Fourth Christian Martyred in Somalia in the Last Six Months

The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has learned that Islamic extremists shot and killed a Muslim convert to Christianity on April 22 in Baidawa, a town 149 miles away from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. His name was David Abdulwahab Mohamed Ali, and he was 29 years old.

On Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 4:30pm local time, one of David’s cousins led two other members of the Islamic extremist group Al-Shabab to David and asked him if he was a Muslim or an infidel. He answered, “Neither.”

They asked, “Then what are you?”

He answered, “Waxaan ahay Masiixi,” which means, “I am a follower of the Messiah.”

At this, David’s cousin was enraged and humiliated. In Somalia’s strict Muslim society, David’s conversion to Christianity brought enormous shame on his family. His cousin’s first response was to pull out a gun and shoot David. The other two extremists did the same, and the three continued shooting David until their Muslim “honor” had been avenged.

David had been living in Ethiopia since 2000 when he traveled to Somalia this April to visit his family. He came to Christ in 1995, in Yemen, where he was living as a refugee. In 2000, David’s good friend, Mohammed Omer Haji, was sentenced to death by the government of Yemen for his faith in Christ (Haji was able to take refuge in New Zealand). David had to flee Yemen and move to Ethiopia because Yemeni authorities were looking for him also.

David was a gifted and brilliant evangelist who led many to the Lord, actively sharing his faith through blogs. He was also a linguist and a philosopher whom some Somalis called “The Great Thinker.”

Recently, Islamic extremists have intensified their attacks against Christians in Somalia. In the past six months alone, four Christians, including David, have been martyred for their faith. The other three martyrs are: Da’ud Ali, Mohamed Yusuf and Hassan Mo’alim.

The attacks against Christians in Somalia are carried out by a group called Al-Shabab, an Al-Qaeda linked militant group. Al-Shabab is fighting to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, ruled by Sharia law, and is on the United States list of terrorist organizations.

ICC spoke with a leading Somali Christian who urged the international community to condemn the genocide-in-the-making that the Church in Somalia is facing.

The Somali Christian expressed his fear that “less than three percent of the Somali population is Christian and we [the Christians] could be eliminated in this generation by the Muslim violence if the massacre is not stopped now.”

ICC’s regional manager for Africa, Darara Gubo, stated, “The deadly Jihad against Christians continues and Christians in Somalia need our help and support. Please don’t forget our brothers and sisters in Somalia.”

To learn more about the needs of Somali Christians and how you can help them, please contact ICC.

Contact Darara Gubo, Regional Manager for Africa, 1-800-ICC (422)-5441, icc@persecution.org for more information.

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ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC delivers humanitarian aid, trains and supports persecuted pastors, raises awareness in the US regarding the problem of persecution, and is an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Department. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Sharing About Freedom Ridge

Yesterday I got the opportunity to speak at North Grand Church here in Ames. They were having a Mission Emphasis Sunday, and they asked me to come in and share some of the vision and philosophy behind Freedom Ridge. It was a lot of fun and I had a good time there.

The cool thing about it is they were planted by CEM around 40 years ago, and now we are being planted by CEM. It was almost like I was speaking with family.

I appreciate their willingness to let me come in and speak during their service.

Fusion by Nelson Searcy saved my butt

I’ve been reading the book Fusion by Nelson Searcy and it is very good. It talks about the assimilation process of churches and gives some very practical insight and advice on narrowing the back door of your church. It has a lot of good stuff in it, and it has a lot of stuff that you can begin to use in your church right now. We’re definitely going to be implementing a lot of the stuff in our church when we begin meeting publicly. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in fortifying their assimilation/first impressions/guest services in their church. Go buy it if you don’t already have it.

Tonight I was very thankful that I purchased it, because as the title of this post says, the book saved my butt. I headed out to my daughter’s track meet this evening and I grabbed the book to read in between her events. When I got to the track, the temperature was about 38 degrees and the wind was blowing about 20mph. So needless to say it was very cold. I sat down on the frozen metal bleachers and the chill shot right through me. The wind was blowing and I was shivering. After about 5 minutes I knew I was not going to get any reading done because of the wind and I was shaking too much to hold the book still. I thought I would go into hypothermia and quite possibly die.

Rather than hold the book, I sat on it. The 180 some pages were enough to raise me up off the frozen bleacher and increase my body temperature by a couple degrees. So Nelson, if you happen to read this post, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my butt for writing Fusion, because it saved my life.

u can txt me now

My family has finally joined this century and signed up for unlimited texting. Our daughters have been begging for awhile, but we’ve been putting them off. I actually kinda wanted it, too, so we finally got it.

So if you want to touch base or send a short note, you can text me without it costing me 15 cents.

Do You Remember CHiPs?

I used to love CHiPs when I was growing up. It was a cool show, and I loved it especially because it was about motorcycles. I would sit in jealous awe as I watched the intro to the show when Ponch and Jon were riding down the freeway and the camera got closeups of every piece of the bike. It was cool and it made me want a motorcycle so I could ride down the freeway next to my friend.

My youngest daughter and I like riding our bikes together. Ames has some pretty good bike paths, and we like going on them into parks and looking for the “off road” trails. We’ll see them and take them every time. That is where the fun is at. The other day we were riding down a paved path and I was right behind her. The path was clear so I sped up so I was right next to her, and I said “We’re CHiPs.” She had no idea what I was talking about. Kids these days.

Learner’s Permits And Their Effect On Prayer

My oldest daughter passed her test for her learner’s permit the other day, so she is now able to legally drive. The learner’s permits are just as ugly as the driver’s license (see my thoughts here). Anyway, the only driving she has done so far is in a straight line a mile or so down a gravel road and turning into a driveway. She has done this a few times.

We were getting ready to head out to church this morning, so I asked if she wanted to drive to church. She did, and this was her first experience with stop signs, stop lights, parked cars, curbs, and traffic in general. She did a pretty good job for her first time. She’ll be taking driver’s ed this summer, and we just want to get her ready for that.

All I can tell you is if you are having trouble with your prayer life, just get in the car with a new driver. It will break you out of your rut in no time.

Warmest Day Yet

We have this wireless thermometer at our house that we bought from Gander Mountain. It has a sensor that you put outside, then the small base sits inside your house so you can see what the temperature is. It measures the indoor temperature, the outdoor temperature, and the relative humidity. It also shows you the coldest and warmest temperatures it has measured to date.

We set it up the beginning of January right after we moved here. The coldest day we experienced was -12.7. Today was the warmest so far at 75. That is a 87.7 degree difference. I think I finally stopped shivering today.

What’s With The Name “Freedom Ridge”?

Yesterday I mentioned I’d give you some insight into how I chose the name Freedom Ridge for our new church.

I prayed a lot about it. I surfed the net to get ideas. I even made up a list of possible names as they came to me, and I showed them to my family and a few friends to get their input. Talking with others helped me to condense the list a little bit.

I was looking for something that could be more of a personality or a brand than just a name; something that describes who we are rather than just a cool name on a business card. I believe everyone is on a spiritual journey whether they realize it or not, and people are trying to fill some kind of void in their life with something. Those of us who are Jesus-followers know what they are looking for, and we need to make the introduction to Jesus.

When Jesus came to this earth, he said a couple interesting things. In John 10:10 he says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In John 8:36 he says, “So if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you are truly free.” Who wouldn’t want to live life to the fullest? Who wouldn’t want to be truly free?

Freedom Ridge is not a place, but it is a state of mind, it is a life that people aspire to. Through Freedom Ridge, we want to give people Jesus so they can have freedom from religion, freedom of life, freedom from addiction, freedom from hurts, freedom from hangups, freedom to live the way God wants them to live. At Freedom Ridge, we definitely want to show people how to have eternal life through Jesus, but we are just as excited to share how everyone can have a full life NOW.

Mike Yaconelli said it best when he said, “Jesus Christ came to rescue us from listlessness as well as lostness; He came to save us from flat souls as well as corrupted souls. He came to save us from dullness. Our culture is awash in immorality and drowning in dullness. We have forgotten how to dance, how to sing, how to laugh… We have been stunted by mediocrity.”

There you have it. Freedom Ridge is about freedom in Jesus.

Church Names For Dummies

I recently sat in on a group of guys who were talking about church names and if they mean anything anymore. It was interesting to hear all the different view points and their reasoning. I was surprised how many thought that names didn’t really make a difference if someone would attend a certain church or not. I agree that a great name doesn’t necessarily make a great church, because if there is nothing behind that name (such as great ministries to the people and community) then chances are people will not return. But I am of the mindset that an attractive name is important, because how many people would go to check out the “First Church of Crap”? It doesn’t matter what they have ministry wise; people will probably be reluctant to visit a service.

Mark Driscoll came up with a formula for helping people pick out the perfect church name. You can see his blogpost here.

Tomorrow I’ll give you some insight as to why I chose the name Freedom Ridge for our new church.

Can You Relate?

Have you ever felt like this cow?

Confession: Prayer Is Hard

I don’t like to talk on the phone. As a matter of fact, I hate it. I would rather jump in my Jeep and drive across town to talk to you face to face rather than call you on the phone. I want to see you, see your expressions, when we talk. But logistics, time, and common sense don’t allow face-to-face meetings all the time. So I call you on the phone.

