In 2007, God called us from a fifteen year history in manufacturing to Life Action Ministries to help support the message of revival. It is our desire and passion to see personal revival transform lives in order that we may become a nationwide community of believers who are loving, Christ-like, and committed, so that Christ’s redemptive purposes can be accomplished in the world.
During this ministry season, we have traveled around the country since September helping people understand what it looks like to live an authentic Christian life and have lived on a different church parking lot almost every week. Now that it’s March, we can’t help but begin to think about summer and being home...reconnecting with family and friends, green grass instead of parking lots, mowing the lawn, cooking on the grill, trying to remember what a normal family schedule looks like.
This summer there are meetings and planning to do for the new ministry season, finishing family sessions that I will be teaching this upcoming season, training of the new team during the month of August, as well as a few home projects (landscaping, painting, etc…). These are the things that recalibrate us to have a more normal life for part of the year.
However, one of the things that “normal life” presents for us is an increase in expenses. Things like: turning the house back on and having to pay for all the utilities (gas, electric, trash, water, etc...), groceries for all our meals (while on the road, the churches take care of most of this for us), gas and insurance for the car, etc…
This summer also brings with it the need for our daughter Elizabeth to start the process of braces. Not having insurance for this requires that all of these expenses be out of pocket. The cost for stage 1 of braces for her is $1,600.
Coming home for the summer increases our costs by $1,000 per month totaling $3,000 for the three months that we are home. Add the $1,600 for the orthodontic work for Elizabeth, and we’re looking at a total additional expense of $4,600.
I am asking God to raise up forty six people to contribute $100.00 to help us be “revived” this summer at home. Would you please be one of those individuals? Our current level of support would not allow us to be home on a regular basis. God continues to provide for our needs and maybe He would use you at this time to help meet this need.
With a grateful heart,
Ben, Jennifer, Christian and Elizabeth.
"Who is the man who fears the LORD?" - Psalm 25:12
What is the "fear of God" anyway? That question might be easier to answer by looking at a rough definition of fear itself. Fear is the attitude of heart that seeks a right relationship to the fear-source. That's pretty straightforward, right? If I fear the future, I might save and prepare. I want to be in a right relationship with the future, so I'm going to do something about it today to make sure the future doesn't steamroll me. Some people don't fear the future. They just go on like fools and drive right over the cliff. But if I fear the future, I prepare. Does that make sense?
If I fear the dentist, I floss and brush! I believe he probably knows more about teeth than I do. And plus, when he gives that judgmental, self-righteous look like, "You haven’t been flossing...." I'm sure you have heard that speech. So, I think, "Oh, I don't want to hear it. I'll floss and brush." Why? Because I fear the outcome of failure. So I seek a right relationship to the fear-source.
If I fear the future, I prepare.
If I fear the dentist, I floss and brush.
If I fear God, I submit.
If I don’t fear God, I don't submit.
If I fear God, I do what He says.
Fear - it's not bad, by the way. How many people have heard the definition: "Fear God just means to respect Him?" That was bad teaching. Even though the Bible says like a thousand times that we should "fear God," we are just supposed to believe it means only that we should respect Him? Incorrect! I put a lot of time into studying this biblical term. The best word that I can think of to describe what fear means - is fear! I like simple stuff. When the Bible says to "fear God," guess what it means? It means to fear Him. Seek a right relationship with Him.
Join us in 7 days for a live Life Action THIRST conference from Dothan, AL. Together, we'll hear biblical principles that will awaken and revive our hearts. You'll be able to watch the live video feed, participate in live blogs, download the resources, and more. Sign up below, and we'll e-mail you reminders when the live feed is taking place. We hope you'll choose to join us and take the next step in awakening your heart.
