The Ridderings arrived!

On Tuesday, Mike, Amy and Delaney (and Apple) Riddering arrived in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso.  Below is Mike's first letter detailing the events of their first few days in the capital city. It is well worth reading. Let me encourage you to keep them in prayer!

You officially have Missionaries on African soil! It has been a wild few days. The flights were long, and we feel a little beat up, but we are all here and accounted for. The first leg of our journey went from Miami to Paris. The plane was delayed so we had to run through the airport after we picked up our dog from baggage and try to check her in for the next flight. We ended up making it with minutes to spare. Then we left France and landed in Niamey, Niger where we had to sit on the runway for an hour before taking off once again to Ougadougou. The good news is that the Ouagadougou airport has had some major improvements since I was here last year! They actually had a luggage belt instead of the former "Mountain 'O Luggage" that you had to climb and pick through in the past. A huge difference!

Then we knew we were in Africa. We had 30 people trying to help with luggage and helping escort us to the 60 taxi drivers outside trying to drive us. We were able to negotiate a fair price for 2 Taxis (one for us, one for luggage). After my taxi driver asked me to step out and help push start the taxi, we were on our way. Driving through Ouaga is a life experience that I look forward to Jose enjoying! They whisked us away with luggage tied to the roof, luggage in the seats, and 4 white people and a dog hanging on for dear life! We arrived at a missionaries home here in the capital that we rented for a few days while they are state side. End day one!

We woke the next morning and were greeted by a local that the missionaries recommended. He speaks good english, and was able to show us around town a bit. We went to the market and around town to look at housewares and other little items that we will be needing for the house in Yako, as well as getting our cell phones. After going to 3 different cell phone companies, we found one that actually had 2 phones in stock. YAY! Being that the cell phone purchase itself was a few hour process, we decided to call it quits for the day and head home and prepare to go out to dinner for Amy's birthday. 7:00 rolls around and we go to dinner at a place very near here called Gondwana. After a great dinner with our new friends, most of us were ready to retire. My brain on the other hand was zipping on eastern standard time still, so I was wide awake until well after 2 a.m! Being that I forgot to find a converter for the chargers on the computers, we were down to facebooking on I-Pods (If i was a little more "hip" of course I would have had many options for electronics at this point........ I did not. :) End day 2!

Today was day 3. I woke up early, and hit the road with our friend Johoachim. That's when Amy had the great Idea of taking the truck and taking a look around town. It was fun for the first hour or two, but was difficult for the next three as I tried to find our way home. SO LOST!!! Yes, it was dark and late, but we made it home. I realized how useless a road map is, if streets dont have any names! WOW! Cant wait to go to Yako! We leave for our home in Yako tomorrow at noon. We will spend Christmas there at the orphanage with the children and 2 short term missionaries from Germany! We will then return to the capital on January 3rd to begin 2 weeks of language lessons.

It is quite the adventure that God has us on! One thing that I have certainly learned is that there is never a dull moment when were living a life submitted to God!

Looking forward to sharing with you soon!

God Bless


Mike, Amy, Delaney, (and apple too)



Men, We Need Each Other!

As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.  Proverbs 27:17

As men, we pride ourselves in being independent.  Women may need each other's support, but not us. We are fully capable of making our own decisions, finding our way without asking for directions, meeting our own needs and protecting our families.  We simply don't need anyone else, right? WRONG!

Although, I am confident that I could come up with many reasons why we need each other's support, the most important is that we need to keep each other on track.  We need to be accountable to one another, especially in the area of sexual purity and marital fidelity.  Recent statistics show that 50% of married men are unfaithful to their wives.  50%!  That's one out of every two; two out of every four; four out of every... well,  you get the math.  What a heartbreaking statistic.

In a recent blog post, Albert Mohler, who is the President of Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY spoke about how important a man's church is to his ability to overcome sin and temptation.  You can read the entire article here... http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/12/05/for-christian-men-the-lessons-of-herman-cain/.  Here is what Mohler wrote...

