Author: sethbarnes

Is evil impacting those you love?

Written by sethbarnes on August 6, 2024. Posted in Fighting your enemy. 6 Comments on Is evil impacting those you love?

Are there people in your life who are struggling? I have so many friends who are currently in a struggle that feels overwhelming to them. My typical response after listening to...

Certainty or Ambiguity – Which is Better?

Written by sethbarnes on July 31, 2024. Posted in Better Living. 3 Comments on Certainty or Ambiguity – Which is Better?

The attempted assassination of Trump brought clarity for some people and ambiguity for others. Many Trump followers may not like his platform, but they like his certainty on issues....

What an Ordinary Hero Looks Like

Written by sethbarnes on July 23, 2024. Posted in Courage. 3 Comments on What an Ordinary Hero Looks Like

“We were near the front lines in Kherson, Ukraine. A massive explosion went off next door. Windows shattered, and debris landed all around us. In shock, I jumped up and ran...

We Need a Journey

Written by sethbarnes on July 21, 2024. Posted in Journeys. 3 Comments on We Need a Journey

Recently I wrote a blog suggesting that if we want to change our life, maybe what we need is a journey. But the reality is, even if we don’t want to change, we all need a...

Trusting the 11th Hour God

Written by sethbarnes on July 17, 2024. Posted in Faith & risk. 6 Comments on Trusting the 11th Hour God

This week, once again God is reminding me to depend on him in the 11th hour. I’m on the hook to follow through on a promise my team has made and I don’t know how I’m...

A Journey May be What You Need to Change Your Life

Written by sethbarnes on July 12, 2024. Posted in Journeys. 2 Comments on A Journey May be What You Need to Change Your Life

This morning I’m on a train ride from Sorrento to the Rome airport after 11 days doing things that were stretching and often surprising. I’m so glad I went. I’m...

Getting Lost on Purpose & Testing God

Written by sethbarnes on July 1, 2024. Posted in Journeys. No Comments on Getting Lost on Purpose & Testing God

It was 2012. A group of us were sitting in our living room. Teri, Rebecca, Lily and Lisa were going on a journey to see if what Jesus promised his disciples was still true. They’d...

The Collaborators in Your Life

Written by sethbarnes on June 23, 2024. Posted in Community and Covenant. No Comments on The Collaborators in Your Life

In wartime, being discovered as a collaborator can mean certain death. It means you’re helping the enemy. In business, projects need collaborators. The visionary to conceive...

International Refugee Day is Today

Written by sethbarnes on June 20, 2024. Posted in Refugees & Crisis. 2 Comments on International Refugee Day is Today

I was flying home and turned on the movie The Good Lie – a story about refugees from Sudan moving to Canada. The movie moved me. I was sitting there in my seat with tears...

5 Steps to Grow in Self-Awareness

Written by sethbarnes on June 19, 2024. Posted in Identity issues. No Comments on 5 Steps to Grow in Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is not just knowing yourself. It’s knowing yourself relative to other people. It’s knowing yourself in the context of your setting. Not just how do the...

Ryan’s Healing at a Bill Johnson Conference

Written by sethbarnes on June 17, 2024. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 7 Comments on Ryan’s Healing at a Bill Johnson Conference

Healing is real. Here’s a story about it. As I’ve reviewed 18 years of God working through racers and the World Race, I came across this story from 2007 and thought...

Learning Vulnerable Leadership

Written by sethbarnes on June 13, 2024. Posted in Vulnerable Leadership. 2 Comments on Learning Vulnerable Leadership

Yesterday I was on a zoom call with a team that is facing challenges. To start the meeting, I could have focused on their mistakes. But I had pulled the team together and I should...

7 Reasons Westerners Struggle as Missionaries

Written by sethbarnes on June 3, 2024. Posted in Missions. 5 Comments on 7 Reasons Westerners Struggle as Missionaries

John Allen Chau had a dream founded in a desire to bring hope to people who needed it. And who can’t get behind the idea of bringing hope to needy people? That’s a righteous...

The Blind See and the Lame Walk

Written by sethbarnes on June 1, 2024. Posted in Story telling. 1 Comment on The Blind See and the Lame Walk

On the first World Race Chad Mast had never seen God heal before. What he saw God do amazed him. Here is his original post. The Blind See and the Lame Walk, May 2007 “The blind...

Nosi Shows Us God’s Heart for His Kids

Written by sethbarnes on May 25, 2024. Posted in Eswatini / Swaziland, Orphans. 3 Comments on Nosi Shows Us God’s Heart for His Kids

18 years ago, during an AIM staff retreat, God spoke to me. I had been fasting 19 days and was sitting in a pew in the back. Clint Bokelman was leading worship up front. Julie...

Racers on a Bus From Montenegro to Istanbul

Written by sethbarnes on May 22, 2024. Posted in Journeys, World Race. 1 Comment on Racers on a Bus From Montenegro to Istanbul

We need to trust young people with adventure and purpose. We were all born looking for adventure and purpose. Young men especially need a journey of initiation. That’s one...

Radical: The Most Impactful Movie of the Last Year

Written by sethbarnes on May 17, 2024. Posted in Innovation. 3 Comments on Radical: The Most Impactful Movie of the Last Year

I was on a flight earlier this year and found myself watching the movie Radical. It sucked me into its true story of a teacher in a failed school in Matamoros, Mexico in 2012. Before...

Are You Anxious? The World is Much Better Than We Realize

Written by sethbarnes on May 14, 2024. Posted in A broken world. 2 Comments on Are You Anxious? The World is Much Better Than We Realize

Is it the best of times or the worst of times? Wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Tensions with China. Skyrocketing debt loads. Global warming. Politicians who seem corrupt and may end up...

Stunned By God’s Power – A Testimony

Written by sethbarnes on May 9, 2024. Posted in Story telling. 3 Comments on Stunned By God’s Power – A Testimony

Some stories should have made the Top 10 list. Here’s one. The God Taryn Neurohr knew before the race became so much bigger in South Asia. She knew the God of “right doctrine”...

Wisdom from a 98 Year Old Man of God

Written by sethbarnes on May 6, 2024. Posted in Better Living. 2 Comments on Wisdom from a 98 Year Old Man of God

The following is from a pastor in Atlanta. He’s 98 years old and lives in an assisted living center. He has cancer that has metastasized, is blind in one eye, has neuropathy...

Jayson Was Dying and Katie Prayed

Written by sethbarnes on May 3, 2024. Posted in Wounded healers. 1 Comment on Jayson Was Dying and Katie Prayed

One of the things that I love most about the World Race is that it exposes racers to the world’s pain and gives them an opportunity to try and make a difference. Often, just...

98 Year-Old Walks Through Battle Zone to Safety

Written by sethbarnes on May 2, 2024. Posted in Story telling. 3 Comments on 98 Year-Old Walks Through Battle Zone to Safety

Lidia Lomikovska, a 98-year-old Ukrainian woman escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking 6 miles alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane. She is a testimony...

Clint’s Dream About God’s Jacket

Written by sethbarnes on April 29, 2024. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 7 Comments on Clint’s Dream About God’s Jacket

Photo by Marcus Spiske Clint Bokelman was speaking to a group of Salvation Army staff in Atlanta. He shared a dream he had with them. “In my dream I saw God. His face was as bright...

Here’s a Better Semester Abroad Trip

Written by sethbarnes on April 25, 2024. Posted in Journeys. 2 Comments on Here’s a Better Semester Abroad Trip

I remember as a college student, one of my best semesters at Wheaton College wasn’t at Wheaton College. It was a semester abroad. I was 19 and full of curiosity. When my semester...