“Declare Your Testimony into Your Approaching Future” by Garris Elkins

I am tucked away in a lodge outside of Bend, Oregon on a writing retreat.  For the last three days I have been assembling and editing my personal God-experiences and testimonies, an exercise I have been encouraged by the Lord to do over the last two years.

For three days I have been reading again the personal words, testimonies and stories of God’s interaction with me over my lifetime.  Revisiting these words and their accompanying testimonies has overwhelmed me with the faithfulness and presence of God.

One morning on this writing retreat, the Lord awakened me before sunrise to sit and pray in front of the fireplace.  As the flames danced before me in the early morning darkness, the Lord began to speak. “Have My people assemble their testimonies about Me and begin to declare them into their approaching future.”

As I heard this instruction from the Lord, I immediately saw an image.  It was an image of an advancing army of believers. The weapons they carried were not rifles or spears. They carried testimony.  As they advanced declaring their individual testimonies, the enemy strongholds embedded in their future were being destroyed by the power of their words. 

I saw these followers of Jesus holding simple sheets of paper before their faces reading the words of their testimonies as they walked forward.  The words went out with such force that they struck the waiting armies of darkness like powerful exploding rockets.  I saw entire encampments of demonic forces explode and come apart from the impact of these words of testimony.

The release of the miraculous power that was now present was the same power that created the testimony in the first place.  It was now being released again with the same force into the future. The anointing that empowered the original testimonies was now fully present in these future battles. 

In this vision, I was reminded that as we speak words of testimony into our approaching future, words that define and proclaim God’s faithfulness in our past, the weapons formed against us that wait in our future will be destroyed. Lies attached to a foreboding image of our future will lose their ability to prosper.

Like Joshua and the people of Israel, everything God had promised came to pass. God had promised that Israel would have victory and rest, possessing and dwelling in a land of promise.

Joshua 21:45 says, “Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel.  All came to pass.”  This confidence in God to fulfill what He promised was repeated by Joshua at the end of his life in his farewell address.  Joshua repeated these same words, declaring his personal testimony and reminding the people, “…not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” (23:14)

We can rise up in the same confidence Joshua possessed and declare our testimony.  Today, assemble the words of God’s faithfulness from your past and begin to speak them into your future.  We were not given these testimonies to remember them only as documents of history.  These words have been given to us as supernatural weapons to send out into our approaching future. 

As the power of our testimony is released, we will arrive on future battlefields and find the enemy lying in ruins upon our arrival. These will be places of victory where the only weapon discharged will have been words of faith spoken in a personal testimony of God’s faithfulness.

“End with the Beginning in Mind” by Garris Elkins

In the late 1980’s and early 90’s many pastors in America hung out in the business section of their local bookstore.  In those aisles stuffed with business knowledge were books that drew their titles from subjects like swimming with sharks, searching for excellence, creating wealth and a one-minute approach to business, health and everything else. All the titles were verb-oriented. We all wanted to get things moving.

One book that stood out, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, was written by Stephen Covey. Covey helped guide people into more productive lives.  Most of us read the book and implemented its concepts into our personal lives and ministries.  Covey’s points made sense. For many years these principles served us well and still do in some circumstances.

There are many life-plan programs out there. Covey is now one among many. What I have come to realize about life-plans is that they work long-term if they are built upon a word from God.  The development of a plan must follow a word of revelation that is only available from God by His Spirit.  If the plan is to work it must rest on revelation. In the middle of the night when doubt and fear come visiting, it will be the word, and not a plan, that will bring us comfort.

One of Covey’s classic lines was, “Begin with the end in mind.”  Stephen Covey asked us to imagine the finished product before we began to create a plan to make our vision a reality. With that finished product in mind we would then return to the present moment and create and define measurable steps of a process that would lead us to the realization of our desired goal.

While Covey was right about developing a plan, there is something going on in my heart that is shifting the process around.  Many of us have done life and ministry for a long time and we are looking for a jump-start to reignite our vision and calling.  We want a plan to finish well. 

