Kirk Bowman's blog

For years I have read about how valuable time is.

"Time is the most precious commodity. Money lost can be recovered, time lost can never be recovered." Quotes I have read that all ring true. But I just had a new awakening to another dimension to the value of time.

The other night I was discussing with some leaders the value of their presence at meetings. Sunday meetings. Leadership meetings. Prayer meetings.

We all have meetings we go to. Any time there is a gathering of people, that's a meeting. Dinner with my family. Work. Going to play golf. Going out to eat. Church meetings. All meetings. That require some of our time.

As we discussed the value of their presence at these different meetings I had a fresh realization about the value of time. I was asking for their time. A very valuable commodity.

Time is a valuable thing. Time with God. Time with my wife. Time with my kids. Time at church. I only have so much time. Only so many hours to spend.

My words were careful, my heart very aware. All these guys are so busy. Lives so full. And I was asking for their time. For God. For His house. For our church to be all God wants it to be.

And they all responded with a beautiful heart. God and His house was worth their time.

Whoever and whatever we give our time to tells a lot about what we truly value.

My heart had a new appreciation for the value of time when I was asking people I love and respect to give this valuable thing called time.

Thanksgiving was a blast this year. We had 25-30 people over for a great day of feasting and hanging out together.

It was a great mixture of friends and family. Long time friends (almost 25 years of friendship). A guy who used to be in my teen ministry way back in the day - now with a wife and 3 kids. New friends. A newly married couple. Lots of church friends and then my awesome family.

My wife is an excellent hostess and cook so everything was perfect for the day. Jambalaya and oyster dressing are two New Orleans dishes that I anxiously await every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Suzette does them so well.

I think some of the main things I am thankful for were represented on that day. My amazing wife. My gorgeous girls. Long time friends. New friends. Church friends who have stuck with us through thick and thin. Family. Health. Home. Blessing.

I hope your Thanksgiving was blessed as well.

Still reflecting on my latest trip to Ghana and what a powerful event it was. I've been pondering an idea as a result of my time there.

The idea is: Find out what God is blessing and then become a part of it.

It's so much better than trying to get God to bless what we want Him to bless. God is good, but He is stubborn. He is God, we are not. So I want to go with His flow rather than trying to get Him to go with my flow.

This analogy always helps me : If I want the hand of God on my life, find out where His hand is and then get under it.

"Why change the world? Change worlds!"
Henry Miller

I want to get in the world of God's blessing and favor and then bring others in with me.

After 42 hours of travel (each way) , I returned late Saturday night to Asheville from Kumasi, Ghana. The trip was grueling but it was well worth it.

Partnering with Dr. David Shibley and Global Advance ministries, I had the opportunity to minister to 1,500 pastors and leaders from around Ghana.

It was amazing! I felt swept up into something greater than any of us could have put together on our own. It was a God moment. God is up to something great in Africa.

Some highlight reel moments for me.

1. Watching every single one of those guys sow into an offering to help sponsor another conference for leaders to be held in northern India. What a holy moment as they gave unselfishly from what little they have to help someone else hear the gospel.

2. While I was teaching on "The power of a proclamation", I encouraged them to take a minute to proclaim the praise of our awesome God. The Holy Spirit took over the meeting and for 15 solid minutes we all declared the greatness of God. It was electric.

3. At the end of the conference, Dr. Shibley called them to commit to plant at least one new church in the next 12 months and for some of them to go cross cultural if they would. Watching hundreds and hundreds of guys stand with determination to answer that call was so touching. It wasn't just the numbers but the presence of God in the moment was powerful.

The African pastors and leaders are such beautiful people. Humble, serving like crazy and completely sold out to God and His cause on the planet. They all danced in worship like little kids. Joyful and without a care for anything but expressing their praise to God. It was fun to experience.

Thank you to all who prayed with us. Your prayers affected a nation!

In just a couple of days I leave to minister in a pastor's conference in Ghana, Africa.

I'm joining up with our great friend, David Shibley, who started and heads up Global Advance ministries. Global Advance is one of the premier missions ministries in the world and our church was one of the first to support them in their beginning 17 years ago.

This will be my first time in Africa . The 18th nation I've had the privilege of ministering in.

A few ideas swimming around in my head going in to this:

1. Relationships are the door to everything - I get the privilege of ministering to 1900 pastors in Ghana because of my connection with David. An opportunity afforded me by a relationship.

2. The gospel is universal, every culture is unique. Having had the opportunity to experience so many different cultures has given me a great appreciation for the uniqueness of each nation. So there always has to be a unique understanding of the culture we find ourselves in and how to "voice" the gospel to be heard in that culture. This principle applies to spreading the gospel in Asheville or Africa.

3. You can go anywhere from here. I live in Asheville, a small town of 70,000 people. But I can go anywhere on the planet from here. Where you live does not have to define how big or small your life can be.

4. I am blessed. I get to experience the whole world and all it's many colors and textures. God has given me so many opportunities to spread His good news all over planet earth. I love being the bearer of good news.

Pray for us!