Author: Seth Barnes

Getting God out of the box

Written by Seth Barnes on July 28, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. 1 Comment on Getting God out of the box

Jennifer Smith, an AIM discipler tells this story: As a newly clean and sober person, I attended 12-step meetings quite frequently. One day I heard a lady share a story about her...

Contingency planning on a short-term trip

Written by Seth Barnes on July 27, 2006. Posted in Short-term missions. 2 Comments on Contingency planning on a short-term trip

I received an email yesterday asking about contingency planning. In this world of terrorist activity, bird flu worries, and political instability, a good contingency plan can be...

How do you wake up to spiritual reality?

Written by Seth Barnes on July 26, 2006. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 3 Comments on How do you wake up to spiritual reality?

When we first see Neo in The Matrix, he is ducking in and out of an existence defined by cubicles and cubicle-thinking. Before we start seeing life in terms of the Kingdom of God,...

We need to be well-known in hell

Written by Seth Barnes on July 26, 2006. Posted in Fighting your enemy. 3 Comments on We need to be well-known in hell

I received the following email from someone in India warning me about the radical Hindus there who have checked out our web site: “I write this because the organisation...

Covenant brotherhood

Written by Seth Barnes on July 25, 2006. Posted in Community and Covenant. No Comments on Covenant brotherhood

In yesterday’s blog, I raised the subject of tribes. Your tribe should be composed of friends. I’ve been blessed with a lot of friends, some of whom I’m in covenant...

Finding your tribe

Written by Seth Barnes on July 24, 2006. Posted in Community and Covenant. 1 Comment on Finding your tribe

We’re descendents of cowboys and rough riders – independent souls that killed those living in tribes. So it’s no wonder that we struggle so to find our tribe. We...

Update from Hopegivers orphanage in India

Written by Seth Barnes on July 24, 2006. Posted in Orphans. 5 Comments on Update from Hopegivers orphanage in India

I just received the following email from Samuel Thomas in India: – We thank God for all the children are safe in all the orphanages/Hope Homes. – The lady police are...

Confronting the terror of Ziklag

Written by Seth Barnes on July 23, 2006. Posted in Courage. 2 Comments on Confronting the terror of Ziklag

Yesterday’s blog described David’s horrific experience of having his tribe ravaged at Ziklag (1 Samuel 30). Maybe you’ve lived a Mayberry RFD life of white picket...

Remembering Ziklag

Written by Seth Barnes on July 22, 2006. Posted in Courage. No Comments on Remembering Ziklag

In “Braveheart,” the English descend on the tiny highland village that William Wallace happens to live in and havoc ensues. Something like that happened to David and...

Learning the posture of a giver

Written by Seth Barnes on July 20, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. No Comments on Learning the posture of a giver

We’re born with our stomachs growling. We’re born needy and grasping. We require nurture to grow, and we’re born consumers. We come hard-wired with the hand motions of grasping and...

Living life “palms up”

Written by Seth Barnes on July 19, 2006. Posted in Reaching Your Destiny. No Comments on Living life “palms up”

One of the chief jobs of a parent is to help their children learn two hand motions and to teach them in such a way that they become reflexive and habitual. Not seeing this, many...

Half-stepping toward a miracle

Written by Seth Barnes on July 18, 2006. Posted in The Holy Spirit is on the move. 2 Comments on Half-stepping toward a miracle

I have an urban pastor-friend who rebukes the tentative faith he sees in white people by saying, “Don’t be half-steppin’ toward me.” We are forever hedging our bets, calculating,...

Building something big from scratch

Written by Seth Barnes on July 17, 2006. Posted in Dreaming. 5 Comments on Building something big from scratch

God has given me the privilege in the last few years to be a part of three ministry start-ups that have had to grow large quickly. Swaziland in the summer of 2004 was 192 separate...

Pseudo discipleship

Written by Seth Barnes on July 16, 2006. Posted in Discipling. 3 Comments on Pseudo discipleship

Some things pass for discipleship and do nothing to form Christ in a person. They smell like the real thing, but are impotent as spiritual tools (2 Timothy 3:5). The evidence that...

My discipleship definitions (part 2)

Written by Seth Barnes on July 15, 2006. Posted in How to Disciple. 3 Comments on My discipleship definitions (part 2)

In yesterday’s blog, in an effort to breathe a little life into some tired old terms, I defined a few words you may use in discipling another person. Here are six more words: Debriefing...

My discipleship definitions (part 1)

Written by Seth Barnes on July 14, 2006. Posted in How to Disciple. 1 Comment on My discipleship definitions (part 1)

Because the vernacular is always evolving, it is important that we define and update our definitions of our terms. Only a few of these terms are in the Bible, but we throw them around...

Take control of your thought life

Written by Seth Barnes on July 13, 2006. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 5 Comments on Take control of your thought life

90-96% of our thoughts are repetitive and generally negative, says writer Richard Rohr, citing psychological studies. We recycle our thoughts, allowing old tapes to play in our minds...

Portrait of a disciple: Erin Drew

Written by Seth Barnes on July 12, 2006. Posted in Portraits of Disciplers. 1 Comment on Portrait of a disciple: Erin Drew

Twelve years ago when I met Erin, I quickly learned what her friends knew well – she takes no prisoners when it comes to having fun. As an intern in Mexico, she snuck up behind me...

The Almand family church planting adventure

Written by Seth Barnes on July 11, 2006. Posted in Parenting. 8 Comments on The Almand family church planting adventure

Radical vision casting – it’s what we as parents need to do if we are serious about passing on our faith. Take the...

A grassroots youth revolution

Written by Seth Barnes on July 10, 2006. Posted in Mobilization. 4 Comments on A grassroots youth revolution

It is desperately needed, but the coming youth revolution isn’t a stadium full of cheering students. Teen Mania is currently trumpeting this alarming statistic: “Current trends show...

What do you say to a dying friend?

Written by Seth Barnes on July 9, 2006. Posted in Wounded healers. 24 Comments on What do you say to a dying friend?

I have a friend who has a terminal illness. He’s also had great successes, working as a minister of the gospel, leading many to Christ, serving as the dean of...

What does ‘feed my lambs’ mean?

Written by Seth Barnes on July 8, 2006. Posted in How to Disciple. 70 Comments on What does ‘feed my lambs’ mean?

When Jesus asks Peter to “feed my lambs” after he’s been resurrected (John 21:15), he’s not talking about engaging them in a Bible study. Very few people...

My daughter Leah

Written by Seth Barnes on July 7, 2006. Posted in My Life. 2 Comments on My daughter Leah

I’m so proud of our 16 year old daughter, Leah. All her life she’s had to struggle. She was born with “issues” – ears, chromosomes,...

An outrage in India & a call to pray

Written by Seth Barnes on July 6, 2006. Posted in Missions. 8 Comments on An outrage in India & a call to pray

I can’t mention names at this point, but in the past you’ve heard me reference a situation in India regarding orphans and persecution. The situation reached an all-time...