• 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!

Working together

Posted on January 18, 2013 by wtdavid

It’s right there in our purpose statement: “To glorify God by working together to establish reproducing churches focusing on the unreached peoples of the world.” Working together, being interdependent, is the foundation or platform on which we do our work.  Working together is not a strategy we use to carry out our purpose and mission.  It’s the way we choose to interact with one another in order to fulfill God’s calling.Working%20Together%20(Small)

We need one another.  This is not a solo effort.  The Bible affirms this value time and again when it talks about the teams or groups of workers that went out together to share the story of Jesus and establish His church.  We must intentionally seek others’ help, input and participation in order to multiply disciples and communities of believers.

Now I can say that I need others, and yet live and work without allowing any community to enter my world and lend a helping hand.  I could come up with a host of action steps to ensure that interdependence characterizes who I am as a member of the WT community. But, interdependence is first a relational stance towards another.  It’s not about a series of boxes that I can check off my To Do list, indicating that I got feedback from ‘x’ number of people or asked a specific number of people for their help.  It’s about who I’m talking with.  It’s about those whom I would go to because I know them and their heart.

One of the reasons why ‘working together’ is not a descriptor that currently characterizes us is because we don’t know others in our community as well as we should.  Trust is built by time and conversation.  Understanding and a desire to work together flows out of shared time that allows us to see the strengths and gifts of one another.

So, pick up the phone, “reach out to someone”, and take the time to talk with another.  ‘Working together’ would take on a whole different look.

Filed under: Community, Trust, Vision | 3 Comments »

King’s Cross Speaking to Us

Posted on August 20, 2012 by wtdavid

Reading Henry & Janet’s (WT Singapore) recent prayer letter, I really appreciated the honesty with which they shared what the Lord has been teaching them through the book, King’s Cross.  “Keller is bringing home a lot of things that have been toying around in the back of my brain for the last few years, but he also is introducing so many new things,” Henry wrote.  The following are some excerpts from their letter that I trust will encourage many of us:

“Recently I had the tremendous privilege to speak to about 270 church leaders in Asia. Being given the freedom to develop my messages as I saw fit… and as I felt God’s Spirit leading me, I felt very much at ease talking about God’s awesomeness and His Grace. Often the church tends to focus on what we as Christians are supposed to be doing. Not often enough do we concentrate on what God has done. I am as guilty as anyone. We tend to build our lives on our religious beliefs and guard or guide our lives by the rules we feel are what God wants us to keep. Too seldom do I just allow God to be my vision for life. Too seldom do I look at the world the way He would have me to look at it.

In His Sovereignty, God has allowed Janet and me to live in S.E. Asia for most of the last 33 years. We have been blessed by what God has done, and by whom God has placed in our lives. Yet, I know so little about this amazing God who created the universe. And sadly, it is so easy to get sidetracked by the little things that can cause irritation or disappointment (especially in other people), or by challenges that we were not expecting and lose sight of what God is trying to do in our lives through those things. Lately I have been challenged by a book I am reading … called “King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus” by Timothy Keller. Now, I know that not everyone gets the same sense of impact or satisfaction out of a book or a movie, but I don’t think you could miss on this one. Keller’s insights into scripture and his applications to my life are incredible.

For example, from his comments on Mark 4: 35-41, concerning the reaction of the disciples to the storm on the sea… and to how Jesus then stilled the sea…. “… if I go to Jesus, he’s not under my control either. He lets things happen that I don’t understand. He doesn’t do things according to my plan, or in a way that makes sense to me. But if Jesus is God, then he’s got to be great enough to have some reasons to let you go through things you can’t understand….. He can love somebody and still let bad things happen to them, because He is God – because he knows better than they do.”  I remember the amazing peace I had 10 years ago when Janet was in the critical care ward for eight weeks on life-support. I knew God would do the right thing, but I had no assurance that Janet would still be with us. It was out of my control, but Jesus gave me peace.

Keller’s comments on Mark 5 really hit home: “Right now, is God delaying something in your life? Are you ready to give up? Are you impatient with Him? There may be a crucial factor that you just don’t have access to. The answer, as with Jairus (whose daughter died while he waited for Jesus to talk to a woman who had touched Him in the crowd*), is to trust Jesus.” (*explanation added by me) Just as I was able to trust Jesus with Janet’s life, am I now willing to trust God for my future?  Now that I face the challenge of raising more finances for rent?  Now that my job description is still in the process of being written?  Now, after living out of suitcases for 5 months.. with a possible 5 months of the same on the horizon?”

Henry & Janet leave us with a good question to reflect on this week: how will I express my trust in God with what is in front of me this week?

 

Next Monday, we restart our study by looking at chapter 12: “the Ransom”

Filed under: King's Cross, Trust | 1 Comment »

Posted on June 20, 2012 by wtdavid

Lately, I have been reading the book, Crucial Conversations; a work that appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. It’s not a book written from a God centered focus, but there are certainly a number of insights that are worth “mining” for use in life and ministry.

In the early part of the book, the authors talk about how it is easier to receive constructive criticism from a friend than from just any person.  A large part of the reason for this openness is due to the fact you feel “safe” with a friend; there is a context of trust that allows you to hear difficult things from that friend.

Many of the conversations we have are derailed by this lack of feeling “safe”.  Crucial conversations can be disrupted by the fact that a safety net or context is missing.  “Safety” or trust is something difficult to gain, but easy to lose in our modern context.  So, creating this safe context or this atmosphere of trust is a vital task to engaging others in meaningful, life transforming conversation.

Here’s where I was struck by the authors’ approach.  Rather than talking about how you should earn trust or how others can regain our trust, they aimed right for the heart, our hearts.  The best way, they surmise, to create this safety net is to first work on us.  I couldn’t help but make the link to the Gospel.  Once we are certain, convinced in our hearts that God deeply loves us, despite our faults, this will impact the way we approach others.   Convinced that we are “safe” in approaching our Father, we will extend a safety net more easily to others.

I’m asking myself today: how strong is my safety net?

 

Filed under: Trust | Leave a comment »

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