Author: Seth Barnes

Raising up a remnant

Written by Seth Barnes on September 27, 2006. Posted in Mobilization. No Comments on Raising up a remnant

The remnant is always perceived by the outside world as a band of zealots. They are the guardians of the flame, the true believers who will go down fighting. This generation is the...

Reflecting on the death of a disciple

Written by Seth Barnes on September 26, 2006. Posted in Portraits of Disciplers. No Comments on Reflecting on the death of a disciple

Mike Nygren is a great discipler who has written extensively about the issue. A while back, one of his disciples died and he wrote a beautiful reflection about it: Today I attended...

Why are parents failing as disciplers?

Written by Seth Barnes on September 25, 2006. Posted in Parenting. 5 Comments on Why are parents failing as disciplers?

Bill Wilkie offers the following guest blog on the heels of my two 9/23 blogs. To address the underlying issues, let’s try to answer three questions: What are the symptoms? What...

The church is exploding in Uganda

Written by Seth Barnes on September 24, 2006. Posted in The Holy Spirit is on the move. No Comments on The church is exploding in Uganda

My last two posts about the depressing state of youth ministry need to be offset by signs of hope – we Jesus-followers are consumers and purveyors of hope. So where in the...

Parenting by proxy

Written by Seth Barnes on September 23, 2006. Posted in Intergenerational connection. 2 Comments on Parenting by proxy

Here’s a problem that drives youth workers crazy. Parents are so busy that they essentially delegate the discipling of their children to the church. Raising kids is hard work....

Too busy to make disciples

Written by Seth Barnes on September 23, 2006. Posted in Youth Ministry. 4 Comments on Too busy to make disciples

I took a poll of ten youth pastors. They concluded that, “the biggest impediment for us in discipling our students is that school and all the other activities leave us with the scraps...

Reaching the next generation

Written by Seth Barnes on September 21, 2006. Posted in Mobilization. No Comments on Reaching the next generation

“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.” Psalm 102:18 What is our responsibility to the next generation? Now that’s a question...

Standing on the brink of adventure

Written by Seth Barnes on September 20, 2006. Posted in Radical Living. 2 Comments on Standing on the brink of adventure

Camp is closing down. In the morning, 85 First Year Missionaries head to Swaziland, England, New Zealand, Mexico, Kenya, and South Africa for the better part of a year. 55 World...

Being assigned your soul-mates for a year

Written by Seth Barnes on September 19, 2006. Posted in Community and Covenant. 2 Comments on Being assigned your soul-mates for a year

We just announced to our next year’s World Racers who will be their teammates for the year. Imagine for a second what’s at stake – you’re a part of a group of 26...

Why we have to take risks to grow (part 3)

Written by Seth Barnes on September 18, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. 1 Comment on Why we have to take risks to grow (part 3)

The step of faith rarely seems prudent. Prudence contemplates what can be perceived with the senses. Faith, according Hebrews 11:1 means being certain of what is not seen. Because...

Why we have to take risks to grow (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on September 17, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. No Comments on Why we have to take risks to grow (part 2)

Seeing life with the eyes of faith requires risk taking and trust. As Jesus and his disciples would encounter needy people, Jesus kept one eye on his disciples, looking to use each...

Why we have to take risks to grow (part 1)

Written by Seth Barnes on September 16, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. 1 Comment on Why we have to take risks to grow (part 1)

God has always given His children huge, impossible tasks, tasks that forced dependence on Him requiring that He display His power. Abraham moved his tribe to a strange and unfriendly...

Touching those who have no hope

Written by Seth Barnes on September 15, 2006. Posted in Justice issues. 6 Comments on Touching those who have no hope

We’ve done a lot of interactive training at camp. The refugee camp showed participants what it feels like to lose all your rights, your home, and your source of income. To...

Dream of a generation fully alive

Written by Seth Barnes on September 14, 2006. Posted in Dreaming. 27 Comments on Dream of a generation fully alive

I feel a little crazy sharing this, but I’m consumed by this thing, so I have to throw it out there. You see, there is a dream I can’t shake. In my mind’s eye,...

Bios on next year’s World Racers

Written by Seth Barnes on September 13, 2006. Posted in Youth Ministry. 1 Comment on Bios on next year’s World Racers

Here are the bios on next year’s World Racers. After a heavy day of teaching, counseling and prayer, one of the teams decided to not feed themselves dinner, but to feed the...

Training conference finishes its first week

Written by Seth Barnes on September 12, 2006. Posted in World Race. No Comments on Training conference finishes its first week

Tomorrow, we complete our first week of training camp for the 150 World Racers and FYMs who will spend a year on the field. In the last three days, they’ve had a number...

How to end a long fast

Written by Seth Barnes on September 11, 2006. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 11 Comments on How to end a long fast

I’ve been fasting for a while now. It’s been great – the Lord has spoken to me in a number of different ways and I’ve seen some breakthroughs – one item in...

Sports are more important than Jesus

Written by Seth Barnes on September 11, 2006. Posted in Parenting. 5 Comments on Sports are more important than Jesus

Parents have a blind spot that we need to talk about. Yes, there are a lot of things we could do better, but can we just look at a biggie today without getting defensive? OK, why...

After years of looking for the perfect church, I find it

Written by Seth Barnes on September 10, 2006. Posted in Church. 6 Comments on After years of looking for the perfect church, I find it

After years of looking for the perfect church, I found it this morning on my lawn. The World Race groups showed up in the big tent at a little after 6:30 in the morning. No one said,...

Re-inventing yourself before it’s too late

Written by Seth Barnes on September 9, 2006. Posted in Abandon. 3 Comments on Re-inventing yourself before it’s too late

Charles and Sarah Kaye jumped off a cliff yesterday. After careers in high finance in New York, they bought a farm in Virginia. But even that didn’t scratch the itch they had....

Making courageous decisions that build a courageous life

Written by Seth Barnes on September 8, 2006. Posted in Abandon. No Comments on Making courageous decisions that build a courageous life

Ralph Leo recently sent an email about Adoniram Judson’s life. Judson was a pioneer missionary to Burma. I quote from the email: Judson was an ordinary young man who had to make...

Training camp is off to a rousing start

Written by Seth Barnes on September 7, 2006. Posted in Mobilization. 4 Comments on Training camp is off to a rousing start

There is something magical that can happen in a missions training camp. In the case of the one we have currently going on, a combination of factors give it special potential: -the...

What I wrote the AIM board

Written by Seth Barnes on September 6, 2006. Posted in Leadership. No Comments on What I wrote the AIM board

“We are seeing the kingdom advance on a number of fronts. We are reminding the Church of what it means to minister based on listening prayer, and what it means to disciple...

The World Race is coming to my front lawn

Written by Seth Barnes on September 5, 2006. Posted in Mobilization. No Comments on The World Race is coming to my front lawn

Last year in April, we got the idea for the World Race. Seeing the huge potential it had, we made a quick plan and launched it in May. Within three months, most of the first 25 participants...