Post Adoption Reflections of a First Time Mom

My wife and I recently came home from Bulgaria with a beautiful two year old girl who has joined our family. The following are the thoughts that my wife journaled in the first couple weeks home with her. I present them with her permission and without further comment

So I wanted to write down some of the more serious and thought provoking things that I have been pondering over (in the few brief moments when I can have the time for introspection lol) during these last few days with Lexy.  I knew being a mother would change me in so many ways, most that I don't even know what they will be yet.  But I've already learned a few things about myself and about God and His care for me as His adopted child through the work of Christ Jesus...  For anyone who cares, I thought I'd write it down and share and also so that I wouldn't forget it.

One of the first realizations happened in an odd way.  So we were walking around town in Sofia, and I went to place Lexy back in her carrier after she had been walking with Luke for a bit (holding his hand, getting some exercise).  Her leg got caught in one of the straps and I didn't realize it immediately until she started to cry.  That was the first time I ever heard her cry; that was very hard. This caused me to think about discomfort in my own life.  When (not “if” lol) I mess up in some way in caring for Lexy, all I can do is try and do  better afterwards, I can't provide any higher purpose/meaning for her sake in those moments of discomfort or difficulty that I accidently cause her.  But God, my heavenly Father, first of all will never make mistakes in caring for His children in Christ.  When difficulties or painful things come into my life, it is for a purpose.  God in His sovereignty will bring meaning from any trials I might go through in this life.  Unlike me, He isn't scrambling to make up for past parenting failures or trying to come up with a plan B for an unexpected situation.  As I read in James Chapter 1:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position.  But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

The second thing that I've realized over these last few days is how much I want to make everything all right for her.  I want her to be happy, healthy, safe, warm, well fed, clothed, have things and others to play with, not grieve, feel loved, all the time.  That just isn't possible, no matter how much I try.  There will be many outside things beyond my control that will happen and like I said above, I will make mistakes that will compromise that goal.  But when I think about the day of Christ's return, He really will be able to make all things right, completely.  There won't be any aspect of life that He can't make perfect on that day; even on my best days, I can never do that.  And He won't just do that for one person, but in His power He will accomplish this for all His children in Christ!  That, at least to me, is such a beautiful comfort and realization and until I had Lexy, the weight of that hadn't really hit me.  It is definitely a reason for joy!  I couldn’t help but think of Revelation 21:

"Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children."

Third, I have come to a greater understanding and am more in awe of Christ's selflessness in His coming to earth and sacrifice.  During these last few days, I have done all I could think to do to show Lexy that her needs are above mine.  Sometimes this put me in uncomfortable positions, like on the plane, positioning myself in a way that would allow her to sleep comfortably but made me unable to.  I've sacrificed sleep and sometimes not eaten immediately when I was hungry so I could be there for her.  I'd love to say that I've done all this with a humble and non-complaining attitude all the time, but that would not be true.  It is a struggle sometimes, especially when I am tired or frustrated/confused because I don't know what she wants/needs or why she is upset.  And she is so young that she can't have any appreciation for all I am trying to do for her.  For many years to come, I will do my best to show her true selflessness and sacrifice for others, but I will fail many times, if not outwardly in action, definitely inwardly in my grumbling thoughts or attitude.  One of the best things I can do to show her true self-sacrifice and service to others is to point her to Christ, the Son of God, both God and man.  He lived the perfect sinless life that we never could; He came to earth, leaving His throne and glory for this messed up world, full of people who did not appreciate in the least who He truly was or all that He was doing for them.  He was mocked, betrayed, lied about, spit on, beaten, stripped naked, and killed by crucifixion on a Roman cross to take the guilt of our sin against a holy God!  The creator of the world humbling Himself beyond imagination for an ungrateful people, that is the pinnacle of selflessness!  I love Paul's description of this in Philippians 2:

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Lastly, I have learned that God truly does give us what we need to make it through each day. Often I wake up (earlier than I'd like, considering when I went to bed) and wonder how I will make it through another day.  I have quickly realized that on my own strength/will, I won't.  But each day I realize at the end of it that I did make it through, and that is due to God's kindness.  As Paul put it so much better than I could in 2 Corinthians 12:

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

 As I was laying in bed at the hotel in Bulgaria the night before we were to get on a 6:40 AM flight, trying to sleep, the Rich Mullins song "hold me Jesus" kept coming to mind. I was struggling with my exhaustion (and we hadn't even left Bulgaria yet) and worry over how the flights would go and how she would do and I was also thinking about the next 18 years or so and how I would be able to parent. I can say I definitely have a greater appreciation for and understanding of this song now. I'd suggest a listen.

