All In! Living The Mission Of God

I want you to hear a story that started many years ago, which really reached it's climax on November 21, 2011, when I received a Facebook message from Athena. This is a story of toxic leadership and spiritual abuse, manipulation, and loss. You'll hear Athena's story of falling prey to a cult that took everything from her. You will also hear how God brought this story full circle. This is also a story of redemption, healing, and hope. You can find Athena's book Full Circle: Coming Home to the Faithfulness of God through Redemption Press or on Amazon. You can connect with Athena at Redemption Press or her personal website. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe in Apple Podcasts or Sti

I got to know Tim over the last few years while we were doing our master’s degree. He gave me his book The Backside of Hope and I was seriously blown away. I thought he was either Mike Warnke or the most transformed person I’ve met. His book is about how God transformed his life and gave him hope. Woven into his journey is forgiveness, restoration, and receiving the love of the Heavenly Father. It's this remarkable love that ultimately surpasses anything one could ever imagine or hope for.  You can get in touch with Tim and Dhana through their Facebook page or emailing timothywimberly@gmail.com. Tim's book The Backside of Hope is for sale on Amazon. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscr

Hey everybody! Welcome back to the podcast. Can God be trusted? If you spend your whole life serving God, can He really be trusted? What about when the unthinkable happens? Today we’re going to explore what happens to a man, to a family, to a person, when the unthinkable happens and try to learn to follow God in the dark.  Steve Mickel had it all. And on Thursday, June 16th, 2016 the unthinkable happened. You'll hear Steve's story about growing in faith as he walked through the dark. You can order Steve's book, and find other resources like the Trust Assessment at walkinginthedark.org. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. As a

Hey everybody! This week I am coming to you from Pasadena, CA. This is a message I gave to the members of Pasadena Foursquare Church, I hope you enjoy! If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. As always, you can connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. It's your life, now go live it! I am among the more than two dozen missionaries supported by the Foursquare Missions International Global Missions Fund. To support our global missions efforts, visit The Global Missions Fund. Post may contain affiliate links. All proceeds are used to support the missions work. Thanks for listening!

Hey everybody! I am excited for you to listen to today's episode. It was a real joy to interview Yaseer Handall, missionary to the Native Americans. Yaseer grew up in Mexico City, where he became addicted to drugs at a very young age. God intervened in this young man's life and placed an amazing call on him. Yaseer and his family are doing great things for the Kingdom, and he is the real deal! If you would like to partner with Yaseer, you can visit his website for more info. You can also check out Arise Coffee, where the proceeds go towards the vision of reaching the native people. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. As alwa

Hey everybody! We are coming to the climax of our Lenten Journey: Easter is on its way. This week, Holy Week, as you contemplate the joys and mysteries of our salvation in Christ, let your heart be filled with bright faith and overflowing joy. Great is the Mystery We Confess: Christ has Died Christ is Risen Christ will come again. Lent is a season of joy! Because we are drawing near to God. Lent is a season of joy! Because Christ is Risen! When Hope Breaks Through John 20:1-9 Easter Sunday is the Promise of New Life Resurrection Power is available to all for personal transformation Three Big Problems facing people today: Meaninglessness “You Don't Have to Be Neurotic to Feel Insecure: Finding the Courage to Deal With Guilt, Meaninglessness and Despair” by Reginald Stackhouse, Ph.D Empty Senseless Useless Worthless Pointless Inconsequential Purposeless Hollow Trivial Futile This was my condition before Christ. Guilt: This universal human condition. God has hardwired us to know right and wrong Shame Se

Hey everybody! We are still in the time of Lent, a Spiritual spring cleaning. If you have missed any of the series, you can go back and listen to parts 1-5). As we explore the Prayer of Saint Ephrem today, I want to focus on the final phrase of the prayer: "Grant me to see my own error and not to judge my brother". The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust for power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant. Yes, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. 1 John 1:5-2:11 When I turn from the path of love, I embark upon a journey into darkness. When I betray the law of love I enter a world of self-deception. When I betray the law of love, I begin to see the world in a way that justifies When I see a self-justifying world, my view of reality becomes distorted. When I betray the law of love, I sta

