Pray Without Ceasing—Prayer Blog

In our last blog, we talked about a holy change moment in Paul’s Hermeneutics class and asked you to pray for holy change moments in Donna’s classes. In Donna’s Children’s Ministry class, one of the assignments is for pastors to seek honest feedback from their Sunday School workers. This assignment creates various levels of discussion in class. Some classes, as a whole, have very heartfelt moments of repentance (see our Mar. 25, 2024 blog). This time, the assignment deeply impacted several pastors. Please pray for these pastors. Pray that they, by the grace of God, would implement holy change in the church.

Today (Nov. 16), Donna taught a children’s workshop for over 50 Sunday school teachers. Donna discussed age-appropriate ways to share the Gospel and the ages at which children can understand salvation. God moved incredibly as the attendees realized that children under twelve could understand and respond to the Gospel. Tomorrow, Donna will speak on discipline in two church services. Praise God for moving today during the workshop. Pray that God will edify, enlighten, and encourage his church tomorrow.

Next week, I will attend the Evangelical Theology Society’s Annual Meeting in San Diego. It will be my first time attending. I am usually in Kenya when they have their annual meeting and cannot attend, so I am excited to be able to participate this year. In addition, I am presenting a paper on the Gospel and culture. Pray as I finish preparing for this paper and that my King will be honored with the presentation.

Last week, I finished teaching Hermeneutics (Bible study methods). I emphasize that we are not under the Old Testament law but the New Covenant and grace. Many pastors love to take Old Testament passages and haphazardly apply them in their churches. During this class, there were several powerful moments of honesty and humility. There was a realization of the sacredness of the Scriptures and the difficulty and cost of living, teaching, and preaching them correctly. It felt like something holy, and hard, and wonderful, and scary, and beautiful was happening.

A couple of students from Hermeneutics with Paul

Dallas Theology Seminary (my alma mater) is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is having celebrations in Dallas and throughout the world. They celebrated in Nairobi this week, and I attended. I told Jim, a fellow DTS grad, about the haphazard application of Old Testament passages and the decisive moments in my class. Jim rejoiced at what happened in my class. The haphazard application of Old Testament passages has been on Jim’s heart and mind for some time. During our conversation, Jim came up with the phrase “heartfelt heresy.” Many pastors preach heartfeltly and passionately but entirely misinterpret the Scriptures (especially the Old Testament).

(The use of the word heresy in this phrase is an overstatement. While some of these misinterpretations are heretical, most fall in the erroneous and flawed theology category.)

Pray that something holy, and hard, and wonderful, and scary, and beautiful happens with my Hermeneutics students.

I am currently teaching Major Prophets, and Donna is teaching Child Evangelism, followed by Children’s Ministry. Pray for Donna; back-to-back classes with the Africa Theological Seminary format are exhausting. Pray for moments of holy change as we teach.

Pray that pastors throughout the world move from heartfelt heresy to holy change.

A large portion of our Spring and summer was spent traveling. We set aside the end of August and September to regroup and prepare for our Fall trips. We arrived home from West Africa to find a hot water leak in our foundation. Praise God it did not flood the house and that the plumber had a cancellation and could make the repair quickly. It did result in holes in the walls, replacing a failing hot water heater and an old dishwasher that did not survive the jostling to repair the plumping. In addition, our refrigerator died; we now have a new one.

So, what happened to September? Paul and I have been updating our courses. I have been busy ordering new books and supplies for the children’s ministry courses and library. Paul also peer-reviewed an article for a mission publication. We feel like we blinked, and September was gone.

Paul is flying to Kenya today and taking a long-time friend, Lupe, with him to work on the seminaries’ network. Paul has come down with a cold, which is not ideal for flying! He will also start teaching the day he arrives, which is also not ideal!

I fly out on October 22. Paul and I will overlap in Kenya for about 2 weeks, then he will come home and I will stay until just before Thanksgiving. We will both teach two courses. Paul will be preaching in several of his student’s churches, as well as, giving attention to his many other responsibilities at the seminary. In addition to my classes, I will work in the Children’s Library and present a workshop on biblical (over cultural) discipline of children. Our time in Kenya is always very, very full. Please pray for health and energy!

