I'm voting for Jimmy Faircloth

Hello friends,

Saturday is election day, the day we select a new justice for the Louisiana Supreme Court from the 4th Supreme Court District. There are two candidates in the race and I wanted to let you know why I and my family are voting for Jimmy Faircloth.

I've known Jimmy since we attended Pineville High School together. Jimmy's a little older than me and was quite the "big man on campus" - quarterback, pitcher, all around athlete and a very popular guy.

Yet none of that went to his head. He was a friend to everyone and even befriended a younger, insecure band-geek who was new to the community. I'll always appreciate that.

After graduation Jimmy went to Louisiana Tech up in Ruston and then followed his high-school sweetheart, Kelly, to Georgia State University where he received his law degree and then he got his Masters of Law at Emery University School of Law. With such a high level of training, Jimmy could have easily accepted a job at any of the many high-powered law firms that recruited him from major cities, but his heart was in Pineville and he and Kelly returned to put down their roots and raise their family here.

My next encounters with Jimmy were in his role as City Attorney for Pineville, a position he held on two different occasions. There I witnessed Jimmy's expertise in the law in a whole new light. I found him to be incredibly articulate and knowledgeable about matters of municipal law, on top of his broad legal practice that covered many areas of law. Jimmy loves to read and we swapped book recommendations. I still treasure the copy of 1776 by David McCullough that he gave me and insisted I read.

Jimmy is always reading, always stretching, always growing intellectually. He's the kind of guy who reads the Federalist Papers to remind himself of the intent of the framers of the Constitution. His insights into the way politics works, as the "best outcome of opposing forces", have challenged many religious leaders to step into the fray and not let the non-faith voices have a monopoly on matters of public policy. He was a strong finalist for a US Federal judgeship and was Governor Bobby's Jindal's first choice for his Executive Counsel.

Beyond all these things, I've found Jimmy to be a man of exceptional integrity and deep faith. There have been times when something other than the truth would have served his cause or his client's cause but he refused to do so, even if it cost him something. And when faced with life-changing decisions, he always seeks the Lord for guidance. I've been privileged to have him call me to meet him somewhere to pray with him on several occasions as he sought God's will for his life.

There are many, many more reasons why I believe Jimmy should be our next Supreme Court justice, reasons that speak to his exceptional education and accomplishments in the practice of law, his community ties, his family values, his investment into the lives of young people through years of volunteerism, his unquestioned integrity, etc. But ultimately I'm voting for Jimmy because I believe in him and I believe in the depths of my heart that he is the right man for the job.

I urge every one of you to pray about who to vote for in this election. And act on that. Please vote - no matter what, please vote. I just wanted you to know who I am voting for.

Sincerely,
Nathan

Mexico Leadership Conference, Day 2

Whew, what a day!!! Joel and I just got back to the hotel from a wonderful day of ministry at Day 2. Over 400 pastors and leaders attended the conference, representing more than 60 churches from the southern part of Mexico. What an honor to have their trust to come to Agua Viva and receive leadership training. I thank God for the relationships and connections He's brought to us.

I want to share a couple of stories with you. Recently I shared a message at Christian Challenge about the persecuted church in Nepal, Pakistan and other parts of the world. But the persecution is also much closer to home than many of us realize. Many pastors in Latin America have received death threats from the narco-traffickers and some have been kidnapped or murdered. The couple pictured at the right received death threats this week and his uncle (who is also a pastor) was kidnapped and is being held for ransom. Please pray for Manuel and Susana as they walk through this difficult time. Even though they have received death threats, they are not backing down from preaching the gospel.

The dear sister at the left, standing with the conference organizer, Mario Tagle, was co-pastor with her husband for many years. He attended the first leadership conference that Joel taught at back in March but he passed away two days ago. Yesterday she buried her husband and today she came to the leadership training. Mario led us in prayer for her and their church. I admire her service and dedication.

