Jason & Norah Skipper

Articles from: 2010

What’s Really Important?

Date: October 5, 2010  Author: Jason 1 Comment

[adsense-left]I think that too often, we as followers of Jesus get off track in regards to what’s really important. I remember my first years here, while I was studying in the seminary in Sucre, I would often get into heated discussions with others about religion. I was studying apologetics, which is basically understanding and defending our faith. The problem was that when I found the “truth”, that made what everyone else believed “wrong”. Not only people from other religions, but even people from other branches of Christianity. I remember seeing some pastors and leaders and just asking myself… is it possible that they will someday end up in heaven? I mean, they believed wrong… taught wrong… acted wrong… were heathens… liars… hypocrites… etc.

Even today I find myself looking at what other pastors teach, and all that I can say is… “that is just wrong.” In Latin America there are several branches of churches that teach that to be healed by God, you must bring a financial offering. The bigger your offering, the better your miracle. I’ve heard so many stories of pastors who even yelled at those who were bringing the offering… “Is that all?” That seems to go against everything that Jesus taught, and it certainly seems wrong to me. But the thing is that people are healed. Sometimes MANY people are healed. We as Christians have the tendency to credit anything that we don’t believe in, and still see as a ‘supernatural’ work, to the devil. But I have talked and had close contact with some of those who have recieved healing in those churches… and they seem to love God with all of their hearts. They live for him. Their lives have been transformed. They have been healed, as many have been in our church too.

So what does this mean. Is what that church is teaching correct? Should I just jump over on their bandwagon, or can I just dismiss it and say that the devil is dressing up as an angel there? We see this so much today. We talk about; the churches that teach the prosperity doctrine or others that teach that we should remain poor, those who are holy rollers and those who aren’t, christians who drink beer and those who won’t use electricity, those who read newer versions of the Bible, and those who won’t touch anything that isn’t the King James with a ten foot pole. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Of course, I think that I’M RIGHT! :-) Ha… the problem is that everyone thinks that they are right.

My Controversial Statement of the Day

I’m going to say something here that will probably be very controversial. Please, just hear me out! (I’m sorry that I can’t do this post in under 500 words.) Let me say it clearly though. I believe that WE are much more worried about theology than GOD is.

Ok, let me explain. We talk about theology, we argue about it. We go to church and learn about it. We separate ourselves from those who don’t think like us. We say that “the church over there is too liberal”, and “that other church is too conservative.” The truth is, in general, we are a VERY divisive people. Let me point out two verses before I get into what I think is truly important.

“Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, `Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from your own eye, then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5

“Don’t grumble about each other, my brothers and sisters, or God will judge you.” James 5:9a

These are just examples of so many other verses in the Bible that make this clear. We are not the world’s judge. God is. Of course there are some ESSENTIAL beliefs that we must defend and teach always, but I think that OUR understanding of essential is different than GOD’S understanding of it.

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So What’s Really Important?

I think that if we read the New Testament with an open heart and mind, two things are the basis of Christianity. Love God and love your neighbor.

  1. Loving God
    God abolished the written law, and he put it in our hearts. Today, instead of asking for a list of rules and regulations, we ask God… how should I live? What do you want from me Lord. Following God is all about having a relationship with him, being led by his spirit. Becoming his disciple. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about walking and overcoming our problems, sins and frustrations WITH Him. It’s about learning to put him first in our lives, and trusting him in everything.Is this or that ok? I don’t know… ask God. Can I have sex outside of marriage? Of course not… but is it ok to go out with my secretary for lunch? Under most circumstances, I wouldn’t advise it, but… ask God (and your wife). Only you and God know your heart, and you don’t know it nearly as well as he does. Some Christians can drink a beer or a glass of wine without a problem, others can’t drink just one… if you understand what I’m saying. If you can do it TRULY loving and trusting in God, then there is no condemnation for you (Romans 8:1.)
  2. Loving our Neighbor
    I am convinced that the Christian life isn’t about following rules. It’s about relationships. Our relationship with God, and our relationship with others. When we talk about loving our neighbor as ourselves, that means exactly what it sounds like. Do you worry about your life? Worry about others too. Help them. Do you worry about your salvation? Worry about others too, share God’s love, share the freedom from sin and guilt and addictions, etc. with them. Disciple them. Call them, visit them, help them. Give to those who you can. Get your head out of your own problems and look around. See the sadness in this world. Stop judging them. When you see someone fall, pick them up, don’t kick them. Love them, accept them.I have talked to many people who have left the church. What is one of the main reasons they do? Because they find no love there. What they find is judgement. They need friends. They need love. That’s what the world needs. Are they finding it in the church? Really? Truly? Do you accept them for who they are? Believe me when I say that you can find 100 times more love in a group of alcoholic friends than you can find in a good percentage of our churches. Should that be? Now do you understand why I say that we tend to get off track? And yet we ask why our churches aren’t growing.