Christianity is not to be lived in isolation. We are called together into congregations of fellow believers, living together in submission to Christ and growing together by the ministry of the Word. Christian men desperately need the strength and accountability that comes through faithful membership in a Gospel church.

The congregation must provide moral protections as well as moral instruction. The men of the congregation, old and young together, must be a band of brothers ready to pray for one another, to encourage one another, to confront one another, to admonish one another, to protect one another, and to stand together in faithfulness to Christ.

Do your Christian brothers know of your practices, patterns of life, and principles of conduct? Are they ready to defend you should an accusation come? Do you regularly seek the counsel of your brothers in deciding how to conduct your marriage, your business life, and your professional practices? If not, you are in trouble already.

Guys, the truth is that we need each other.  Let me encourage you to find someone to whom you can be accountable.  Choose a friend that can be your accountability partner.  Join a men's small group.  Meet with one of your pastors.  Find someone that can give you biblical and godly counsel.  If not, you might find yourself so dull that your testimony and ability to be used of God may be lost.

What's So Amazing About Grace?

Without a doubt, one of Vickie and my favorite authors is Philip Yancey.  He has written some tremendous books which have really spoken to my heart and challenged my thinking.  My favorite though, is his heart-gripping description of God's benevolent love for His creation titled "What's So Amazing About Grace?"

In this book Yancey "explores grace at street level.  If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action?  And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy?" (From the jacket cover)

In a world that is starving for grace, we Christians need to be more gracious, more loving and more compassionate than anyone else.  Although, our society constantly is seeking for justice, we need to remember that Christ's death on the cross "broke up the logjam between justice and forgiveness."  Justice has already been served.  All that is left for us to demonstrate is God's love.

Let me challenge you to read this book.  Yancey's ability to weave a story and to convey truth will keep you transfixed.  In the process your heart will be challenged to look for ways to lavish God's amazing grace on those, like you, who could never deserve it. 

Tomorrow Hollywood Community Church is commissioning Mike and Amy Riddering as missionaries to Burkina Faso.  I AM SO EXCITED! Although I served more than ten years as a missionary in Mexico, and for four years as a director at a missions organization, this is the first time that I have the privilege of being a "Sending Pastor."  Below is an article that I wrote more than ten years ago.  It perfectly explains the privilege and the responsibility that we have in sending the Ridderings to the mission field.  

The Importance of the Sending Church

BIMI World, Volume 2, 1999

Without a doubt, one of the greatest privileges and one of the most awesome responsibilities that God can entrust to a local congregation is to be the sending church for a missionary called to the mission field by the Holy Spirit. Biblically speaking, it is a more intimate fulfillment of the Great Commission. It is one thing to give your mission dollars; it is more difficult to give your children. Nevertheless, that ought to be the goal of every local church.

Of course, we know that Paul and Barnabas were the very first missionaries and that the church of Antioch was the first sending church. Therefore, Acts 13:1-4 narrates for us the beginning of what we now consider the “modern missionary movement.” Let’s notice several principles that are found in this passage.

THE HOLY SPIRIT CALLS

As one studies Acts 13, it is evident that the principal character in this passage is the Person of the Holy Spirit. Someone has aptly called Him the “Commander and Chief of Missions.” As the church at Antioch maintained a spirit of prayer, the Holy Ghost began a work of missions in the heart of that congregation that has become the foundation of our modern missionary movement. Let us remember first of all that in Acts 13 it was with the Holy Spirit that missions originated. It was not an Antiochan or Pauline concept. The idea to reach the world with the Gospel began in the heart of God and was passed on to man by the conviction and direction of the Holy Spirit. We must never take credit for something that He is doing.

Secondly and equally important is the fact that the Holy Spirit continues to call men to the mission field. Many times, as seen here in Acts 13, He calls the best and brightest. Honestly, it can be difficult for a church to “lose” their most faithful members to the mission field, but just as a sovereign God was able to fill the spiritual gap on the foreign field, He is able to raise up additional laborers to take their places. Thank God for the fact that the calling and directing ministry of the Holy Spirit did not cease with the passing of the apostles.

