Author: Seth Barnes

Shrewd as snakes & innocent as doves

Written by Seth Barnes on August 6, 2012. Posted in Faith & risk. 11 Comments on Shrewd as snakes & innocent as doves

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I most struggle with as I try to follow Jesus is this tension between relying on my own God-given common sense and the life...

When life doesn’t make sense

Written by Seth Barnes on August 3, 2012. Posted in A broken world. 5 Comments on When life doesn’t make sense

Have you ever been thrown into a situation that didn’t make sense, a time when your questions to God went unanswered? Have you ever found yourself in a place where you were...

The harsh truth about finding your calling

Written by Seth Barnes on August 2, 2012. Posted in Finding your call. 17 Comments on The harsh truth about finding your calling

This is a guest post from Jeff Goins: Perhaps one of the most puzzling aspects of the Christian life is this idea of calling, of finding your purpose in life and living it out. I...

Help launch some dreams

Written by Seth Barnes on August 1, 2012. Posted in Kingdom Dreams. 1 Comment on Help launch some dreams

Here are a few opportunities to join people in their kingdom dream. Click on a link to see what’s on offer. Please consider helping. It takes so little to help others make...

I know a miracle when I see one

Written by Seth Barnes on July 31, 2012. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 69 Comments on I know a miracle when I see one

Steven Reed, a recently returned World Race alumnus from the July 2011 W Squad, tore his ACL in the first month of the Race. He decided to tough it out and continue for the next...

Why the poor in spirit are blessed

Written by Seth Barnes on July 30, 2012. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 5 Comments on Why the poor in spirit are blessed

For most of my life I’ve not really understood Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. It’s all there in black and white, but it seems so counterintuitive, it hasn’t...

How it feels to be healed

Written by Seth Barnes on July 27, 2012. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 3 Comments on How it feels to be healed

Lynette Alegria got more than she bargained for at World Race training camp. I love her testimony here: Training camp was insane and I mean that in the best way. From Saturday to...

Safe ministry

Written by Seth Barnes on July 26, 2012. Posted in Faith & risk. 8 Comments on Safe ministry

“Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say…” (Matt. 10:19-20) Roger McCormick was sharing his testimony and in...

The fragile seed of the kingdom

Written by Seth Barnes on July 25, 2012. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 1 Comment on The fragile seed of the kingdom

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed…” – Jesus World Racers spend 11 months in places where they see the kingdom planted. And as they do, the kingdom...

Getting healed will change your theology

Written by Seth Barnes on July 24, 2012. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 9 Comments on Getting healed will change your theology

Growing up, I didn’t believe God still healed people. I was like Alex Burdett – I hadn’t seen it, so I didn’t believe it. Although the Bible is filled with...

Jesus heals in Tanzania

Written by Seth Barnes on July 23, 2012. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 3 Comments on Jesus heals in Tanzania

Ryan Banko filed the following report this week from Morogoro, Tanzania. We jump on the bus and head into town, there is a bridge we know of that many beggars and blind people sit...

Where do World Racers come from?

Written by Seth Barnes on July 20, 2012. Posted in World Race. 10 Comments on Where do World Racers come from?

Where do racers come from? They look like Jackie Gu or Brian Cooke. Jackie was a successful marketing manager with an international energy company in San Francisco. Two months ago,...

Did we miss our chance?

Written by Seth Barnes on July 19, 2012. Posted in Abandon. 13 Comments on Did we miss our chance?

A blog reader wrote me to say: Today’s blog about the Haley’s could have been written about my husband and me 8 years ago — the American dream part. Since then,...

Leaving the American dream

Written by Seth Barnes on July 18, 2012. Posted in Abandon. 6 Comments on Leaving the American dream

Timothy Haley had it all. He’d graduated from law school and gotten married. And at 29, he had a great job with a respected law firm. But a trip to Africa last year wrecked...

A community of grace

Written by Seth Barnes on July 17, 2012. Posted in Community and Covenant. 4 Comments on A community of grace

Something happened in our community yesterday that tested us. How would we respond? Would we be a community of grace or would we respond by crushing people’s spirits? A number...

At training camp

Written by Seth Barnes on July 16, 2012. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 8 Comments on At training camp

We’re at breakfast at training camp. Fortunately there’s lots of coffee available. 300 racers and Passport participants are here. Karen and I are coaching 60 racers....

Coaching again

Written by Seth Barnes on July 13, 2012. Posted in World Race. 7 Comments on Coaching again

Karen and I have taken almost a year off from coaching World Race squads. It can be an exhausting job. And with everything else that we’ve got going on, we were in no hurry...

Testing your faith by hitchhiking

Written by Seth Barnes on July 12, 2012. Posted in Faith & risk. 6 Comments on Testing your faith by hitchhiking

Living in America can be hard on your faith. Life is designed to be comfortable and risk-free here. But the life of faith is, of necessity, uncomfortable. Sometimes God will call...

Get a free chapter of my new book

Written by Seth Barnes on July 11, 2012. Posted in Journeys. 5 Comments on Get a free chapter of my new book

It’s finally here. My first book in quite a while. I’ve been working for nearly five years on a book about the process people go through on the World Race. I knew there...

The new ugly Americans

Written by Seth Barnes on July 10, 2012. Posted in Missions. 18 Comments on The new ugly Americans

Thirty years ago, when I was just learning to travel, I came face-to-face with a certain type of of fellow traveler that the locals viewed with barely disguised disdain. In the same...

The economic gap & bad missions

Written by Seth Barnes on July 9, 2012. Posted in Missions. 10 Comments on The economic gap & bad missions

When you go as a long-term missionary to another culture, you may experience a lot of gaps that make it difficult for you to develop relationships. Just a few that come to mind: Language...

Working hard for identity

Written by Seth Barnes on July 6, 2012. Posted in Identity issues. 3 Comments on Working hard for identity

A little self-disclosure: If you were turn the clock back 35 years, you’d see me as a young man trying to figure myself out. College was a time for discovery and fun for me. But...

God loves you enough to give you eyelashes

Written by Seth Barnes on July 5, 2012. Posted in Dealing with junk in our lives. 10 Comments on God loves you enough to give you eyelashes

We’ve all got reasons why we feel poorly about ourselves at times. Maybe it’s our lack of friends. Maybe it’s the things others have said about us. Maybe it’s...

Moving beyond threadbare words

Written by Seth Barnes on July 3, 2012. Posted in 42nd Generation. 6 Comments on Moving beyond threadbare words

God’s kingdom is a place where lost things are found. As we realize we were lost and he has found us, we understand the treasure we are in his eyes. And having grasped our...