Christian Growth Under Communism

My friend Dr. Richard Kidd, a member of the Sweeten Life Systems Board, sent me the following remarks. It coincides nicely with my experience in the former USSR where our ministry of equipping Christian leaders is growing and getting stronger. This is despite the strong persecution of Christians who actually want to live out their faith in daily life.

I ran across this quote in Rodney Stark’s What Americans Really Believe. Nothing fundamentally new here but started in a ‘stark’ fashion that drives the point:

“By far the most interesting data in this table are those for the former Soviet bloc. For more than seventy years atheists controlled the Soviet state and enforced an official policy of atheism. Beginning in the first year of school, and
each year all the way through college, students in the Soviet Union were required to take a course in atheism.

Following World War II, when the Soviets took control of the nations of Eastern Europe, a similar system of atheist education was imposed. Year after year, students were rehearsed in all the angry anti-religious arguments to be found in recent tracts
such as Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.

And it wasn't merely education that atheism had going for it in the Soviet bloc. There was intense discrimination against religious people- if you wanted to have a good job, you professed atheism. If you were too intensely or too overtly religious, you might get sent to a hard-labor camp or even be killed. The result? In Russia itself the score is: God 96 percent, atheism 4 percent, precisely the same as in the United States. Nor did the atheism campaign do significantly better anywhere in the rest of the old Soviet bloc.

In his very recent book, The Plot to Kill God: Findings from the Soviet Experiment in Secularization, Paul Froese demonstrates the utter ineptitude of the Soviet efforts to instill atheism. In part the educational program made no progress because it was staffed by, and the teaching materials were prepared by, people who knew next to nothing about religion. The assumption was that since religion is nonsense, there is nothing much one needs to know to refute it. Hence, what the atheism faculty regarded as unanswerable criticisms of faith were, in fact, quite elementary matters of theology and easily refuted by the average church-goer.”

Here is my view of such things. God cannot be stopped. Those who persecute Christians end up destroying themselves and others. As Tertullian said, "The blood of martyrs is seed for the church." When missionaries left China in 1949 there were 2 to three million Christians. Now there are over 100,000,000.

Healing Marriages

A school in Moscow with kids trying on gas masks



A recent article in the New York Times shows the devastating effect of dysfunctional families in Russia. There are more orphans in Russia today than there were immediately after WWII when Russia lost 25 million people!!!

we have been working in Russia since the beginning of perestroika. My first trip was in 1991 but we got going a few years later after Dr. Galina came here and learned our methods of equipping lay and professionals how to "Heal the broken hearted and set the captives free."

We focus a great deal on breaking the bondage of addiction in Russia as well as the other nations where we minister. However, Russia has the most addicted population I have ever seen so we must do everything we can to raise up Pastors and Christian Lay people to minister to those in need of sobriety.

But sobriety is not enough. Couples must learn how to live together in harmony and parents must learn how to love their children and discipline them well. Almost every family has an addict in it so divorce, abortion and domestic abuse are rampant. And, the professional Pastors, Psychologists and Social workers have almost NO real skills to bring healing through Jesus Christ.

The result? Abandoned babies. Precious babies. Lovey babies. We help workers in orphanages learn the skills of loving and healing those abandoned babies. But the most important things we do are healing the parents. healing the marriages. healing the addicts so there are no abandoned babies.

Will you help us? Pray for us? Support us?

Sweeten Life Systems

Spiritual Emotional Life and Addictions in Russia

Papers are reporting that even the chimps in Russia are caught up in severe addictions.


MOSCOW - A Russian chimpanzee has been sent to rehab by zookeepers to cure the smoking and beer-drinking habits he has picked up, a popular daily reported on Friday. An ex-performer, Zhora became aggressive at his circus and was transferred to a zoo in the southern Russian city of Rostov, where he fathered several baby chimps, learned to draw with markers and picked up his two vices.

"The beer and cigarettes were ruining him. He would pester passers-by for booze," the Komsomolskaya Pravda paper said.

It added he has now been transferred to the city of Kazan, about 800 km (500 miles) east of Moscow, for rehabilitation treatment.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We have been working to establish Family Treatment Centers in the former USSR since 1994. Dr. Galina Chentsova came to Cincinnati to learn the Teleios System of ministry and returned to recruit mature Christians to head the effort. Now there are many training centers in churches and homes all over the nation.