THE LOCAL CHURCH SENDS

Though the Holy Spirit is the Commander and Chief of missions, we must never minimize the importance and the place of the local church. Apart from the Holy Spirit, no other person or organization ought to have as much influence over the direction and decisions of the missionary as his local sending church.

Biblically, the sending church has several responsibilities that are outlined in Acts 13. The first responsibility has to do with recognition. In Acts 13:2 the Holy Spirit commanded the church to separate Barnabas and Saul. The idea conveyed is that the church leaders must be in tune with the Holy Spirit in order to recognize when God’s hand has been placed upon a certain individual to perform a certain task. How is that done? By prayer and fasting! I wonder what would have happened had not the church at Antioch been seeking God’s power and direction through prayer and fasting? Would they have recognized the fact that God had a special ministry for Paul and Barnabas? Would God have had to look elsewhere for His first missionaries? How many missionaries today are not being sent to the field because their local church through prayer and fasting has not recognized the hand of God that has been placed upon their lives? Let us take seriously the command of Matthew 9:38 and pray that God would raise up missionaries for the whitened harvest fields from our own congregation.

The second principle demonstrated in Acts 13 is one of identification. Verse 3 mentions that the leaders of the church “laid their hands on them.” Throughout Scripture the idea of the laying on of hands has symbolized identification.

* Numbers 8:10 - The nation of Israel identified with the priestly ministry of the Levites.

* Deuteronomy 34:9 - Moses and Israel identified with Joshua as the future leader of the nation.

* Acts 6:6 - The apostles identified with the ministry of the new deacons.

* I Tim 4:14 - The church leadership identified themselves with Timothy’s call to the ministry.

In each of these cases those that laid their hands upon God’s servant recognized, identified and supported the mission and the ministry to which God had called him.

This is what we find taking place in Acts 13. After having recognized the fact that God had a very special task for Paul and Barnabas to perform, the Antioch Church identified themselves with their ministry. From henceforth, they would be bonded and united together in the task of sending the Gospel to the regions beyond.

The third principle mentioned in Acts 13 is that of releasing. Verse 3 mentions that after the church at Antioch recognized God’s call upon their lives and identified themselves with their ministry, that they sent them away or released them from local church responsibilities. Tragically, many a deputation missionary has struggled because of having to continue his ministries within the local church while trying to raise the necessary support. The Antioch church allowed Paul and Barnabas to completely dedicate themselves to the ministry to which God had called them.

As believers and members of local churches we have a tremendous responsibility to reach our generation with the message of redemption. I do not believe that the Great Commission is an impossibility! God has given us all of the personnel and the resources needed. Let us as pastors and leaders pray fervently that laborers will be sent out from our midst to reach the whitened harvest field of the world, and let us unite together with them so that they will be successful in their missionary endeavor!

Perfectly and Purposefully Made

In recent weeks we have been reminded by two different individuals that you do not have to be physically perfect or mentally whole to be used of God.  As a matter of fact, God makes it clear that He takes pleasure in using the weak, the unwise and even the disabled for His honor and Glory (I Corinthians 1:20-29).  What a relief to know that God wants to use me just the way that I am!

On Sunday, November 6th we read a testimonial from a college basketball player who shared how that God used our daughter Amber to touch his heart.   Through the years God has repeatedly used Amber's disability to convict and motivate others in their walk with the Lord.  Isn't it just like God to use a little girl that cannot see, walk, talk or even understand to change the lives of others.  Needless to say, we are proud parents!

This Sunday Bernadette Todd will be our special guest.  Doctors once said Bernadette Todd would not live past the age of eight due to an infantile form of Muscular Dystrophy but God had other plans for this remarkable lady. In the face of a daunting childhood plagued with physical pain, being the target of relentless ridicule and personal ostracism, Bernadette pushed back against seemingly insurmountable obstacles and emerged triumphant.

