Divine Appointments, Darkened Rooms & A Fire That Won't Go Out

~ An update from the road with Dead Men Collective ~

Well, hello, family!

First I owe you an apology! It has been a little longer than I intended since I last sat down to catch you up on everything happening with DMC. But WOW! So much has happened, and I am excited to finally share some of it with you!

God has been opening doors, connecting us with incredible ministries, introducing us to wonderful people, and creating opportunities that I could have never orchestrated myself.

And isn’t that just like Him?

I have spend so much of my life learning that when we surrender the steering wheel to Jesus, we don’t always get to choose the road, but we can certainly trust the Driver!

And lately what an adventure this road has been!

“I Collect Dead Men.”

Let me tell you a story.

A few weeks ago I was up in Northern California, preparing to minister at a men’s meeting for Praise Chapel Pittsburg.

That morning, I came downstairs from my hotel room looking for breakfast.  Now, I don’t know who decided a bowl of sugar disguised as cereal and a pastry  should qualify as breakfast, but I was looking for something with a little protein!  LOL.

So I stepped outside and noticed a young man standing nearby.

I asked him if he knew of any places within walking distance where I could grab some food.

He explained that he wasn’t from the area.  He was actually in town for a court appearance, but he remembered passing a Mexican food restaurant about a mile down the road the day before.

I thanked him and started walking.  Then he called out, “You know what? I’ll take you!”

Well, praise God!

Breakfast and a ride!

We climbed into his car, and as we began driving, he asked me a simple question.

“So, what do you do for a living?”

Without missing a beat I answered:

“I collect dead men.”

Now, I realize that might not be the most comforting thing to hear from a stranger you’ve just invited into your vehicle!  LOL.

But he looked intrigued.

So I began explaining Dead Men Collective, the ministry, the message of dying to ourselves so Christ can live through us (Gal 2:20) and what God has been doing in my life.

Then something beautiful happened.

He began telling me why he was in town.

He was facing a court date, and that very morning he had been praying, asking God to help him.

But there was something else.

He told me he had grown up in Islam, and that morning he had specifically asked God to reveal to him the one true God.

Then he looked at me and said something I won’t soon forget.

“And then you walked out of the building and asked me for food.”

WOW.

What started as a search for breakfast had become an opportunity to share the Bread of Life!

He pulled his car over to the side of the road as we began talking about Jesus and the Gospel.

He was amazed.

“This is from God!”  He said.

And I couldn’t help but agree that the timing was extraordinary.

We exchanged contact information, and I am happy to tell you that we have continued talking since that morning.

I pray every morning for divine appointments.  Not simply opportunities to preach, but opportunities to meet people whom God is already pursuing.

And here is something I want you to consider.

In John 4, Jesus sat beside a well and asked a Samaritan woman for a drink.

He began with a physical need and moved the conversation toward an eternal one.

Sometimes the greatest ministry opportunities begin when we are willing to ask someone for something as simple as water, or breakfast!

We spend so much time asking God to send us somewhere important that we can miss the importance of where He has already placed us.

A hotel parking lot can become holy ground.

A stranger’s car can become a place of revelation.

And a man searching for breakfast can find himself sharing Jesus with someone searching for God.

Family, don’t underestimate the ordinary moments.

You never know which one might become a divine appointment.

The Fire Went Up.  The Power Went Out.

That evening, I had the privilege of ministering to the men of Praise Chapel Pittsburg.

I shared from my book Embers, focusing on something that has become a burning passion in my heart.

It is our responsibility to never let the fire go out.

Leviticus 6:13 says:

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”

I love that passage.

God was the One who originally sent the fire, but the priests were responsible for tending it.

And I believe the same principle speaks to us today.

Men, we cannot manufacture the fire of God, but we can certainly steward what He has entrusted to us.

Our homes need men who know how to tend the altar.

Our wives and children need men who understand that the fire isn’t sustained by a Sunday morning experience alone.

It is sustained through a life of worship, prayer, surrender, and a relationship with the Father.

That evening, approximately thirty men gathered at the altar.

One by one, I laid hands on each of them and prayed a simple prayer.

“Lord, help them.  Do what only the Holy Spirit can do.  Help them never let the fire go out!  Amen!”

Nothing fancy.

No elaborate speech.

Just one man asking the Father to help another man.

And then something happened that I still laugh about.

As I placed my hands on the final man and finished praying…

“Amen!”

BOOM!

The power went out!

The entire building went dark!

And almost immediately, everyone’s cell phones started sounding emergency alerts, warning of a power outage affecting the surrounding city blocks.

