One of my main goals personally while on vacation in France this summer was work on an independent study project I’ve started to learn how to hear God’s voice better. The material I am using comes from Communion with God Ministries, which I have known about and promoted for years, but never actually did their…

We had not taken a real and serious vacation since moving to Russia, so we were overdue. Ministry colleagues offered us a place of theirs in the small town of St. Aignan, France, so we took it, though not sure of all we were getting. With no Internet, TV, or phone our lives were definitely…

After a year (for many in our counseling training group) of learning, practicing, and growing together, we decided it was time to get really serious, so we took of for 3 days for some intensive practice in the specific method of prayer ministry that we have been learning – theophostic prayer. Although not strictly counseling,…

Through my work at MIR that I have often written about, I got to know a ministry out of England called Love Russia. Their heads, Alex and Jacqui Cooke, have been a real blessing to us in St. Petersburg through MIR, and more recently to our family. I’ll tell you how. Most of their work…

Just as the weather starts to turn tollerable for being outdoors each year (late April) a Soviet-era tradition kicks in. It brings the city back to life after the ugliness of “muddy season” when winter is melting away, leaving the accumulation of months of littering behind. We’ve participated in the last two, and it’s really…

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…