Truth Be Told

Regular blogging here since the beginning of 2008 has proven to be an elusive goal. By saying even that, I am probably engaging in what could properly be considered a textbook definition of the word "understatement".

"DANG straight," some may now be exclaiming, "you've practically been AWOL for four months -- you usually create more posts in a single month that all of 2008 -- and inquiring minds want to know: what's the deal with that?"

Well, it really boils down to this:

1. I was in Mexico for all of January and February, leading a DTS Outreach (but still managed the occasional post) 2. Our YWAM base has been going through some... interesting changes, so we've been chilling in the aftermath.

As further proof of God's sense of humour and comedic timing, things at our base were brought into the light on the day before Post-Charismatic? was published in the U.K., and our decision-point about our future in YWAM came the day after the book's release.

For perspective, it's important to know that YWAM is a very large and very doctrinally diverse organization. While there are commonly held values for every base in YWAM, there is also a great deal of latitude when it comes to doctrinal emphases and practices. And each YWAM base has a great deal of autonomy and freedom to develop in its own way, depending on the leadership team, and ultimately the base directors.

To make a long story short, the YWAM base that Wendy and I have been at for the past couple of years has chosen to emphasize the teachings of a local Dominionist church (link provided for the morbidly curious), which includes a heavy dose of hyper-Prosperity (Health & Wealth) teachings, and also the authoritarianism of "never question your leaders" (especially if they call themselves "Apostle").

In short, pretty much everything that I wrote against in my book. Hence the recognition of God's comedic sense of timing as all this was brought into the light.

To anticipate the questions that we have been asked by local friends and family:

• Wendy and I are doing just fine! For us, the "bringing it into the light" represented an answer to prayer in a big way. We had sensed something was afoot after returning from Mexico, and had been praying that God would make things really obvious so that we could see where things were going, and make decisions accordingly.
  
  
• Leaving a specific YWAM base is NOT synonymous with leaving YWAM.
  
  
• No, we don't know what God has for us next... yet.
  
  
• Yes, we have every confidence that if He could so clearly answer our prayers as to revealing what was brewing at our (now former) YWAM base, He will also be clear in leading us into what's next, and where, and when, and how.

"Why?" might not be one of those questions that we get an answer to, but we're okay with that. Sometimes, that's what "trust" looks like.