6/13/25

**I would like to preface this week's update and address something that the Spirit has brought to my attention this week. I want to address the purpose of this blog site as it could either be a positive and God-honoring thing, or it could be unproductive if misunderstood or poorly presented. My desire is this: 1) To encourage you to participate in practical, everyday ministries that God has given you as a minister where you are currently [2 Cor 5:18-20], 2) To share with those supporting me financially and in prayer what I am doing and how you can specifically be partnering with me in prayer. The last thing I would want is to add to an unhealthy view of the "ministers and the laypeople" and rather hope that this might do the opposite. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few - we are called to join the labor with Christ.**

This was a very interesting week as it opened uneventfully and, honestly, discouragingly. On Sunday, I joined the church at Friends Fullerton and then went straight to the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall that I was invited to by my neighborhood JWs. I was pleased that the meeting times lined up in such a way that I could join both in full and not have to miss either! I wasn't completely sure what to expect from the Kingdom Hall gathering, but I now know exactly what it's like in every Kingdom Hall across the globe (as they all participate in the exact same service content). While there were obvious and strong points of disagreement I had with their underlying organization and teaching, there are some things that I think they do well to do. One thing that I appreciated was how they intentionally invited congregation participation in the teaching section via pre-contemplated prompts. I found this diversity of voice to be delightful - though the voices essentially said the same things as their study was limited to the information given to them by the Watchtower's commentary and resource materials. I also noticed a truly unusual community among the congregation - which, when asked, was a large contributing factor for many JWs I've spoken with about why they are JW. Unfortunately, this close and intimate community is easily used as a weapon to keep people in the organization, as disagreement with the Watchtower can easily lead to disfellowship and severe shunning. I greatly desired for my visit to provide me a greater opportunity to ask some hard questions about the JW structure of authority to someone who might be willing to take the challenge, but I found that this was not the setting to find that person. Instead, I hopefully expressed my genuine commitment to connecting honestly with these people as I greeted almost every JW I've met prior. One thing to note if you decide to join your local Kingdom Hall for a service - they didn't have coffee or snacks like typical trinitarian churches. I'm not sure why that is, but I'm sure the Mormons would be happy about it.

Monday was also a bit discouraging for me as we tried out new expressions of the whiteboard evangelism off campus now that CSUF is on break. We tried our smaller whiteboard in a few different locations that we thought might work, but whether it be the time or place, we struggled to find where people were that had time to stop and talk. The day wasn't a waste, as it is part of the process of discovering new expressions and locations for evangelism, but it definitely wasn't too exciting. Luckily, Tuesday was!

On Tuesday, Nick and I went to Huntington Beach to do evangelism around the pier. We got to talk with some JWs who set up there, and I got to try a new conversational approach that I've been wanting to try out. In the past, I've aimed initially for the deity of Christ as it is so extremely essential, but my new approach aims for the head of the snake as I bring into question the legitimacy of the Governing Body as God's voice to His people. What I like about this approach so far is that the JWs are answering more questions that reveal their true allegiances and that you don't have to individually address each false doctrine specifically as they all flow from the same organization. Simply put, I am asking how they know that the Governing Body is a God-established authority, and I'm asking why they have their own translation of the Bible as opposed to the many other options. The answer to the Governing Body question is circular as their support for it is through scripture which the Governing Body uniquely interpreted to say that they have the authority to interpret scripture authoritatively. If you don't assume that the GB has authority to interpret scripture infallibly (in all practical senses), then you will never conclude that they have that authority - you must assume their authority to get there from scripture. As for the question about the New World Translation of the Bible, they will respond by saying something along the lines that it is the most accurate to the original languages without interpretation inserted. At this point, they've dug their own grave as this is an absolutely insane claim to make about the NWT. You can easily debunk this by using only their own resources on their website: the Kingdom Interlinear Bible and the NWT 2013. All you need to do is take them to Colossians 1:15-20 in both resources and look at the differences regarding the word "other". This word is clearly expressed as not being present in the Greek and yet is added into the NWT to fit their interpretation and doctrines about the nature of Jesus. If the claim is that the NWT is a pure translation that doesn't force a doctrinal bias into it, then you are embarrassingly far from the truth. Then you can follow up with a question about why an organization might alter the text of the Bible and change its message drastically. I was pleased with how long these JWs stuck with us in conversation even though they seemed to realize at some level that they were losing the argument due to their own resources. I still need to refine my approach to the GB question, but the NWT seemed to hit home this time!

While that would've been enough for me to be happy, God had more surprises waiting for Nick and me after our delicious tacos for lunch! Initially, we were going to head back to Placentia after eating lunch as we had a Bible-dialogue next; however, right before leaving the taco place, we found out that our Bible-dialogue needed to be moved back an hour - which gave us bonus time at the beach! Even better - Nick spotted two guys reading the Bible together at the taco place and inquired to see what was up (as unfortunately, it wouldn't be a shock if we learned they were in a cult). However, they were not, and they had actually come out to the beach together to try evangelizing for the first time! Neither of them had ever evangelized, but they both felt compelled, through prayer, to step out in faith and share the Gospel with other people! That is some pretty legit faith! We were so stoked to meet them, and as they learned about why we were there, they invited us to join them for evangelism in our newly available hour and show them how we typically engage with people! It was truly a blast, and they seem like such awesome guys! They both actually live very close to Nick and me, and one of them is connected with a Friends church in our area already! We were so surprised and blessed by our day at the beach, and we eagerly look forward to our future evangelism with these new friends and brothers!

Please be in prayer for these brothers who have a heart and desire to obey God and engage with those who are without light around them! May God continue to fill them with His Spirit and compel them to action by the love of Christ! Please also pray for the JWs that we talked with at the beach - that they would be humbled enough to see the truth about the organization and authority over them which is demonic so that they might come to a true understanding of Christ and be free. I also ask that you continue with me in prayer for the JWs in my neighborhood that I regularly engage with. I so greatly desire for one of them to have eyes to see - that they might be the agent God uses in their JW community to bring people out and into the freedom of Christ!