Conclusion

I believe that we all mess up from time to time… and we are all wrong in something.  But God’s not looking at that.  He’s looking at our heart.  He’s looking at what’s inside.

We need to get back to the true message of Jesus Christ. His message of love, hope and freedom… TRUE freedom for the world. God can heal your neighbor. He can heal people’s hearts. He can restore families, and make people truly happy again. Love God, and Love People.

May God bless you richly. PLEASE, comment, and if this message blesses you, share it with others!

Love,

Jason

God’s Glasses

Date: October 2, 2010  Author: Jason Leave a comment

Throughout most of our lives, we have heard these words… “God loves you.” But how many of us truly understand or believe that? We know it in our head, but our heart tells us something so different. We talk about God’s grace, and how he paid the price for our sins… but what happens AFTER we ask for forgiveness and we still keep messing up? Do we keep asking for forgiveness 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 10,000 times? Of course our answer is yes… as Jesus said “not seven times but seventy times seven” (Mt. 18:22), and if Jesus said that, he must do it too. The question I have is… How to you FEEL after having to ask for forgiveness 150 times for the same thing? The truth is that most of us feel ashamed, embarrassed, and instead of feeling great and free in God’s forgiveness and love, we hide like Adam and Eve. We are always wanting to live up to God’s standard, and although we know that He forgives us, we want to please Him continually with our promises and actions.

The problem is that we can’t. We always mess up, and we continually break our promises to God. You do and I do, and even the best of the saints do too. We strive to be better, but do we ever really get there? I mean… has anyone other than Jesus reached the perfection in this life? God doesn’t expect perfection from us, and he isn’t disappointed when we don’t reach it. He isn’t looking for perfect people. He is looking for people who are willing to trust completely in Him.

Jesus didn’t just die on the cross to die. He took our place there. The Bible makes it clear that ALL who sin deserve to die (Romans 6:23), and we have ALL sinned (Romans 3:23). But since Christ already died in our place, those who put their faith and trust in Him can live in God’s freedom and forgiveness. The thing is that we must remain in Christ. John 15:1-5 says…

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:1-5)

You can look at it like this. When God looks at me directly, I am full of sin. I am a sinner. I am doomed. There is no way that I can approach the father like this. He is holy, I am not. But when I am holding on to Jesus, and my full trust is put in Him, it’s different. The Father looks at me THROUGH Jesus. What does He see? Perfection. Holiness. He doesn’t see my sin, and my terrible condition, he sees Jesus. Jesus is like a pair of glasses for the Father. But those glasses ONLY work when my trust and walk is in Jesus. If I am not walking with Jesus… God doesn’t see me through Jesus… and I’m in trouble.

I’m not perfect, but I am Holy through Jesus’ sacrifice! We’ll talk more about walking with Jesus in the coming days. Feel free to leave commentaries and please share this with others! Blessings,

Jason

Blogging

Date: October 1, 2010  Author: Jason Leave a comment

On August 16 of this year, I (Jason) amazingly completed 14 years in Bolivia! I remember that first old pickup ride from the airport to the seminary in Sucre and knowing that my life would never again be the same. We were arriving with a short term missions team from the local western Maryland / West Virginia area in January of 1996. We only stayed physically for a little under two weeks then, but my heart never went home. Eight months later I found myself in that same old pickup… but this time, to stay.

