• 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!

Learning from the ‘old’ guys

Posted on August 30, 2012 by wtdavid

J.I. Packer, in his book, A Quest for Godliness, quotes a well known Puritan writer (17th century): “And he that doth not feed on and thrive in the digestion of the food which he  provides for others will scarce make it savoury unto them; yea, he know not but that the food he hath provided may be poison, unless he have really tasted of it himself. If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.”  A fitting word for us today.

The hardest part of any day is setting aside time to dig into the Word of God for ourselves, to mine its truths and to dialogue with God about what we are learning and how it all applies to us.  The excuses are multiple: I just don’t have time; or doesn’t Bible study preparation count; or there’s no ‘system’ that seems to work for me.

Two small steps might be a beginning towards getting us back into ‘savouring’ the truths of the Word. First, ask someone to pray over the coming week(s) for you to have a desire to be with the Father.  Second, start sharing what you are learning with others, not in a teaching sense, but just sharing how something from the Bible is impacting you and how you desire to work it into your heart.  It sounds so straightforward, but the act of sharing or giving to others in this way creates a thirst for more, more time in His Word.

This is exactly what we want to see in our disciples as well, isn’t it?  To have a thirst and hunger for God’s Word and share it with others?

 

Filed under: Development, Lifelong learning, Prayer, Priorities | Leave a comment »

Going Slow

Posted on August 13, 2012 by wtdavid

Jesus’ words to His disciples in Mark 6:31, in the midst of a hectic ministry schedule, should cause us to stop and reflect on our need for “rest”.  Jesus says to them: “”Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”  For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”

When I say “rest”, I am not talking about inactivity, but about stepping back and asking some hard questions about what rules or governs our time.  Getting away for holiday is important, but there is another “rest” we need to consider as well.  Ministry can be intoxicating.  The ‘rush’ of people in need and the feeling that we are having an impact in the lives of others can drive us past our limits: “and they had no leisure even to eat.”

Here are some questions that come to mind in this regard:

  • How well I am able to say ‘no’?  This is not to imply that we say ‘no’ to every new ministry opportunity that comes our way, but most of us struggle with over commitment rather than under commitment.  Learning to say ‘no’ means I am learning to prioritize well.
  • How have I become blind to God’s work in my life and another’s life by becoming their savior instead of Jesus?  Sometimes our desire to help another actually hinders another from learning to live out their faith on their own with Jesus.
  • What would it look like for me to ‘go slow’ and gain another perspective on life and ministry at this juncture in my walk with Christ?

These are not easy questions, nor is this an easy exercise.  It is interesting that Jesus called the disciples as a group to get away together.  Maybe this is another reason why we need the input of a community around us as we seek to “rest”, step back and evaluate what we should be giving ourselves to in ministry.

 

Filed under: Community, Priorities | 4 Comments »

Spheres of influence

Posted on June 14, 2012 by wtdavid

One writer defines ‘spiritual authority’ as the right that your follower gives to you to influence him/here based on your spiritual character.  Influence, as opposed to a positional role, is a critical element in the encouragement and development of others whether a fellow believer, a disciple, a co-worker, one who reports to you as a leader, or even an entire team.

We normally confine ‘influence’ to the lines on an organizational chart.  This not only helps us know where we fit in the agency/ministry team, but also delineates who the person is that should be developing and influencing us.

What if we chose to talk about ‘spheres’, rather than ‘lines on an organizational chart’, as our base for influence?  In other words, what if we expanded the influence quotient by allowing multiple people to have influence and input into our lives, decisions and ministries?

Sounds messy, and it probably would be.  The post that I wrote the other day on collaboration raised a similar issue in challenging us to consider the benefits of collaborative effort despite the time and difficulties involved.

