Economic downturn and itinerant missions
We’re in a difficult economic situation. I’m sure that everyone realizes this, and I’m simply stating the obvious.
Around the country – and probably around the world – church organizations are filing for bankruptcy, cutting programs, firing staff. Why? Because less money is being given.
Apparently, even the SBC is susceptible to economic downturns. There are reports that the IMB (International Mission Board) will not have enough money to support the missionaries to want to travel overseas. While we could ask many questions about this situation, I prefer to focus on the positive.
A few months ago, some friends of ours – a young newlywed couple – asked the church to help them pray for an opportunity to spend the summer in Africa. They had an opportunity to help develop an alphabet for several tribes and languages for which there is currently no written language. The goal, of course, is to eventually translate the Scriptures into those new languages.
The problem: this trip would be very expensive for this couple. They could not afford it. So, they asked the church to pray with them. What was the prayer? Does God desire for them to go to Africa? This is what they asked the church to pray.
So, the church prayed for them and with them. We all sought God’s will for this situation. Eventually, they decided that they would travel to Africa. They began to make plans… in the middle of all of these economically trying times… to spend thousands of dollars to travel to Africa to help develop written language… thousands of dollars that they did not have and that they had no way to make themself.
Again, they made the decision to go, and they began preparing to go, and once again they asked the church to pray that God would provide for them. Margaret and I talked about helping them, and we gave them a little money to help, but much, much less than they needed.
Last week, just before they boarded their plane to Africa, our friends sent one last email to the church. Apparently, God had provided everything they needed for this trip as well as enough to cover their expenses here while they were away. God decided to provide this support primarily through our church – several thousand dollars through a group of less than fifty… mostly young people, many of whom are in college themselves.
To be honest, I don’t how it happened. Our little church could not and cannot provide this much money. But, it happened. Our friends are currently on their way to Africa.
I wonder what would have happened if our friends waited for the money to be in hand before they decided to go and began preparing to go? Perhaps, if nothing else, this little story can remind all of us that if God calls, we should go – wherever he calls – and trust him to provide.
I’m glad he knows me that well
Thus Sunday, my friend Jonathan is scheduled to teach on Matthew 18:21-35 – the parable of the unforgiving servant. I’ve talked with Jonathan a few times about the passage, but I’m studying it as well. I’m excited that he’s studying this passage in the context of the entire chapter, recognizing that we are to deal with and forgive others when they sin against us or offend us, not just to forgive monetary debts.
When we were talking earlier this week, Jonathan asked me a strange question. He said, “I want to use you as an example. I want to talk about a time at the camping trip when you were in a bad mood… kinda grumpy. I recognized it, but I didn’t say anything to you about it. I should have.”
I know what you’re thinking… but, no, I’m not upset that Jonathan is using me as a negative example. In fact, I’m glad and excited! Why? Because I’m glad that he knows me that well! And, I’m glad that he feels the freedom to ask me about it. I wish he had approached me then – it would have been better for both of us.
So… how would you feel if someone used you as a negative example?
Remembering
So, today is about remembering. We’re supposed to remember men and women who died in military service. And, I’m very thankful for those men and women.
But, as I write this Sunday afternoon, I can’t help but remember the past few days. The days have been full, and I’m grateful to God as I remember them.
On a personal note, our family has been painting for the last couple of weeks. We painted our living room last weekend, and we painted our kitchen during the last week. Now, we’re trying to finish painting our dining room. If you see me, and if I have splotches of yellow or green on my arms or legs or in my hair, I don’t have some strange disease. Believe it or not, I’m thankful for painting. This is something that Margaret especially has wanted to do since we moved into our house three years ago, and I’m glad that we’re finally painting!
Also, last week, some good friends of ours had their first baby. We’ve known them for eight years – before we moved to North Carolina. We’ve all grown very close together, and we prayed with them when they were having trouble getting pregnant. The doctors decided to deliver the baby a few weeks early because the mother began having complications. We thank God that both mother and baby are doing well, and that we had a chance to spend time with them in the hospital and hold the baby.
We had a chance to meet a new friend last week. He’s the son of some people that God has brought into our lives recently. We were supposed to have dinner with them last Thursday night, but we had to cancel because we were heading to the hospital to visit our friends having the baby. They were very forgiving and gracious, and instead we caught up with them the next day. We had a good time catching up with our friends after they had been on a long trip, and we had a good time meeting their son. We talked about his relationship with God and his desire to follow God’s will in his life. I had the opportunity to baptize him Sunday afternoon at the lake.