To finish well requires that we make adjustments now for a strong finish later.  This way of planning for a strong finish has us start with the beginning, not the end, in mind. Some of us will need recapture our beginning if we are going to experience fruitfulness in our ending.

Several years ago, I was in Indianapolis for a training event and had the pleasure of having lunch with Dr. Bob Logan. Bob is well known in church circles for developing leadership training and church planting materials that are considered some of the best around.

During one of the lunch breaks, I sat at a table with Bob and several others. As the lunch conversation continued I asked a question. “Bob, what advice do you give to individuals or organizations who have plateaued or are in decline – how do you help them get moving again?” I asked this question knowing that Bob is very gifted in evaluating the effectiveness of individuals and corporations and his advice is utilized with great confidence.

Bob's answer was interesting. He said, “The first thing I ask is this, 'What was your original vision.'” He went on to say that most leaders are able to recite their vision in great detail. Bob would then ask a set of questions to determine if the leaders were still functioning in their original vision. Within plateaued or declining corporations and ministries there was a common reality - each one had stopped doing the very thing that brought them success in the first place. They had ceased doing their original vision.

Bob then shared a deep nugget of truth with me, “Each time someone rediscovered their original vision, and began to do it once again, in each case, without exception, they began to move forward and grow.”

When those words of wisdom were shared, I sat there wonderfully stunned by what I just heard. The lunch conversation continued to move around the table, but I was still processing the words, “in each case, without exception”.

When God does an original work in our lives there is more going on than something new and refreshing. In these times foundations are being built and vision is being cast. Those first few years when God is doing an original work in our lives is the place where He develops and defines the DNA structure that will carry us into the future towards a fruitful end. Most of the decisions I make today are sourced in the original truth and wisdom I learned in my first few years of ministry. 

My wife and I had a recent discussion about our years in ministry. The times of personal renewal and redirection that have taken place over the last 30 years have always centered on the rediscovery of that original DNA and reengaging it.

At this point in our lives we are living out those basic truths in deeper and wider applications that many years of service can bring. Our vision for life and ministry may be deeper and wider now in its application, but it is all based on the original truth revealed to us in those early years of our calling.

What did God give you as a vision or direction when you first began your journey of faith? Are you doing that now? If not, chances are your life and ministry has either plateaued or is in decline. You might be scrambling around for a new word or some fresh concept to grasp. Maybe your answer for a jump-start is already in your life and simply needs to be revisited, redefined and reengaged. Go back to the beginning and take a new look at that original word, embrace its truth and new life will begin to flow once again.

“If You Learn to Love this One – I will Send you More” by Garris Elkins

As young church planters, Jan and I knew very little about what it meant to plant a church.  We had a calling and a measure of faith and that was all. When we entered the ministry very little was available in resource materials on how to plant a church. I think our early ministry embodied the phrase, “winging it.”

When we arrived in Kalispell, Montana we set up our home and then I went around town trying to find a place to hold our church services.  If we were to do it all over again we would have started in our home, but this was the model for church planting in our day.

I found a local hotel called the Outlaw Inn.  The Outlaw Inn had rooms to rent so I secured a room to seat 50 people and had the chairs set up for our first public service. They gave us the Colt 45 room.  I revisited that room a few years ago and wept as I pondered all that God has done in our lives since our awkward start. 

For the next six weeks we never knew where we would set up each Sunday for our church services.  The hotel could see we weren’t happening so they moved us around to whatever room was available. We would arrive early on Sunday mornings and check in with the front desk to find out our newly assigned room.

For the following six weeks, as we were moved from room to room, we had only one person attending our meetings.  Her name was Gladys.  Gladys looked to be in her late 60’s.  She had lived a rough life.  She couldn’t drive so our church meeting, located just across the street from her home, was a good match for her needs.

Gladys liked to have a nip of gin each morning.  Looking back, I think Gladys was a lonely and functioning alcoholic. For the six weeks our church met in the Outlaw Inn, Gladys faithfully sat next to my wife, Jan, on the front row with my two kids as the remaining 46 empty chairs stared back at me while I led worship (Acapella - without instruments) and preached the Word.

