Presentation Schedule

February 1, 2014 By Mike in Churches, Places Tags: AIMUPCI, UPCI 4 Comments

Below, you’ll find a “calendar view” and a “table view” of our schedule to date.

Given the interest to date, many are looking to welcome us in the fall, which will, I suspect, fill up quickly. If you’d like us to come and are able to take us earlier in the year, it would allow us to visit as many churches as possible.

*Note* there are some problems with the google calendar display on mobile devices (shows simply “busy” in stead of the presentation locations. Recommendation: check out “table view”).

Calendar View:

Table View:

No upcoming events

Thank you for your interest in having us come!

Five coins, 1-Euro… deep thought!

January 25, 2014 By Mike in Events, People, Places Tags: CELR, family, French Evangelism, Melun, will of God 1 Comment

What you spend your money on says a lot about you!
How you spend your time, reveals your priorities.

The Currency of Eternity

Going back to France’s Youth Convention, in November, for today’s post. In his Sunday morning message, Bro. Robert Tisdale spoke on “The Currency of Eternity,” taking his text from Paul’s writings in 2 Corinthians 12.15

“…and I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”

His basic tenet was that we are the currency of eternity and God desires to spend us in order to transact his business. The question is… what will we allow ourselves to be spent on?

A coin does not tell its owner to spend or not to spend it, nor does it tell him what it can be spent on. Likewise, we are ill-placed to tell God how he may or may not use us. If we try we are not wholly surrendered to him in the first place.

Coin Toss

Throughout the whole message, he and Bro. Nowacki tossed 20-cent coins over their shoulders or out onto the stage and floor area, constantly reiterating the question… How will we be spent? How will we allow ourselves to be spent?

Q: What if Luke, because he never really preached any life changing sermons, deccided not to allow himself to be spent?
A: We’d have neither the books of Luke or Acts (which, combined, have more verses than Paul’s writings).

Q: What if Barnabas, because he was never seen as either a great apostle, preacher or writer, refused to allow himself to be spent?
A: Perhaps there’d have been no apostle Paul and we be missing a great part of the New Testament?

In a Nutshell

We may not find ourselves being used in the capacity that we’d like or expect, but as long as we allow ourselves to be spent for God’s purposes, we’ll leave something worthwhile for the next generation. Our ministry may not be necessarily characterized by “greatness” according to man’s standard, but if we are the one to reach the “Paul” of the next generation, we will have reason to rejoice and will have been well-spent.

The Take-away… the lesson

While we were there listening, our anticipated AIM term was, of course, quite present in our mind. How would we allow ourselves to be spent?

At the end of the message and at one point during the altar, I picked up 5 of those coins off of the floor. One coin to represent each member or my family (Myself, Liz, Sophie, Dominic and Timo) and I had in mind what I wanted to do…

coin2_sm

I would take them home and have them framed in such a way so as to be reminded on a regular basis… our 5 lives represent the currency of eternity and God would like to use us to transact his business.

The question “How do I spend my time, my energy, my life?” must constantly be carefully considered… for I am not my own, I am bought with a price. (1 Cor. 6.19-20) I am the currency of Eternity and God wants to use me, my wife… and my children to transact His business. Will my choices concerning use of time, talent and energy best benefit His business?

I’ve been Framed!

Below you’ll see a photo of all 5 coins… meticulously framed by Mario’s Framing in Saint John. You’ll perhaps notice that 4 of the 5 coins have the monetary denomination facing up (20 cents). However the one in the center is different… the side showing depicts a sower in a field with a rising sun behind her, accompanied by the letters RF (République Française – see detailed picture above).

Having the RF facing up was intentional (as France was the center of where we wanted to allow God to spend us). What was even more incredible (and this we didn’t realize until afterward) was that the woman depicted, was a sower. That is our purpose in France… to sow the seed of God’s word into the hearts of hungry men, women and children. Lord, let it be so, let us be spent sowing, for the transacting of your business in France!

coin5_sm

AIMLong meets #BOTT14

January 21, 2014 By Mike in Events, Places Tags: Dream, UPCI 3 Comments

BOTT14banner_sm

I am SO excited to connect with new and old friends at #BOTT14.

Memory of the first time with the Manguns

After more than 16-17 years in Pentecost and several years of watching BOTT via simulcast at Capital Community Church in Fredericton, NB, it’s so incredible to finally get to POA. When I was very new in the church, Raymond Woodward and E.E. Goddard were my pastors and they organized a number of Prayer Summits, at which the Mangun family always played a key role.