Live Streaming Schedule (all times are EST):
Sunday, February 28 (10:30am, 11:45am, & 7pm)
Monday, March 1 (7:30pm)
Tuesday, March 2 (7:30pm)
Wednesday, March 3 (7:30pm)
Since we left Holland, MI on January 1, we’ve completed six THRIST Conferences (four in Florida, one in Georgia, and one in Mississippi) and are getting ready to start our seventh in Gonzales, LA (tomorrow). We’ve experienced big cities like Miami and small towns like Interlachen, FL, but no matter where we are, people are still hungry to meet with the lover of their souls, Jesus Christ. The southern hospitality is fantastic down here, but where is the warm weather??? Fortunately, there’s been plenty of sunshine to enjoy, and for that we are so thankful!
School is going well for Christian and Elizabeth. They just started studying the Middle Ages in history and just finished life cycles of insects in science. Their curriculum is so full of excellent literature that it’s not unusual for them to read an extra chapter because they just can’t wait until the next day! How fun!
We have a marvelous team this year, and it is a joy to see these young people maturing personally and spiritually. They are all in the process of determining what they will be doing next year, and it will be difficult to say goodbye to the ones who will be moving on to the next phase of their lives. But at the same time, we are excited for what God has next for them.
Hebrews 12:1 says, “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked for us.” In addition to doing that daily in our walk with the Lord, Jennifer and I are endeavoring to literally run with perseverance as we try to stay in shape and regularly exercise. There have been a lot of miles logged either in the neighborhoods surrounding the churches we’re in and many times literally running around the perimeter of the church parking lots. Just last weekend, we ran through the hills of historic downtown Columbus, MS, where we were able to admire the many early 1800’s homes with beautiful architecture and most likely amazing stories.
Coming up in one week week (Feb. 28 – March 3), you will have the opportunity to “sit through” our THIRST Conference in Dothan, Alabama through a live stream on the internet. If you’ve never participated in a Life Action event, we invite you to join us, see what we do, and allow God to use this time in your own life to renew your heart for the Lord. Who knows, maybe someday you too will find yourself living in a trailer on a different church parking lot each week! You can get information regarding this event and the details of the live stream at www.lifeaction.org.
"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." - Genesis 2:24-25
When it comes to the subject of marriage, it's worth taking a moment to think biblically about what's going on in our culture. The state of love is a quagmire. Conditions are worse than they were a year ago and much worse than five years ago. We need to come face-to-face with two giant truths from God's Word about human love.
First, sexuality is God's idea. Human sexuality - as God designed it - is good within the boundary that God established. And that boundary is the marriage relationship. Genesis 1:31 says, "God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 2:25 says that He brought the man and woman together. "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." There was no reason to be ashamed. Their relationship was righteous, holy, and part of God's good plan for them. Genesis 2:24 says, "A man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." So a man and a woman together - physically, sexually, intimately - is pleasing and honoring to God. Marriage is part of God's provision for the welfare and happiness of a man and a woman for a lifetime together. It's the way He wants it and the way He created it! Hebrews 13:4 says, "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled." Intimacy between a man and a woman, committed together under God for a lifetime, is righteous. But the verse goes on to say, "God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."
The second truth about human love from God's Word is that sexual sin is personally damaging. Today over half of all first marriages are preceded by living together, compared to virtually none fifty years ago. Extramarital affairs are rampant in our society. One of the by-products of this of course is sexually transmitted diseases, which have almost doubled in America in the last decade. Author Jim Nelson, speaking of the fall of great civilizations - Egypt, Carthage, Greece, Rome - said, "The collapse of society begins each time with a period of obvious moral decay."
No one has the moral authority to stand up - apparently - and say, "This is wrong! And it's self-destructive. Sin is destroying people and families." God has lovingly placed boundaries around sexual intimacy and declares it to be holy within the lifetime bond of marriage. He longs for us to honor those boundaries.
We see God change so many lives while on the road in the churches. Below are just a few "cliff notes" testimonies of recent days.......