On a journey through the West African countryside this summer, Paul and I discussed what discipleship is. It is a lifestyle of saying yes to God, making it all about Him and not us, and investing in others. If we teach our students at Africa Theological Seminary the importance of discipleship, we want to ensure it is evident in our lives. Are we in the race of making disciples?

So on this African drive, we asked ourselves about the different areas of our lives, such as Paul’s writing articles and books that are on the horizon, visiting supporters, visiting churches, having people in our home, young people over for meals and discussions around our table, helping with spiritual retreats at the family ranch, parenting, and caring for our mothers. Are we saying yes to God, are we intentionally practicing discipleship, or are we just busy?

As we reflected on this question, God spoke to us through an old friend we had not seen in many years. Sitting around a table in West Africa at a guest house, he said, “You will never know how many lives were changed by your lifestyle. You had people from all walks in your home. You fed them a home-cooked meal, challenged them in intellectual conversation, spurred them into deeper thought, prayed for them, gave them a bed to sleep in, and listened. How often did these people say, ‘I’m not sure why I am telling you this…’ and then share a deep hurt or challenging event. I saw lives change; I changed.”

We often find ourselves putting one foot in front of the other. Our path requires lots of travel: trips to Kenya to teach, trips for meetings, trips to visit supporters and churches, and a trip to West Africa. We pray that we intentionally live a discipleship lifestyle, not just a busy one.

We have been praying and thinking about a vision trip to Kenya for several years, and 2025 is the year. The dates are roughly March 12–26 (these could change by a day or two). The approximate cost will be $3,500 per person. Our good friend Duane Barton, pastor of Calvary Chapel Garland, will co-lead this trip with us. You will spend some time at the seminary, attend Graduation, visit some of the work of our students and graduates, experience Kenya, go on a safari in Masai Mara, and see what God is doing in that part of the world. Space is limited. Please let us know if you are interested in this opportunity.

We are partway through our “Go West” summer. We are in awe of how God has gone before and the opportunities He has brought. There are no words to express our gratitude. We have been in many churches with old and new friends and supporters as we shared, prayed, laughed, and cried (mainly Donna on this one) together. Sadly, Donna‘s much-loved Aunt, whom she helped care for, passed away during this trip, causing Donna to return to Denton a bit earlier than planned. Paul continued the trip solo for several weeks. We are in Denton for a few days before we leave for West Africa.

Our time in Kenya was hectic; it was busier than usual. Paul ended his time there with two back-to-back intensive courses. Since being home, we have been catching up on tasks left undone while in Kenya and planning for the summer.

Paul’s Class

This summer has a “Go West” theme. We will be visiting supporters, churches, family and friends. Please let us know if you are in these areas or somewhere between; we would love to connect.

The Cox family planning.
Guess who sits on which side.

ITINERARY

Southwest
May 11-16 Clovis, New Mexico
May 16-30 Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 30-June 3 Phoenix, Arizona
June 3-9 Bakersfield, California; Las Cruces, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas

Africa
June 24-July 14 West Africa

Northwest
July16-31 Colorado Springs & Denver, Colorado; Jackson Hole, Montana; Clovis, New Mexico

Graduation

Graduation is always a joyous time. It is beautiful to see what God has done in the lives of our students. This year, 53 students graduated. One fun thing about graduation is the bling. Many Africans love bling. During the graduation ceremony, ATS strictly enforces academic regalia (i.e., no bling). However, as soon as the academic recession is over, some families rush to find their respective graduates and start loading them up (see the photo). Praise God with us for what He has done in the lives of our graduates.

Donna’s Class

Donna’s child development class went well. Many Africans have not been exposed to child development. During the class, there were multiple times when students publicly confessed to using inappropriate approaches for the age of the child. Pray for Donna’s students as they incorporate new approaches when they work with children.

