Operation Mobilisation International operates around the world, sharing the Gospel and blessing people. I felt amazed and inspired while reviewing their website, really in awe of God for empowering these people to do so much. Operation Mobilisation's heart is missions. This group trains, equips, and sends out thousands of ministers to over 100 nations. They preach the Gospel and also help the practical needs of the people. They have many operations in these countries dedicated to starting new churches, teaching practical skills, and helping the poor and downtrodden. This organization has truly established a worldwide ministry presence. If you are looking for an awesome job, albeit unpaid, working your trade while also serving God's kingdom, then you should check out their opportunities page. They also have terrific mission trip opportunities which provide life changing experiences for thousands each year. Operation Mobilisation also sends two ships around the world, the Doulos

While I attended graduate school God led me to write a series of Bible studies that I mailed or emailed to family and friends.  These were called "A New Beginning.  As you will see we covered a wide range of topics.  This lasted for nearly two years until I felt God's urging to take a break.  That break lasted about 2.5 years, and ended with God encouraging me to begin this website.    This was really my first public ministry effort.  These were fun to send out, for I really found out which of my friends considered themselves Christians.  I also found out which didn't.  But much good came from doing this, and truthfully this completely changed the direction of my life and relationships.  I went from regular guy to minister of the Gospel.  Start publicly preaching your Christian faith and you'll see what I mean.  I encourage you to read some and see what you think.  Then you could come back whenever you want some encouragement or guidance in a particular area.  Most hav

While living in Atlanta, I attended World Changers Church International, pastored by Dr. Creflo A. Dollar. Now, everything Pastor preaches comes out with the fire of God and the full backing of Heaven. But I realized not every sermon finds the same crowd reaction. You see, some sermons focus mainly on God’s promises and how to obtain them. These sermons often inspire furious note taking and loud shouts of “Hallelujah.” Other sermons focus on appropriate Christian behavior and obeying the commands of God. These often inspire a far more subdued crowd reaction. For example, preach a sermon on giving only because you love God, without highlighting the potential harvest, and I’m sure you’ll see what I mean. The irony is that the less exciting sermons contain the keys to receiving the personal manifestation of the more exciting sermons. During my time at World Changers Dr. Dollar preached a multi-week series on love. Now Dr. Dollar has a very mature flock. And I’m sure many of my fellow Worl

While in high school Byron attended a church pastored by Dr. Rodney Howard-Browne, The River at Tampa Bay .  That church first introduced me to the awesome ministry of Pastor Joe Cruse and his family.  Pastor Joe led the worship there.  Now Pastor Joe and his wife, Becky, along with their children, have a church, worship school, and Christian academic school in Austin, Texas. Pastor Joe and Becky have an anointing to worship the Lord in song that truly blesses the nations.  They travel all over the world leading worship, teaching, training worship leaders, and blessing people.  Within seconds of meeting them you'll feel their genuine love for people, as their warmth and friendliness (and Texan charm) radiate and fill the room. God inhabits the praises of His people ( Ps. 22:3 ).  We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise ( Ps. 100:4 ).  The importance of Spirit-filled worship can't be overstated.  I personally believe that worship can usher us into

I first learned about Kenneth Copeland through the ministry of Dr. Creflo Dollar. Dr. Dollar considers Brother Copeland his father in the faith, and Dr. Dollar talks often of him and their fellowship. I then learned that my mother had some old tapes from Brother Copeland, so I began listening. I also downloaded a free book from his website, The Laws of Prosperity . I believe Brother Copeland and his wonderful wife, Gloria, are two of the most precious ministry gifts the Body of Christ has today.  You see I know that Christians could differ on so many topics, and I want this to be a place where we can discuss things in love and fellowship. But if we only talk about things without controversy, we'll end up not talking about very much. I believe that the end times are here, largely because of the current revelation I see given to the Body of Christ. Today we see God's people with a greater understanding of "the believer's priesthood," than ever before. More than eve

Last Wednesday I led our church children's group, which we call Generation Faith.  My three younger brothers all take part and the comedy ensues whenever they speak.  After making fun of the teacher, the oldest made a profound comment for his sixteen years.  He said (paraphrasing) - why is it so easy for me to watch tv or read non-Christian materials, but so difficult to commit to reading the Bible. I must admit I was proud of him for this observation.  I know you all have never had this problem, but I have and so I'm sure at least a few other people have too.  Why is it that I can easily sit through a two hour movie, but it would take a serious amount of focus to study God's Word for two hours?  I believe it comes down to original sin, and the fact that our pre-Christian lives influenced us more deeply than we suspect.  But more important than the cause, let's focus on the cure.  Nothing is more important than God's Word.  Nothing else on earth can give us such wis

