• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

More Lessons Learned

Posted on November 17, 2010 by wtdavid

The more I reflect on what I heard at the Lausanne Congress, the more I realize how many applications and take-aways there are.  But, I would like to wrap up with just two more at this point. 

One is: develop, mentor and release younger leaders.  This has been the subject of numerous posts in the past (see posts starting 05.06.2010), and it was also a major theme of Lausanne both verbally and practically.  Time and again, presenters encouraged experienced leaders to give of their time to engage younger leaders; to develop them as well as learn from them.  More than 700 participants at the conference were younger leaders.  As I said in a blog post several months ago: “We as well are faced with the difficulty of adequately trained (or prepared) workers to continue the ministry.  And it stems from a lack of mentoring or coming alongside new workers as they enter into ministry.  The mission we promote and serve is worth so much more than that of the construction business.  It is imperative that we re-evaluate our priorities and take the time to come around and support/mentor those who are stepping forward to enter into ministry.” 

Secondly, we should live humble, simple and authentic lives.  That is so easy to say, but the implications are profound.  Chris Wright in his presentation on Saturday of the conference ably framed the parameters of what this means for us today as “ministers”, “ambassadors” of God’s Gospel of reconciliation.  At the very least, it means that our lives should be characterized by a prayerful heart as we realize how the roots of selfishness and pride run deep in our hearts.  The result is reflected in the way we hold on to and use the resources God has entrusted to us.

Here’s my list so far:

Number❶ take-away: Preach, proclaim, and share the Gospel fearlessly. 

Number❷ take-away: Recognize that we are living in the 21st century. 

Number❸ take-away: Live out our identity. 

Number❹ take-away: We cannot accomplish the task on our own. 

Number❺ take-away: Develop, mentor and release younger leaders.

Number❻ take-away: Live humble, simple and authentic lives.

 

Would you join me in seeking to live these take-aways out in our lives and ministries and praying to that end?

 

Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Humility, Mentoring, Partnership, Prayer | Leave a comment »

Lessons Learned❹

Posted on November 12, 2010 by wtdavid

Number❶ take-away: Preach, proclaim, and share the Gospel fearlessly. 

Number❷ take-away: Recognize that we are living in the 21st century. 

Number❸ take-away: Live out our identity. 

Thinking further, my number❹ take-away would be: We cannot accomplish the task on our own.  Cape Town 2010 made me realize how “small” my world still is, and how great is our need for global church partnerships.  With the dramatic shift of the center of Christianity to the Global South, more than ever we must explore how to work together with other agencies and national churches/associations.

But even more so, when we are faced with the reality of the immense lostness of our world, we recognize how we need one another to fully participate in God’s great mission:

  • 27 million slaves in the world today, with 10-15 million being children
  • One half of the world population lives on less than $2 USD/day
  • There are more than 18 million orphans
  • 3.5 billion people are either Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists
  • There are 640 Unreached People Groups that do not have any worker among them, nor any worker heading to share the message of Jesus Christ with them

I would encourage you to watch Patrick Fung’s presentation (OMF International Director) from the last day of the Lausanne Congress: http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11415.  It is hard hitting, but it made me reflect on what I think about partnerships, and how to approach partnerships from a gospel heart.

If partnerships are bathed in trust, what is my (or our) current trust level with others?  And what small step to further build trust should I (we) take today?

Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Gospel, Partnership | Leave a comment »

Lessons Learned❸

Posted on November 10, 2010 by wtdavid

Number❶ take-away: Preach, proclaim, and share the Gospel fearlessly. 

Number❷ take-away: Recognize that we are living in the 21st century. 

So then, my number ❸ take-away would be: Live out our identity.  The biggest challenge for Christians, for the global body of Christ, is to live what we say we believe and hold to.  When those who are not part of the community of believers accuse the church of hypocrisy, there is a large element of truth in that criticism.  Jesus called us out to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that we might proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

That should mean that Jesus, and our being united to Him, changes not only the way we lead our spiritual lives, but the way we live out our everyday life in this world whether in the marketplace, the school, the home, the neighborhood or the community.  If we say that “God transforms lives”, then how does our life demonstrate that transformation?  And how does the church bear witness to that transformation in the ministries it is involved in?