"For so long I’ve believed I’ve been saved, and I still believe I was. But during Life Action I’ve come to find myself questioning the way I’ve been living. I feel like I’ve been depriving God of my time and praise, and instead “enjoying” and finding pleasure in worldly things. But also during Life Action I’ve made a decision to change that, and I just ask that you would continue to pray that I would have the strength to fulfill that desire. (teen)
God has really used your team this week to convict and challenge me in many areas of my life. I have already this week been able to change ways I related to my husband because of the things the ladies shared and taught at the ladies’ luncheons. Thank you so much for taking the time to teach us younger women, whether in age or spiritual maturity! God bless you all for your faithfulness to sacrifice to help us along in our walk. Thank God for His faithfulness! (wife)
Thank you for serving our Lord in this capacity. I have been so blessed, not a “low-level” blessed. God has used this to point out sin that I have allowed to remain in my life. I have used the definition of grace, that God gives me not only the desire but the POWER to overcome sin. There is victory in surrender. Getting 12 kids fed and ready every night was a sacrifice, but it has paid off even in the lives of my children. I have seen positive effects in all of them. (mom)
First and foremost, my soul has been refreshed in ministry. As the pastor of the church, I invited Life Action for the sake of reviving our church, but have had my own soul revived far more than I expected. It’s been a cool drink of water for a thirsty soul. Specifically, the challenge to hate sin has been convicting. (pastor)
The summit this week has taught me and convicted me of the pride issue in my life. I keep people at arm’s length for fear of getting hurt or being rejected. God showed me that if I am always doing that, I can’t reach anyone for Him, and He isn’t being glorified. This week I tried to reach out with God’s love and push my pride aside, and God has already worked miracles and opened doors that I thought were permanently closed. I thank Him for that and for the fact you were open to be used as tools of God, so I could be reached. Thanks again, and to God be the glory!
Thank you so much for allowing God to use you tonight. You have been a blessing to me. I was actually doing an in-depth study of 2 Corinthians, and you hit on the chapter I recently studied. God is good and orchestrated this together and really spoke to me about giving generously. Recently, my parents have been tight on finances and are trying to make me a wise investor of money, especially with college coming up. I know with the economic times it is hard to give so easily, so please be praying for them. They need an open heart, and through this service, God spoke to me and let me know that everything is going to be okay. I need to give all of me and surrender it to God. He is all I need! Continue to do what you do, and may God bless you all. I love you! (teen)
In these days God has moved me in ways that only He could do. We prayed for anguish over sin that may be in our life, and were moved emotionally to the point of trembling. Upon asking for forgiveness in those areas of weakness, we were overcome by the peace of God that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4). Thanks for all you do. Life Action has moved me out of complacency and closer to the God I love.
Thank you for being obedient and faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Your visit helped to break down pride in my life and saved me from becoming lukewarm and ineffective in the kingdom. It helped to sharpen my focus as my purpose in being a true follower of Jesus Christ. It challenged me and sparked a deeper hunger for my Savior.
I’ve been praying for months for God to help me see Him in His holiness. I knew I was lacking in this area. God sent you! He had to open my eyes to my sins and depravity. Monday night was painfully amazing. Then Thursday night came about forgiveness and bitterness, another area I’ve struggled in for years and been crying out to God. He got through to me, praise the Lord! He is amazing. I thank Him for using LAM.
I’ve always considered myself a “good Christian girl.” I grew up in a Christian family, grew up in the church, and went to a Christian university. After this revival period, after 26 years, I finally realized how far I’ve been from Christ. I may have always looked like the perfect cookie cutter Christian, but my heart was far from it. Thank you for choosing to dedicate your lives to Christ’s ministry. Thank you for opening my eyes to the strongholds that kept me from Christ. I pray that by God’s grace, this is only the beginning of truly living out my life for Jesus, not just in action but in my heart.
The first message on Friday evening on giving so touched my heart as I spent a good part of my morning in the Word reading Matthew, Timothy, and Corinthians that you covered tonight. I’ve been telling the Lord I want to be able to be a blessing to others in need and ministries. In December 2007, God laid it on my heart to leave my full-time job and be what He’s called me to be—an at-home mother! That meant half of our income but I was excited because I knew where the Lord guides, He will provide! I believe He will make a way to be able to generously give to you and others in need. (wife)
I am a worship leader and often I feel so empty and dry for myself, always pouring out and never refilling. These few nights that I have attended, my spirit has become renewed and satisfied, ready to explode once again in praise and worship to an Almighty, loving, compassionate Father, King and Lord.
