Category: stories

Someone asked me once to list all the cities I have visited since being diagnosed with cancer. I first thought, “No, I don’t really want to come across as bragging.” Later I thought, “My travels don’t even compare to people like Loren Cunningham and Arthur Blessitt who have told people about Jesus in every single country on the face of the earth.”

I do know this: there was a time in 2001 when I never thought I would go anywhere again. Our young family had taken two big trips (one to Russia and one to Israel) and I had taken individual weeks with Taylor to West Africa and Kinsey to Mexico. On each of those trips we had seen God work in amazing ways and we all enjoyed traveling.

But when our world turned upside down and life was very questionable, I had considered travel to be over. Even when a good friend called and told me of a vision God let him see of me going all over the world, I just rolled my eyes and thought, “Yeah, yeah.” (Thankfully my friend did not let my lack of faith dampen his.)

So don’t laugh if you think this is a puny list… and don’t think I am claiming to be Mr. Magellan, as I doubt God is too impressed with anyone’s passport. Just continue to give praise to God who often says to us, “Your thoughts are not my thoughts.” Most trips over these twelve years involved visiting missionaries or working with local Christians in their hometowns. Several trips involved weddings, in most of which I had a little role to play. May God receive glory in all our travels.

• Newark, NJ
• New York City
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Vienna, Austria
• Brno, Czech Republic
• Hawaii
• Los Angeles, CA
• Brno
• Prague, Czech Republic
• Tyler, TX
• Namibia
• Cape Town
• China
• Seoul, South Korea
• New York City
• Los Angeles
• Namibia
• Athens, Greece
• Israel
• Rome, Italy
• Tyler
• Hawaii
• Namibia
• New York City
• Rome
• Florence, Italy
• Venice, Italy
• Namibia
• Hawaii
• Los Angeles
• New Orleans, LA
• Boston, MA
• Namibia
• Sacramento, CA
• Brazil
• London, England
• Paris, France
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Boston
• Brazil
• Ecuador
• Israel
• Namibia
• Eugene, OR
• Ecuador
• Namibia
• Hamilton, VA
• Namibia
• Sweden
• London
• Oslo, Norway
• New York City
• Israel
• West Bank
• Ecuador

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

I’ll be in Ecuador next week and won’t be able to write. After I sent yesterday’s message, a good friend sent this piece about the show. NBC interviewed us the weekend we tried out and one of my quotes was used at the end of the article. Rock Center comes on tonight with a story on Jeff Foxworthy’s game.

Have a great weekend!

Comedian Jeff Foxworthy turns Bible verses into a hit game show

Wed Feb 13, 2013 1:08 PM EST
By Jay Kernis
Rock Center

“If you don’t know your Bible, you don’t have a prayer!”

With tongue-in-cheek, so warns comedian Jeff Foxworthy, host of the hit quiz show, “The American Bible Challenge.” About to begin its second season in March, the program broke all records when it premiered last August on GSN, the Game Show Network, debuting as the cable network’s #1 program of all time with 1.7 million viewers for its premiere show, and more than 13 million viewers for the first season.

“The American Bible Challenge” really is a game show in which three teams of three contestants answer questions based on stories from the Old and New Testament. At the end of the season, the championship team wins more than $100,000. But all prize money goes to the winning teams’ charities of choice.

QUIZ: Are you smarter than a Sunday school teacher? Take the quiz!

Foxworthy, the largest-selling comedy recording artist in history, told Rock Center’s Harry Smith that with each question he asks, he must balance being funny with being respectful to the material. He said, “I don’t want to ever hurt anybody’s feelings. I don’t ever want to offend somebody. But there’s, there’s a lot of humor in this, too. And so it’s that fine line of: hey, can we laugh at this, without being irreverent or disrespectful?

New this season is the addition of gospel star Kirk Franklin, winner of nine Grammy Awards. He leads the on-stage gospel choir and banters with Foxworthy during the show. Franklin told Harry that his work with the choir involves “to just bring a little more sauce to it, you know? Kind of get them out of the Sunday clothes, kind of swag ‘em up a little bit.”

