2014 Benefit Theme

Each year, we seek the Lord for direction in choosing our annual Benefit Dinner’s theme. Sometimes we struggle to discern a direction at all; others we can’t decide among multiple options. Eventually, God does what only He can do: builds unity out of uncertainty; anticipation from anxiety; peace from panic.

Each time we recognize with the acuity of hindsight that He has carefully and precisely woven the circumstances, the timing, and our hearts, to bring us to a beautiful place. This year is yet another opportunity for praise. Our theme this year is taken from Luke 5:5-8:

“As you say… Lord!”

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My ministry here at FaithSearch is by and large behind the scenes. I’m not usually the one out front bringing the Gospel with evidence to people around the world. I produce stuff (books, DVDs, PowerPoint^® presentations, newsletters, etc.) which are used in the ministry, but I don’t always get to see or experience them in action.

On occasion, however, I am quite emphatically blessed to hear how I am intimately involved in making a difference—most often without having been previously aware of it. That’s what happened Wednesday. Continue reading →

We’re deep in the midst of preparation for our annual “Friends of FaithSearch Benefit Dinner.” This year it will be held on Saturday, April 27, at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN. I hope you’ll consider joining us. You can get full details on our Gospel with Evidence blog. You can order tickets online; PLUS if you order by March 1, you get a $5 discount.

This year we will be amazed by the illusion of Adrian Van Vactor, an old friend of FaithSearch, and a world-renowned illusionist. (Read details about Adrian’s ministry as associate evangelist for FaithSearch.) The theme for the event is “Take the sword of the Spirit,” based on Ephesians 6:17.

While we’re getting ready for this, we’re also trying to get the French translation of Surprised by Faith updated to reflect the changes made for the third edition. Please join us in praying we will be able to get the updated text translated and into the layout as quickly as possible.

Pray, too, for the ministry’s finances, and for the development of my personal support team. That’s all for now. Thanks again for your interest, prayers, and support of my ministry.

Surprised by Faith, THIRD Edition

At last! We received our shipment of the newly revised, THIRD Edition of Surprised by Faith. I’m very happy with how it turned out, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Now we will begin using it to continue proclaiming the Gospel with evidence.

For fun, here’s  a little video I made about the “birth” of the book as it comes out of the bindery.

There are new features in this edition, including:

• Updated scientific and historical evidence, particularly the analysis of the relative number of manuscripts among various recognized documents from antiquity;
• New material on the nature of faith;
• Transition material between the chapters, highlighting the “Ah-ha!” discoveries along the way. This ties the book more closely to the FaithSearch Discovery presentation, for which it is the text.

If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to do so. We hear time and again from people who say, “I wish someone had told me this earlier!” And the most common comment after our events presenting this material is, “I wish I had known how powerful and good this would be; I would have brought my friends.” Check out our calendar for an event near you, and bring your friends.

Thanks for making it possible for me to work on this and other projects here at FaithSearch.

Let it be said that it has been a busy summer. Already it’s fall: the leaves are bursting into a bright palette of color; the air is nippy at night; the kids are back in school; and the NFL season is in full swing. We at FaithSearch were on partial hours this summer to keep payroll costs down, and there was more than enough work to do during the remaining time. Now we’re back to full time, and it seems the work has expanded even more!

I just want to let you know that I’m still here and that we are still proclaiming the Gospel with evidence. Witness a couple of projects I’m slowly but surely ushering toward completion… Continue reading →