Hope for the Holidays

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.

(Psalm 42.11, NKJV)

It’s that time again when people start thinking about the upcoming holidays. We have Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve which are all just around the corner. In recent years, so many of us just wanted a happy Thanksgiving or Christmas. If we could just have a good holiday season, it would make up for all of the things that went wrong during the past year. Now, with the economy the way that it is and with so many people unemployed, homeless or sick, the holidays will be very different. Who can think about what they will eat when they are sick? Who can think about buying toys when they haven't eaten in days? Who can look forward to a new year when, for the first time in their lives, they didn't even get to have Christmas?

What I'm learning is that what may seem small to me is a huge deal to someone else. My hope this year is that my entire family will get saved. My prayer is that all of us are in good health and in our right minds. I've always understood this one thing about life: it may seem bad, but it could be worse. Often, when I think that I'm having it bad, I just have to get out and do some outreach or take a missions trip. I go visit those who are in prisons or nursing homes. These are the moments when I realize that things aren't as bad as they seem.

This year, I want to challenge my family, friends, and church members to get outside of the box. It's outside of the box that we think about others before we think of ourselves. The real joy in serving the Lord is when we challenge ourselves to do what Christ tells us in His Word - the Bible. We should all strive to be the people that we were born to be and to see ourselves the way that Christ sees us.

With that said, I want to invite you to join with me and Operation GO to bring hope to people who are not hopeless, but simply just need hope. If you consider yourself blessed and want to be a blessing, write the date below on your calendar, and visit us on the web at www.rwoc.org.

November 21, 2009
Thanksgiving Meal in Parker Community

December 19, 2009
Holiday Hope [Food and Clothing] at Carolina First

Compassion

This month's blog is an excerpt from a sermon I recently preached.

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And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.

(Jude 1.23)

There was a time when you were in the fire and you couldn't see. Your family tried to tell you to go right or left, but you couldn't see because you were in the fire. Your life was going down the tubes. Your reputation and self-respect were going down the tubes, and the Lord had compassion on you. Have compassion on others because, at one time, the Lord had compassion on you.

My message to the body is giving back. I made a vow to the Lord that if he would clean up the mess I made, I would give back and serve him the rest of my life.

Often people want to debate with me about how to win the lost. There are many ways to win the lost; there are thousands, if not, millions of ways to win the lost. People seem to think they have a finger on how to win the lost and how not to win them. Do we win the lost by the great commission or by the great commandment? Many would say that you have to make a choice, it can't be both.

The Great Commission is to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

The Great Commandment is to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul and strength.

The second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.

The Great Commission is that we send missionaries into the world. The Great Commandment is to take care of the people in our own backyard. Do we go door-by-door and block-by-block, or do we pass out tracts. Do we send people on motorcycles into the communities or do we use television and radio? There is no one way to reach the lost. Jesus only told us to go and make disciples. What He put into us, he wants us to put into someone else. If our experience is good enough for us, it has to be good enough for them. If my experience is good enough for me, I'm going to do all I can to draw people into the same experience.

I may not have to look over my shoulder anymore and worry about who's going to snitch on me or hurt me, but some of my boys are still out there.

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad,

as sheep having no shepherd.
(Matthew 9.35-36)

God has called you and me to be shepherds to those outside of the four walls of the church. When Jesus looked at the multitudes, he was moved with compassion. Compassion is when my heart drops and I want to cry. It's when I see the news and I get angry. It's when I see young men on the corner throwing their lives away. Compassion makes me do right when I want to do wrong. I am free to come and go as I please, but there are still men behind prison walls.

Compassion makes me do right when I want to do wrong.

There are still mothers selling their bodies to feed their children or to buy drugs. Or, the teenage girl who's pregnant, but she's not married. It makes me do right when I want to do wrong.

There's the wife who needs to be hid from her husband because he's beating her. It makes me do right when I want to do wrong. The homeless show up and don't have anywhere to live or anything to eat. Compassion makes me want to do right.

It's not only about me standing in the congregation. I have to want to take this experience on the job and into the schools and into the communities. It makes me want to do right when I want to do wrong. You may not ever feel this way, but people are depending on you. They're watching you and they're watching me.

