Officially an ordained minister

All of us who follow Jesus Christ are called to be ministers of the Gospel. That's clearly seen in Matthew 28:19-20, when Jesus said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (NIV)


He has given us all different gifts in which to minister. According to the Apostle Paul, Jesus also gave certain offices to be held in the Body of Christ by those He called to serve in those capacities. In Ephesians 4:11-2, Paul writes, "Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ."
 
I believe God calls people, not man. So, I don't place a lot of stock in a piece of paper that says I am an ordained minister. However, I know it is important to have that piece of paper for a variety of reasons. First, it is like a seal of approval, the first of which comes from God through His Holy Spirit, of course. Being a licensed and ordained minister is also a recognition from those God has placed in authority to appoint people to certain leadership positions within the Body of Christ.

For more than 11 years I have responded to the calling of evangelism God gave me. For many years people have been calling me "pastor" and "preacher man." Love In Action co-founder Mike Shroades has told me for years I am a pastor to the homeless and poor.


I started having a desire to become a licensed and ordained minister. I felt God was leading me to, and I knew it would be good for the ministry as well. Also, people we have ministered to have asked me to marry them in the past, but I couldn't because the state of Alabama will only give an ordained minister the authority to officiate weddings. Being an ordained minister I could also baptize people, which I have been asked to do.


I searched for the right organization to be ordained through. I didn't want some flaky bunch that prints out any kind of ordination certificate for any kind of religion, and there are a bunch of them out there. I finally came across an organization called the National Association of Christian Ministers. I thoroughly investigated them. Being a journalist for 20 years has given me good skills to do that. What I found was an upstanding organization that is biblically grounded. Their beliefs and values line up with the Word of God.


They are also an independent Christian organization, which is important as well. Since we have people from so many different Christian denominations, I didn't want to align myself or Love In Action with a particular denomination. We are all about the Body of Christ working together to reach the lost.


Last Thursday I received the confirmation of my ordination. Here is the what the N.A.C.M. sent:

"The National Association of Christian Ministers (N.A.C.M.), LC acknowledges that:
You have demonstrated a devout belief in the Christian faith, a call to ministry, and have passed the scrutiny of the Council of Elders. Therefore, on the authority of Matthew 28:19-20, this religious organization deems you an Independent Ordained Minister with all of the obligations and rites that are associated with this title.

"Father, in the name of Jesus we set apart your servant this day requesting that you make use of them in the ministry of your Kingdom.  We ask that you give them wisdom to know your ways, strength to resist sin, courage to face adversity, and a love for people that fulfills your law.  We thank you for your purpose and calling on their life. By the blood of Jesus and the power of His Spirit –AMEN.

"Congratulations on your acceptance and recognition into the Christian ministry of Jesus Christ. The N.A.C.M. has enlisted you in its Minister Verification Database (MVD) so that government and civil agencies may confirm your good standing with our organization."

I thank Martha, my beautiful wife and ministry partner, for her love and support, and our Love In Action board of directors for their guidance and encouragement. And, I thank N.A.C.M. for approving me for ordination.

Our God can do anything!

A week ago we sent out an urgent prayer request for a homeless woman, Carla, who had four brain aneurysms. She had just gone through a six-hour surgery to have two of the aneurysms removed. During the surgery, the doctor found two more in the back of her brain.

We have a praise report. After another brain scan, the doctor can only find one brain aneurysm. Praise God! The second one just disappeared. Who says God doesn't still answer prayers? We praise God for His healing power.

Now, we are asking you for your continued prayers. Donald has asked that we pray for God to heal Carla of the last remaining brain aneurysm. A surgery is scheduled for next Friday. Let's pray that God would miraculously remove that one as well so she doesn't have to go through another surgery.

Also, please pray for her brain. Damage was done due to those first two aneurysms. To what extent we don't know yet, but due to her speech and actions it is obvious there is brain damage. But, we know God can heal her from that as well and make her brain as good as new again. Please join with us in continued prayer for Carla and Donald.

Thank you, and most of all we thank God!  He is awesome! Our God can do anything!

Renovations update

Things are coming along nicely with the renovations of the Love In Action Ministry Center. We are close to having it ready to open.

The city's fire marshal, plumbing and electrical inspectors have all been to the building now and told us what we need to do to be compliant. We accomplished the plumbing tasks last Saturday and this week thanks to George and Robert.

Lowe's of Dothan donated about $1,300 worth of materials we needed to come into compliance with the fire marshal. What a great blessing! Robert has been busy this week installing all of that, so hopefully we can get the fire marshal's sign off soon. Both Dothan Lowe's stores have committed to helping us, including tiling all of the restroom floors and the foyer to the sanctuary. Praise God!

The big project now is electrical. Thankfully, Robert is a master electrician and he will be able to handle all of that. Last weekend we received a financial blessing that should pay for all of the electrical upgrades. Praise God! Does God want this ministry center open or what?

Robert installed the new soundboard in the sanctuary, and that thing is sweet! I never knew our speakers could produce that kind of sound, but as Robert said, "It's all in the soundboard, baby." The overhead projector should be installed soon as well.

