Sept 6, IHOPKC Simeon Internship

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Bob Sorge

Tuesday afternoon: This morning I spoke to the Simeon Company Internship at IHOP, and had a great time once again with that group. Drawing near to God — a topic that is always dear to my heart. 

Aug. 26-28, Shiloh Church, Oakland, CA

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Bob Sorge

Friday 5:45 pm: Greetings from my Oakland CA hotel, I will be collected in 30 minutes to be taken to tonight’s meeting at Shiloh Christian Church. Tonight I’m speaking on “secrets of the secret place” at their request. They are using the book extensively in their training school, and so tonight I’m coming alongside to give them a push, smile. 

Saturday 10:30 a.m.: Last night’s meetings was totally delightful for me. The worship ministry at Shiloh is fabulous, so heartfelt and engaged and inspiring. The Lord enabled me to speak on “a Scripture-centric secret place,” and I closed with Prov. 26:20, “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out”. The wood is the word. To keep the fire in our hearts alive, we must gather wood every day—the wood of the word. At the close we had a sweet time of singing and praying together from Ps. 119.  

Sunday 8:00 pm: Greetings from Salt Lake City, I’m on my way home. What a great church! So full of energy and the Holy Spirit. The church is about as strong as it’s ever been, having regained momentum after the change of pastors, and it feels like a powder keg ready to explode. The Lord enabled me to speak on the power of perspective, and the response of the congregation was sincere as they reached out to the Lord for Him to anoint their eyes to see. Both services were full with the second especially packed, and people spilling into the overflow area. They are located in a residential area of Oakland, and people fill up the streets for blocks around on Sunday morning with their cars. Parking is just non-existent in such a compact, high-cost neighborhood. What is to be done? Join in prayer for the Lord to show them what to do next, to enlarge their tent for the harvest. I was stunned at how many people raised their hands as first-time guests in second service. They’ve got to do something.

Aug. 17-21, Vladivostok, Russia

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Bob Sorge

On Tuesday I depart for Vladivostok, which is the most easterly of Russia’s major cities. You should look it up on a map, it lies just above North Korea and China. (There is a tiny sliver of land where North Korea and Russia share a  border.) I will connect through Seoul on my way there, and then through Tokyo on my way home. I’ve been to Chita before, but now this will be my most easterly visit to Russia. My host is Sergey Shidlovskiy who has operated an annual youth camp in this area for 11 years. (Sergey was also my host this year in Novosibirsk.) My friend Lenny LaGuardia is the main guest at this year’s camp. As I arrive, the youth camp will be concluding and we will be moving over to a weekend conference in the city. Also ministering with us is Paul Zink from FL. I am scheduled to minister once daily on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. My Sunday afternoon departure is too early to allow me to minister anywhere Sunday morning.

I’m feeling a bit wistful about this trip because it’s possible it may be several years before I manage to return to Russia, given the recent changes in their religious laws. Thankfully, I received my visa just before those new, restrictive laws were inaugurated. The new laws were intended primarily to target terrorism, and in the process they put biting restrictions on evangelical churches. But nothing binds the word of God!

Wednesday midnight: I had assumed that my arrival into Vladivostok tonight would get me here too late to speak in tonight’s meeting. I was wrong. I got to the camp at 8 pm, just when the evening service was launching. So I was able to speak tonight. I hadn’t prepared a message for tonight, so I went with the spontaneity of the moment and just told stories. After I was done, Lenny LaGuardia got up and invited everyone to respond to what was shared (I spoke of how God responds to desperate prayers). As I was leaving, the spirit in the tent was strong and everyone seemed eager to press into the Lord for more. 

Tonight they’re lodging me at a hotel that is quite swanky by Russian standards, possibly the swankiest hotel I’ve been lodged in, in Russia. Their restaurant is famous for being the meeting place of Gerald Ford and Gorbachev. Tomorrow I’ll be moved to more modest lodging, but tonight I’m being pampered. 