My prayer lately was for revival, especially in the Lord’s church, but also in my own heart. I do not go to this church, but a friend who does told me about it. I have been blessed every night I have been able to come. I praise God for His work that He has been doing in my heart this week, especially the night on forgiveness. I realized that I had been angry with God since childhood, and I also realized because I hadn’t been able to forgive myself for something that happened to me as a child, it has stopped me from receiving God’s grace. God opened my eyes to my sin and pride, and He is melting my hard heart. I thank Him for His wonderful mercy and forgiveness for one so stubborn and hard-hearted as I. Thank you for being obedient to His call on your life to stir His church to revive our hearts.
My heart has been broken this week over the apathetic attitude I’ve had toward my loving Father. I was convicted of my sinful, disrespectful heart toward my husband and my lack of consistent discipline toward my son. Praise God for His mercy and His grace which will give me the strength and desire to serve Him more faithfully.
God has answered prayers. Today was most amazing to me. In my neighborhood, I have been led for months now to start a prayer group. Through your questions, “How much do you read, where are you in obedience to God,” and so on, He spoke to me this morning and actually gave me the confidence to walk over and ask someone I barely knew to pray weekly with me. Praise God!"
It’s the beginning of November, and for a Michigan family, the weather can’t be much better than what we’re experiencing in Grapevine, Texas…blue sky, sunshine, and low 70’s! The kids play outside in shorts. Ben and I run in shorts and short-sleeve shirts, and in the evenings it cools to a Michigan fall-like temperature. It’s the best of both worlds.
We just finished our first ten weeks of school, and it has been a great school year thus far. The kids are studying ancient history and zoology combined this year which is great for all of us. Christian is in 6th grade and is loving pre-algebra (I love it too!). Elizabeth is in 3rd grade and has really excelled at and enjoyed her new language arts program. She’s devouring books and will tell you her favorite one she’s read so far this year is “Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill”. We are also studying Jewish feasts throughout the school year, so it’s been incredible learning about the significance of these Old Testament feasts and the truths we can learn from them today.
Christian turned twelve on October 26. He’s an amazing young man, and we’re thrilled he will be joining us when we take our team to El Salvador on a mission trip in November. For his birthday, we gave him a sturdy backpack suitable for his overseas trip. In the picture you can see that our dog Tex helped with the backpack delivery! Just yesterday Christian’s U.S. Passport arrived in the mail…how exciting! We had a full day of travel on his actual birthday, but the day was filled with many birthday phone calls and culminated with dinner with our friends the Loveings at Christian’s choice of restaurants: Buffalo Wild Wings.
Our team girls are in the middle of a fitness challenge which has been a tremendous motivator to consistently be exercising. I purchased some long-overdue running shoes and have been getting back into running which has been challenging yet exciting. Slow and steady, right!?!
Already this year, we’ve been in five different states and seven different cities, so there’s been much to see and do. While in Pearland, TX we were given tickets to NASA’s Space Center Houston which was incredible. We viewed the Mission Control Center for the Apollo space missions, famous for “Houston, we have a problem,” toured the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility, and got up close with the Saturn V Rocket. It was a great day together as a family.
We did pick up some uninvited house guests in Laurel, Mississippi that we unfortunately kept with us all the way through our time in Pearland, TX and on to Waller, Texas…fire ants! As you can imagine, they’re a tremendous nuisance which required a late night emptying and spraying of our bedroom closet (prompted by a during-the-revival service discovery that Ben literally had ants in his pants!) and the basement of the trailer and kitchen pantry to all be emptied and sprayed. But that just gave me an opportunity to reorganize the pantry…when you’re given lemons, make lemonade, right? After the spraying, Ben vacuumed up hundreds of dead ants from the floor of our closet (see picture), and the ant problem now thankfully seems to be under control.
