over the past couple of months as I prepare a number of things and contact pastors about supporting us.

All twenty quotes below come from the notes I took at Because of the Times 2014.

Vesta Mangun:

VLM“The two greatest days of your life: the day you were born and the day you found out WHY you were born.”

“I have his promise, if I follow his purpose, that he will be with me always, unto the end of the earth.”

“The REAL purpose driven life is following HIS purpose: souls.”

“You want the mind of Christ?  He couldn’t get this lost world off his mind so you’ll need to get it on yours.”

“The treasure is out in the field, so sell all you have to possess the field, then go out into it… that’s where the souls are: The field is white unto harvest but the labourers are few.”

Stan Gleason:

“The fruit of repentance… is consecration.
The fruit of consecration… is revival.
The fruit of revival… is holiness.
The fruit of holiness… is reaching the world.”

“The greatest gift I can give back to God is my personal holiness, my personal consecration and my right spirit. It’s also the greatest gift I can give to my wife and my family.”

“It’s a holiness issue when the car I drive costs more that what my church gave to missions last year.”

“Every failure is first and foremost a failure to pray.”  (quoting Rev. Lee Stoneking)

“I want the people closest to me to respect me the most.”

Terry Shock:

BOTT14sq“Revelation is not a free pass on the need for self-denial.”

“We must be careful how we treat ‘thorned people’ for they could very well be carrying deep revelation… look at Paul.”

“It’s one thing to stand over a casket and weep over emotional memory… it’s another thing to adopt the lifestyle they adopted.”

“Remembering is great, embracing is empowering.”

” ‘I die daily‘ is the source of true life.”

Mike Williams:

“God will overrule it, he’ll undo it or he’ll redeem it.”
(speaking of a negative situation or circumstance)

“Trees only get a strong trunk by facing the regular and steady push of the wind .”

“When, in my mind, I journey into tomorrow… I go alone, without strength, because I was never meant to go there.”

“If you feel wounded or lame, it’s OK, Isaiah’s prophecy says that ‘the lame will take the prey!’ ”
(Isa. 33.23)

” Strength is provided, each day, for today only. Tomorrow’s strength will be provided tomorrow.”

 Summing it up…

Of course, each of the quotes mentioned above, came from a particular context and a particular message… so keep that in mind as I’ve generally avoided the temptation to “explain” the quotes. For the most part though… I think they’re pretty straight-forward.

Thanks for checking in again today. Check back Saturday when I’ll be posting a summary of what’s been going on in April concerning our project.

How ’bout you?
What’s your most memorable #wowQuote (be it from BOTT14 or anywhere else)?

 

 

 

Paris in July

April 26, 2014 By in People, Places Tags: , , , , 3 Comments

More than just Paris

Unless you’re in our local church, you probably don’t know that in addition to preparing to move to France in January, we’re also leading a team of young people to France, in July, for a 10-day missions trip. Although I’ve entitled today’s post “Paris in July” it’s really Châtellerault and Paris in July… with a few more awesome stops along the way.

#MPTeamFrance

14_04_26 FX1 picWe’ll be known as #MPTeamFrance
(where MP = Mission Point, our home church)

Strange name?

Perhaps… but it’s “hashtag-able” and isn’t it all about hashtags nowadays?  After all the twitter invention is now key to huge social media players like Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram and even Facebook, which integrated them in June 2013 since users were using them anyway.

Hashtags are powerful because they allow users to follow public conversations outside of their own network of friends. Whichever of the above-mentioned platforms you use, come July there will likely be a steady flow of the #MPTeamFrance hashtag as team-members share their experiences and photos with family & friends back home.

The team is made up of 12 people from Mission Point and a lone courageous member from Capital Community Church in Fredericton (three were absent when the photo above was taken).

Preparation

Because we will be involved in ministry on various levels this summer, it was important to plan some prep-times… when we could focus on:

  • 14_04_26 FX1bsharing information on travel arrangements, timetable & activities
  • planning roles, responsibilities & involvement
  • gaining interaction experience… a.k.a. team-building (just because we all attend the same church, we don’t take for granted that we automatically know how to work together).
  • praying together
  • Preparing testimonies & music, to be shared in service settings

We call these prep-times FX-Nights.
(France X-travaganza).