The story above seems bizarre and comical but it illustrates the depth of the problems facing the good people of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Romania and the rest of the Eastern Bloc. During the Seventy years of Communist rule, the high levels of shock, trauma and abuse are so high that it is difficult for us in the West to believe.

Entire families were intentionally destroyed and persecuted leaving generations of children and grandchildren to suffer from the brutality. Thank God for the ways He has taught us to bring hope and healing to those people through Jesus Christ. And, thank God for the faithful Pastors, Priests and Laity who stayed true to God's word during those terrible times.

Ministry in Russia and Ukraine

There is a YouTube video of "You Have Talent" from Ukraine of a remarkable young woman who does sand painting. It is very emotional and powerful representation of the German invasion of the USSR. Maybe it can assist you in better understanding the trauma of WWII in that region of the world.

I am reminded of a trip Art Gasch and I took to Moscow several years ago. Arthur has a magazine that reviews medical devices for doctors and hospitals. He was able to get a machine donate to our Russian friends that tells how much oxygen is in our blood. It was, as far as we know, the only machine of its kind in all of the former USSR for the common people.

The trauma and abuse the good people of that area have suffered left them with extreme cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The need for inner healing though love, renewed thinking and prayer is very high. Thankfully we have a team of well trained Christians who know how to facilitate God's loving presence.

During one of our training visits Steve Griebling and I were teaching the dynamics of uncovering the deep wounds behind PTSD. One of the young women opened up about her dysfunctional life and shared how the terrible inner wounds had left her unable to develop an healthy relationship with a man. Alexis, not her real name, was beautiful and well educated but could not bear to talk with a man of her age.

We taught the training group how to draw up a genogram with past traumas and dysfunctions and then how to open themselves to the healing power of a loving God. After several hours of teaching,listening and prayer Alexia had a huge load of shame and trauma lifted off her by the Holy Spirit. Thankfully she was not the only one who personally experienced God's healing love. When we minister in groups the Holy Spirit is able to touch every single one of us with faith, hope and love.

The entire team of ministry in Russia continues to grow in maturity at the same time they are facilitating the growth and healing of others. It is the key to healing that great nation because its people, especially the Christians, have suffered so much and so long.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in the former USSR. And, if God leads, send a donation to us for their continued ministry of love. See the web page for an online donation.

Liferoute Russian Ministry

C/O Sweeten Life Systems

P.O. Box 498455

Cincinnati, Ohio 45249

Russian Situation

I heard from our friends in Russia and discovered that they will not have to leave their rented office space immediately.

Please pray for God's wisdom, guidance and a free space.

Go to the Liferoute web for more information.

Satisfied?

It is hard to be content. St. Paul said that he had learned to be content despite the circumstances, and let's fact it, Paul had CIRCUMSTANCES!

I find it easy to complain even when my circumstances are pretty good compared to most people. I am spoiled and like it that way.

I have noted before that there has been a ten fold increase in the diagnosis of depression and anxiety since 1900. Maybe the times we live in now are worse than back then. From 1900 to 1950 there was WWI, the flu epidemic killed over 20 million young people, a worldwide economic collapse put some 30% of US citizens out of work.

WWII killed 50 million people and the Korean War, the cold War and international tensions between the USSR and the USA led many in America to build nuclear shelters in their back yards. Stress? You betcha.

Let's face it, world conditions are not sweet and peaceful but life is much better now than in 1900. In fact, we live twice as long now as then. The lack of resilience. People in earlier times expected times to be hard and they expected to bounce back. They "Took a licking and kept on ticking."

Here is the ART of Peaceful living.

A-Adversity is real, daily and to be expected. Adversity is not God's punishment or always my failure. Resilience is important.

R-Renew my mind. Take Pessimistic Thoughts Captive.

T-Trust God. He will care for us.

See my web page tor more materials.

Gary Sweeten

What Empowers Christian Growth?

I hear a lot of people talking about Christian growth but few that do much about it. Every week I receive a quote about God's grace from a great ministry that works hard to facilitate individual and church growth.

I normally enjoy it because I agree with it. (I'm funny that way.) The one I received today did not quite agree with my understanding of the ways to enable and empower Christian growth.Read it and see what you think. I would love to hear your insights.

