The Ezekiel Project

Oh Deer!

2009-06-23T11:10:00.003-04:00

After two weeks of being alone in Armada (well, I did have the neighbor's deer to hang out with) I am really looking forward to the home coming of my TEP family tonight around 6:00 ish :)

Living Water Anyone?

2009-06-08T13:36:00.002-04:00

"You know Christina, it just gets me. I can't believe how many people are taking that cola they're handing out over there and here we are, offering living water, and no one is stopping to get it!" Barb whispered that in my ear as Jon was preparing the board for his gospel message. About 10 feet behind us representatives from a cola company were handing out sodas for free. We couldn't help but think of the obvious contrast between those sodas with no value and the eternal value of the gospel message that was being preached. Many people don’t know what Christ has to offer them and we all have such a tremendous responsibility to share the good news with the lost. “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:13,14) We cannot force anyone to take the living water, but we should offer it to them.

Little is much when God is in it!

2009-05-27T12:06:00.002-04:00

Well, this is my introduction to blogging for our website...the modern way of communicating with others who are out of site and seem to be on the other side of the world to me:) However, you are very near and dear to our hearts and important to the ongoing of our ministry.

Yes, I am the administration person and do enjoy (most of the time) the challenge of this type of ministry. And at this time, I am really involved in administrating our summer schedule including our 7 evangelism seminars being conducted in 5 independent locations; a summer internship program for a Bible college student who will be joining us for 8 weeks, as well as, preparing for our next group of students for our School of evangelism which begins in the fall. The work can be daunting but, with God's help, much will be accomplished.

Currently we are in Chicago conducting our second Basic Evangelism Training Seminar. We came here after conducting this seminar and the Advanced Training Seminar at Camp Hope in the Atlanta, GA area. The enrollment for these seminars was very small in number (2,4,2 respectively) but what an opportunity we had to impact the lives of these for the sake of the Gospel and for eternity. All participants seemed very hungry to learn methods and implement new tools to help them with the sharing of the message of life. The real test is always what will they do when they leave us and return home. One participant, on his way home, made an unexpectant stop at an event in a town near his home. He used the opportunity to present the gospel using the 3 ropes to help illustrate the Gospel message. Three people professed to trust Christ as their Savior as a result of this man's effort. I was very excited and thankful to have had a part in this man's ministry.

Yes, registering paricipants, making notes for them, and facilitating the seminar schedule by helping the teachers and students, all this is part of that end result...souls are saved! My work on the little details and the small numbers is much when God is in it!!

Good-bye Administrative Work!

2009-05-11T20:16:00.003-04:00

We started another round of summer seminars. I used to dread seminars. Not because of the people, or the places, but because of the administrative work. It may not seem intimidating, but it is for someone (like me) who has absolutely no gift in administration. Basically the seminar secretary is responsible for all the behind-the-scenes, detailed stuff.

When I started with TEP a few years back we thought it would be a good idea to give the role of the seminar secretary to me. Well it took me about three summers to realize that I’m just not “cut out” for the job. This year, to my great delight, Barb has taken back the role of the seminar secretary (she’s so organized; no unfiled document is safe from her). Some of the things that I have done in preparation for this seminar I would have done in years past on my own, but it’s just so much easier for me to complete those same tasks under Barb.

Now we’ve completed the first day of the seminar and while it was going on I was happily helping out in the kitchen!

Getting Ready To Go!

2009-05-06T21:25:00.001-04:00

Well with any preparation for a trip the task list is always a little longer than normal. The to-do list is even longer when you have to move a team some 1,600 miles, plus put on three seminars and one DLP. So needless to say we all are a little stressed trying to get things done before we leave for Atlanta. Lord willing the OFFICIAL start to our annual summer travels begins this weekend. Please pray for both safe travels and prosperous ministry.

Almost over.

2009-04-27T13:41:00.002-04:00

The DLP ended Thursday. Jon will graduate from TEPSE this coming Friday. And then the walls of the classroom, which could tell so many stories, will be bored for a few months. May we finish strong.

This Week

2009-04-20T17:42:00.002-04:00

I came to the Barn today and while I was waiting for my ferry across the river, I noticed all the cars. Why are they all there? Because we are hosting the Residency Phase for the Distance Learning Program course on Personal Evangelism. We are blessed with seven students and have a busy, exciting week ahead. Please keep on praying for us....

