Six years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, is the gap between Islam and Christianity getting wider? New Directions International’s Founder and Chief Ministry Officer speaks to this issue and more in his DVD Series, “A Christian Perspective on Islam.”

“I have just returned this past Wednesday night from a week of ministry in the Caribbean.  The first few days were spent preaching a series of services for Haitians living in Abaco, Bahamas—which number in the thousands.  There are also 3 growing Haitian Churches there that came together for these services.  The meetings were sponsored by our primary Caribbean partners in the BECA, or “Bahamas Evangelical Church Association” headed by Pastor Wilbur Outten.  After the meetings in Abaco, I made a brief visit to Freeport, then on to Port-au-Prince, Haiti—our oldest field of service dating back some 40 years.  I was accompanied in each place by NDI Board Member, Coy Tillett, who has led annual building teams to Haiti and the Bahamas for over 20 years.  He was down with me on a recon trip to scope out the next church-building project that we will tackle early in 2008.  I hope the following pictures will give you a quick overview of our time there.”

In His Healing Love,

This is the inside of the church where we held the nightly service for Haitians of the Diaspora living in Abaco.  This was one of the last mission projects that NDI Board Member, Wes Morgan, helped complete before God called him home to heaven.  It was a great joy to inaugurate this new church building in his honor.

Dear NDI Partner (or) Circle of Friends,

One thing I have found out about being 65 is – the doctors want to see you more often!  No longer are they satisfied with your annual “once a year check-up.”  And they don’t want you to just come in “when something hurts.”  They want you to come in ever 3 to 6 months!  So as I have had to see more doctors more often – I pondered the timeliness of a “6 months ministry check-up.”

As you know, as of January 1, 2007, I stepped down from being CEO of NDI.  My son Joseph was appointed to that position by our Board of Directors.  Now I am CMO, or Chief Ministry Officer – which means that I am anything but retired!  That word is not in my vocabulary – primarily because it is not Biblical.  The Biblical norm is that some of your greatest and most effective ministry is in the sixth, seventh and eighth decades of life.  That’s why people like Abraham, Moses, Joshua and Caleb are my spiritual heroes and ministry role models!

Many anthropologists consider Africa to be the cradle of human civilization.  They believe that Africa is the “mother continent” that has birthed humanity.  That’s because some of the oldest “human fossils” have been found there.  Regardless of the anthropological, geological or historical data substantiating this claim – the African continent unquestionably has played a significant role in both antiquity and modernity. 

As one of the largest and richest continents on planet earth, Africa has played a defining role in the history of the world.  Without a doubt, Africa’s history has impacted the history of much of the rest of the world.  Previously known as the “Dark Continent,” Africa has been divided and bloodied by the legacies of colonialism, slavery, tribalism and nationalism.  And the African continent today continues to be exploited by friend and foe alike for her abundant natural and mineral wealth – with gold, diamonds and oil being the most sought after and fought over. 

We at NDI have always believed in holistic ministry.  I have often personally expressed it this way:  “We believe in the whole Gospel for the whole man by the whole church for the whole world.”  I believe that statement succinctly summarizes both the Great Commandment to LOVE (Mk. 12:30-31; Jn. 15:12) and the Great Commission to GO (Matt. 28:19-20).  They must go together.  These two great Commands from Christ cannot be separated or segmented into the ‘Spiritual Gospel’ and the ‘Social Gospel’ as Christians have sometimes done.  To divide them into separate ministries is like trying to walk on one leg.  At best you can only hop!  It takes two healthy strong legs to walk physically and spiritually.