Before every new level of intimacy with God is a fresh sense of purging. Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Hebrews 12:14 says, “without holiness no one will see the Lord.” There is a sense in which these texts refer to the holiness, the right standing we gain with God through our faith in Jesus. That’s true. But there is also the meaning that before we can draw nearer to God, He takes us through a purifying process. We have to become holier to become nearer to Him because He is holy. I have often discovered this to be true in my relationship with God. These purifying times often involve trials and tribulations, pain and problems, sorrow and suffering, but God redeems these hardships and we end up knowing Him more intimately and becoming more like Him. While there are wrestlings and doubts and dryness in the difficulties, if we persevere, faith is forged in the darkness and we come out with a deeper, more active, less passive trust in God. No one likes these seasons of trials, but no one matures to their potential without them.

One of the greatest tests of my resolve to follow Jesus is loving my enemies. Jesus said that even the pagans could love their friends. You don’t really get any credit for being spiritually mature when you love those who love you. The hard thing is to love those who criticize you, slight you, and treat you without honor. I often find myself feeling defensive, irritated and impatient, and I am reminded again of my pride and weakness. The humility it requires to love your enemies, be patient with your critics, and be gentle with those who dishonor you is not acquired easily, at least not for me. So, when I am confronted with my pride and defensiveness, I cry out again to God to help me love and live like Jesus. Jesus is truly the most compelling, beautiful person I know.

John Wesley had an amazing capacity organize the First Great Awakening without quenching the Spirit. He was a strategic genius. He built vessels to capture the outpouring of the Spirit without hindering it. He created class structures (groups of 10-15) where people processed faith, leaders were developed and people were discipled & mobilized in evangelism. He had smaller groups called bands, that were 3-4 people, where people confessed with one another, and humbled themselves, so the Spirit wasn’t quenched. He also had congregational sized gatherings of 50+ where people could come and receive teaching from lay preachers and seekers could have questions answered. And Wesley preached to thousands in open fields, people who would never don the doors of church, people who were coming to Christ in droves. Wesley was an Anglican. He loved church, church buildings, and all the sacraments and ceremonies. It was his friend, George Whitfield, who started preaching in fields and Whitfield urged Wesley to join in this activity that was reaping a harvest. In my book Renewal Culture, I talk a lot about The First Great Awakening, and what Wesley did to host and sustain this renewal, surprisingly, you discover that Wesley was repulsed by the idea of open field preaching, he said that preaching in a field was like hugging a filthy man, but he did it because God was using it mightily. One of the reasons this Awakening was so powerful was because these guys got over their preferences, out of their comfort zones, mobilized people on mission and went where God called them to reap the harvest.

I have a few more conferences that are open and available for the remainder of this year. I am in Cleveland this week (Monday to Thursday) doing Soul Care for the staff at Grace Church and looking forward to spending time with Tim Meier. Then this weekend I’ll be with City Church in Charlottesville VA. November 2-4 - I am speaking to Pastors in the Toronto region at a District Conference. November 5-7 - Soul Care in Iowa November 19-21 - Soul Care in New City NY at Risen King (and looking forward to being with Gabe Tringale). December 3-6 - Soul Care in St Martin (anyone need a tropical Soul Care tune up?) December 11-13 - Holy Spirit weekend in Edensburg PA. That finishes up 2026. You can sign up for the open events on our website. renewalinternational.org/upc…

Years ago I was at a John Maxwell conference and I heard John say, “Never make a major decision in a valley.” When we are in times of suffering our perspective gets warped; we can’t see clearly. Pain taints the way we view our life and we are liable to make a poor decision. This has stuck with me over the years. I process more in the valleys of life, slow down more, consult with others more, and avoid quick pain-motivated, knee jerk reactions. Your mind is too unsettled to be trusted in times of intense pain and suffering. But if you slow down, center on God, process the pain, regain perspective, and allow God to redeem the pain, then suffering can make us people of wisdom.

I was with a group of people one day who were opposing a specific move of God, an outpouring of the Spirit. They were Christians, but they were opposing what was happening and mocking it a bit, because of some of the manifestations that were taking place, like holy laughter. I listened for a while and then decided to weigh in. I asked, “Do you think the First Great Awakening under John Wesley was from God?” They all said that they did. I explained that Wesley described the phenomenon of holy laughter occurring, though he didn’t use that name. I asked if they thought the Second Great Awakening under Charles Finney was from God. They were a little more circumspect but they said yes. I told them that Finney described that same phenomenon though he doesn’t use that name. The first time I can find a reference to it by the name holy laughter is from the American missionary to India, John “Praying” Hyde. He calls it holy laughter. Just because we have never experience something, doesn’t make it untrue. I was reading today in Luke 11:47f about how the Pharisees opposed Jesus - “they began a furious attack on him.” I never want to find myself opposing God because something is outside my comfort zone. I want to be sure not to resist what God may be doing. Look at the fruit. Is Jesus being honored? Are the people drawing closer to Jesus? Are they experiencing life change, bearing the fruit of the Spirit? You may not experience it; you might not understand it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t authentic.