"Conversion is the lifelong transformational process of being remade into the image of God. It is so much more than simply trying to avoid sin. The focus of repentance and conversion is Jesus, not my sin nor my self. My attachment to sinful ways of being is much too strong to ever be undone by mere willpower. There is no substitute for surrender to divine love as the fuel to propel such undoing. Divine love transforms both my heart and my will. Divine love enables me to choose God’s will over mine. Without this, repentance will be nothing more than a self-help scheme based on effort and resolve." David Benner, Surrender to love.

Graced again is compiled by Tom Wood, Church Multiplication Ministries, a non-profit, whose mission is starting, strengthening, multiplying grace-centered churches through consults and coaching church planting pastors, leaders and emerging leaders. Sign up on the web at Graced Again.

Do you agree with Benner? Why? Why not?

Gary Sweeten

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Russia is Progressing

I called Galina a few days ago to wish her a very happy birthday. She had just returned from the graduation ceremony for the school Liferoute has set up to train Peer Helpers for the Christian Community.

The school is called, "School for the Care and Cure of Souls and this is the Module for teaching Power Thinking or how to renew the mind according to the scripture.

Galina was feeling great because the students showed such high retention and application of knowledge and skills. Let's face it; the Bolsheviks left Russia in a terrible state of irrational thinking. The Communists filled the heads and hearts of the people from childhood onward with lies, myths, misunderstandings, fears and reactivity that it will very likely take generations for the culture to recover.

The Liferoute School for the Care and Cure of Souls will serve as a beacon of light in an otherwise dreary and hopeless culture. Pray for Galina, her team and the wonderful Russian people. Pray also about ways you can support the Liferoute Ministry.

Christian Growth and Healing

For the last thirty years or so I have been busily engaged in helping Christians grow into mature, healthy individuals and families. This includes church and small group growth.

One of the books I have found to be most interesting and informative was written by a Puritan Pastor named John Owen and is titled, Sin and Temptation. In it, Owen strongly focuses on 'indwelling sin" as a theme that is essential to Christian growth and healing. By recognizing that sinful tendencies are basic to our nature after knowing Christ, I can deal with temptation, failures and immaturity without lapsing into morbid self condemnation and shameful self hatred.

A pervasive problem faced by serious, pious Christians is the notion that I could be and should be living above sin, sickness and sadness. When that ideal fails, I am thrust into the bog of despair and hopelessness. Such beliefs keep me focused on my PERFORMANCE rather than the finished work of Christ.

The popularity of sermons and books on working harder to obey God, please Jesus and do more to be a "godly person" shows how prevalent this false idea is. People really love to discuss their own works, even if they are defective. Listen to how often people say such things as:

"I know I should do more to please God and be a better Christian, but..."

"I should pray more, read the Bible more and love Jesus better."

And Preachers point at us and say, "You should be doing more, sharing more, giving more, reading more, attending more..."

Then we sing, "Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow." Such obvious contradictions leave Believers dazed and confused. How are they supposed to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit when we think such thoughts? It is almost impossible to think clearly and feel the joy of the Lord.

When I realize that I have a disease dwelling deep within my heart, mind and body called "The Old Man" it helps me see that anything I do for God and in righteousness comes form the Holy Spirit. Left to my own devices I will fail every time. But, because the Spirit is with me and in me I can occasionally do something right and godly.

We have a habit of thinking, talking and feeling irrationally. We say to a child that just spilled his milk, "Clean that milk up. It shouldn't be on the floor." But rationally speaking, it "should" be on the floor because he tripped and the milk came out of the glass and gravity pulled it to the carpet.

By saying such crazy things to ourselves and others we bring confusion, false guilt and even shame into our lives. It is rational and reasonable to say, "I wish you hadn't spilled the milk. Now it needs to be cleaned up."

Now transfer this to our self talk about morals and ethics. Instead of saying, " I should be a better Christian" I can think, "I want to read the Bible and pray more so I can understand God and His way better." My performance does not change my relationship with God as His child but it can enhance my understanding of my heavenly Father.

God does not command us to do the impossible. He does not say, "You must live above sin, sickness and sadness." He does promise that we can increase our joy, love and peace by walking and talking with Him on a daily basis.

I can also increase my spiritual growth by thinking reasonably and rationally about myself and the fact that it is God who works in us to produce all good things because there is nothing good in me without Him.

