Editor's Blog

Below you can find the Editor's most recent blog posts, with his musings about the latest news at FAST. To get these posts by email or via RSS, subscribe here. To browse our archives, click here. The Editor's Blog is the best way to get our most cutting edge news, fast.    

Endtime Earnestness

September 06, 2010

For some time now, there has been a growing intensity in the consciousness of many thinking people--that we are on the brink of some kind of crisis. That the stage is being set for some apocalyptic, endtime showdown between Christ and Satan. Yet the issues are not always obvious. Our adversary is subtle, his attacks disguised.

FAST has recently taken steps to expose the prophetic issues at work behind todays headlines in two new booklets: Prophetic Cover-Up and Protestant Challenge. These powerful resources reinforce our Prophetic Facts study guides, also recently revised into a Q&A format for easier sharing, and expanded to include 2 new lessons and 3 supplemental exhibits.

Prophetic Cover-Up focuses on the history of prophetic interpretation from the earliest church fathers down through Augustine, the Waldenses, virtually all the major reformers, and at last to scholars of the Counter-Reformation. Every Protestant should read this book! Use it with the Prophetic Facts study on the Antichrist.

Protestant Challenge exposes Rome's blatant attacks against the Bible, and the foundational principle of Protestantism: Scripture and Scripture alone. Learn how faith in the Scriptures is being weakened; how our only hope for maintaining a consistent confidence in the Word is being undermined. Another must read for Bible-centered Christians. Use it with the Prophetic Facts study on the Mark of the Beast.

I realize some will find these resources shocking, and perhaps disquieting. But the urgency in our headlines demands bolder efforts to call God's endtime people back to the Bible. Please try out these new resources then share them with a friend!

P.S. We've also updated our Evangelism Pack to include these new booklets and we've also begun adding Call to Action. See our store for the details.

A few software tweaks

September 06, 2010

Today I uploaded a few revisions to the software running our site. It has been several months since we have made any changes--the longest break since launching BoltWire--and we are thrilled things are running so well. But it seems there are always a few glitches here and there to patch up. We have accumulated a half dozen or so over the last couple months, and I took some time today to work on them.

You shouldn't notice any changes to the site, but if you spot something that doesn't look right please contact us promptly so we can fix it. There was a slight change to our login process--so let me know especially if you have troubles logging in.

We have a big news announcement coming up shortly. Keep your ears posted...

Second newsletter

August 13, 2010

Yesterday we sent out our second edition of FAST News--and was very pleased to have everything work perfectly once again. With God's help, it looks like we should be able to keep these news updates going out on a much more consistent basis. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement while we have taken some time to get our technology up to speed!

We also prepared our fall print newsletter, For Such A Time. You can get a digital copy here. This Back to School issue is an attempt to encourage churches to become more intentional about making discipleship a part of their mission strategy. Feel free to share it with friends, and other church members.

At FAST, we are convinced every church should be a training center for Christian workers. And the secret to mobilizing men and women is building into their spiritual life. Just teaching evangelistic tips and techniques won't do it. These have to be added on to a foundation of Bible study, prayer, personal obedience, and commitment to mission. Without that foundation, evangelism training alone will fail to mobilize a church.

This month we also announced our first graduate of our FAST Certification curriculum: Jennifer Hudspeth of Nevada, USA. Congratulations Jennifer! You've been a diligent student, and we pray your example inspires many others to do the same.

Interesting News Developments

July 23, 2010

Had a little time to tinker on the site this morning and decided to work on our "Latest News" tab a bit. You can check out the handy work yourself, but in short, I've added a couple new features some of you may find useful, and I've simplified the navigation slightly.

In particular, I've added a FAST News and a For Such A Time section. The first will be an archive of our monthly e-letter to all our FAST members. You should have gotten our first one since reviving our mailing list a couple weeks back. If not, it's already up and posted. Our next one will be out sometime in August. For Such A Time is a print newsletter we hope to begin publishing about once a quarter. Our first one is almost ready to go, and we'll soon post the PDF for that on our site, so you can easily grab a copy and/or share it with friends.

