• 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!

Why we get pumped up about our ministry

Posted on December 17, 2015 by wtdavid

I can put it in a variety of ways when I write to people. For instance, ‘thanks for praying for our ministry’ or ‘thanks for standing with us as we serve Christ here’. God has given each of us a unique and specific calling to the culture and people where we live and among whom we serve.  There are specific indicators to which we can refer along that journey and that serve as ‘ebenezers’ for us when the days get difficult or frustrating.myworldlogo

And such is the way it should be.

However, our vocabulary can also betray the lurking self-centeredness of our hearts. We can quickly make ‘islands’ of ourselves rather than ‘communities’.  When it is ‘my’ ministry or ‘our’ ministry that we talk about most of the time, we can unknowingly distant ourselves from others who have a similar calling.  We can turn the focus away from Jesus and His mission to ourselves.  We can work to mobilize people only to our small part of the world; to ‘our’ ministry alone.

The Jesus mandate was to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’.  Our call then is first and foremost a call to be part of His community. And secondarily to ‘find our place’ in His missional call.  Working out of that missional call, we plead with others to put their faith and trust in Him.  Working out of that missional call, we call others to join God wherever He may send them in the world.

Ask yourself these questions:

  • Do I get excited when someone I have been talking to about cross cultural work decides to go to another people group, another location or to another team?
  • Do I get excited when those I am discipling decide to start a new work 50 km from our church plant?
  • Do I get excited when others build on and better the work we began?

The answers to these questions will be an indicator of the level of self-centeredness stirring in our hearts. The remedy will come when self-forgetfulness begins to displace that self-centeredness.

Filed under: Gospel, Humility | Tagged: | 2 Comments »

What is going to keep you there?

Posted on December 4, 2015 by wtdavid

Once the cultural bridge has been crossed, we might think that the ‘journey’ is over.  However, it has only just started.  Not only do we need ways to ensure a safe and sure passage across the cultural bridge, but we need to discover anchoring points that will keep us on moving forward in ongoing cross cultural learning and living.

It is somewhat like mountain climbers who use screws to secure an anchor for all the climbers in the group to move upward on the rock.  Crossing the cultural bridge calls us to be ‘equipped’ to look for such anchors.Carabiner

What are those anchors?  Several come quickly to mind, but there are certainly others: identity, community and laughter.

Identity.  A firm grasp of our identity and value in Christ is the first anchor we need to secure into the ‘rock’ as we move forward.  It is easier to say this than it is to actually live it out.  When you find yourself in another culture, you want to feel part of that culture. You make an effort to learn the language and the customs.  However, that ‘petit accent’ (that slight accent) always seems to give away the fact that you are not from there.  And when someone says again: ‘Oh, you must not be from here,’ you can easily feel devalued.  Speaking the Gospel to ourselves reminds us that we are not defined by what others think of us, nor by our ‘slight accent’, nor by our work.

Community.  God created us to be in community.  Our communities are a tangible reflection of the community that exists between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  As one moves through the cross cultural world, all kinds of emotions can rise to the surface of one’s heart.  An arena where honest sharing, mutual support and accountability can occur is vital.  That forum is the place where we can remind one another of the Gospel; where we can speak the Gospel to another.  That community is the place where our ‘strength’ is restored, where our idols are challenged, and where we are sent back out into life and ministry with a greater hold on Him.

Laughter.  This anchor doesn’t seem to fit often with the others.  However, it is just as vital.  The capacity to laugh at oneself in a cross cultural context is a gauge, in one sense, of how well are lives are founded upon Christ.  If we are unable to laugh at ourselves when we confuse again the ‘ou’ sound with the ‘u’ sound, for example, after years of living in a culture, then our value may be based more on my desire for language fluency, or on what others think of me, or on a desire to avoid the shame of just not measuring up.

None of these anchors are ‘for sale’ anywhere, but you will ‘find’ them in authentic relationship with fellow believers (both expat and national).

Filed under: Community, Crossing cultures, Gospel, Grace | 6 Comments »

Learning to align

Posted on November 10, 2015 by wtdavid

Several years ago, Tim A. wrote a blog post with the title: “The Nine Critical Shifts that must take place in missions today”.  It is well worth a read. shift

The first shift that he mentioned was: “Moving from being primarily doers to being primarily equippers of national workers.” Facilitation is one of the core guiding principles of World Team.  However, words on a page do not always translate well into specific changes in our practices by default.  Three changes, at least, ought to happen in our day to day approach to ministry for us to better align ourselves with facilitation.

First, change our often used vocabulary.  I hear myself and many of us say with a sense of overwhelm: “I’m just so busy. There are so many things I need to get done.”  Moving towards facilitation, I would hope to hear myself and others start saying: “To whom could I give this task? Who has capacity to take on this job?”