When I got born again over 21 years ago, my boys said we are depending on you to make it. I can still hear the desperation in their voices from many years ago when they told me that they were depending on me to make it. They told me that if I could make it, they knew they could make it. It makes me do right when I want to do wrong. There are lives in the balance. if we ever lose compassoin, we're in trouble.

In Matthew 15.29, Jesus saw with his eyes and his heart was touched. Something ought to be moving you and making you cry. Jesus was telling his disciples, "You don't know what I feel for the people; I have compassion for them. They are My sheep and I've got to feed them because for three days they have not eaten." The Bible tells us that Jesus fed the 3000, the 4000 and the 5000. He fed them because He was moved with compassion. Compassion is what makes you look at a person, see the gift of God in them and tell them that they are more than what they think they are; and, that they can do more then what they think they can do.

Jesus was moving through crowds. A woman had been bleeding for 12 years and there was not a single doctor who could help her. In fact, she had spent all of her money on doctors and she was still not healed. She said to herself, "if I can just touch Him, I will be made whole." Sometimes you have to position yourself where people can touch you, come to you and be ministered to by you. Doctors and lawyers may not be able to help them, but God has anointed you. I have been in hospital rooms where someone has been on their deathbed and God raised them up. I have been in courtrooms where someone was going to be put away for life and seen them go free. God has called us to make a difference...He's called you to make a difference through compassion.

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. (Jeremiah 20.8)

Jesus never told us to raise Christians, He told us to make disciples. We need to make sure everyone has the kind of experience that makes them want to give back. Look at the fields. We have to see beyond the four walls of the church because the harvest is ripe and it's ready. As Christians, we can never forget where God brought us from. I will never forget where God brought me from. We can't forget when we were in need, waiting and praying that God would send somebody to save us. Summer has come and gone and still we are not saved. The streets are crying out, looking at the church to save them. They will die unless we save them. The summer has come and gone and still they are not saved. He puts a weight on our shoulders to do something, that weight is compassion.

Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Matthew 9.38)

God is calling us higher and deeper. We can't miss it this time...we can't afford to miss it again. He's calling you to the secret place to give you instructions and plans for how to reach the lost. You will have to shut other things off and get alone, by yourself, with God. Lives are depending on you, if you will hear the word of the Lord. God said to look at the fields and pray that the Lord of harvest will send laborers. The harvest is ripe and it's ready. Pray that God will send laborers into the fields to reap the harvest. Pray that the Lord will move you with compassion to become a laborer. We can't afford to lose another generation.

Still Plenty of Harvest Left

Last year, we celebrated 10 years of outreach ministry reaching outside the walls of the church. Many of you know that God placed a hunger in me to go after the lost even before then.

The 10-year mark can be challenging for a child growing up. They don’t know if they’re still children or if they’re teenagers. They have moments when they still feel like babies and then, they have times when they feel like a grown-up. The influences that come into a child’s life at the 10-year old stage can have a great impact on the direction of that child’s future.

The people say, "The harvest is over. The summer has ended.

And we still haven't been saved."

(Jeremiah 8.20, NIV)

The people are crying out. Can you hear their cry?

I remember what made me cry when I first started doing ministry. It was the babies going to bed without anything to eat and their mothers selling their bodies to feed them. I couldn’t stand to see people who were addicted to drugs and alcohol and couldn’t get free, and the list goes on.

You know, it’s been more than 10 years hitting the pavement, knocking on doors and being in the trenches, and I’m still hungry for the things of God.

With as much as we have accomplished for the Lord, there is still much more to do. We are like the 10-year old child who sometimes wants to be a baby and sometimes wants to be all grown up. I believe this is true for us personally and in ministry, here in Greenville and around the world. The Body of Christ is being challenged by the Holy Spirit to grow up, and to become even more dependent on Him.

My goal is to get back to the basics of the hunger and passion that God gave me for Him, for life, and for ministry. I don’t want to do something just to say I did it. I only want to do things that I’m passionate about and that inspire passion for God in other people. I’m constantly asking myself questions that make me get back in touch with why I’m here, why I was born and what my purpose is in life. I encourage you to do the same thing.

God has been good to us. He’s always provided and has always made a way even when I personally didn’t know how things were going to work out. But I still hear Him through this Scripture where the people say, the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

I know that it’s Summertime, a time of vacation and a time of rest, a time of hanging around the lakes, pools and beaches. But the drug dealers aren’t taking vacation, the prostitutes aren’t taking vacation, the gang bangers aren’t taking vacation, and the addicts aren’t taking vacation. There is no better time to reach the harvest than now.