We had over 400 leaders from 60+ churches at the conference (the numbers are still being finalized). It amazes and humbles me that Joel and I could be used of the Lord to touch so many lives down here. Something so small that began in 1988 has now flourished into not only several Agua Viva churches, but the ability to influence hundreds of leaders in so many churches. It's truly an honor to be a part of this, extending the Kingdom of God in southern Mexico by joining hands.

I've uploaded some pictures to my Flickr account that tell the story, perhaps a little better than these words. Check it out here.

Tomorrow's our final day. Joel will preach in the morning service at Agua Viva then we'll head for the airport after lunch. We'll arrive in Dallas tomorrow night and then home on Monday. Thanks again for your prayers and support. I'm a blessed man to have you in my life.

Blessings,

Nathan <><

Mexico Leadership Conference, Day 1

Howdy folks!

Our first day in Mexico arrived after a good night's sleep, although we didn't get to bed until after 1:00AM. Having traveled all day yesterday, we were whooped! So it was great to get to sleep in til after 8:00AM. We had a leisurely breakfast at a nearby restaurant and came back to the hotel to finish getting ready for today's sessions.

We were told there were over 400 pastors and leaders signed up for the conference, but that many would not arrive until the Saturday sessions. So when we started our first sessions there were only 200-300, but by the end of the day over 400 were in attendance. I'm not sure how many churches are represented - I'm hoping to find out tomorrow. Many of the local churches have sent several of their leaders, which is good. What's really neat is to see the churches in Coatza cooperating together.

When Joel and I came to Coatza in 1988 there were only a handful of evangelical churches, perhaps a few dozen. Now there are over 300 evangelical churches spread all over this city of half a million and there are good relationships between many of them. What a testimony for the body of Christ! And how wonderful to see so many gathered in Agua Viva for leadership training and development.

The conference started out with some awesome praise and worship and then Joel taught the first lesson on "The Leadership Test" which dealt with different kinds of tests that leaders face and how God uses them to form character in our lives. I then taught on the subject of "Security or Sabotage" which dealt with the issue of insecurity in the life of a leader. I really enjoyed studying for this session and picked up a few tidbits for my own life.

Joel had been scheduled to preach at one of the local churches so he had to slip out while I was still teaching the second session and I joined him later. He was well into his message and the folks were really touched by it. There was a wonderful time of surrender at the end of the message as most of the church came forward for a time of reflection and recommittal. What was amazing to me about this was this was the first time either of us has ever been invited to preach in any other church in Coatza besides Agua Viva. How wonderful the Lord is to allow us to see fruit of our labors and extend our ministry reach. All the glory to Him!!!

Tomorrow we have four more sessions starting around 9:30. Here are the sessions:

• Delegating Tasks and Developing People - Moving from Addition to Multiplication (Nathan)
• Teamwork Makes the Dream Work - The Characteristics of a Great Team (Joel)
• The Wisest Investment You'll Ever Make -Mentoring Future Leaders (Nathan)
• Measuring Your Leadership Growth - An Evaluation for Growing Leaders (Joel)

These lessons are from book 2 of a 6-book series on leadership developed by John Maxwell and being taught to millions of Christian leaders around the world. Pray for us as we attempt to empower these leaders to reach even more souls with the Gospel and equip their churches to grow in Christ.

That's it for now. I'll update more tomorrow. Until then,

Blessings!
Nathan

Safe in Mexico!!!

Hello everyone,

It's pretty late but I wanted to put out a quick blog entry. Joel and I arrived safely in Coatzacoalcos a little after 8:00 this evening after leaving Louisiana on flights around 7:00AM this morning. So it's been a long day of travel, but we're glad to be here.