I’m also remembering how proud I am of my son. Last week, Jeremy took the driving portion of driver’s education. On Friday, we took him to the DMV to get his driver’s permit. He passed the test there, so he now has his permit. On Saturday morning, he went with me to the government assisted housing project where we spend time with the residents. I noticed how he was responding to what the people were saying. I’m excited about the way he is growing and maturing.
It has been a good week – busy, but good. I’m looking forward to the opportunities that God gives our family during the summer. I can’t wait to see what God does in and through us. Maybe by the end of Summer I’ll have even more to remember.
So, what is God doing in your life these days?
What does it take?
You know, on the one hand, I really enjoy reading the blog posts over at “The M Blog“. Guy continually writes post which remind us that believers can follow God simply and relationally. It doesn’t take all of that stuff that we usually add. One of his latest posts, “What you need to know to plant a church“, is no exception.
For example, Guy says:
Sometimes my head spins at how complex we have made church planting. I am overwhelmed with all the books, studies, graphs, surveys, conferences, blogs, methodologies, strategies, experts, and current discussions taking place. The implication seems to be if you don’t have a PhD and 4 years apprenticeship with a CP guru in Asia, you simply won’t make it to first base in planting a church.
Instead, Guy quotes Bill Lollar as saying there are only 6 basic principles:
- Recognize that every Christian is “called†to communicate the Gospel message wherever they currently live and work. That’s the “Great Commission,†so why look for a lesser one? You don’t need anyone else’s permission, since God trumps everyone, and you certainly don’t need an assessment to share the Gospel.
- Continue in your present occupation (1 Corinthians 7:17-23), so you can meet your obligations, particularly the one that requires YOU to take care of your family (1 Timothy 5:8) and share with those in need (Romans 12:13; Ephesians 4:28). Ministry is not a career path for those seeking a comfortable salary, benefits, and a retirement plan!
- Act on principle number one and begin sharing the Gospel with your neighbors, friends, co-workers, and family members. There is usually no need to go anywhere else, because your world is already full of people who don’t know Jesus! Yes, it’s okay to relocate, as long as you remember principle number two OR a group of believers voluntarily agrees to support you as a missionary in another culture where it is unlikely that you would be allowed to take jobs away from the indigenous people group to whom you are being sent.
- Since God has promised to provide a harvest for those who labor like this in His vineyard, begin to disciple/teach those who express an interest in spiritual things, expecting the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit to bring them to repentance and faith.
- Meet together with these new believers on a regular basis (Hebrews 10:24-25), thinking of creative ways in which you can stimulate one another to love and minister to others, as well as encouraging each other in the Christian journey.
- Teach every new believer how to follow the above principles!
Yes. These are simple principles that every believers can follow. In fact, every believer SHOULD be following these six principles.
So, like I said, on the one hand, I love reading Guy’s simple explanations of what it takes to be and lead the church.
On the other hand, I sometimes hate reading Guy’s posts. Why? Because his posts remind me that these simple principles are also my responsibility.
Staying home = missionary
There’s a misconception among many Christians that only those who travel away from home are “called” to be missionaries. In fact, this dichotomy is foreign to Scripture. Instead, all followers of Jesus Christ are “called” to be missionaries.
While the various “commission” passages in the Gospels and Acts indicate that God expects all of his children to “make disciples” and “be his witnesses”, there are other passages as well that show that this is exactly how the early church understood their purpose. In other words, the early church knew that they were to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ if the Spirit led them to travel away from home or if the Spirit led them to stay near their home.
For example, consider this passage from 1 Thessalonians:
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. (1 Thessalonians 1:4-8 ESV)
Paul says that he recognizes that they were changed by the power of Holy Spirit because of the way they responded to the gospel. God was now working through them (the Thessalonians) to both strengthen other believers in their regions (Macedonia and Achaia) and also to spread the “word of the Lord” through that region. In fact, Paul says that they were “imitators” of him and of those who were traveling with him.
This is very important: they were imitating Paul and other believers who were traveling away from home to spread the Gospel, but they were not traveling away from home to spread the Gospel. Instead, they were allowing God to use them in his work of reconciliation right in their home city and region. They were “missionaries” even though they did not travel away from home.
Unfortunately, when we use the term “missionary” today, we usually mean someone who travels away from home – either to another part of the world or another part of the country. There is certainly an indication in Scripture that the Spirit called some believers to travel from place to place. And, there is an indication in Scripture that the Spirit called some believers to stay in their home area.