Casting sessions for the second season were held in Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, Memphis and Los Angeles. Some 223 teams auditioned, including the show’s first two teams of the Jewish faith. One of the teams, “The Rockin’ Rabbis” from New York State is made up of two rabbis and a theological student. Rabbi Jeffrey Abraham said, “We feel like, within the Old Testament, we know what we’re talking about. And we should be able to show that to the rest of the world.”

WATCH: Comedian Jeff Foxworthy preps for ‘Bible Challenge’ season 2

All potential contestants had to take a 30-question written test and only if they had high enough scores were hopefuls then taped by casting directors.

Greater Atlanta Christian School teacher and cancer survivor Dana Davis said that passing the audition test is more than just a chance to be on TV. He explained, “It’s not just about reading the Book, but to know that God cares about us, that he actually walks with us, that he has the power to overcome the things that we have no control over.”

Editor’s Note: Harry Smith’s full report airs Friday, February 15 at 10pm/9c on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams.

Back In December, our athletic director received an invitation to bring a team of coaches to try out for Jeff Foxworthy’s American Bible Challenge game show. Four of us went to a small building in downtown Atlanta to compete for a spot. There were probably thirty other teams trying out too, but being the humble coaches we are, we knew we were the best group there.

First we had to take a written test on Bible knowledge and we all were sure we scored above 95%. Next we had to interview on camera to allow the decision makers to see how we would handle the bright lights and glory. All four of us were relaxed and comfortable as we answered  questions on camera.

Not only were there representatives from the game show, but NBC also had representatives in the room who wanted to do a story on the Game Show Network. Deep down we believed NBC and GSN were in the room with a stellar team… smart, witty, good-looking… we were in our element.

After at least twenty minutes of questions, the interviewer said he wanted us to close with a brief testimony regarding the place the Bible had played in our lives. Tim, Kristy, and Taylor all shared great things, giving credit to parents and teachers who taught Scripture as a way of life.

I was the last to be interviewed so I decided to share about being diagnosed with cancer in 2000. “As I prepared for a dreaded stem cell transplant in 2001, a dear friend gave me a note that looked like a doctor’s prescription: Read 100 X – Psalm 23. This is the chapter in the Bible that says, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.’” (vv 1-3)

The dozen strangers in the room were listening intently so I continued, “We all love the Bible and it does contain a lot of trivia, but we want you to know that it is true.

“Jesus did go with me like a Shepherd through ‘the valley of the shadow of death.’ God is real and his Word gives us life. We’re talking about more than just a book.”

After we were dismissed, one of the guys from NBC pulled me aside and asked if he could have a word. “First,” he said, “I’m sorry about your health. How are you doing now?” I told him I felt great and was thankful for the last twelve years. The man then looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Was what you said in there true? Is there really a God who walks with you that way?” I had about one minute to encourage him with the the hope we have in Christ.

We’re still waiting for a call from Hollywood. There are only two possibilities I can entertain: Either they lost our file or we were overqualified. Oh well, I guess ‘that’s show biz…’

“I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever.” Psalm 23:4-6

Hunter Lambeth and his family recently moved to Nazareth where he works with middle eastern teenagers. I met Makloof, and would have voted him ‘least likely to ever sign up for a Bible study’ after our camp this past summer. Below is a reminder of the power of God’s love, reproduced with permission from Volume 2, Issue 5, of Young Life Middle East Newsletter.

Susan’s mom, Lou Taylor, had a stroke last week. We would cherish your prayers as she has been moved from the hospital to a stroke center in Chattanooga.

Makloof was one of those kids.  The kind that can drive you absolutely crazy and yet remind you why you signed up for this kind of work in the first place.   On the outside he’s as tough as they come.  Big, brawny, broad shouldered, always has his sunglasses on, indoors or out.  Only wears shirts that pull tight around his bursting seventeen-year old muscles.  I’ve been told he likes to challenge the young Israeli soldiers at the checkpoints on the edge of his native Palestine.