I remember very clearly the night in 1996, probably within my first twelve times in that church, that Sis. Vesta Mangun stood behind the pulpit, tall and stately, and said… “If you’re not on your feet, jumping and making some kind of noise in praise to God, there’s something wrong with you!” Still a good baptist at that point, I remember thinking “I’m not jumping or noisy, but I’m OK… thanks just the same.” Now here I am, all these years later… one of you fine people! (jump & noise included!)

Thank you!

BOTT14sq

… for expressing interest in and discussing our upcoming AIM Term in France (beginning in January 2015).

I’m also looking forward to connecting with various ministry friends that I haven’t seen in a number of years. You have each put something of yourselves into me, meaning that you too are part of what God is doing and will do in France.

I believe Jimmy Toney once said the following (and in doing so, aptly describes our story as God has been preparing and continues to prepare us for AIM):

“If you see a turtle sitting on a fencepost,
you know he didn’t get there by himself.”

How to help?

You can directly help in a couple of ways:

Video: Watch the 10:01 video introducing the project to get a sense of our heartbeat and the work that awaits us; click here .

Pledge Form: If you already know that you’d like to support this AIM project, click here for a .pdf version of our pledge form

Presentation: I’d love to come to your church in 2014 to present our burden.
– If it’s within driving distance of New Brunswick, Canada… count me in.
– If not, would you consider a live Skype presentation in the context of your service?

Keep up to date:
– WordPress users, click (top right of this page)
– Receive updates via email by clicking (top right of this page)
– Facebook users, search for and like AIMLongFrance
– Twitter users, follow @RevMikeLong

Unsure where to go from here and wanting to read a bit more? Here are three suggestions:

The Dream: how God led us to hear, understand and accept his call.

Invitation to Dream: what God downloaded into my spirit on Sept. 1, 2012

About Mike Long: a short intro of who I am and what God’s done in my life

A “Long” History of Châtellerault

January 15, 2014 By Mike in People, Places Tags: Brochu, Châtellerault, patience 1 Comment

If you consider our upcoming time in France as an engagement, then it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that we first started dating in 2005.

2005 – First time in Châtellerault:

In 2003 I began my Master’s Degree in French Linguistics at the Université de Moncton, in Moncton, New Brunswick. In the context of these studies I found my self at a linguistics colloquium in the city of Tours, France, located about 1 hour from Châtellerault. At that time, missionary Steve Schobert was living in Tours, but looking after the work in Châtellerault. We connected and I was able to join him for a service on Sunday. At that time, they were meeting in the large, downtown home of Sis. Cécile LeDay, a former Catholic nun whom God had filled with the Holy Ghost and revealed himself in his fullness.

2006 – First time meeting the Brochus:

2006 - Bro. Brochu leading

In early summer, 2006, we were in Belgium to spend some time with Liz’s family. We wanted, though, to take a few days of family vacation, just the 5 of us so we packed up a rental car and headed to western France. Surviving the traffic on the highway that surrounds Paris was our first major accomplishment! We soon made our way to Châtellerault where we spent a couple of nights in a 15th century castle… the Château-de-la-Motte, located just outside the city. The Brochu’s, back from deputation, met us at the Château and we followed them to church. The church was still meeting in the home of Cécile LeDay (where this picture of Bro. Brochu was taken), but they were in the process of purchasing a larger building, just on the outskirts of town (You can read more about that visit here).

2006 - envisioning the "new" church

Once a small manufacturing facility, this building was strategically located on a very busy national road and benefitted from an acre of land, an office area a small production area and large equipment hangar. Having been damaged by fire, it would take time and work to bring back to a useable condition, it was key because the hangar area allowed a large space for future growth.

2008 – France comes to Canada:

Although there would be other trips to Europe between 2006 and 2008, none brought us into contact with our churches in France. A new door would begin to open up in the summer of 2008 however, for it was then that we met Bro. & Sis. John Nowacki for the first time. They were on deputation and came through our city. We were able to share a couple of meals together (the one pictured is with retired missionaries to Pakistan, Bro. Ron & Joy Hanscom). Bro. Nowacki asked me, for the first time, about the possibility of coming to France to teach in their Bible School the following summer.