"Thoughtfulness" means 'the quality of showing regard for other people,' or 'a propensity for anticipating the needs and wishes of others.' God always exhibits thoughtfulness. Our Heavenly Father knows what things we need, even before we ask Him. God sees the end from the beginning, and God knows everything we could ever need or want. God even knew we would need a savior, for the Lamb of God was slain before the foundation of the world (Rev.13:8). Moreover, many Christians know the term Jehovah-Jireh, which most take to mean, "The Lord My Provider," or "The Lord will provide." But a more technical translation reads, "The Lord sees." In other words, in Genesis 22 Abraham knew God had supernaturally met his needs. When using the name, Jehovah-Jireh, Abraham essentially said, "The Lord sees the needs of His servants and provides for them." God powerfully displayed His thoughtfulness to Abraham. We should all strive to exhib

Until recently we had a neighbor named Anthony.  I believe God used Anthony to help me look at certain aspects of Christianity differently.  We must focus more on the God of the church than the church of God, the people of the church rather than the church of the people.  Tuesday I saw Anthony's son, who the day before had started a nine month ministry internship with a large church in the area.  That is so awesome, train your children in the way they should go and when they are old they won't depart.  During our talk he told me about One City Ministries, and now I want to tell you about it. The African nation of Uganda needs the power of God as much as anywhere in the world.  Terrible leaders and civil war continue to ravage the country and its people.  The rebellious faction calls itself the lord's resistance army, but it brings only death and destruction.  Our Lord came to bring life, and that more abundantly.  The LRA's use of child soldiers is particularly appallin

I thought today about some choices we have when we want something from God.  Let's say you have neck pain and want God to heal you, or at least you want Him to help the doctor. The traditional church taught you to pray and hope and have faith, then maybe God would answer your request.  Now the church teaches other options, all of which have a Biblical foundation, including: lay hands on yourself, have an elder lay hands on you, confess your healing, confess healing Scriptures, meditate the Word, pray, sow a seed, pray for another's neck healing, and so on.  Right now Christians can have information overload.  I once heard two Christians arguing over whom would get the blessing when my dad tried to give a police officer a few dollars for helping him unlock a car door.  They couldn't figure it out. Christian living shouldn't be so complicated.  While the church tries to fatten us on information and Scripture, we can choke from a lack of general understanding and understan

Shannon and I feel so blessed to have the Christian life and influences we do, and in many ways it all started with Dr. Creflo A. Dollar.  After college I planned on attending graduate school.  Still a devotionless Christian, I didn't know much about following God's plan for my life.  I had several schools in mind, and I prayed that only one would accept me, and that would be the one God had for me.  Well that happened just as I prayed.  When I went to Atlanta for orientation my dad came with me.  That Sunday morning he drove me down to College Park to visit a church.  We went to World Changers Church International, and I saw Dr. Dollar speak for the first time. When I returned for fall classes I felt alone and frustrated.  Having nothing else to do I went back World Changers and heard Dr. Dollar again.  I asked God to show me a sign if He would have me join this church.  A man of God, a complete stranger, walked by me and gave me a friendly rub on the shoulder, so I went down

Christian Harfouche Ministries works tirelessly to bring believers around the world to full maturity, and to bring the lost into the Christian fold.  Dr. Chrisitan and Dr. Robin Harfouche train Christians, preach the Gospel and have a miracle ministry that must be included when discussing those who do Exploits For God. Based in Pensacola, Florida, they have a home church called the Miracle Faith Center.  You can just check their event schedule to see how they going to the world for Jesus.  They also have a "Miracles Today" television program and a "Miracle Times" magazine, both of which are awesome sources of Word, encouragement and testimonies.   They also promote their Miracle Faith Center Global Church.  You don't have to live in Pensacola to join their church family.  From anywhere in the world you can join and the Drs. Harfouche will pastor you and pray for you.  This is an effort to create more worldwide Christian unity, that EFG believes the Body so despe

Do you know how important unity is to God?  Let me show you the 133rd Psalm:  "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!  It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descends upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Can you see the power of these comparisons?  God says that unity is like the anointing oil and moisture from Heaven.  The anointing oil symbolizes God's supernatural choice and empowerment.  Moisture symbolizes abundance, refreshment, health and the presence of God.  So holy unity comes with selection, empowerment, abundance, refreshment and health directly from God.  Places of unity also receive the manifest presence of God.  (Remember, when two or more Christians are gathered together Jesus is in their midst.) The Psalm al