Thursday 3:30 pm: There are lots of changes happening as we go. I was supposed to be moved today from my hotel to another facility, but that facility has no power — it’s an area-wide power outage that the city is working on — so I will lodge in the same hotel for one more night. Then Friday they will move me to another place. I am writing right now from a place where we’re having a pastors conference for 2 days, and this is where the power is out. They have found a generator, however, and I could tell from the amplified song rehearsal I heard coming down the hall that they have power to the sound system. So hopefully I’ll be able to speak. I am scheduled for the 4 pm session, the first session of the pastors conference, and then supper at 6:00, and then Paul Zink is speaking tonight. Pastors are here from as far as 3000 kilometers (3 hours by plane). Way up north, where they have 3 months a year without snow (June thru August). I asked if these pastors gather every year, and they said this gathering is somewhat unusual. Each denomination (union) in the far east will have their own annual events, but to have pastors gathering from all streams like this is unusual. They are expecting just over 100 pastors and spouses, which is a sizable gathering for these parts. While this region represents a third of Russia’s land mass, the population of the region is around 8 million, people are spread far and wide. 

Thursday 8:30 pm: I’m back in my room now, after ministering this afternoon and then having supper together. I spoke on being a friend of the Bridegroom. I’m not sure how to read the response, so am trusting it into the Lord’s hands. I hope the message was helpful and edifying to the pastors gathered — a great group of leaders!

I have Friday off, no teaching sessions tomorrow. Then Saturday I have an hour session in the afternoon. Then Sunday I return home.

Saturday morning: Vladivostok reminds me a lot of where I was raised on the west coast of BC, Canada. Ocean, meandering shoreline, plenty of islands, tons of greenery. The big difference as regards weather is that to Vladivostok’s west is the largest land mass on earth, and to BC’s west is the largest ocean on earth. So even though Vladivostok is at 43 degrees latitude, and where I lived in BC is at the 49th parallel, the winters are colder and the summers warmer in Vladivostok.  

The main conference at the arena in Vladivostok launched last night, runs all day Saturday (today), and then concludes with a Sunday evening service (no Sunday morning service is held at the conference). I will have just one session at the conference, today at 3:45 p.m. I have under an hour, and since I’m working with a translator, that means I need to choose one of my shorter teachings. So I’m prepared to speak on God writing a story with our lives. I was told I will get Alex as my translator today, which is fabulous. 

Sunday 8:00 a.m.: Good morning! I’ve had a good rest, and am now getting ready for my 11:00 a.m. ride to the airport. Yesterday’s event was clearly graced by the Lord’s presence and blessing. This event has drawn an attendance that they were saying was the largest they’ve seen in this area in 10 years. So the local pastors seemed very pleased with what God has done. Paul Zink from Jacksonville FL was the main speaker, and I was blessed to be a support. My 4:00 pm session yesterday went very well, and the people responded in accordance with their eager spirits. I tried to get my Russian books here, but that never happened. It’s difficult to figure out what went wrong because both my publishers said “yes, yes” when I asked them to send books here. Oh well, you have to be flexible when doing Russia. The evening concluded with a time of extended intercession for revival in Russia. The pastors who were present took the stage and each took a turn at leading the prayer time. Philip Renner from Moscow (Rick Renner’s son) was the worship leader, and supported the intercession in a very strong way with his music ministry. A fabulous young man. What was unique about this event was to have pastors from across the various streams of the body of Christ standing together, in intercession together, for their region and nation. There is a remarkable grace on Sergey’s life to be able to draw the leaders of various streams together like this, like few can do. Bless Sergey Shidlovskiy and BOG TV in prayer!

Aug. 14, New Covenant Ministries, Independence, MO

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Bob Sorge

Saturday: Marci and I are having a blast with our grandkids, an overnighter. This morning I took Emma and James at 8 a.m. to a nearby park. It was a gorgeous morning and they had the whole park to themselves, ha. Now we’ve had a huge breakfast, thanks to Nani, what a fun way to do Saturday. 

I’m preparing my heart for tomorrow morning, ministering at a church in Independence, MO: ncmworld.com. This will be my first to be with them and I’m looking forward to it.