Bernadette has not allowed her disability to keep her from fulfilling God's calling upon her life.  In the past few years, Bernadette has traveled to many countries around the world, including the Philippines, Hong Kong, India and Bolivia, sharing her testimony.

The truth is that Amber and Bernadette are not mistakes. They are God's perfect creation, formed exactly the way that He wants them to be.  That truth is clearly seen in Psalm 139:13-16 

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  our workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

I don't know how these two ladies testimonies affect you, but they challenge me.  If two beautiful ladies that struggle with disabilities can be used of God to powerfully share the message of the Gospel, don't you think that God can use us as well?  Let me challenge you to follow in Amber and Bernadette's footsteps - allow God to fulfil His purpose and plan for your life!

HCC is on a Mission to Fulfill the Great Commission

At Hollywood Community Church, we take the Lord's command to make disciples of every nation very seriously!  To say it succinctly, our mission is the Great Commission.  We exist to make passionate disciples of Jesus Christ, both in Hollywood, Florida and around the world. 

November is a HUGE missions month for our church family.  Here are several of the mission's activities that will be taking place in the next few weeks.

Haiti Missions Team - November 4-11

Led by Dan Whiteman, our Haiti Missions Team will be ministering in the coastal city of Corail.  Please pray that God would enable them to be a blessing and an encouragement to our Haitian sister church.  They will give a report on their return.

Operation Christmas Child Sunday - 11/13

Last year our congregation collected more than 1050 gift shoe boxes for boys and girls around the world.  We are hoping to do that many or more this year.  Remember that statistics show that one out of every three children that receive a Christmas box trust Christ as their personal Savior.  Let me encourage you to fill out least three boxes.  Lets reach children for Christ this Christmas!

Bernadette Todd - 11/13

Bernadette Todd has a riveting story to share about her life long struggle with Muscular Dystrophy. She knows first hand, God’s amazing grace and transparently tells of her journey from despair to faith. With her personable down-to-earth style and sense of humor, she captivates and challenges audiences of all sizes. Utilizing the platform of her wheelchair, the pain of her childhood and the miracle of her survival, Bernadette delivers a powerful message that transcends racial and cultural borders worldwide and builds a bridge between people and the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

Mike & Amy Riddering Commissioning Service - 11/20 



Our own Mike and Amy will be leaving for Burkina Faso at the end of the month.  On November 20th we will celebrate their commissioning service.  It will be a time of joy, tears and prayer as we send the Riddering family to Africa to fulfill God's call upon their life.  You will not want to miss this service!  Here is the link to their web page - http://reachburkina.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

It is going to be a great month at HCC! Let's pray that God continues to use us to impact the world with the Gospel!

Are you getting enough rest?   Quite frankly that sounds like a question that your mother would ask you, but for a Christian it certainly is a legitimate one.

I admit that word “rest” means a lot more to me now than it did when I was a teenager.  Back then, I could stay up all night and not think a thing about it. Now though, I notice myself beginning to fade around 9:00 pm, and I’m definitely a “gonner” by 11:00 pm. So when I hear the word rest, my ears perk up.

Most of us tend to equate rest with taking time off of work, sleeping in late in the morning, taking a vacation at the beach, or maybe taking an afternoon nap.  True rest, though, is not found in vacations, hobbies or time off, but in Jesus. He is our rest! 

That truth is clearly seen in Hebrews chapter four.  After writing about Israel's inability to enter into the rest that God offered them in the land of Canaan, Hebrew's author challenges us, the readers, to enter into God's rest - Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest (4:11).

Surprisingly, the admonition that God gives to rest is based upon two very familiar verses that we do not associate with spiritual rest.

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

Hebrews 4:16 - So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. 

Yes, as Hebrews four states, there is a rest that remains for God's people.  The best way to experience it, though, is not to plop down in your most comfortable chair and grab the TV remote.  No, the two activities that produce the most leisure and stress reduction are prayer and Bible study.  So, as your mother used to say... "Get some rest!"