In Exodus 3, God says that “I have heard the cry of the people and now I am sending you.”

I challenge you to go after God harder than ever. Challenge yourself to become more like Christ and to be led of the Holy Spirit every single day.

Here are a few testimonies from the Block Parties we’ve been having this summer:

In Nicholtown, there were people who lived in the streets of this community who showed up on Friday when we “blitzed” the community. They put on their Op GO t- shirts and helped us hand out flyers. We also had men and women who showed up drunk at the block party. When the praise and worship started they were singing and dancing and praising God. I even saw one of the guys who walks the streets of Nicholtown helping us serve this other community.

At our Block Party with Upstate Circle of Friends, there was one little boy who was 8 years old. He came and sat at the stage and watched and listened to the word. He gave his life to the Lord when I gave the call for salvation. He later came up and told me that he came all by himself and walked a couple of blocks to get there.

In West Greenville, we had 50-60 people respond to the altar calls. We brought in a busload of we literally picked up off the streets. We served 500 hot dogs. Many of the people in the community said they really needed this kind of touch from God in their neighborhood. We all were given hugs and handshakes by everyone including drunks, young gang members, and elderly ladies. We also fed a couple of hungry families who lived in that community with the food that was left over. God truly multiplied and there were baskets left over.

Brazil

Hey, I’m so happy to be speaking to you today. This is a great day! I have to agree with the word of the Lord that, "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

The last time I spoke to you, I told you that the team and I were traveling to South America to train up leaders, Pastors, and youth. Let me tell you…we had a move of God in Brazil. It was everything I expected and so much more.The conference leader compared what we experienced in Brazil to what happened during Azusa Street Revival that took place in the early 1900s, when there was a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I love when the Lord pours out the way that only He can do, that way, man can’t take credit. In fact, we’re just vessels to be used by God. The Bible tells us that if we don’t praise Him, the rocks will cry out! All God wants is a willing man (person) that will say, "Here I am, Lord, use me."

Well, the Brazil trip was truly a testimony to the Lord. There were many salvations, deliverances, and even healings that took place. One gentleman was healed of Parkinson’s Disease; he arrived one way and left another. He had been bound for almost 15 years, but when the power of the Holy Ghost was released according to Acts 1:8, and great things happened in the name of our Lord.

I wish that I could tell you more, but I have to get back to the mission. No not Africa, or South America, or any other foreign soil, but the mission of home, right here in our backyard…America!

Please join us on April 11th, 2009, at Sirrine Stadium for CityFest. The largest Easter Egg Hunt in Greenville. Visit us at www.RWOC.org for more information.

Here is one of the many testimonies we have received since returning from Brazil…

From Marlion:

Yesterday we had a very special service... Actually, the service itself, although it was good, did not have anything exceptional. But after the service 4 teens gave their lives to Jesus... there was a great movement... many youth who were not in the conference were impacted by the power of the Holy Spirit...
Some fell, were on their knees, cried... prayed for each other, there were prophecies... some prayed in tongues and some interpreted... all the non Christians who were still in church accepted Jesus crying as they felt the presence of God... in truth the church is still a little frightened... many had never seen something like this... Even for us, it is hard to know what to do. The four who accepted Jesus are from the Youth Center. During the service there were tongues and prophecies... but the conversions and other manifestations happened after the service... We prayed until after 10PM.

This "movement" has spread and touched other people... yesterday for the first time God gave me interpretation of tongues. Two girls were praying for each other and I could understand what they were saying and tell the girl on the ground crying. It was a moment to remember, even for me, being baptized for so long... We are very happy with what God is doing, it is a real revival...
People are coming to Christ, leaving drugs, being baptized with the Holy Spirit...
At the baptism we already have over 20 people including IEMP Centro and Boa Vista with those who accepted Jesus last year... this year there are already many.

Pray that we may be able to let the flow move in a orderly way as the Bible teaches us.

Sharpen Your Ax

I know it's been a while since you have heard from me. In December, I was busy with Holiday Hope along with many of you. I want to say a big "Thank You" to everyone who helped out or contributed financially. It was a great success.

