In a world where truth is mocked and silenced, the church must boldly defend God's indestructible truth.
875 North White Station Rd • PO Box 22366 • Memphis, TN 38122
Phone: 901.685.1969 • aljc.org
Editor-in-Chief | Nate Whitley
Art Director | Dale McBroom
Apostolic Witness is the quarterly publication and official organ of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, TN (USPS #028-040) and additional mailing offices. To order reprints call 901.685.1969
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Apostolic Witness • PO Box 22366 • Memphis, TN 38122-0366
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Individual subscriptions $20 per year. Send subscription information and check to address listed above.
ADVERTISING RATES
1/4 page $200 • 1/2 page $300 • Full page $500
For information, insertion order, or full rate card & editorial calendar, please email: editor@apostolicwitness.com
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
editor@apostolicwitness.com (may be edited)
DOCTRINAL TRUTHS
The Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ asserts that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that the fundamental plan of salvation consists of these major doctrinal truths: Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one true God; Repentance from sins; Baptism by immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ; Baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
General Superintendent | Kenneth Carpenter
Southern Regional Assistant | Jonathan Vazquez
Northern Regional Assistant | Kenneth Allen
Western Regional Assistant | Robert Wimberley
General Secretary | Josh Wilson
DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTS
Alabama | Anthony Simmons
Arkansas | Timothy White
Florida | Luis Rodriguez
Georgia | Donald Wineinger
Greater Illinois | Tracy Zimmerman
Greater New England | J. Craig Ouellette
Gulf Coast | Phillip McKissick
Heartland | Edward MacDonald
Indiana | Tim Gill
Kentucky | Phillip Cook
Louisiana | David Poole
Michigan | Shannon Scott
Mississippi | Gary Porterfield
Missouri-Iowa | Anthony Marshall
NY/Mid-Atlantic | Wayne Byrd
Ohio | Mark Hina
Oklahoma | Curt Green
Southeastern | Stacy Garnett
Tennessee | Nathan Batson
Texas | Peter Gray
Tri-State | Mark McCool
Western | Robert Jones
West TX/New Mexico | Allen Harris
West Virginia | Ralph Tisdale
HONORARY SUPERINTENDENTS
Raymond Bishop | Steve Wilson | Robert Martin
DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS
World Missions | Matthew Ball
Missions America | Steve Smith
Evangelists | David Bridges
KidzQuest | Nate Roberts II
Student Ministries | Zach Hammond
Women’s Esprit | Terri Scott
Menistry | James Chessor
Christian Education | Caleb Tisdale
TRUTH HAS FALLEN IN THE STREETS
Editorial by Nathan S. Whitley
In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries chose post-truth as its word of the year. Journalist Amy Wang noted the definition: “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” In such a climate, fact has become the servant of feeling. Truth has been demoted to a matter of preference. Doubt drives the cultural vehicle while truth sits in the back seat.
Isaiah once lamented, “Truth stumbles in the streets and honesty has been outlawed.” (Isa. 59:14b NLT). His words resonate in our moment, where a young man was fatally shot while attempting to defend the truth. Truth has stumbled. It lies beaten in the open square. It is mocked as hateful, dismissed as intolerant, or silenced by intimidation. Yet while truth may fall, it cannot die.
THE MEANING OF TRUTH
The Hebrew and Greek words for “truth” are rich in meaning. At their core, they convey conformity to fact,
correspondence with reality. Scripture consistently presents God as the source and guarantor of truth. He cannot lie (Heb. 6:18). His Word is truth (Jn. 17:17). The Spirit is the Spirit of truth (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). Jesus Christ came “full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14), declaring Himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn. 14:6).
The prophets (Jer. 8:8), Christ Himself (Mt. 24:24), and the apostles (1 Jn. 4:1–6) all warned of those who twist God’s truth into lies. Yet throughout Scripture, God’s revealed truth is placed at the center of spiritual and ethical life. It must be learned (Acts 17:11), meditated upon (Ps. 119), defended (1 Pet. 3:15–17; Jude 3). Error must be confronted in love (2 Cor. 10:3–5; 2 Tim. 2:24–26), whether in unbelievers or within the church itself.
As Douglas Groothuis has written:
“A belief or statement is true only if it matches with, reflects, or corresponds to the reality it refers to. For a statement to be true it must be factual. Facts determine the truth or falsity of a belief or a statement. It is the nature and meaning of
truth to be fact dependent. In other words, for a statement to be true, there must be a truth maker that determines its truth. A statement is never true simply because someone thinks it or utters it. We may be entitled to our own opinions, but we are not entitled to our own facts. Believing a statement is one thing; that statement being true is another.”
This is the dividing line. Truth isn’t hate speech. Facts aren’t hate speech. Disagreement isn’t intolerance. Opinions are just that—opinions. Nobody lays down their life for an opinion. But men and women have laid down their lives for truth.
THE OPPOSITION TO TRUTH
We live in an age where some would rather silence truth than debate it. They don’t want dialogue. They don’t want evidence. They want elimination. When words fail them, their fists or their weapons take over. Jesus warned His disciples that persecution would come. The opposition to truth isn’t new, and we should not be surprised.
Jesus declared Himself to be the Truth. His enemies crucified Him for His claims and His works. They mocked him as He bled on the cross, and celebrated His death as victory. Truth fell in the streets. But three days later, Truth rose from the grave.
Stephen bore witness to Christ in Jerusalem. His hearers gnashed their teeth and hurled stones until his body lay lifeless. Truth fell in the streets. However, the man who approved of Stephen’s death was soon confronted by blinding truth on the road to Damascus, and he rose to preach Christ, and the world was never the same.
The Book of Revelation describes two prophets who bore witness to God and were killed for it (Rev. 11:710). Their enemies rejoiced and exchanged gifts while the bodies lay in the streets. But three and a half days
later, the breath of life entered them, and they stood on their feet. Once again, truth revived before the eyes of a hostile world.
The lesson is clear: truth can be opposed, suppressed, or silenced for a time, but it cannot be destroyed.
THE TASK OF THE CHURCH
For Christians, this truth serves as both a source of comfort and a call to action. Comfort, because we know that God’s truth is indestructible. Calling, because we are summoned to live and speak that truth in a world intent on suppressing it.
We must cling to the Word of God. We must discern between truth and error. We must be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us (1 Pet. 3:15). But we must not lose heart. We certainly don’t wage war with the weapons of this world. Nor do we retaliate with violence. Our warfare is spiritual, demolishing strongholds and pretensions with the very truth our opponents despise (2 Cor. 10:4–5).
The early church shows us the pattern. The more the truth was persecuted, the more it spread (Acts 8:14). Jesus told His disciples not to fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, we are to fear the One who holds eternal destiny in His hands (Matt. 10:28).
Truth may fall in the streets. It may be silenced, censored, or ridiculed. It may even cost us our lives. But truth will not die. For Truth is a Person. And the One who is the way, the truth, and the life will one day stand, not fallen in the streets, but enthroned in judgment over all who opposed Him.
