July, 2010 Update Follow-Up on Randi: Here is a follow-up on Randi Bahnick’s month-long serving trip to Africa.  Just a reminder: Randi is a nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.  The country in which she served has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world.  She wrote the following while she was serving at a hospital in Africa: Randi’s African Adventure: “Salaam ah lay … [Read more...]

Randy’s June, 2010 Update "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Proverbs 22:9   Would You?: Would you consider going to one of the poorest, most dangerous countries in the world to serve people you don’t know? They Would!: Two of the women I spiritually mentor are doing just that.  They recently embarked on a one-month and a two-month humanitarian trip to one of the poorest and most … [Read more...]

Randy’s May, 2010 Update “First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” (Matt 23:26b) “We become like the God we adore.” - Unknown The photos in this month's update are from this Spring, in my yard.  I think they are appropriate, because this is a story of renewal, of Spring. Cleaning the Lust on the Inside: “I used to shame myself a lot.  I thought I needed to be hard on myself in order to change … [Read more...]

Randy’s March 2010 Update Todd Katter plans to summit the tallest peak on each continent. So far he has made it to the top of two. The way things are going, I think he’ll summit more than just mountains.   Spring, 2006: When I first met Todd Katter, he was 27 years old and working as a manager at Deloitte Touche, a public accounting firm.  Outside of work, as a volunteer, he was leading a medium sized group of 20somethings in the … [Read more...]

Randy’s November 2009 Update One of God’s many surprises for me this year showed up in the form of a woman named Uma from India.  Though Uma would not label herself a Christian and doesn’t fall within this ministry’s target age group, through God’s mysterious design, Uma and I have recently begun a spiritual mentoring relationship. Here’s a bit of Uma’s fascinating story:   UMA'S BACKGROUND: “I was born Hindu, and raised … [Read more...]

Randy’s October 2009 Update YOU CAN'T CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH: Imagine standing in front of eight of your peers and finishing the statement: “The truth I don’t want you to know about me is…” How would you complete that sentence?  How would you feel being that vulnerable with other people? That was how we kicked off an intense men’s retreat weekend, I recently co-facilitated, for seven 20something leaders.  All weekend the retreat … [Read more...]

Randy’s August 2009 Update God Opens Doors: When I first stepped out of my comfort zone into this Legacy Shepherding ministry adventure, I had no idea what doors God would open. All I knew was that I had to step out. I felt confident that God would do something amazing.  Not because I’m “all that”, but because I sensed God wanted to do something beautiful, something he’d been preparing me for my whole life, and God can do anything … [Read more...]

Randy’s July 2009 Update Eric's Story: “In the past six months, I moved from the role of associate pastor to interim senior pastor.  I am currently a candidate to become the permanent senior pastor of the church I serve. “Though we’ve been presented with a series of unique challenges, I’ve found a great deal of joy in my role. “I attribute this to time spent on an inner journey over the past couple years.  What might have produced … [Read more...]

Randy’s June 2009 Update Where In The World Is Justin?     Justin Vorel, age 28, considers himself a nomad.       He spent two years in Afghanistan. Two years in Taiwan. And he spent a year riding his bicycle from Oklahoma to the southern tip of Chile (approximately 12,000 miles).  My butt hurts just thinking about it!   Then he ventured to cold and snowy Chicago, where … [Read more...]

Legacy Shepherding Ministries, Inc. – Randy’s March Update “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.  Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Gil Bailie Brian Steck has been coming alive in many ways, including in his heart. Brian is a 24-year-old leader of a 20something missional community and a small group of men. We’ve been meeting for just over a year.  … [Read more...]

Legacy Shepherding Ministries, Inc. – Randy’s December 2008 Update “I don’t want to wear someone else’s despair.” – Ashley Judd, on worldwide slavery “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in an ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.” – Mother Theresa     Kelly Peacock has a growing passion for social justice, especially in righting the wrongs in the area of sex … [Read more...]

Legacy Shepherding Ministries, Inc. – November 2008 “It’s all about love,” was one of my mentor Sheryl Fleisher’s favorite sayings.  Life is ultimately about love – learning how to give and receive love (in relationship with God, others, and ourselves) to ever-deepening degrees, in every hidden layer of our being. As we grow in love, we live more fulfilled lives.  As we grow in love, we become more powerful change agents in the … [Read more...]