Reflecting on the early church, one can imagine communities that, despite their imperfections, pulsed with life. In my experience, healthy churches are naturally messy because growth invites both passion and the baggage of new believers. Some challenges are clear—like overt immorality—while others hide in shame, and still others stem from cultural assumptions about privilege, leadership, and power. The most difficult issues are those we rationalize as acceptable even when we know they’re wrong. All in all, it is a glorious mess, with God actively involved, transforming those who cling to Him.

You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him… (Deut. 10:20).

Electric bikes are in Marabá!

1. Reality

I talked to a young businessman in Marabá. He’s a believer—from another denomination. I remember meeting him over a year ago when he proudly introduced his leader, standing nearby. Out of curiosity, I asked how his leader—a seasoned church planter and person in their group, also his brother-in-law—was doing. His response was unexpected: “Oh, he left my sister. She was his fourth wife,” and he made the quotation marks gesture. He added, “He is now with another lady. He still speaks in [their group] churches, though, because the gifts of God are without repentance.” I understood he thought that since the gifts are not conditional to moral behavior, it was okay or even good to keep using them.

My friend obviously loves God. And he has a strong prophetic gift. But now he feels his church undervalues his gift, and he’s also struggling. I want to keep our friendship open so that God can use me when the time is right. 

2. Vision

Our collective dream, and God’s, is for us to be transformed into His image—equipping us to reign and rule in the age to come. Consider these promises:

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones… many who are first will be last; and the last, first’” (Mt. 19:28-30).

“You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth” (Rev. 5:10).

How do we actively transform so our behavior and attitudes match God’s desire for us?

3. Challenge

It’s tempting to surround ourselves only with “people like us,” a small, dedicated congregation that feels predictable and safe. However, individuals in this “holy” group often hide their personal struggles or, worse, are unaware of them. In contrast, engaging with a mixed group exposes us to a messy, diverse spectrum of ethical and moral challenges. Here, temptations abound, and even though justifications for unacceptable attitudes may arise, admitting struggles is acceptable because learning and transformation are expected.

I recall hearing John Wimber on a cassette tape 30 years ago, advising pastors—those who longed for spiritual growth—to understand that “The meat is in the street.” I understood he meant that deeper spiritual growth happens less in a church building and more out where life is messy and real. As Hebrews 5:12-14 reminds us:

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (KJV, Heb. 5:14).

We practice spiritual maturing (the meat of the Word) by transforming from those who are influenced to becoming the influencers.

4. Solution

Jesus never promised that the journey would not have scary elements.

“Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves” (Luke 10:3).

We practice our “lamb superpowers” by hanging out with wolves. Jesus is known as a friend of gluttons, heavy drinkers, tax collectors, and sinners (Luke 7:34). He remains centered in His identity, unaffected by the chaos around Him. Jesus’ instructions were ramped up to a whole new level when He moved from servant leaders to slave leaders. Is that even possible?

“But it is not this way among you; rather, whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant; and whoever wants to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:43-45).

NOTE: We need to be careful with the idea of losing self and letting others dominate us. If you are in danger, please get professional help. But we also remember that spiritual growth through adversity is on the path to influential leadership.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” ( 1 Pt. 1:6-7).

5. Action

This week, consider actively observing your emotional responses. When you feel a negative emotion rising, pause and reflect:

•    What triggered the emotions?
•    When did they first form, and were they once helpful?
•    Are they still serving you, or is the Holy Spirit using a situation to train you?

Allow these moments to guide you in your journey. Embracing the servant-leader or even the slave-leader mindset transforms the perspective of mature believers—turning adversaries into unexpected allies God uses to refine the character of His close friends so that He can entrust them with greater privileges and responsibilities.

Do you think this makes sense?

Your thoughts?

Lucy, Paul, and Ellis – The cost of us being missionaries increased significantly. Thankfully, they are all thriving.

Paul and Lucy are amazed at their dad’s stories when he comes home from work. Can you see this dynamic in new believers? At first, they think their new community is amazing. As they mature, they want to be known as individuals with different ideas. The church leaders (and the parents) must change their leadership style appropriately, or things will escalate… I love these photos!

A great gift from God is the capacity to fully enjoy each stage of life—to be fully present and appreciative.

These mangos are on a different schedule than the other varieties of mangos in our yard. Right now, they are still as hard as wood. They change from green to pink to purple to red. We pick them when they are purple and let them ripen the last little bit in the house for the best results.

God created a great variety of flowers to surprise us in the most unexpected ways.

One of my first tasks upon returning to Brazil was to make 6 more liters of sauerkraut.

May God give you the best week ever!

How God Leads Through Detours and Delays

We like to think we know how God should work in our life and in our people’s lives. We assume God wants us to map out best choices, right priorities, and logical steps. But time and time again, I’ve learned that God’s path is frequently unpredictable—and it often defies our expectations.

Take the story of a mother in our community, trapped in addiction. Everyone thought they knew the answer: just quit drinking. But nothing helped longterm—until something unexpected happened.

1. A Mother’s Journey to Freedom

In our neighborhood, there was a woman trapped in alcoholism. But it wasn’t just her struggle—her children suffered, her boyfriend suffered, and their home was a battleground of addiction and despair. The cycle repeated like a broken record, each attempt at change swallowed by old patterns.

