Sept/Oct Update

Dear Praying Friends and Ministry Partners,

It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through September! The summer days have passed by quickly, leaving us with memories of what the Lord has done and with anticipation of what He will do in the coming months. We truly appreciate your interest in our mission to Proclaim the Hope of the Gospel in France and your desire to stay tuned in to what the Lord is doing in our lives to prepare us for that ministry. In order to provide more frequent insights into how God is working in us, we are posting thoughts about mission philosophy, facts about France, and deputation news on our blog. You can access the blog by clicking “Cole News” at http://www.hopeforfrance.org/.

The End of an Era
As we mentioned in our last letter, Michael successfully defended his doctoral dissertation on July 7, and we are praising God for his mercy and sustaining strength. Following the defense, there were a couple more rounds of corrections for Michael to complete, but we have now officially witnessed the end of the “Ph.D. Era” in our lives: Michael handed over the final draft of his dissertation to the Records Office at BJU! We look forward to the conferral of the degree in May, 2009. It is our desire that God will allow us to use what Michael has learned over the past decade to make and mature disciples for Christ in France.

Moving On
Turning the corner on the dissertation process has allowed Michael to devote more time to contacting pastors to schedule meetings. In our last letter, we asked you to pray that God would provide meetings for this Fall. In the Lord’s wise providence, we have not yet been able to schedule meetings for the remainder of this year (with the exception of two missions conferences we had previously scheduled). God has provided some meetings for 2009, and Michael continues to contact pastors about meetings for this Fall. Please pray for God’s will to be done. We are currently considering several options for how to best use these last few months of 2008 if God does not provide meetings. Whatever we do, we desire to follow the Lord in faith.

Our Supporters
We are happy to report that the Lord has moved two churches and two families to help support us! The sacrifices these people are making humble us and motivate us to work hard on deputation and in our future ministry in France so that their support is well used. With the current support coming in as well as a support increase starting in January from our sending church, our support level will be $490 per month—almost 10% of our estimated need. Hitting the Road for a Short Trip Mid-October, we will have the privilege of participating in a missions conference in Rockford, IL. We’re excited about the opportunity to present our mission and spend several days with the church people getting to know them and letting them get to know us. Following the conference, we’ll jump back into writing and calling pastors. At this point, we have contacted pastors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, and California. Although we know that we need to labor diligently in the work the Lord has given us, we realize that God alone can produce fruit from our labors.

Please Pray for Us That…
1). God will accomplish sanctification in us through the deputation process. 2). We will trust God for his timing and have his wisdom concerning our transition into full-time deputation. 3). God will fill our deputation schedule for 2009. 4). God will lead us to churches of a like mind who will partner with us by supporting us financially. 5). God will use us to awaken Christians to the spiritual needs of the French and to Christ’s redemptive purposes for the world. 6). We will continue to grow and develop so that we will be useful tools for the Lord in France.

God bless you for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. Your gracious ministry to us is a blessing from our Lord!

Seek the Father in the Son!

A majority of French people question the very existence of God. If, however, a Frenchman allows for the existence of a "God," most likely he will be an agnostic, questioning whether it is possible to know that God. The question "Can I know God?" is not a bad one, if one asks it because one knows that sin separates him from God. In essence, no matter why one asks the question, the answer remains the same. Yes, God can be known in His Son, Jesus!

These thoughts arise from my consideration of Hebrews 1. What a mercy that God has revealed himself to us! What an opportunity we have to direct men's attention to the only One who can reveal God the Father to sinful men! What a joy to explain that the Son has made it possible for sinners to approach God safely!


John Owen writes the following concerning the self-revelation of God in Christ. It is, of course, difficult to digest, but wading through the quotation is worth the effort because it is encouraging and convicting.


"Would we come to that acquaintance with the nature, properties, and excellencies of the Father, which poor, weak, finite creatures are capable of attaining in this world,--which is sufficient that we may love him, fear him, serve him, and come unto the enjoyment of him? would we know his love and grace? would we admire his wisdom and holiness?--let us labour to come to an intimate and near acquaintance with his Son Jesus Christ, in whom all these things dwell in their fullness, and by whom they are exhibited, revealed, unfolded unto us; seek the Father in the Son, out of whom not one property of the divine nature can be savingly apprehended or rightly understood, and in whom they are all exposed to our faith and spiritual contemplation. This is our wisdom, to abide in Christ, to abide with him, to learn him; and in him we shall learn, see, and know the Father also" (Commentary on Hebrews, 3:100).

Now, if only I can express that in French.

