On the Road Again!

Here we are - nearly 7 years after the most recent post. There's no surprise that a great deal has transpired in the intervening years. We moved to Japan in 2012 to provide leadership at OMS Christian Mission Church and network with our partner denomination in Japan. We returned to the US in 2014 and moved into a pastorate upon our return with missions being a sidelight. Now, 3 years later, we're returning to international ministry nearly full-time. Beginning in September we'll move into a more active role of training and coaching pastors and church planters in Japan and South Korea, traveling overseas 3-4 times per year. The largest differences in our role will be in the time we spend in Asia (3-5 weeks at a time vs. 2 weeks) and the amount of time we'll spend in the States preparing for and following up our ministry trips. While home in the States, we'll maintain closer contact with our partners overseas and seek to assist them to build and strengthen their networks of groups following Christ.

Fresh Is as Fresh Does

I read in Matthew 16 a passage that still challenges me. I say “still” because it’s the key verse God used to bring me to repentance in 1971. “What will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul?” (Matt. 16:26 NASB). It’s easy to overlook caring for our own spiritual health while we seek to minister to others. The one can’t be done without the other. Ministering to others must flow out of the life and health of our own spiritual life – what God is currently doing in us, not just what He did in days past. At the same time, a healthy soul finds ways of expression and ministry, otherwise it becomes stale – even putrid (think of the Dead Sea which has no outlet). God, keep me fresh!

Come and Worship

Come! Let us raise a joyful song to the Lord,
a shout of triumph to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving,
and sing him psalms of triumph.
For the Lord is the great God,
a great king over all gods;
the farthest places of the earth are in his hands,
and the folds of the hills are his;
the sea is his, he made it;
the dry land fashioned by his hands is his.
Come! Let us throw ourselves at his feet in homage,
let us kneel before the Lord who made us;
for he is our God,
we are his people, we the flock he shepherds.
You shall know his power today
if you will listen to his voice.
(Psalm 95:1-7 New English Bible)

What a great privilege we have to serve the King of kings! There is no higher honor than to have been adopted as children of God and received into His family. Though, and thankfully, we are not saved by things we do, but through faith, we are given the privilege of doing things for Him to accomplish His plan. The times we get to see how things fit together are great times. PTL.

You’ll notice that this passage is from the New English Bible. For the last few years I’ve done my daily Bible reading from versions other than what I normally use for study. It’s been interesting to become familiar with the New Revised Standard and New King James Version. I have more that I’m working toward after I finish with the NEB – sometime next Spring. One advantage that I’m finding is that the different wording brings new insights.

I like the way that the NEB translates verse 6: “Come! Let us throw ourselves at his feet in homage.” All the other versions I’ve looked at use the words worship and bow. The NEB, with its “throw ourselves at his feet in homage,” communicates to me a greater sense of urgency and passion. I like that.

Reflections of a Common Man

I saw a pair of falcons the other day. I’ve seen singles before, but never two together. These two looked young. They caught my attention as they leaped into the air from a tree near our deck. Suzanne and I had just gone out to enjoy the beautiful Spring morning and apparently startled these two from their rest. They took differing paths to escape the threat we posed, one to the east of the house and one to the south. The one heading south didn’t go far, but landed in a Maple tree just behind the house. We were able to catch a great view, though brief, of the magnificent bird of prey.

Our home is visited regularly by a variety of flying animals: Canadian geese love this area with the small stream down the hill and the pastures nearby, crows abound with their incessant cawing, starlings have been resident even through the winter, robins have returned bringing their joyful tune with them and bluebirds, finches, sparrows and other common birds. The falcons, however, are not common. They’re special.

I’ve intended this blog to be a place where I can ruminate on things large and small, wise and simple, common and unusual. All of these are simply the reflections of a common man. Even as I write that phrase – common man – I’m reminded that there isn’t one of us who is really common. Each of us is unique, created by God in His image for His purpose with His glory in mind. It doesn’t seem like “common” is a good word to use of God’s creative work. King David described himself as “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)

So, I reflect on the birds of the air and the worth we ascribe to them – great or small – and the vastly surpassing worth of those creatures God deigned to create in His image. I’m humbled again to be called a child of God – a son of the Lord of Heaven. It’s amazing.

All In: How do we ever know?

Ministry can be tough. Charlie Brown said, “I love mankind, it’s people I can’t stand.” I spoke with a friend and colleague yesterday and he is struggling over some issues in his ministry. How do you get people motivated? How do you enable them to see the big picture and what’s possible if everyone is sold out to the goal of the ministry?

Those questions really are keys to leadership in any area. How to you get the people to go “all in?” How can you get someone fully invested in the goals of the organization? I wonder if the key is defining what “all in” looks like. What would it look like for an individual or a couple to be fully invested in the “prime directive” of an organization? For me, what would it look like for someone to be “all in” seeking to fulfill the great commission?

Do we define “all in” by the amount of time invested in the task? Are we “all in” because we give the majority of our time to a specific endeavor? Are we “all in” when we attend every event or support every project?

Another question: Who defines “all in” anyway? Is the leader the one who decides who’s “all in?” Do we trust the people to determine whether they’re “all in?” Can we trust them?

There are many bases on which we could define “all in,” some of which would be helpful. Other ways can be misleading or even deceptive.

Perhaps the bottom line is whether I’m “all in.” Am I doing all I can or should? That in itself is an interesting question. How much can I do? Is there ever an end to how much I could do? If we focus on “should,” that implies that there is an objective standard which determines the appropriate level of activity. Am I meeting that standard? Do I have any right to go beyond that amount? It appears to me that we err when we press past the level of “should” and endeavor to do everything possible. Furthermore, when I apply that “could” standard to others, I’ve compounded the error and make those I influence partners in violating the proper God-given expectations for activity.

