A Single Seed

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. - John 12:23-26

Meshcack translating for Rich while teaching youth in Kericho, Kenya.

On January 28, 2010 a brother in Christ, fellow co-worker in the ministry, and close friend passed away while serving in Kenya. Richard Key was a single seed which feel into the ground, and died. However, there is a story between the branch and the ground. It may seem brief in our eyes, but is by no means in vain. There is immense worth in such a voluntary choice as this.

Richard Wayne Key chose to devote his life to something besides a life in America where comfort and plenty would be closer than arms reach. So just a little over a year earlier, Rich said, "Here am I Lord. Send me." And that's just what the Lord did. He sent him to Kenya.

Few people could understand a past like Rich's. That's because few people have a comparison. Rich has told me much about his past and how a pursuant loving Jesus came and found him where he was. He picked him up time and time again. But finally Rich saw in Jesus a love that was worth him giving the rest of his life to serve. And that's just what Rich did.

Rich was not afraid to open his mouth and tell others about his Jesus. Whether we walked through the waste-filled slum pathways or taught teenagers in villages, Rich told the same message: "Jesus is enough." When Meshack and I were teaching on relationships, directions for life, or conflict resolution issues, Rich held onto the only message he thought was worth his time; his Jesus. Rich wanted others to know him. He was after God's heart. Even when he and his fiance were married, they wanted their every action to be after God's heart. So that's just what they named their personal ministry.

Rich is a seed that carried a message which brought life, and died doing so. I've no doubt whatsoever that Richard Wayne Key hated his life in this world.... And he has helped produce many many seeds.

Jesus said, "Whoever serves me, must follow me,"; that's just what Rich did. And I praise God for such.

My request to you reading this is now is this:

1. Thank God for the countless unnamed servants who die daily for Jesus to be known where He is not.

2. Pray for strength for those who will die even today for Jesus to be known where He is not.

3. Pray for Shauna, Rich's wife, who carries on glorifying a God and a Savior who sustain her. Be the body we are told to be: lift her up.

4. If you want to be a further source of encouragement and support for Shauna and the work they passionately labored in, then email us and we can tell you how to do so.

Filling Up What Is Lacking in Christ's Affliction

Our God has used many tools to encourage us. His Word stands above all the others as the ultimate source for authority and guidance. He has also used the prompting of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit guides us into truth, He convicts us, He encourages us, He even tempers us.

There has been a recent tool that has had a tremendous influence and re-shaping of our purposes. It's this tool that I wish to further place before you in hopes that you, too, will be so moved to re-examine your convictions for the peoples of this world who need to know Jesus.

(This talk is 1 hour long, but so very very much worth it.)

"Filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction" from Thomas Thompson on Vimeo.

Speak Like Never Before

Update: Many of you are probably wondering, "Why is Chris still here? I thought he was going to be returning to Kenya for a few weeks." Let me answer your question. The main reason we returned to the States is so that we can work for our future family. There is a tumultuous amount of paperwork and process that must be completed (such as FBI fingerprints for background checks) before we could even submit our dossier. With my wife working hard for our children, it would be unfair to her to leave all this on her shoulders for even a short time. I would not be communicating the importance of family over all else if I left. Therefore, until we make a bit of headway with this AND get our fingerprinting done, I will remain.

This leads me into the reason I am writing this for you to read. The second reason we are here is to fulfill our obligation to our partners in Kenya. We made a commitment to them that we would be their ambassadors and speak where they cannot. Should credit ever be offered toward the service done unto the Kingdom of God in Kenya, then it should fall on them above any others. My job, responsibility, and labor is to stand where they cannot. I speak where they cannot. I advocate for them where they cannot. This is a position that I take very seriously.

We have some months left here in a still fertile land. Lindy and I have already shared with friends in Roanoke, VA this past weekend. We want to fill up dates that allow us to open our mouths and represent our brothers and sisters who are laboring right now in Kenya! "Missions exists because worship of the true God does not" (John Piper). There is much to be done still around the world. I want to continue to remind others of this fact.

