A Day to Pray

Today was (is) the "National Day of Prayer" here in the States. Amidst questions about the "political incorrectness" of Christian prayer, increasing inconsistencies regarding religious free speech rights, and the precipitous decline of biblical morality, there was much to pray about. It seems there is a growing awareness among believers that we need to put prayer back into our secularized lives. As a former student pilot, I was surprised to hear on the radio today about a ministry called PrayerFlight that prays for communities while flying over them. Of course, one day a year to pray for your country is no more a complete answer than doing a PrayerPaddle event or PrayerFlight or whatever. But it can be a catalyst to jumpstart people to push forward in the spiritual battle that we all should be engaged in daily.

While it can be argued that the need for (and lack of) prayer in Canada is even more grave than in the United States, there are a couple points of historical perspective that come to mind amidst the gloom and doom that the enemy tries to discourage us with these days. One is the gross immorality and worldliness that the Roman Catholic church succumbed to during much of the Middle Ages. And yet significant reform did eventually come. Another example would be the rampant immorality and religious persecution that dominated England prior to the Puritan and Wesleyan movements. Yes, things may be bad right now, but this is no time for giving up.

When I hear people say that evangelism tools of the past are no longer effective, or that the Church simply can't compete in post-modern society, I wonder if we sometimes take out of context Jesus' statements that "the fields are white for the harvest" and "the harvest is plentiful". Was He speaking to that particular time and place, or to the entire "church age"? Maybe we are not finding a plentiful and ready harvest because we have neglected to pray for the harvest. The Jewish people had gone through hundreds of years of cultural decline and discouragement before the time was right for God to establish His church. We must be diligent to break up the ground, sow the seed broadly, wait patiently, and water carefully if we expect to reap the harvest that should come from the fruit of our generation.

Finalizing Key Partnerships

Although there are still a lot of details to be ironed out in terms of shore support, church partners, etc., I think this is a good time to give a glimpse of how things are shaping up. Hopefully nothing here will be too presumptuous at this point. It looks like almost all sections are at least minimally covered, though there's definitely plenty of room for more people/ministries to come on board.

Victory Lighthouse (Dalhousie, NB): Dalhousie area
Assemblee Evangelique Baptiste Nepisiquit (Bathurst, NB): western Bay of Chaleurs
Kevin Vance family (Florence, MS): Acadian Peninsula to Cape Tormentine
Association Atlantique d'Eglises Baptistes Francophones: Francophone areas of New Brunswick
Lloyd Augustine (Burnt Church, NB): Micmac bands/reserves
Sovereign Community Church (Miramichi, NB): Miramichi area
Victory Baptist Church (Rexton, NB): Richibucto River area
Dieppe Community Church (Dieppe, NB): Shediac area
Maritime House of Prayer (Moncton, NB): Port Elgin area
Old Fort Baptist Church (Summerville, SC): probable for Pictou to Antigonish area
Margaree Valley Church (Margaree Forks, NS): Cape Breton Island

There are several others, of course, who have expressed interest or offered some level of support. But these are the key ones that I feel comfortable listing publicly at this stage. Financial support for my personal expenses has been contributed by the Canadian National Baptist Convention, the Mississippi Baptist Convention, my church (Daniel Memorial Baptist), and individuals.

I would definitely like to see some more people coming in from outside the Maritimes, as well as getting a wider variety of the local churches excited about the PrayerPaddle. Pretty soon, announcements to the broader public will begin.

Summertime?

Well the snow and ice are gone in the Maritimes now. With some temperatures in the mid-60s, the difference between New Brunswick and Mississippi is only about 10 degrees right now. On the other hand, it's still getting down to around freezing at night up north. I'm busy working on finalizing equipment, route planning, and contacts. Still needing more volunteers. Ask the Lord of the harvest for laborers! I have made some good contacts recently that I'm trying to follow up on. I need to find time to paddle too, of course.

This week is final exams at the university. Next weekend we'll be heading to Texas to spend a few days with my family. (And then come back for a dentist appointment.)

Starting today, another version of the PrayerPaddle blog will now appear in the "Biblical Recorder" of North Carolina Baptists: http://www.biblicalrecorder.org. A feature article in the Canadian "Baptist Horizon" newsletter has been prepared for the May/June issue.