Watkiss & Tell

The American Church in Need

A New York Times article this week stated..."More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion, according to a new survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life." Click Here for Article

Americans need to have an authentic encounter with Almighty God, but can this happen in the majority of our American churches? That is a question we should be very concerned about answering. If there has ever been a day that people need a personal touch from the Master's hand, it's today! Pastors and churches must allow the Spirit of God to move in their church services to provide room for the supernatural. God desires to display His full character here on earth through His Word, through His Spirit, through His children (us), and through supernatural miracles! When the American church taps into and is focused on the greatest miracle available to the human race (Salvation), other supernatural miracles will always follow God's heartbeat for the lost! Giving up our own control of a service and being sensitive to the move of the Spirit (allowing God to move) will no doubt change these stats from this resent survey.

The Steeler Nation Loses Myron

Pittsburgh Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope works the Steelers game against the New York Jets at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, in this Dec. 12, 2004 file photo. Myron Cope, the screechy-voiced announcer whose colorful catch phrases and twirling Terrible Towel became symbols of the Pittsburgh Steelers during an unrivaled 35 seasons in the broadcast booth, died Wednesday Feb. 27, 2008 in Mount Lebanon, Pa.. He was 79. (AP Photo/Keith B. Srakocic)

Pray for our Peru Pastors' Conferences

Tomorrow we have a team of pastors and lay leaders from across the United States merging upon Lima, Peru for a week of pastoral conferences. We have a great partnership and host for these conferences with BOH and the country director of Peru. This week we will be conducting three full day conferences throughout the city of Lima which will provide training and teaching to over a thousand pastors. Partnership International's commitment to the "Peru Project" (which is a strategic plan to partner with local churches in continuation to facilitate evangelistic teams, building teams, and training conferences in the country of Peru) will help support many local churches and pastors with strong efforts to reach their country with the gospel.

Please pray for our team of pastors and lay leaders this week!

New Life

We serve a God that is the creator of NEW LIFE! About four years ago Ashley and I experienced a life changing event that impacted us in many ways. We woke up to the Beaver Falls Fire Department beating on our front door of our home on 9th Ave. in Beaver Falls, we looked out our bedroom window that morning to see a lake of water around our surrounding block. The fire department wanted to know if we had water in our basement. Of course we did! To make a long story short, we lost both of our vehicles that day along with everything in our basement due to flood/sewer waters.

The water outside on the street level was from a local creak that overflowed its banks, the water that came into our basement was from a different source...the sewer. The old sewer system in Beaver Falls had been invaded with storm water runoff and caused nasty backups into homes on our street. It was nasty to say the least!

The local news paper came to our home and interviewed me concerning our situation. I was tired and frustrated and didn't realize I had leaked a certain piece of information to the reporter until the next day on the front page of the local news paper. I told him we were concerned because Ashley was pregnant with child. What a way to announce NEW LIFE to the community and our local church family. I thought this time I would out do myself and announce it on the worldwide web!

We are expecting NEW LIFE in August of 2008! God is soooooo Good!

SOULTALK

I had a great trip and services in Memphis, TN this past week and and flew back into Pittsburgh on Thursday night. Pastor Dan (Memphis First A/G) and Pastor Adam (Collierville A/G) are great men of God and new friends for many years to come. They are both taking teams with us this year on the mission field. God continues to connect me with choice people in the kingdom week after week! Thanks guys for all you do in the greater Memphis area for the kingdom.

Tonight Ashley and I just got back from speaking at a Valentines/Missions Banquet in Irwin, PA. Ashley and I sang and we both spoke on the topic of SOULTALK. Hollow talk isolates us from our children, our spouses, our coworkers, and fellow believers. We are largely unknown, undiscovered, unmoved, and untouched, because our talk rarely reaches the soul. The teaching we did focused on going beneath the surface of relationships and communicating with the leading of the Spirit.

I will also be speaking tomorrow morning at the same church Irwin Assembly. We are looking forward to spending time with Pastor Todd & Sharon Neveu who have been at the church for over 10 years. They are a great couple doing a great work!

Heading into Tornado Valley

Tomorrow I will be flying into Memphis Tennessee for a week of services and ministry. This past week has been very difficult for many families that live in what many know as Tornado Valley. One of the hardest hit areas in Tennessee was Union University which happens to be where my wife did her under graduate work before going to Central Bible College and then to Geneva College for her masters work. Below is an interview with a student that describes what happened this week when the tornado tore through the campus at Union University.

It all happened in an instant.

"We all got into different bathrooms and the lights went out and it just completely collapsed on us," student Jordan Thompson said. Thompson and six of his closest friends were trapped beneath the rubble of their collapsed dormitory. For Thompson and his friends, the next few hours were filled with darkness and confusion. "None of us could move at all. We were all completely trapped. It was terrifying," Thompson said. Three hours later, Thompson was the first of the friends to be rescued from the debris. All of them alive. When Thompson went back to Union University in the light of day, he could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was completely surreal. I couldn't believe it," Thompson said. "It was scary to come back and see how close we were. It's a complete miracle and God really had his hands on us. And he really gave us the strength to stay with each other and encourage each other to get through that."

** Life changing moments happen in an instant! This past month the Lord has been developing a word in me that deals with having "Life Changing Moments" for the shaping of our divine destiny. I'm looking forward to a great week in Memphis, here are the three churches I will be ministering at... River of Life, Collierville A/G, and Memphis First A/G.

Groundhog Day

Here are some answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the holiday:

Yes! Punxsutawney Phil is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The others are just impostors.

How often is Phil's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!

How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking the "elixir of life," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

On February 2, Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler's Knob - in front of thousands of followers from all over the world - to predict the weather for the rest of winter.

According to legend, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

** Tomorrow morning I will be speaking at New Life Robinson (our home base church). I'm looking forward to sharing the word and connecting people to God's heartbeat for the lost.