Something big is starting to happen with the counseling training that I am teaching (two groups at present). Even from such small groups, God has given me access to people who in turn have access to new circles of influence. The personal transformation that they are experiencing and witnessing in others is so profound that…

Here are some short ministry facts from 2010: Coaching: Personally got certified by Lifeforming Leadership Coaching as a Coach Trainer. With Pastor Igor Sokolov, led training for three groups of students, one of which was for Indonesians (which included training on-site). This training included group seminars as well as one-on-one and one-on-two training sessions. Supervised…

I’ve been asking myself the question lately in ministry whether I don’t need to give more structure to some of the training I do with Russians. So often I run up against an inability (it seems) to manage giving assignments that are too open-ended (whether time-wise, or in terms of how to fulfill the requirement).…

I’m leading a leadership retreat for MIR this week, and I was looking for something like this online to use, but I couldn’t find anything. So I made it up. Now someone else can find it online. Need-based ministry vs. Purpose based ministry Need-based Purpose-based Motivation sympathy com-passion Approach outreach withreach Goal filling a need…

For the third time in as many years, I was pick-pocketed this week. The first time it was a band of guys who pushed their way onto the subway, causing a big ruckus and push so they could reach in my pocket and take my phone. The second time someone reached into my man-purse as…

After over 6 months of incredible labor, with constant setbacks and pointless fights with government officials, MIR succeeded in getting 13 kids out of Russia and into the hands of Christian families in the U.S this week, out of the over 100 originally approved. This video tells the good news. I wish I could relate…

It’s been cold here lately. I mean cold. It hit -9F before the end of November, which is cold even for Russia this time of year. Our windows look like this picture to the left. A few days later we lost our heating. What does that mean? Heating is centrally controlled here. We all have…

Since early summer I have been meeting with a group every Monday evening in our home to go through some training that has just recently become available in Russian in prayer ministry. I like prayer ministry, though not to the exclusion of other kinds of counseling (which I also teach) because it is a way…

It’s too early to spill the beans, but MIR is about to undergo some big changes, and I am excited about the potential to take the ministry to another level of effectiveness and impact in the city. Meanwhile, I’ll put out some teasers to seed vision for what is needed as we move forward with…

I should give you a better idea of what I am doing at MIR and at least a sense of what impact my efforts are having, although it is still early to see much fruit. I have been spending about a day a week there since April. My early history with MIR is recounted here.…