Last night was our second one and among other things,we had to breathe life into those that were still hyperventilating from FX#1, when we told the team that they could only bring a carry-on sized suitcase each as well as a personal item (Stopping to think though… it can’t be about how much an individual is able to carry… but how much we can fit into the cars once in France, and 26 pieces is already a lot!). So one of the things we did last night was show them just how much you can put in a small suitcase, when done efficiently.

The Plan

One of the main ways that we expect to be able to lend support to the Châtellerault church, once on site, is by helping prepare for and distribute several thousand invitations to a gospel music concert that they are currently organizing.  This will be the first time that outreach on this scale will be attempted in Châtellerault and we expect it to accomplish the following:

  • Build awareness of the church among thousands of local and regional residents
  • Provide an opportunity for those same residents to experience anointed worship in a Holy Ghost-filled atmosphere
  • Build a foundation for contact with those in attendance
  • Obtain Home Bible Study opportunities with hungry individuals that would desire.

Overall… our goal is to put the local church in touch with a much larger number of contacts than  would normally be possible, from which they may obtain followup opportunities for later in the summer / year.

Who knows… when Liz & I get onsite in January, we may get to be involved with someone whose first contact with the church was during this summer’s outreach!

If that’s the case, it may be part of God establishing the “Crown” around Châtellerault, like he said he would.

We will also spend a bit of time in the Paris region, with the church in Melun, but plans are still being formulated for that leg of the journey…. more to follow!

Exposure

One of the other great things about this summer’s trip is that it gives more people from home a first-hand experience with the field in which we’ll be working.

  • When they pray for us… they’ll do so with personal experience.
  • When victories are won spiritually…. they can know that they were part of it.
  • When others wonder about us, the work, the field… they can help educate others.

More to come

You’ll likely hear more about this trip as we get closer, and certainly when we’re there, but for now know that it’s one more way that the Lord is working out his calling in our life. I’m so jazzed for the team that we have preparing to go… Great things are in store #MPTeamFrance.

As always… thanks for stopping by!

What about you?

  • Do you think YOU could do 10-days abroad with only a carry-on sized suitcase?
  • Have you done it already?
  • Tell me about it in the comments section below.  (Your comments could encourage & inspire the team… of course your horror stories would be fun to read too.)

 

Connections…

April 23, 2014 By in People Tags: , , Leave a comment

They say you can tell a lot about a person by the people they surround themselves with!

Perhaps in our online world… another version could be, “You can tell a lot about a person by the people / things they connect themselves to.”  As we have gotten and continue to get closer to being on the field, I find myself wanting some new connections in addition to the ones I already have.

Disclaimer: I don’t intend to leave folks out….
just intending to give a smattering for now, not a complete directory:
For that, you can check out my profile @RevMikeLong

Entity Twitter Feeds:

North American Missionaries:

Global Missions & AIM:

Interested in Missions?

twitter-logo-birdI recently read a great article by Rev. Mark Hattabaugh (@HappyHattabaugh) in a recent Pentecostal Herald article entitled The Power of Exposure. In it, there is a zinger of a quote (among many):

“You get a burden the same way you get the measles… by being exposed!”

If you’re at all interested in missions – whether in North America or around the world – begin to tap into folks who are already involved in missions. A great way to do that is through twitter.

  • You’ll hear reports of things happening (baptisms, bible studies, Holy Ghost infillings, miracles)
  • You’ll come across links to articles on missions
  • You’ll begin to become aware of key players that are involved

Don’t see someone listed above for an area that you’re interested in?

It’s one small way… but it’s a start if you’re not already connected to the world of Global Missions.

Go ahead, I challenge you. Find and connect with two new Missions tweeps today.

Marcus Brainos Family

April 19, 2014 By in Blog, People Tags: , , 4 Comments

BrainosA Rare Treat!

