Thanksgiving In Iraq

Here is a Thanksgiving email along with pictures from a friend and co-worker at AFA/AFR, Rick Ochoa, who is serving our country in Iraq. Thanks Rick for your vigilance. Your email has given me a new appreciation of our American freedoms on this Thanksgiving 2006.

Email From Rick Ochoa in Iraq - November 25, 2006

We had an interesting day today! I got up early and had the opportunity to pray and have some quiet time! Then at 6:30 we assembled for PT... yes even in a war zone we try to schedule PT 3 times a week!

Well we had been working out in the gym for about 15 minutes and we got the call to respond to an attack in the area... Run back to the barracks change and get on the gun trucks! about 20 minutes later we were ready to roll, but then we were ordered to stand by... so we did ... and we waited and waited and finally it was time to go eat lunch. I was just about halfway thru it when the word came to roll out immediately! So out we went and on the trucks. We rallied with our Iraqi army counterparts and then it was time to wait and wait.

Many times this will turn into a false alarm and we will have to stand down! But after an hour or so we got the word to move out and we went to downtown Baqubah... It was deserted and there had definitely been some fighting going on... it was quiet but not for long! Suddenly small arms fire started crackling all around us... then we moved out to where we thought it was coming from... the Iraqis were in the lead... then sniper fire began zinging all around us. We couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from until two bullets hit our bumper, then we began to engage with the .50 cal machinegun and that took care of that! After that we began working with the Iraqi soldiers to clear a sector of the town of the attackers... they were bold but foolish and there are several that won't bother us any more. One was trying to shoot us with an RPG and our gunner took him out. I don't like seeing anyone get shot but better them than us!

Anyway it was a long day and we got back after dark tired and stressed, but when I went into our command post there were two big beautiful packages from you great folks at AFA!!! Thanks so much! It was great to hear from everyone that wrote! I miss you guys and am so glad y'all are praying for us! It means the world!

Well I just wanted to get this off before I turn in for the night...

Thanks and God Bless

Rick Ochoa

SSG Rick Ochoa
2/2/5 MiTT FOB Gabe,
Baqubah, Iraq
APO AE 09336

Observations of an evangelist - by Jerry Drace

Here is a timely commentary from Evangelist Jerry Drace, Observations of an Evangelist, regarding the state of today's church. It is taken from Baptist Press - BPNews.net 10-25-06

Since February 1975 when God led me to establish the Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association He has allowed me to preach in more than 1,000 churches across our nation. In His divine providence He has placed me in the company of some of His choicest servants as well as some who seek to be served. Throughout the past 31 years I have kept notes and observations on each of the pastors, staffs and churches where my team and I have been privileged to present the claims of Christ. I am sure some of these observations will be misunderstood, others will be embraced. I wish to share only 13 in hopes they will serve as a catalyst for your own reflections:

-- I have observed the lowering of the standards of holiness from the pulpit to the pew. It appears we are seeking to develop happy churches, but not holy churches. One pastor stated that he wanted his people to leave the Sunday morning worship feeling "affirmed, approved and applauded". Whatever happened to leaving feeling confronted, convicted, confessed and cleansed? Spurgeon put it in perspective years ago when he said, "Of all the griefs the church ever feels, the keenest is when those who once stood in her midst dishonor the name of Christ by unholy living."

-- I have observed the seductive fashions of the world being worn in the worship centers of our churches. Teenage girls and sometimes their mothers wear clothes to church they neither could wear to school nor in the workplace. The same applies to the male gender. We have developed such a laxity in our attire the result has numbed the spiritual senses of being in the presence of Deity. I am fully aware that God looks on the heart, but clothing, or the lack thereof, should not distract from looking into His face.

-- I have observed more and more churches having fewer and fewer revivals. Of course, the rural church will always hold a revival, whether they actually have one or not, the third week of August. Vance Havner once said, "Preachers speak of 'holding revivals'. Somebody ought to turn one loose!" Real revival -- which takes prayer and preparation and sees scores ushered into the Kingdom and church members rekindling the fire within -- is quickly giving way to one-day events. We have stopped singing "Take Time To Be Holy," because we don't have the time.

-- I have observed more and more churches decreasing from mortification rather than increasing due to salvation. There is more life outside in most church cemeteries than inside on the pews. At least in the cemeteries the grass grows and the flowers bloom. If there is not a revival in our land many of our rural churches will become bed and breakfast inns and our larger churches will be turned into antique malls. If you don't believe this, visit Great Britain.

-- I have observed more and more churches growing by transferring letters rather than transforming lives. It doesn't take a genius to build a church numerically. Given the right staff and programs you can fill a church. However, there is an eternal difference between filling a church with people and filling the people inside the church.