It has been wonderful being back on the road with the team, traveling as a family, doing life just the way God has designed for us. We are full of joy to be able to do what we do…all for the glory of God!
Serving Him Together, Jennifer for the Slenk Family
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9
I'm not much of an "original language" teacher. But once in a while in my study of a passage, I am rocked by some nuance of meaning I learn from the Bible's original language. I love the Greek word order of 2 Corinthians 12:9: "Sufficient for you is the grace of Me." That is an incredible promise! Sufficient for you is the grace of Me.
Think for a moment about the place where you meet with God. Your regular place. Is it a chair in your bedroom? Or at the kitchen table? Or as a father of five small children told me this week, is it the backseat of your car in the garage?
I can picture the place where I met with God years ago in my dorm room at college; I can picture where I met with God in the apartment where we lived in seminary; I can picture the little blue love seat that I used to sit on in our first house. I can picture my chair back at home right now where I meet with the Lord every day.
I find myself wondering, how many times have I gotten up from that place and left God's sufficient grace there? The Lord was there with me - holding out to me the grace for the trial I was going to face that day even as my mind was drifting off to my own plan. How many days did I run down the hall and off to my car and out to a busy day and leave Him sitting there with His sufficient grace?
"Sufficient for today is the grace of Me," God says.
If I'm going to live by that sufficient grace, I'm not going to catch it falling from the sky as I run to my next appointment. I've got to go to the fountain and drink deeply. He is the One who quenches my thirst. He is the One who fills up what's missing. He is the One who satisfies my deepest longings. He is the One who brings and sustains a continuous revival in my life.
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." - James 1:12
James 1 tells us that above all other human traits, endurance is the characteristic that God is trying to build into your life and mine. Perseverance. Steadfastness. Keep on going. Continue making and keeping the commitments of life. No matter how hard, don't quit.
Endurance is the funnel through which all Christian virtue flows. If God can just get me to not be a quitter, He can get every other good thing into my life. If I won't quit my marriage and I won't quit my kids and I won't quit my job and I won't quit my church and I'm not going to run around thinking the grass is greener somewhere else; I'm going to believe, this is where God has me! This is where I'm going to put down roots and plant my life and make a difference; if I'll stay right here under the pressure, it's unbelievable what God could do in my life. But I've got to be willing to commit for the long haul in order for God's trials to have their purpose in my life.
I want to share a cool related verse in James 1:12, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life."
While I think there are literal crowns that we'll receive from the Lord, I'd like to suggest that the "crown of life" means the quality of life which God promises to those who love Him. If you endure, if you stand the test, there'll be a better life for you on the other side of this trial. Your best and most fruitful days are ahead. Your most God-glorifying days are ahead. God has a purpose for every difficult thing that you face, and if you hold up under it you're going to receive the "crown of life." It's a quality of life that comes to those who successfully pass the test - those who love Him. For some people it will be in eternity, but for most people it'll be at some point later in this life. Protect your joy - remain under the pressure and don't let this trial steal what's ahead.
As we continue to prepare for the upcoming ministry season, we are in the middle of training the teams in order that they are prepared and ready to get on the road the beginning of September.Throughout that preparation I have been reminded of some of the truths that we teach on week after week in the churches that we have the privilege to minister in.One such truth is what we call Living/Giving principles (below).These are faith building, word centered truths that have had a substantial impact not only on our lives, but thousands of lives that hear and apply what you are about to read below.Please take a minute to look and see if there is something you can apply from the principles below.How do you view all the blessing that you have been entrusted with?This is not a one-time event but the development of a lifestyle.Enjoy.
1. Before I give any of my material possessions to God, He first wants me to
give myself (2 Corinthians 8:5).
a. Has there ever been a point in my life when I fully gave myself to God?
b. Have I completely surrendered my will, my desires, my needs, my goals,
and my plans to God?
c. Is there any area of my life that I have not yielded to God? Relationships?
