Author: Seth Barnes

What breaks your heart? This broke mine

Written by Seth Barnes on March 7, 2008. Posted in Orphans. 3 Comments on What breaks your heart? This broke mine

Yesterday was Baby Moses’ funeral. Reading my son’s blog about it broke my heart, and I guess, given the world’s pain and how God feels about it, that’s a...

Five promises of a spiritual father

Written by Seth Barnes on March 6, 2008. Posted in Fathering & Men's issues. 18 Comments on Five promises of a spiritual father

On a maudlin note, did I ever tell you guys how much I love you? I can do that in my living room behind a computer – it’s not too embarrassing. Read thru some of the...

What keeps you going?

Written by Seth Barnes on March 5, 2008. Posted in Listening prayer. 14 Comments on What keeps you going?

If you tuned into the blog yesterday, you saw my disappointment and to-the-bone weariness. I had actually sent out an email to my family about baby Moses and asked “What do...

When life beats you up and you want to quit

Written by Seth Barnes on March 4, 2008. Posted in Leadership. 32 Comments on When life beats you up and you want to quit

My heart is breaking this morning. I’m wrestling with two things that just happened: First, one of my coworkers made a terrible mistake and overnight has lost his reputation,...

The case for short-term missions

Written by Seth Barnes on March 3, 2008. Posted in Short-term missions. 6 Comments on The case for short-term missions

I am a progeny of the short-term missions movement. My life was shaped by trips I took as a teenager to Guatemala and Peru. And here’s the ripple effect: in addition to sending...

The case for short-term missions, Pt. 2

Written by Seth Barnes on March 3, 2008. Posted in Short-term missions. 5 Comments on The case for short-term missions, Pt. 2

Continued from The case for short-term missions Let’s dissect each of our flawed models in order to gain a better understanding of how to better design your next STM team: 1....

Update #2 on the Swazi baby we found

Written by Seth Barnes on March 2, 2008. Posted in Orphans. 2 Comments on Update #2 on the Swazi baby we found

I wrote a blog about a baby who was found on his AIDS-infected mom as she was near death. Here’s what our team is doing to care for the baby. From Megan Dunegan: The baby...

Where have all the Swazis gone?

Written by Seth Barnes on March 2, 2008. Posted in Eswatini / Swaziland. No Comments on Where have all the Swazis gone?

I don’t know how I missed this article on the plight of Swaziland. The plague of AIDS has deprived the country of 300,000 Swazis in the last decade – about a third of...

Living as a widow – despair & triumph

Written by Seth Barnes on March 1, 2008. Posted in A broken world. 1 Comment on Living as a widow – despair & triumph

Sometimes when we feel lonely, the best thing to do is to use that loneliness to reach out to others who are lonely. Being a widow can be very lonely. My friend Kari Miller has an...

Welsh teen suicide epidemic – this would have helped

Written by Seth Barnes on March 1, 2008. Posted in Identity issues. 1 Comment on Welsh teen suicide epidemic – this would have helped

You think life’s hard and you struggle sometimes? Here’s a horror story in real life happening over in Wales. This is extreme but representative of so many teens who...

Identity in Christ quiz

Written by Seth Barnes on February 29, 2008. Posted in Identity issues. 8 Comments on Identity in Christ quiz

Discipleship is a term that has grown tired and shopworn in the last 25 years. I’ve tried to replace it in my vocabulary with something not so ’80’s-sounding, but...

The problem with independence

Written by Seth Barnes on February 28, 2008. Posted in Spiritual Formation. 8 Comments on The problem with independence

America is a nation founded on rebellion against tyranny and a declaration against it. That declaration formalized our commitment to a value – the value of independence. The...

Women often lead better than men do

Written by Seth Barnes on February 27, 2008. Posted in Leadership. 9 Comments on Women often lead better than men do

Last week, I blogged about Southern women and in an effort to balance that blog out, yesterday I addressed the subject of women who respond to God’s call better than men. Let’s...

Larry Norman’s last words

Written by Seth Barnes on February 26, 2008. Posted in Radical Living. 2 Comments on Larry Norman’s last words

Back when I was in high school, we didn’t have Christian radio stations or even Christian rock music. But we did have one bad, ground-breaking musician named Larry Norman....

Women seem to hear God better than men

Written by Seth Barnes on February 26, 2008. Posted in Listening prayer. 7 Comments on Women seem to hear God better than men

At age 14, Falyn Gliko, a young lady from Tennessee on a mission trip to Kenya, heard God urging her to do something. She was in an evening worship service and knew that God wanted...

Getting a revelation from God

Written by Seth Barnes on February 25, 2008. Posted in Kingdom Reality. 13 Comments on Getting a revelation from God

Yesterday I wrote a blog describing how a year and a half ago, God spoke to me about his heart for the orphans and my responsibility to help care for them. It was deeply personal...

Adopt an orphan today – right into your kitchen

Written by Seth Barnes on February 24, 2008. Posted in Orphans. 13 Comments on Adopt an orphan today – right into your kitchen

One of the hardest things for American Christians to do is true religion. We think it’s Sunday morning church services when God says it’s widows and orphans. It’s...

The world’s need is urgent

Written by Seth Barnes on February 24, 2008. Posted in Orphans. No Comments on The world’s need is urgent

I’ve been following my son’s team in Swaziland. One of my partners in ministry there is Jumbo Gerber. He and his wife Carike are heroes, bringing hope to a thousand orphans...

Update on the Swazi baby we found

Written by Seth Barnes on February 23, 2008. Posted in Orphans. 1 Comment on Update on the Swazi baby we found

I woke up, got coffee, prayed a bit, then flipped on the computer and found my boy SKYPEing me from Swaziland. Got some more info on the situation from his team relative to the blog...

My criteria for discipling others

Written by Seth Barnes on February 22, 2008. Posted in Discipling. 5 Comments on My criteria for discipling others

At the Barnes house last night, we had a wonderful dinner with some of our World Race coaches, talking about raising up a generation of radical disciples. This is our mission–we...

Becoming that which you hate

Written by Seth Barnes on February 21, 2008. Posted in Living Free. 2 Comments on Becoming that which you hate

“You’re just like your mother.” If you’ve ever blessed your wife with those five words, comparing the woman of your dreams to your frumpy mother-in-law, then...

This should shock and outrage us

Written by Seth Barnes on February 21, 2008. Posted in Orphans. 11 Comments on This should shock and outrage us

We have a team in Swaziland, that nation in Africa where nearly half the adult population has the AIDS virus. I received this email from Gary Black in Swaziland today and it wrecked...

Raised from the dead in south Florida

Written by Seth Barnes on February 20, 2008. Posted in Amazing God Stories. 56 Comments on Raised from the dead in south Florida

Saw this recent news report: I suppose you can explain this stuff away, but I’ve talked to enough people who have died and come back that I believe it. The reason I share it...

Vulnerability – A good or bad thing?

Written by Seth Barnes on February 20, 2008. Posted in Leadership. 13 Comments on Vulnerability – A good or bad thing?

A friend called me recently. A mega-church pastor has offered him a senior position on the staff. “But,” he said, “there’s one problem. We have a fundamental...