March was a packed month with so much to report. It started with our trip to California on the 2nd and the celebration of my Birthday on the 3rd. As many of you know our trip to CA had multiple objectives. The getaway and visit with our family was long overdue but the more pressing issue was Cindy’s health.
Prior to our trip Cindy had been dealing with some congestion which caused her to need oxygen over several weeks. We made an appointment with her doctor in Temecula and he gave her a pretty good report. It turns out she has been suffering from a mild virus in her lungs. The doctor prescribed an inhaler with some steroids to help her heal. He gave us strong indication that it would go away and her oxygen would go back to normal at elevation. This was great news of course and it removed any sense of urgency to have to move back to sea level—at least for the foreseeable future. So—we are good to go for Colorado.
While in CA for a little over two weeks we met with a lot of friends and family as well as some new potential donors to our ministry. While there I had the privilege of speaking to the men’s group at my old church, Water Of Life. There was also a significant number of men who joined us through Zoom as well. Three men asked the Lord into their heart and about a dozen more rededicated their lives to the Lord.
While driving back to Colorado on the 17th we actually experienced a miracle. We planned to stay the night in Flagstaff as we took the southern route to dodge weather. We forgot it was Spring break and virtually every hotel room in the area was booked. We prayed and it must have been the 12th hotel we called had a room—but—350.00 plus a non-refundable 50.00 pet fee. We were perplexed but did not think we had a choice—then the woman came back on the line and said, we do have one room we can’t really sell as the vanity light in the bathroom does not work. You can have that one for 109.00. Whoa—and no pet fee.
We arrived back home on the 18th and began working on our new plan for On Target Institute. I mentioned this in my last newsletter and I am so excited about what God is getting ready to do. Pat McGuire and I spent the better part of a day whiteboarding some powerful ideas.
Everyone please hear me, my board and advisory team all believe that God has uniquely prepared us for such a time as this. Given what we are experiencing in the complete demise of our culture, men being trained to step up as spiritual leaders in their homes and communities is critical. OTI will continue to grow men and train them for a whole new paradigm for doing church—it’s coming.
For the next week I had several meetings with perspective donors and many of our OTI Alumni to start building our team. Everyone I talked to was truly encouraging to us. One of the first efforts will be to film a documentary on OTIand many, including Pastor Steve Holt, have agreed to appear with some powerful testimonials. We also expect to have some prominent national leaders weigh in as well.
While all of this has been exciting, what happened next was off the charts. I was invited by my friend, Jerry Fristoe to join him on his drive to Kansas City to visit the International House Of Prayer (IHOP) for three days. Not having visited this ministry before, I was amazed to learn that they have had 24/7 prayer for over 20 years. They have three very large campuses, one for the prayer room, another for their training center which boasts about 20,000 graduates and then one for their church.
I had the opportunity to talk briefly with Mike Bickle, the founder, and he remembered meeting me way back in the early 90’s after moving Every Home For Christ to Colorado Springs. I was able to bring him greetings from EHCPresident Dick Eastman. What God is doing there is remarkable. I have never seen so many talented young people sold out for Jesus. They have 12 worship teams per day that take two-hour shifts for their prayer room. The level of talent and anointing was powerful.
Before arriving Jerry had put together what they call a presbytery. Three men were given only my first name and were asked to pray that God would give them some prophetic insights and encouragement when we met. Because I am speaking to a broad audience theologically here let me be clear about how I feel about the prophetic. While there has been a lot of controversary around this subject and having been personally exposed to questionable practices, I do believe that the prophetic gift exists today.
I also believe it is prudent for every Christian who receives this kind of ministry to tuck it away and ask the Holy Spirit to give spiritual witness to its validity. That has been my posture for over 40 years. Having said that let me explain what these men had to share and my sense of what it may mean. Almost everything they shared witnessed to me and lined up with what I see God doing in my life and ministry at this time. Though these men clearly did not know me they saw pictures of the past that were right on.
Perhaps the most profound vision one man had was that of a red and white barn and the number 20K. I know that sounds odd but OTI, which we are about to launch nationally was birthed in a red and white barn in the year 2000. Here is a sampling of some of the other words they shared: You are a DANGEROUS MAN for God, you’ve walked a long way and God is giving you a new pair of shoes for a new calling, you are in the game, you have a Mordecai heart and a bringing-along grace about you, you will have much favor but will also spark much jealousy, you will experience a new anointing and authority in speaking as you wait on His presence. There was so much more—I do not have time or room to share.
If you follow our ministry may I ask you to pray with Cindy and me about these words and that God will give further clarification and discernment in their interpretation. We are truly excited about our future. The highlight of the month was of course the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. It was a significant month filled with God’s great goodness culminating with the great recognition of His great gift to all of us.
I want to close by asking you to prayerfully consider helping us fund this new launch. No gift is too small. Please go to our donation page and consider making a recurring monthly gift to help re-launch OTI—help us reach men and regain our Christian heritage.