A Good Kind of Tired

What do you get when you have 10 services and two 12 hour dissertation writing sessions in a 12 day period. One tired preacher on the 13th day. But PRAISE THE LORD for all He has done. What a wonderful week of revival services we had at Center Grove Baptist Church. Dr. Paul Childers did an amazing job of proclaiming the word of God. We saw three folks publicly declare their faith in Jesus and another join our church. We will be baptizing all three real soon. Then this week I have had the joy of being with Roper Baptist Church in their fall revival services. What an honor to proclaim the wonderful message of the Word of God. Pray for Roper Baptist that God would continue to use them in great and mighty ways to reach out to their community and the world with the Gospel.

Upcoming in the month of October I ask that you remember the following in prayer:

Search & See Board of Directors Meeting-I will be traveling on October 10-11 to attend the Search & See Ministries Board meeting. Please pray that God would grant clarity and vision for Wil as he continues to seek ways to glorify God and increase that glory through the ministry of Search and see. Check out Wil's blog here for updates on Search and See and his personal reflections.

Revival Services @ Creech Memorial Baptist Church-My dear friend Tom Ravan has asked that I come and lead in the revival services at Creech Memorial Baptist Church in Ahoskie October 12th through October 15th. Services will be each night at 7 pm and I hope those of you in Ahoskie will make an effort to attend. Tom and I are accountability partners and we have been praying for years for God to move in mighty ways in our region. It appears that we are seeing fruit from those prayers. Pray that God would greatly increase His presence in our lives and the lives of those who attend these revival services.

Dissertation Work-The end of September and October is a critical time in the completion of my dissertation. Pray for many large blocks of time to produce pages of writing and pray for discipline and endurance to use those blocks wisely. I am loving this task, but it must come to a completion. I thank you for your prayers in this as well.

To God Be The Glory

We are in the midst of revival services at Center Grove Baptist Church where I have the great honor to serve as pastor. My pastor and dear friend, Paul Childers, is our guest evangelist. We've had three good services so far, but tonight was especially special. We had two folks, a middle aged gentleman and a 10 year old young man come publicly confessing Christ and desiring to follow the Lord Jesus. Also, there was a great movement of the Spirit of God among His people.

I still believe God desires to accomplish much more through the final two services. Please join me in prayer that we will see much fruit Tuesday and Wednesday night and that genuine life changing revival will come to God's church at Center Grove, this community, region, state, nation, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Mercies of God Ministry (Part Two)

In my previous post I alluded to the establishment of Mercies of God Ministry and shared that it's ultimate goal would be to develop a strong prayer network to support the various ministries that God has opened to me. Several of you have already responded with your willingness to pray for such and I greatly appreciate it. How can you pray right now? In the days ahead I will share with you all (so far only Carol Ann has read my first draft) the purpose and objectives of Mercies of God Ministry showing the main goals and priorities of the network I am striving to build.

I do this not only to seek your agreement in prayer, but also for accountability, encouragement, and constructive criticism. Obviously by the title of my page Romans 12:1 is a verse God has used and continues to use in my life. My desire is by the MERCIES OF GOD to present my body a living sacrifice to Him.

Here are a few things that I would covet your prayers about:

1. Personal Intimacy with Christ/Family Intimacy with Christ
   
2. Dissertation Writing-it is crucial that I stay focused and disciplined in the completion of my dissertation over the next two months. Please pray for large chunks of time to get writing done.
3. Revival Services @ Center Grove Baptist Church-We will be having Dr. Paul Childers coming in beginning Sunday morning and going through Wednesday night (Sept. 14-17) Please pray for a genuine spirit and movement of revival at God's Church at Center Grove.
4. Upcoming Speaking Schedule
• Roper Baptist Church-Revival Services September 21-24. Please pray that God would use me during this series of meetings. Pastor of Roper is Rev. Howard Simpson. This is also the home church for Thomas and Rhonda Cobb and Emma. So we are looking forward to spending time with them.
• Creech Memorial Baptist Church-Revival Services October 12-15 with my dear friend Tom Ravan. Again please pray for God's power in these services.

Mercies of God Ministry

There have been several defining moments in my life. The first one I remember is when I knelt and prayed to receive Christ on June 14th, 1981 at 91 McDowell Road in Wake Forest. Thank you Lord for drawing me to yourself at such a young age. Next came a call to ministry (Though I fought it pretty hard) between my junior and senior year of high school in the summer of 1990. Later times came when God called me to my first ministry position at Covenant Baptist Church in Monroe, then on to full-time ministry at Troutman Baptist Church. I will never forget the day walking around the campus of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in the summer of 1996 and hearing God clearly call me to finish my Master of Divinity, and later for reasons I believe I'm finally understanding call me to pursue a PhD. In between those two educational calls I was blessed to become the pastor of Center Grove Baptist Church in Ahoskie, where I still serve and plan to serve for years to come. Then in 2002 the second greatest gift God has ever granted me through His unmerited favor, I met, courted and married Carol Ann Yarbrough in less than a year.

What's my point? Well, each of these moments in my life were clear, undeniable moments when I truly sensed God's leading in a new or greater direction. Often times these calls would turn my world completely on its head for a time. It has been several years since I've felt God's hand so strongly. Don't get me wrong His mercies are new every morning, but now, now His hand is heavy, and oh how I rejoice. Over the last few weeks I have felt overwhelming joy and enthusiasm, as well as the pain of conviction, confession, pruning and cleansing. I feel the need and the desire to begin expressing the vision that God is laying before me for His glory to be accomplished through His servant. It excites me, and then it humbles me, and to some degree frightens me, but I am so eager to share what I'm learning.

The establishing of Mercies of God Ministry is one aspect that God has revealed to me. What you say is Mercies of God Ministry? It is my desire and great prayer that in the establishing of Mercies of God Ministry that there may be a prayer network developed that would be a source of strength, encouragement, and accountability as I labor in various aspects of ministry as God allows.

I'll share more in the days ahead, including what I believe to be the vision for Mercies of God Ministry, but for now please pray with me that God would continue to refine, reveal, and uncover His plan and His ways. Pray for humility, obedience and a teachable spirit as I seek, pray, and listen.