I read this in Psalm 66 this morning: “Bless our God . . . Who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.” It caused me to reflect with gratitude over my life and consider how many ways this has been true for me. There have been many poor choices, some sinful and some simply unwise, which could have done me in, except for God’s grace. There have been many who tried to do me in by their lies, attacks, deceit and cunning. But God saw me through. When I first started ministry a man started spreading rumors that I stole money from the church and was in an adulterous affair. He called the district office and tried to get me fired. But God protected me. I can’t even imagine how different my life would have been if he had succeeded in his evil efforts. But God. But for the ever watchful, relentlessly tender protective love of God, I would not be who I am or where I am today. That’s just one of the many reasons I am grateful, Lord.

God is faithful. What do we mean when we say that? God is described as “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” (Deut 7:9) God is true to his word. He is reliable. He will deliver on his covenantal commitments and promises. He is faithful to his word, his nature, his promises, his covenants. He is faithful and steadfast in love. It doesn’t mean God will do what we want; it means God will do what He says. God never said everything would work out. God said He would redeem everything that comes into our lives to make us like Jesus. God never said everything that comes into our lives is good. God said that no matter what came into our lives He could use it for our good. Over a lifetime of following Jesus, I have discovered that God is indeed faithful. To be with God, to know his faithful love, to follow Him through life, and have Him with me through it all is a much better way in life. He is trustworthy and good. He is faithful and true.

“The early disciples were Spirit people, and we need to become Spirit people. We clearly are not enjoying the success of the early church, and we could desperately use their supernatural empowerment. When the early church experienced the baptism of the Spirit, it created a spiritual earthquake that changed the spiritual landscape of the Roman Empire. We are desperate for that kind of impact today” ~ From my book, River Dwellers. Too often in the church we ask the wrong questions. If you begin with the wrong question, it is hard to get to the right answer. The question we ask is “Were you filled with the Holy Spirit?” But you could have had an encounter with God 15 years ago and now be far from God. The better question is “Are you currently walking in the fullness of the Spirit?” That is a question I ask and explore in River Dwellers. It is one of the things we desperately need in the church today.

We went out to a botanical garden today when I got home. It is one of the things we love doing for refreshing. We take a quiet stroll through the flowers, the bushes, the trees and catch up and laugh. But when I went into the bathroom I ran into this sign above the urinal. Don’t drink the water. . . Is that actually running through anyone’s mind? I’m wondering why that needed to be stated. Great to be home and laugh together!

On my way back home - Bali to Singapore to Washington to Raleigh. It was a really good few days with this group of leaders. Grateful for all the friends I have made across the globe; it is an extraordinary thing to have friends all over the world. So often, on my way home, as I walk through airports all over the world, the thing that I most feel is gratitude. Deep, profound, gratitude. I am just a small town kid who has been given extraordinary opportunities by a magnanimous Heavenly Father who graciously uses deeply flawed but willing followers. That is likely the dominant emotion I feel after nearly every conference I speak at. And then there is the profoundly satisfying thought of coming home again. Always grateful for what I get to do and always grateful to go home and be with those I love.

My last day here in Bali. I have one more talk to give this morning and then I begin my long trek home. My last talk in this conference about healthy leaders and healthy churches is from my new book, Renewal Culture. How do we welcome the Spirit? God is moving around the world, how do we become a part of it? How do we welcome and sustain renewal in our churches, small groups, and communities? We have to create the right atmosphere; we need a soul and Spirit culture, rooted in the Word, mobilized on mission and centered on Jesus. The people in this room have nearly 3 million people under their care. It is a crucial topic in a world where God is doing something new. Please pray for us today.

I made it to Bali. More than 30 hours to get here. Finally got to bed about 1:45am last night local time. Got about 5 hours of intermittent sleep with the time shift, which is workable. Gave my first talk today at 3:45 (that’s 3:45 am from the East Coast). A great group of people here from all over this part of the world - more than 15 different presidents from the Christian and Missionary Alliance of different countries, along with lots of pastors, missionaries and educators. Grateful for the opportunity to serve for a few days before I head back home Friday. Prayers appreciated for our gathering.