Sunday 4:30 pm: We had a marvelous time this morning at New Covenant Ministries in Independence. (Marci and Marie came along with me.) The grace of the Lord upon the ministry of the word was strong, and it seemed like everyone was encouraged and strengthened in faith. Including me, smile

Aug. 9, Jackson House of Prayer, Madison, MS

Posted on August 10, 2016 by Bob Sorge

Tuesday morning: Greetings from Atlanta, where I spent the night. Let me explain. Monday morning the national news said something about a computer problem at Delta, so I went to delta.com and discovered that my Monday departure from San Salvador was delayed. At 2 a.m. on Monday, the power to Delta’s computer system in Atlanta just died. Everything shut down, until they got their computers up and running, I think around 6 hours later. My departure ended up being delayed 4 hours. With the entire system in gyrations, I was unable to get a connecting flight to Kansas City. So I flew only to Atlanta on Monday, grabbed an airport hotel (got here at midnight), and now will fly at noon directly from Atlanta to Jackson, MS, for tonight’s meeting.

This will be my first time to the Jackson House of Prayer, which convenes at Reigning Grace Church in Madison, MS. Interestingly enough, while I have driven through Mississippi, this is going to be my first time to actually minister in that state. The original plan was for me to bring books with me to the event, and now those books are nicely waiting for me in Kansas City, ha. So I’ll have no books with me tonight. But at least it appears that I’ll be able to be with them and to share in the good word of the Lord. Our gathering is tonight, and then I return home first thing Wednesday. Tonight’s meeting was scheduled for a Tuesday night in order to make it accessible to folks from a variety of congregations.

Wednesday 11 a.m.: Greetings from Atlanta airport. I’ve had quite the trip, caught in the gridlock of Delta’s operations upheaval from Monday’s computer shutdown. My return from El Salvador was delayed too long to get home, so I spent Monday night in Atlanta. Got to the airport at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, hoping my 12:15 pm flight to Jackson MS would be on time. It wasn’t. The times kept changing all afternoon. The plane was at the gate, but the gate agent eventually came on the PA: “I have no idea who the pilots will be for our flight, and I have no idea when they will arrive.” About 90 minutes later, a couple pilots showed up and boarded the plane. Everyone cheered! Then the pilot came out about 10 minutes later to announce to everyone at 5 pm, “This flight has been cancelled.” Another flight was going to Jackson at the same time, so I immediately rushed to the other gate, and they let me on the plane because of my status. Wow! It seemed like a miracle that I even made it to Jackson. My bags didn’t make it, but at least I did. 

And we had a great time. The expectation in the group was exceptionally strong. Eager, hungry hearts, they just drew it out of me. So even though I couldn’t bring any books with me, and had no luggage, the Lord had an appointment for us together, and not even Delta’s convulsions could stop that. Marvelous!

Now I’m back in Atlanta, awaiting a noon departure for Kansas City and home. It’s still showing on time, which is hopeful. There are still lots of delays today from Monday’s outage, but Delta is slowly getting back on track. 

This weekend I’m speaking at a church in the metro KC area. Then on Monday I leave for Vladivostok, Russia. 

Aug. 6-7, Mision Cristiana Nuevo Pacto, San Salvador, El Salvador; www.misioncristiananuevopacto.org

Posted on August 08, 2016 by Bob Sorge

Friday midnight: I am catching a midnight flight tonight, Sacramento to Atlanta, and then making a connecting flight, Atlanta to San Salvador. I should arrive around noon on Saturday, Lord willing. This will be my first time to El Salvador. I’m speaking Saturday evening, I think it’s the last meeting of a conference, and then am staying over to do Sunday morning with the host church. Here’s their site: www.misioncristiananuevopacto.org. Because of the timing of flights, I will not be able to depart for home until Monday 1:00 p.m. 

Saturday 3 pm: Greetings from my hotel in San Salvador. Looking out my hotel window, I have a nice overlook on this corner of the city. On the other side of the valley, clouds are engulfing the top of the mountain. It’s obvious that clouds often hang low in the sky here in the tropics. 

My hosts are Guatemalan by nationality. In 1986, they came to El Salvador as missionaries—with nothing. They had no support from Guatemala, so lived by faith literally for every meal. Now, they have a hundred churches here and around the globe. I look forward to hearing more of the story. This is a week of national holidays, so the conference is timed annually for this week. Folks have gathered from many nations and churches in the nation, and they said close to 2000 are at the meetings today. There’s a 2 pm service today, and then I am speaking at the 5 pm service. And then again Sunday morning. They became familiar with my ministry through my online presence and books, hence the invitation to be here. 