2009 – Introduction to Bible School:

Bible School Staff, summer 2009 I was in France for the purpose of teaching at the Bible School, and that for 3 weeks during the month of July, but, having become familiar with the church at Châtellerault through the years, I desired to go with Bro. Brochu and spend a Sunday there. Since he was traveling back anyway, to look after the services, I went with him and got to attend church in the new building. What a thrill to have seen the growth and the jump to the new building. At that time they had managed to make repairs to the office area, which is where the 15 or so people were meeting (July is a heavy travel time in France, so numbers were low that Sunday, but the presence of God was wonderful). Work had already begun on the small production area which would be the more permanent sanctuary and they had a Sunday School room as well.

Incidentally, another Atlantic District pastor was there that summer, ministering in the week-long seminar: Rev. David Ferrell of Calvary Tabernacle in Perth-Andover, NB.

2010 – Back to Bible School:

2010 - with the Nowacki family

During this second time back to the French Bible School, I was only there for two weeks and did not make it down to Châtellerault. During this trip, I was able to share the time with another Atlantic District minister, Rev. Daniel Desroches who soon fell in love with the people and the work there… and the feeling was mutual as they fell in love with him as well. Here, Bro. Desroches is pictured with the Nowackis, Bro. Nowacki’s mother, sister and brother-in-law.

This would be my last time in France until the summer of 2012 when God did major surgery on my heart and set a new direction in my sights.

Summary:

As you can see… our connection to the church in France is not an overnight thing, but God slowly and steadily planted seeds in my heart and, with time and patience, watered them until they began to bear fruit. In fact… one could argue that it goes back even further than all this… Liz & I spent 2 days, during our honeymoon, in the city of Tours… where we later met Steve Schobert in 2005… but that is for another post.

Big & Little Crowns

December 4, 2013 By Mike in Places Tags: Châtellerault, couronne, Paris 5 Comments

Hold onto your hat… er, your crown, for the first paragraph or two… it’ll make sense… REALLY!

French Administrative Structure:

In contrast to the USA (where regional divisions are called ‘states’) and Canada (where they are referred to as ‘provinces’), the regions of mainland France are called départments, and there are 96 of them.

We need to let that sink in for a moment, because for North Americans a department is found in a retail store (the ‘toy department’ or the ‘kitchen department’) or it denotes part of an institution (the ‘loans department’ of a bank or the ‘human resources department’ in a corporation). In France though… it’s geographic!

Unlike in North America, not only do the départements have names… they also have numbers; for example: Seine et Marne (77), Vienne (86) and Paris (75 – yes… Paris is both a city and a département, just like Quebec, QC). These numbers constitute part of postal codes, social security numbers and vehicle license plate numbers as well.

Île de France = Grande Couronne (Big Crown)

It is necessary to understand this as you’ve already seen me refer to one region called the Île de France (which, when translated means the “island of France”). We are, of course, not talking about an island. The term ïle de France refers to a collection of départments which surround the capital… Paris. You can see île de France at the right. Paris is the red area in the middle, denoted by the départment number 75. So then île de France, is made up of 8 départements all together.

95 – Val d’Oise
78 – Yvelines
91 – Essonne
77 – Seine et Marne
92 – Hauts-de-Seine
93 – Seine Saint-Denis
94 – Val-de-Marne
75 – Paris

Another name for this area (Île de France) is La Grande Couronne (the big crown)… so named because it visibly forms a large, thick, ring around Paris.

Petite Couronne (Little Crown)

What really interests me for the purpose of this post though, are the three other départements which form a smaller, innermost ring around Paris: départements 92-94. If the larger ring is called the large crown, then it makes sense for this smaller area to be referred to as the petite couronne (the small crown).

God’s Little Crown…
….in Western France

Why does the notion of la grande et la petite couronne interest me? Because of something that God told me in 2012 while visiting Bro. Brochu’s church in Western France. He impressed upon my heart that, in the same way as Paris had its petite couronne, so too would the Église de Châtellerault… it would have a ring of churches around it… whether full blown churches, preaching points… all of which were, of course, subject to His timeline.

I’m not sure whether that is something that we’ll see the results of of not during our 1.5-2 years. Perhaps it will begin while we are there onsite, or perhaps it’ll be further in the future. Nonetheless, I’m glad that as a family we will quite simply, not just “go with the flow” but we have something to dream of… to plan for… to work toward during our time there.

Please join us as we pray for a ring or a crown of churches surrounding the church in Châtellerault, in western France.

Don’t just sit there… translate!

November 10, 2013 By Mike in Events, Places Tags: CDG, CELR, Melun 1 Comment

Today was the second and final day of the Youth Convention… it was amazing, and that for a number of reasons.