Of course I hadn’t planned on staying for so long, but when God has something up his sleeve, it really doesn’t matter what we plan or don’t plan. There are several things in life that I planned on NOT doing. I said as a teenager that “I will never go to Bolivia!” (Really! It’s a LONG story). I have also said that I will never be a pastor… After living in Sucre for years (9,000 ft. in the Andes Mountains), I said that I would never live in a flat, hot, humid place like Santa Cruz. Today I find myself pastoring my second impacting church with my bolivian wife and three children in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. :-) The funny thing is that even though I had never wanted any of these things, I find myself incredibly happy and fulfilled. One of things that I have learned is that God knows me better than I know myself. He knows what I need and what makes me happy.

The truth is that I’ve learned a lot over the years, and I continue to learn. Just the fact of having lived and learned to do life in two totally different cultures teaches you a lot. What a contrast Bolivia is with the United States. I was taught personal responsibility, to work hard and to be honest. I was taught to be generous and loving towards others. I’m not quite sure how I was taught that, I just know that those are the values that I try to live by. You would think that it’s like that everywhere… but it’s not.

It’s one thing to arrive in Bolivia and see the need that so many people have. It’s another thing to understand WHY they still live that way, and as long as things don’t change INSIDE of them, it really doesn’t matter how much you help them externally… they will ALWAYS live that way. Needless to say; personal responsibility, hard work, honesty, generosity and loving others are NOT values that most Bolivians share. Please don’t get me wrong. I am not stereotyping people… what I’m saying is that there is a REASON people live like they do. It’s not just bad luck, or because someone stole everything from them. It’s because of their values and their way of seeing and living life.

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In the area of God, “Religion”, Church Planting, etc. I have learned so much too. My point is that I feel that I have a lot to share. Over the years I have felt the urge to write down some of my ideas, but I never did. There’s always been that small fear that in publishing my views and opinions about certain things, I can upset some of our supporters. What we least need are people who give so sacrificially so that we can do God’s work here in Bolivia to be upset with us. At the same time, I feel that we can give so much. I’ve decided to go ahead with it anyway… and just do it.

I’m going to take advantage of this space to talk about; God, Church Planting, Politics, Culture, Software, Weight Loss, Values, and anything else that comes to my mind. I’m just going to write, and I’ll let God do the rest. :-) I DO NOT want to upset any of our supporters. I do not want to be confrontational. I would like this blog to be a place where I can share my ideas, and we can get into great discussions about those ideas!

May God bless you greatly, and please come back often! Link to the site if you can, subscribe to the feeds, and we pray that you enjoy this greatly!

Jason

Latest Newsletter!

Date: September 24, 2010  Author: Jason Leave a comment

Newsletter September 20, 2010


One Week Away From Second Event!

Date: May 3, 2010  Author: Jason 1 Comment

Good Morning Everyone!

I’m sorry, but we are terrible!!! Look at that, the subject of this e-mail/post is “One Week Away From Second Event” and we haven’t sent you anything about the first one yet! Wow. Sorry about that. Let us tell you about what’s going on… it’s been exciting!

BUSY, BUSY & BUSIER!

Last year when I (Jason) was in the states sharing about what we have wanted to do here in Santa Cruz, we knew that it would be a lot of work. Still, as is usual, we underestimated how MUCH work was really in store for us. We were finally able to get started putting the roof on the place in early December. The idea was to finish in a month, do most of the electricity work and decoration in a few days and we truly thought that we would be able to start by early February. We decided to be careful with pushing it too hard, and after checking dates, we decided that the next best date would be March 7th. So we put that down on the calendar as our official start date. Needless to say, even that was too soon. We ended up having to postpone the first service (evangelistic event) until April 11th. Even then we worked day and night, 7 days a week, for over a month just to be ready for it.  We ended up having to ask my Father-in-law to return from La Paz to help us put tile over the cement floor.  That took almost a month.  While they were doing that we worked for close to a month on setting up the electricity in the place with the light and socket systems, stage lights, outside lights, etc.  Norah made the curtains while we worked on making a home made, collapsible 13 foot wide projector screen, putting the sound system together, and about 2,000 other things… :-)  Needless to say, we lost contact with a lot of people during that time.  Even mom wrote me asking “Where are you?  Are you Ok?”.  That tends to happen when we get busy.  Sorry!