Russian Economy

Gary and Galina near Moscow

When I talk about my trip to Russia I am often greeted by Americans and Europeans who say, "Their economy is really great. It isn't in trouble like ours is it?" This is dead wrong. How in the world can we in the West assume that the Russian economy is in great shape?

Maybe because what we read in the papers and hear on TV. They usually report how much money the Russian government is taking in through their oil and gas revenues and assume, wrongly, that the citizens of Russia are benefitting greatly from the billions controlled by The Kremlin.

Remember that Russia is not a Democratic Republic built on Capitalism. Most of the Russian people live from hand to mouth and have to work two or three jobs to pay rent and eat. Even those with high jobs in the military, police, government and medicine must try to eke out a better living by using their cars as a taxi or taking bribes.

Bribes are everywhere. Ikea was not able to open their store in Moscow for eight years because they refused to pay a large bribe. It is often impossible to find an office space or run a business unless you pay bribes.

Our taxi was stopped one day and the driver had to pay a $40.00 fine ON THE SPOT to the officer. That is a huge fine to a taxi driver and much more than he would make by driving us and more than the officer can make in his salary. As they say, "We pretend to work and they pretend to pay us".

Prices in Moscow are sky high but the people make very little. The Kremlin is rich in oil revenues but the common citizen gets little or none of it. A few thousand oligarchs get it all. This is one reason why so many churches can only exist if they get support from Western friends.

Pray for our Russian friends. They are doing a great job of spreading the good news to thousands. They are loyal Russians who love their country and are not trying to change it. They are far too busy trying to survive to get involved in politics.
Gary Sweeten

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Appreciation

One of the keys to good spiritual health is appreciation. My friends in Russia have a lot of that commodity. Despite having lived through a history of many bloody wars and revolutions as well as famine and persecution, many of my friends here appreciate God's love and mercy in a very deep way. Maybe that appreciation comes from having faced so many trials and tribulations.

I spoke yesterday with the woman who published our book, Listening for Heaven's Sake, in Russian. She mentioned that the number of Russian Protestant churches is shrinking from the high of the revivals in the Nineties. It is too hard to maintain a church here. Many of the new churches were started or funded by Western missionaries but could not sustain themselves after the missionaries left.

This is why it is so important to support local Russian leaders. Russian nationals must learn how to lead the churches here and overcome the many challenges they face. Space is very limited and money scarce. Getting from place to place to place long and streneous. Seventy years of Socialist oppression has left the people stunned and too often involved in addictive behaviors that chalenge the church in every way.

I am convinced that the work of equipping and encouragement is the most important thing we can do. Healthy leaders are necessary to have a chelthy church. None of us can lead others farther than we have gone ourselves. Leadership!

Thanks for your prayers. Our local friends do appreciate them very much.

Gary Sweeten
Moscow
http://www.sweetenlife.com/

A Great Time In Russia

As I travel around the world and experience the stresses of economic uncertainty, family trauma and relational pain I am reminded of the assessments of experts such as Dr. Roberta Gilbert, an MD Psychitrist. She joins many others who think we are experiencing a time of societal regression in many nations. Societal regression occurs when there is an increase in all the negative aspects of life and a decrese in the positive aspects.
Negative Aspects: Violence, family breakups, family abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, interpersonal clashes, depression, anxiety, increased greed, leaders abuse power, sexual predators are commion, etc.
Positive Aspects: Family harmony, economic growth and basic needs are met, mutual caring, attendance at religious services, traditions are remembered and kept, parents are honored, children are desired, sexual relationships are monogamous, character is desired over beauty, peace and harmony are widespread.

Despite the widespread growth of the negative factors in many nations, we are seeing the development of powerful, loving Christian communities in numerous cities. (See above photo)Building a community that swims upstream against the tide of dysfunction is not easy but with faith in God and an open spirit to His guidance and power it can be done. These communities are light houses that offer hope, love and healing in a very dark culture.

The Russian people are reeling from many wars, the reign of an evil socialist empire for Seventy years and the death/destruction of numeorus good people. Entire families were wiped out by the Bolsheviks and 92,000 Orthodox Priests were killed for no reason other than they stood for love and mercy. Protestant Ministers and ther churches were also destroyed in a bllody attempt to replace love with evil.

The Russian churches and its people are recovering and working hard to rebuild the society based on godly principles. It is a long hard battle ans will take the prayers and support of Believers around the world.

