Category: Bruce Posts (Page 58 of 211)

Thank you Adrienne for putting this video together!  It was a new challenge for our family to ‘go back to school’ last fall in Belarus.  We then took some of the students back with us to Ukraine this past February and created opportunities for them to engage with people, ministry partners, and practice sharing the love of God in real ways.

What’s next for YFM Year for Mission?  Stay tuned!  We are continuing to pray, talk to perspective new students and considering a similar program this fall based out of Ukraine (with mission projects to the Russian speaking world).

We live in a globalized context, the challenges and opportunities are daunting.  Traditional forms of academic teaching, classroom and ‘diplomas’ are increasingly undesirable among Millennials/GenZ simply for ‘academics sake.’  They understand a piece of paper isn’t going to secure much of anything, and in particular in the Russian education system where you can still pay for your grades, it’s little more than a way out of army duty.

Within Christendom, as it emerges here, we need spirit-led, life-giving forms of relational, engaging and spiritually formation.  It needs to be affordable, if possible sustainable with little to to western aid.  Like we raise our own kids, doing ‘training’ with an eye towards releasing people of character over charisma, work ethic over good luck.

We are prayerfully considering a new intern program, which has more intentional focus on character formation.  It will be somewhat like YFM with academic and missional elements, but I’m hungry for more.  This culture is suffering from massive alcoholism, unemployment, high mortality rates, and a fatherless culture.  They only know authority, power, and only this form of leadership.  They look for instructions too easily, are often without specific orders, fail to see the massive opportunities to love and serve around them.   The local churches feed into this problem with clear clergy/laity divide, they are easily shepherded, but not easily raised to impact culture and make new disciples.

I’m praying for new models we, and other leaders around us can walk alongside youth daily with, teaching them vicariously practical, spiritually and missional ethics.  To form the whole person, inside out.  This is the heart of Jesus education to His own disciples, it’s the style of parenting we employ as Christian parents – why do we consider other possibilities when approaching education for youth? The ‘sage on the stage’ is not how young adults learn best, they need ‘guides on the side’, follow me as I follow Christ Pauline style – but how?  What can this look like in our setting?  We have some houses, we have new believers, we have plenty of harvest field, we have many partners – and we have you!  Pray for us!

Less is more, more is less, and we move ahead asking for the mercy and favor of Jesus!

Bruce & Deborah

Bill, his daughter Cheraya, Deb and i in Kiev exploring potential creative spaces.

This week we had the privilege of hosting some friends from Texas from our board.  Making future plans for ministry and projects.  We’ve merged our leadership team and now have an amazing group of mature, caring, and spiritually minded folks – feel very blessed!

This past week we hosted a widows outreach at Lighthouse Cafe – here’s a little video update!

YFM students graduated this weekend, here are some of the girls. Sorry you couldn’t be there Adrienne 😉

I’m in Minsk now, spent the past few days in meetings.  The weather is sunny and warm – a stark contrast to the 3 months of rain, fog and generally dreary weather.

In the center of Minsk hundreds of youth gather and play volleyball in large circles down by the river.  It was picturesque.

I’m amazed at how youthful Minsk is – I’m convinced it’s the youngest capital city in Europe, but I haven’t the facts to back that up.  When I walk around the City though as I did this morning, it’s hard not to feel old.  That represents some significant Kingdom opportunity.  God is working in Belarus, there is an emerging movement of youth and Kingdom growth potential – despite the efforts by many forces to contain it.

We’re making some changes in our ministry, tying up some historical ministries that served so well in the past, but have lost steam over the past few years.  It’s encouraging to see how God ebbs and flows in human history, seasons, movements, partnerships – I’m looking forward to making new history for the Kingdom in the Russian speaking world, and doing that with more friends and partners.  Doing stuff alone is not fun.

Downtown Minsk – this central area is where we hope to host another worship event – in the background is the arena we are hoping for (pray!).

Katya serves in many neat ways in Belarus. Can’t be too specific.

When in Belarus, you must eat beef, we missed good beef in Ukraine.

The kids haven’t been in an Orthodox church in a long time, so they found it really surreal – Abigail asked me, “Daddy, is this where a princess lives?”.

My seminary course is reaching it’s first quarter close.  I’ll be flying to California for 10 days of seminars and learning.  Will be meeting my fellow cohort, 30 or so from around the world.

Missing Deb and the kids. I hear the little girls are sick.  So thankful for a loving wife who bears the weight of family while I’m serving in this capacity.  This past weekend we rented a boat from a friend and took the kids on the Dnepr, to the old church on the island.

It’s been challenging as the first quarter is all about taking inventory of our experiences, assessing our values and convictions in new light, and proactively planning each ourselves our next two years of course selection relating to globalization, leadership, culture etc.  I never imagined I would be reading this much, but really enjoying the content and finding refreshing ways to approach challenges before me already.

Back in Ukraine

Great news!  A ministry south of us that does programming business and other creative ministries donated our Lighthouse Sign!  A Ukrainian mission partner donated it!  How cool.  Love how God is working in Ukraine.

We’ve toured a few potential creative spaces in Kiev, but nothing that fits our vision and budget yet. We’re considering a few different business models, and still praying through this.  One idea is an event space, like for receptions, concerts, conference – with a coffee shop area that would open during rental.

We also want a few offices for combination English, creative, music things as well as possible start-up partnerships.  Like with Lighthouse, everything we put our hands to we want to all possible to create synergy in mission and business – to sustain and not ‘need’ western hand outs continually.  So many great ideas, talented people, surely God can guide us to producing a sustainable model in Kiev which could double as a place of missional community – My dream is to see these platforms emerge across the Russian speaking world.  We have the armies of youth around us, we just need God’s blessing – pray!

