Hola from Mexico!

This week I am in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with my good friend, Jeff Crook, and my new friend, Jason Nave. I am having an incredible time here training pastors from all over Mexico.

My time here this week has absolutely reinforced my love for pastors. It’s true, I absolutely love the church and I love those whom God has called to lead His church.

Also, for some reason unknown to me, I have a great affinity for Central America, especially Mexico. It seems that God has given me a special burden for this place and its people. It has also reaffirmed my personal goal of speaking fluent Spanish sometime in the near future. I have spoken about this often but never really acted on it. Now, I’m serious; I would love to be able to speak to others about Christ in their own heart language.

The best part about this trip is not the Pacific Ocean (actually, I’m not much of a beach bum), not my friends who traveled with me, not the pastors or their spouses or this beautiful place. The best part of all of this is that it is all for the glory of God, the advance of the gospel and the building of His Kingdom! There is nothing else I would rather be doing.

I watched it…

It was very interesting to me to see Rick Warren live and in person on Monday night, and then watch him talk to the presidential candidates on Saturday night, along with the rest of the nation. I found this quote from the Washington Post very interesting:

“This was not a debate. There was not a winner or a loser. The one sure winner was Rick Warren, who overnight changed the face of evangelicals in this country from the cartoon caricature of rigid, right-wing fundamentalists to one of open-minded, intelligent, concerned citizens. There were grumblings that the forum should not have been held in a church. But Warren managed to keep the religious aspect of the event to a minimum, including in his questions. And he followed his own advice, the lead sentence of his best-selling book “The Purpose-Driven Life.” It wasn’t all about him.”

I said it Sunday and I’ll say it again here; if you’re depending on the government to save you then I’ve got some bad news for you. Whether Barack Obama or John McCain becomes president I still don’t place my faith in either of these men. The government holds no power for the salvation of mankind. Only the gospel holds this power. If evangelicals would stop thinking of themselves as a voting bloc and start reaching the world with the gospel, I believe a lot of these other issues would completely disappear.

It’s really simple. God hasn’t selected Rick Warren to save evangelicalism; although I applaud him for a job well done. And God hasn’t ordained Barack Obama or John McCain to save our nation; only Christ has such power…and the willingness to do so.