JamesCarvin.com

The All Hours Church concept has both a practical and missionary side. On the practical side, it is cheaper for churches to share facilities. On the missionary side, a shared facility allows a church to stay open longer and have more activities. Together Everyone Achieves More. Another benefit of opening up interdenominational facilities is that it allows Christians to consider the views of other churches. This challenges people to grow together and to work together in unity, overcoming historical divisions. I am not an ecumenist. I believe there is only one truth. But I think that if anyone is going to find that truth it will only take place in a spirit of good will and cooperation. A number of historical denominations refuse to allow that any entity deserves the name "church" but their own. And this has presented a hurdle to making this idea work. I may perhaps not see every item on my Bucket List be fulfilled until the Lord returns. This would be one of them, but I still very much believe in interdenominational communication and cooperation. Let's consider Psalm 133 ...

     1Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
          For brothers to dwell together in unity! 
     2It is like the precious oil upon the head,
          Coming down upon the beard,
          Even Aaron's beard,
          Coming down upon the edge of his robes. 
     3It is like the dew of Hermon
          Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
          For there the LORD commanded the blessing--life forever.

Why the beard of Aaron? I believe this refers to what the Lord considers legitimate and right in His sight. Why the "dew of Hermon"? First, Hermon is a mountain. So it refers to a lot of oil. Second, because Hermon is at the border of Damascus. Damascus was one of the first places Christianity was preached. Later it was unseated by Muslims and became the center of the Ottoman Empire. Some believe that the Ottomon Empire will rise again in the future fulfilling the role of the beast of Revelation rather than a European Union. The strength of this argument lies in the fact that it was the Ottoman Empire that took the place of the Roman Empire historically. I find some merit in this thinking, but we will reserve our discussion of eschatology for another day. For now, let's consider the power of unity.

Occassionally in these days we find churches working together in unity. When this happens long standing demonic barriers are broken down. Many have seen it, but I also think that for whatever the churches have done, unity is still an exception. We are not yet united. Churches are generally still very competitive, isolated, and even worldly. The Lord desires much more. I believe that the failure of the churches to achieve the level of unity the Lord desires is a major stronghold of the devil and a major sign of today's apostasy, well symbolized by the occupation of Damascus not by Christians, but by the seat of the Muslim empire.

When I first married, my wife and I supported Horizons, a Christian nightclub. This was a work of unity among churches. Out of this flowed a network of Christians interested in contemporary worship. And from there flowed another work of unity among Christians, the WAY FM in Palm Beach County. WAY FM continued to expand because Christian laity are united despite denominational differences. As a result, the Gospel has now been preached outside the walls of the churches, onto the air-waves where the lost may be found. This good work has been going on for more than twenty years and has expanded to other areas. This is the type of thing that happens when there is unity. Another example of unity in action is First Care, formerly Alpha Care. It is a work of many denominations, helping women and families in crisis where there are unplanned pregnancies. If the churches remained in competition, the work would be ineffective. When the churches work together in unity, the Gospel reaches the streets.

Let me provide some exegetical wisdom. When Paul pursued the Christians where was he headed? He was headed to Damascus. He was headed towards Mount Hermon. And where did he wind up once he saw the Light of Christ? He wound up on a street called "Straight." You see the highway is straight when Christians work together in unity. This is why I understand the need for the All Hours Church. All Hours Church would take the church to the streets by making its doors open 24 hours a day. It would be a light to the nations because the nations would know us not by our competition with eachother, but by our unity as we work together simply to make the message and love of Jesus Christ available at all hours. No church alone is capable of keeping its doors open 24 hours a day, but together it can be done. Mountains can be moved where Christians dwell together in unity.

24/7 Scrolls is a library which never closes. It specializes in religious antiquities such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. In that I would be willing to keep it open at all times and open it up to people of differing viewpoints, it is a concept not too distant from All Hours Church, only it extends beyond Christian boundaries. One of the features of the All Hours Church would be a place for people to come and relax and meet with friends very casually at any time. It would also feature a library and teachings with class rooms for that as it expanded. Also, there would be computer stations so people could come in and enjoy its Internet cafe and hot spot. And it could easily turn into a center for training missionaries and starting up churches. It would also be a great inexpensive place to take your wife, date, or family any time - a great alternative to restaurants, movies and other typically very expensive entertainment.

I don't expect participation to be quite as great in a more focused program such as 24/7 Scrolls, as would be a multi-church facility but I see the need and I can envision these types of programs working in tandem. That is why I purchased PerpetualPlaza.com. The Perpetual Plaza concept has something for everybody. 24/7 Scrolls is a kind of quiet place in the midst. As a writer, I need a place to write. The subject I write about is early church history and eschatology. Usually I write at home where there are a lot of distractions. But more importantly, I need access to many works that are not available in my personal library or over the Internet. I do most of my writing while others are sleeping so that I can concentrate. And I suspect that there are many others like me. One of the works that I need quite a bit to complete not just a few of my books is an item called the DJD - Discoveries in the Judean Dessert. These are the compiled transcriptions and commentaries of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Although these were discovered over fifty years ago, they have still not been made available over the Internet. And most libraries don't possess copies, since they cost over $10,000 for the whole set. As it stands, I've got to take a two hour drive down to Miami to access them. Of course, that won't satisify my research need at 3am.