Nathan S. Whitley General Editor
History remembers names—not all names, but the ones welded to courage and conviction. Scripture gives us Naboth, a vineyard keeper who refused a king’s “fair” offer because God’s inheritance is not for sale. The early church gives us Stephen, a man “full of faith and the Holy Ghost,” whose fearless witness cost him his life yet opened the heavens. Our moment gives us Charlie.
Charlie Kirk’s shocking assassination was more than a headline; it was the attempted burial of a voice calling a wandering nation back to first principles—faith, courage, and the Judeo-Christian root that made liberty possible. Whether on campuses, airwaves, or town squares, he stood like a watchman on the wall, sounding the alarm of the truth he knew, while others looked away. And like the righteous in every age, he met the oldest strategy of darkness: when you cannot refute the truth, try to remove the truth-teller.
But there is a stubborn law running through redemptive history: truth outlives its enemies. Ahab seized a vineyard, yet the Word pronounced his end. Stones silenced Stephen’s voice, yet The Gospel raced beyond Jerusalem. Powers may erase a person; they cannot erase a testimony.
Will you be a Charlie in your generation? Will you hold the line where it is hardest to hold, love what is holy when it is costly to love, and refuse the subtle trades that offer comfort in exchange for conviction? We are not called to nostalgia; we are called to inheritance—to guard what was handed down and to give it, unpolluted, to those who follow.
To answer that call, we must revisit Naboth’s vineyard and the culture of Ahab and Jezebel, see Charlie through the lens of a modern Stephen, and recover a simple, blazing identity: voices of one in an age that demands a crowd.
THEOLOGY OF INHERITANCE
The drama of Naboth’s vineyard in 1 Kings 21 is not a quaint Bible story about a land dispute; it is a theological battlefield. When King Ahab offered money or a trade for Naboth’s land, his proposal appeared generous. Who wouldn’t want a royal check or an upgrade? Yet Naboth’s
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT
reply cut through the haze of convenience: “The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.”
Those words are more than personal conviction; they are covenant language. Leviticus 25:23 had already established that the land belonged to God: “The land shall not be sold forever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.” Naboth understood this vineyard was not his to negotiate. It was a trust. His ancestors had received it as a gift of God’s promise, and his responsibility was to preserve it for the next generation. To sell it would not simply be poor business—it would be betrayal.
The vineyard represents far more than grapes and soil. It symbolizes truth, heritage, identity, and the continuity of God’s people. Every believer has been handed an inheritance—faith in Christ, the Word of God, the doctrines that shape our lives, and the moral convictions that guard our culture. And in every age, the world offers to buy them out. The temptation comes with polished language: “trade up,” “be relevant,” “adapt to the times.” Yet every compromise sells a little more of the vineyard, and with every sale, Jezebel’s palace edges closer to the garden.
Naboth’s refusal illustrates what Proverbs 23:23 commands: “Buy the truth, and sell it not.” Truth is not a commodity to be bargained. It is purchased through obedience and defended through action. To “sell” it is to reduce revelation to negotiation, to allow convenience to outweigh covenant.
In a world that thrives on transactions, Naboth’s stand is jarring. But therein lies the lesson. Faith cannot be monetized. Inheritance cannot be upgraded. Conviction cannot be franchised. The Church’s calling is not to trade its vineyard for the gardens of culture, but to guard it as sacred ground.
Charlie Kirk embodied this Naboth spirit. He knew America’s Judeo-Christian foundation was not a museum relic to be reinterpreted; it was an inheritance to be preserved. And like Naboth, his refusal to sell out made him dangerous to a culture bent on remaking the vineyard into something unrecognizable.
DIAGNOSING A GODLESS CULTURE
If Naboth embodies fidelity to inheritance, Ahab and Jezebel personify the opposite: power corrupted by idolatry. Scripture’s summary of Ahab is chilling: “And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him” (1 Kings 16:30). As if that were not enough, he married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and together they became a force of calculated rebellion. Ahab built altars to Baal, a fertility god associated with work, money, and indulgence. Jezebel, ruthless and cunning, weaponized power to destroy anyone who opposed her.
It is important to note that Ahab never outright denied the God of Israel. He didn’t publicly declare, “I reject Jehovah.” Instead, he lived as if God did not matter. That is often the most dangerous form of apostasy: not loud rebellion but quiet irrelevance. Jezebel amplified this by cloaking her plots in religious language, staging fasts, and recruiting false witnesses to make murder look like justice. Authority married to deception is lethal.
This godless culture mocked prophecy as well. Centuries earlier, Joshua had prophesied that whoever rebuilt Jericho would do so at the cost of his children. In Ahab’s day, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt the city and buried two sons in fulfillment of that prophecy. Did the culture repent? No. They shrugged, scoffed, and carried on. Prophecy was treated as an old wives’ tale. God’s Word had not failed; people had simply lost their fear of it.
Our moment mirrors theirs. We inhabit a culture that no longer trembles at the Word of God. Instead, it edits, mocks, or ignores it. The miracles of Scripture are rebranded as myths, the virgin birth dismissed as legend, the resurrection treated as symbolic. Even within so-called Christian spaces, doctrine is bartered away for cultural approval. The spirit of Jezebel is alive, seducing the church to trade inheritance for influence.
The fruit of such a culture is confusion. As in Ahab’s day, society prefers the release of Barabbas over the presence of Jesus. It cannot tell its left hand from its right. It legislates immorality, celebrates rebellion, and scoffs at holiness. But the darker the night, the brighter the light. Naboth’s
resistance shines only because the backdrop was so corrupt. Charlie Kirk stepped into that same kind of darkness. Like Naboth, he faced a society eager to redefine the vineyard. Like Elijah, he confronted an Ahabic system that treated truth as negotiable. And like Stephen, he discovered that when culture cannot refute you, it seeks to remove you.
TRUTH CANNOT BE SILENCED
Charlie Kirk was more than a commentator; he was a watchman on the wall. His voice carried urgency, warning a drifting nation that liberty without God cannot last. Like Naboth, he knew that heritage is not a relic to be sold but a covenant to be guarded. And like Naboth, he discovered that a culture intoxicated with its own idols cannot tolerate such voices for long.
His assassination sent shockwaves, but for those with eyes of faith, it revealed something deeper: truth has enemies because truth still matters. The spirit of Jezebel has not retired. It still despises the vineyard, still hires false witnesses, still conspires in secret rooms to silence inconvenient voices. The methods may change — smear campaigns, online mobs, cancellation, and finally violence — but the aim is the same: eliminate the one who refuses to sell out.
Charlie’s courage rested on his convictions. He was unapologetically bold in defending America’s JudeoChristian foundation. He insisted that freedom is inseparable from faith, that morality cannot be severed from the God who defines it, and that truth must be spoken even when it offends. That made him a target. But it also made him a testimony.
The Church has always been refined through martyrdom. Stephen’s death in Acts 7 was not the end of his witness but the spark of a wider mission. Scripture tells us that those who stoned him “laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” The persecutor who watched became the apostle who turned the world upside down. In God’s economy, the blood of martyrs is not wasted; it becomes seed.