Our passtime of choice

2009-04-16T20:02:00.002-04:00

"Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets (also known as "bats" or "paddles"). The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Players must allow a ball played toward them only one bounce on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side. Points are scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. A skilled player can impart several varieties of spin to the ball, altering its trajectory and limiting an opponent's options to great advantage."*

Its what we do for fun around here. And playing is a requirement to get into TEPSE. Not really, but close enough. :)

*Taken from wikipedia

Little Evangelists

2009-04-15T13:19:00.002-04:00

A Sea of People

2009-04-15T12:53:00.002-04:00

A few of us had the same thought at various times last week. We were overwhelmed (as always) by the amount of people going into and coming out of the Masters. All of them rushing about....to where? A golf course? Their cars? To meet up with friends?
Most of them have no idea where they are going. No idea what live holds, what will happen to them after death, or any reality on what eternity is.

I am reminded of our Lord's emotions when He looked at the crowds, "But when He aw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and where scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."

By All Means

2009-04-15T12:26:00.002-04:00

"...I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake..."

That Time of Year

2009-03-31T16:21:00.002-04:00

Well it's that time of year again. The time of year where we start traveling...a lot. Right now we are gearing up for our trip to the Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA. I was looking at my schedule of the summer and writing down when I would be home. A week here, and few days in this month, and all of a sudden it's August, when we get ready for school. I'm not complaining mind you, but sometimes it seems a little overwhelming when you look at it all at once. The Lord is faithful and gives us the strength we need exactly when we need it. Please pray for us during our travels, that the Lord will keep us safe and would prepare our way to our destinations.

A Ready Answer

2009-03-20T12:37:00.000-04:00

Today I was talking to a friend of mine who is a graduate of The Ezekiel Project School of Evangelism (TEPSE). He shared with me an experience that he had this past Sunday. He stopped off at a local gas station to fill up, as he went in to pay he left his Bible on the front seat. A man came in and asked whose car it was that was parked in front of the gas station. My friend said it was his and the man replied by asking him if he was a Christian, having seen the Bible. This stranger suddenly opened up to my friend about his problems. This man said that he heard a TV evangelist tell the audience that if they would send just some money to him their problems would go away. This man was frustrated and just wanted peace. My friend, who is a skilled evangelist, used some of his training he received while at TEPSE and asked a very poignant question to this hurting man. He asked him, “If you were to die tonight would you go to Heaven or Hell?” The man answered back that he was not sure. My friend then proceeded to share with this man how he could know for sure he was going to Heaven when he died. By God’s grace this man accepted Christ right there in the gas station. Even though my friend is not in the ministry has taken the things he has learned while here at TEP and applied them to his everyday life. He has fulfilled the commandment that the Apostle Peter lays out for in 1 Peter 3:15, “…always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…”

An open mind

2009-03-06T14:37:00.002-05:00

In the school component of TEP, I have been teaching Systematic Theology 2. Specifically, we have just finished the doctrine of election. Growing up, I thought this was a bad word and knew that it was surrounded in contraversy. In contrast, as I've been working with Jon I realized that not everyone has had this experience. Jon told me that he hadn't thought about the doctrine much. As we studied this topic it was clear that he had a completely open mind as to what the Bible actually says about this subject. In past classes, it has taken a while clear up misunderstandings and confusions about this topic before moving on to a positive affirmation of what the Bible actually does say. But with Jon, we just dove right in with minimal bias. After a few minutes in became clear that election refers to God's choice that every person in Christ will go on to future blessings and rewards. How simple these matters are when we have Jon's attitude--"Hmm. I don't know. What does the Bible say?"

Happy Birthday, Jon!!

2009-02-23T15:35:00.001-05:00

Over the River and thru the Woods....

2009-02-23T15:05:00.002-05:00

....to North Carolina! Last week all of us at The Ezekiel Project went to North Carolina for the South Eastern Workers Conference. The weekend before, though, some of us stopped to be the beneficiaries of wonderful hospitality with the Hyltons at Mountain Top Youth Camp. Chris spoke at a Valentine's outreach banquet the chapel near the camp hosted. When we were not there or at meeting, we had fun relaxing at Mountain Top. The last morning we were there, it snowed. When I told my mom this, she told me "You can run, but you cannot hid!" I know we are all grateful for the time we were able to spend there with old and new friends.
On Monday, we made our way down to Charlotte for the conference. The confernce was only a couple of days long, but the hopefully from it our service to the Lord will change in such a way becasue of it, that it will impact us for a lifetime. It was encouraging for me to see people and meet new ones who have compeltely dedicated their lives to serving out Lord and who are burndend to see souls saved.
We are back now, doing what God has placed before us for today, but encouraged to faithful service becasue of our time in the good ol' south.