Now, I am not saying my prayer knocked out the power grid! LOL.

But the timing certainly got our attention!

And what happened next was my favorite part of the entire evening.

The men silenced their phones.

Nobody panicked.

Nobody decided church was over.

Nobody needed a microphone, a stage, or a lighting system.

We just kept worshiping.

For another hour, we prayed and worshiped the Lord together in the darkness.

And I stood there thinking about the very message I had just preached.

The electricity went out, but the fire didn’t.  Oh, come on!

Do you see it?

We have become so accustomed to associating the presence of God with the atmosphere we create that sometimes we forget His presence was never dependent upon our production.

The early church didn’t have stage lights.

The upper room didn’t have a sound system.

Paul and Silas didn’t need electricity to worship in prison.

They had something far greater.

They had the Holy Spirit.

And when the Spirit of God is burning in the hearts of His people, darkness doesn’t get the final word.

John 1:5 reminds us that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Family, I left that meeting so encouraged. 

Because I wasn’t looking at thirty men who simply attended another church service.

I was looking at men who understood that the fire must travel home with them.

And that is exactly what DMC is about.

From Kidney Stones to a Tent Revival!

Now, you would think after an evening like that, I would get home, rest, and enjoy a little time recovering from the trip.

Nope!

Apparently, the adventure wasn’t finished…

The morning I returned home, I began experiencing what I can only describe as some of the most agonizing pain I have ever felt.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I was passing kidney stones!

For nearly 24 hours, I was in anguish.

Praying.

Pleading.

Trying to find some position that would offer even a moment of relief.

I felt the battle spiritually as well as physically, although I would later learn there was a very real medical reason for the pain.

And for those of you who know me, you know I am not exactly the first guy to volunteer for a trip to the doctor!  LOL.

Eventually, I called my father, and he took me to urgent care.

Kidney Stones!

Well, that explained a few things!

I finally made it home around 7:30 that evening, exhausted, and faced a decision.

I had a flight early the next morning to Yuba, California, where was scheduled to minister at an old-school tent revival with Pastor David Dena and Praise Chapel Yuba.

Should I cancel?

Should I stay home?

Was I physically going to be able to do this?

I prayed, considered how I was feeling, and decided to go.

So there I was, early the next morning, sitting on a place headed toward another ministry assignment!

LOL. What a life!

And I am so thankful I went.

The Lord sustained me through the next three days of ministry, and what an incredible time it was!

People were touched.

We witnessed healings and breakthroughs.

There were powerful conversations, moments of prayer, and opportunities to encourage pastors who themselves spend so much of their lives pouring into others.  

I also had the opportunity to spend time with Pastor Larry Neville, the president of our fellowship, talking about DMV and some of the doors the Lord appears to be opening.

I came away deeply encouraged.

And as I reflected on everything that had happened, I couldn’t help but think about the Apostle Paul.

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Paul describes being troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down, yet not destroyed.

And then he tells us why in verse 7.

We have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

The treasure is extraordinary.  The vessel is still human.

I am learning more and more that Surrender doesn’t make us invincible.

Our bodies still get tired.

We still experience pain.

We still face obstacles and difficult decisions. 

But our weakness doesn’t disqualify us from being vessels of His grace!

In fact, sometimes it reminds us just how dependent we really are upon Him.

And when I think about the people we were able to minister to that weekend, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

What an honor to be a small part of what God is doing!

Five Days In Hayward, California

Not long after that, my wife and I had the wonderful opportunity to spend five days ministering in Hayward, California.

And what a blessing that trip was!

My wife ministered to the women, while I was able to spend time with the youth, the men, the congregation and church leaders through several different gatherings.

This is one of the things we have been so excited about in this new season of our lives.

After nineteen years of pastoring a local church, we now have opportunities to come alongside other churches and pastors, encourage their people, strengthen their leaders, and simply serve wherever we are needed.  

I don’t believer we are called to build our own kingdom.

We are called to serve His.

And I don’t want DMC to become another ministry that simply measures success by how many people gather around a platform.

I want us to measure fruit by what happens when everybody goes home.

Are marriages being strengthened?

Are fathers returning to their altars?

Are young people discovering who they are in Christ?

Are pastors finding encouragement to keep going?

Are men becoming disciples who make disciples?

Because the goal was never to build a crowd around a man.

The goal is to build people around Jesus.

And that is what makes these opportunities so special.

A New Building, A Timely Word, and a Beautiful Church

On Sunday afternoon, I was also invited to minister at a church that was new to us, House of Faith, with Pastor Ray.

