Thoughts Along The Journey

Reason number 6: WT workers recognize that our calling remains the same, but the means or mode for communicating the message of Christ is in constant flux.

Reason number 7: The WT community knows that the global base of missions has shifted.

Reason number 8: Two conceptions of ministry come together to create a movement that has both structure and Spirit led freedom.

Reason number 9: WT workers relish wrestling with change

I have often heard that one of the knocks against WT is the fact that we change too often.  Granted, there is a realistic drawback to constantly changing.  However, the fact that one is willing to change, that one is willing to regularly question the course of action undertaken, is also an indication that one’s heart is attuned to needed Spirit-led adjustment.  I think WT can be characterized by this desire.

WT workers relish wrestling with change.  Two years ago, I asked a number of working groups to consider innovative responses to the global trends missions are facing today.  I was amazed by the depth of creative ideas that were shared with us as a leadership team, and how quickly these groups responded back to us.

WT workers relish wrestling with change.  There is a dark side to our wrestling though.  We may be so enamored with wrestling that we never get around to implementation.  Or we may be so taken with the way certain ministries or work are structured and carried out that we shy away from putting them into question.  J.D. Payne put it this way: “Christians are the ultimate conservatives when it comes to making necessary institutional adjustments for missions.  And in many cases, until our pet preferences become a burden to us, or are cataclysmically removed from our control, we are likely to hold on to them, grieving the Spirit yet believing we are walking the straight-and-narrow path for gospel advancement.”

The truly bright side is that we as workers (plural) relish working together with change.  We need one another to work through, to question, to suggest adjustments and change. We need one another to hold each other’s feet to the fire to ensure we carry through with those changes.  We need one another to do the work of ministry.

I see this spirit alive in many of us today and for that reason, WT will change in the days and months ahead.

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Reason number 6: WT workers recognize that our calling remains the same, but the means or mode for communicating the message of Christ is in constant flux.

Reason number 7: The WT community knows that the global base of missions has shifted.

Reason number 8: Two conceptions of ministry are coming together to create a movement that has both structure and Spirit led freedom.

Is World Team an organism or an organization?  Are we as a community of workers driven by godly vision or business principles?  Do we desire community above effectiveness and “results”?  Just framing the discussion in those terms makes it appear that one side of the equation is more spiritual than the other or that one side is to be more desired than the other.

In conversations with workers, where many of these questions have been raised, I often wonder if we actually argue in this way to keep ourselves from answering some deeper questions; questions about the strength of our real dependence upon God for ministry, questions about the specificity of what ministry tasks need to be accomplished.

We should be both/and.  World Team is an organism and an organization.  World Team is both a movement and a church planting vehicle [a structure that works to establish communities of believers].

My prayer, in the midst of this change, is that we will help each other to celebrate who we are in Christ and our total need of Him all the while praying like mad for God to create a movement from our efforts; efforts that are framed by action tasks and prayer.

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Reason number 1: As the Gospel becomes more and more central to all our affections, it will work itself out in fresh ways in our ministries.

Reason number 2: Workers are rediscovering ‘the rush’ of walking with Jesus.

Reason number 3: Experienced workers are realizing that we are moving from being doers of the ministry to equippers for the ministry.

Reason number 4: New workers are arriving in greater numbers

Over three years ago, we as a WT community began putting increased energy and effort into mobilizing new workers for our teams and ministry initiatives.  Many current workers and Support Centre staff have given time to speak and pray with prospective cross cultural workers.  The fruit of those efforts is beginning to be seen. 

What this means is that there will be more and more new workers going out to serve cross culturally with us.  These new workers will bring with them new ideas, fresh energy, different approaches and a renewed desire to serve God with gusto.  These new workers will come from different generations than our current workers.  However, it is not so much the generational differences that will create change.  It is the simple fact that new workers will look at life and ministry differently than current workers.  Those different perspectives will create a dynamic of change.

What is exciting is that these different perspectives will bring benefit to both new workers and current workers.  Current workers will assess ministry approaches from a different grid that will open up fresh ideas.  New workers will assess their approaches in the light of the experience of current workers, bringing needed refinement to new ministry ideas.

What I’m starting to hear is the excitement of current workers as they realize that new workers are coming.  What I’m praying for is that we can truly learn from one another and navigate together the changes that will occur.

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