How cool that we got to spend time with part of the Missionary Family in France, a week or so ago – both in our home for supper, at church for service and at Tim Horton’s (where else?).

Marcus and Renee Brainos are currently on deputation for their second term in France.  Having spent the first term in Melun, at the headquarters church (where we met in 2009), they will branch out during their second term and head down to the southern city of Nice (pronounced: Neece), establishing a new French-language work there.

Deputation Travels

The Brainos’ were with us in the context of their deputation travels. It was the first time that they’d been to Mission Point and there was a great connection between them and the church congregation.

Bro. Brainos, brought out some incredible information on France:

  • There are currently 20 United Pentecostal Churches or preaching points in France… meaning that there is one for every 3,000,000 people in the country. Compare that to roughly- one church per 90,000 in North America or
    – one church per 12,000 in New Brunswick.
  • Statistics in France tell us that there are some 700 people who attempt to take their own lives each year. I don’t know about you… but that’s a lotta hope that’s missin’.

As of the publishing date for this post, they will have been travelling for just under 1 year (having begun in May 2013.) and they may have to be on the road for another year before they are able to get back to France.  If you would like to contribute to the Brainos family’s missionary support, send them an email by clicking here where you’ll see the Email Us button.

 More numbers

One of the things that I’ve begun working on recently are stats for the city of Châtellerault itself. I want to be able to understand the city when we get there.  I realize that numbers do not tell the whole story… but they are part of the story.

Already I can tell you that Liz and I fit right into the average age of adults in Châtellerault, which – I think – is a good thing. It means that there will undoubtedly be a good number of families similar to ours in terms of age and age of children… allowing us to connect – at least in theory – with them.

Keep an eye out for that in coming weeks.

Bowtie Madness!

Bowties(I mention this only because it’s in the picture that I’d thrown on Instagram and which I’m using for this post.)

I’m not typically a bowtie type of guy, however Bro. Brainos is and it just so happened that the afternoon of their arrival, I was in the mall and found this purple-ish bowtie at RW & Co. I was in a rare “buying mood” and thought I’d pick it up and wear it as a tribute to my good brother!

Quote of the Evening!

I’ll end this post on a not so serious, but oh-so funny note which, in order to understand, you must know that Bro. Brainos’ father was French (from France) and his mother American (from Illinois) and the family made no fewer than six trans-Atlantic moves during his school-years.

“I’m half-French and half-American…
so basically I hate myself!”

 I know it’s not truly as bad as all that… but I do get the idea of cultural duality.

Thank you for sharing your burden Bro. & Sis. Brainos… we look forward to working together, for the sake of God’s Kingdom, in France!

 

Home away from Home

April 16, 2014 By in Blog Tags: Leave a comment

 

 

I heard an #wowQuote, exactly one week ago today, from Missionary to France, Marcus Brainos, who was quoting 18th century German nobleman, Count Nicholas Ludwig vonZinzendorf:

“…that country shall be my home where I can be most used in winning souls for Christ.”
 
 

Wow!

Count vonZinzendorf (try saying THAT name 10 times fast!) was from one of the most prestigious houses in Europe; so much so that he was a guest at the coronation of King Christian VI of Denmark in 1731. Yet… his heart was not so attached to the comfort or ease that came with his position that he clung to it at the expense of his walk with God. Rather, he claimed as his home, not Germany, but that place where he could “…be most used in winning souls for Christ”.

Lord, cultivate in me a similar excellent spirit.

Mass Exodus?

True, we can’t all leave our “home and native land” and set course for lands abroad but for those who stay in the land of their birth (and for me while I’m still in mine):
“Let us be well used in winning souls for you, Lord.”

France

“Lord, you have unmistakably called us to France, so I have no doubt that you intend to use us there to win souls for you.”

  • Let that be our focus
  • Let that be our prayer
  • Let that be the goal toward which we press
  • Let us teach our kids to so walk… not just in word, but also in deed. May we see in them a generation that seeks the supernatural as second nature.
  • Don’t let us be content to “have church” but to “live the early-church experience” … daily!