Yesterday I mentioned that there were a number of young people in attendance from other European countries. For this reason every aspect of the services take place in both French and English.

If songs are sung in French, both French and English lyrics are displayed.
If a worship leader is exhorting in French, their comments are simultaneously translated into French.
If greetings from a special guest are expressed, or the preaching takes place, in English, it will also be simultaneously translated into French.

During the morning service, Bro. Nowacki asked if I would help by providing translation for the service preliminaries: both from French to English, as well as from English to French, depending on the speaker. That was honour enough already, but during the second service of the day, and the final service of the convention, he asked if I would translate for the convention speaker, Bro. Tisdale. At the risk of sounding repetitious… What an honour! You’ve got to remember that up to this point, Bro. Nowacki himself had done all translation of the messages and now, for the final message of the weekend, when expectations are through the roof, he was entrusting that responsibility to a Canadian anglophone.

It reminded me of another time back in the early 1990’s. I spent two years in Belgium in an AIM-type role and at that time also, I had been asked to translate during national meetings. When I think back to that time and look at this experience, I’m convinced that the Holy Ghost anoints a translator just as He anoints a preacher, so that the essence of his word for that congregation goes forth unimpeded. You have to think on the fly, seek vocabulary and interpret not just the words but the idioms and cultural sensitivities as well. Things went so well during that service that there were times when I thought to myself… “You don’t even speak this clearly in normal conversation, when you have time to think about what you’re saying.” I have no explanation other than to say “that’s the anointing of God” and I give him glory for it.

We came to this convention intending to simply attend, rejoice and learn with the church of France and reconnect with friends. The unexpected privilege of being able to participate in and contribute to what God was doing, was simply tremendous.

Leadership within the French District showed confidence in our ability to bring something to the work there. The Atlantic District and Global Missions personnel have recognized our ability to contribute to this field, as AIM furlough replacements for the Brochus beginning in January 2015. Would you consider supporting us financially during this AIM term; allowing us to contribute, on a longer-term basis, to growing the work in France?

Ushered to the VIP seats in France

November 9, 2013 By Mike in Events, Places Tags: CDG, CELR, Melun Leave a comment

Having spent the past week or so on vacation with Liz’s parents at their home in southern Belgium, we’d originally planned to fly back to Canada tomorrow, November 10. Seeing that the French Youth Convention was scheduled for the same weekend, we were just too close and the timing was too perfect to miss.

It would only take 3-4 hours, by car, to drive from southern Belgium to Melun (where Pastor Nowacki’s church is located) and we could fly out of Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport the following day, November 11th. A quick adjustment of plans, arrange a car rental and voilà… we were off to France and YC2013 bound!

This year marked the 30th anniversary of the convention, hence the theme… 30 ans Triomphe (30 years Triumph). Although it has consistently been organized by Bro. Nowacki’s church, it is no longer simply for the young people of France. Young people were present from Denmark, the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and other European countries. The guest speaker for the weekend, Rev. Robert Tisdale of Dallas,Texas, was to minister in the four convention services (This afternoon & evening and tomorrow morning & afternoon).

Pastor Nowacki and his team knew that we were coming but little did we know that they’d usher us to reserved seating front and center in the auditorium; we wouldn’t miss anything of what God would do in these services. We reconnected with the missionaries (the Nowackis, the Brochus and the Balcas) as well as national pastors with whom I’d taught during IBF (Institut Biblique de France or French Bible Institute) in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Many of the present and former students also came to greet us, meeting Liz & the kids for the first time.

60 young people presented Héros de la Foi (Heroes of the Faith) this evening. During this black-light presentation they cited the names and stories of 30 biblical heroes of faith and affirmed how they themselves would, like those they cited, strive to be a hero of the faith to this, their generation. Bro. & Sis. John & Anne Nowacki, themselves heroes of the faith in France, introduced the presentation. Sis. Nowacki was, after all, the first national youth president when they arrived in the country over 30 years ago. They recounted the history of France’s youth department and the convention which grew out of it… having grown to over 800 this year.

We got to meet Rev. Mike Tuttle for the first time. He is a former missionary to the Netherlands and currently the Global Missions Department’s Regional Director for Europe and the Middle East. Although I was unaware that we would meet him, it was nonetheless great to do so, as he will be one of the men who will consider our application for AIM appointment, and will be part of our reporting structure once on the field.

Day 1 of the convention, with our view from VIP, was wonderful!

Connect via Twitter to some of these great folks: