Jesus plus eleven make a great team

We are on our way to Ecuador with a couple of hour layover in Houston.  We are  excited about all that God has planned for us as we take this trip.  We know we are going as your representatives and we just want to say thanks for all your prayers in advance.  WE hope to arrive tonight in Quito about 11:30 and then anearly morning trip to sucua from which we will fly into the jungle. The teamed is geared up and ready. They are also memorizing Psalm 67 this week if you want to as well.  It is only seven verses but it is a powerful reminder of how the Lord views the nations of the world and His power to transform, nations cultures and people.  May God bless you this week in new and greater ways and may all of our desire for God grow more and more.

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Thank you all for your prayers.  This morning here in Indianapolis on the 6th electoral ballot Dr George Wood was elected as our new General Superintendent.  He is a wonderful man who has been raised as a child of Missionaries, has served as a Pastor of a great church, and for the last 14 years as our General Secretary.  When he accepted the election, he shared that all hewas seeking was the will of God.  He said that He planned on serving all the body in order to advance the Kingdom. Please join me in praying for Dr Wood and for the other elections yet to come.  We will do our best to keep you informed of the other elections as well.

 

 

 

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Thursday was a day here at General Council that people have been praying and asking God for His clear direction.  The voting process for our General Superintendent began at 2PM today.  Names can be nominated from the floor from the more than 4,000 delegates, each name that receives more than fifteen votes is then brought before the the entire group.   These are men whohave been ordained and have proven themselves faithful to God and the ministry of touching others.  That initial group consisted of about 25 people.  Several removed their names from consideration and we proceeded to vote three more times until about 5:30 and at this point we do not have a decision. The two candidates that have seemed to take the position of the main candidates are the Dr George Wood who serves at present as our General Secretary (You may remember him from our building dedication) and Alton Garrison who serves as our U.S. Missions director. So now we are waiting on God and going to services tonight believing that the Lord will continue to lead us on Friday.  Some times when we wait on God it is not easy. We all want things now and not wait until the next day or the next week or the next month.  But at times God is teaching us to trust Him and believe that He will answer even when you do not see the answer.  The encouragement I have for you is this, we are trusting that the God who still leads and still speaks, will and in fact wants to answer the prayers that line up with His will for your life.   Waiting is never easy at this Council or in our lives, but waiting has its purpose.  It will allow us to depend on God, and not on ourselves and cause us to humble ourselves and submit not only to His will but also His timing. 

The Word of God says to Be still and know that He is God.

I will let you know as soon as a decision is made but in the mean time.  Let us wait patiently for God! Thanks for praying for this General Council and for our church.

 

 

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Today people from all over the country and really around the world are gathering to begin an historic General Council.  Every two years ministers come and gather together for inspiration, fellowship and  connection and to take steps of  that will prayerfully move our movement to be  more effective for the Kingdom of God.  The Assembly of God was begun by men and womanwhose hearts cry was to reach the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  There is no doubt that the Lord has blessed this movement that now numbers more than 57 million people and growing.  Yet here in the United States we are not experiencing the growth or the impact as is much of the rest of the world.  We are in need of God to breathe on us and to give us a fresh wind of His Spirit.  That is why we are praying that the Lord would put His hand on the right leadership with the right qualification.

Thursday afternoon we will elect a new General Superintendent along with others in leadership positions. There are several wonderful people across our country that have been greatly used by God and would be great candidates. However, this one of those moments that we need a divine moment like occured in I Samuel 16:7.  Israel is looking for a new King and in this   great passage  God speaks and tells the Prophet Samuel to go and anoint a new king.  When the Prophet see one of Jesse's sons named Eliab, he thought for sure this must be the man, after all he looked like a king, tall strong good looking, but instantly the Lord Speaks to Samuel and says, "Do not consider his apperance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at things man looks at. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."  One of the great ladies of Cornerstone often says that things come down to heart issues. She is right. What may look like the perfectly candidate to man may not be, and what may seem to be the person that no one would choose might be the one with the right heart towards God.  God knows!  That is our confidence in these days and in our lives. God knows our hearts and the hearts of leaders and potential leaders.

The principle is true not only with those candidates who will be voted on Thursday and Friday but also for each of us.  God can use us if our heart is right before Him.  Even if we have all the gifts and talents and outward abilities, if we do not have the right heart towards the Lord we will only look good on the outside, but God looks on the heart, what is inside.  We want to allow God to have our hearts and to lead us.  As a church let's guard our hearts and see that it is pleasing to God and that our attitude and our hearts are right before Him.

 Proverbs 4:23  Above all else gaurd your hearts for it is the wellspring of life.

 Thanks for praying with us and we will let you know what happens Thursday.  You are a wonderful group of people that God wants to bless in greater ways than ever before.

 

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Hello from Indianapolis! One of the great things about being connected with Cornerstone Church is the realization that we understand that nothing of lasting value happens without prayer. That is true for each of us, our church and our movement. I want to thank so many people who have joined me in praying for God's clear direction and leadership for the movement that we area part of the Assemblies of God, during this pivotal time.

It was a great thing to see that the first meeting of this week of business and elections was a prayer meeting asking God for His grace and leadership for this critical time in the life of this movement. Dr. Tom Trask, our current General Superintendent who has served the Assemblies of God in that position for fourteen years opened the meeting. He announced about one month ago that God was leading him to step down and allow another person to come and lead. So as we gathered last evening to ask God to have his way in the selection of new leadership, it was a wonderful expression to see Dr Trask lead the prayer meeting. There was an awareness not only God's presence, but also of our need for Him to take control of this week as we elect not only our General Superintendent, but also several other key leadership positions which we will talk about later this week. We know that God will answer as we pray.

I hope that this blog will be a way to keep you connected not only this week but in the future as well. I encourage you to check it often.

Please keep praying with me and we will let you know what is happening here in Indianapolis. Thank you for making your first item of business- prayer

Together for Jesus

Pastor Mark

 

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Greetings all. We are incorporating this blog section of our website as a means for me to share thoughts and insights from time to time. This should not be considered a replacement for the e-mail newsletter we want to send out on a regular basis, so make sure you sign up for that on the homepage.

I leave for what is calledGeneral Council tomorrow and will be there for the week. Every two years, the leaders of our movement convene to pray and discuss the direction and structure of our fellowship. As I shared previously, this year is pivotal since our General Superintendent, as well as other top leaders, are resigning to allow new vision and leadership to take the reigns. This will be a very important process and I ask you to pray with me throughout the course of the week.

I will be posting here semi-regularly throughout the week to keep you posted on what's happening. Check back here regularly for updates.

In Jesus,

Pastor Mark

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