OUR TEAM AND GETTING PEOPLE TO COME TO THE FIRST EVENT

We were a little worried about what was going to happen in our first service, because our main team here in Santa Cruz had dwindled over the few months heading up to it.  Basically we found out who REALLY was with us and who wasn’t.  We ended up having maybe 20 or so people who were dedicated to what God has called us to do.  We did several things to try to get new people to come to the event.  Beginning in early march, we (the team) each began praying for 10 non christian friends that we were going to invite to the event.  During the entire month leading up to the event we prayed for these people daily, and we also fasted for that cause.  We also printed out 3000 fliers to pass out to those who we had been praying for, to those who live closest to the church, and to the areas surrounding several of our small groups.  On Saturday, April 10th, 29 youth arrived from the Sucre church to help us out as well.  They went out to several places around the city during both days to do street dramas and hand out fliers for the event.  In addition we set up two different busses from opposite sides of the city to bring groups of people before and take them home after the service.

HOW DID IT GO?  GOD DID AMAZING THINGS ON APRIL 11TH!

After months of hard work, lot’s of prayer and fasting, and putting our faith in God, HE opened up heaven’s gates that evening.  Our goal was to have a minimum of 100 people for this first event.  We ended passing that goal by 50.  That evening 150 people attended the event.  We showed a video about God’s Love at the beginning of the service, the worship team from Sucre played and led several songs, there was a drama, I (Jason) sang a special and then entered directly into the salvation message, which lasted about 20 minutes. We prayed with the people, took an offering and finished.  We gave awayfree ice cream before and after the service which was just was wonderful for two reasons.  First, the people actually got there on time, and then they stayed afterwards so that we could talk to them and get to know a little bit about them.  We were able to get the information (phone numbers & addresses) of around 100 new people.

AFTERWARDS & PREPARATION FOR SECOND SERVICE

Our goal all along has been to have several LARGE once-a-month services, and when we have a large enough team to be able to do the same thing weekly we’ll move to weekly services.  In the meantime we will be working in small groups throughout the month, working individually with the people and also preparing for the upcoming event.

A week after the first event we invited everyone back for a meal  at the church.  The goal was to share with everyone, try to get to know them even better, and eventually include them in one of our small groups.  That meal went very well.  During the past few weeks we have also been practicing music with some who attended our first service.  I announced during that service that if anyone knew how to play an instrument, to let me know.  Eight people came to talk to me after the service!  For this upcoming service wewill be doing almost everything ourselves.  The church from Sucre will not be coming, with the exception of Joel Cuellar, who will come to lead the song service.  We will playing all of the instruments with those who talked to me!  Also we have raised up a chorus and a choreography team from our own group of people… plus a group of young people from our team will be presenting the “Everything” drama for the next service!  (See it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA.)

CONCLUSION… THE EVENT IS ON MAY 9TH… PRAY FOR US!

Our second event is this coming Sunday evening, May 9th.  We will be having a work day on Saturday, then we will go out to the neighborhood around our church that evening to invite everyone.  On Sunday morning we will all split up into two groups and go to two different sectors of the city to invite people, and we will be bringing busses from those areas in the afternoon.  Our goal for this upcoming service it to have 200 there!

We ask that you continue to pray for us and all that God is doing.  Please know that all of the sacrifices that YOU have made financially are bearing fruits.  Thank you for that, and we ask that you continue to be a part of the great things that God is doing and will do here during the next several months & years.  We still have SO many financial needs here.  In an upcoming letter I will spell those out for you.  So please continue to be faithful in your giving!  If you don’t currently support us… PLEASE DO!  Trust me, this is going towards something that is leaving its mark on this world for Christ.  You can get more information on supporting us on our website http://www.hohnet.com.  If you have any questions, please feel free to write us!

Below I’m including several photos from the event.  You can also see the entire photo album here… http://www.hohnet.com/photos/inauguracion-mcc-santa-cruz/.  Thanks again for everything and have a great week!  God Bless,

Cosmetic Overhaul

Date: February 10, 2010  Author: Jason Leave a comment

Good Morning everyone!  I just got done cosmetically overhauling the website.  I’m still working on getting all of the blog a page picture links updated.  Other than that, please let me know if you have problems with anything.  Thanks!