Arresting Caveat

David Hesselgrave issues this startling warning against impatience in understanding the mindset of one's target audience:

"The missionary who takes the Fall seriously, then, must stop to define his terms. Which terms? Those terms indicated by the distance between divine truth and cultural error. The definitional process must proceed by comparison and contrast. If this process seems too painstaking for the Western missionary who is used to instant everything--from instant cake to instant coffee--so be it. But he should know that to build Christian conversion on non-Christian foundations is like building skyscrapers on sand. The mission fields are well populated with men and women who have been ushered into the heavenlies without knowing why they got on the elevator. Once back on earth they have no intention of being taken for another ride" (Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally, 151-51).

Ziegenbalg and Plutschau

I've been reading Stephen Neill's A History of Christian Missions off and on for months now. Although the book is relatively short (478 pp.), Neill offers a good bit of detail concerning past efforts to evangelize the world. He attempts to trace the evangelistic efforts of Christendom as a whole, so he includes Roman Catholic and Orthodox missions. Although the book is a history and therefore supposedly interested only in relaying fact, I wish Neill would more forwardly express the fact that the erroneous views of the gospel held by the Roman and Orthodox churches compromise and eventually invalidate identifying their work as Christian missions.


That said, I want to turn to the focus of this post. While I have enjoyed reading about past missionary endeavors, I have especially appreciated the fact that Neill sometimes includes the principles which guided these historic efforts. His treatment of Bartholomew Ziegenbalg and Henry Plutschau is one example. These men were Pietistic Germans sent out by the King of Denmark in 1705 to south-east India. They also happen to be Europe's first non-catholic missionaries to India. Neill records 5 principles that these men followed in their attempts to make disciples (pp. 194-97). I will include all five even though the first two do not directly apply to our mission to France.


1. "Church and school are to go together." That is, people must be able to read the Bible, so the mission must provide education.


2. "If Christians are to read the Word of God, that word must be available to them in their own language."


3. "The preaching of the Gospel must be based on an accurate knowledge of the mind of the people." I think this principle applies to our mission to France. At the most basic level, such efforts may contribute to building a rapport with our target audiences because it will hopefully communicate the sincerity of our desire to know and help them. Beyond that, however, it will help us know where to begin our presentation of the gospel. In light of the fact that a majority of the French are practically atheists or agnostics, our starting point will very often have to be the assertion that God exists and rightfully demands their devotion. This assertion must be presented as the Bible's claim and supported by evidence from science, etc. Third, a knowledge of the French worldviews will also show us what terms we need to carefully define so that we do not unwittingly cloud the gospel by carelessly using words that carry unbiblical connotations in the French culture. Fourth, understanding the mindset will help us know which ideas we should emphasize. For instance, a pervasiveness of the belief in the goodness of man necessitates a focus on man's inherent sinfulness and guilt, but to those convinced of their guilt, a greater emphasis on the good news of reconciliation instead of sustained emphasis on sin and guilt would be appropriate. Fifth, acquiring this knowledge will help us remove as many stumbling blocks as possible. The gospel itself is a stumbling block to the natural man. We do not want to add other stumbling blocks simply because we are ignorant of the French way of thinking.


4. "The aim must be definite and personal conversion." In the setting faced by Ziegenbalg and Plutschau, this emphasis was not due to the danger of mass conversions, but of professions based on the desire to profit materially from the missionaries. The gospel is attractive to those who are in some sort of need. Self-sufficient and self-reliant people aren't looking for help outside themselves. But the down and outers need outside relief. We must be careful to avoid communicating any hint of the health/wealth perversion of the gospel. We cannot present Jesus and his gospel as a way out of suffering and misery on this earth. The effects of the gospel may deliver us from some of the results of our sin, but the gospel also may be the reason we enter into persecution, etc. So we need to make sure that we are careful to present the gospel call as a call to follow Christ in his suffering. We also must take pains against creating an atmosphere that inclines people to "convert" for the purpose of obtaining our material help.


5. "At as early a date as possible, an Indian Church, with its own Indian ministry must come into being." Obviously, for our purposes, the desire is for a French church with French leaders. We are committed to the establishment of French churches in France. We do not desire to set up little ecclesiastical kingdoms over which we are the heads. Our desire is that God will raise up men among the French believers to lead his church. Actually, both Tim and I have undergone extensive training for the purpose of teaching others to lead the French church. Nor do we desire to import the forms of Southern American Christianity into France. A church whose outward forms are consistent with the French way of thinking (and the Bible, of course) will be far more effective in winning the French people. The best way for that to take place is for French men to take the reigns of leadership. Finally, we want to instill within the French a feeling of responsibility for French churches. We do not want to establish churches that are dependent upon the "free" labor of the missionaries or on gifts from supporting churches. Although we aim to spend ourselves in beginning churches and training leaders for those churches, our goal is for French believers to view themselves as the primary means by which the church is established, maintained, and grown. We also desire that they feel responsible to give of themselves and their finances for the purpose of being the primary supporters of their pastors and the needs of the church.