That’s it, That’s All

Just a short post for today… a bit of inspiration for you, from something that inspired us! God bless you today thanks for being a faithful reader of AIMLong.ca! (If this is your first time, why not subscribe and automatically received posts as they are published.)

Is this your first time reading or hearing about vonZinzendorf?
What do you think?

The Lewis Revival 2

April 12, 2014 By in Places Tags: , Leave a comment

Context

You’ll recall, from my last post, that I promised to allude to the role of prayer in the incredible revival that was see on the island of Lewis-Harris in the early 1950’s.  The following excerpt is taken from the transcript of a taped message, preached by Duncan Campbell (a Scottish preacher with the United Free Church of Scotland and the Faith Mission) in 1968, on the topic of the Hebrides Revival.
(formatting & emphasis mine)

Prayer…

photoNow I am sure that you will be interested to know how, in November 1949, this gracious movement began on the island of Lewis. Two old women, one of them 84 years of age and the other 82 (one of them stone blind), were greatly burdened because of the appalling state of their own parish (where) …not a single young person attended public worship. …They spent their day perhaps reading or walking but the church was left out of the picture. …Those two women were greatly concerned and they made it a special matter of prayer.

They were so burdened that both decided to spend much time in prayer, twice a week. On Tuesday they got on their knees at 10 o’clock in the evening and remained (there) until 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning–two old women in a very humble cottage.

Vision

One night, one of the sisters had a vision… she saw the church of her fathers crowded with young people, packed to the doors, and a strange minister standing in the pulpit… (she) said to (their) minister, “You must do something about it. And I would suggest that you call your office bearers together and that you spend, with us, at least two nights in prayer in the week. Tuesday and Friday if you gather your elders together… and as you pray there, we will pray here.”

…that continued for almost a month and a half, until one night… they were (all) kneeling there in the barn, pleading this promise,

“I will pour water on him that is thirsty, floods upon the dry ground”
(Isaiah 44.3)

…when one young man, a deacon in the church, got up and… said, “It seems to me to be so much humbug to be praying as we are praying, to be waiting as we are waiting, if we ourselves are not rightly related to God.”

Repentance…

…he lifted his hands and prayed, “God, are my hands clean? Is my heart pure? “ But he got no further. That young man fell to his knees… into a trance.  At that moment, he and his other office bearers were gripped by the conviction that a God-sent revival must ever be related to holiness. …and an awareness of God gripped the community such as hadn’t been known for over 100 years.

Campbell Arrives…

I shall never forget the night that I arrived… The minister turned to me and said:

“I know Mr. Campbell that you are very tired-you have been traveling all day, …and I am sure that you are ready for your supper and ready for your bed. But I wonder if you would be prepared to address a meeting in the parish church at 9 o’clock tonight on our way home. It will be a short meeting…”

barvas-church

The Parish Church Barvas

We got to the church about quarter to nine to find about 300 people gathered… Nothing really happened during the service: A sense of God, a consciousness of His Spirit moving but nothing beyond that. So I pronounced the benediction… When I went to the door of the church I saw a congregation (outside) of approximately 600 people. …Where had they come from? I believe that that very night God swept in Pentecostal power-the power of the Holy Ghost.

Where’d they come from?

Over 100 young people were at the dance in the parish hall and they weren’t thinking of God or eternity… when suddenly the power of God fell upon the dance. The music ceased and in a matter of minutes, the hall was empty. They fled from the hall and made for the church. They are now standing outside. Oh, yes–they saw lights in the church. That was a house of God and they were going to it.

Men and women who had gone to bed rose, dressed, and made for the church. Nothing in the way of publicity–no mention of a special effort… But God took the situation in hand and became His own publicity agent. A hunger and a thirst gripped the people. 600 of them now are at the church standing outside.