The third new feature is what we will be calling "Live Reports." Use this to share a testimony about how FAST has impacted your life, or is impacting your church. You can also use it to announce special FAST events you are planning. We hope giving people a chance to share their testimonies will encourage others to give FAST a try. If you would like to send in a report right now, you can do that here. Thank you in advance!

I've always believed good communication is key to a vibrant community. We didn't do a great job keeping up with our newsletters these last couple years while we were busy building our school--but KEY Institute is now running smoothly, and we're finally able to turn a bit of our focus toward letting people know what is happening.

We also appreciate for YOUR efforts to pass on the good news to others. It is great to have you a part of our team!

Newsletter Unleashed!

July 14, 2010

As noted a few weeks back, we have been working to finally get our monthly email newsletter, FAST News, back online again. And it looks like we have everything working, at last. The first few messages have already gone out, and the rest should be showing up in your mail boxes over the next 24 hours or so. We've also put some things in place to make it much easier to prepare these newsletters in the future.

This is really a big step for FAST. Over the years, we have been blessed with a large and growing community of friends, who share our mission to help one another get back to the Bible. Being able to maintain good communications is critical to keeping that community alive. While our newsletters are just one facet of our communication system, it is the one that reaches the largest number of people. So it is especially important.

We have big plans for the future. We have been working extremely hard the last two years building the infrastructure to our school--from the underlying software to features and functionality to content. It has not been easy, but the basics are now in place. Which means time is opening up for us to be able to really focus on expanding in new ways in the months to come. I won't spill all the beans here about what we have in mind--but the list is exciting.

My point? With FAST News, we can keep you posted, and share these dreams as they unfold. So keep your eyes open. Good news is on its way...

Friends from Australia

July 03, 2010

This past week, Vi and I had a chance to go up to Atlanta and spend some time with friends from Australia: Johnny & Tina Wong. We met at our favorite Chinese restaurant in the area, and spent the next four or five hours catching up on each others lives, counseling together on various aspects of ministry, and doing some strategic planning for FAST. We ended up talking long enough for dinner time to roll around, and then decided to move next door to a Malaysian restaurant for another light meal, and more sharing! All in all, we had a great time together.

Johnny and Tina are our FAST distributors for Australia and Asia. They are also founders of Gateway Center, a church in the heart of Melbourne. This church is a powerful example of what can happen when a church embraces discipleship, and intentionally commits to becoming a training center. From a small church plant itself just a few years ago, it has grown dramatically, started a second church, and is close to launching a third church there in the city. It has graduated scores of alumni who have gone to various locations, and begun slowly introducing the Gateway model in their areas. It has also inspired many believers in sister churches to take up discipleship and care group evangelism. God is blessing their efforts.

Getting the chance to spend a few hours with these good friends was a highlight of our week. It was also a fresh reminder to me of the urgent need for such a training center/church here in the USA. We have many churches, and a number of training centers--but rarely do we find the two combined. Please pray God will raise up leaders in this country with a vision to intentionally disciple and equip their members through training center churches. And that God will give us wisdom at FAST to find better ways to help. Best wishes to Johnny and Tina as they travel up to Michigan to conduct a couple training events there before returning down under.

Dedication Service

June 28, 2010

This past weekend I had the wonderful privilege of speaking at the dedication service for our students at Uchee Pines Institute. Fourteen students were recognized for completed the six-month basic Lifestyle Educator course, and nine students for completing the twelve-month advanced Lifestyle Counselor course. One additional student completed a six month internship program.

Students at Uchee Pines receive training in how to use simple and natural methods for restoring health, and unlocking hearts to the Gospel message. At the end of each training session we have a special service, dedicating these men and women in prayer to a life of medical missionary work. It is always a special and meaningful time.

This dedication was especially meaningful to my wife and I, because our daughter was one of the graduates in the advanced course! Like any proud parents, it brought tears to our eyes to see her accomplish such a milestone in her life. Please pray for her, and all her classmates that they will be faithful to Christ through the days to come.

Congratulations Becca--you are a wonderful blessing. We love you very much!

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