Let me give an example.  WT is considering opening a ministry to a new people group.  This people group is primarily located in an area that bridges the oversight of two different Area Directors. What should we do?  Assign the oversight to one AD as opposed to the other?  Wouldn’t it be better to ask the two ADs to work together and determine what oversight/influence would look like for them both?  What would each one bring to help develop, encourage and launch this new ministry?

Spheres of influence would be an outworking of our value of interdependence in light of the changing contexts in which we find ourselves.

Filed under: Influence, Priorities | Leave a comment »

Global emphases

Posted on June 8, 2012 by wtdavid

A little more than two weeks ago, World Team global leaders met to discuss three-year plans and Area priorities.  Thank you for your prayers for us during this time. 

Out of the many Area priorities shared, four were selected by the gathered Area Directors and Sending Country Directors as global emphases for the coming year.

These four emphases will be the focus and thrust of the work of WT Global and the wider WT community over this next year.  Each Area will still work the priorities they have outlined, but everyone will highlight our larger and shared global emphases.

The four priorities chosen were:

  • Expand ministry among Ms of Europe by fostering reproducing communities of believers in France, Spain and Italy
  • Network with and mobilize CH Church to reach the unreached
  • Produce an African CPM training program
  • Make T-land (located in Eastern Europe) a viable sphere of ministry for potential workers and church-based teams

 

Each of these priorities responds to at least one of the global trends that were identified in our earlier working document: “Leading Well in the Midst of Change”.  Each of these emphases also requires some element of innovation in order to see them accomplished.

 

Our thanks to many who participated in the online discussion at the invitation of their respective AD and Sending Country Director during our meetings and provided needed input into this process.

Filed under: Priorities | 4 Comments »

It’s a big word, collaborate

Posted on April 26, 2012 by wtdavid

We often use words like ‘cooperate’ or ‘work together’ to describe our desire to carry out projects with others.  Collaboration though is much larger than these ideas.  It is more extensive and involves greater partnership on the part of each person collaborating.

You might define collaboration as “people from wide spheres and backgrounds laboring together towards a jointly held project or outcome.”

Collaboration would then:

  • Affirm our core value of interdependence by taking the time to work in a group or community
  • Seek involvement from co-workers in my area as well as from outside, including outside my own ‘culture’ or context
  • Break down the silo mentality that keeps us from making the effort to draw others into project because it ‘takes too much time to involve them’
  • Genuinely seek and listen to the contribution of each collaborator, knowing that the result will be a better project and greater ownership

I put it this way in drafting a third global priority for WT: “Seeking broader collaboration, our workers/leaders will move away from a strict organizational chart approach and move towards more overlapping spheres of influence.”

 

Next post: Spheres of influence?

Filed under: Community, Priorities | Leave a comment »

What’s really essential?

Posted on April 5, 2012 by wtdavid

It seems like weeks since I last posted.  In fact, it has been a number of weeks.  Part of it stemmed from the struggles of fighting back from a bad case of the flu or some kind of bug after our last trip.  Part of it was the result of my honest attempt to try and sort out ‘what’s really essential’, what should be my priorities.

Setting priorities is not a task that many of us enjoy, nor one that is easy.  I often hear others say and I often say it myself: “I have so much to do.”  We feel overwhelmed by the amount of work there is to do, and rightly so given that we are concerned with the spiritual and eternal needs of others.   However, we can dissipate our energies by trying to do too many tasks that do not help us to focus on what is really essential.

We actually prioritize more than we realize.  We do it with our budget, our home, and our activities.  We cannot tackle five to six house projects at one time.  We choose to focus on one project in order to see it to completion (funds needed, materials and time). This may mean that we will have to stop doing something in order to give the time needed to this project.  Once the project is completed, then we can move to another one.

This process of setting priorities, of deciding what is really essential in life and ministry, calls for interaction with others.  It’s a journey, it’s a process we engage in together, but it’s meant to help us focus the gifts God has given us towards what is most essential.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”  (Luke 14:28)

Filed under: Priorities | 2 Comments »

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