It’s that time of year when you are either in the rush of a new academic and ministry year (Northern hemisphere) or moving to the end of your school & ministry year. Either way, it’s a time to step back and remember how God has shown grace to you as His child and how He has used you in His greater missional plan for this world.
Again and again, the Bible calls us to remember: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonder of old. I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:11-12). The work of remembering has an active rather than a passive sense. In the Hebrew Bible, the word is: zakar. It means to call to mind, to recall or to recount. It speaks of bringing something to the forefront of one’s mind. One writer put it this way: “to zakar is to employ your hands and feet and lips to engage in whatever action that remembrance requires.”
When we think of the good news that we share, it is so important to remember how this good news is good news for us. We need to “recount” it again to ourselves (and others) today and each day.
This new start or end to our year is also a time to refocus our hearts and minds on what is our calling, our dream as mission community: to multiply disciples and communities of believers among the lost.
It’s easy for us to lose sight of that larger dream and vision in the rush of the new year or at the end of that year. However, we need to remind one another of our calling as a community.
“Multiplying” is not something that occurs in a moment. It is an investment in others. It calls for time spent sharing, talking, training, and platforming others. However, the result is that multiplying disciples (and leaders) and communities of believers bears fruit exponentially. Exponentially in the sense that there are more and more and more workers engaging in God’s project to bring the message of Jesus to this world which is in such great need.
Both remembering and multiplying require energy and investment. But the fruit is well worth the energy and investment.
If interested, I recently wrote a book review of the book: Multiplying Leaders in Intercultural Contexts for the journal SEEDBED: https://www.seedbedjournal.com/. The book will give you some tools as to how to remember and invest in others.
Filed under: Gospel, Leader development, Multiplication |
Thoughts Along The Journey 
Remembering! Indeed, it’s an OT instruction that we’d do well to implement more often today. I’m recalling the story told from the early years of our mission’s church planting ministry in Spain; it seems, they would annually remember (sometimes with stones of remembrance; a ‘cairn’) how God had spared the young body in a bad storm during an outdoor fellowship time.
Thanks Jay! I wonder what things we would want to remember from this past year? And how the Lord worked in us and through us?
Hi David,
FWIW, I tried to read your book review of the Hibbert book, but had to request a login with Seedbed. A couple days later and I haven’t heard anything yet. Just wanted to let you know that it’s limited access (which I will hopefully eventually get).
Lisa
Sorry to hear that Lisa! Normally, you should gain access pretty quickly. If you still don’t have access, let me know and I’ll send you contact info for Seedbed.