I attended the Africa Society for Evangelical Theology conference. Donna nicknamed it the Greek Geeks Gathering, though not everyone there was a Greek Geek. The whole range of disciplines within theology and related fields were represented (Systematic, Biblical, and Historical Theology, New and Old Testament Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, etc.). I had fantastic interactions with some scholars on the Greek text, hence Donna’s nickname.

An African scholar once said: “The church in Africa was a mile long in terms of quantity, but only an inch deep in terms of quality” (Adeyemo, 2006: viii). At the conference, I heard, met, and interacted with Africans who think and write at the deepest theological levels. They are moving the needle in the right direction. I was very encouraged.

Donna’s class started on Monday. She has 17 students, and the class is going well so far. Also on Donna’s agenda for this trip is organizing and cataloging the children’s books.

Praise God with me for the great conference and the African scholars moving the needle in the right direction. Pray for Donna’s class, the children’s book project, and graduation (March 23).

Grace & Peace — Paul

Reference

Adeyemo, Tokunboh. 2006. “General Introduction.” In Africa Bible Commentary, edited by Tokunboh Adeyemo. Nairobi: WordAlive Publishers.

On social media, several chain posts are going around where you post a picture that does not need an explanation. By looking at our pictures, can you guess what we are doing? If you said heading to Kenya, you are absolutely correct!

Several times a year, my office becomes a staging area for packing to go to Kenya. Our neighbors know when we are about to go because of the many Amazon deliveries. Paul and I will fly to Nairobi together. I will be there for three weeks. In those three weeks, I will teach a Child Development course, help with a children’s workers workshop, work in the children’s library organizing the new books we sent, help with graduation, and try to spend as much time as possible with students and co-workers.

Paul will be in Kenya for seven weeks. He will attend a conference in Nairobi immediately after our arrival while I head to Kitale (where the seminary is). Paul will also help with graduation, teach two classes, coordinate with colleagues, and spend time with students and graduates (continuing their discipleship).

We are so excited to be back in Kenya working together. Thank you to all who make it possible through prayer and financial gifts. We will let you know how it is going!

Blessings,

Donna

At the beginning of January, we spent time reflecting on 2023, the things we are thankful for, and praying about God’s leading for 2024. We felt a deep sense of continuing what we started last year of working together based in Denton, Texas, and making trips to Kenya. We also felt a strong sense to be more intentional in deepening connections with God and those in our lives. We want to share our 2023 highlights, 2024 preview, and thankful list.

2023 Highlights

• Donna left UNT to serve with Paul at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS—a ministry of International Christian Ministries).
• Paul and Donna made two trips to ATS to teach courses, participate in graduation, do workshops, and engage with students. (Paul for two months each trip and Donna for three weeks each trip.)
• Donna and Paul spent months traveling to visit supporters as far west as New Mexico, North to Canada, and East to the Carolinas. It was great reconnecting after several years of restricted travel.
• Donna collected and shipped hundreds of books for the Africa Theological Seminary Children’s Library.
• In addition, Paul spent time writing (one article was published, and another was recommended for publication with revisions) and took trips to New Mexico to help with his mom. Donna wrote, researched, did workshops, cared for her mom, and helped with solitude retreats.

2024 Preview

• We will continue going to Kenya several times yearly to teach, do workshops, and disciple students.
• Donna will finish updating the Children’s Library in Kenya, and Paul will continue writing.
• We will take a trip West to visit supporters this summer. Let us know if you would like a visit.
• We will facilitate a couple’s retreat May 3-5, and Donna will continue helping with solitude retreats designed for Women. For more info on Spring retreats, visit http://www.joybeless.org/

We are thankful for:

• Our children enjoy their work and are adulting well (most of the time).
• God provided the needed prayer and finances for Donna and Paul to work together again in ministry.
• The churches and individuals who donated books and money to the Children’s Library project.
• God’s hand and blessings in courses and workshops taught in Kenya.
• Amazing travel in 2023, visiting friends and supporters.
• Many friends, family, and visitors were around our table this year.
• The second granddaughter is arriving any day. Thanks, Miriam and Kade!