But – and this is key – God worked through his “itinerant” servants and his “local” servants in much the same way! He used both to strengthen churches and to spread the good news of Jesus Christ – wherever they happened to be.
It is wonderful for us to recognize those believers who are following the Spirit of God to go to foreign lands to be used by him. We should recognize them, and pray for them, and send them, and encourage them!
We should also recognize that we are all “missionaries”, regardless of where God leads us to live, or whether or not God calls us to travel from place to place. Our “work” is the same: strengthen churches and spread the good news of Jesus Christ.
So, are you a traveling missionary or a stay-at-home missionary? How’s the missionary work going for you? To be honest, it’s not going that great for me, and God is pointing that out.
Relationship is more important than being right
Last week, as I was reading Matthew 18, I noticed that Jesus says to receive other believers (“little children” – Matt 18:5). He also says to not despise other believers (Matt 18:10). But, how far do we take his instructions to receive and to not despise other believers?
While I was thinking about this passage and this question, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 8. In this passage, Paul responds to a question that the Corinthians had apparently asked him concerning food sacrificed to idols.
Remember that at this time, some people worshiped their gods by offering food at their gods’ temples. They would then eat that food as an act of worship. (Even the Jews ate some of the meat that they sacrificed to God as a meal.) Thus, some Christians associated eating “sacrificed food” with false worship. Other Christians believed there was nothing wrong with eating “sacrificed food” because there were no other gods.
Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians that the idols were not gods at all – that there was only one God:
Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth- as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 ESV)
Thus, according to Paul, those Christians who said there were no other gods were correct. When food was sacrificed to idols, it was still ordinary food; there was nothing wrong with eating this food. In fact, he states clearly that neither eating that food nor refusing to eat that food helps someone draw closer to God: “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do”. (1 Corinthians 8:8 ESV)
But, also according to Paul, there are more important things than being “right”. Instead of demanding their right to eat food sacrificed to idols, Paul says it is more important that they consider their brothers and sisters in Christ. If exercising their “right” offends their brother or causes their sister to go against her conviction, then they should not exercise their right.
Paul writes:
But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. (1 Corinthians 8:9-11 ESV)
The next thing that Paul says is extremely important – it demonstrates just how important relationships are to God:
Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. (1 Corinthians 8:12-13 ESV)
Did you catch that? If eating food sacrificed to idols (which is nothing, according to Paul), causes my brother or sister to go against their conscience, then I have sinned. I have not only sinned against my brother or sister, I have sinned against Christ.
Paul goes on to say that if eating meat sacrificed to idols causes someone to stumble, then he would never eat meat again.
If nothing else, this passage demonstrates just how important relationships are to God. According to Paul, it is more important for us to think about our brother and sister, to keep them from going against their own conscience, not what WE think is right or wrong, or even what is actually right or wrong. Once again, Paul says that we must think about other people, not about ourselves.
Note, Paul does not tell us to be right. He does not tell us to prove ourselves right. He does not tell us to at least make sure we are right regardless of what other people do. He tells us to act according to the other believer’s conscience.
Do you care about people that much? Would rather give up your own rights than cause a brother or sister to go against their own conscience? Or, would you prefer to prove that you are right and your brother or sister is wrong?
When we accept other brothers and sisters, we also accept the responsibility to considering their convictions and not causing them to stumble. When we do not despise other believers, we also do not despise their personal convictions, but give up our rights for their benefit.
A Full Week – in the positive sense
This has been a very good week for our family and friends.
On Tuesday night, we were invited to the apartment of four single college men. (We affectionately call them “the boys”.) They cooked barbecue, brunswick stew, grilled corn, and homemade bbq sauce for us. Margaret made potato salad and baked beans. We had a great time fellowshiping with them. It is so exciting to see four single guys practicing hospitality!
On Wednesday night, we were invited to another home. This family was hosting a Bible study this month. They rotate from house to house each month. But, Wednesday night, they were celebrating the husband’s birthday. So, we took part in the celebration. Besides the fellowship we also shared a yummy ice cream cake from Diary Queen!
Also, this week, I had the opportunity to spend time with three young men. It is very exciting to see what God is doing in their lives, and I’m glad that they are letting me be part of that.
We decided to paint our living room, dining room, and kitchen. So last night, we started prepping (cleaning, spackling, sanding, taping, etc.). Some friends invited us to dinner since we were working on our house. What a great gift! We didn’t have to stop to cook dinner! Plus, again, we were able to spend time with some friends.