-- I have observed more and more pastors and evangelists preaching someone else’s sermons rather than studying and preaching their own. The call to preach has been replaced with the desire to succeed. Being an expounder of the Word requires time alone with God. Being a mouth for God to the people of God is an awesome responsibility. Preaching someone else's anointed sermon doesn't guarantee your anointment. If the sermon isn't gathered and set ablaze in the pastor's heart it likely won't spread to the hearts of the church members. Some of the greatest proclaimers of the Good News are seldom heard because they neither pastor a mega church nor are the featured speakers on Christian cruises.

-- I have observed unethical and even immoral conduct by religious leaders with little or no remorse on their part once their deeds were made public. The graveyard of compromise is filled with those who listened to the sirens of the world. Accountability and integrity were sacrificed for personal gain and puffed-up egos. When Christian leaders become legends in their own minds the ice has already broken.

-- I have observed the policies of the community dictating the policies of the church, especially in the area of sports. We now schedule the events of the church around the athletic calendar of our schools or recreational departments. We have surrendered to the god of sports. Many of our parents allow their children to play their favorite sport on Sunday morning with the rationale, "What can we do about it?" These same parents wouldn't allow their children to skip school for a church event. We even close our churches on Sunday nights if it is a national holiday. Good thing God doesn't cancel His services.

-- I have observed more and more churches teaching the latest trends in church growth rather than the doctrines of the Scriptures. We have churches full of people who can quote from the latest church growth guru, but for the life of them they can neither recall nor defend any of the doctrines of the Bible. We can be seeker friendly and purpose driven, but if we fail to seek Christ and find our purpose in Him alone all the books, seminars and mega conferences will only impede the salvation of the lost and the disciplining of the saved.

-- I have observed us becoming a people who enjoy the expression of worship without encountering the experience of worship. No one enjoys beautiful choruses more than me, yet with the freedom of style which this has ushered into our churches we must be careful not to allow our performance to overshadow His presence. Celebration without commitment leads to worthless worship.

-- I have observed religion becoming big business. Christian recording artists are now referred to as superstars and certain pastors are touted as religious CEOs. Religious leaders have evolved from troublers of society to trend-setters in society. We have religious personalities who are known as much for their political creeds as their theological convictions. Simple statements from the Bible are marketed into multimillion dollar enterprises. An executive in a Christian publication company once told me, "It's all about the buck." You half expect to see certain religious organizations listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

-- I have observed a few proclaimers who have comprised their call because of a cowardly commitment to the truths of God's Word. This brings about a deceitful delivery of devilish doctrines. The end result is a man who panders to the people and prostitutes the proclamation in the process. When wickedness enters the doors of the church it soon spreads throughout the land without any opposition. Satan himself could not have better allies than pastors who refuse to preach the truths of the Scriptures and church members who refuse to live godly lives.

-- I have observed a righteous remnant in every church who have a hunger and thirst for experiencing God to the fullest. It is this group, both young and old, who will pass on the teachings and doctrines of Holy Scripture to the next generation. Praise God for ministers and members who are not driven by fashions and trends, but remain faithful and true to fulfilling the Great Commission.

Jerry Drace is a past president of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists. In addition to revivals and area wide crusades, he and his wife, Becky, conduct Hope for the Home conferences. They live in Jackson, Tenn. More information about the Draces is available at www.jdea.tn.org and www.HopefortheHome.org.

Larnelle Harris At AFA Offices Today

Here at AFA and AFR we have been looking forward to a visit from one of my all time favorite Chrisitan music artists, Larnelle Harris, who is here today to help us promote Pastor Appreciation Month. If you are not familiar with Larnelle, he is an amazing volalist and composer. Take a look at his many awards and accolades.

We spent the day today on AFR urging our listeners to pray daily for their pastor! Click here for a form to let us know that you are praying for your pastor. If the pastor you honored wins the prize pack they become qualified for the grand prize drawing - a cabin for two on the AFR Family Fun Cruise! Throughout this special day, they will announce the names of pastors that are being prayed for.

Tamara Durham in our office suprised me with a snapshot she took of my little visit with Larnelle following our staff devotional time where he had shared a couple of songs and words this morning. Wow! What an annointed powerful vocalist who has so faithfully carried the Lord's song all around this nation and world! Larnelle shared from his heart and God's Word in Ephesians 6 about how our pastor's are under spiritual attack and in desperate need of the prayers of God's people. It was obvious from Larnell's words that he clearly understands the all-out spiritual attack which all Christian leaders are under and God's pathway to victory.

Larnelle and I chatted for a few moments this morning and it didn't take long until the conversation turned to our grandchildren. I also took the opportunity to reminisce with him a little about his visit to Tupelo in the mid nineties when AFR sponsored his concert at the Tupelo Civic Auditorium where I directed a 50 voice back up choir for him. I will never forget the experience of sharing a time of minsitry with this incredible servant of the Kingdom.