Self-testing on the Mission Field

"When we realize a constant enemy of the soul abides within us, what diligence and watchfulness we should have! How woeful is the sloth and negligence then of so many who live blind and asleep to this reality of sin. There is an exceeding efficacy and power in the indwelling sin of believers, for it constantly inclines itself towards evil. We need to be awake, then, if our hearts would know the ways of God. Our enemy is not only upon us, as it was with Samson, but it is also in us. So if we would not dishonor God and His gospel, if we would not scandalize the saints of God, if we would not avoid our own conscience and endanger our own soul, if we would not grieve the Holy Spirit, then we must stay alert to our own danger" (John Owen, Sin and Temptation, 7).

As I ponder this quotation, I realize how necessary self-examination will be once in France. (Not that it isn't important now in the US, but I am thinking of our mission to France.) I need God to search me now while I have a church family to support me. I will definitely need God to search me in France when I will lack a strong church to encourage and help me. In France, the Bible will be one of the primary means by which God checks my spirit. (Thank God I will also have a good wife and the Bixbys while in France.) Recently I have especially thought of self-testing along the lines of Proverbs 2:1-4. I think of these verses as providing something I call the 3E test. The first test of my condition has to do with my Estimation. I must ask myself if I value wisdom (the skill to please God) above all things or if my pleasure or will rank above God's. The second test of my spiritual state involves my Emotions. What do I love? What moves me to action? If it is not God and his ways, then I am off base. The final test has to do with Energy. What am I putting my strength into? If I find myself spending more energy on my pleasure, pet projects, entertainment, etc. then it is time to repent and ask God for a reallignment.

It is scary to think that there remains within me a bent away from God. The enemy within wants nothing to do with the conversion of the French. It will undermine all my intentions with selfishness and pride. Thank God for his Word that can pick out and suppress my remaining corruption. Thank God for the Spirit who strives against my flesh. Thank God for the hope that in Christ Jesus he can keep me from falling until the final day!

Confirm for us the work of our hands

"Let the favor of our Lord be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands" (Ps. 90:17).

This past Monday (July 7) I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation. The credit for this goes to the Lord. He has been faithful to us over the entire course of this project, but his mercy has been especially evident over the past few months. Although the disappointment of failing to pass the first defense was acute, the Lord has worked grace in us in various ways. We have been forced to trust in his wisdom and love. I have been forced to humble myself. We have learned that our duty is to persevere through difficulties and that questioning the Lord's providence only clouds circumstances. Above all, we have been reminded of our Lord's loyal love toward us and his wisdom.

I am grateful for the many who have contributed toward the successful completion of this project. The people of Cleveland Park Bible Church have consistently encouraged me and prayed for me and my family. Chuck and Alice Mann (Liz's parents) have encouraged me and shown genuine interest in me. My parents (Rick and Brenda) have also supported us during the whole project. My professors have served me with their diligent and detailed reading of my dissertation. Their comments and suggestions have greatly improved the final result. All of these and more have contributed greatly to the success, but Liz deserves the most thanks. She has been a faithful companion to me during my schooling. She has worked jobs she did not really enjoy so I could focus on the project. She has encouraged me when I needed it, sympathized with me when I was down, and celebrated with me in prosperous times.

The defense went well, although the hours preceding it were a bit hectic. The Lord kept me calm and gave me a successful completion to the project. I have a few more corrections to make and then we will have finished this aspect of our lives.

I entered the Ph.D. course on the advice of a professor who told us to plan for 20 years down the road. I have no idea what is coming, but I trust that God will use the classes I have taken and this dissertation process for his glory.

Liz and I thank God for confirming the work of our hands and giving us a successful completion to this project.

Presentation at Lakeview Baptist

Liz and I are grateful for the opportunity we had

to present our work at Lakeview Baptist Church in Pickens, SC. Pastor Mike Belcher and the people of the church received us graciously and listened to us attentively. We enjoyed getting a taste of what their ministry is like and learning more about their passion to see our Lord exalted in their community. I had met brother Mike previously through a mutual friend. He is a serious pastor, committed to reaching his community and discipling his flock.

Pastor Belcher allowed me to give our team mission to the church and then preach. I preached from the end of Matthew 11 concerning the essence of the gospel and the importance of correctly defining it in light of our mission to France. Following the service, we spent time talking with fellow Christians and were warmed by their concern for us and their desire to encourage us concerning our mission. As always, Viviane was the most popular member of our family, but the people of Lakeview showed Liz and me great kindness as well. We thank the Lord for the opportunity to present our ministry to this group of brothers and sisters.