So it is with Charlie. His enemies thought bullets would bury him. Instead, they planted his testimony in the soil of history. His life and death summon believers across the
“MARTYRDOM AWAKENS WHAT COMFORT LULLS TO SLEEP. IT REMINDS US THAT DISCIPLESHIP IS COSTLYTHAT TRUTH IS WORTH DYING FOR..."
nation to stop treating faith as private preference and to start living as public conviction. His martyrdom exposes the cost of discipleship in our age but also the urgency of rising to the challenge.
Naboth’s blood cried out against Ahab. Stephen’s blood watered the early Church. Charlie’s blood now cries out for courage in our time. Not vengeance — courage. Courage to speak, to stand, to love truth more than safety, to prefer faithfulness over popularity.
Truth cannot be silenced. The vineyard remains. And every Naboth, every Stephen, every Charlie reminds us: God’s witnesses may fall, but His Word will stand when the world is on fire.
WHAT MARTYRDOM AWAKENS
When we remember Stephen, the first Christian martyr, we do not dwell on the stones that struck him but on the vision that sustained him. Acts 7 tells us that as the council gnashed their teeth, Stephen’s eyes were lifted: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” His accusers silenced his voice, but they could not erase his testimony. His death became the spark for the Church’s expansion, driving believers beyond Jerusalem with the flame of the Gospel.
Charlie Kirk’s witness falls into that same stream. Like Stephen, he confronted his generation with unshakable truth. Stephen reminded Israel of their covenant heritage and exposed their stubborn resistance. Charlie reminded America of its founding ideals, anchored in divine providence, and warned against the distortions of godless ideologies. In both cases, the response was fury. When truth pierces deeply, those unwilling to repent will attempt to destroy the messenger.
But here is the paradox of martyrdom: what looks like defeat becomes the seed of victory. Paul later wrote, “Had
the princes of this world known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). The cross, meant to end Christ’s influence, became the very means of redemption. Stephen’s stoning, meant to extinguish the early movement, propelled the Gospel outward. And Charlie’s assassination, meant to silence a watchman, has already stirred a new boldness among believers who realize the vineyard is under siege.
Martyrdom awakens what comfort lulls to sleep. It reminds us that discipleship is costly, that truth is worth dying for, and that eternity is worth more than approval. It strips away the illusion that faith is safe and calls us back to the radical center: following Christ means taking up a cross, not chasing applause.
Charlie’s death forces us to reckon with the cost. But it also calls us to the reward. If Stephen could see the heavens open, if Jesus could endure the cross for the joy set before Him, then we too can face our moment with courage. The blood of the martyrs is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of revival.
COURAGE TO STAND ALONE
The Gospel of Luke introduces John the Baptist with a striking phrase: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness” (Luke 3:4). Not the voice of a crowd. Not the chorus of a committee. The voice of one. That is often all God needs to begin a movement — one voice that refuses to be silent.
John preached repentance when it was unpopular, demanded holiness when it was inconvenient, and prepared the way of the Lord when the culture had no appetite for such a message. He did not wait for approval. He did not seek consensus. He simply spoke what God had placed within him, even though it cost him his freedom and ultimately his life.
The courage to be “the voice of one” is what our age desperately lacks. We live in a time where silence feels safer, where blending in feels wiser, where waiting for the crowd feels prudent. Yet history is moved by solitary voices. Elijah on Mount Carmel. Esther before the king. Martin Luther at Worms. Rosa Parks on a bus. One person’s stand can tilt the axis of history.
Charlie Kirk embodied that same courage. On campuses where conservative thought was unwelcome, he became the voice of one. In media environments hostile to faith, he was the voice of one. In a culture eager to trade its vineyard for temporary pleasures, he stood as the voice of one saying, “The Lord forbid it me.”
It is never easy to be that voice. Loneliness cuts deep. The cost is real. But silence costs more. The vineyard is worth defending, and truth is worth declaring. If John could cry in the wilderness, if Naboth could defy a king, if Charlie could stand in his generation — then we, too, can be the voice of one.
WHEN AUTHORITY MARRIES DECEPTION
The tragedy of Naboth’s vineyard did not unfold because Ahab lacked power. He was the king. He had soldiers, wealth, and palaces. Yet when Naboth’s “no” frustrated him, he sulked like a child. Authority by itself was not enough to seize the vineyard. Enter Jezebel. Where Ahab embodied petulance, Jezebel embodied manipulation. And when authority and deception joined hands, Naboth’s fate was sealed.
Scripture records Jezebel’s chilling strategy: she wrote letters “in Ahab’s name,” sealed them with his royal seal, and sent them to the elders of the city. The plan looked spiritual — proclaim a fast, elevate Naboth publicly — but it was a trap. Two “sons of Belial,” false witnesses, accused him of blasphemy. The people, deceived by the trappings of authority, carried out the stoning. Jezebel never threw a stone; she simply weaponized power through lies.
This pattern is painfully familiar. In every age, deception cloaks itself in legitimacy. In the name of justice, laws are twisted. In the name of progress, truth is suppressed. In the name of tolerance, dissent is silenced. The seal of the king is still borrowed today — government decrees, cultural
narratives, even religious endorsements — to sanctify what God has forbidden. Everything Jezebel planned sounded respectable, but it was hellish in origin.
We must learn to discern the difference between appearance and essence. Not every fast is holy. Not every witness is honest. Not every proclamation stamped with authority is righteous. That is why the Church must be tethered to the Word of God, testing every spirit, measuring every claim, and refusing to bow when deception wears the crown.
Charlie Kirk’s life illustrates this point in our generation. His critics often cloaked their attacks in the language of “inclusion,” “safety,” or “progress.” Yet beneath the rhetoric was the same spirit that targeted Naboth: an intolerance of uncompromising truth. Charlie exposed the deception, and for that he bore its wrath.
The lesson is sobering but clear. Whenever authority and deception join hands, righteous voices are in danger. But the vineyard is still worth defending. Naboth’s blood cried out. Charlie’s testimony still speaks. Lies may wear the king’s seal, but they cannot outlast the King of kings.
GOD HAS THE LAST SAY
After Naboth’s blood was spilled and his vineyard seized, it looked as though Jezebel had won. Ahab strutted down to take possession of what was never his. The people moved on. Culture buried Naboth beneath stones and silence. But then came the voice that cannot be buried: “And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite…”
God declared that in the very place where dogs licked Naboth’s blood, dogs would lick Ahab’s. Prophecy did not prevent Naboth’s death, but it ensured that injustice would not have the final word. Ahab fell in battle, pierced by an arrow no soldier could have aimed, and his blood stained the ground exactly as foretold. Years later, Jezebel’s own body was thrown from a window, trampled by horses, and devoured by dogs. The judgment was grisly, but it was precise. The vineyard was not forgotten, and Naboth was not erased.
This is the rhythm of redemptive history. Culture always imagines that silencing truth-tellers secures victory. But prophecy assures us that God has the last say. Crucify
Jesus, and the resurrection dawns. Stone Stephen, and the Gospel spreads. Assassinate Charlie Kirk, and his legacy only multiplies.
For the believer, this is not wishful thinking; it is anchored in the sovereignty of God. The promises of God are not fragile. They are not undone by headlines, canceled by mobs, or overturned by assassins. They endure until fulfillment.