Fashion on Mars

2009-02-05T19:34:00.001-05:00

This morning I went to our public access television class with much anticipation.

Last week we focused on learning about the studio and the production room. Apparently there are a lot of important roles when it comes to filming something as simple as an interview; there’s the director, a floor director, at least three camera operators, a sound technician, graphic technician, a technical director, the host, the guest, etc… So today we had the fun experience of putting what we learned into practice.

We started by randomly picking one of the above positions out of a hat – quite nerve racking. In the car on the way to the studio I was really hoping I wouldn’t get director or host. I wanted to get a simple job, like operating one of the cameras; turns out, I got to operate camera #3!!! The instructor said he never saw someone so excited to operate a camera. Long story short, we shot the first 8 minute pretend interview and I managed to mess up a real simple job by not focusing. Oh well, I was glad to get that over with --- or so I thought.

To my horror, the instructor again had us pick out a role from the hat. I got the position of floor director. It wasn’t so bad; the most I had to do was count down with my fingers at the beginning and end of the other pretend interview, so I survived.

Then I noticed the clock was about to strike 11:00 a.m. and I was quite happy, until I realized that we had till 11:30 a.m. and the instructor once again wanted us to pick a name from a hat! Oh no!!! So I was near the end of the line, and to my dismay I pulled out the one thing I didn’t want…HOST!!! Oh no, I had to think of questions, and for 8 minutes I had to pretend to be interested in what my “guest” was saying! Fortunately I had JC as my “guest” and I’m really good at pretending to be interested in the things he has to say (just kidding JC☺).

I had only a few moments to come up with a topic and a title for my pretend show. I thought about the things I like and came up with fashion as the topic. Since my guest was a guy I decided to name it Fashion on Mars (men are from Mars, women are from Venus, et al). The interview turned out to be a whole lot of fun. I did pick on JC’s old fashion faux pas (blue jeans, grey fleece sweaters and combat boots for every day of the week except Sunday’s) and asked him to share with us how he “emerged” into the stylish fellow he is today. So after getting his opinion on where the best places to shop, what color socks a man should wear with dress shoes (always dark!) and what style of jeans he prefers we ended our 8 minute segment on fashion.

I look forward to more of these classes and rumor has it that we’ll be having our own little “Antique Road Show” next week. We should have fun examining the props in the studio as if they were antiques!

An Update From a Different Perspective

2009-01-31T13:52:00.002-05:00

If you have been a faithful follower of the TEP blog you may have noticed that the majority of our posts are done by Kathleen. While most of the staff is set up to easily write on the blog it can be easy to forget to do it (I'm in this group). So, to add a different flavor or perhaps to another perspective I decided to do my part and post on the blog.

I have been teaching Cults & World Religions the past few weeks here at TEPSE and I have really enjoyed it. The times when I'm not in class I've been studying like crazy to make sure that I am prepared to teach. But in my study it just blesses my sock off (as my dad would say) to see first hand that the Bible is indeed defensible and the only truth. And then it's an added perk to be able to share that excitment during class and hopefully pass that excitment on.

If you've read the previous post you know that this past week we had the Residency phase of the DLP here in Armada. Since they had more people in the classroom the TEPSE classes got moved to the library. I have to say that I like teaching there because that is probably the warmest room in the building. Although I think it might make Jon a little sleepy when I start waxing eloqunetly.

Please continue to pray for us as the school year roars on and as we begin our preparations for upcoming trips as well as the summer. God bless and have a great week.

Buy the Truth and Sell it not

2009-01-29T19:27:00.003-05:00

Learning, learning, and more learning, is what has been going on here at The Ezekiel Project this week. It has been exciting to be both a participator and an onlooker in that process. Classes for our TEPSE student, Jon, are in full swing. Right now he is taking Cults and World Religions and a course on Homeletics. While we appreciate Jon very much, he has been moved out of the classroom and into the library because......we are hosting another Residency Phase of the Distance Learning Program, here in Armada. This is the last time we are offering Introduction to Systematic Theology for awhile, and it has been a blessing. We have two students for this week. It has been wonderful getting to know them both in and out of the classroom. I am encouraged to see people who are excited about studying the Word of God.
Then out of our own facilities, several of us have been taking a class from a local TV station on how to use camera equipment and other such things. We moved into the studio section of the class this morning, so the excitement about what we are learning grows with each passing week.