Read more:

  • The full transcript of the text featured in this post can be found here.
  • To download a free .PDF booklet on the Lewis Revival, written by Campbell, click here.
    (a quick read that is WELL worth the time)

The Lewis Revival 1

April 9, 2014 By in Blog Tags: , 1 Comment

Lewis-Harris

I recently read a short booklet entitled “The Lewis Awakening”, written by Duncan Campbell in 1954. The book traces the remarkable story of revival coming to the small island of Lewis, between 1949 – 1953. Lewis is part of the Hebrides Islands off the coast of Scotland.

Campbell dedicates Chapter 2 to describing how the revival began. Below is an excerpt.
(emphasis & formatting are mine)

Defining Revival

“I would like first to state what I mean by revival as witnessed in the Hebrides:

  • I do not mean a time of religious entertainment, with crowds gathering to enjoy an evening of bright gospel singing;
  • I do not mean sensational or spectacular advertising – in a God-sent revival you do not need to spend money on advertising.
  • I do not mean high-pressure methods to get men to an inquiry room – in revival every service is an inquiry room; the road and hill side become sacred spots to many when the winds of God blow.

Revival is a going of God among His people, and an awareness of God laying hold of the community.

Here we see the difference between a successful campaign and revival; in the former we may see many brough to a saving knowledge of the truth, and the church or mission experience a time of quickening, but so far as the town or district is concerned no real change is visible; the world goes on its way and the dance and picture-shows are still crowded: but in revival the fear of God lays hold upon the community, moving men and women, who until then had no concern for spiritual things, to see after God. ” (pp.14-15)

A Word of Caution

  1. While it could seem harsh for Campbell to draw the comparison between “a successful campaign” and “revival”, let’s be careful to not over-emphasize that distinction. Both have value and both serve a purpose; Campbell is, first and foremost, describing the way things happened in Lewis, where there were none of the elements of the “successful campaign”… no flyers printed, posters hung, or high-pressure.
  2. He states that “in a God-sent revival you do not need to spend money on advertising.”  Once again, let’s remember:
      1. the context – which is rural Scotland in the 1950’s and
      2. that the author is speaking descriptively, not prescriptively.

Inspired for Real Change

  • Lord, let it be so in our communities today!
  • Let us, in our lifetime, experience such revival as was seen in Lewis.
  • Let us see it in France.

Next…

Come back on Saturday when I’ll share the role that prayer played in the Lewis Awakening, according to Duncan Campbell.

Scott Sistrunk: Leadership Moments

April 5, 2014 By in Blog, People Tags: , , Leave a comment

The Old Expression…

“Lyghtly whan one wynneth, an other loseth*” is an old English expression from the 16th century that you have likely never heard before, although you’d know it’s modern equivalent:

“One man’s loss is another man’s gain”

That was the case on the last Sunday of March when yet another late-winter (technically early-Spring) storm buffeted the province of New Brunswick, dumping some 45cm of snow in the Perth-Andover area. For this reason, career church-planter Scott Sistrunk, rather than heading north, remained storm-stayed in Saint John after a planned morning service and lunch-learn with local church leadership.

Planned Ministry:

Source: my Instagram Feed: MikeLongSJ

Source: my Instagram Feed: MikeLongSJ

During the morning service Sis. Sistrunk sang and Bro. Sistrunk preached on the 5 people that you will find in every great church.

  1. an Andrew: whose first thought is to introduce Jesus to someone else.
  2. an Aquila & Priscilla:  who take time to disciple others… showing them “the way more perfectly”.
  3. a Widow-woman: not literally – but one who gives sacrificially.
  4. an Agabus: who operates in the gifts of the Spirit.
  5. a Dorcas:  who exudes kindness & good works.

Following an incredible morning service and time at the altar, he shared with our leaders, “The Engine of Church Growth”. Discussing key points and processes that are absolutely in place in every church where growth is occurring (when an organism is healthy… growth occurs naturally), including potential fail points and what some of those processes look like in churches of differing sizes.

Unexpected Ministry:

Given the fact that the Sistrunks would be in town for an extra evening and we were not having service that night, we had the opportunity to have supper together, and by the time we wound down, we were about 15 minutes shy of 3 hours! Where had the time gone?