At the end of each service this dear little drunk lady would walk up to me, look up into my face and as she exhaled her gin-infused breath into my face would say, “Thank you, Pastor.  I needed to hear that.”

As I look back on those words of thanks I can appreciate them now at many different levels.  I did not appreciate them at the time. At that time in my life I had a vision of ministry success that did not include empty chairs and drunk people.

About four weeks into our church planting adventure, I felt like an utter failure.  In my naivety I believed that if you mixed enough faith with a passion to plant a church one would magically appear. It didn’t and I began to get depressed.

At week four I asked God why all of this was happening.  Why are only drunk Gladys and my wife and kids showing up? Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “If you learn to love this one, I will send you more.”

Two weeks later we had enough of the revolving meeting room issue and decided to move the “church” into our home.  Within weeks a trickle of new faces began to arrive on our doorstep and growth began.

I never saw Gladys after we moved.  She either disappeared or we simply lost contact with her.  Of all the great things I have had the privilege to learn over my 30-plus years of ministry, what God taught me through Gladys is one of the most profound. “If you learn to love this one, I will send you more.”

I needed to learn how to love. I thought I knew how to love people until God sent me Gladys.  God can only entrust the precious lives of people He loves to shepherds who will love them as well. 

“What I Learned from the Berlin Airlift” by Garris Elkins

Living in Berlin, Germany brought to me many memorable moments.  One of those moments took place because of a decision I made to stop and buy some fruit.

After World War II, the Soviets were one of the major powers to occupy postwar Berlin along with the United States, Britain and France.  Berlin was sectioned off and became a divided city.  East Berlin reflected the drab oppression of Communism.  West Berlin was like a colorful garden-island of freedom.  After the Berlin Wall came down in 1989 it was like the surrounding pond of oppression was drained away leaving the beautiful island of West Berlin standing for the world to see. Even into the late 1990’s, when Jan and I lived in Berlin, this contrast still lingered in some neighborhoods.

In 1998, the 50^th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift was celebrated in Berlin.  The Berlin Airlift was an aerial supply line used to bring food and supplies to the residents of isolated West Berlin after the Soviets cut off supply lines in an attempt to gain a deeper hold on the city.

At the time the airlift began, in the summer of 1948, the people of West Berlin only had 36 days of food on hand and a small supply of coal. Feeding the two million residents of the city would require that 1,534 tons of food and 3,475 tons of coal be flown into the city each day. To accommodate this massive airlift flights would take off every four minutes, around the clock, seven days a week to bring food into the city. It was a massive and merciful undertaking.

That day in 1998, when I stopped to buy fruit, was like any other in my daily routine in Berlin.  I had business downtown and used the S-Bahn to commute into the heart of the city.  On my return, my last S-Bahn stop was in our neighborhood of Lictherfelde.  Under the train platform was a small kiosk where a vendor sold fruit. 

As I stood in front of the fruit stand a man approached who looked to be in his 70’s.  When he asked to buy some fruit from the vendor I could tell from how he spoke that he was an American, so I introduced myself. 

After we exchanged introductions, he told me that he was in Berlin to attend the 50^th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.  He was one of the pilots who flew those daring and dangerous missions. He had been invited to come and be honored for his service to the nation.

Many pilots who flew the Berlin Airlift lost their lives flying missions that took place in the most challenging weather conditions. Today, in Berlin a monument stands honoring the 39 British and 31 American pilots who lost their lives flying those dangerous airlift flights. These were brave men.

One of the things the pilot shared with me was something called, “Operation Little Vittles”. Operation Little Vittles was created by the pilots as a way to shower the children of Berlin with candy and gum.  The pilots put together miniature parachutes with candy and gum attached and tossed them out of their aircraft as they flew over the city. Hundreds of children would run to the landing zones of these little parachutes and taste candy and gum that had become a very rare treat in post-war Germany.

The Berlin Airlift was such an operational success and political humiliation that it forced the Soviets and East German Communists to eventually lift the blockade on the city.  Shortly after midnight on May 12, 1949 the blockade of Berlin ended.