That is why we can stand firm in our generation. Even if culture mocks prophecy, even if Jezebel sneers, even if Naboths fall in the vineyard, God’s Word remains. Truth may stagger under assault, but it never collapses. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.
GENERATIONAL COURAGE
One of the most striking lessons from Naboth’s story is that the battle did not end with him. His refusal cost him his life, but it set the stage for future generations to confront the lingering power of Jezebel. Years after Ahab fell, it was Jehu — not Naboth, not Elijah — who brought Jezebel down. One generation stood against Ahab; another pulled Jezebel from her window. The vineyard survived because faithfulness endured across time.
This is how God works. No single generation fights every battle. One generation lays foundations, another raises walls, and another sets the roof in place. The Church is always mid-story, always holding the line until the next hands can grasp the torch. What matters is that each generation refuses to compromise the inheritance.
We are living in our own “Jehu moment.” The compromises of yesterday have allowed Ahab’s palace to creep close to the vineyard. Jezebel’s spirit still whispers through entertainment, legislation, and classrooms. But now the responsibility rests on us. The question is not whether our grandparents held the vineyard — they did. The question is whether we will.
This is where Charlie Kirk’s death becomes more than a tragedy; it becomes a summons. His courage is now our mantle. His voice, silenced by men, demands an echo in us. Generational courage means parents who catechize their children instead of outsourcing faith. It means pastors
who preach truth even when pews empty. It means students who defend conviction when classmates sneer. It means citizens who remember that liberty requires righteousness.
We cannot live on borrowed courage. We must choose it for ourselves. Naboth chose. Jehu chose. Stephen chose. Charlie chose. Now it is our turn.
The vineyard is not ours to redesign, repackage, or sell. It is ours to guard and to pass forward. And when our chapter closes, may another generation rise up with the same testimony: they did not compromise. They did not sell out. They kept the vineyard.
CALLED TO BE A CHARLIE
The stories of Naboth, Stephen, and Charlie converge on a single truth: inheritance is worth dying for. Naboth would not sell the vineyard. Stephen would not soften the message. Charlie would not surrender the foundations of faith and freedom. Each of them faced a culture intoxicated with lies and discovered that uncompromising truth makes you dangerous. Each paid the price. And each left behind a testimony louder than their silencing.
We now carry their legacy. The vineyard has been handed to our care. The Word of God, the faith once delivered to the saints, the Judeo-Christian foundation of our nation — these are not museum artifacts to admire or commodities to trade. They are covenant treasures to be guarded, lived, and passed on intact.
To be called to be a Charlie is not to mimic a man’s style but to share his substance. It is to live unashamed of the Gospel. It is to speak when silence feels safer. It is to love truth more than acceptance, holiness more than comfort, Christ more than life itself. It is to join the long line of witnesses who declared: “The Lord forbid it me.”
The vineyard is still here. The inheritance is still ours. The call is still sounding.
Let us rise in this generation and answer with courage. Let it be said of us what was said of Naboth, Stephen, and Charlie: they glorified Christ with their lives, and they would not sell the truth. AW
In Judges 9, we read a strange and sobering parable: the trees sought to anoint a king. They first turned to the olive tree, the fig tree, and the vine. Each declined. Then they turned to the bramble. Unlike the fruitful trees, the bramble was eager for power. It offered false shelter and threatened destruction. The parable is more than an agricultural allegory. It is a warning. When the fruitful stay silent, the thorny rise. When the anointed withdraw, the ambitious fill the vacuum.
This article explores the ‘bramble spirit’—a counterfeit leadership that promises much but produces little. It’s the rise of loud personalities over lasting fruit, charisma over character, and control over covenant.
What is the Bramble Spirit?
The bramble spirit is not just a plant—it’s a personality. It’s ambition without anointing, leadership without love, platform without fruit. It craves attention but avoids accountability. It makes promises it can’t keep. It demands loyalty but offers little love. It uses others for personal gain while masquerading as a protector.
This spirit thrives in spiritual and relational voids. It often emerges when godly, fruitful leaders are too weary, too wounded, or too humble to step into roles of influence. The bramble is more than willing. It shouts, ‘I will rule over you,’ and people—hungry for direction— follow, unaware that destruction follows.
How Does the Bramble Spirit Show Up in Families?
The Bramble Father:
• Always demanding, never encouraging
• Uses authority to control rather than guide
• Leads through fear instead of faith
• Expects honor without earning trust.
The Bramble Mother:
• Manipulates rather than nurtures
• Uses guilt as a tool instead of grace
• Controls rather than cultivates
• Entangles rather than equips
These patterns create environments where children feel trapped instead of trained. The home becomes a place of pressure, not peace.
God’s Alternative: Fruitful Trees
God is still searching for olive trees—anointed and humble, fig trees—sweet and steady, and vines— covenantal and joyful. He crowns the consecrated, not the covetous. His church doesn’t need another bramble ministry trying to prove something. He’s raising up rooted ones—those who are not in a hurry, who build houses, plant vineyards, and bless generations.
Jeremiah 29 reminds us that while Israel wanted a quick escape from Babylon, God wanted them planted. ‘Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them’ (Jeremiah 29:5, KJV).
Life Application
Take time this week to examine your heart and leadership style. Are you leading like a bramble—loud but fruitless—or like an olive tree, rooted in purpose and anointing?
Ask God to purge any bramble tendencies from your heart and home. May your life be marked not by what you grasp for, but by what you grow.
James Chessor Menistry Director
REDEEMING THE HOME
by Paul McGee
Igrew up in a different era than today, like many of you. And some of you even lived in an era very different from when I was young. Still, I remember a time when door-to-door salesmen were common. We didn’t have digital ads. Instead, new products were highlighted in sections of the local newspaper, radio commercials, and the Sears catalog, which was as big as an oversized family Bible. Since the primary advertising was word of mouth, it wasn’t unusual for a stranger to knock on your door during daylight hours, hoping to demonstrate a vacuum that could clean your floor and was strong enough to suck up D-size batteries. Or, for the more cultured, they might interest you in the latest magazine subscriptions.
Our neighborhood was far from cultured, so we mostly saw vacuum salesmen. And believe me, my mom was definitely open to their demonstrations. When you have a family of seven and someone offers to vacuum one of your floors, you’re hoping they’ll also do a load of laundry and fix dinner.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WELCOME MAT
Over the years, the home has transitioned from a semipublic space to a private, protected sanctuary. Even the
best salespeople would think twice when faced with our five Wyze or Ring cameras aimed at the front door, along with our “no soliciting,” “beware of dog,” and “we support the 2nd amendment” signs. Today, friendly knocks are often met with suspicion or annoyance. That’s me. A few weeks ago, such a knock came to our door, and I wasn’t aware of any prearranged visit. I did what only a proper homeowner would do today. I peered around the corner of the window to see if I could tell who was at the door, to determine whether to give my time to this knock or prostrate myself on the floor until they lost heart and gave up.