Now, here is what made this particular gathering so special.

I arrived not knowing that the church had recently purchased a new building and was preparing to move into it in just three weeks!

And wouldn’t you know it?

The message I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to bring fit beautifully with the season that congregation was walking into!

I love when that happens.

There is something deeply encouraging about preparing a message in prayer and fasting then arriving to discover how timely it is for the people receiving it.  

It reminds me that we don’t have to know everything God is doing in order to be obedient to what He is asking us to do.

I am excited to return in a few months and see that new building filled with God’s people!

And Pastor Ray, if you’re reading this, thank you for allowing us to be a small part of your church family’s journey.

What a solid church and beautiful ministry!

And Then There Was the Podcast!

One more exciting thing before I let you go!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and film an episode with David Hernandez on the Encounter Podcast!

I am so excited about this conversation and cannot wait to share it with you.

We will be announcing the release date as soon as we have it.  So stay tuned!

There are also new books in the works, more podcast conversations coming, continued development of our instagram presence, and some potential ministry opportunities opening up in Orange County…

Please keep those doors in prayer with us.

I have learned not to confuse an open door with an automatic assignment. 

I want to go where the Holy Spirit sends us, not simply where opportunity invites us.

Because I would rather be obedient in a small room than successful in a room God never asked me to enter.

We Are Just Getting Started!

As I sit here writing this, reflecting on the past several weeks, one thing keeps coming back to my heart.

God is doing far more than I could have ever planned, and He is doing it through ordinary people willing to say yes.

A young man in a hotel parking lot.

Thirty men worshiping in a darkened church.

A tent filled with hungry hearts.

Pastors needing encouragement.

Women gathering to be strengthened.

Young people discovering their calling.

A congregation preparing to step into a new building.

Different cities.

Different churches.

Different stories.

But the same Holy Spirit.

The same Gospel.

The same Jesus.

And that is what excites me most.

DMC isn’t about collecting followers for ourselves.

It’s about seeing men and women become so surrendered to Jesus that His life is visible through theirs.

Paul said it beautifully in Galations 2:20:

“I am crucified with Christ:  nevertheless I life; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”

That’s it.

That’s the heartbeat.

Dead men.

Living in Christ.

And the more I travel, the more convinced I become that the Church doesn’t need another personality to admire.

We need people who know their God.

People who carry His presence beyond the sanctuary.

People who understand that the fire on the altar was never intended to remain inside the building.

And people who will say yes to the divine appointments that God places right in front of them.

Even if those appointments begin with a search for breakfast!

LOL!

Would You Consider Partnering With Us?

Before I close, I want to personally thank every one of you who has prayed for us, encouraged us, purchased a book, invited us to minister, or supported DMC in any way.

You have no idea how much it means to my wife and I.

As we continue stepping into this new season of full-time ministry, we are trusting the Lord to provide the resources needed to travel, encourage pastors, reach men, strengthen churches, write books, and take the Gospel wherever He opens the door.

If you believe in what God is doing through DMC, would you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly ministry partner?

You can do that right here through the giving section of our website.

Whether your gift is large, small, consistent partnership helps make it possible for us to keep showing up, keep serving, and keep saying yes when God opens another door.

And I want you to understand something.

We aren’t asking you to fund a personality.  We are inviting you to participate in a purpose.

Paul thanked the Philippian church for their partnership in the Gospel, and I love that picture.

Some go.

Some give.

Some pray.

And together, we participate in something much greater than any of us could accomplish alone.

I cannot do this without the Holy Spirit, and I am so grateful for the people He is bringing alongside us.

So thank you.

Thank you for believing in the vision.

Thank you for loving my family.

Thank you for praying for us.

And than you for being part of this growing collective of people who want nothing more than to see Jesus glorified.

More adventures are coming, family.

More stories.

More books.

More opportunities to watch God do what only God can do.

And I promise I’ll try not to wait so long before writing you again! LOL.

Until then, keep your eyes open for divine appointments.  

Keep your heart surrendered.

Keep tending the altar.

And whatever you do…

DON’T LET THE FIRE GO OUT!

With love and gratitude,

Randall Emerson

DMC

BE THE LOGO.

One thought I especially like about this blog is the connection between the young man asking God to reveal Himself and the thirty men worshiping without electricity.  Both stories carry the same truth:  God doesn’t need our perfect circumstances to make His presence known.  That gives the update a message worth remembering, rather than simply a record of where I have traveled.  I love you guys.