Catching Up

So many great things are going on these days, and I pray you are blessed in your service to Christ and His church as well. Just to give you a sense of where my heart is at today…

1: ACT LIKE MEN

Still blown away by the nearly 7000 men who attended the Act Like Men conference in Toronto. Thankful for my friends Greg Laurie, Matt Chandler, Mark Driscoll, Eric Mason, and LeCrae who all ministered powerfully and very profitably to the hungry hearts of men who deeply desire to “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14). Very excited for the next two events in Long Beach, October 18-19 and Indianapolis, November 8-9. Do whatever you can to get to one of these conferences.



2: HERITAGE PREACHING LECTURES

On Thursday this week, I am greatly honored to return to an institution that gave me my foundation in biblical ministry, now known as Heritage College and Seminary. I have been invited to preach an expository message from God’s Word, then spend three sessions unpacking what I believe and have learned through the years about the “craft” of biblical exposition. I am so excited about this and hope to have a great turnout of pastors to pour into.

3: LYDIA HOUSE

Both Act Like Men and Heritage have been asked, in lieu of any honorarium, to make a gift to LYDIA House, a national, Christ-honoring organization whose mission is to strengthen families to care for children and care for children when families cannot.

The name LYDIA comes from the Book of Acts, which tells the story of a Christian woman who was a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira. Upon meeting the Apostle Paul, she urged him and his friends to stay at her house, and it became a place of comfort and rest to them. The goal is for LYDIA to be a place of comfort and rest to children who are broken from years of abuse: “We want them to ‘come and stay at our house,’ where we can help them experience a relationship with God and break free from the traumas of their past.” Since their small beginnings in 1913, this ministry has grown to serve more than 3,000 children and their parents every year.



Kathy and I are excited to see our occasional itinerant ministry taking part in supporting such a worthy cause.

4: HARVEST UNIVERSITY

Our annual ministry leadership conference, Harvest University, is less than two weeks away. We are excited to have our biggest and broadest attendance ever. We are expecting the worship center on our Elgin Campus to be full as we welcome guests from 11 countries representing several hundred different churches—including 97 Harvest Bible Chapels, now in 14 countries. Just last Sunday, we started our first church in India, where 572 people attended the launch. By God’s grace, that makes it the highest attendance to date at a first service of any Harvest Bible Chapel in the world—even the U.S.



At Harvest U, more than 2000 pastors and church leaders from across North America and around the globe will be exhorted to lead differently, equipped with the conviction that “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24), and prepared to return to their ministry fields with an expanded capacity and renewed desire to serve Him with all of their heart, mind, soul and strength.

I am especially excited that 82-year-old Dr. Gene Getz, who has mentored me through a tough season in ministry with almost daily contact, will be joining us there.

Dr. Getz serves as Senior Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church North in Plano, Texas. Though he still teaches part time at Dallas Theological Seminary, his primary focus involves his pastoral responsibilities and directing the Center for Church Renewal, an organization that ministers to pastors, missionaries and other church leaders. He has also authored over 40 books, many of which have been distributed in nearly 30 different languages.

Dr. Getz will be conducting special Harvest University workshops on “A Biblical and Pragmatic Perspective on Eldership” and “Leadership Challenges in Practicing Biblical Eldership,” and we are so privileged to have him with us.

5: MISSIONS WEEKEND

To kick-off Harvest U, we’re having a special Missions Weekend, October 19-20. God’s amazing work through our missions and church planting around the world will be celebrated in our weekend services with an international choir, a focused evening of prayer, and international Harvest Bible Chapel Pastors from countries as diverse as Romania, St. Vincent Island, Scotland, Liberia, Austria, and Nicaragua preaching on each of our campuses.

For the past five weeks, even our kids’ ministry has been a frenzy of excitement, as they’ve engaged in prayer ‘trading cards’ for our church plant pastors.



One family told of how their kids pray for our pastors and their families with the cards on their way to church. As their daughter started praying for one of our pastors in Liberia, she noticed the unusual name of his daughter, Princess—and of course couldn’t help wondering aloud why Princess wasn’t her name too. Just a glimpse into the powerful, personal, and impactful way these simple cards are being used to help our smallest seek out their heavenly Father on behalf of our churches and the godly men who lead them. “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).

6: GOD AT WORK

When you need to be refreshed in your confidence about the saving power of Jesus Christ, there is nothing that ‘hits the spot’ like a fresh testimony of God at work. Watch this and rejoice in the goodness of the Lord.

(Please open the article to see the flash file or player.)

7: I, SAUL

You may be aware that I contributed my research, meager as it was, to Jerry Jenkins’ new novel I, Saul. He is currently working on the sequel I, Paul, which is the rest of the story. My faith is so stirred as I reviewed, in novel form, the personal sacrifice and awesome work God did in and through the Apostle Paul. Jerry Jenkins is also, you should know, an exemplary follower of Jesus from whom I have learned a lot. Take a moment and read this inspiring blog post he wrote: “Kinder than Kind.”

Joyfully serving Jesus Christ,

james