You think I’m kidding, but typically, if there’s a knock at the door and no one has called ahead, I’m headed to the bedroom to assume the fetal position in a corner somewhere. I’m going to defer to my wife, Mrs. Personality, and Sis. Off-the-charts extrovert to handle it.
But I recognized it was a neighbor. Still puzzled, and it showed on my face, she explained she had contacted Dawn. My face must have said it all. But it soon changed as she placed a half-sphere of warm, homemade bread wrapped in a light linen cloth in my hands. Dawn arranged it. I didn’t know. I had recently gotten home.
In the past, unannounced visits were part of everyday life. You didn’t call or text from your cell phone. That wasn’t an option. If you were already out and about in the area, you didn’t stop at a pay phone to see if you could drop by. You drove by the house to see if anyone was home. That’s not how we operate today.
The expectation of privacy at home has evolved from a preference to a social norm. However, not all the privacy a home provides has been beneficial. As much as people want their homes to be sanctuaries, several experience the polar opposite.
WHO’s (World Health Organization) “Violence Against Women” article (2021) reports globally, 1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence, often at the hands of someone in their home, turning their homes into prisons. Childhelp reports that a child is abused every 10 seconds in the U.S., often by caregivers. The place meant to nurture becomes a place of fear and brokenness. Victims of human trafficking are regularly uncovered as operating out of suburban homes. That changes a person’s view of home. When kitchen tables have been where kids saw their parents do a line of crack rather than share a meal. Home can feel broken and incomplete.
Some have come from places where the home was the scene of their deepest pain. I suspect that is the tragedy of our event in Scripture.
WHEN THE HOUSE NEEDS HEALING
In 2 Kings 4:1-7, a woman and her sons are facing a domestic problem. Her husband, their father, has died. Her sons are about to be taken away, and she feels as if there’s nothing left. To her, and probably her sons as well, it seemed like her home had nothing to offer, nothing at all. You must understand that what happened here happened at home.
Typically, in the Old Testament, when someone dies away from home—such as in battle, as with Saul, on a journey, as with Rachel, or in a field, as with Abel—we are told that. However, here we are told that he is dead—no
cause, no location, no context. With no additional details provided, the incident is likely to have occurred at home. I understand the imprint that can leave on a life. My mom cared for my Grandma McGee as she was dying of cancer. I was the last child at home. It was my senior year of high school. If the door was open between my room and Grandma’s room, I could lie in my bed and stare at that dying woman in her bed. That affects you. Our restroom was virtually housed in that room. There wasn’t a time after that, if I allowed myself, I could envision that same deteriorating body in that space.
The woman and her sons had witnessed their loved one’s death in that home. They had been exposed to the accumulating debt and lack that stripped their shelves and pantry bare. A daily depletion of their goods was their fare. We don’t know how old these sons were. We may infer that they were old enough to understand debt and be taken for labor, but young enough to be vulnerable to the trauma of losing a father and the threat of enslavement. They’d witnessed loss. They’d witnessed a lack. They’d seen fear—a weeping mother and approaching creditors.
Domestically, life had been difficult at this house. The losses pertained to the house, death there, debt there, depletion there, and soon detainment of her sons there. This is the reason why, when everything had been explained to Elisha, he asked, “What do you have in your house?” And when she said, “Nothing,” he understood the house needed healing. It became the central focus. Elisha didn’t invite her to the Temple in Jerusalem. He left her at home. Not because the Temple was unimportant, but because she needed a domestic miracle to balance out the household dilemmas they had faced—all the loss, all the grief, all the heartache that they experienced in that home.
I’m not undermining the temple. We need the temple. We read that when the day of Pentecost was fully come (Acts 2:1) and they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost (vs. 4), they continued in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and the breaking of bread and prayer (vs. 42). We read all of that. The Bible says that they continued in the temple, but also in activity from house to house (vs. 46). There
“ To redeem the home is to redeem something beyond a physical structure because the word house or home in Hebrew denotes more than a physical structure. It signifies a household, a family, or a lineage."
must be a good measure of balance between God’s spirit and power in the temple and at home. Understand me, but the church shouldn’t be the only place I can go to get my “fix.” I should be able to get something at home within the walls of my house. Church should not be the only place I pray. There needs to be a prayer room in my home. I don’t need God to answer me only at church. I have faith that God can answer at the house.
THE HOUSE CAN BE HEALED
When the widow responded, “Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil” (2 Kings 4:2), she reveals her reservation about what’s at home. She, along with her boys, needed to realize there were some redeemable qualities about their home. After having grieved there, they needed to rejoice there. After being weighed down by stress and pressure, they needed to feel the comfort of a peaceful, turmoil-free home. Instead of fear, they needed faith—the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). God’s message to them was that he would redeem their home.
Historically, God has moved in more places than tabernacles, temples, and synagogues. I’m not refuting their significance. But God has shown up in kitchens, upper rooms, and pantries. Some of you have had your children repent and get the Holy Ghost at home. A pile of coal showed up at my Grandpa Weisenberger’s house when he needed it to heat his home, and he never knew where it came from.
To redeem the home is to redeem something beyond a physical structure because the word house or home
in Hebrew denotes more than a physical structure. It signifies a household, a family, or a lineage. God wasn’t bent on redeeming their physical structure alone. There were also some sons present within those walls. Before Joshua began the conquest of the land of promise, God told Israel that the conquest would be a long one. He said it would happen little by little (Deuteronomy 7:22 HCSB). It wasn’t going to happen in one generation. However, the conquest he had in mind for Israel would require them to work at it and pass on the same work ethic to the next generation. It would happen over time through generations. And the only way that can happen is if we have redeemed homes, structure, as well as lineage.
God doesn’t just meet people where they worship; He meets them where they live. He’ll meet them at the epicenter of some of their deepest pains. Pentecost, the outpouring of the Spirit, happened in a prayer meeting in a borrowed upper room of a house. David was anointed at Bethlehem, home, not in the palace (1 Samuel 16:1-13). God didn’t say, “Take them (the boys) to the Temple. He said, “Go home and shut the door behind you and your sons. Then begin filling the jars with oil and set each one aside as you fill it.” For all the bad they had seen and experienced, they needed to witness the reality of God in their home. Their resounding “nothing” needed “something” at home.
When you read Leviticus 14, there are instructions about the plague and cleansing of leprosy. Leprosy was often seen as a symbol of sin. A person could have leprosy. Leprosy could be in a garment or even in a house. When leprosy manifested in a home, the Bible describes it as having greenish or reddish spots on the walls (Leviticus
14:37 ESV). The owner would go see the priest and say, “I perceive that we got a plague going on at home” (vs. 35). And the priest would come. He would investigate it and set everyone and everything outside it for seven days. He would keep an eye on it and look at the end of seven days to see if things had changed. If it hadn’t, he would have removed the affected stones. They’d chisel out the mortar around the affected stones that were greenish and reddish and cast them aside. Then they’d put new stones in their place. Why was that important? Because whoever lived in the home had seen the green and red spots. They needed to be able to go back to the same house, and that discoloration no longer be there. They needed to experience something in their house that was different from what they had before.