If you are reading this and think, "Our church should hear and get involved", or if you have a group of friends or a Bible study that needs to rise to the occasion of missions, then email me. Email us and work with us as the team member you are invited to be. This is where you too can have a significant impact on making God look glorious around the world.

We need to tell the stories. Through the stories and images, others may rise and say, "I want to be a part of mission work around the world." That is a beautiful thing! Help us find those that are simply waiting to be compelled out of their seats. Talk to your church leaders. Talk to your friends. Help us grow this ministry. Meshack, Indiazi, Vitalis, Beatrice, Noah, Deo, John, Zipporah, Mama Alice, and my very good friend Thomas are all there holding up their end. There are 11 boys who live in the streets depending on us. There are slum children needing food. There are people who do not know Jesus and they are waiting on us to tell them. Now it's my turn to do what I do best: talk!

"For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." - Acts 4:20

When you see God move and reach a people where His name is not even known,... you won't be able to stop speaking either.

There are 11 Sunday mornings open for someone, some church, some group to hear.

email us: chrisandlindyt@gmail.com

Rewind

2009 saw a significant change unto the ministry. Within this short video you can catch a glimpse of some of the changes. We can't wait to see what God has in store for 2010!

Return of the Jedi

Well maybe not a Jedi, but it made me laugh to write it.

Anywho,

In a few short days, I will be traveling back to Kenya. This will be a short stay, but a very important one. God has been refining Only Servants Ministries over the past 6 months and that began in us. As Lindy and I have become more impassioned about glorifying God in our personal lives, this ministry has taken on a deeper, more-focused direction. I return to Kenya out of obedience and a desire to keep this growth going. This coming year is going to be unlike any before it. My heart is confident that God is growing something very special and we get to be a part of it. The next month spent in Kenya will be one preparing for the numerous teams coming this year, setting up projects, growing our partners ministries, and preparing our fields for the harvest God may be sending this year. I wish I knew exactly what He has in store for His Kingdom, but it doesn't change our commitment to making Him look as glorious as possible within the tasks he's assigned us.

I am going for that reason only.

As you read this, please grab your notebook (the one you use to write down prayer requests and notes during your time alone with God). I beg you to write down the following prayer needs and adopt them into your heart. I can think of nothing greater to request from you than your prayers. In fact, I am actually asking you for the most powerful thing you possess. (I'll be selfish in this):

1. God's Glory - Sounds odd at first, but I want to see God's glory in everything I say/do, my family, this ministry, and the church. When He gets HIS glory, we find joy. (Thanks J.P. for that reminder)

2. Lindy - Please honor my family and specifically my wife in your petitions unto the Father.

3. Only Servants Ministries - Pray for our friends serving at this exact moment. Pray for their families. Pray for their courage to grow. Pray for them to be effective.

4. Finances - Pray that other servants will be obedient to the calling God has given them to support missions.

5. Me - My commitment to bringing all glory to God is one of great importance to me. Help me. Pray for my obedience to that end. Pray that I become the man of Psalms 112.

I can not wait to update you on all that God teaches and reveals to us about His marvelous plans. I sit here thinking about the days to come and all I keep feeling is tremendous excitement and awe. And now;

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

~Colossians 4:2-6

PS: Here's a Jedi (in case you were wondering) And to answer your question; "yes", I know I am a dork.

Do You Really Believe the Truth?

If you have 47 minutes, I urge you to take the time to watch and listen to a man who passionately loves God's Word so much that he takes seriously Duet. 11:18, Job 22:22, Psalm 119:11, John 6:63, and Col. 3:16.

Am I willing to follow?

Are you?

Prove it!

Grace

Isaiah 53

¹ Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

³ He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

¹¹ After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Father, we love you. We worship you. We recognize that our efforts couldn't save us from our own mess. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for sending Him. We were on something more than a "naughty list" yet you did not withhold your grace. May our lives echo our words of thank you.

A-men

(World, you can keep the fat men in red suits. I'll take the Savior on the tree.)