Summary of the Summer

Somehow this turned into a quarterly summary this time instead of monthly. There's been a lot going on, so I'll (Paul) have to give an even briefer version than usual.



Jewish Roots ... My dad and I went to the annual UMJC conference (http://www.umjc.org/), which was in Miami this year. The speakers were superb, and we came away with a better feel for how we as Gentiles fit into God's redemptive plans, making connections with several people that will help in this journey.



Evangelism ... Hal Linhardt came to speak on evangelism one Sunday, as he is the Director of Evangelism at IHOP (http://www.ihop.org/). He's on our board of directors for Kingdom Living, and a friend of the family for 35 years. He brought several of his interns to testify, and it was a huge encouragement. Over the past few months, we have been pursuing God's plans for how we are to do evangelism based on some of the things we have been learning the past few years. This has been our focus for Sunday night teachings, and we are growing in boldness outside our comfort zone!



Prophetic ... Rhonda Calhoun, a spiritual mentor for Lauren, came and spoke on giving our visions and imagination back to the Lord (the opposite of vain imaginations of 2 Cor 10:5). It was a powerful time when the Lord revealed Himself to many of us in unique ways. I had been to her seminar on this topic, and we hope to grow more in this tool of communication with God.



New cell ... Some new folks have been coming, so we are starting a new small group. Lauren and I are leading that for now, with Eric/Susan taking over soon once everybody feels comfortable with who we are and what we're doing. It's neat to see new faces excited about taking this path.



Wedding ... We had our first wedding, with Brooks and Raena Rice celebrating some Jewish traditions in a ceremony led by Rabbi Feldman. It was beautiful.



Bible study ... Some women in the community did a study on Esther by Beth Moore. It was challenaging, encouraging, and insightful. The Lord's timing for this study fit amazingly into the lives of the women in the group. We also had a group going through 10 weeks of studying more advanced spritual warfare. They had to read 10-15 pages of notes each week, and then we had solid discussions on how the spirit world works at the macro level, our role in prayer, etc. Good times!



Prayer ... On that note, we've begun our Night Watch prayer meetings again, with a weekly slot on Saturdays from 10pm to midnight. We've also put together a core warfare team that meets for an hour before the Sunday meeting to pray for the evening gathering as well as bigger issues related to Kingdom Living and our city of Merriam.



Mini conference ... Several went to Topeka, or later to Emporia (cities in Kansas), to hear Dr. Maloney minister. He has a strong healing and prophetic gifting, and two of us received powerful words through his ministry.



History ... Some of the newer people in the group asked if we would have a "story time" where would tell the history of the past four years. Eric did an excellent job preparing an outline for us, as we pulled together dates and events. It was a time of unification and inspiration as we reflected on the Lord's faithfulness to us. The Scriputre of don't despise the day of small beginnings keeps coming up.


Life ... We have also grieved deeply as a community this summer with Tom and Leah's 9 day old baby Ezekiel John going to be with the Lord. His life continues to impact us all. Lauren and I have been amazed at the tremedous support the community has given to Tom, Leah, and our family during this time in both practical and spiritual ways. We are blessed to be a part of this group. We love you and thank you!