Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
– 1 Chronicles 16:8

In the spirit of the season, here are some of the many reasons we have to be thankful…

Liesl and I are thankful to have finished an online class in Apologetics (giving reasons for our faith).  We’ve learned so much about how to interact with and challenge the ideas that come against biblical Christianity.  We both enjoyed and recommend Tim Keller’s book The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.  Keller deals with “defeater beliefs” that prevent people from believing in God and then provides positive reasons to believe.  The class also made us thankful for people who are gifted as philosophers – we are not!

I (Karl) am thankful for the challenge of starting a new job within Cru!  I have rejoined the headquarters Information Technology team (now called “Digital Products and Services”).  After a few reorganizations at headquarters, this is now the team that solves technology problems and creates tools for our ministries all around the world.

Cru is trusting God for 10 million Christ-centered, multiplying disciples by 2020.  If that’s going to happen, we also need to trust God for better systems to plan and keep track of what’s going on around the world.

We will remain in Indiana and continue to help out with the regional office here, but I will spend most of my time working remotely with an Orlando-based team.  The combination of working in a small office and supporting large, global systems really motivates me.

Of course, we are so thankful for you!  Your prayers and gifts keep us going.  It’s hard to believe that we have been in ministry for 24 and 22 years, and many of you have been with us the whole time.  Be encouraged!  God is building His kingdom and the gospel is changing lives.