Hey everybody! We are continuing our Lent series, exploring the prayer of St. Ephrem. In the previous episodes (Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four) we explored the “take from me” segments of this prayer. The next few episodes are the ones I have been dreading, because frankly, I do not know anything about these virtues. So, I am coming today not as a teacher, but as a fellow pilgrim. And these are some of the things I am seeing on this journey. Last week, we look at chastity and humility. This week we will look at patience and love. The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust for power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant. Yes, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. Patience (Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible). Ability to take a great deal of punishment from evil people or circumsta

Hey everybody! We are continuing in our Lent series. In the previous three episodes (part one, part two, and part three) we explored the “take from me” segments of this prayer. The next few episodes are the ones I have been dreading, because frankly, I do not know anything about these virtues. So, I am coming today not as a teacher, but as a fellow pilgrim. Today we will focus on chastity and humility. The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust for power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant. Yes, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. Chastity: In 2015 I wrote this article on Chastity "Religion has too often been an agent of anti-life, a negation of the goodness of God’s creation. We fast, we abstain, we humble ourselves, we embrace discipline, and we speak of dying to ourselves. When not

Hey everybody! If you haven't listened to the Lent series, part one and two, go back and listen. Today I will continue talking to you about the Lenten prayer of Saint Ephrem. This prayer has proved to be very useful in this season of spring cleaning for your soul. We have already covered sloth and faint-heartedness last week. This week we will talk about the lust for power and idle talk. The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust for power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant. Yes, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. What is Lust for Power? As strange as it may seem, it is sloth and faint-heartedness that fills our hearts with a lust for power. If my life is not oriented toward God, not aimed at eternal values, it will inevitably become selfish and self-centered and this means that al

This week we are continuing our Lenten series using the prayer of Saint Ephrem. If you missed last week's episode, go back and listen and get up to speed on what we're doing. This prayer goes back about 1800 years. It is used around the time of Lent. Here is how it goes: The Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephrem O Lord and Master of my life! Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust for power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to Your servant. Yes, O Lord and King! Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother; For You are blessed unto ages of ages. Amen. A. Today I want to focus on the first two negative parts of the prayer. Sloth and Faint-heartedness. Acedia:  “The demon of acedia, also called the ‘noonday devil,’ is the most oppressive of all demons.” Evagrius of Pontus B. The basic disease is Sloth It is that strange laziness and passivity that pushes us down, not up. Procrastination is one of its manifestations Sloth constantly con

Hey everybody. I'm starting a journey this week, a journey into the Lenton season. I started doing Lent type things in the early 2000's because I wanted to experience spiritual "spring cleaning. Lent is an old Saxon word meaning Springtime and has been around for over 2000 years. Lent was a period of early observers would begin to prepare themselves 40 days before Easter. If people have been doing this for so long and it has been helpful for them, I should listen to them! I am inviting you to go with me into a season of “deep cleaning” with me in this Lenton season. Fasting is part of Lent.  Let go of something in order to take up something else. To fast is to slow down. For these weeks leading up to Easter, set aside this time to let the Lord work deeply in you. For no other reason than to draw you closer to Him, to be restored in Him. Focus: Repentance, Turning to the Lord Renewing our mind Renovating our heart A few tools we will use: The Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem The Daily Office from the Book

Hey everybody! This week we have a repeat guest, Gabe Barreiro. When I last interviewed him, he was the Missional Pastor of the Northwest  Foursquare District. Since then he has transitioned into the role of district supervisor for the North Pacific District. Gabe and I have become great friends over the years, and I am glad I was able to get him back on the podcast. Enjoy the episode. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. As always, you can connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. It's your life, now go live it! I am among the more than two dozen missionaries supported by the Foursquare Missions International Global Missions Fu

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,     “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,     but of hearing the words of the Lord." (Amos 8:11, ESV) I think Amos 8:11 sets the context of this week's episode well. So often sermons are no more than motivational speeches. I have a deep passion for taking Scripture and preaching the Word of God. While thinking of how to address this issue, I could think of no one better than my friend, Dr. Steve Schell from Northwest Foursquare Church. I know that this episode will be of great help. Enjoy! Recommended Resources: Strongs Concordance Unabridged Bible Concordance for translation you use How to Prepare Bible Messages by James Braga Moody Handbook on Preaching by John Koessler Preaching Through Romans by Steve Schell Life Lessons Radio Broadcast You can connect with Steve by visiting  Northwest Foursquare Church's website or checking out his Radio Broadcast. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word