The mission of these brave pilots speaks to me of what I see as part of the mission of the Church.  Many lives in our communities are walled off behind works of darkness and God has given His Church a calling to bring life to those who struggle behind those barriers. The Church is their only hope.

As I pondered what these pilots accomplished, I was amazed that amidst the technical flying skills required of them, they added a creative component to their mission by dropping candy on the hungry children of Berlin.

So much of what I have found myself involved with over the last 30 years of serving the Church has been the tedious part of my calling – the business of ministry. God wants us to be faithful to do all the things we need to do to get the job done. This is part of being faithful to our calling. I have also learned that we are never to get so involved in the rescue of souls, and the business of ministry, that we can’t find a way to drop candy on those we are called to rescue.  I think it is important to God that joy is part of the rescue plan.

“Social Media and Words for this Season” by Garris Elkins

Social media can be a powerful tool when used properly. Along with a Facebook account, I also have a Twitter account.  I am coming to appreciate Twitter more because it forces me to be concise.  Twitter only allows 140 characters for a user to craft a sentence. This concise space requirement has produced millions of proverbial quotes coming from millions of users around the world.

In the last year, Twitter has been used on the ground in social conflicts to inform international news agencies of the latest up-to-the-moment developments. In the recent cultural upheaval in the Middle East, Twitter was a powerful tool used to keep the world informed.

The Lord asked me to review the last month of my Twitter feeds. As I reviewed the month of September, I saw a trend. It was like I was reading something formed like the Book of Proverbs, where the short single sentences seemed to be drawing from a larger word the Lord was speaking.

As I reviewed these Twitter comments, I noticed that some of what the Lord had given me pertains to what is taking place in the American culture during our current election cycle and in other nations where social change is taking place.  

As you read this collection of words that form a larger word, ask the Spirit for wisdom for personal application and ask Him how to live in these times as His prophetic voice of hope to your family, your city and your nation.

“I am convinced that in our current world situation the Church must walk in a fresh prophetic revelation in order to find its way.”

“After the election God will still be on the Throne. After the recession He will still be our provider. After nations vanish He will remain.”

“The longer I walk with Jesus the more I realize some issues that used to concern me have now been placed on the shelf of insignificance.”

“Don't trade your anointing for a political position.”

“When the Spirit falls on a community or a nation He is not required to fall into our narrowly defined religious boundaries and preferences.”

“Losing interest is not always a negative. Losing interest can be a work of the Spirit shifting our focus from the old towards something new.”

“Don't allow the drama of culture to draw you away from the peace of God.”

“The danger of labeling people is that once we label anyone we eliminate them from the conversation. Labels mark the end of thinking.”

“Our most honest responses to life are given when we realize that no person or institution has anything we need to be happy or complete.”

“Political parties and gallows both have platforms. Be careful where you stand - both can hang you if you trust them to save you.”

“An election cycle will reveal our eschatology.”

“Prophesy to the problem - preach to the solution”.

“Jesus method of correction was through image-casting. The Pharisees method was through stone-casting.”

“Resist the demand to become a mouthpiece for anyone except the Holy Spirit.”

“A sense of freedom comes when those who oppose us no longer have anything to offer us in exchange for our opinion.”

“In Jesus' day the political spirit swirled throughout the culture trying to draw Him into their arguments about their inferior kingdom.”

“Jesus moved forward through the seams of culture and politics only giving them attention when honor was required. A good choice for us today.”

"Getting Stung" by Garris Elkins

Most of us have been stung - by bees and by people.  Both experiences hurt.

Just the other day, I was riding my scooter home from the church office. I came to a tricky intersection where I would need both hands on the handlebars to safely make the turn.  Just as I began to accelerate out into the intersection, a bee flew up the back of my helmet and stung me.  In thousands of miles on various two-wheel vehicles this was a first.  

As the bee began to auger his sharp stinger into the back of my head, I so wanted to reach around and swat him.  If I had tried to swat the bee I would have lost control and put myself in greater jeopardy. I held onto to the controls with both hands and endured the trauma.