For example, one evening, the pastor of our church called me. Her boyfriend had shown up at the church, a bottle of hard liquor in hand, distraught and drinking. He reminded the pastor that once upon a time, he had done the same thing—stumbling into church drunk, before his life turned around and he became a pastor himself. But tonight, it was a disruption. The pastor didn’t want him drinking in the church.

I brought the man back to our house to hear his story. As we sat together, he lifted his shirt, revealing a vivid fresh wound. “She stabbed me,” he said, referring to his girlfriend—the mother referred to above. The wound had been inflicted with a large kitchen knife, driven straight into one of his middle ribs. His rib protected him.

“She shouldn’t have done that,” he told me. I asked him what happened, which is another whole story, but this was their life—chaotic, wounded, and raw.

And yet, even in the mess, God was still at work.

She started coming to our church, bringing her children along, hoping for a fresh start. She prayed, she received prayer, she wanted change. But no matter how much she tried, the addiction always pulled her back in.

Our young church leaders saw her struggle and asked Deanna to talk to her about quitting drinking. But nothing changed long term. No intervention, no conversation, no prayer seemed to break the stronghold.

Another time her children came running to get us—their mom had collapsed, unconscious.

When we reached her, it was clear this wasn’t just about alcohol. She was spiritually oppressed. We prayed, rebuked what was tormenting her, and suddenly, she woke up just long enough to say, “I will never forgive my mom. She abandoned me.” Then she passed out again.

I carried her to a bed and stayed to talk with her boyfriend when he returned home. We talked about her past, her pain, and the deep wounds that still gripped her.

Then one morning, everything shifted.

Through Deanna’s encouragement, she reached out to her mother, who lived in another state. She made the difficult choice to forgive, and in doing so, she was set free—not just spiritually but, we found out over time, from the alcoholism that had enslaved her.

In time, she moved South to be near her mother, taking her seven children with her. The last I heard, she was part of a church and studying at a university.

Her journey didn’t follow our plan, fit our timeline, or expectations, but God knew exactly what needed to happen.

• Unexpected Transformations

This wasn’t the only time I’ve seen God work in ways I couldn’t predict.

I remember a men’s group around 2002. The picture captured a circle of men—many of them the town drunks and rough characters from our neighborhood.

Looking at that group back then, no one could have predicted what would happen next. Some of those men, the ones others had written off, went on to become senior pastors and church planters. They turned their lives around and became leaders in their communities. But others—including one who never missed a church meeting, who seemed strong in their faith—ended up in tragedy.

We can never fully see what God is doing in someone’s life. We assume we know who will make it and who won’t. But God’s plan isn’t always apparent.

The Heroes of the Bible: Different Paths, Same Destination

Faith isn’t a one-size-fits-all journey. The heroes of the Bible matured in their faith in various ways, each shaped by unique struggles, lessons, and encounters with God.

• Joseph was the favored son, but life humbled him. Betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and unjustly imprisoned, he learned to trust God in the unseen and the unfair.
• David was the overlooked son, left tending sheep while his brothers fought in battle. Yet, he learned courage, faith, and obedience in the wilderness—slaying giants before he ever wore a crown.
• Daniel was a captive in a foreign land, torn from his home and culture. Yet, instead of despairing, he leaned entirely on God, thriving in faith despite the pressures of a hostile world.
• The disciples each had their struggles before they followed Jesus. Fishermen, tax collectors, skeptics, and zealots—they had to unlearn their ways before they could truly walk in His.
• Even Jesus Himself was “perfected through suffering.” As Hebrews 5:8-9 tells us:

“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.”

My Journey: From Strength to Surrender

I was strong, capable, and determined to carve my own path in my youth. In His wisdom, God allowed me to run as far as I could on my own strength before stepping in to rescue me. Only from a place of humility did I begin my real lessons in faith.

That sense of “I can do this”—as if God is lucky to have me on His team—is a heavy burden. It blinded me to my need for grace and kept me from truly seeing others with compassion. But my struggles in young adulthood, while painful, became the very thing that shaped me. They stripped away pride and gave me the gift of charity and humility—the ability to see others through the same lens of grace that God had extended to me.

The lesson remains the same regardless of the path: God knows how to shape us. He knows what we need to break free from self-reliance and learn true obedience. And in the end, no journey is wasted when it leads us closer to Him.

• Servant Leadership and Trusting God’s Process

God’s ways are not linear. We don’t see the whole picture. But the best thing we can do is walk alongside people on their journey—encouraging, praying, and trusting that God is leading them, even when His plan looks different from what we expect.

At the end of the day, our job isn’t to control someone’s transformation—it’s to be faithful in loving, serving, and pointing them to Jesus.

Three Takeaways for Facing Life’s Challenges:

1. Healing often starts in the heart. Real change happens when deep wounds are addressed—sometimes, forgiveness unlocks freedom.
2. Not everyone’s path looks the same. Some who seem lost end up leading others, while some who appear strong struggle behind closed doors. Trust God’s process.
3. God calls us to walk alongside, not control. Our job isn’t to fix people—it’s to encourage, support, and believe that God is working, even when we don’t see it yet.

No matter where you are on your journey, God’s plan for you is unfolding—even if it looks different from what you expected.

The same is true for your adult children, siblings, and neighbors…for your people.

How do you present as a spiritual person and a servant leader while giving those around you the space to mature in God’s timing? How do you find the balance?