A plane blew up that forever changed my family forever. You might have never heard about it in the news.

McFadden Moise volunteered to fly a plane for his buddy whose wife was having a baby in Chicago and needed a replacement so that he could go be with his wife as she gave birth. He was a Navy test pilot and was working toward being an astronaut. The jet blew up on take-off when my Mom was only 6 months-old.

My dear Mama will never know her first Daddy who died when she was 6 months-old. I look forward to the day when they will meet in Heaven for the first time. I can’t wait until she can wrap her arms around her earthly father and her heavenly father, 2 men she loves deeply with all of her heart.

That’s Memorial Day. Not beer, brats, and racing.

In Loudonville, Ohio, something I will miss greatly is that all of the youth baseball teams started their season on Memorial Day. But first we all marched to the cemetery through downtown to hear vets with voices that cracked as they remembered those who gave it all so that we might play ball and worship in freedom.

That’s Memorial Day.

Thank you to those who will honor my Grandfather and others you will never know whose Memorial Day’s won’t be filled with as much laughter this year because someone volunteered to give up their life if duty called so that we might have the right to march through downtown, play baseball, cook-out and worship without fear.

One thing I am growing weary of is “big name” pastors that everyone thinks we must follow in word and DEED. I love “big name” pastors, don’t worry. They speak at our STICKS CONFERENCES and are an honor to follow and learn from.

But we take it a bit too far at times. When it was vogue to be seeker, many went seeker. When it was vogue to small group, every went small group. When it was vogue to be missional, everyone drank a beer and talked about the evils of mega churches. When it was time to be compassionate, we drilled wells, et al. LOVE IT! So did we!

Now it seems it is vogue to focus on poor, inner-city areas. I applaud that! Yes! Amen! Praise Jesus! Pastors are leaving mega churches and going to the inner-city. Leaders are encouraging us to leave the “rich” and move to the “poor.” Yes! Amen, etc.

This recent article was too much for me to handle. While I agree 100% that we need to be Jesus to people, isn’t our specific calling more important? I am afraid many pastors will jump on this bandwagon and jump hard. If we are called to jump…then JUMP! But let’s not do it because it is the cool, hip thing to do.

I have sat in messages at conferences and read blog posts and they make me feel guilty for my calling and I start re-thinking the area I am in. More on my area later. If that is happening to me, I bet it is happening to you!

I read last night of a pastor at a growing church that read “The Forgotten Ways” a book I LOVE by the way. He then quit his growing church to go be “missional.” I don’t think that is what Alan Hirsch had in mind when he wrote the book. That church is now in a tail spin.

What ever happened to just being obedient to our calling? We were called to RURAL AMERICA, and not that we are special, but we obeyed. Leaders wanted us to go to the 13th fastest-growing county in the country in Ohio and plant. But we had a higher calling.

Then we were ripped from there and God has called us to the fringes of Salt Lake County, Utah. We are 35-40 minutes from downtown in an area that has NO OUTWARD suffering. Everything is perfect. It’s leave it to Beaver city.

But talking with a police officer the other day…we have a HUGE domestic violence problem with this very high LDS [Mormon] population. We are near tops in the country for teen/young adult suicide. in Utah. We are #1 in plastic surgery per capita. We are # 1 for internet pornography! Our perfect LDS neighbor husband just left his wife.

But we also live in nice houses, with manicured lawns that sprinkle at 6am every morning. Our kids are in charter schools, we work out regularly, our kids play on nice ball fields, on and on. No outward suffering, but we are dying from the inside out!

There is also not 1 church in one of the towns we are reaching into. What is wrong with reaching people we are called by God too? NOTHING!

Many people feel “guilty” about their calling as if “suffering” as Shane puts it [I love Shane by the way] is only found by the poor, outcast, drug infused segments of society. We have just as much suffering in suburbia, but it is a very different kind. Young people will head to the inner-cities by the droves to reach a post-modern, suffering generation. GREAT! It’s needed!

But what about the small towns. The rural areas. The so-called “rich” places. The other places that are not getting any press these days? Because trust me…our family has suffered a ton this year and we are living in a nice, quaint little area.

Stop feeling guilty about your calling. Stop trying to be all things to all people.

Be obedient!

If you are called to the inner-city to “suffer” than so be it. If you are called to journey with those who are “suffering silently”…then live it to the fullest and hold your head high. Don’t jump on the latest trends or bandwagon. Jump on obedience.

Be obedient! There is a lot of world to go around that needs Jesus.

I’ve said my peace.

We have no equipment, very little money, very few people, and are in an area where up to 80% claim a different religious background. We have had friends abandon us over our choice to move to Utah. We lost all our funding.