Bro. & Sis. Sistrunk had been AIMers in South Africa during the mid-1990’s so they could appreciate some of the planning that we were in the midst of as well as some of the questions we had… yet by the same token, they could also relate to the eager anticipation that we feel as well… the desire to lift up the name of the LORD in the land to which we are called, for the time appointed.

sistrunk2

September 2013. Source: Instagram, MikeLongSJ

We discussed AIM in general, preparation for such undertakings (spiritually, financially and family-wise), VISION and execution of that vision. There were a couple of “God-moments” during the discussion and doors opened for future connection.

It blows me away that, because of a series of decisions to follow the Lord and His will, I get to rub shoulders with the incredible people that I do on a regular basis (beginning with the local church and it’s leadership).

“Lord, make and mold us after your image so that we can take what you and others have invested in us, and be profitable for your Kingdom.”

Footnote on Rev Scott Sistrunk:

The first time I’d ever heard of the Sistrunks, they were being interviewed by Rev. Carlton Coon on HMLive.  (a webcast which has since been renamed Mission North America Podcast). They have spent twenty-seven years in the Metro Detroit area and have planted six churches to-date with a seventh to begin later this month.

If you’ve never heard or seen Bro. Sistrunk minister, check out a few of these links:

  1. North American Missions’ Director’s Communiqué, March-April 2013 issue (.PDF).
  2. Podcast on “Change”, from the Westchester Church Podcast, May 2009.
  3. North American Missions 2009 video (then: HMLive) 11/10/2009.
  4. Several videos can be found at the here… at the Apostolic Leaders Network, discussing various aspects of Church Planting.

 

* [c 1527 T. Berthelet tr. Erasmus’ Sayings of Wise Men D1V]

March in Review

April 2, 2014 By in Blog, Process Tags: , , 2 Comments

Welcome to April!

March was kind of a different month here on the AIMLong blog, featuring posts that had nothing to do with our upcoming short-term mission per sé, but rather simply with how to experience a little bit of France in everyday life.  It was also an attempt to expose the blog to a wider audience than to those who already know us or know of our project.

For this first post of April, I want to give you a quick run-down of some of the things that happened in March, which are more directly connected to our AIM term.

Looking back…

packets_comp_b

Here are some of the highlights of the month that was:

  • We mailed out information/support packets to 210 pastors throughout North America, all of which contained
        • a pair of our bookmarks to serve as prayer reminders.
        • a letter introducing us as a family.
        • a PIM form.
        • a handwritten note to alleviate the “impersonal form-letter syndrome” which is necessary, but by itself is not quite me.
  • We’re grateful to have had 13 of services scheduled: mostly around the Atlantic District, but also in the Quebec, Alabama, Texas and, tentatively, in the Michigan Districts.
    For up-to-date details, please see our schedule.
    (During the month of May, we will be driving through the Alabama, Florida, Texas & Michigan Districts. If you would like to have us come to your church or know of someone who might like to have us come, please fill out the form below.)
  • We are extremely grateful for the several pastors who, even without having had us come for a service, have expressed their desire to support us financially and/or support us prayerfully (my next couple of posts will talk about the importance of prayer in laying a foundation for revival).

Our efforts… God’s credit

We are trying to be diligent in our attempts to raise financial and prayer support. We realize however that for whatever comes in, the credit belongs to God. This principle is portrayed in Proverbs 21.31:

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. (KJV)
The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD. (NIV)

The assurance that “victory rests with the Lord” does not alleviate the necessity of the horsemen to prepare or make ready their horses for the battle. In the words of Duncan Campbell (about whom you’ll read more in the next two posts):

“…while God is sovereign in the affairs of men,
His sovereignty does not relieve men of responsibility.”

Contact Form:

Thank you!

Thank you for your support. Yes. You are showing support simply by the fact that you are coming back time and again to stay informed about our project and preparations. Let it inform your prayer time and be part of the work of God in France.

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