When I first saw Pete Briscoe’s I Am Second video testimony, my heart really connected with his story. 
So when I was looking for books at Mardel a few weeks back I immediately grew attached to “The Surge.” I’d never heard of it, but when I saw Pete’s byline I knew it was worth the read.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading it at my leisure and soaking up his perspective on world missions and his passion for “The Surge.”
“The Surge,” as Briscoe calls it, is essentially the massive wave of God’s love and His movement for reaching people and revealing to them His love through all kinds of missions movements throughout the world. He encourages his readers that, despite the stagnate nature of the American church, there’s a lot of momentum worldwide for the Gospel.
One part in particular really resonated with me throughout all my mission work with GCLA over the past few years.
There’s an old cliche that “there is no safer place than the center of God’s will.” Pete obliterates the validity of this statement with a section titled, “But ‘Is He Safe?'”
“Really? Is following God’s will the safest place to be? Tell that to Jesus while he hangs on a cross; tell that to Paul as he pulls the seaweed out of his ear and nurses the snakebite on his hand; tell that to the disciples as they find themselves exiled from their loved ones or hanging upside down on a cross because they refuse to deny their faith in Christ. For that matter, try sharing that bit of wisdom with Martin Luther or John Wycliffe. Far from being a safe place, I would argue that the center of God’s will is, for many of us, an extremely dangerous place to be. … ”
“… Far from encouraging his followers to stay safe, Christ invited them to die when he asked them to pick up their crosses and follow him. It’s really not a question of if we are going to die; it’s a matter of when and for what cause.” (Pages 154-155)
Considering I named my blog “The Luke 9:23 Project,” I would assume you could understand why this passage would resonate with me.
Since Christ called me to be his child and really walk in his ways, Luke 9:23 has been my life-verse. It’s given me hope and joy. But more importantly, a humble purpose.
“If ANY man would come after me, he must deny himself and pick up his cross daily.”
Thanks for the reminder, Pete.
I don’t normally spend my time reviewing or encouraging others to read books, but I think “The Surge” is definitely worth your time. It’ll get your mind racing about ways you can be involved in “The Surge” (Great Commission) where ever you may be physically.
Relentless Optimism 