fall conference 2011 (cont.)

its hard to know what to write other than it was one of the most powerful weeks of teaching in my life!

"Jesus is our model for life and ministry." this was a phrase that was repeated throughout the week and one that i have come to understand a bit more clearly. on the surface level it seems like a "duh" statement. but in practicality, is that true of my life? is Jesus truly my model for life and ministry? that was the question that i had to answer for myself this week. do i spend my time and energy doing the things that Jesus did? in the past i usually answered this question too quickly and said "yes" before taking an honest and in-depth look at my life, and more importantly, the life of Jesus! after a week of looking at what Jesus did, and what i do, i can honestly say that the answer to that question is a lot closer to a "no" than to a "yes."

but there is hope! the Good News for me is that the Holy Spirit, who descended on Jesus at His baptism and raised Him from the dead, is available to me as a child of God! through the dependance on the Spirit, and obedience to the Father, i can begin to live as Jesus did. it is the highest calling possible to imitate Jesus, but it is what we are called to do as His disciples!

someone said it well this week, that most of us would agree that Jesus is our model for life and ministry, yet we spend most of our time reading about everyone else but Him to determine how we should live and minister. i was challenged this week to take a closer look at the life of Jesus in the Gospels and to fall more deeply in love with Him!

dann spader, of global youth initiative and sonlife ministries, was one of the guest speakers at our conference. i am very thankful for this brother and his passion for Jesus! one of the best teachers i have ever sat under in my life.

our latvia group at conference

... and the other cool thing is that i am home again with my wife! praise Jesus!