Luke Wayne is a bi-vocational Baptist missionary in Utah and the chief editor for Perilous Trails. He holds an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an MA in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist College. He has served as a church planter in Olathe, KS and a Homeless Shelter Manager in Kansas City, MO. He is also a husband, father, fisher, hiker, security officer, and raiser of livestock. 

Five books every Christian should read this year (even if you have read them before)

At the beginning of every year, I always try to put together a list of books that I plan to read before the year’s end. I read plenty of things that are not on the list, but I make a commitment to get through the books I have written down on the list before the year comes to an end. It is a discipline that has been a great help to me over the years, and has broadened my learning and sharpened my focus in most meaningful ways. While I look for new books each year, there are also several books that find their way back to my list again and again, and a few that are even on it literally every year. After years of this practice, I have decided this year to offer up what, in my humble opinion, are five books that every Christian I know should read in 2016. Whether you are a reader or not, whether you have read these titles a thousand times or whether you have never read them in your life, I urge you to take up at least these five titles in addition to the regular scripture reading that I would hope as Christians you would all be doing anyway. Here are my five must reads for 2016:

1.) “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan – One of the most translated works in human history, Bunyan’s little allegory written from prison in the late 1600s has been one of the most transformative and enduring Christian works ever written. Charles Spurgeon said, outside of the Bible itself, it was the most important book, and it is an annual feature on my own list. This simple parable of the Christian life is one we could all bare to revisit and remember who we are, what we believe, the journey we are on, and the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, a sojourner on a perilous trek home. Make sure to get an unabridged version, as the most deep and important dialogues and discourses are always what end up being cut in any shortened or modernized reading of the work.

2.) “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe – This 1719 novel about a man stranded alone on an island is considered to be the first novel ever written in the English language. Defoe’s puritan conviction leads to a deeply philosophical, even theological delve into the life and soul of man fleshed out in the struggle to survive the forces of nature without and the turmoil of isolation within. As with Bunyan’s work, make sure to get an unabridged copy or you will miss out on the real value of this fantastic work that is at once both an adventure story and most useful treatise on timeless truths.

3.) “The Forgotten Trinity” by Dr. James White – The Christian faith rests on the incredible, incomparable, awe inspiring truth that the one and only, true and living God has made Himself known in the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to be what Christians since the earliest centuries have called “the Trinity”, yet few Christians today bother to truly marvel at this incredible and unique reality and to delve deeply into the biblical revelation of this central aspect of all that God has revealed Himself to be. Dr. White approaches the subject in a plain, readable, and easily understandable manner and in a way that seeks to wonder at God rather than merely win arguments about the deity of Christ with non Christians. It is thorough, instructive, engaging, and solidly biblical from beginning to end.

4.) “Radical” by David Platt – I am not typically a big promoter of recent Christian fads. Actually, I’m generally fairly prejudiced against them. I prefer time tested works, or the rare recent works with the sort of depth and rigor that will never be popular at the local Christian book store. But in this case I have to be honest and say that this trendy little paperback literally changed my life. It didn’t do so by telling me things I did not already know, but by slapping me in the face with things I shamefully already knew quite well. It presented plain Christian truths in a way that shined an exposing illumination on the fact that I was not living in light of them in ways that I ought. It’s the kind of urgent reminder about the main things that we all need to go back to once in a while, just to be sure we are keeping our priorities straight. I think 2016 is going to be a year we all need to do that again, and I think revisiting this book will be of some help.