Makloof went to our Young Life summer camp this past July.  I was glad he was there; a rough, raw kid who needed to know how much Jesus loved him.  We met Day 1 as he came off the bus.   That night I was ready to kill him.

We had our first run-in sometime after 2:00 am.  I was trying to control my own room of hyped-up teenagers and Makloof was loudly roaming the hallway outside, apparently establishing his dominance as BMOC.  I asked him to please find his bed, to help me help others do the same.  I tried all the tricks of the youth ministry trade to try and get him to cooperate.   Nothing worked.  The next day I found myself spending most of my relational energy chasing Makloof to one event or the other – to meals, to club, to the activities we had planned, walking that fine line of buddy/leader.  The leaders from his hometown who actually knew him tried as well.  But Makloof seemed determined not to be broken – by us or by Christ.

We tried our best with Makloof and the other dozen or so teenage boys that were determined to imitate his defiant demeanor at camp.   And he did begin to soften a bit, but to be honest, when camp finally concluded and the bus pulled away, rumbling off into the Judean desert, I finally allowed a deep sigh of relief.  No more Makloof.  At least for a while.   At least for me.  I was completely committed to praying for Yousef and the other leaders who would be tasked with the mission of remaining in Makloof’s life and working hard to continue building the bridge between he and Jesus.  But as for me, I was very thankful to be headed in the other direction.

The next time I saw Makloof’s name it brought tears to my eyes and again, I was reminded of why we do this crazy thing called Young Life.  It was in an email from Yousef, a week or so after camp.   He had run into Makloof’s mother.  Here is what Yousef relayed to me:

 “I saw a woman (Makloof’s mother) calling me and I went to her to see what she wanted.  The first question she asked me was, “Why does Makloof love you so much?  And I answered her that it’s because I love him too.  She told me that she likes me being a friend to him.  So now Makloof is kind of visiting me everyday.  And the last time he came he brought five friends of his to my house.  It was so cool.  Pray for us.”

That was in July. I was in Makloof’s West Bank village last weekend. He was there at Young Life club as he is now for every club. And he and Yousef and many others have been faithfully meeting together regularly, reminiscing about camp, dreaming about the future, opening up the scriptures, learning more about what it means to really know and follow Jesus. In fact, today approximately 40 of the 91 kids who went to our summer camp are involved in regular “campaigner” groups, studying the Bible and journeying together with their leaders through a life and in a place that often doesn’t offer much hope.

Thank you for helping change a life like Makloof’s. Thank you for helping us change dozens and dozens of lives in Israel and on the West Bank. Thank you for leveraging your prayers and your resources so that God’s Kingdom might increase in this complicated part of the world.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” — John 10:10

Hunter

There has been much discussion the past few decades about what a Christian is to do with Halloween. My family has gone a variety of routes throughout the years. From traditional ‘trick-or-treating’ to worship gatherings to neighborhood cookouts to church parties to handing out candy and Good News to all who came to our door. We know we are called ‘Light’ and Jesus calls us to shine in this world.

Eight-year-old John couldn’t wait to go door to door in our neighborhood. But before we left the house (we were the first ones on our street), I wanted to remind him of who he was. This week he had a school project in which he had to answer a question: ‘Why are you special?’ Without prompting from any other person, John immediately wrote: ‘Because I am a child of God.’ “John,” I said, “Remember, you are a child of God.” “I know Dana. Can we go get some candy?”

Whether or not we dress up like Jesus on Halloween, we are all to remember we are sons and daughters of God. We are to wear Christ. We are to be clothed in his goodness and love. God calls us a ‘new creation’ and the ‘light of the world’ and the ‘salt of the earth.’ His plan is for his children to be Jesus on the earth.

And this strategy is not just for one day of the year or even one day of each week… we are to depend on the Holy Spirit to help us be like Jesus every day. May God smile as He looks upon his children.

“Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Romans 13:14

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14