The Lord's Provision

As Liz and I look back over the past few months, we cannot help but thank the Lord for His provisions. In January, we spent a great 3 days with Faith Bible Church in Naples, FL. They were very kind and hospitable toward us during the missions conference and sent us away with a significant love offering which enabled us to purchase a Dell Inspiron 1720 to replace our aging laptop. The Dell has already proven to be much better at displaying our mission presentation.

The Lord has also used family members to help us along the way. Chuck and Alice Mann (Liz's parents) donated a 1997 Chevy Lumina with low mileage for us to use on deputation. We have enjoyed the reliability and the comfort of this car on several trips to different churches already.

Another blessing was the gift of a printer/copier/scanner by Rick and Brenda Cole (Michael's parents). This machine produces better quality prints than our old printer at a much more rapid rate.

We cannot adequately express our thanks to the Lord and His people for their generous care for us. Our desire for posting this information is that many will give thanks to God for the gifts He has provided through other Christians.

April 13 at Toxaway Baptist

Liz and I had a great time with the people of Toxaway Baptist church (Westminster, S.C.) this past weekend. I met their pastor, Chris Connally, at a "BAD DOG" meeting this past February. I should explain that "BADDOG" means "Brothers always discussing doctrines of grace," referring to three pastors who meet together regularly for fellowship and encouragement.

Liz and I found that the Westminster area is beautiful. When we arrived, we found an attractive building with a beautiful group of brothers and sisters. In the photo below, the smaller, detached, white building behind the sanctuary is the original building which was built in the latter half of the 1800s.

In spite of a slight delay because of a road detour not noted on Map Quest, Liz and I arrived only a few minutes before SS began. Liz gave her testimony in the SS right before I told the church about our mission. The people were very attentive and asked good questions following the presentation. Chris also allowed me to preach in the morning and evening services. In the AM service I preached from Matthew 11:28ff on the essence of the gospel. That night I preached on how Christians should carry out their evangelistic mission in a hostile culture in light of the letter to Titus. I found that this group of believers was easy to preach to because they desired to hear what God says.

The people at Toxaway treated us like royalty. They were friendly and welcoming to us. Chris and his family took us out to eat for lunch and then allowed us to stay in the church's fellowship hall. He and his wife had stocked the hall with snacks and drinks and told us to make ourselves at home. We are very grateful for their hospitality and thank God for the generosity of his people. Below is a photo of Liz talking with a new found friend. Liz and the ladies really hit it off. (I liked the men as well!) The last photo is of Brother Chris and his family. Again, Liz and I extend a big thank you to the Connallys and the people of Toxaway Baptist Church.

Stamp Creek Baptist Church

This past weekend, April 5, I led a Bible study on the role of men in the home for the men of Stamp Creek Baptist Church in Salem, S.C. Approximately 12 men gathered early on a rainy Saturday morning and enjoyed a good time of fellowship around good food and the Bible. The men responded well to the teaching and we enjoyed time together following the study. Shawn Bateman (pastor) and I then went to pay a visit to a Christian man in the hospital.





Liz, Viviane, and I had previously visited Stamp Creek on March 2. I work with the pastor, Shawn Bateman, at UPS. He graciously invited us to present our work in France to his church. Liz and I gave our testimonies in the SS hour, and I preached from 2 Corinthians 5 in the morning service. Following the morning service, we enjoyed a delicious meal with the church in their fellowship hall.








This provided us opportunities to meet with the church members in a more relaxed setting. We truly enjoyed getting to know these folks. Following the meal I presented our mission to France and preached from Romans 1:5 on the ultimate goal and motivation for foreign missions: Christ's glory.

Liz and I enjoyed our Sunday meeting with Stamp Creek and I enjoyed the Bible study and breakfast this past Saturday. We look forward to a continued relationship with this nice group of brothers and sisters, and trust that God will bless their efforts in the Salem area.

Hospitality and missions

Beginning the "pre-field" aspect of our mission has caused me to reflect on 3 John 5-8 and the relationship between hospitality and missions. John praised his readers for their love toward those who were taking the gospel to the nations and urged them to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. Such hospitality and provision were surely needed in a time when public hotels were few and far between and when Christians were not, on the whole, wealthy. An abundance of safe hotels today, however, does not negate the role of generous hospitality in foreign missions. We are grateful for gracious Christians who have opened their homes to us or put us up in hotels in our first two months of deputation. They have saved us a great deal of money that can be directed toward getting us to the field more quickly. Our times in these homes have also provided us with many opportunities to praise God for his gracious working in our hosts lives. We are very grateful for the Hartels, the Bowmans, the Coles, the Burggraffs, the Bueltels, and the Knights who have been so gracious and kind to us. You proved faithful in your efforts on our behalf and we view you as coworkers in our mission. God is not so unjust as to forget your labor of love toward the saints for the sake of Christ. We are grateful for you and for God's wise plan of using your hospitality to encourage us and send us on our way.

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