5.) “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – My former pastor and mentor back in Kansas City always made much of this book, but I have to admit, my first time through I actually found it pretty underwhelming. That seems like an odd endorsement for a “must read” book for the year, but it’s the truth. It wasn’t until this past year when I revisited the book that I was finally struck by the simple and practical devotional truths and their implications for my daily life in both family and church community. But strike me they did, and I found the book a tremendous help in my daily walk and worship, and began sharing it with others as my old pastor had done with me. It didn’t lead to big, life altering changes, but rather to a thousand little changes that together have had a profound impact on my home life and my walk with other believers in mundane life and in gospel fellowship. It is my sincere hope that it, combined with the other four books above, can do the same for you.

Luke Wayne is a bi-vocational Baptist missionary in Utah and the chief editor for Perilous Trails. He holds an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an MA in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist College. He has served as a church planter in Olathe, KS and a Homeless Shelter Manager in Kansas City, MO. He is also a husband, father, fisher, hiker, security officer, and raiser of livestock. 

Aborting what, exactly?

When we speak on the subject of “abortion,” as when we speak to any subject, it is important to define our terms. To “abort” is to stop, cease, terminate, discontinue prematurely. But when we are speaking culturally and ethically on the subject of “abortion” we are being more specific. One would not accuse the military, after it chose to abort a mission, of having performed an illegal government funded abortion on that mission. When we talk about abortion, we obviously are not talking about the abortion of missions. So what are we talking about? Aborting what exactly? We might say that we are talking about aborting the pregnancy, but this also is not correct. A cesarean section ends the pregnancy prematurely by surgically bringing the baby out alive, and this is not an abortion. If an abortion procedure is performed, and the baby comes out alive, this is referred to as a botched or failed abortion, even though the pregnancy was successfully ended. These two examples show us something important. The C section is not an abortion because it does not end the unborn life. The procedure described above as a "botched abortion" is a botched abortion because the baby did not die. It is plain, then, that when we speak of “abortion” we are talking about aborting the unborn life. Ceasing, terminating, prematurely ending a life. Our usage makes it clear, we are talking about killing.


Killing what? Well, from the moment of conception all the way until death, it is the same distinct human life. While the emotions of our culture may make this a controversial thing to say, it is still not a questionable or debatable thing to say. At the moment the sperm of the father combines with the egg of the mother, a not only genetically unique, but undeniably living and distinctly human organism comes to be. This organism goes through a rapid early development from a single cell to a more familiar form with organs, skin, nerves, etc. It’s stages of development include fast changes in physical form and attributes, but never is there a point after conception that this now distinct and genetically human life can be said to have changed from one essential thing to another, much like being an infant, a 17 year old high school athlete, and a 90 year old man are all physically quite different states, though all are the same human person at different points in development. A biologically distinct human being comes into existence at conception. Objectively, visibly, observably, scientifically, this is as certain as any human knowledge. If we cannot know this, than we can know nothing at all, for we know this on the same clear basis as we know any other basic fact of clear, consistent, repeatable observation. From conception until death, we are talking about a human life.

As Christians, we have an even surer foundation for knowing this with certainty. The Scriptures make it abundantly clear! From beginning to end, again and again, we see reference to unborn existence as personal, human life. We see places like Job 31:15, Psalm 139:13, and Isaiah 44:2, 44:24; 49:5 and others that all speak directly of personal human life formed in the womb. Jeremiah 20:17 even refers to taking life in the womb as “killing”, and makes clear that the life in his mother’s womb was already personally Jeremiah’s life. Psalm 51:5 even indicates that one at conception is not only a personal human being but is already under the curse of sin. Likewise, Luke chapter 1 indicates the personal humanity of the preborn John the Baptist. Yet we need not stop even there. In both the gospel narratives we have which describe for us the details of the nativity, the language indicates that the incarnation of of the Son of God began at conception. As the 2nd century Christian writer Aristedes describes it, Jesus "clothed himself with flesh; and the Son of God lived in a daughter of man." Jesus took on human flesh, and lived a fully human life. He did so from conception, because human life begins at conception. There is no basis to think that the second person of the trinity became a non-person for six months or so. Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit, and what she conceived was the Son of God. Jesus personal human life, and all personal human life, began at conception.


