Author: Seth Barnes

We are becoming old wineskins

Written by Seth Barnes on June 5, 2007. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 6 Comments on We are becoming old wineskins

I just turned 49. Somewhere in my 40’s, I looked in the mirror and an aging man with thinning hair and crow’s feet peered back at me. Somewhere along the line,...

Failed AIDS policies

Written by Seth Barnes on June 4, 2007. Posted in Poverty. 10 Comments on Failed AIDS policies

I’m here in Swaziland for almost a month. There is an insidious policy being pushed by ignorant people that has me hopping mad because it is killing so many people...

Ministry professionals bowing at the tree of knowledge

Written by Seth Barnes on June 3, 2007. Posted in Better Living. 2 Comments on Ministry professionals bowing at the tree of knowledge

God gave Adam two options and He gives us the same two options. At the tree of life you get fulfillment. At the tree of knowledge, the question “why?” never has a satisfactory...

You need to fight for purity

Written by Seth Barnes on June 2, 2007. Posted in Parenting. 2 Comments on You need to fight for purity

“To the pure, all things are pure.” Titus 1:15 Somewhere along the line, we failed to draw a line. It’s not fashionable in a fuzzy, postmodern world to talk about...

My 12 most transformative books (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on June 1, 2007. Posted in Better Living. 1 Comment on My 12 most transformative books (part 2)

This is a continuation from yesterday’s blog. The Acts of the Holy Spirit; Peter Wagner The book of “Acts” is the best text on missions ever written. Because it...

My 12 most transformative books (part 1)

Written by Seth Barnes on May 31, 2007. Posted in Better Living. 1 Comment on My 12 most transformative books (part 1)

For better or worse, I am the person I’ve become in part as a result of the influence of people thru the books they’ve written. I’m particularly interested in the...

Have you been wrecked this week?

Written by Seth Barnes on May 30, 2007. Posted in Abandon. 2 Comments on Have you been wrecked this week?

Last week, I mentioned a new project that I helped launch late January of this year: Wrecked for the Ordinary. This online magazine was initially a place to share stories from the...

Persecution: the promise nobody wants

Written by Seth Barnes on May 30, 2007. Posted in A broken world. 3 Comments on Persecution: the promise nobody wants

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” 2 Timothy 3:12 Why is this? Is God sadistic? Of course we want to answer...

Cost-me-nothing missions

Written by Seth Barnes on May 29, 2007. Posted in Short-term missions. 3 Comments on Cost-me-nothing missions

Of all the blogs I’ve written, one blog stands head and shoulders above the others in popularity. It’s ironic, really. Seems the world loves nothing so much as an “expert”...

Real community is hard

Written by Seth Barnes on May 29, 2007. Posted in Church. 5 Comments on Real community is hard

This word – community – that we throw around (sometimes cavalierly) is, in practice, pretty tough. Part of what Jesus was teaching his twelve disciples by calling them...

The Bible: third part of the trinity?

Written by Seth Barnes on May 28, 2007. Posted in Culture and Faith. 12 Comments on The Bible: third part of the trinity?

Let me begin this provocative blog by saying, I thank the Lord for the Bible and want to protect it against heretics. That’s what motivates me to write here. So, there is a...

What adoption feels like

Written by Seth Barnes on May 27, 2007. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 2 Comments on What adoption feels like

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'” Romans 8:15 November...

The consumer church

Written by Seth Barnes on May 26, 2007. Posted in Church. 5 Comments on The consumer church

We live in the wealthiest society the world has ever known, a country where the poorest among us has life-enhancing amenities that kings only dreamed of a hundred years ago: Our...

Hope Trekking – Do We Launch a TV Show?

Written by Seth Barnes on May 25, 2007. Posted in Dreaming. 4 Comments on Hope Trekking – Do We Launch a TV Show?

I’m praying about a TV show. I want to tell the stories of desperate people around the world looking for and finding hope. I see so many of them as they die of AIDS in Swaziland...

How do you learn to trust God?

Written by Seth Barnes on May 24, 2007. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 58 Comments on How do you learn to trust God?

Here we are in Africa, a land where, if ever it would seem difficult to trust God, it would be here. How do you account for all the pain here and still believe in a good God? Yet,...

Not just another website

Written by Seth Barnes on May 24, 2007. Posted in Abandon. No Comments on Not just another website

If you haven’t heard, AIM publishes an online magazine called Wrecked for the Ordinary. It grew from a theme that we were seeing in some of our short-term missionaries, coming...

Eyes opened in Mozambique

Written by Seth Barnes on May 23, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 1 Comment on Eyes opened in Mozambique

Well, we just arrived safely in South Africa. Yesterday’s quick tour of Paris between flights was fun, even if we were zombie-like having flown all night. Last night’s...

The blind will see

Written by Seth Barnes on May 23, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 5 Comments on The blind will see

Still not convinced that God heals? Or, that he wants to heal you? Maybe you’re like me, and sometimes think that this little taste of the miraculous is only for the spiritual...

‘If you were to die tonight’

Written by Seth Barnes on May 22, 2007. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 5 Comments on ‘If you were to die tonight’

Hello from Paris. Being on this trip to Africa reminds me of our first trip there in 1999. I have a philosophy that if you’re postured for adventure, it comes looking for you....

Why are we off to Africa today?

Written by Seth Barnes on May 21, 2007. Posted in Poverty. 2 Comments on Why are we off to Africa today?

Karen and I are on a plane to South Africa today (via Paris – where we’ll sleepily drag ourselves out of the terminal and over to Monte Marte to drink cappuccinos in...

How should we pray?

Written by Seth Barnes on May 20, 2007. Posted in Prayer. 6 Comments on How should we pray?

Jesus’ disciple John said, “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”* Over the years, Jesus’ disciples have learned to do what he did. And of...

Peter Lord on the difference between the old and new testaments

Written by Seth Barnes on May 20, 2007. Posted in Kingdom Reality. No Comments on Peter Lord on the difference between the old and new testaments

I was on my way to Vero Beach from Orlando last Wednesday. I stopped off at Cracker Barrel to talk to Peter Lord , a man who helped change my life 17 years ago. He’s a lion...

On the graduation of my son from college

Written by Seth Barnes on May 19, 2007. Posted in Parenting. 5 Comments on On the graduation of my son from college

Here in Indiana, my one and only son, Seth, graduates today. Wow! It seems just like yesterday we were graduating him from high school and here he is finishing off college. One...

What did Jesus mean when he talked about the kingdom? (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on May 18, 2007. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 5 Comments on What did Jesus mean when he talked about the kingdom? (part 2)

I’m still down here in Vero Beach speaking to the people at COI about things like, “what is discipleship?” and “what did Jesus mean when he talked about the...