Then, on top of that, the wife said that she would cook dinner for us tonight, since we would be painting. And, we did paint! We actually started the trim last night. Then, this morning and this afternoon we put two coats of paint on the living room walls. We can’t paint the dining room or kitchen yet, because all of our living room furniture is in those rooms. Hopefully, we’ll be able to shift furniture tomorrow and start prepping and painting the kitching and dining room next week.
So, it has been a full week… in a very positive sense. I’m exciting about what God is doing in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. I wish I could share everything that was going on. For now, we’ve finished painting the living room, and we’re waiting from someone to bring us dinner.
We don’t deserve this goodness and grace.
Live and serve and love others radically
I’m not sure why I continue to read Dave Black’s blog. I always come across nuggets like this that point out my own selfishness (Friday, May 15, 2009 at 9:17 am):
In the church, our opposition is not basically outward and physical but inward and spiritual. It is, in fact, diabolical, led and planned by the devil himself. Scripturally, we are expected to acquire all we can by way of preparation, and then apply everything we acquire in the actual fight. Knowing biblical truth is not enough. We must live it out as well. “By this,” said Jesus, “everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” The Bible knows nothing of a disciple who does not live and serve and love others radically. We are called upon to give our all for the cause; we are called upon to sacrifice ourselves for the blessing of others. “Christian warfare” is hardly bellicose! It does not seek to “win.” It involves “losing” — the sacrifice of self on behalf of other people. It means being willing to deny myself, my own ambition, anything that centers on “me” — for the benefit of others. I am even called upon to lay down my life if necessary.
Did you see what he said? “The Bible knows nothing of a disciple who does not live and serve and love other radically”.
Well, the Bible may know nothing of this kind of disciple, but I know him all too well. In fact, I am that disciple. Well, I want to think of myself as a disciple. But, if Dave is correct… and I think he is… then many times it’s not Jesus that’s I’m following (the meaning of “disciple”). Instead, I’m following my self – my own desires – my own priorities – my own purposes – my own likes and dislikes – me, myself, and I.
To be completely honest, I’m tired of this. I’m tired of living for myself much of the time. I want to follow Jesus 24/7… seriously. But, I don’t do it.
So… you may be thinking… Alan, why don’t you just do more? Why don’t you just follow closer? Why don’t you just act better?
Because that would not help my situation at all. Anything that I do on my own strength will be more of the same – that is, more of Alan. I don’t want more of Alan… I want less of him.
You see, my failures do not make me want to try harder. Just the opposite. My failures in following Jesus make me want to stop doing things on my own (which is where and when I fail), and submit completely to Jesus Christ – to die, as it were, even if I must die literally.
My failures simply remind me of God’s grace. Yes, I am an imperfect follower of Jesus (“disciple”), but I remain God’s child. Why? Because I’m not God’s child because of the way that I follow Jesus. I’m God’s child because of his grace. And, I will remain God’s child in spite of the face that I do not live and serve and love others radically.
Oh, but how much I desire to live and serve and love others radically!! And, I thank God for that desire, and I earnestly pray that He changes me into a followers who continues to live and serve and love others more. But, I will not do this on my own. I can’t.
So, the next time you see me at a time when I’m not living and serving and loving others radically, you can remind me of my desire. Then, together, we can thank God for his grace and for the fact that he’s continue to transform us. Then, we can live our messy lives together.
It’s just a thing
A couple of years ago, I wrote a post called “It’s just a thing“. This post was important to me because in it I reflected on a conversation that I had with Margaret, my wife, and this conversation was very important to me. I wish I could say that we’re perfectly able to separate God from “things” now, but we’re not. We’re still learning how to follow God and not follow the many things (even good things) that come up in our lives.
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I should be writing about the Saturday evening meeting with other believers at our house. I may write about that later, but for now, I’m thinking about a discussion that I had with my wife Saturday morning.
We talked about how easy it is to “play” being a Christian, even among friends like those who would come to our house in just a few hours. We talked about some of our struggles with our relationship with God. We talked about wanting to hide those struggles so that others will not know about them (we are supposed to be a pastor and a pastor’s wife, after all). We talked about how difficult it is sometimes to study Scripture. We talked about times when our prayers seem to bounce off the ceiling.