Last night I visited with about fifty men and women who are deeply involved in the Recovery programs of Liferoute. There was an open and quite lively discussion about how to best relate to family and friends in a healthy and upbuilding manner. Such discussions were prohibited by the Communists and if the militant Atheists in America have their way it will be stopped in our own nation. Research from all over the world shows that Christianity produces health and wealth in any nation that comes to faith in large numbers. Here is Russia we can see what happens when the state viciously attacks our faith.

So, pray for our friends here. They are making progress despite great odds.

Gary Sweeten

Moscow Revisited

I am sitting in a Moscow Internet Cafe named Asia Cafe eating an omlette with Tiger Prawns an cheese although I thought I ordered ham and cheese. Such is the state of trying to communicate in English only with a young waitress who speaks only Japanese and Russian. Living and traveling in the largest city in Europe certainly proves that we are experiencing the global village in a whole new way. The trains, subways and streets are filled with people from every nationality, tribe and tongue. Cars from every imaginable country run rampant through the streets are breakneck speeds and a pedesrtian must always be alert or be killed. It is great fun to experience the excitement of international interaction.

I am staying in a flat (apartment) near Christ The Savior Cathedral and it is a very high class, busy section of this huge city. The Cathedral stands as a huge testimony of the failure of the Bolsheviks. It seems that the Communists hated this church more rabidly than most even though they hated all churches. In a fit of pique they blew it up in an attempt to erase its powerful message from the consciousness of the Russian people for all time. (It was originally built as a memorial to the defeat of Napolean's armies so the pride of Russia and Moscow was great.)

The Communists, in a typical stroke of genius, decided to build in its place a big office building dedicated to the rise of Communism. Here was the problem: God openly rebuked their efforts by making such a structure impossible. The prayers of the people and the church somehow softened the ground under the structure and the engineers and architects found themselves unable to get a foundation to stick. (Hmmm! A lack of foundation. Isn't that interesting.)

So, after several tries, the Party gave up and made it into a big swimming pool. It was as though God placed a large baptismal fount right in the middle of the city for all to see as a symbol of the atheistic attempts to destroy the church. Many of my friends swam in that pool and it kept the story of the Party's failure alive in the hearts and minds of the Muskovites.

Just after the fall of Communism, the Orthodox Church decided to rebuild the Cathedral. Despite warnings that the ground was too soft to sustain it, they went ahead. "How" they asked, "could the ground sustain the original Cathedral and not a new one?" Now Christ The Savior stands as an open rebuke to all attempts to destroy Christ and His message of victory and hope.

My spirits are uplifted each time I see the church and I am reminded of God's power and truth.

Pray for our ministry here. The efforts at helping Christians grow and prosper in a very difficult place are succeeding but it is slow and challenging. Pray for Galina and her team of intrepid and skilled workers. The culture and society has been severely damaged by seventy years of crushing oppression and trauma. Alcoholism and other addictions are rampant destroying many Christian families. Our friends are making headway but the enemy is strongly resisting.

Gary Sweeten

www.sweetenlife.com

www.liferoute.ru

Call From Russia

I spent an hour last night on the phone with Galina, a friend in Moscow. Galina is a Christian Psychiatrist and Psychologist. I met her in 1992 and invited her to come to Cincinnati to study our approach to the healing and growth in the church. She is a brilliant and dedicated Believer who has dedicated her life to helping the poor and needy break the cycle of destruction.

She heads a team of dynamic Believers who are training Christians in churches and para-church ministries all over the former USSR. The work they are doing to "Heal the broken hearted and set the captives free" as it says in IS 61, is remarkable and unique.

As you know, Russia has declared war on the former satellite of Georgia and that is causing great pain and anxiety among the people of both nations. I am planning to travel to Moscow in October to continue training the leaders so they can train more people "How to fish".

Please pray for the Liferoute Team and for my trip. Whether the Russians will allow me to reenter that country or not is questionable.

Pray for our finances. This trip will be very expensive because flights are costing more and hotels are some of the highest in the world. You may donate to Sweeten Life Systems by sending it to P.O. Box 498455, Cincinnati, 45249.

Adversity-Healthy Responses

The Ark of the Covenant

Adversity is all around us. The current rise in commodity prices is just one of many problems we face in getting through daily life. I wrote recently that my European friends were chiding us Americans because we were, in their words, "Whining when we are paying about 1/3 as much for petrol as they."