Rabbis and church pastors and writers and skeptics all need access to these same scrolls, and many others, when they prepare their sermons and literature. Anyone whose work is worth its salt will need such a facility on a regular basis if they bother to check their facts. But no matter how many people have a daily need of such resources, I know I need them. And I also knew I couldn't afford them. So I thought I might stand out by the side of the road begging for money, letting people know that if they would contribute a copy of the scrolls to me, that I would let everybody else read them too by founding a Reference Hall, and would even work to keep it open 24 hours a day, unlike the local library. Further, if I got a whole lot of contributions I would look into opening up Reference Halls in as many cities as the finances allowed. And these also would have Lecture Halls for speakers and teachers.

That was what I was thinking, anyway, until I realized that GhostSurfers could simply take care of it all. Part of the Perpetual Plaza concept is the Ghost Hour Cafe. I'd have to share the entire vision of GhostSurfers with you for you to understand how this would all work together. GhostSurfers involves hunting for clues. I will plant clues in places people will discover things. They will be hunting for treasure. As an evangelist, I'm certain you understand what treasure I would really like for people to discover.

As a researcher and a writer, being set up as an administrator and librarian for 24/7 Scrolls would suite me perfectly, but with GhostSurfers I could do even more. I'm a church history professor with a specialty in eschatology who wants to evangelize as well as write text books for seminarians so that the next generation will have qualified leaders who both live and understand the faith of the apostles. There are many others who would benefit. On my Bucket List is making a place available where people can have access to research materials whenever they need them. I need this personally so I can get my text books into the seminaries where they belong. 24/7 Scrolls was originally a means to an end for me, rather than a core item on my Bucket List, but as the vision appeared I realized how wrong it was that these materials are not available to the general public. With Ghost Hour I realize I can actually do something about it - not just making these resources available, but bringing attention to the gems that can be found in them.

The Lord said we did not seek Him, yet we found Him. We reap what we did not sow. We did not choose Him. He chose us before the world began. I find in the pearls hidden in these Scrolls a method of leading others to the light of Christ. I would love to discuss this plan with you. Please contact me so I can show you how GhostSurfers, working together with Ghost Hour Cafes, 24/7 Scrolls and the All Hours Church, can accomplish this. I don't think 24/7 Scrolls will be for the few. I think it will actually be quite well attended. Let me show you how. Contact me!

Anyone interested in evangelizing to Orthodox Christians anywhere in the world should support the Brotherhood of St. Symeon the New Theologian. In America few know about or understand what Orthodox Christianity is. Evangelizing to the Orthodox requires an intimate knowledge of the Orthodox faith. Most evangelicals view Orthodoxy as a form of Roman Catholicism. They consider the Orthodox to be unevangelized. Largely this is true.

In walking distance from the beautiful sandy shores of Destin, Florida is a little chapel used by an Orthodox Christian priest, named Father Eusebius Stephanou, who was stigmatized by Orthodox clergy for associating with ecumenism and the charismatic renewal movement. His biography, The Voice of a Priest Crying in the Wilderness, tells his story. He is the author of many books, as well. A good place to start is Sacramentalized but not Evangelized.

To what extent Orthodox Christianity ought to embrace the "renewal movement" is a fascinating question. But I should say up front that the ministry of Father Stephanou has little to do with the charismatic renewal movement. "Movements" come and go. A deeper, more apostolic faith is a constant journey and struggle. One thing many who are familiar with him would be suprised by is that Father Eusebius rejects "movements" himself. The emphasis of his conferences tends to be evangelism, prophecy, healing and repentance.

I realize that most people reading this are not Orthodox Christians, and perhaps not interested in evangelism, so this is probably of little interest. But it just so happens that over the years, as Fr. Eusebius invited Orthodox Christians from all over the world to his conferences, that he built them a guest house that sleeps up to twenty people, and a social hall for lectures and a library so they could study. This is a place that anyone can visit. What's more, now that his health is failing he has asked me to move there and help continue his ministry.

I have had no intention of succeeding him but do urge support for the ministry. I have served on his Board of Directors in the past, but I have been candid about the fact that Fr. Eusebius' interest and mine are not exactly the same. To summarize the difference, he equates evangelization of the Orthodox with the Elijah ministry of the last days. I see the last days Elijah ministry as being something much broader. Suffice it to say here that on my Bucket List is the restoration of the St. Symeon's ministry to what I believe the Lord wants it to be. My purpose is to restore the church to the apostolic faith of Jesus Christ. I would encourage Evangelicals reading this to consider making donations to this mission to "restore Christ as head of His Church," as Fr. Eusebius likes to put it by donating to this mission. I should also mention that the facilities could serve many functions and would encourage you to visit and pray about it. The video above is of me speaking at a St. Symeon Conference.

There are a few things on my list that I've completed. My greatest achievement of all has been enjoying a great relationship with my beautiful wife. When I was praying for a wife I simply asked for one thing, that she would understand me and be able to put up with me. She's a trophy of a gal, putting up with a man who has worked more than his fair share of hours, but also supporting me and believing in me when others thought I was over the top. When GhostSurfers was hacked into and I lost my business I learned what it was like to feel invisible - like a ghost. But she knew me, believed in me, and stayed with me when I was down.

I also did complete my masters degree in theology and develop the curriculum, as a business manager, for a seminary.

In addition to the teaching materials, I am now working on my third text book since the hacking. Whether or not I get funding, I'll be writing. The question is whether I have to keep doing it all in my spare time. The Bible says that an ox should not be muzzled while it is on the threshing floor. So please permit me to shamelessly ask for patrons. I am unable to complete my books at any reasonable pace on a part-time basis. Having shared with you exactly what I hope to accomplish in my life, to the extent that I can, I pray you will feel confident that your patronage would be wise and fruitful. I sincerely thank you for taking interest!