Saturday 10 pm: I’m back from tonight’s service. We attempted a sound check in the between-service break at 5:30, and honestly, I thought it would never work. I thought it would be impossible for my translator to hear me. When I got up to speak, it was very hard. But we kept chipping away at it. We turned off all the fans, and then turned off all the air conditioning units in the building. And finally we were able to tweak a sound level that could work for both me and the translator. The sound team worked so hard to make it right! And by the time we had come to the close of the session, they had found a real workable setting, it seemed, for everybody. Wow. A miracle. The Lord enabled me in speaking, and there seemed to be a very warm response to the message. These saints are just about the most expressive I’ve ever encountered. They go ballistic in praise, and they weep profusely in worship. Just amazing! They throw all their heart, soul, and body into their praise, worship, and prayer. 

Sunday’s service order has been switched. Since it’s necessary to turn off all the air conditioning units while I speak, they have moved me from second service to first. That way, I’ll be speaking in the cool of the day. Smart. I think I’m changing my message for Sunday morning.

Sunday 11:30 a.m.: I am back to my room already, after ministering in the early service. The room was engaged, and even though the sound system challenges were strong, the message seemed to come across and be communicated in a way that everyone got the message. I changed my message for today, and spoke on being a friend of the Bridegroom. The Lord’s grace helped me to deliver the message, and I believe helped the people to hear. 

I will be collected after second service, and will join the pastors for lunch. Since I was moved from the second service to the first service today, it turns out that I could have made today’s departure from San Salvador (Delta has just one departure daily, at 12:50 pm). But we didn’t know that in advance, and I didn’t feel to go to the hassle of trying to switch my departure to today. So now I will have an entire day in El Salvador, to relax and enjoy the tropics. My Monday 12:50 pm departure means I should get home by midnight, if the flights are on time. 

I get home Monday at midnight, and then have a 10 a.m. departure the next morning for Jackson, MS. So I’ll be back in touch again Tuesday morning about that. It will be a quick overnight trip.

Aug. 4-5, Alive Worship School, House of Bread, Sacramento, CA

Posted on August 08, 2016 by Bob Sorge

Thursday: I have a 5:45 a.m. departure today for Sacramento CA (via Salt Lake City), and hence a very early morning. The event in Sacramento is called the Alive Worship School, operated by Yuri Litvin of Seattle who has become a good friend. Yuri serves at a Russian speaking church in Seattle, and had me join him in Seattle last year for this event. This year, he is taking it to a Russian speaking church in Sacramento (House of Bread). I am scheduled to speak Thursday morning/afternoon, Friday morning, and Friday night. Then I take a Friday midnight flight to my next destination. (El Salvador)

I’ll be working with a Russian translator at this event, and most of the folks in attendance will be coming from Russian-speaking churches (Sacramento has quite a few of those). Most of them are fluent in English, but they still use translators for that small percentage who need the help. 

Thursday:  I did a workshop on “worship in spirit and truth.” This is an eager group. They have come from several states, and a handful of nations, to be part of this week long school. They are really ready to go there! So I had am having a marvelous time with them.

Friday 6 pm: Excellent session this morning. Some area pastors joined the Worship Alive School students, and I spoke on Envy. The Lord’s grace was very evident in the teaching. At the close, about half the room came forward to express their consecration to the Lord. The Lord’s presence was strong and meaningful. 

I’ve also enjoyed the treat, while here, of fellowship with Joseph and Tosha Zwangziger. They serve at the Father’s House in Vacaville, and came over as part of the faculty for this event. Joseph is working on a chapter of my third edition of Exploring Worship, which I am in process of revamping right now. (If only I could find time!) Fabulous friends.

Friday 10:30 p.m.: The Lord helped me tonight. I had only an hour, and since I was using a translator, that meant my actual speaking time was very short. So I cut large portions of the message out in the moment. But I believe the Lord helped me, and I think the message still was cohesive and focused. On following the river of God in worship. The altar filled in the end with those involved in worship ministry, and they eagerly gave themselves to the Lord. I had to go directly from my closing prayer to the car that was waiting to whisk me away, but as I left it seemed that there was strength of Spirit in the congregation. 

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