It hasn't been without some difficulty. I overslept this morning, sleeping right through my radio alarm clock and finally woke up about 20 minutes after I had planned to leave. Needless to say there was a lot of rushing going on - I'm so glad Lori packed my stuff the night before. However, just as we were about to get to the airport, I realized I had left my passport at home! I hurriedly called Faith and Hope at home and asked them to get the passport from the safe and head towards the airport. Lori dropped me off and headed to meet them about half-way. She got it back to me JUST IN TIME for me to board. Praise the Lord!

We had a nice layover in Dallas - Joel and I got to visit and fine-tune our plans for the different sessions we would be teaching. However, as our flight was getting into Mexico City, I put my conference notebook in the pocket of the seat in front of me when the plane was about to land. AND I FORGOT IT THERE! I didn't realize I had left it until I got to immigration and had to pull out my laptop, and noticed it wasn't in my bag. So I'm sharing Joel's copy of the teachers' materials until we can get another copy printed out.

In spite of those little snafus things are going very well! We got to eat tacos in Mexico City and some more authentic Mexican food at one of our favorite street-side cafes once we got to Coatza. And we've been informed that they're now expecting over 400 pastors and leaders at the conference, which begins tomorrow. Praise the Lord.

Well, I'm about to turn in. Just wanted to give you a quick update. Hopefully I'll be able to keep updating the blog each day. Thanks for your prayers and support!

Blessings,

Nathan <><

Mexico Bound

Hello everyone!

Lots of water under the bridge since my last update. I've got some information about the persecuted church, including an update from Nepal, but I'll save that for another entry. Just rest assured God IS hearing your prayers.

The purpose of this entry is to let you know that I'm leaving tomorrow morning with my best friend, Joel Dyke, to minister at a pastors' leadership conference hosted by Agua Viva church in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico (the church Joel and I started 20 years ago). I'm incredibly honored to be a part of this 3 year project in which pastors from southern Mexico will gather twice a year, six times, to go through the leadership material developed by John Maxwell's Million Leaders Mandate.

Joel went down back at the end of March for the first installment We had discussed alternating trips, but he found that it's too intense for one person to teach the entire session so I'm excited to get to tag-team with him. Over 350 pastors attended back in March and it's my understanding that over 400 have signed up for the 2nd session.

Needless to say, it's a great honor to get to be a part of the leadership development of these men and women of God in southern Mexico. Little did we know 20 years ago that God would increase our reach so significantly. It's definitely a "God-thing" and HE gets all the credit. We're like the pipe-wrench in the hands of a plumber - just glad to be used! :)

We're traveling Thursday and the leadership conference is Friday and Saturday. We'll be sharing in local church services on Sunday and fly back home Sunday evening/Monday morning. Please keep us in your prayers. I'll try to update the blog or my Facebook page as I'm able. And I'm excited that my dad will be filling in for me in the pulpit on Sunday. You CCI folks will certainly be blessed!

BTW, here's some information from Joel's blog about the training and his previous trip:

• Equip training for leaders (Feb 17, 2009)
• Finally in Mexico (March 27, 2009)
• Mexico Leadership Conference Recap (April 1, 2009)
• Mexico Pastors' Conference (Sept 30, 2009)

Thanks in advance for your prayers. And a big thank you to those who gave to make this trip possible!

Blessings,

Nathan

Another update on the Persecuted Church

Hello everyone,

I received an email from the brother in Nepal that I wrote to you about previously. I had sent him a link to the two blog entries and let him know that there were MANY people praying for him and for the persecuted church in those areas. He is VERY appreciative. However, he requested that I remove his name and any identifying information from the blog as that could pose a higher security risk for him. So I've gone back to the past two posts and removed his name and other information that could be used to identify him. It's ok to talk about these things among ourselves, but the Internet is accessible around the world and I definitely don't want to jeopardize them. So I'm calling him "Pastor T" in the posts.

Please continue to pray for them. If you'd like a higher quality version of the bookmark on the left, just let me know and I'll get one to you (with their full names). Thank you for your interest, your concern and your prayers.