Next, find our joy not in being platformed, but in platforming others.  It is understandable that our calling to cross cultural ministry often pushes us to centre stage. However, the overwhelming assurance that our calling depends entirely on God should create a deeper humility in our hearts.  We should move more quickly to putting the interests of others above our own (Philippians 2:3) and look to platform them into ministry.

Finally, operate from the principle that less truly is more.  Letting others discover the truths of the Scriptures and their application has more lasting fruit in the life of another.  Facilitating drives us to open ‘spaces’ where people can take limited but solid content shared and work out its impact on their lives, on their own and in small groups.  Maybe that three day training could be shared in two hours with the rest of the time given over to personal and small group discussion and application?

Actually, when we move from being primarily doers to equippers, a movement and the multiplication of disciples is more likely to be nurtured to life.

Filed under: Facilitation, Gospel, Humility | Leave a comment »

A ‘gospel assessment’ grid to consider

Posted on September 24, 2015 by wtdavid

assess yourselfEver thought about how well our words are communicating the Gospel? The quote below might help us better assess whether the focus is more on us or more on Christ:

“The gospel is not ultimately about us and what we can and can’t do or what we will or won’t do. It is all about Christ and what he has done to rescue lost sinners and make them fellow heirs of eternal life. May God give us hearts that join [John] Newton increasingly in celebrating the extravagant and incomparable love of God to us in Christ!

O the comfort! We are not under law but under grace. The gospel is a dispensation for sinners, and we have an Advocate with the Father. There is the unshaken ground of hope. A reconciled Father, a prevailing Advocate, a powerful Shepherd, a compassionate Friend, a Savior who is able and willing to save to the uttermost. He knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust; and has opened for us a new and blood-besprinkled way of access to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in every time of need.”

Filed under: Assessment, Communication, Gospel | Leave a comment »

Easy to say, hard to do

Posted on September 22, 2015 by wtdavid

The central and core value of World Team is the Gospel. When asked to talk about the Gospel, the words come pretty easily. However, allowing the impact of those words to go to the very depths of our souls is hard work. It’s easy to say what we mean by the Gospel. It’s hard to live out the truth of the Gospel each day.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in talking about the Lord’s Table wrote this: “It speaks to us of the grace of the Gospel, which is so hard for the pious to understand … It confronts us with the truth and says: You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are, to God who loves you. He wants you as you are; He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone. “My son, give me thine heart” (Prov 23:26). God has come to you to save the sinner. Be glad!”easy hard

That quote hit hard. It’s easy for me to see others as sinners; as ‘great, desperate sinners’. It’s a lot harder to view myself that way. However, when I minimize the pollution of sin in my life, I also minimize the work of Christ on my behalf. Christ died for my sins because I had no ability to pay down my spiritual debt, nor any way to restore the honour of God that had been irreparably damaged by my actions.

When I recognize more and more, the great, desperate sinner that I am, the sweeter the message of the Gospel becomes to me.

However, I need others in that battle; to help me remember who I am and what Christ now says about me.

One writer put it this way: “We desperately need to surround ourselves with brothers and sisters in Christ who are truly honest about their sin … they can remind us of the gospel time and time again. These are people who won’t be surprised by your sin when you confess it. They will say, “Of course you sinned … come with me to the throne of grace to celebrate the love of your Saviour and to find help in your time of need.”

Do you have friends like that?

Filed under: Character, Core Values, Gospel | 2 Comments »

A missional DNA

Posted on August 6, 2015 by wtdavid

For an upcoming conference, I have been asked to talk about ‘how to make mission part of a disciple’s DNA’. I have been tossing around a number of practical ideas over the past week or so. However, to be honest, at a given moment, I got stuck. I got stuck on the ‘how to’ part.DNA

The answers to the ‘how to’ question certainly help another believer know what mission might be about. However, it doesn’t ultimately point us to who sends us forth in mission, or who is the source or drive of our going.

To be honest, it’s that assurance, deep in one’s heart, that one has been sent and that the God of the universe goes with him/her that will make mission part of any disciple’s life.

Looking back at Matthew 28:18-20, one saint from long ago wrote: “Never, certainly, would the Apostles have had sufficient confidence to undertake so arduous an office, if they had not known that the Protector sitteth in heaven, and that the highest authority is given to him; for without such a support it would have been impossible for them to make any progress.”

If the Gospel brings us into fellowship and relationship with Jesus, then the Gospel would also push us out to intentionally move towards others because as Jesus said: ‘just as the Father has sent Me, so I send you’ (John 20:21).

Your thoughts?

Filed under: Gospel, Mission | 8 Comments »

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