Paths to Dwell In » ministry

Meekness Is the Passkey

robert — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:19:16 +0000

Closed Theological System

One of my main mentors was Jack Frost. When I first came to work with him I had a somewhat closed theological system. I had a set of fixed ideas about God and doctrine and I was not that open to anything that went outside my box. Jack was very different.

Teachable and Diligent

He was first of all teachable. There were certain key books God used in his life that he had read fifteen times or more. Not only was he open to new ideas, he understood what it took to really get a hold of them and incorporate them to where he lived on a daily basis. We give this kind of effort in school to learn new material. A given class might include lectures, a textbook, several other books to read, and a research paper. However, now that we are older, we seem to have the idea that we can read one book just one time and it will change our lives forever.

Willing to Try

The next thing I noticed about Jack was that he was not afraid to try. He would at times make adjustments to his teaching, not always having it perfect from the start, however, the important thing was that he was willing to consider new thoughts and open to try them.

A Personal Example

About a year ago I found myself really stuck in my walk with the Lord. I heard a minister I respected mention that God has taught the church many things about deliverance and generational sin and some of it actually works. That struck right at one of my theological boxes. Because of ways I have considered the deliverance movement “out of balance,” I had thrown the whole thing out. A short time later I had an opportunity to be ministered to by this same man, and he recommended some deliverance and generational sin stuff I could pray through. I was desperate enough to try it. Guess what? It worked, I found whole new areas of freedom in my life. In the type of prayer ministry that I do, these are still not the primary tools I use, but I have a whole lot more respect for them than I used to.

With a closed theological system there is little possibility for growth. Meekness really is the passkey.

Fountains of Life Mission – Agape Reformation

robert — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:35:35 +0000

Agape Reformation Mission

Pastor Tawaichi in northern Thailand was in our pre-conference training to help minister at the altars during our meetings. On the first night we did not see him at the end. The next day he told us, “After your message I had to go home and repent to my wife and children before I could minister at the altar”. This testimony is what we believe God to do in pastors’ and leaders’ lives in all our conferences.

FOUNTAINS OF LIFE exists: To See People Equipped to Intimacy with God and to Fulfilling Their Destinies in His Love. Isaiah 58:12 Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of paths to Dwell In. Our faith is that people will become free; finally seeing the things that have hindered them in their walks with God, sometimes for many years. God has anointed us to help people discern their breach and find paths of life to dwell in. “Over 90% of Indian pastors beat their wives”— an Indian pastor. During our last conference in India, Pastor Michael stood in for all Indian men and repented to all the women present for the way men have treated them. Then, the men pastors all spoke blessings over the women! Foreign national pastors are truly on the frontlines, reaching the un-reached in their own native tongue and cultural understanding. We believe that equipping these leaders is the best possible investment of the time and resources God has entrusted to us. We have changed our name from Fountain of Life Ministries International to simply Fountains of Life. We like the simplicity of this. We desire to be used by God to bring His “source” of life to many places around the world. To date we have held conferences and seen testimonies like the ones in this article in 23 different nations! Thank you for standing with us and helping to make that happen! Much love, Robert and CyndiRead Jack Frost’s Agape Reformation http://www.shilohplace.org/Downloads/Articles/Article26-EnteringIntoTheAgapeReformation.pdf

The Earthquake in People’s Lives

robert — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:10:49 +0000

Pastor Juan said, “I called my children and repented to them and told them I love them; when I get home I will also repent to my church and tell them I love them.” We hear testimonies of restitution and an embracing of agape values in place of works in most every conference we do. But during the earthquake in Peru, as the church and relief agencies were mobilizing quickly, I thought, “Who is attending to the emotional ‘earthquakes’ in people’s lives on a day to day basis?” While in Peru we heard of a pastor who had built a very large church over many years. Many other churches were started all over the country as a result. A pastors network developed and they all loved this leader because he had a gift to make these various pastors feel supported and encouraged. Unfortunately today he has left his wife of many years and is living in the US with his secretary. I know of a very similar story in Manila, Philippines. In India—most pastors physically abuse their wives. As a minister, you minister what you are. So what is coming down from these pastors as a standard over the men in the churches they preach in every Sunday? We believe in ministering healing and loved based values, not placing ministry above family, not having identity in how big we can grow our ministries. If we can stem the tide of the earthquakes in people’s lives, we can effect even more relief in families than in cases of natural emergencies. For every leader that begins to embrace these values, they will in turn influence all they minister to. Thank you for helping us in this task!

The Value of Change

robert — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 12:32:50 +0000

In the beginning of every year, I (Cyndi) take the first month to seek the Lord for a word for the coming year—to prepare for what the year has in store. This January I heard the word “change”. I thought, “Okay, this is going to be an interesting, possibly challenging year ahead.” In many ways God has challenged us personally. One of our board members recently told us to “Go for the Glory!” God is calling us to greater faith and hence effectiveness in all we are doing around the world. Am I coming up to this? As I’ve just returned from ministering in one of Shiloh Place Ministries’ Agape Reformation schools, I’m pondering all the changes that happened in me and all the students that attended and I’m thinking, “What makes us want to change and can we change ourselves?” Well, there are 3 things I believe that cause us to change: 1) We have to hurt enough that we have no choice but to change, 2) We have to learn enough that we have hope for change, and 3) We have to receive enough unconditional love that we are motivated toward change. Pain is a great motivator for change, we’re just sick and tired of being sick and tired, and we just want the pain to go away. The Word gives us hope that we can change. There are ways of forgiveness, repentance, confession—these paths that teach us and reveal a means by which our hearts can change. Change from the inside out. What about unconditional love? Why is this so important? Because love covers…love never fails. Love holds the net under us as we launch into new things; it holds our hand as we confront the difficult people in our lives; it causes us to be unashamed of our past and allows us to look forward to our future. Love matures.

Change is always scary but not allowing God to change us is even scarier! God’s love allows us to jump into all He has, so lets go for it and do great things for God!

It’s Normal to Need Ministry

robert — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:10:47 +0000

In Akure Nigeria we had 200 pastors in the conference. After we had spoke the event coordinator said “many are coming up and saying they have never heard anyone preach where they open up their lives”, he continued “ministers here never share struggles, only strengths”. Pastor Gideon. In Nigerian church culture leaders and therefore all the church members do not have permission to have problems. This produces an atmosphere where everyone puts up a front of being in faith and victory at all times, while often their families are in shambles. One of our core values at Fountains of Life is that it is normal to need ministry. One person jokingly says there are two types of Christians, those who know they need ministry and those in denial. We value people speaking into our lives. Nothing is easier than self-deception. We regularly seek counseling and mentoring. I believe this is the path to maturity and fruitfulness in the Christian life. Accountability allows us to get real and see growth.