Many people SAY they love what we are doing, and they will pray for us [a nice way to say that they won't be giving, but that they like our mission, and I do hope they PRAY!!!]

I could go on and on…but I won’t cry. I just won’t. I will state some facts, but we won’t cry. Sorry. No excuses.

Our team WILL host preview services in 8 weeks. Not sure how it will all happen. But one thing I know is that it WILL HAPPEN, because we are here for a reason. We are answering the call of obedience. We will WAIT and PUSH and SIT and allow HIM to do the rest.

One thing we do have is Jesus, and that is all we need. We are not crying. We are not waiting on a bunch of people to drop some cash on us. We aren’t waiting on the perfect set-up or perfect team, or for someone to make it happen for us. We have learned that won’t happen. Most people don’t care about what you or I are doing.

I am so glad that Jesus does. Rest in that. He will never leave you or forsake you. He will meet all of your needs. Stop waiting for people to make it happen, and ask HIM to make it happen! Rest in that. Truly rest in that.

By the way, we did not move across America to launch services…we moved out here to help transform this community and heaven, 1 person at a time. Preview services will help us extract the few that are running around that are curious and seeking after Jesus who are not yet connected to our small network.

We have nothing except Jesus, each other and some marching orders just like the early church. Jesus called us to follow HIM and it wasn’t a pretty path. Why do we expect more? “In this world you WILL have trouble…” [John 16.33a]

If 11 scared dudes can change the world with nothing except Jesus…then how ’bout it? Who cares about the 10% of churches who seem to have it all [I was once one of those pastors]? It was not the “church” of Jesus day that did jack…it was the humble, willing 11 who lived out the marching orders come hell or high water, come no finances, no staff, no moving lights or smoke machines.

No books on “incarnational” ministry to be “missional” in their contexts. No conferences, no coaching, no buildings, or strategy. They just did what the Spirit said to do and they made NO EXCUSES for getting it done.

So…what’s your excuse? Let’s get it done in Jesus name. [And yes, it is much easier to write this than to live it, so know we are on the same journey.]

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*Want to learn more about how to find a place where relevance meets revival? Want to network with those who do a lot with a little? Join us in November. www.thesticks.tv

Some of us are borderline “ADD” as Christians. We blame our lack of focus on being “ADD.”

Maybe what we mean to say is this 1 short sentence that WRECKED me to the core from my journal:

“When you are praying for what YOU REALLY WANT you will not be distracted.”  –Herbert McCabe

Ouch. Do I really desire what GOD wants? Am I praying according to HIS will? Am I really begging HIM to SHOW UP?

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”   [James 5.16]

I am always drawn to a headline like this. How can I get a lot for a little? [By the way, THE STICKS conference is all about that, but that's another post].

People have been asking me: “What are you going to do after losing your support?” If you don’t know why we did, check out the story here. So what to do? It’s simple: We are going to pray and trust God and keep doing what we were called to do. We believe it was a GIFT from God, and He always gives perfect gifts.

God has placed this challenge on my heart…can I share it with you?

1. We are 8 weeks away from launching our preview services, and we have very little to show for it financially as we prepare to launch.

2. There are 25+ cities without 1 church in them just in our area! We believe there are 100+ maybe double that state-wide. We seek to start by impacting the 25 cities and areas around us. Finances or not!

3. We are actively recruiting planters and staff to spend time with our team and then go out and launch in this rocky soil that has such major potential. Today we meet with our first recruit who flew in to check out the area and see what God will do. It is beginning to happen even without funding! Only God!!

4. Simple: We are asking people to personally consider donating $1 for each city to help change eternity. $25 a month [minimum] for 25 cities. We need 200 people to jump on this train. Now that is an amazing deal that doesn’t put something in our houses or into our lives to make it cooler or better, but an investment that will truly change people’s eternities!

5. Many people have asked about other ways to help. Here are a few suggestions: Join our prayer team, sending a missions team for a week this summer, send some equipment, this is all needed badly.

Please don’t think that others will jump on board. Someone else WON’T do it.

If you believe in what God is doing here, would you be a part of changing eternity? Don’t wait. Don’t put it off if God is leading you. We are the body of Christ, and I am making a bold ask. I wish it were free to plant churches. It would make our jobs so much easier!

Go to www.missionwest.tv and click on E-GIVE to join us. Or if you prefer to send a physical check to our treasurer:

Mission West
5575 W Roe Deer Lane #5-101
c/o: Kym Stake/Treasurer
Herriman, UT. 84096

Words cannot express our gratitude for the partnerships that will form as we all step up and make this happen in Jesus name. Thank you! 200 and counting down to change lives for eternity!