That widow and her sons needed a moment in their house that would forever change how they walk through it. Instead of…that’s where dad took his last breath. That’s the shelf that went bare first. That’s where Mom cried for three hours straight, and there are the indentations where she beat the floor. They needed…that’s the corner where we stacked all the empty jars we borrowed from the neighbors. That’s the shelf where we placed the last full jar. This room is the spot where God did what only He could do. Their home needed to be redeemed.
I’ve approached life a little differently than most. I’ve been honest with my kids when the money wasn’t there for things we’ve needed. However, I’ve also pointed out instances where God has come through in the nick of time. I can pass by the baseboard heater in my son’s room, with red and blue stains on top and down the face of it, and remember that God kept our house from burning down that Wednesday night, as Trevor’s Spidey suit melted there. That had been the room where I did my daily prayer that morning. Sure, we’ve had our arguments in that house. And yes, not everything about life has always been rosy, every day of the year. But my home is redeemable.
I still have the picture of a brown, charred Dum-Dum sucker wrapper and stick that I pulled from Mariah’s
baseboard heater. The wrapper was a shell. It still held the form of having a sucker inside. But inside, the candy had melted and was no longer there. How does that happen, without the paper wrapper catching fire? I don’t know. But sometimes God must show us, for all the bad, confusing, “nothing” moments, that there are Godmoments in the same house of our grief, stress, and fear. Do you know what made that room my Grandma died in less intimidating? My Dad prayed every morning in the little bathroom in that room. Hearing his prayers, that space was redeemed for me. It took the edge off grief and gave it a sense of power.
YOUR HOUSE CAN BE REDEEMED TOO
If you’re thinking, “My house is too far gone. It’s too broken, too heavy, too haunted by what’s happened inside its walls.” Your house, too, can be redeemed. The God who told that widow to stay home, shut the door, and pour what little she had into empty vessels—He’s still sending oil into broken homes. He didn’t need a palace. He didn’t need a platform. He just needed someone to believe there was still something left in the house. For every memory that hurts, He can create a new one that heals. For every room where there’s been shouting, silence, or sorrow, He can fill it with laughter, prayer, and peace. For every child who’s seen things they shouldn’t have, He can let them know a miracle right in their living room. “Go home… shut the door behind you and your children…” That’s still the instruction. Go home and believe again. Go home and pour again. Go home and pray in the hallway, worship in the kitchen, and believe God for something new in the room where the weeping happened. Because if God can fill empty vessels in the widow’s house, He can redeem yours, too.
AW
Paul McGee is the Pastor of First Apostolic Church in Mt. Carmel, Illinois and serves as the Menistry Promotions Director.
2025 WOW SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT: ALAYNA LEE
by Terri Scott
We are honored to present Sis. Alayna Lee as the 2025 Women of Wisdom Scholarship Recipient, proudly awarded by the ALJC Women’s Esprit Department.
Sis. Alayna resides in Knoxville, TN, and counts it a blessing to have been raised in a loving Apostolic home. A lifelong member of First Apostolic Church, she is also a graduate of Apostolic Christian School, where she has exemplified academic excellence and spiritual dedication.
Since the age of 13, Alayna has been a faithful member of the FAC Choir and began volunteering in KidzQuest at age 14—serving in various children’s ministries including Kids Camp, Fall Fest, and Camp Meeting events. She currently serves as a Service Producer at least once a month, helping ensure the seamless flow of church services behind the scenes.
Alayna has consistently participated in age-appropriate youth groups and is looking forward to attending a missions trip to Paris and Poland this summer. She has a growing passion for foreign missions and desires to use her talents to help lead others to Christ.
Her heart for service extends beyond the church and into the local community. Over the past several summers, she has volunteered with Knox Area Rescue Ministries, local food distribution programs, and filled community food boxes. She has been an active part of the FAC Serves team for over a year, working alongside Second Harvest Food Bank to distribute food to those in need.
Academic Achievements:
• Class of 2025 Valedictorian – Graduating with Distinction
• Maintained a 4.0 GPA
• Dual-enrolled in Community College during her junior and senior years
• On the Honor Roll every year since 2016
• Earned Highest Honors throughout her primary and secondary education
• Graduating with six honor cords
Future Plans:
Alayna will begin her college journey at a State Technical Community College, majoring in Business, and plans to transfer to the University of Tennessee to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.
Sis. Alayna, your commitment to excellence in academics, church service, and your community is truly inspiring. The ALJC Women’s Esprit Department congratulates you on this achievement and prays that you will continue to put God first in all that you do.
Terri Scott WE President
2025 WOW HONOREE: WANDA STUMBO
by Terri Scott
Today, we joyfully present the Women of Wisdom Award to Sister Wanda Stumbo, a woman whose life radiates the grace, strength, and wisdom of a true Apostolic servant of God. Her story is one of faith in action, spiritual depth, and a heart fully surrendered to the call of the Lord.
Like the fine china she collects, her life is beautiful, valuable, and marked by care and purpose. She is gentle, but strong. Humble, yet unwavering. Her influence, although often quiet, has spanned generations and continents.
Her journey began in Medora, Indiana, where she faithfully served in her local assembly. As the Ladies Director in her home church, she was a spiritual anchor to many women. Her heart for children led her to start a preschool in her community, shaping young minds and hearts from an early age.
She pursued further preparation by attending Apostolic Bible College in Memphis, Tennessee, grounding herself in the Word and preparing for the road ahead. That road would lead her to serve as the Indiana District Women’s Esprit President, where she poured into women’s ministries statewide with grace and excellence.
Then, with 10-year-old Jordan, a newborn Luke, and nothing but complete trust in God, she answered the call to the mission field of Russia, building the Kingdom in a foreign land, led by faith and fueled by love.
Even now, Sister Wanda continues to serve. She currently teaches at a multicultural private school affiliated with the U.S. Embassy
in Russia, investing in young lives with the same wisdom and care that have marked her entire journey.
She is the loving mother of Jordan and Luke, and adores Lindsey and Jaden as her daughters-in-love. Her heart is most full when she is “Nonna” to Harrison, Helena, Henderson, and soon, Hugo. Her grandchildren are the joy of her life—and the recipients of a rich spiritual inheritance.
Sister Wanda is a faithful student of the Word, and her wisdom comes not just from years of service, but from a life deeply rooted in Scripture and prayer. She has lived her faith with quiet strength, dignity, and unwavering devotion.
And perhaps the highest praise we can give is this: “I feel like I’ve known her my whole life.”
Because that’s who Sister Wanda is—the kind of woman whose presence feels like home. She has loved, led, and lived in such a way that her impact is felt deeply and personally by everyone she touches.
With heartfelt admiration and deep gratitude, we honor Sister Wanda Stumbo with the Women of Wisdom Award—a true Apostolic treasure and a living legacy of God’s grace.
Terri Scott WE President
REVIVAL CONTINUES IN UGANDA
by Bishop ML Walls
May 22nd, 2025, marked a great day for the country of Uganda.
Through the vision, burden, and love of missionary Sam Speer, along with his companion Betty Speer, they were responsible for bringing revival to the country of Uganda.