In January, I had the honor and privilege of being invited to both the Swearing In and the Inaugural Ball for President Barak Obama. It still amazes me how God has me, the boy from the "hood", to walk through incredible doors and stand before great men.

Now, let me tell you what's on my heart for this month's blog.

Sometimes it may seem like you're giving all you've got and you don't see the harvest you thought you would see.

I know this past year has been a year of great sacrificing and trial because of the new things God has been birthing in the body of Christ. I am reminded of some of the most challenging days I have faced in my over 20 years of serving God. I never expected for my life to take so many unexpected turns. I was just happy to be saved. Many times I wondered how God would fix the mess I had made of my life and reverse bad decisions I had made. As the years went on, I learned how faithful God is and that He would always work things out for His Glory.

I know how God moves us through the seasons of life and only He knows what the end result will be. We have to learn to trust the plans He has for us. Although there were many transitions in 2008, I was excited to see the new life God has already begun to bring into the ministry. I want to encourage you to continue in faith no matter what may be going on around you because God does have it all worked out.

One thing that I have noticed this year in Operation Go is that all the ministries have increased in the amount of children, teens, and adults coming to our services. This lets me know that the cry for help is increasing. My heart is blessed to see the teenagers setting attendance records. Many of them are facing very difficult situations in their lives and they still pursue God with all they have. God is moving on the hearts of these teens, many of them are gang members, many of them have other challenges. I love to see the underdog win! I want to make sure that we empower them and everyone who is part of this ministry to serve God. We want to make them soldiers who will unleash the power of God on their communities.

I have had my share of ups and downs, just like you, and still I know that I live a very blessed life. As I write to you, I am in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. I am preparing to speak in a conference to Pastors who have come here from all over the world. I believe God has given me a word for them. I will have several sessions this week for them and will be headed to preach in a youth conference Saturday and Sunday before making my way back to the USA.

If the ax is dull,
And one does not sharpen the edge,

Then he must use more strength;
But wisdom brings success.
(Ecclesiastes 10.10, NKJV)

I have traveled to several countries now, and I always make it a point to sharpen my blade with God before I travel anywhere to deliver a word to His people. This should be true for you, too. No matter where you are and what you are doing, always be as sharp as possible because you never know who might need your words. You never how God will use you to bring a word of wisdom or encouragement to someone, so be skillful in the word of God and in prayer.

I haven't heard from you in a while or so, if you don't mind, please add your comments below.

Until next time.

Your best days are yet to come!

We celebrated ten years of outreach ministry. I've heard from several people that ten years of doing outreach doesn’t come easy. I have to say that I agree. However, I've enjoyed every single day of doing the things that I do. People have told me to my face (with no disrespect intended), “I wouldn't have your job.” I don't take it personally at all, because it takes having a heart for the under dog to do what I do. You may be asking yourself: what kind of job does he have? Here is a brief job description:

For the past 10 years:

• I have knocked on doors inviting people to come to church.


• I have laughed and cried with people, paid people’s rent, kept their lights on, clothed children for school, bought Christmas toys, broken up fights, driven the bus to carry people not only to church but to work.


• I have helped old ladies cross the street and walked the hallway of nursing homes.


• In various hospitals, I have hugged the necks of people dying from AIDS and prayed for people with cancer and for those in comas.


• I have provided a spiritual covering as well as training for pastors and flown on airplanes to travel to the mission fields.


• I have met and prayed with men and women who were ready to walk away from their marriages devastating innocent little children. I have even sacrificed time with my own family.


• I have had guns pulled on me – even had my vehicle stolen at gun point.

I guess you can understand why people often tell me “I wouldn't have your job.”

Well, it hasn’t been a job for me but a ministry. How do you know when it's a ministry? Its when whatever you do-whatever you put your hands to-God blesses it. It’s ministry when you have a citywide evangelism event and thousands of people show up. Can I tell you that in ten years, we have never had a rain date and God has always held back the rain. I have never taken it for granted that the people would show up for our events. I have learned that people don't care what you know until they know that you care.