I am receiving comments and calls because of my statements.

I have written and taught on the topic of "Power Thinking versus Stinking Thinking" many times. It is that issue to which I am returning now. When we fill our minds with Stinking Thinking we place ourselves at risk of losing our emotional and spiritual energy. It causes us to be anxious and anxiety brings bad decisions and bad relationships. In times of crises or stress we need all the energy we can muster and we must be able to think clearly about ways to cope and overcome the Adversities that face us.

Several years ago my mother gave me a book about the history of Whittington, a community just south of our village of Ina, Illinois. The book contains several real life stories about the challenges faced by the pioneers who settled our region and forced a living out of the hard, rocky soil. They overcame the Civil War, insects, wild animals and a lack of transportation.

One couple was able to get a small plot of land where they planted crops, built a house and struggled to get by. One day when the missus was washing clothes in an iron kettle full of lye soap and hot water she was confronted by a snarling big cat. She screamed for help from her husband who hoeing in a nearby field and he came running to rescue her.

He had no firearm but used the weapons at hand, the soapy water. He quickly sized up the situation and hurled two hand fulls of boiling lye soap water into the cat's eyes. The big feline screamed and began to claw at his eyes for relief. Before he could see again the farmer took his corn hoe and clubbed the lion to death.

Our nation was settled by men and women who expected great challenges. They set out for the frontier know they had to do their best to overcome hostile forces by wit and wisdom as well as mutual assistance. The forces arrayed against us today pale in comparison to those in previous centuries and I am sure we can face them and overcome them by grit, courage and wisdom as well as mutual assistance to one another.

Self Defeating Beliefs

I. Adversity

II. Pessimism that arises out of a belief that we cannot prevail against the pain.

A. The Problem is huge:

B. The Problem is Pervasive and all encompassing: I am flawed, we are flawed, our nation is flawed

C. The Problem is Permanent and cannot be solved, healed or overcome

D. Perfection should be possible and we should be Perfect

I think whining adds to Pessimism and only Optimism can supply the energy and wisdom we need to meet these problems.

It will take courage, resiliency, energy, optimism and cooperation to take the nation to the next stage of development. Do we have what it takes or will we simply give up because of a lack of nerve?

It's a Wonderful Life

Russian Kids

It is a great time to be alive. I just wish I could live another 50 years or so. God is doing so many great things that I am overwhelmed by His goodness. I received reports almost daily about progress that just a few years ago seemed impossible.

I can remember clearly the days of the Cold War when I joined with other men and women to march and pray for people behind the Iron Curtain. Now they are praying for us. I am not sure I even believed it was possible for the Wall to come down; for our prayers to be answered. But they were and in far,far greater ways than we ever thought or imagined.

I was in St. Petersburg, Leningrad, in 1978 and saw the devastation wrought by Socialism. Cuba looks good in comparison. At least they were driving old Chevvys but the Russians were stuck with Vladas, a piece of junk. Now Moscow and St. Petersburg are alive with BMW's and Mercedes.

But much more important are the thousands of men and women who are finding freedom, healing and hope in Jesus Christ. Our ministry, like hundreds of others, is growing in numbers, strength and impact. The devastation caused by Socialism is waning but much more waits to be done because we need more leaders.

Pray for the work we are doing in one of the greatest nations on earth. The Russian people love America and welcome our support. Support Sweeten Life Systems as we develop creative ways to "Heal the broken hearted and set the captives free."

The Russian people need your prayers and financial investment.

Research and Development

Some of you have written to ask me about the Reveal book from Willow Creek. I have read it and analyzed it on my other blog at http://seasonedbelievers.blogspot.com

I am very excited about the fact that Willow has the courage and integrity to do the research and then publish it for all to see. I know of few Christian groups that are open about their weaknesses. This is especially true when we consider that the research seems to show that Willow has failed in meeting many of their most basic goals.

Take a look at my other blog and think about what is going on. Barna is also writing about these issues from a different angle with the book, Revolution. What is God saying to the church?

I have spent my adult life as a professional educator, coach and therapist. All these professions involve growth, healing and influencing change. From what I see in most Christian publications, it is a wonder that any believer is ever equipped, healed or mature.