Bro Speer dedicated his life to the work of the Lord. Starting in Norway, he positively impacted the lives of many people there. At one point, he and Sister Speer witnessed the conversion of a wandering soul searching for peace in her troubled heart. She made her way to Norway from Bulgaria, which led her to the Church where the Speers were pastoring. The result of her conversion was that she and her husband, Brandon Covey, were appointed as missionaries to the country of Bulgaria.
Bro Speer’s ministry reached out to another country –the country of Uganda. Through his efforts, he was able to reach out and offer Bible studies that reached pastors in Uganda. Several trinitarian pastors made their way, sometimes only one at a time, then four or five would gather in Tau, Norway, where they would be taught the
Apostolic Acts 2:38 message of salvation.
They came as trinitarians, they would return to their country of Uganda as One God Jesus name baptized –and in some instances, if they had not come filled with the Holy Ghost, they would return filled with the Holy Ghost and embracing the Oneness of God truth.
These pastors would persist in Brother Speer coming to their country and teaching in their churches the truth which he had taught them. This began the Speer’s visits to the country of Uganda. Then, the opportunity opened a door, allowing him to purchase property that would become known as The Miracle House. After remodeling the property, which included preparing a baptismal area, hundreds would be baptized in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ. The Miracle House became a haven of refuge for hundreds who came to be taught, baptized, and converted to the Apostolic message.
After moving there, the Speers began to visit the pastors and churches in Uganda. As more and more pastors and churches were baptized and embraced the Apostolic message, Bro Speer organized the pastors and churches
WORLD MISSIONS
into a tremendous body that has carried – and continues to carry – this great Apostolic message throughout Uganda.
Hundreds of pastors and churches are now united into a body connected with the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well over 20,000 Ugandans are now Apostolic One-God believers, baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, working together to reach their country.
Due to Bro Speer’s age and health, he had been praying and searching for someone upon whom he could lay the mantle that had rested on his heart and shoulders for some twelve or more years. Through his prayers – and prayers of many others – that mantle was transferred on May 22nd. A couple from the great state of Ohio heard the call and accepted the challenge to become missionaries in Uganda. It was on that 22nd day of May that Brother Brice and Sister Jamie Rhoades allowed
the mantle to be transferred from Brother and Sister Speer to their shoulders.
It was a glorious event that resulted in the anointing of the Spirit resting upon this dedicated couple who have now settled in Uganda, where they will continue to carry the burden and message which the Speers had carried for years.
You will be hearing from the Rhoades as they report the continuing revival that is spreading across this country.
Your support of prayers and finances will be a blessing to the Rhoades as they keep the flames of revival burning in Uganda.
Bishop ML Walls Former World Missions Director
THE RHOADES TO UGANDA
by Josh Wilson
My road to Uganda began unexpectedly in 2006. Bishop M.L. Walls, with a hand on my shoulder, introduced me to a Ugandan Bishop at a convention in Louisville. “Take care of him all week,” Bishop Walls instructed. “Whatever he needs—food, water, a ride to Walmart—just take care of him.” For an entire week, I diligently followed his directive, unknowingly laying the first stone on a path that would lead me across continents.
After two years of dedicated prayer for the nation of Uganda, the Lord opened an incredible door. In 2008, our then Youth President, Michael Jadrnicek, invited me to join him on a reconnaissance trip to plan an Apostolic Youth Corps (AYC) mission for the following year. That initial, long flight sparked something profound. The very next year, I had the privilege of leading our first group of 60 soul winners on the dusty, bumpy roads of Uganda.
Since that inaugural trip, we have crisscrossed Uganda, from its eastern border near Kenya to the western fringes bordering Congo, and all the way north towards Sudan. Over 1,500 adventureseeking soul winners have joined us on these transformative journeys. These roads have borne witness to thousands of souls baptized in Jesus’ name and countless thousands receiving the Holy Ghost.
In 2013, the spiritual call of Uganda resonated deeply with Missionary Samuel and Betty Speer, guiding them to become our official ALJC missionaries. Their path led them to the city of Mityana, where the Lord blessed them with a home they lovingly named “The Miracle House.” This was no ordinary residence; it was formerly owned by one of Uganda’s most notorious witch doctors. What was once a place used to curse and manipulate souls through dark arts was
miraculously transformed into a sanctuary of hope, salvation, and fervent prayer. Truly, miracles happened at The Miracle House.
Our first mission group to The Miracle House arrived in 2021. As we prayed with Bro. and Sis. Speer, their heartfelt request was clear: they prayed for God to send someone to join them on the roads of Uganda, to continue the work the Lord had initiated through much prayer, fasting, and much sacrifice.
Then, on a trip in 2023, Pastor Dan Mundy from Piqua Apostolic Temple brought a team from his congregation, which included a remarkable couple named Brice and Jamie Rhoades. While Brice had traveled on an airplane before, Jamie had never flown. Upon our arrival in Uganda, our bus journeyed down the familiar Entebbe Expressway, taking the exit onto Mityana Highway. It was here that the Rhoades’ road to Uganda began.
A hallmark of our Uganda missions is our nightly dedication to prayer and worship. During these powerful meetings, we have witnessed our cooks, bus drivers, and even security guards being filled and refilled with the Holy Ghost, with many compelled to be baptized in Jesus’ name. By the end of that transformative week in 2023, it was undeniably clear that God was speaking directly to Brice and Jamie, preparing them for a new journey—a call to a nation, a call to minister to millions of souls in Uganda.
The path so faithfully paved by Missionary Samuel and Betty Speer was now being opened for the Rhoades family. Recognizing this profound calling, I pulled Pastor Mundy aside that week to share what we observed: the unmistakable hand of God on Brice and Jamie for Uganda. I asked Pastor Mundy and
the Rhoades family to share their calling to the roads of Uganda for this article.
From Pastor Dan Mundy of Piqua Apostolic Temple:
“In the month of February 2023, I went on my first missions trip to the country of Uganda. I opened this trip up to the saints of Piqua Apostolic Temple and had only one response. In passing on a Wednesday night after church, I asked Brother Brice Rhoades if he would like to go on the trip with us. He asked if his wife could go and then agreed. Once our feet hit the soil in Uganda, it became very apparent to me that this trip wasn’t just a mission trip but that God was preparing the Rhoades family. Their behavior, actions, and questions were screaming that they belonged in Africa. We had never talked about this even being a possibility.
On the plane ride home, I encouraged Bro. Rhoades to be sensitive to the voice of God and to let me know if he ever felt like he had a word for our church. This ignited something in him as he began to feel confirmation about their calling. Just a few short weeks after returning home, Brother Rhoades was let go of his job because they “eliminated his position.” I didn’t see this as an elimination but a “repositioning” for a kingdom assignment. I contacted Pastor Matthew Ball for advice on how to move forward. From that moment on, God ordained every step of the way, and Bro and Sis Rhoades remained humble, obedient, and steadfast through the process.
God took a very faithful and prayerful couple with no previous missions experience and is now using them to perpetuate revival in Uganda. To God be the glory.”
I thank God for Pastors who are willing to release their best to do the work of God across the world!