I told you a couple posts ago I was going to share some confessions pertaining to areas of dissatisfaction in my life. Here’s the first one: prayer is hard for me. Maybe my dislike of talking on the phone might be related to my stinkiness at prayer. I don’t know.

When I first got out of college I bought a book called “Spending An Hour A Day With God” and it had the whole outline for each day of the year so you could spend a whole hour every day with God. I was excited and committed to doing this because I was going to become a great man of God. I sat down at my desk in my office, opened the book, and began following the outline. I made it about 27 minutes. My personality isn’t wired for long moments of silence or endless contemplation.

Some think since I am a pastor that I have a direct line to God. Some pastors may have that, but I can tell you this is one pastor who doesn’t. When it comes to prayer and Bible reading, I have to work at it. It doesn’t come naturally to me. Don’t get me wrong, I pray and I read my Bible, but not nearly as much as I should. I’m not as intentional as I should be.

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray continually. I am pretty good at shooting up short little prayers all the time, like “That’s cool, God” or “Give me the words, Jesus.” But when it comes to sitting down, folding my hands, bowing my head, and spending time in prayer, I fail miserably. I think this might be a stumbling block for a lot of people, because they think if you spend a looong time in prayer it makes you more spiritual. It doesn’t work for me like that in my life. I’m not sure the fact that you pray lengthy prayers automatically increases your spiritualness.

What do you think? How are you at prayer?

By the way, don’t be afraid to call me on the phone. I will talk to you.

Iowa Driver’s Licenses Are Ugly

Today I went in and got my Iowa driver’s license so my daughter could take her learner’s permit test. The cool thing was I got it instantly. They took my picture, printed it out, and gave me my license about 3 minutes later.

The bad thing is the license is the ugliest things I’ve ever seen, and I’m not talking about my picture. It has too much pink on it, some pastel bluish color on it, and some embossed flowers. It is waaaay to feminine. It’s a good thing I can keep it tucked away in my wallet, because if I had to wear it around my neck I would probably get the snot beat out of me.

Somebody down at the DMV needs to do some serious redesigning.

contentment vs contentment

I visit dictionary.com all the time. It is one of my favorite sites. It defines contentment as “the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind” or “happiness with one’s situation in life.”

I think of myself as a content person, even though I want more for myself and my family. I don’t mean in a materialistic sort of way at all; I just want what’s best. I disagree with the above definition of contentment, because it uses the term satisfaction. I am content, but I am not satisfied.

Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

I have come to this realization about myself: I am a Content person when it comes to life; but I am not content when it comes to satisfaction. Does that make sense? In the next couple days I’ll give you a glimpse into my head and heart (which might be a scary thing!), but it will kinda let you know how I am dissatisfied and what it does to me.  I guess you can say it is confession time.

Hang on to your hat!

Introducing Freedom Ridge Wear!

I am proud to introduce to you our first ever Freedom Ridge T-shirts.

The top example has sizes M-XXL available and the bottom example has S-XXL. (Sorry, no youth sizes available at this time.)

You can have your very own for $10 each, and it is a great way to get the word out about Freedom Ridge and to show your Freedom Ridge pride. Quantities are limited so don’t wait around to get yours. Send me an e-mail or give me a call and we’ll make arrangements to get your shirts to you.

My Heart Was Racin’

This morning it was very foggy, and I happened to be driving on Highway 30. Most of the time I could only see a couple hundred yards in front of me, so I was trying to be very cautious and was driving a little slower than I normally would. Occasionally the fog would break to where I could see further, but most of the time is was pretty thick.

I came up on one area, and a semi-truck, obviously growing impatient from waiting and stressed from the fog, decided to gun it and turn left from his lanes across the entire highway right in front of me. I hit my brakes and all the junk I have in the back of my Jeep slid up towards the front. This is one of the occasions where if there was a second’s difference I would probably be fishing in heaven right now instead of writing this post.

After I resumed my speed I realized there was a thumping in my chest. My heart was really racing.

Evacuate! Pt2

I made a post earlier about how we had to evacuate once because of a hurricane. You can read the original post here. My friend Betty made a comment that sparked some conversation at our house about our evacuation experience.

I had mentioned that we took our two dogs and left the cat behind. In the spirit of accuracy I want to make a clarification. We originally intended to leave the cat behind, but actually ended up taking her with us. It was my brother’s cat who stayed behind. I did not remember taking the cat, but it makes sense that we would take her because there is no way our daughters would allow her to be swept away in the storm. I would have, but it’s amazing what you do for your kids.

I’ve been blogging since February 3rd, and this is my first retraction. Not bad! Sure it’s not the last, but if something needs correcting I’ll correct it.

Can You Do It?

I saw this on another blog awhile ago, and thought I’d share it with you. It taught me a thing or two.