• 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!

It’s hard to think of others … first

Posted on November 20, 2020 by wtdavid

We often cite the verse from Philippians 2: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  It’s a biblical reminder to not be selfish in our approach to life (and ministry). The reality, though, is that it’s just plain hard to do.  It’s hard to think of others … first.

As cross cultural workers for the Gospel, we have learned how to do.  We were trained and given opportunity to do the ministry.  It’s what we were called to do by God.

Now there is nothing wrong with doing.  God created us, brought us to Himself, redeemed us, and made us part of His family to carry out the good works He has planned for us.  That’s another way of saying that being and doing are inter-related.  Knowing who you are in Christ pushes you to want to serve Him.  And in serving Him, we find ourselves driven back regularly to Christ and the cross for the assurance of His love and grace.

We take delight in doing God’s work, in giving our energy to see the Gospel shared and applied.  The problem arises when we consider that relationship and work as only individual and not collective.  In other words, a large part of our doing should be to equip and empower others to do the ministry as well (Ephesians 4:12-17).  And yet, it’s just hard to think of others first.

Let me share a few ideas for us to consider:

First, sit down with a disciple or another worker/leader that you are helping to grow and develop.  Ask them to describe for you, in five minutes, a life changing event that they experienced.  Listen carefully. Ask clarifying questions.  When they are finished, re-tell the story to them.  This will provide a gauge of your capacity to listen well to another.

Second, think about a disciple or another worker/leader that you are helping to grow and develop.  Ask yourself: what could this person become if they gave energy to this one area of their life and ministry?  Then determine one way you could help this person identify that growth need and begin working on it. This will help us begin to think of others’ growth as well as our own.

Finally, pray.  Pray that you would grow in your capacity to listen well, ask questions, and graciously push another towards growth.  And focus specific prayer on that disciple or other worker/leader that you are helping to grow and develop.  Ask God to use you to empower them in ministry.

Filed under: Discipleship, Gospel, Other centeredness | 6 Comments »

Driven to other-centredness

Posted on August 21, 2017 by wtdavid

It’s a book with which many of us are familiar.  Its storyline points us  to the redemption carried out for us in Christ; our being ‘bought back’ by His work on our behalf just as Naomi and Ruth were by the work of Boaz.

However, ‘behind the scenes’, we can also discern how a deepening appreciation and experience of God’s lovingkindness and steadfast love (‘hesed’ in Hebrew) drives God’s people to become more and more other-centred.kid-heart

In Ruth chapter 3 (3:10), we read this insightful statement on the part of Boaz in regards to Ruth’s actions: “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter.  You have made this last kindness greater than the first …” In referring to the ‘kindness’ expressed, Boaz uses the same word (‘hesed’) that is applied to the lovingkindness of God.  How was this ‘kindness’ expressed by Ruth?  Simply put, she placed the needs of her mother-in-law ahead of her own. When she went down to the threshing floor that night to meet up with Boaz, she called on him to fulfill his responsibilities as a kinsman redeemer (3:9). In other words, she called on him to provide a future for Naomi, not just for herself.  Boaz immediately understood the import of her request and knew that the one who would be the ‘beneficiary’ first and foremost of his actions would be: Naomi.

Becoming other-centred is not a matter of working harder at considering the needs of others.  Other-centredness is the natural outgrowth of a heart where God’s lovingkindness is sending its roots deeper and deeper.

Other-centredness applies not just to our passion to see others come to know and experience God’s forgiveness and steadfast love. Other-centredness also applies to our relationships with one another as cross cultural workers.

When I notice, or when another helps me to notice, a spiritual dashboard indicator of low other-centredness, then it’s time to ‘add’ more energy to understand and experience His steadfast love displayed to me: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”  (Psalm 136:1)

Filed under: Love of God, Other centeredness | Leave a comment »

Unpacking the idea of ‘over-questioning’

Posted on February 15, 2017 by wtdavid

If you didn’t see it, Carolyn commented on yesterday’s blog post by writing: “David, I enjoyed this thought. Can you “unpack” or expand on this idea: “First, at times ‘over-questioning’ is a smokescreen for our criticism, not our constructive, critical help. We simply want to prove that we are right about the theological or missiological standing behind our comments, rather than help the brother or sister move a new idea forward.”unpackinggraphic

So here goes.  ‘Over-questioning’ is when we ask lots of questions where the primary focus is to ‘take apart others’ ideas’.  Our objective is not first to come alongside and assist the other to ‘improve’ the idea by our questions.

If we push back on the someone’s implied criticisms through their questions, we often get a response such as: “I’m just asking questions. I think there are some missiological and theological issues at stake here.”

All those questions are just a ‘smokescreen’ as to our real intent in the discussion.  There is nothing wrong with asking lots of questions.  However, the Gospel searches out the motivation behind our questioning; seeking to separate out self-centeredness from other-centeredness.

Other-centeredness causes us to have a different view of others and their ideas.  Our questions become the means by which we can ‘develop others’.  And sometimes, ‘development’ means we just need to let people try and see what the Lord might do through their ideas.

I wonder what the Lord, and the disciples, thought when Peter asked to step out of that boat.

Filed under: Development, Gospel, Other centeredness | Leave a comment »

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