• 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!

Prayer is the work

Posted on March 9, 2016 by wtdavid

A good friend used to quote the statement, “It’s not that we should pray about the work; prayer is the work!”   I’m not sure who was at the origin of that statement, but its message certainly rings true.  Most of us are activists at heart and prayer can quickly become one of those ‘options’ or add-ons.  It’s important, just not that important, we think.cdop-smal-group-prayer

Then we read a verse like this one that Paul sent to Timothy, a fledging pastor and worker, and find ourselves challenged about the place of prayer in our life and ministry: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”  (1 Timothy 2:1).  This an exhortation of urgent importance which is quite inclusive in scope.  If nothing else, it puts prayer at the very top of our priority list and reminds us that no one is unworthy of our prayer focus.

What recently struck me is how often I have read this text in the singular, as addressed to Timothy (and by extension to me as an individual worker). However, over and again, Paul slips in the usage of the first person plural to remind us that the work to which he is calling Timothy is a work for the entire community.  In fact, he is inviting us to a ‘concert’ of prayer rather than just a solo.

I’m concerned that sometimes in our busyness, we forgot the importance of prayer, and particularly of prayer together with others. God calls us, through prayer, to influence our culture and touch the hearts of men and women lost without Christ.

Creative ways to make that happen, of joining more often in collective prayer with others, are certainly within our reach.

Filed under: Community, Prayer | 7 Comments »

Do you ever feel like throwing in the towel?

Posted on March 7, 2016 by wtdavid

It’s an idiomatic expression that gets translated in different ways in different languages. In French we say, “Throwing (in) the sponge” Why a sponge?  Taken from the world of boxing, throwing the sponge into the ring was a signal that the boxer from that corner was giving up and giving the win to the other fighter.towel

In cross cultural living and ministry, such ‘sponges’ can be thrown quite often.  Sometimes, it comes about because we don’t have the energy to try and navigate the administrative hurdles of living in a particular region of the world. Sometimes, it happens when one more person asks that question that we dislike: “You must not be from here. Your accent gives you away.  Where do you come from?”  Or sometimes, it comes from the lack of observable fruit in the ministry in which we have been engaged for a good deal of time.

Granted, we can talk ourselves out of truly ‘throwing in the towel’, but before we know it the feeling can return because of another event or misplaced word.

‘Throwing in the sponge’ is an indicator that our hold on God, our calling, and our friends is at best weak.  Three steps we might think about. First, fix in your mind the journey that led you to put your faith and trust in God.  Remember how He opened your heart to hear His voice, and the effort He went to in bringing you to Himself. Second, speak back to yourself those words that marked the beginning of your ‘call’ by God to serve Him.  This is not our work or just our adventure. This is first God’s work. Reminding ourselves of how He brought us here, gives us renewed confidence to move out again into our world.   Third, make it a habit to call a friend and check in with another as to how you are doing.  It’s the words of a friend that are a blessing to the soul, and can be used by God to direct our ways.

Rather than ‘throwing in the towel’, it would be better to throw up (or lift) our hands to God.

Filed under: Community, Gospel, Perseverance | 2 Comments »

That is not the way we learned

Posted on February 25, 2016 by wtdavid

“But that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.”  (Ephesians 4:20-21)

Our encounter with Jesus has not only taken away our shame and restored the honor God placed upon us, but it powerfully changes how we see others and how we treat them. We may have used our words to cause damage and hurt in others’ lives in the past. Now, in Christ, our motivation and desire is different. That is simply because we have learned a new way of living and loving.what-we-learned-rukkle-620X4002

However, what I find disheartening is that Christians are often among the least likely to demonstrate this kind of love toward one another, and particularly when they are called to work together in teams or towards a common vision. Terms like manipulation, rancor, or self-centeredness are sadly among some of the attitudes I have seen.

We who have been given the privilege of sharing the Gospel with others can be among those most needy for the Gospel. Could it be that our actions are a counter testimony to the ‘way we learned Christ’?

Commenting on this text, Jack Miller once said: “Putting on the new self means going to Jesus more and more to get a life of truth without secrets, and to abandon manipulating others. As you do this, you begin to see the people around you as individuals who are worth a great deal to God, and you are able to treat them with kindness, forgiveness, thoughtfulness, and love.”

How do others ‘experience’ you in day-to-day life and ministry? That’s a question to start with and which might provide greater self-awareness.

We need each other to lift up the mirror of God’s perfect law, that we might see how we fall short. We need each other to take us back again (and again) to Jesus where we receive mercy again (and again).