There are not enough words nor do I have enough time to share with you what God has done in my life. I am careful to always give God the glory. At our 10th anniversary gala, I received the second highest civilian honor that can be given to a South Carolinian: the Palmetto Patriot’s Award. This award is awarded by the Lt. Governor’s Office. My team and I were honored by way of a South Carolina Senate resolution that named October 30th Operation GO Day. Mayor Knox White has also recognized the ministry through an Operation GO Day designation from the City of Greenville.

Next month, we will be hosting Greenville’s premiere Christmas outreach event: Holiday Hope 2008. The event will be held on Saturday, December 20th from 12 noon to 3 pm at the Carolina First Center. Thousands of people will receive a delicious meals and gifts for their children but most importantly, they will be receiving hope.

Remember this: whatever you're doing for the Lord will not go unnoticed. You just have to do it long enough to receive your just rewards. So, I say to you that are serving in God’s Army! Your best days are yet to come.

Go to HolidayHope.com for more details!

10 Years And Counting!

Greetings In The Name Of The Lord!

I want to take this time to share with you a few special highlights from my time of serving the Lord. Let me begin by saying that on November 1st, 2008, I will celebrate 20 years of being saved. I never dreamed I could live the Christian life, not even for a week. But, by the grace of God, my week became a month. That month became a year. And, the years now total 20. WOW!

Like many of you, I grew up in church, but never committed my life to God.I remember thinking to myself, sitting on the last row of the church while hiding from the preacher and watching the people in the congregation, that there was more to serving the Lord, but I didn't know what the "more" was. We had great, Holy-Spirit filled services. But, after I got saved, my eyes were opened to what the more was. It was evangelism, being able to take the Gospel outside the four walls of the church.

I was a drug dealer, a liar, a cheat, and so much more that I was ashamed of. But God rolled away the reproach and shame of my bad choices. Better still, He turned my mess into a ministry! When I finally did surrender to Him, I got saved one hour and was literally witnessing the next. An hour after that, I knew that I had been delivered of all my addictions.

I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go? (Isaiah 6.8)

I personally answered the "call", and said, Here I am! Send me. I began doing what we now call marketplace ministry the next week.

The Scripture says that Jesus was often found in the marketplace. To me, this meant that He met people wherever they were. If that was a real marketplace where people were buying and selling, He was most likely there. If they were in their homes, He was most likely there. Jesus was with the people as they handled the business of their lives. Maybe my interpretation was off, but that's how I received it at that time. I would go to Bi-Lo (the marketplace) on Saturday nights, and sometimes to the low-income communities of Greenville. I would just stand there and witness to everyone who would listen. I was surprised that it really wasn't that hard!

Fast forward 10 years from that moment to the time when I would team up with a man namedRon Carpenter, Jr., who would later become my Pastor/Apostle. We had a lot in common, but there was one vision that he shared with me that was something I had been trying to do all alone, and with no resources. It was to reach the City of Greenville, to reach beyond the four walls of the church, and to have a church of different races, cultures, and backgrounds. He shared his vision, and I ran with it. A short time later, we started running buses on Saturday mornings, the vision exploded, and well; you know the rest of the story. Here we are 10 years later, celebrating a ministry that has impacted a church, a city, and a nation.

So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found no one. (Ezekiel 22.30)

I believe that this is the heart-cry of God, but not just in Greenville, South Carolina! In Greenville, God found a group of ministers that would answer the call to go!

Operation GO! Ministries will celebrate 10 years of ministry on October 30, 2008, at the Hilton Hotel in Greenville. I want to invite you as my friend and partner in ministry to come and share in this special moment in our history with me. Apostle Ron Carpenter, Jr.,will be our Special Guest Speaker, and we will also be given a Special Award by the South Carolina State Senate for the work that we've done here in the Upstate.

On this night, you will hear tear-jerking life testimonies about real people whose lives were changed as a result of how Operation GO! has touched their lives. Some lives were changed because someone, maybe you, decided to volunteer for outreach and opened up a new dimension of ministry in their own life. Other lives have been changed because they were touched by those who volunteered. Whether on the giving or receiving end, many people's lives have been changed forever, and God continues to raise up new outreach warriors through Operation GO! Ministries. I know you share my belief that the work of the ministry speaks for itself.

There are a few other surprises for this special night, but to find out what they are, you'll have to come to see.To join me for the celebration, please call Nikki at (864) 281-1520 x1251.

See you at the Hilton on October 30th, 2008. It will be a night to remember!