From Missionaries to Uganda Brice and Jamie Rhoades:
"In the year 2022, we were on a road of beauty that had been built from ashes. From the most difficult and dark times in our family, we learned how to rebuild altars, how to consecrate more, and do first works over again. This road placed a passion for kingdom involvement outside the four walls of our loving church. We began to desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and we had discussed a foreign mission trip that would fulfill that longing.
Soon after that conversation, our pastor invited us to travel with him and others from across the United States to go on the mission trip to the roads of Uganda.
This road was paved with much prayer, and the word of God had been stirred within us.
During our stay at Miracle House, Bishop Speer spoke to us about the ministry in Uganda. It was now February 2023, and God had just revealed the bigger-than-us plans he had. We had many questions and doubts within ourselves, but not answering the need would be to ignore God and His sovereign will over our lives. His word says we can do all things through Christ! So we both agreed to take the big leap of faith and walk toward the road to Uganda.”
Their road to Uganda began with a simple application for a mission trip. They jumped into a church van in Piqua, Ohio, picked up a group in Carmel, and set off on a journey to Uganda. Yet, long before they ever filled out that form, the Lord had their divine purpose and destiny etched in His heart from the very foundations of the world.
Uganda is home to 48 million souls waiting to be won and discipled. We implore you to prayerfully consider sponsoring Brice and Jamie each month, to uplift them daily in prayer, and to join us on a life-changing mission on the roads of Uganda. Your life will be eternally transformed and deeply impacted by the Spirit of God.
Your next opportunity to join us is from November 30 to December 6, 2025. We are planning a huge Christmas party for the orphans at the Hope Christ in Home. Please visit our webpage buildinghope.aljc.org to sponsor a child through the ALJC or to contribute to the $4,500 Christmas Party fund. If you would like an application to attend this mission, please email me at josh.wilson@aljc.org.
God bless you as we journey together on the roads to Uganda through prayer, giving, and going in Jesus’ name.
AW
Josh Wilson General Secretary
RUNNING FOR RAIN
by David Bridges
Famed singer and songwriter Roger Miller is credited with the quote, “Some people feel the rain and others just get wet.” The same could be said about revival. To some, revival is just a set of days on a calendar that inconvenience our normal, hectic schedules. It’s time that could be better spent on productive activities. This mindset results in showing up to service out of obligation, but never in anticipation. Yes, rain and revival can be inconvenient and untimely occurrences. They will not always fit your plan or your spiritual placement in your life. Revival is to restore life to a once vibrant life that has, for one reason or another, become stale and dormant. I’m sure that the shock from a heart defibrillator is a very unpleasant experience, but if I ever need to be revived, I hope one is available.
Revival is life and restoration, a chance for a fresh start and a new outlook on life. It is like a refreshing rain on a weather-beaten landscape. You have no other responsibility except to soak it in and feel the rain. It is not the responsibility of the seed to grow but to receive what God is providing, and growth will happen organically. We need the rain!
Rain cannot and will not fall without the word of God releasing it to do so. In much the same way, revival will not be experienced without the Word of God being expressed. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word. We need men of God willing to preach not only to the well-fertilized, growing fields but also to the dry, barren cities that feel like growth is no longer an option. We need the rain! God is always faithful to raise a voice that will challenge death and destruction in the name of revival—a sure and true witness of proof that God is still in the business of spiritual resurrection. One of the greatest examples in the Bible is the obscure prophet Elijah.
We don’t have much history on Elijah. He wasn’t from an affluent or well-known family. He didn’t rise to notoriety through the ranks of popularity. We are introduced to Elijah as he foretells God’s wrath on Israel for their blatant idolatry. Not every prophecy is about how blessed you are getting ready to be. Some messages are to correct us before they connect us!
Elijah’s entire purpose in life was to prove the supreme rule of the God of Israel. In fact, the name Elijah
means YHWH is God. Under King Ahab, Israel was following Baal, a god of rain. It is no coincidence to me that God sends a famine to challenge a false god that is supposed to control the rain. Don’t be surprised when God directly confronts the contradiction to his authority in your life.
Elijah tells Ahab of the impending drought and immediately gets a command from God to hide himself. Some may look at this as isolation, but God saw it more as insulation. It is easy to look at lonely times and become frustrated, but remember that it may be God protecting and keeping you.
From there, God takes him to Zarephath, where he meets a Gentile woman gathering sticks. He asks her to help sustain him, not knowing that through her obedience God would sustain her. You will never go wrong by blessing the ministry! God will use Elijah in many ways within her house. He operates as a teacher, evangelist, prophet, leader, and ultimately, he was used in the gift of healing. I am so thankful for the diversity of ministries represented within our Evangelist Department.
Fast forward three and a half years into the future, and God speaks to the same prophet, telling him it’s time for the rain to fall again. Quick side note: if you don’t like what your man of God is preaching right now, just hold on— a word of revival will come. Elijah gets word to Ahab and all of Israel to meet at Mount Carmel. Revival will not happen without a coming together!
Remember that not everyone who attends the meeting is there to witness something great happen. Here, two worlds will collide to settle not only weather but worship. Every pastor, evangelist, and prophet will eventually have to decide to stand for what sets them apart from all false teachings. Eight hundred and fifty so-called prophets danced, shouted, and sacrificed with no effective outcome. I believe the old adage still rings true even in modern religion: “the proof is in the pudding.” A prophet with no proof is no better than an inflated balloon with no knot; it’s just wasted air. What Elijah does at Mount Carmel will set the stage for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be the separating factor for every preacher to come.
EVANGELIST DEPARTMENT
The first thing he does is build an altar. We must still be people of prayer! Second, he takes a sacrifice and slays it on the altar. This is a picture of repentance. Our sin becomes the sacrifice on the altar of repentance. Once the sacrifice is dead, he literally buries it in water. Was it necessary? Obviously, he heard from heaven about it. We still believe you must be baptized by immersion in the Name of Jesus Christ. Once he has done all he can, he steps back and prays one more time. Fire falls from heaven and consumes the sacrifice and the water. He is still the God that answers by fire! What a beautiful depiction of the plan of salvation that we hold so dear today. All this excitement and rain still hasn’t fallen. We would look at what has taken place and say, “Now that is revival,” but then ask, “Where is the rain?”
1 Kings 18:41-46 shows the outline of revival perfectly. Elijah, who is the voice of God (pastor), goes to prayer for a people who have just made a new declaration of faith and worship to God. He is consumed with the spiritual burden of rain in Israel. He doesn’t have time to stop praying to run around looking for clouds. He sends a runner (evangelist) from place to place to see if the rain is coming. When he returns with the news of rain, it excites not only the servant but also revives Elijah and draws Ahab. Now, not only is the evangelist running, but the pastor and the sinner are all running together.
We all believe that the coming of the Lord is drawing closer every single day. I also believe that we are set to see the greatest outpouring of revival that we have ever seen. The only thing that will prevent us from seeing it firsthand is if we stop running. Evangelists, don’t stop running; we need you to proclaim the rain everywhere you go. Pastors, don’t stop running; the rain is coming to your church. Saints, don’t stop running; Jezreel needs revival. The finish line is just in sight, and eternity is our victory. Don’t stop running! The rain is coming!