Filed under: Communication, Humility, Jesus Christ | 2 Comments »

The impact of words

Posted on February 23, 2016 by wtdavid

We can say that we know the impact that words can have on others, but our actual practice of speaking to one another often reveals how much we underestimate that influence. Words are powerful conveyors not only of important messages, but also of honor, value and worth. Most of the examples that might come to mind are of the hurt or pain that words can cause.  Yet, there are other examples of how words build up, value or challenge another for the good. Power-of-words-front1

Paul in his letter to his spiritual son, Timothy, wrote this: “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight.”  (1 Timothy1:18)  Those ‘prophecies’ or ‘prophetic words’ refer to divinely charged words or statements shared with another. They are often the fruit of prayerful meditation and time taken before speaking.

I’m sure that many of us can remember, even state, the words spoken that influenced us towards ministry, and towards cross cultural ministry. Reflecting on those times when others spoke those ‘divinely charged words’ into our lives, emboldens us to have that same approach or attitude towards others.

A fellow co-worker shared this quote with me one time: “I have been trying to evolve an ecology of speech, a way with words that is hospitable to life. This includes learning to talk and to be silent at the right times and places, being careful to remember the capacity of words to have an afterlife once they have fallen into the soil of our own or other people’s lives.  Do they create a fertile, balanced humus in which new life can germinate and flourish?”

We may not readily identify with the image or metaphor, but that statement about ‘remembering the capacity of words to have an afterlife’ should resonate in our spiritual ears.  What words do we want to have ‘linger’ in the minds of others?  What do we want to leave with a colleague after a difficult conversation?  What do we want an interested future worker to remember who shares their heart for a particular people group?

Remembering what others have ‘said to us’, may help us reflect more deeply and prayerfully on what we should say to others.

Filed under: Communication, Encouragement, Wisdom | Leave a comment »

Is it worth the investment?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by wtdavid

investCross cultural ministry can call the best out of us. It can push us beyond our perceived capacities and abilities as we learn to rely ever more on a faithful and powerful God.  Yet, when ‘results’ are few, or when ‘fruit’ seems limited, or when the outcome of our efforts is not what we wanted or desired, we naturally ask ourselves: is it worth the investment?

That question is actually an assessment question. We are considering the impact or influence of our activity.  We are evaluating whether we should or should not continue to give our energies to a particular person, work or activity.

Here’s where our struggle and difficulty comes in.

We could respond to that assessment question by evaluating what is happening only from our personal perspective. By doing do, we can be lulled into thinking that nothing is happening, when a great deal of work is happening.  Or we can think lots is happening, when really it’s just a lot of activity with no sustainable fruit in the long term. We can get ourselves easily discouraged by our own assessment.  Or we can convince ourselves to stay engaged in a work that will not move us towards multiplying disciples and communities of believers.

The struggle and difficulty that may plague us should be addressed by asking that assessment question in a larger community than just ourselves.  Maybe this is simply a practical example of another application of the biblical truth that in the multitude of counselors there is wisdom (Proverbs 11:14).  Others provide that much needed perspective that we lack.  Others help us see more clearly the impact and influence of our investment.

Is it worth the investment? It’s a great question to ask ‘your community’.  You may not like all the answers, but if you ‘mine’ those responses for the truth that is there, it will refresh your heart to ‘excel still more’ in the work God has given each of us to do; in the work that God has given us as a community to do.

Filed under: Assessment, Community | 4 Comments »

Who speaks into your life?

Posted on January 27, 2016 by wtdavid

Passionate, activist, self-motivated and independent. Cross cultural workers could easily be described by this series of adjectives.  There is nothing like living and ministering for Jesus across cultures.  It drives one’s passion and stirs a desire to engage in work which is not always easy or rewarding.  It takes commitment and inner strength to get up each day and press on (Philippians 3:12).

However, our passionate independence can do us wrong if we do not deliberately seek to ‘grow in community’. community

Spending time in community provides an opportunity for others to speak into our lives; to be used by God to help us better assess our projects and plans. A community gives us perspective and allows us to grow in self-awareness as to our true heart motives.  A community stands with us and offers us the ‘one another’ help we so desperately need.

Community can take a variety of forms, and it can be composed of different people, not necessarily those from just our agency (see the TC4u document located on the WT Hub, or contact me and I’ll see that you get a copy).  Whatever form or composition it takes, it is essential for us to participate regularly in community with others.

Yes, I know that there are a number of obstacles to participating in community life for us as cross cultural workers. Yet, the benefits far outweigh the effort it will take to overcome those obstacles, simply because ‘growing in community’ causes us to grow individually and corporately in Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it best when he wrote: “The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and His work become the one and only thing that is vital between us.”

Filed under: Community, One another commands | Leave a comment »

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