Tiffany Update: Happy New Year 2009
Well, we have now been living in Dubai for 2 1/2 weeks. I drive Tiffany's Jeep Wrangler all over the United Arab Emirates. Yesterday we took a day off and drove Shane, our son who ends his Christmas visit today, to Hatta and over the border to Oman. Living and driving here is quite the learning experience. I don't believe there could be a more diverse city in the world than Dubai. It has grown from just over 50,000 in 1969 to over a million now. Even cab drivers say that from day to day it is difficult to keep up with it. The more you travel here, the more you see the tremendous development. I've learned to just get in the "rush" and go for it. Otherwise, you will get run over. The worst thing you can do here in traffic is stop. You just keep moving and you will be o.k.
We still don't know how much longer we will be here. Tiffany's company, Depa International, is doing a great job but the insurance company, which specializes in international businesses, is a letter of the law kind of company. They have a clause that no treatment will take place in the U.S. but Tiff's boss, a lawyer named Robert St. Jacques, is working to get the company to see that the U.S. might be as reasonable as treatment center as say, Switzerland. That means that as of this writing, we are still waiting and Tiff is still in the hospital. She is doing about an hour of therapy each day. She can pull herself up on a tall walker and transfer herself into her wheelchair. At therapy she works out with weights on her upper body, she pulls herself up a big ladder and stretches herself out. While hanging, she can move her legs from side to side by lifting from her hips. She has movement in her hips down to her knees. Some good news is that there is slightly more tingling in her lower legs, feet and some toes. It is very encouraging. Our hope and faith is directed toward her regaining use of her legs so that she will be able to walk , and hopefully, without crutches. That's the goal!

A matter of prayer for now is that the business side of things is moving very slowly. Much of that is caused by the Holidays. Executives in Europe are not in the office and they are the ones who make the decisions. We are expecting to hear any day now the word to get her to a rehab hospital. It could be Europe or the U.S. That's our situation. We are getting up every morning and spending the day at the hospital until bed time, helping her and waiting to hear. We are not spending the night with her as we were the first week or so. The frustration is that it is important that she get into rehab soon. Until that happens, physical progress is very limited. Teresa and I are fine but pretty exhausted in body and mind. We do feel your prayers, concern and love. The Body of Christ and our connection is a reality. Thank you for all you are doing. God is faithful!

Love and Blessings!
L. A. and Teresa

Tiffany Joiner Update
I hadn't intended to use my blog as an update for Tiffany but some have suggested that it might be a good avenue for keeping up with her progress.

As I said in my last blog, Tiffany suffered a severe spinal cord injury on December 11. She fell about 25 feet from her balcony to the concrete below. It appears she was adjusting some hanging lanters on her balcony while standing on a table which flipped. That's all assumption as she remembers nothing of that night. When she landed she also received a serious concussion. While she is battling the spinal injury, it is amazing that there are no organs damaged or more serious head trauma.
It appears she will be here at the International Modern Hospital in Dubai just a few more days. Then she will go to a long term rehabilitation center. The problem is that her health insurance here will not pay for treatment in the United States. We are now trying to find out where they will pay and what that treatment would be like. Tiffany is a very independent person and has made it clear that once we get her established in a treatment center she wants us to leave, so she can be alone to work on learning to walk again. That is difficult for parents but we will abide by her wishes.
Here are some things for which you can join us in prayer: 1. her physical healing. She is paralyzed from the knees down. There has been improvement from the hips to the knees but very little change from the knees down to her feet. 2. The right rehab center with the right staff to work with her. 3. Favor with the insurance company to cover the complete rehab process. 4. Favor with her work. They have been outstanding so far.
These are our present needs. More will be revealed in the next few days. I deeply appreciate all of you who have helped us in so many ways. Family is a wonderful thing.

Blessings!
L. A. and Teresa Joiner

Tiffany Joiner Update
I will use this week to inform everyone about my daughter Tiffany, her accident and her progress after one week.
Tiffany fell from a second story balcony where she lives in Dubai, UAE. She fell about 25 feet. She has suffered a serious spinal injury and has undergone surgery here. They placed screws and plates in her spine. She is presently paralyzed from the knees down. Today was her first time sitting up after the installation of a back brace. It was wonderful seeing her sit up and the joy on her face. They are predicting the rehab will take months and possibly 3 months before she can walk with crutches. The rehab is not covered by insurance in the USA so we are waiting to see where that might be. The Doctor tells me she will be here in this hospital 2 more weeks. We have many questions but are having to take it a day at a time. We have been covered in prayer by many of you and others around the world. We can sense those prayers.

Tiffany is a trooper and working hard. She is surrounded by many friends here from around the world as 80 per cent of those living in Dubai are from many other nations.
I have learned from watching their service to us. We, as Christians often say, if you need anything call me. These guys see a need and just meet it without asking. What a joy. More later. I am attempting to do this on a foreign keyboard so it is very challenging. Love and Blessings, L.A. Joiner

The Things We Have Learned
Since this blog is about equipping leaders to lead, and since much of what I do is involved in the building and the development of the Church, I will spend the next few blogs discussing things I/we have learned about the building of the church.