I read this section from my book, Spiritual Authority, this morning. Lingered with it. “God never gives you an assignment that you can accomplish without Him. When God gives you an assignment, God calls you into partnership. When God calls you into partnership to accomplish the impossible, God promises His presence to get the job done. Only God can do the impossible; the key to accomplishing the impossible is the presence of God. This is the key that begins to unlock a different leadership that is more biblical, less businesslike, more God-centered, less me-centered, more about His authority, and less about our human ability to make something happen. . . When you have a God-only-possible assignment, the one indispensable need of your life is the presence of God.”

For much of this year I have been pondering what they call the threefold office of Christ - that is, his role as Prophet, Priest and King. I’ve read a few books on it, most of them written long ago. The one I am currently reading is by John Flavel, an English Puritan from the 1600’s whose writing I love. I have been drawn to the concept of Christ our Prophet, Priest and King and I will likely meditate on it more. I have to carve out some time before the year is out to meditate on Scriptures around the theme - I am off 6 out of 10 of the last weeks of the year. Feels like there is more there than what people have written on.

One of the dangers of Western Christianity is that we can easily substitute learned behaviors for authentic experiences and we can exchange knowledge for encounter and not even know we have done it. Traveling around the world, talking to Christians from every stream of Christianity, I realized this was far too often the case. This is why I wrote Authentic. In Authentic I wrote: “One of the problems with being a Christ-follower is we can substitute religious expressions for authentic experiences and not even know we are doing it. We can start with significant, transformational, authentic encounters with God and end up with dusty old religion. We can lose contact with these real connections with God and look back on them with distant memory, wondering how we lost our way and how we get back to where we were.” If you haven’t read it, it is worth the read.

Typical Friday night at a Soul Care Conference. I go out for a quiet dinner. Take a walk outside, if the weather is decent. Today, a walk in nice cool fall weather, after a summer in North Carolina that could have given hell a run for its money. Then I sit down, rest, relax and listen to a good novel. I enjoy the good writing. Let the story carry me away and hold space for deep gratitude in my heart for all that I get to do and see as I partner with Jesus. Deep breaths. Feel the gratitude and the joy. And rest up for a long, albeit tiring, but deeply satisfying day of life change tomorrow. “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you” (Psalm 116:7). That’s typical for a Friday night at a Soul Care Conference.

In my book The Soul Care Leader I do two things: (1) I am equipping people who want to help others get healthier and attempting to give them practical tools to make them more fruitful in their efforts. (2) I am attempting to help people who want to help others get healthier themselves. In the book I write: “I will cover quite a bit on the heart and soul of a healthy Soul Care practitioner. I will discuss this because many people are drawn to do Soul Care with others, but some are drawn to this ministry because of their own brokenness. All of us are broken; we are all wounded healers. But we must make sure our souls are reasonably healthy before we venture out to become Soul Care ministers. You teach what you know, and you reproduce who you are. You can’t give what you don’t have. You only have authority over that which you walk in victory.” If you haven’t read it, it is a helpful book for people who want to lead others toward wholeness.

I am off to Columbus today and beginning my most intense travel stretch of the year that takes me through October 25. I come home from Columbus Saturday at midnight and leave again 6:30am Monday for Bali. I arrive there midnight Tuesday, speak 4x in 3 days, then fly home, arriving Saturday morning (10/10). I jump on a cross country flight Monday (10/12) at 6am for Portland, and return on an overnight flight Friday (10/16). I get home Saturday and leave again on Monday (10/19) morning for Cleveland. I’m there until Thursday night, fly home and drive to Virginia for a weekend of ministry Saturday (10/24) and Sunday (10/25) in Charlottesville. I’ll be back home late Sunday night October 25th and I have a week off to catch my breath. I appreciate prayer for health, times of refreshing, fresh anointing and good ministry. Thank you to all of you who pray regularly for me. Much appreciated!

I love Ecclesiastes. It is poetic and beautifully written. And it grapples with some of the most difficult things in life. He wrestles with why good people suffer and bad people prosper sometimes. He wrestles with why the same fate overtakes all people. “It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and evil . . . This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all” (Eccl 9:2f). Time and chance happen to us all. And eventually, death overcomes everyone. Ecclesiastes can, for some, seem a little depressive, but he is grappling with realities that clutch the human condition. I love his conclusion. “The end of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Life doesn’t make sense apart from eternity. On this earth, good doesn’t always triumph over evil in the short term, justice doesn’t always prevail in the moment, but God will speak over all matters and bring justice in the end. We all need mercy, because we have all done wrong, been selfish, violated the law of love, and hurt others. That’s why Jesus came and died. Now live all out for God, when it makes sense and when it doesn’t, when life works out the way you hoped and when it doesn’t, because God will have the final word.