Christians have confused Pep Rallies with Playing the Game. I have always loved pep rallies. They are loud, exciting, colorful, inspirational and positive. We get to see beautiful girls dance, enjoy a pep band play our favorite fight songs and hear a wonderful motivational speaker tell the crowd that out players are the best in the world.

Then the game begins and the pep rally is forgotten. What counts now is not noise but skill, preparation, practice and stamina. When I coached basketball I had my players do wind sprints, practice defense and run laps until their tongues flopped out like puppies. They hated it. But it was those dreary, pain filled practices won games.

We preachers love the music, pomp and circumstance of a pep rally. Rarely does a preacher or teacher take members through the paces of a real practice and make sure the members can actually play the game. Oh, I know that our call is to "Equip the members so they can do the works of the ministry." It is a rare event when we even thinks that is our main job. The power of the platform is simply too strong to resist.

Willow's research proves that entertainment is not equipping; performance is not playing and crowds do not mean growth. Let's pay attention to the data.

I confess I still need to "Do what Jesus did and actually 'coach' people to do His works and not just 'tell" people what He did.

Developing Economic Resources in Russia

Christians Recovering from Alcohol and Drugs


The only way to build Russia as a strong and healthy nation is to develop the spiritual and emotional resources that have been damaged or hidden for so long. After Glasnost, western countries, including the USA, attempted to get the former USSR on track to economic and democratic security by pouring in money, business techniques and knowledge of how a democracy works. It failed.

You can put the failures down to our naive and foolish optimism or to stupidity. Either way it did not work The things that are working, if left to grow, are the non-material and spiritual contributions of churches, para-church groups and Non Governmental Organizations from around the world.

The Real Revolution Continues in Russia

The Russian Revolution began some 90 years ago in 1917 when the Bolsheviks overthrew the Tsar in a bloody take over. A succession of brutal leaders whose main approach to governance was terror kept the people oppressed. Finally, the Communists were defeated by their own incompetence and foolish ways. The flood gates of freedom were thrown open and the Russian people began to recover.

Recovery, however, is a long, hard battle. After 70 years of be ruled by paranoia the people were confused and many suffered from ptsd. One of the most serious problems is a lack of decision making experience and a lack of self confidence.

When we began to teach and minister in Russia in 1991 Glasnost had just begun but we could already see glimpses of freedom and innovation springing up among the Christians, most of whom had worshipped God and studied His word secretly for many years. One of my first acts was to recruit the most mature and Seasoned Believers to be trained in care, counseling and inner healing. Galina Chentsova stood out from the rest.

Galina came to Cincinnati and learned about the importance of raising up thousands of Christians to love, counsel and pray for one another. We gave Galina and her team the rights to all of our materials so she could legally use them as she needed. She dubbed her ministry, Teleios Moscow and proceeded to develop a center much like ours in Cincinnati.

At first she simply printed up some rough Russian translations of our English materials. Using this crude method Galina set up training centers all over the region.

That worked in a way but she needed a good translation and published materials that could be distributed around the former USSR. The cover above is just that. PTL! We finally have some of our training materials published and distributed by a well known publisher in Moscow.

Take a look at the web site at www.liferoute.ru and keep them in your prayers.

Contribute to the Russian Revolution by sending a tax deductible donation to:

Sweeten Life Systems

P.O. Box 498455

Cincinnati, OH 45249

ATTN: Russian Revolution

Why Change?

Seasoned Believers are people of courage.

It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.
E. E. Cummings

Who would you nominate as a Seasoned Believer? Can you think of a person who has faced his or her issues and allowed the Lord to take them through them?

Dan Gilliam, a man from my past who has faced the darkness and let God bring the light into his life. Take a look at http://www.dangilliam.net/

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I just heard from Galina whose team grew a lot on the trip to Abakan. Galina became very ill with the flu and the team had to do everything without depending on her as a leader. Necessity is the mother of invention so God Galina's sickness to stretch the team into real leadership.

Because of Communism the people of Russia who traditionally had been very tough became like little, weak lambs. One of our biggest challenges in Russia is to convince the people they can be used by the Holy Spirit to teach, care, counsel and lead.

The team without Galina rose to the occasion and did very well. The success in Abakan gave them a big boost in confidence because they faced their fears and found God faithful.

Yerina, Yvgenia, Marina, Anatoly and the team are my nominees for Seasoned Servants.