BrianIngraham.com | ASPIRE

“The most influential book I have ever read.”

Those words always capture my attention especially coming from a person I esteem. Add to that, the book referenced being a biography of a godly man and I become intensely interested. Add to that, a book written about a man who lived in an era much like today, a preacher in the SAME CITY I preach in, and a person used by God to change his times, and I am ready… Amazon, here I come.

There are several biographies on GEORGE WHITEFIELD, but the one which has influenced so many is a 2 volume work entitled George Whitefield: The life and times of the great evangelist of the 18th century revival by Arnold Dallimore. I was tempted to get his condensed and much cheeper volume of 224 pages, but in the end I decided to go for the big dogs.

Chapter one ends with the author hoping someday for a new generation of young people who will transform their generation as completely as George Whitefield and his companions did in the 1700’s.

When speculating about the future people who will transform their days, Dallimore asks, “And what manner of men will they be?”

• “Men mighty in the Scriptures.”
• “Lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty, and the holiness of .
• “Their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the doctrines of grace.”
• “Who have learned to die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions.”
• “Men willing to be fools for Christ’s sake.”
• “Who will bear reproach and falsehood.”
• “Who will labour and suffer.”
• “Whose supreme desire will be, not to win the earth’s accolades, but to win the Master’s approbation when they appear before His awesome judgment seat.”
• “Who preach with broken hearts and tear-filled eyes.”
• “Whose ministries God will grant an extraordinary effusion of the Holy Spirit.”
• “Who will witness ‘signs and wonders following’ in the transformation of multitudes of human lives.”

This is our task, to become, and to spur one another to become, men and women who are ever increasing in these above things. Reawakening begins with us. It begins as we return to the Word, as we return to an uncompromising pursuit of personal integrity and holiness, and as we choose to walk away from our human ambitions and become consumed with the great “Well done” when we stand before God someday.

Father, Reawaken our land.  Reawaken our generation.  Reawaken us.  For the renown of your Name in our generation. Amen.

I must confess I am thoroughly enjoying my time in the States. The first week we arrived we spent a few days recovering from jetlag and then we were off to Portland for the weekend followed by a week at the ocean. Several rounds of golf, and playing at the beach, as well as important times with supporters, future teammates, and the in-laws made those days fantastic.

Week three found us at my favorite place on earth, Lakeside Bible Camp. The week was perfect. I had tons of fun with my kids and tons of great Spiritual input. Not only did I ski, but I was able to sit under excellent teaching by Dr. Arturo Azurdia III, author of Spirit Empowered Preaching. I was able to spend some extra time with him asking a wide rage of questions that I have pondered and wrestled with these past three years leading and teaching at Re:Hope. I left that week encouraged and pleasantly worn out from all the fun.

Week four I spent in New Mexico with my mother. Yes, it is true, I am now a mighty scorpion slayer…

Sunday, just before 5 in the morning, I left her weeping at the airport as we flew back to Seattle. The night before leaving I lay in bed thinking that it will be a few years before I see her again. It definitely doesn’t get easier to say good bye. The first time you leave your family there is sadness but it is also a time of facing the exciting unknown. Five years later I know how long a two years feel like, I know all the changes that take place with the kids and in life. The one consolation, the thing that keeps me going is the certainty that I am doing exactly what God wants me to be doing, where he wants me to be doing it, even though the cost feels high at moments like that. I realize I am not the only one to pay a high cost for us serving as missionaries in Scotland. Moms, dads, and grandparents all pay the high price of grief every time we board the airplane.

Now, near the beginning of week five, I have been doing some CRM stuff and writing a message to preach this Sunday. It has been a while since I spoke last, and the message writing time had me thinking a bunch about Glasgow and my church there. I am definitely going to enjoy every moment in the States but I also now feel that tug of excitement when I think about all God has done in these past few years in Glasgow. I find myself pondering what obstacles will need to be overcome, what breakthroughs will we experience… who knows? What I do know is that I have a fantastic church, a fantastic team, and a God who is still intervening and calling our church into existence.

What is God going to use us all to accomplish for His Kingdom this next year? I am just thrilled to be apart of it.