Speakers travel a great deal and often have to wonder at the effects of their ministry. As planters, they are not around long enough to see the results of their words. (Warm handshakes and appreciation are not the fruits that true teachers treasure. They are aiming for real change, for growth in holiness and friendly zeal for the truth.)

AudioVerse has changed things in this regard. Thank you to the AV team for allowing my messages to precede me. Yes, that is what I said. Often when I visit a new place, I find friends who have been tuning in to the website for many months. And, as a consequence, we see more than seeds going into the soil. We can perceive full-grown plants and some, even, with blossoms scenting the air. Sometimes we even find ripening fruit.

What is perhaps little known about AV’s auditory is that includes many scattered missionaries who are in lonely outposts at the frontiers of Adventism. These are fruit-bearing trees indeed. And this means that the ideals and truths promoted through the website become content for mission teaching at the leading edge of the movement.

As a speaker, AV increases my usefulness this way. And that increases my courage. And that increases my usefulness. And that increases my courage. Not all spirals point downward. Amen.

Recently I met a woman who had been touched by a sermon I had preached (Faith & Fanaticism) more than ten thousand miles from her home. Her relations and acquaintances, reeling under the pressure of unbecoming zeal, were pushing on her. And she was able to push back gently, sensibly, and with understanding.