The early readers of the scriptures understood as much. The earliest Jewish writings we posses denounce the nations around them fro practicing abortion. One document even attributed the practice’s origin to demonic instruction! Another fascinating example looks at Leviticus 22:28 which tells us that “But you are not to slaughter an animal from the herd or flock on the same day as its young” and the dead sea scrolls in 4Q943 and 4Q947 freely apply this law in judging cases of slaughtering pregnant animals, showing that the Jewish community understood from the scriptures that the life in the womb was the same life as the the life to be born, and applied the law accordingly. The pregnant animal was already a mother with young that could not be slaughtered on the same day, so both must live. The so called “Damascus document” agrees with this, and this document has been found both in the dead sea scrolls and outside among other Jews, showing this interpretation was not unique to the Dead Sea community. The early Jews honored the unborn life because the testimony of the scriptures. Likewise the Didache, one of the earliest Christian writings going back to perhaps even the first century AD, includes the command “you shall not murder a child by abortion nor kill that which is born”. Other early Christian writings such as the Epistle to Diognetus and the Epistle of Barnabas concur with this interpretation. It was clearly understood by these early believers in the scriptures, both Christian and Jew, that human life began at conception with all of its rights and privileges. Scripture, science, logic, observation, and history all stand in agreement. There is just no reasonable doubt on this matter.

But let's say for a moment, just for the sake of argument, that somehow we did not know whether or not the child in the womb was a living human being. What do we do in other cases where we are considering a destructive action and do not know if there is a human there? Do we demolish a building if a living human might be inside? Do we fire a gun at a target if we simply don't know if a living human is standing behind it? No, or course not! So even if we somehow did not know that the unborn child was a living human, it would still be absurd to say, "well, it might be a living human, but since I'm not quite sure, I'll air on the side of dismembering it." Even in ignorance, this would be an immoral act. How much more evil is it, then, to kill and destroy what we fully know is an innocent and defenseless human life? This is the issue at hand when we are discussing “abortion.”


Luke Wayne is a bi-vocational Baptist missionary in Utah and the chief editor for Perilous Trails. He holds an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an MA in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist College. He has served as a church planter in Olathe, KS and a Homeless Shelter Manager in Kansas City, MO. He is also a husband, father, fisher, hiker, security officer, and raiser of livestock.

Saboteurs in our Midst

“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” (Jude 3-4)

It’s a pity that we don’t spend more time in serious study, even memorization, of the shorter books in our bible. Obadiah and Nahum and Malachi are powerful warnings and reminders. Philemon and 2 and 3 John are extremely enriching books for the Christian walk. And Jude, that last little letter right before the book of Revelation, is an extremely urgent and necessary call to us as members of church communities to be alert, for our sake and the sake of our brothers and sisters, against the great corrupting dangers of false teachers. It is important to note that these false teachers are not the ones out there in the world clearly representing other religions and ideas, but the ones right in and among us, influencing people away from sound, Christ centered teaching and from strict biblical virtues and righteous, holy living. As was quoted above, they  “turn the grace of our God into licentiousness” or as the HSCB translation puts it, “turning the grace of our God into promiscuity,” or in the NIV “who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” God’s wondrous message of salvation by grace alone is not to be twisted into permission to live as we want. 

When Paul famously wrote in Ephesians 2:8,9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” He followed it immediately in verse 10 with, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” The gospel is destroyed by the idea that we can earn or merit salvation by our good actions, but it is also destroyed by the idea that God’s grace means that our evil deeds are in fact not something that we need to be saved from, and that we can just go on doing whatever we want and God will just be okay with it, love us for who we are, and forgive any wrong in the end. The message of the gospel is one of grace, mercy, and forgiveness. It is a message of unmerited, unearned, undeserved blessing from God purchased by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is all of Him, and nothing of us. But the message calls on us to repent (change our minds, turn around, go the other way) and believe (that we are sinners, that we have been wrong, that God has saved us in Jesus Christ, and that He is Lord, Master, and King, and is therefore in charge of our lives and whom we should now obey). The gospel is not a mere feel good message, it is a life transforming reality that, if believed, will have the necessary effect of changing ones priorities and view of life, and therefore of one’s actions. As Peter wrote, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,  but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;  because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:13-16) 