Hey everybody! This week I'm interviewing Brett Toft. He and his wife Tammy, who was guest #2 on this podcast, are missionaries to the Nordic area of Europe. He and his wife have faithfully served in Estonia through Serve the City and The Butterfly Project. They are in the process of moving to Denmark to continue answering God's call to serve the Nordic People. In this episode, Brett talks about the lessons he has learned as a pastor and a leader. As well as share how he is serving the emerging leaders. I think you'll enjoy it. Recommended Resources: Episode 002: Interview with Tammy Toft on Reaching Those in the Sex Industry The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman You can contact Brett through Facebook. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or di

Welcome to 2017 everybody! I've recuperated from the holidays and am excited to be back in the swing of things. To kick off the podcast in 2017, we have Dennis Easter with us. Dennis is the Foursquare district supervisor of Southern California. He is doing great things there and I think he has great insights for you. In this episode we chat about the importance of relationships, preparing for the future, and the impact soul care has on leaders. I hope you enjoy this episode. If you'd like to get into contact with Dennis, email him at deaster@foursquare.org or visit the SoCal District Website. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episod

Hey everybody! We have a special episode for you today. We were in contact with Alan Hirsch about coming on the podcast to do an interview. He was willing to do it with us, but suggested sending us an interview he had just done on the Hardcore Church Planting podcast, because his schedule was a little crazy. We said "sure, why not!" Alan Hirsch is a brilliant and thought-provoking author, and I think you’ll enjoy this episode. Let me know what you think about it. This is our final podcast for 2016. We are going to take a Christmas break and will be back mid January with new episodes! Recommended Reading: The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating Apostolic Movements by Alan Hirsch The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church by Alan Hirsch  On the Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church by Alan Hirsch  You can find Alan Hirsch on his website. Find the original recording of this podcast on iTunes and listen to more of Hardcore Church Planting podcasts! If you're

Hey everybody! This week, I'm interviewing Bill Gross. He is the Foursquare District Supervisor for the Southeast District. Before he took over as district supervisor, he worked at the National Church Office with Pastor Tammy Dunahoo. He was involved with training district supervisors and with church multiplication. I got to know Bill at the Church planters cohort in Seattle a few years back and have enjoyed listening to what he has to share. I hope you enjoy this episode. Recommended Resources: Episode 078: The Intersection of the Gospel and the Gay Community, an Interview with Brad Williams The Newbigin Guantlet: Developing a Domestic Missiology for North America by George Hunsberger The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigin A Scandalous Prophet: The Way of Mission After Newbigin Models of Contextual Theology by Stephen B. Bevans Screw Tape Letters by C.S. Lewis Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon If you'd like to get into contact with Bill, email him at hopebill@me.com. If you're

Hey everybody! This week I have the special privilege of interviewing Mike and Mary Bave. They are FMI missionaries to Wales. They are part of an amazing ministry focused on community outreach, where "food always works". I hope you enjoy this episode. If you'd like to get into contact with Mike and Mary, you can email them at: mbave@btinternet.com.  If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. As always, you can connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. It's your life, now go live it! I am among the more than two dozen missionaries supported by the Foursquare Missions International Global Missions Fund. To support our global missions ef

Hey everybody! A few weeks ago I had the privilege of teaching a workshop at the North Pacific district conference in Bend, Oregon. I recorded the workshop where I talk about how I've had a transformation in my reading of the book of Romans. I hope you enjoy. If you're enjoying this podcast, spread the word by sharing it with your friends and leaving a review on iTunes. I encourage you to send me your feedback or suggestions for an interview. Help me help you. You can email me at jroper@foursquare.org, or direct message me on Facebook. You can also submit any feedback or questions here. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in iTunes or Stitcher so you don't miss an episode. As always, you can connect with me on Facebook or Twitter. It's your life, now go live it! I am among the more than two dozen missionaries supported by the Foursquare Missions International Global Missions Fund. To support our global missions efforts, visit The Global Missions Fund. Post may contain affiliate links. All proceeds are u