Thanks for checking in!

Bruce & Deb

“Как от Божественной силы Его даровано нам все потребное для жизни и благочестия, через познание Призвавшего нас славою и благостию, 4. которыми дарованы нам великие и драгоценные обетования, дабы вы через них соделались причастниками Божеского естества, удалившись от господствующего в мире растления похотью, –

5 то вы, прилагая к сему все старание, покажите в вере вашей добродетель, в добродетели рассудительность, 6. в рассудительности воздержание, в воздержании терпение, в терпении благочестие, 7. в благочестии братолюбие, в братолюбии любовь. 8. Если это в вас есть и умножается, то вы не останетесь без успеха и плода в познании Господа нашего Иисуса Христа” (2-е Петр. 1:3-8).

Бог желает разделить с нами Свою природу.

Он знает, что мы испорчены, несовершенны и отчаянно нуждаемся в обновлении. Вот почему Иисус сказал народу после сверхъестественного насыщения их желудков хлебом и рыбой “Если вы не будете пить мою кровь и есть мою плоть, вы не будете иметь части со Мною”.

Чтобы “поглотить”, “усвоить” духовную природу Бога, необходимо поверить во Христа и родиться свыше.

То, к чему Бог призывает нас в Своем Слове (например, верность, честность, непорочность, любовь, смирение), – это не произвольные внешние законы, которые мы можем применять в наших жизнях без сверхъестественной Божьей работы. ДНК в сердце Бога, проявленной в совершенном образе Христа, становится доступным через жизнь, смерть и воскресение Иисуса Христа. Он никогда не просит нас быть тем, кем Он Сам не является. Он желает, чтобы все мы становились похожими на Него, меняясь изнутри и преображаясь снаружи.

Мне нравится этот отрывок в послании Петра, потому что здесь основное внимание фокусируется на истинном Евангелии, на силе Божьей, не на реакции человека. Сам Бог дал нам это незаслуженное драгоценное обетование спасения – прошлая, настоящая и будущая природа славного спасения! Он не только проложил путь к искуплению, но и приглашает нас стать на него и посредством силы Его Духа идти, жить, обновляться.

Это как будто Бог вручил нам упакованный чемодан, фактически переполненный, застегнутый на молнию, но он раскроется, как только мы взглянем на Христа. Через познание Его, говорит Петр, нам открываются великие дары внутри чемодана, и так мы можем “облечься” в данные качества Бога (Римл. 13:14).

“И облечься в нового человека, созданного по Богу, в праведности и святости истины” (Еф. 4:24).

Обетование? Петр говорит, что мы не останемся бесплодными, мы не будем прожигать свои жизни, если мы свою энергию отдадим на то, чтобы познавать Иисуса и получать духовную пищу во Христе.

Он будет восполнять наши силы, воодушевлять, оживлять нашу веру и дела. Бог будет использовать нас, направлять, показывать нам новую и плодотворную работу для жатвы на Его поле.

В чем наша задача? Не стать религиозными деятелями или моралистами, сосредоточенными на внешних факторах, но всей силой стремиться познавать Христа! Им мы живем, движемся и существуем (Деян. 17:28). Именно Он облекает нас.

Христианство – это личность. Иисус – это революция сердца, замена старого на новое, а новое – это Тот, кто все совершил. Давайте погружаться в этот драгоценный дар, становясь сердцем Бога для народов.

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Peter 1:3-8

God’s desire is to share His nature with us.

He knows we are broken, incomplete and in desperate need of renewal.  This is why Jesus said to the crowd after feeding their stomachs miraculously with bread and fish, “Unless you drink of my blood, and eat my flesh, you’ll have no part of me.”

To ‘ingest’ to ‘consume’ the spiritual nature of God is to believe in Christ and be born again.

The things that God calls us to in His word (e.g. faithfulness, honesty, purity, love, humility) are not some random outward laws we can apply to our lives without a supernatural work.  The DNA within the heart of God, as displayed in the perfect reflection of Christ becomes accessible in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He never asks us to be something that He is not.  He desires us all to become like Him, inside out.

Be holy, ‘as I am holy.”  How?  By ‘putting on’ Jesus, by participating in the divine nature of God in Christ, through faith.

I love this passage in Peter because the focus is, as it is in the true Gospel,  on the power of God, not man’s response.  It was God who ‘gave’ us this unmerited precious promise of salvation – the past, present and future nature of glorious salvation! He’s the one who not only made the way for redemption, but now invites us in, through the power of His Spirit to walk, live, be, something new.

It’s like God has furnished us with a packed suitcase, it’s over-packed actually, zipped up but ready to burst open once we look to Christ.  It’s through knowing Him, says  Peter, that we are introduced to the great gifts inside the suitcase, and are able to participate in ‘putting on’ these attributes of God (Rom 13:14).

The promise?  Peter says that we will not be unfruitful, we will not waste our lives, if we spend our energies on knowing Jesus and receiving the spiritual food in Christ.

He will fuel our energies, lift our souls, enliven our faith and deeds.  God will use us, place us, introduce us to new and fruitful work in His harvest field.

Our job?  Not to become religious doers or outward moralists, but press into knowing Christ! In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28). It’s He that clothes us.

Christianity is a Person. Jesus is a revolution of heart, old for new, and the new is the One who made it all.  Let us dive into this precious gift, becoming the heart of God to the nations.