Father, I believe that you would have me focus on my “all in,” forgetting the status of those around me. When I lose my focus remind me of your plan and your empowerment. Let me model that level of commitment – and activity – that characterizes a properly balanced life by your standards, rather than the arbitrary standards of some human culture. May I represent you well.

New Things

Bob Benson wrote a wonderful little book entitled "Come Share the Being". In it he tells the story of when he was a young child and had a younger brother born into the family. He related how he was jealous of the younger boy because he would get to experience "all them new things." What new things? Well, new things like riding a bike for the first time, or smelling a rose for the first time, or eating ice cream. You get the idea. There are lots of "new things" in life that we only do once. That doesn't mean that we can't enjoy the "old things", it just means that there is a special wonder of doing something for the first time.

There is another emotion that comes with doing something for the first time. PANIC! That's nearly what I'm experiencing now as I prepare to go to Korea for my first round of training trainers. I've had the training myself. Well, most of it. It's now my turn to go to Korea and train the first group of trainers who have the responsibility of training church planters. This will be done with my Korean partner who is also doing it for the first time. (What were the planners thinking when they paired two novice trainers?)

However, I have to remember some of the promises I've learned in scripture. "I can do all things through him who gives me strength." "Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you." "All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose."

Maybe I can do this.

Discovering God's Plan?

“How do I know what God’s plan is for me?” Such is the question asked by the student attempting to discover a career that is meaningful. This question is asked by the middle aged couple who’ve been downsized by their employer. People nearing the end of a lifetime of work ask this question as they look ahead at retirement. In one way or another, virtually every believer asks this question during their walk with Christ. I believe most of us ask it as we look ahead to forks in the road that we have to navigate – some of us regularly.

How does one answer that question? I believe every time the issue arises it’s a new situation that demands fresh faith, if not a new strategy. We can believe, if we want to, that there is a formula to discovering God’s plan and all we have to do is mix the ingredients together and out pops the answer. Oh, that it might be that simple! Wouldn’t life be wonderful if all we had to do was know which button to press on the machine to have God’s perfect plan pop out in plain English (or whatever the appropriate language) and lay out each step we’re supposed to take? Well, not really. The Bible tells us, “everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Where does faith come in if every step is marked out?

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that we can’t know God’s plan. I don’t want to imply that God’s plan is some intangible thing that we can never quite get our hands on. It is possible to be confident in our understanding of God’s plan for our lives. He will make his plan known in such a way that we can walk in it with peace. With no questions? No. Questions are part of human nature. They’re natural. That doesn’t mean that the motivation to ask questions, or the inferences accompanying questions aren’t affected by our fallen nature. Curiosity, I believe, is one of the great gifts to humans from the Loving God. We’re born to ask questions. We’re born to seek out answers to “Why?,” “How?,” and others. Refraining from asking questions may not be a sign of great faith. It might be a sign of a mind lacking the most basic understanding of how God works with people – not to dominate, but to lead. Not dragging along a resisting subject, but guiding a willing servant.

I’ve discovered that the level of difficulty in the decisions we face is proportional to our spiritual maturity. In life, we don’t expect an adult to struggle carrying a five pound bag of sugar. However, we’re not surprised when we see a toddler working hard to help carry the same item into the house for Mom. Why is that? The same task is easy or difficult based on the age of the subject. An adult may struggle with a fifty pound bag of dog food just as much as a child with the sugar. Is the adult stronger? Of course. Is the subject of the task larger? Certainly. Who has the greater task? I would submit that the two tasks are proportionally the same.

As “mature” Christians, we can look at the decisions facing younger believers and be tempted to say, “Come on! Get with the program! Make a decision!” all the while completely missing how significant a decision it is to the new Christian. However, when we labor over a decision in our life the story is altogether different. Our response is, “Don’t you know this is a serious issue? Don’t you understand the implications of such a heavy decision?” We miss the point entirely that, proportionally, the decision the younger Christian faces is just as significant, just as complex, just as daunting.

What does this have to do with discovering God’s plan? I’ve pastored for thirty years. The number of times I’ve been asked, “How can I know God’s plan?,” or a similar question, is beyond counting. Yet, when Suzanne and I have stood in the position of wondering about the next step in our lives, I have to go back to the same strategy believers have used from the beginning:

Pray,
Seek counsel,
Read the Bible,
Review God’s previous directions,
Weigh the pros and cons of the various options

If we do all of that will we know for sure what we should do? Well, not necessarily. We might have a pretty good indication. We may find all of these lining up in the same direction – which is a good thing. But, where then, does faith come in? Doesn’t faith come into play when we believe God has spoken and we act on that word?

Someone used a simple illustration many years ago to demonstrate an important principle at this point. It’s easier to turn a car that’s moving than one that’s sitting still. When we step out in faith that God has spoken, one of three things will be true: 1), we’ll have made the correct choice and find confirmation and blessing, or 2), we’ll discover we should have gone a different direction, or 3), we’ll discover we could have taken either path because God promised to always be with us. There are times when God’s plan isn’t a specific path, but how we walk on that path, not the job title we have, but the kind of employee we are.

Suzanne and I have been on an amazing path these past eighteen months. Since we were first approached about ministering in Central Asia, we’ve seen God direct us and, at the same time, allow choices for us to make. There have been times when his desire was specific and clear. There have been other times when his plan was something we had to work to discover, or wait to see. We strive to discover the plan God has for us, but perhaps the greatest discovery is finding him.