So, we are getting close. We hope to open the week of Sept. 12. It all depends on if we get everything done that the city wants. We are happy to do what they want. They have codes for a reason, and that is for safety, so we appreciate the work they do.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Pray for a miracle

My heart was broken today as I walked out of Southeast Alabama Medical Center.

There is a homeless couple we met about two months ago named Donald and Carla. They have been working hard to come off the street, but keep running into hurdles. This morning, they faced their greatest obstacle ever as Carla underwent a 6-hour surgery to remove two brain aneurysms.

The good news is the surgery went well and she is resting in the critical care unit. The bad news is the doctor found two more aneurysms deep in the back part of her brain. The surgeon has scheduled a 12-hour surgery in two weeks to remove those two.

According to brainaneursym.com, "a brain aneurysm, also called a cerebral or intracranial aneurysm, is an abnormal bulging outward of one of the arteries in the brain." This is a very scary and deadly condition. Prayer, much prayer is needed for Carla and Donald.

My heart broke as I talked with Donald, and listened a lot to his heart breaking. What do you tell a homeless man who has nothing and nobody but the woman who is on the brink of death going through very dangerous surgery?

I told Martha, imagine one of us going through that and how tough it would be. But, we would be surrounded by family and friends to help us make it through. They have nobody but us. That's why he called to let us know what was happening.

All I knew to do was ask God to give me the words to say and let His Holy Spirit led me.

There is a prayer room outside of CCU, and we went in there pray. I wish all of you could have heard Donald's prayer. I've never heard a more genuine, heart-wrenching prayer. But he also prayed in confidence of the miracle working power of God. Then, in the midst of all of his agony, he prayed for Martha and me and Love In Action, and thanked God for the people at the hospital who have been so helpful to him.

I am asking all of you to pray for Carla and Donald. Pray for healing, comfort, peace, and even joy. Pray for the surgeon and nurses and all of those involved in her health care.

If you live in Dothan, please go by the hospital to pray with Donald. You won't be able to see her since she is in CCU, but Donald could sure use the encouragement. CCU is on the fourth floor at SAMC. Use elevator A to get there.

They did have a house to live in, but that time ended earlier than they thought, so they are in a hotel room. Well, Donald is. He can't get out and find odd jobs right now with his wife in CCU, so we want to help take care of that burden for him. It is $186 a week. We have taken care of this upcoming week, but we could use help for at least a couple of more weeks. Who knows the recovery time and what all will be required of Donald.

Donations can be mailed to: Love In Action, P.O. Box 85, Dothan, AL 36302 or there is a donation button at the bottom of the homepage of our website at http://loveinactionministries.com/
Please note that it is for the Donald and Carla situation.

If anyone has any other living arrangement ideas we are certainly open to that. Everything they own is in that small hotel room.

If anyone would like to cook some meals for Donald, that would be a big blessing too. Or, just picking up some food at a restaurant and taking it to him would be great. I have convinced him to get some rest, so he went back to the hotel this afternoon to try and get some sleep.

They both need their Love In Action family. Please help us show the love of Jesus to them during this very tough time in their lives, and again, please, please, please pray for a miracle and ask others to pray as well.

Making the final push

Thanks to Covenant United Methodist Church, a lot of work was accomplished at the Love In Action Ministry Center this past week.
It was Covenant's "Missions Blitz Week" and they converged on the ministry center.

A team came out Tuesday night and then all day Saturday. Together with our regular group of wonderful volunteers, the ministry center is looking great.

All of the crown molding and baseboard is up in the sanctuary, and we now have a good floor in the coffee house. They installed plywood, and then got most of the tile put down on the floor. It all looks great.

We have new windows in the sanctuary and coffee house now. They look good and do a great job of silencing the outside noise and keeping cool air inside. Our third and final medical room now has all of the sheet rock on the walls. They just need sanding and painting.

Now we are making the final big push to complete the renovations so we can open the week of Sept. 12. Can you help us? Here are the needs we have. If you are skilled in these areas please come and help us.

- We have a lot of baseboards and crown molding that needs to be caulked and painted. We also have more that needs to be installed.
- Carpet to be installed in sanctuary
- A small amount of laminate flooring to be installed
- VCT tile needs to be put down in a medical room and a small amount in the coffee house
- Tile flooring in two restrooms

Please pray for us as we continue to seek approval from the city. We must be in compliance with city codes, and we have been working hard to do so.

Other expenses we need to take care of include electrical work, which will include the installation of a 600 amp panel; we ordered a shower, a little more sheet rock and shower wall panels, and tile for the bathroom floors. Those needs, along with the extra expense we incurred on the large sanctuary floor and two restrooms, our financial need is $7,000. If you can help us reach that goal that would be a tremendous blessing.

We are so excited about the opening of the LIA Ministry Center.

We are so close. Praise God!

Please help us make the final push to get the work done so we can open the week of Sept. 12.

To contact us, please email loveinactionministries@hotmail.com or call us at 334-494-4995.

Thanks!