I started yesterday.  For 2 weeks I am going to try to be active on facebook and twitter.  I will see which of these assists in ministry the most.  I will keep one, probably not the other, maybe neither.  So if you are on facebook feel free to add me as a friend if you have not already.  And you can follow me on twitter at @mikeleake

Am I cool now? 

In the past year the Lord has led me to the writings and ministry of Paul Tripp. What a blessing of transformation in my life. My latest read has been Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands. I am only on chapter 2 but so far it has been wonderful. Here is a sample. Tripp is discussing the “spiritual cut-and-paste system” of Christian ministering of the word:

“In this kind of ministry, self is still at the center, personal need is the focus, and personal happiness remains the goal. But a truly effective ministry of the Word must confront our self-focus and self-absorption at its roots, opening us up to the vastness of a God-defined, God-centered world. Unless this happens, we will use the promises, principles, and commands of the Word to serve the thing we really love: ourselves. This may be why many people read and hear God’s Word regularly while their lives remain unchanged. Only when the rain of the Word penetrates the roots of the problem does lasting change occur.”

(Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, p.24-25)

By the way that picture of Tripp....yes....the 'stache is real. How can you not listen to a man with the discipline to have a mustache like that????