Watch this video presentation from Day 2 of the Lausanne Congress: http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11415

As I said in a previous post, I am not saying that we should shift all of our focus from establishing communities of believers to issues of social justice, but the communities we establish must engage the world around them.  The Gospel, by its very nature, seeks to transform lives in all aspects of what it means to be human, created in God’s image.

It starts from a daily remembering of who we are in Christ because of what He has done on the cross. 

What has God been teaching you today about your sin and His great love?  And how has that “transformed” your life today?

Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Community | 2 Comments »

Lessons Learned❷

Posted on November 4, 2010 by wtdavid

If the number❶ take-away was: Preach, proclaim, and share the Gospel fearlessly.  Then the number❷ take-away would have to be: Recognize that we are living in the 21st century.  Simply put, we have transitioned from the 20th century to a new era with a new context and new challenges.  We will need to adapt, shift, and yes even change some of our ministry methods and approaches.

In terms of technological advances, internet is a paradigm shifting media tool as was the printing press in its day.  Over one third of the population of a Gulf nation is on Facebook alone. We will need to harness its potential while resisting its alluring appeal to drive us farther away from God and face to face community.

In terms of social changes, there is more slavery and human trafficking occurring today than during the time of William Wilberforce who worked tirelessly to have slavery abolished throughout the United Kingdom.  Not that we should shift our focus from establishing communities of believers, but those communities must engage the world around them.  As John Piper said, “For the sake of Christ, we Christians care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering.  If you feel a resistance to the second half of this statement, then you have a defective view of hell.  If you feel a resistance to the first half of this statement, then you have a defective heart.” 

In terms of changes in religious faiths, today over 1 billion people in the world call themselves M’s. Few are the resources that are being directed to reach out to this people.  Many M’s are in unengaged, unreached people groups with no known worker among them or being sent to reach them.  That reality must be taken into consideration as we seek to mobilize human, financial and prayer resources.

In terms of mission, it is becoming harder to mobilize workers to ministries.  “Support raising”, as traditionally understood, is taking longer.  We will need to find creative ways to “support” workers in ministries.  Workers are coming from everywhere wanting to be sent everywhere.  With this, come all the difficulties of communication in a multicultural team in a cross cultural context.

Recognizing that we are living in the 21st century should cause us to lean more dependently on God, listening to His voice as He enables us to adapt, change and serve him joyfully in a world in flux.

Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Mission, Mobilization, Partnership | 6 Comments »

Lessons Learned❶

Posted on October 29, 2010 by wtdavid

I have to be honest and say that I was totally exhausted when I returned home after the Lausanne congress (Oct 16-25).  It will probably take me a number of days to process all that I heard, felt, experienced and took in during the 10 days that I was there.  But let me start to share some of my “take-aways”.

Number❶ take-away: Preach, proclaim, and share the Gospel fearlessly.  This seems so obvious.  Yet in a global context where pluralism (as well as other ‘isms’) contends that there cannot be any ultimate transcendent truth, we can find ourselves being lulled into a more apprehensive and hesitant approach to evangelism.

During my week in Cape Town, I heard from brothers and sisters from around the world whose methodology of church planting was characterized by the simple yet fearless and abundant sharing of the Gospel with others; sometimes at the cost of suffering to themselves and their families. 

A beginning response to this take-away would not be found in feeling “burdened” to share with others, so that our witness flowed out of obligation.  It would be found by sending our roots deeper into the One who is truth, Jesus Christ.  The joy that flows from knowing His great love for us (Ephesians 1) would then become our chief motivation.

Now here’s the hard question: How will you respond to preach, proclaim and share the Gospel fearlessly?

Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Gospel, Sharing the Gospel story | 1 Comment »

Listening

Posted on October 24, 2010 by wtdavid

Today was the final day of the conference.  We heard about partnerships.  I “listened” about collaboration and partnerships.  “The world we once knew, no longer exists,” shared David Ruiz, from Guatemala.  “It is now from everywhere to everywhere.”   

It is about learning to humbly give and receive resources.  It is “multidirectional in nature”.   

And it is demonstrated not only in the Trinity, but in God’s many dealings with His people (for example, with Adam & Eve or with Abraham).

A question that often came up was: What assets and challenges do global church partnerships bring? 

We certainly need to think about an answer to that question, but we also desperately need to hear what others have to say.

Filed under: Cape Town 2010, Mission, Partnership | 2 Comments »

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