Then, my wife, Margaret, said something very powerful for me. She said (paraphrasing), “Sometimes, I get tired of talking about the church. Sometimes, I need to talk about God – who He is and what He’s done – so that I can understand Him. I need to know God more before I think about what He wants to do with the church.”
She thought that I was going to be upset about this, because she knows how much I love the church and how much I love to study the church. Of course, my love and concern for the church derives from my love and understanding of God, but that is beside the point.
She was surprised when I agreed with her. Our understanding and relationship with God must come before our understanding of the church.
I think it was at this point that I realized something very important. My wife and I have been involved with organized local churches for many, many years. When have been involved with children and youth ministries, Sunday school classes, men and women’s ministries, Sunday morning activities, Sunday night activities, prayer meetings, evangelism programs, service programs, preaching, teaching, singing, planning, organizing, fund raising… almost every (perhaps every) aspect of organizing and running a local church.
But, for the first time in our lives, we have had to ask ourselves what God wants from us. Before, we have always been told what God wants from us, and we have been challenged, encouraged, urged, influenced, and cajoled into being involved and committed with local church ministries, all the while being promised that this is what God wants from us and commands us to do. The people who were telling us this believed with all their hear that this is what God wanted from them and from us. We did not have time to stop and ask if this is truly what God wants from us, because we were so busy doing things.
We were so busy doing things…
And, that’s just what they were… things. This is what I realized this morning while I was talking with my wife. We had been so busy doing things for so long that we had almost forgotten that God is not interesting in things. God is interested in us and other people… relationships.
Don’t misunderstand me… I don’t think these things were designed as things. But, they became things. Things to do. Things to prepare. Things to instruct. Things to follow. Things to believe. Things to support. Things to finance. Things…
We should teach other believers… but teaching can become a thing. We should preach the gospel… but preaching can become a thing. We should meet with other believers… but Sunday morning events (and Saturday evenings spent with friends) can become a thing.
Even quiet times… devotional times… prayer times… can become things. And things are not God.
A church that meets in a building near us was having a fund raiser. We had brunswick stew there for lunch. The people were raising money to pay for chairs and tables for their new fellowship hall. Several times they pointed out to us how nice their new fellowship hall was. My wife and I looked around the fellowship hall, and then looked at one another. “It’s just a thing.”
Donkeys sleeping in the bathtub
According to a commercial on the radio, there is a law in Arizona that makes it illegal to allow a donkey to sleep in your bathtub.
Also, apparently, in Minnesota, there is a law that makes it illegal to cross the Minnesota state line with a duck on your head.
While these laws seem funny and even ridiculous to us, there was probably a good reason for passing the laws in the first place. If we traced the history of these laws, we would probably understand why the laws are on the book. However, while the history may clear things up for us, history will not make the laws make sense today.
Why? Well, most people don’t own donkeys today, much less allow them to sleep in their bathtubs. And, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with a duck on their head.
But, of course, once a law is on the books, it is difficult to remove it.
The same thing happens with our traditions and practices and rules in the church. For very good reasons, the church begins doing things and begins doing them in certain ways. Eventually, the reasons disappear, but the practices continue.
Eventually, if we’re not careful, those practices become more important to us than who we are as the family of God in Christ. The way we do things becomes more important than the reason we started doing them in the first place. We become defined by our methods instead of being defined by our relationship with God and with one another.
I think we see this today in many aspects of our lives together as the church. We don’t know why we do the things we do or why we act the way we act or why we’re structured the way we’re structured, but someone must have had a good reason to start doing it this way, and we’re familiar and comfortable with these things, so we just let them continue.
But, the silly laws I mentioned at the beginning of this post – laws against donkeys sleeping in bathtubs and wearing a duck on your head – generally don’t affect people today. For many people, their lives will not be changed if the laws remain or are repealed.
But, it is completely different for the church. The things that we do day after day, week after week, year after year, simply because that’s the ways it’s been done, or the ways we’ve been taught, or the ways that have worked before, or even the ways that seem rational and logical… these things affect us as followers of Jesus Christ. They affect our relationship with God and our relationships with one another.
The things that we do or don’t do, the way that we’re structured or not structured, the way that we speak or don’t speak, all of these things work to either build us up toward maturity in Christ, or they hinder our development in Christ.
Laws against donkeys sleeping in the bathtub seem funny and ridiculous to us. But, I wonder if the way we treat one another as the church, the way we set up hierarchies among believers, the way we abandon our responsibilities toward one another and pay others to carry out our responsibilities… I wonder if these things seem funny to God.