By way of introduction, it is important to understand that the church is in a process of "building". Jesus said, "I will build my church..." The Apostle Paul speaks of the church and says in Eph. 2:11 "in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." It is clear that Jesus didn't create the church, in the sense of the church being a finished product after Pentecost. That was only the beginning or the birth of the church. We are called to labor with the Lord to continue to see the church develop according to His plan. Herein is a very delicate area of discussion. We are not called to build "our" church, but His. This sounds simple but how we perceive the ownership of the church will determine how we build. If we are building for ourselves or motivated by leaving our own stamp on it with, "the glory going to God", the we will build something very different from the triumphant church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the things I will be sharing, "The Things We Have Learned", come out of that endeavor to build on earth what we seen and heard from Him.

• We have learned a new paradigm. There has been a lot said these last few years about new paradigms. A "paradigm" is defined as , "an example servings as a model; pattern." When we began 3 decades ago, the Lord made it clear that what we were to assist Him in building was a new pattern. For us that meant we would end an old paradigm of "just having church", and enter the pattern of seeking to be the church. That is not a cliche', but a functional statement. For me it was revolutionary. It meant and end to a "one man show". It meant that John Wesley's cry that, "I set myself on fire and the people come watch me burn was an outdated and dare I say, unscriptural. The new cry must be, "I labor to see the people, the congregation catch on fire so the world can see them burn in the workplace." This would be the beginning of helping the church member enter into realm ministry to God and man. It was in fact, the priesthood of the believer. My Pastor, Ken Sumrall, said many years ago that it seemed to him that about every 50 years the Lord would have to take a group of people back to the "store fronts" in order to break his church back out of religion and into usefulness. (Paraphrased) We must always be open to new models on earth while keeping an eye on the model in heaven. However, God's ultimate plan or model never changes.
• We have learned the necessity of the centrality of the Scriptures. We must keep the Scripture as our guide and allow it to be the primary plumb line. A plumb line is used in building to set the walls, but it is also used later to see if the building has moved from it's original foundation. There are times when the plumb line will require walls to be torn down in order to get them back "in plumb". The more the reason to seek to make sure that we build according to the Biblical pattern to begin with. Many churches are captured and paralyzed by methods and traditions that are far removed from the Bible.
• We have learned the necessity of the Spirit Filled Life. We must build with the words of the Prophet Zechariah ringing in our ears, "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord." One of the primary reasons that the Lord calls for a new paradigm is because religion leaves God's pattern of the building taking place in the power of the Holy Spirit and turns to the intellectual and organizational powers of man. This cannot be stressed enough and especially to a younger generation who may have never experienced a true season of renewal. In that season the Holy Spirit is the voice of the builder and all who build are determined to hear from Him before any action is taken. I was told as a young "builder" by a seasoned church pioneer, "I have plans in my files that I was taught of how to build a church and Jesus is only a small part of the process". That means that it is possible to build something that looks like the church but in reality is only a powerless man made imitation.

Let us seek His face in order to see His plan before we begin any building in the name of the Lord and let us continue to examine that which we are building to make sure we haven't left His plan and purpose.

Environmentally Unconscious



My son Shane and I spent a wonderful afternoon over the Thanksgiving holidays exploring a primitive area around the Withlacoochee River near our house. I visit the area often and usually see anything from foxes to wild turkeys roaming about. As we walked the river bank near some small rapids, we were enjoying identifying fresh tracks of deer, raccoon and some we didn't recognize. It was like going back in time and I wondered what it must have been like for the first Europeans when they walked these same forests for the first time. Of course, Native Americans had lived here many, many years before the white man ever set foot here. The name Withlacoochee is best translated from the Indian name to "little big water". It was a perfect time except for one thing, man had left his mark. Abandoned materials littered this almost pristine landscape. All along the river and into the adjoining woods we saw fish bait containers, broken fishing poles, and yes, old tires! It all took me back to a different time when I was first aware that this was a crime against nature and in a way against God. The year was 1971 and I had just been discharged from the U. S. Navy. Teresa and I had lived in San Diego, California for about 3 years. While there, we had traveled the West Coast and was so impressed by the state of the outdoors. The rivers were pure, the mountains and the forests looked as if you were the first ones to visit them. As you hike trails in the West, you hear everywhere, "pack it out". It means that whatever you take in, you take (pack) it out. I liked it!

In 1971 we moved from California back to the Southeast. One day I drove my new (old) pickup down to the Satilla River for some exploring. I was stunned! Everywhere I went I saw trash and garbage! Old refrigerators, tires, stoves, all left as a decaying gift to what had been the unspoiled beauty of God's creation. What a crime!

Certainly things have improved in the last 30 years but my visit this past weekend proved that our progress hasn't been enough. I heard about a neighboring county that is following many other counties in closing their trash and garbage drop off sites to the public. I fear we are headed in reverse to a time of trucks dumping garbage and worn out appliances along our rivers, streams and roadways. (I can show you such a place even today!) Protecting our environment must become more important to all of us. We must speak out and yes we must do it in the Church as well. As Christians we have been silent too long. It is as if we felt that Jesus was coming soon and "it doesn't really matter about the earth anyway." There seems to be this unspoken attitude that "it will last as long as it is needed and then Jesus will fix it". Let me suggest that, as the Psalmist wrote, "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." The inescapable message here is that we do have a responsibility to be good stewards over this beautiful place we call home.