Understanding this, Jude is greatly concerned for the Christian churches of his day because there are those who are coming in spreading a sinful lie that uses Christian language about God’s grace and love, but in fact entices people to sin freely without regard for God, and is therefore utterly opposed to repentance, faith, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, our need for redemption, and therefore the very gospel itself. The book is replete with examples from Old Testament Scripture, history, and Jewish traditions familiar to the readers that help them remember the fact that there have always been those who outwardly professed the name of the one true God and dwelled among His people as if they were truly part of the faith community, but were in fact false brothers and deceivers marked out for condemnation by God, and we must be careful to keep ourselves and our beloved brothers from walking according to their ways. As we talked about (HERE), we must be ever vigilant and on guard against sin!

In our day (as in many times in the past) it is highly unpopular to point out that a particular teaching is wrong, a particular teacher or author is dangerous, or that a particular action is sin, and that such things and people are not Christian and not befitting of the Christian community, despite their own self identification and surface language that may sound very loving and evoke the name of Jesus, but these are exactly the sort of things Jude is warning us we must be ready to do, and if we love our Christian brothers we will be eager to deliver them from the snare of such lies. We must pursue holiness together, and watch one another’s back for the stealth and guile of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

It is interesting that Jude frequently uses the example of those who would justify sexual immorality. Today, we see this more than we want to admit.  There is, to give one of many possible examples, an organization called the “reformation project” whose express goal is to train people to actively work within local churches to influence people into believing that homosexual and bisexual lifestyles are perfectly okay, and to shame the biblical standard of holiness and the need for repentance. The whole thing tries to be as “Christian” as possible while representing exactly what Jude is talking about in a very literal sense. People coming into our fellowships by stealth to turn the grace of God into a license to sin and bring shame and reproach before God on our fellowships. One can see a similar idea in the documentary “expelled.” While it is focusing on the subject academic freedom and the study of intelligent design, it makes a passing observation that is crucial to our subject after an interview with a PR representative for a secular organization that works with churches and other faith communities to convince them that full fledged secular Darwinian ideology is totally compatible with their faith. What is shown through the interviews is that such people are often very conscious that in fact their teachings are NOT compatible, and that it will destroy the faith of the next generation. They are intentionally deceiving, and often training people inside the church to be their mouth pieces to the Christian community. While many of the sort of teachings Jude is warning us about come into our churches passively through books and media and the like, there really are people doing exactly what Jude warned about, literally making the conscious and active effort to infiltrate churches and alter their teaching in a manner that turns us to sin or even leads to eventual outright denial of our Lord! 

“But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed.” (Jude 10)

“These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” (Jude 12, 13)

Jude goes on to urge the Church to hold fast to the true, biblical faith and to remain steadfast, knowing that Christ is coming again. Our hope of pleasure and reward is not in this sin sick world, and it is okay to be outsiders here in the name of holiness, indeed it is glorious to be so! Christ is coming in judgment on the wicked and to bring eternal life to those who are His own, a holy people of faith resting in His grace and enduring to the end, not in our strength, but in His!



“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 20-25)


I urge, read through Jude regularly. Memorize its warnings and reflect on them often. (The entire book is set to great music HERE for easy memorization.) Keep the true gospel ever before you, and be careful of teachings, even from those in the pew next to you, that would lead you into sin or into denial of our Lord’s teachings, and care enough about those around you to correct them of such error and encourage them on in righteousness and holiness. As James, Jude’s brother, wrote “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19,20). Know your brothers and sisters of your local church well enough to notice if something is wrong and to be able to speak immediately into their lives to turn them from sin and error, and open yourself up to them enough so that they can do the same for you. We are in this together, and we need each other.

Luke Wayne is a bi-vocational Baptist missionary in Utah and the chief editor for Perilous Trails. He holds an MDiv from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and an MA in Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist College. He has served as a church planter in Olathe, KS and a Homeless Shelter Manager in Kansas City, MO. He is also a husband, father, fisher, hiker, security officer, and raiser of livestock.