Christ For All Nations is the ministry of Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke. His ministry does amazing and exciting exploits for God all over the world. They hold massive Gospel crusades in countless nations. These wonderful meetings typically have many thousands of attendants. They also have fire conferences where they preach directly to local Christian leaders, helping them receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and encouraging them in The Faith. We recently subscribed to one of their blogs and now get some of their ministry headlines. Read the latest headline of God's wonderful works through their ministry. "More than 120,000 [saved] on first night." What's amazing is that those numbers aren't rare for them.  They are seeing nations of people come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  Praise the Lord. Christ For All Nations is literally fulfilling their slogan, "Plundering Hell . . . Populating Heaven!" EFG highly encourages you to listen to Evangelist Bonnk

Currently our country has an appallingly high divorce rate.  Worse yet, Christians have a higher divorce rate than non-Christians.  But God's power can do anything, and God sends ministry gifts to help the Body of Christ in every area.  As God sent Moses to deliver the Jews from Egypt, God gave the Body of Christ the ministry of Marriage Today and Jimmy and Karen Evans to help deliver Christians from the bondage of marital problems and divorce. We first heard Pastor Evans speak at Dr. Creflo Dollar's church in Atlanta, Georgia.  Not yet married, we immediately recognized the value of these wise and understanding marital teachings.  Pastor Evans teaches on the importance of love, communication, honor, and intimacy in marriage, as well as many other related subjects.  Marriage Today consists of seminars, books, CDs, DVDs, a television show, a magazine, and even conference cruises.  Through all these channels the Evans wage war against the enemies of marriage and traditional famil

We have blog posts on various subjects, and those writings can all be found by visiting the Post Archives on the lower right side of the  home page . Below are links to some other writings that I have done.   Those writings which begin with the letters "ANB" are from the "A New Beginning" Bible study series.  These were written while I attended law school. (There are, I'm fairly sure, some spelling and grammar errors. I'm sorry.) OTHER WRITINGS Christian Life and Living ANB 4 - Fear Not ANB 5- Help Yourself ANB 12 - How To Pray ANB 14 - Acknowledge Him Always ANB 15 - God's Love ANB 19 - Have God's Joy ANB 20 - Strength in God ANB 24 - Your Body's God ANB 26 - Become A Receiver ANB 27 - Be At Peace ANB 34 - The Life Abundant ANB 35 - You Serve Who ANB 37 - No More Strife ANB 40 - The Secret of Life ANB 36 - Love to Please ANB 41 - Know All Things ANB 42 - Mercy That Endures ANB 43 - Life Consciousness ANB 44 - Know Thyself ANB 48 - You Conquer Si

E.W. Kenyon lived from 1867 to 1948.  He has mightily influenced thousands of believers through his churches, radio ministry, Bible Institutes and books.  His books especially continue to bless believers worldwide. I would call these books invaluable for a believer, especially a new believer.  Kenyon goes through great detail to show the realities, abilities and availabilities of the deeper spiritual life.  He releases powerful revelations concerning all the effects of our redemption through Christ.  He also helps believers understand the workings of faith, healing and other spiritual operations. Young Christians should spend a great deal of time studying the Bible.  They should also take the time to read books written by Christian leaders.  These books help Christians quickly understand Spiritual principals and their application to daily lives.  Moreover, the testimonies and stories help one grow and mature in the faith while reading of the joy a life serving Christ brings. I would li

We here at EFG believe the Bible.  Spiritual gifts such as speaking in tongues are presented and promoted in the Bible, so we believe in them and desire them.  Speaking and praying in tongues regularly can produce much.  Romans 8 says we don't know how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit helps us with this by groanings that cannot be uttered (tongues).  Jude says praying in the Holy Spirit will build you up on your most holy faith and help you keep yourself in the love of God.  Those are awesome reasons to regularly pray in tongues.  The Bible shows us another use for speaking in tongues, Christian unity.  God loves unity, and Christian unity produces powerful results. Remember the Tower of Babel.  That story begins with the following, "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech."  The people begin building a city and a tower they wanted to reach Heaven.  God sees their works and says, "Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language;

Covenant Christian Center of Tampa is Byron and Shannon's home church.  Pastored by Byron's father and stepmother, Pastors Kevin and Gaile Howell, "CCC of Tampa" provides a nondenominational platform for the Word of God to reign supreme and the Holy Spirit to move freely. Pastors Kevin and Gaile have a wide variety of Spiritual influences that God uses to help build this church.  They are active partners with both Kenneth Copeland Ministries and Creflo Dollar Ministries, and from these Spiritual leaders the Pastors truly learned about the authority of God's Word.  Pastor Kevin preaches the anointed, unadulterated Word of God.  He spends much personal time meditating God's Word, and therefore his sermons often include powerful, Scripture-based revelations of the Text.  They also know that "true worshipers" must worship in both Truth and Spirit.  For several years they served Doctors Rodney and Adonica Howard-Browne at The River at Tampa Bay Church.  D