So, while it has been cold here this week and vehicles to dig out of the snow, we have been staying warm, fellowshipping, and learning what the Lord has put before us for this time. It is our prayer for our students and us that we would "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."

A Belated Birthday to Barb!

2009-01-22T18:49:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, the 15th of January, was Barb's birthday. Because of the circumstances, however, we did not celebrate till today. It was nothing spectacular, but it was nice for a few of us to be together for lunch. Plus, Barb made out with three balloons and a free desert.

Barb, we love you! Thanks for always looking out for others above yourself and being our "mother hen". May you have many more wonderful years of service to our Lord until the He wants you home!

DLP Class Picture

2009-01-18T00:33:00.002-05:00

This course for the Distance Learning Program is now over...well the Residency Phase is. The students still have a four week time, called the Post-Residency, of interaction with the material they have learned with guidance from their instructor, Bruce.

Even though I have heard the material covered in this course a few times now, I am struck with how much I learned this week. It could have been as simple as some clarity on a concept that was a bit confusing before or a perspective I had never considered, offered by one of the students.

Please be praying for these students, and us, as we dig deeper into the God's work, seeking to know Him more!

Distance Learning Program

2009-01-17T07:25:00.004-05:00

This week we are doing the Residency phase of the Distance Learning Program course Introduction to Systematic Theology in my hometown of Augusta Georgia. The week has been a bit different than the other Residency weeks because instead of having class from 8-5 for five days, we have been meeting in the evenings and on the weekends.
I always love the on-site weeks with The Ezekiel Project, whether a seminar or for the Distance Learning Program, but this week is especially wonderful for me, because some of my family is participating as well as others who I care a great deal about.
Another exciting thing about this week is that TEPSE started back in Michigan. It is neat to think that while we are teaching people how to study the Word of God here in Georgia, Jon is learning how to preach back in Michigan. What a blessing! More later...

Our Eternal Life

2009-01-08T17:50:00.003-05:00

"For life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us."
I John 1:2

When I thought about those words for a while, I realized how magnificent they are. God, the creator, was manifested to us. He is not hidden or unknown, but in fact is our eternal life. I hope I always remember this, regardless of the time of year.

Our Christmas Party

2008-12-15T21:09:00.001-05:00

Well like the vast majority of Americans we decided to carve out one night to just hang out with each other and practice the age old tradition of giving gifts. We started out with a most scrumptious dinner which was cooked by Barb (aka my mom). This is the point where I really need to brag about my mom. She made the house really Christmassy (if that's a word), with a bit of decorating around the house along with making the table look extra special for the night. Afterwords we exchanged some gifts. We did the secret Santa or whatever it's called where everyone gets someone else's name and you get that person a present. Jon was really clever and packed Christina's present inside of a little checkbook box, which was packed inside of a bigger box, which was packed inside of a bigger box, and so on.

For sake of space I didn't include all the boxes

I think that we are getting better at knowing what to get eachother, because everyone seemed satisfied with their gift. We continued the funfilled evening with a fierce game of Pictionary. If you haven't played before it's where a person is given something to draw and with the drawing get their team to guess what it is.

Bruce drawing something

Well once it got late we called it a night and headed home and to bed. I personally was thankful for the group of believers that the Lord has placed me with and how blessed I was to be with them.

Hopeless to Hopeful

2008-12-08T14:47:00.003-05:00

As I type our student this year, Jon Foster, is in the middle of an Apologetic class, learning "the defense of the faith". Last week, I sat in on part of the class for a refresher. We watched a video with discussion afterward. Among other things we discussed how many of the things we think are based on the evil culture around us. One quote from the move was:

Through the conflict of religion, through the conflict of philosophy, the depravity of the human heart ultimately showed its power over any of the ideas presented to civilization.

Since the beginning of time, man has tried again and again to solve the world's problems through religion, philosophy, or programs, but what man has failed to realize, is that the very problem of evil in the world comes from himself. When it comes down to it, our innermost selves are wicked, selfish, and contrary to truth.
I sat there in class, nodding my head, and thinking, "That's right!". Then it struck. That meant me! The situation for us, mankind, is seemingly hopeless. Praise the Lord the source of all truth, God Himself, has revealed truth!

"God...hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us..."
Acts 17:26-27

God put each individual person where they are, so that they may seek Him and find Him. So, yes, as humans we have no way of knowing whether truth is truth, but the One who knows all, has put us where we are to find Him. What was seemingly hopeless, is now overwhelmingly hopeful!