Blessings,
Nathan <><

Update on Persecution

UPDATE: This message was edited on 8/29/09 to remove identifying information for security reasons.

Hello friends,

I've been asked by several people if I've heard any updates from Pastor T who I wrote about in my last blog entry. Below is an email I just received from him:

Dear Respected Pastor Nathan Martin,

How are you? Thank you very much for your email to me. We are praying for you and for your ministries. Thank you very much for your kind prayer and great encouragements to us in this situation. We are still getting persecutions from the Hindu Defence Army people. Want to make only Hindu Religious Kingdom. But God is with us. They could not do nothing. We are still safe from the evil persons and evil one. You are so great man of God in this earth who loves us in the Lord. Yes, He is living God with us who protect every on of us.

Yes, we are trying to live carefully in the Lord. Every church members are careful in this situation. The government security force people (policemen) visit us during the church service times and other times also. And ask us to be careful and wise for protections. But sometimes we inform them and ask them to come our church. The police office is near by our church. The asked us if any persons comes and trying us to threaten. Any one of have to go to police station to inform about them.

Last week, some one called to pastor of Jawa Jiwan Church informing to Pastor during the praise and worship service time on Saturday Service that there is a bomb in your church. He informed to his church congragation, then most of them ran away from the hall. Police came and check there but nothing there in hall. Later policemen caught the man who informed about the bomb to the Pastor of Nawa Jiwan Church. Like this some people are trying to frightening and disturbing to the Christians of Nepal. Policemen care most of churches during the services times of Kathmandu.

I will keep writing all the informations of situations of Nepal. Thank you very brother! You may pray for us continue in the Lord.

Yours Faithfully,

T [named removed to preserve identity]

Kathmandu, Nepal

As you can tell, the difficulties continue and the strain is very great. After writing my last blog entry I was very impressed to share this story with our church. I had also received an email from my friend Babar in Pakistan with very similar concerns. These two emails had a profound impact on me. No longer was persecution some far away concept happening to some nameless faces. These were my friends. I had eaten supper in Pastor T's house. I had held Babar's baby in my arms. And the persecution was real.

As a result, I shared a message this past Sunday entitled "Remember My Chains" - based on Paul's admonition to the Colossian Christians in Col 4:18 and based on the words of Hebrews 13:3 "Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body." We are called upon to remember those who are persecuted for the cause of Christ because we are all part of the same body.

For those who may not have seen it, you can view the sermon on our website until next Sunday, when it will be replaced with the current week's sermon. Just go to http://christianchallenge.org/live/index.html and look for the "View Sermon Archives" section at the bottom of the page. Here's a list of the videos I used in the sermon:

• The Battle is Real: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_uLJT7n9vM
• Orissa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlzOoXEXQ4
• We Are One: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkBkO1DG_iA
• Thank you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV8t917nNIk
• Extraordinary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g5S3aZffBs

There are so many other good videos put out by Open Doors and Voice of the Martyrs. I would recommend some time checking out their Youtube channels:

• Open Doors: http://www.youtube.com/user/OpenDoorsUSA
• Voice of the Martyrs: http://www.youtube.com/user/VoiceOfTheMartyrsUSA

We had several guests in service with us this weekend and one of them shared how the message impacted her on her blog at: http://createdtopraise.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/persecuted/ - She really captured the essence of the message. (Thanks for sharing that, Becky.)

At the end of the service we gave out a bookmark with pictures of Pastor T & family and Babar & family as a reminder to "remember their chains" and to pray for the persecuted church. On the back of each bookmark was taped a small piece of chain that I suggested each one put on their keychain as a daily reminder to pray for the persecuted church. If you'd like one of the bookmarks, send me an email. I'm not going to put my email address on here but my name is Nathan and I'm at ChristianChallenge.org - does that help you figure it out? :)

Anyhow, thanks for the inquiries about Pastor T and Babar. I'll keep the blog posted with updates as I get them. Keep praying!

Blessings,
Nathan <><