The next day, I thought of the various times people have stung me.  It happens to all of us.  A hurtful word or an unkind action can sting. Our first impulse reaction to a sting can get us in more trouble than the sting itself.  

Maybe you have someone who has really stung you and your response was less than perfect.  Try this - the next time you get stung by someone, keep both hands on your spiritual handlebars (Wisdom) and allow God (Trust) to download a better response. In the end, the venom of the sting will have less impact because the healing presence of God was allowed to counteract the poison and bring healing.

“The Big Shot Pastor” by Garris Elkins

When our kids were in grade school we pastored a wonderful church on the coast of Oregon.  The coast culture is a great place to live. We still look back on those years with great warmth and affection.

Shortly after we arrived, we sensed that God was beginning to do something new in the church. The newness was not because Jan and I were now leading the church. The new thing happening was because God had decided to do something new and we just happened to be leading the church when God began revealing Himself in a special way.

After one Sunday service the sanctuary was filled to overflowing and the worship team had just led us into a wonderful experience with the presence of the Lord. After I preached the Word a woman ran up to me and said the words every pastor loves to hear – “Pastor, this is a revival!”  I was elated to say the least.

On the way home my then 8 year-old-son, David, asked to ride shotgun with dad up in the front seat.  Jan smiled and sat in the back with our daughter, Anna. As soon as we pulled out of the church parking lot, I began to talk about how powerful the Sunday morning service had been.  I talked about everything in great detail. I was on fire. 

After I had gone on and on about the morning service my son, with his sweet freckled 8 year-old-face beaming up at me, tried to ask a question.  I cut him off like he was an interruption to The Big Shot Pastor who was now talking about all the wonderful things God had done that day.

After we traveled a block or two I looked over to make sure my son heard my correction and I saw the tears in his eyes.  The once joyful face of my little buddy was now broken and downcast.  His eyes brimmed with tears that soon released and began to roll down his face.

I glanced back at the road to get my bearings and then looked back at my son and realized I had done something terribly wrong.   Then David spoke.  As he looked into my eyes he said, “Dad, I think you need to go away somewhere and find out why each time I try to talk to you, you get mad at me.” Then he turned away from me.

In that moment, I felt like the largest lineman in the NFL had just gut-punched me. I felt shame and sorrow come over me like an intense blanket of heat.  I felt I had destroyed this precious little guy who had brought me such joy in his eight short years.

It was like time went into slow motion.  My foot came off the accelerator and I slowly steered the car to the curb and turned off the motor. As I looked over at David he still had his face turned away from me pressed against the rain-soaked windshield.  I began talking to the back of his head.

“David, you are more important to me that any church service.  I love you and realize that I just hurt you.  I am so sorry, son.  Please forgive me and give me a chance to never do that again.”

David is a man of mercy and wisdom – he has always carried those two gifts.  Even from his childhood, and now as a full-grown man, he has extended mercy to those around him.  As parents, when we thought we had a situation all figured out, David would add that one piece of wisdom that would give us a deeper Kingdom-understanding.  David is a man after God’s own heart.

When I finished speaking my four sentences of repentance, David turned towards me with a gentle smile and said, “I forgive you, dad.”  Those words still ring in my heart to this day and are some of the most impacting words anyone has ever spoken to me.  We hugged each other.  I started the car and we continued our ride home for Sunday lunch. Jan and Anna wisely remained silent in the backseat throughout the entire incident and listened to God at work between a father and his son.

I learned something that day. As wonderful as what God would do in any circumstance, those wonderful works never take priority over people.  Jesus came and died for people, not great church services or great life accomplishments.

Twenty-five years ago, the day I failed miserably as a father, is a day I will always cherish.  When I think of my failure, I can still see my son’s smiling face looking up at me and I can still hear his tender words, “I forgive you, Dad.”  One of the most impacting church services I have ever experienced took place in the sanctuary of parked car on the streets of Newport, Oregon twenty-five years ago.