• 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!

Nothing all that new

Posted on March 4, 2024 by wtdavid

I recently read an article that appeared on the Missio Nexus website (in 2021) with the title: “Deconstructing the Great Commission”.   

“Today there is an almost constant call for a re-envisioning of missions. Authors like  … have written books critical of contemporary mission. These three books critique missionary agencies, missionary structure and the use of the term “mission” in any way. One author called for a reframing of how we understand the message of Christ and how we share it both locally and globally.”

This same call for ‘deconstruction’ had occurred in the 1930s in North America when the Hocking Report was published. This report actually called for a moratorium on missions and on sending cross cultural workers. An insightful rebuttal to this report was written by Hendrik Kraemer in his book, The Christian Message in a Non-Christian World.

There is nothing wrong with rightfully questioning the “way” we carry out mission in the world in which we live.  However, it should never come at the expense of putting into question the central message of the Bible and of our faith, nor of our calling to share that message with those around us. This was the thrust of Kramer’s argument in 1938.

Jesus Christ gave Himself to redeem us, to grant us the honour of being part of His family, and to put the Holy Spirit in our hearts who seeks to testify to the person and work of our Saviour.

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 

And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Filed under: Mission, Renewal | Leave a comment »

Looking deeper

Posted on December 4, 2023 by wtdavid

Sometimes when we look at an issue or a problem, a lot of creative ideas come quickly to mind. And certainly, a number of those are good solutions to that issue that we should consider implementing. 

However, that “quick response” reflex can sometimes keep us from looking deeper; from searching out other sources of that issue or problem.

In recent times, we have heard quite a bit about the decline of candidates from North America (and other places in the Western world); a decline in those who are considering serving in cross cultural church planting.  A number of reasons are put forth: an antipathy toward raising funds; the unknown of what is church planting; the feeling that one can do ministry right here in North America where the world is coming to us; or the desire to find a job overseas (rather than raise funds) and simply help a church plant get started somewhere in the world.

In light o those concerns, we create viable solutions to address them: creative funding solutions; marketplace ministry; diaspora outreach; or front loading more and more CP training.

Please hear me well: all of these are worthwhile endeavors that we should pursue.

However, I would encourage us to look more deeply at these issues in missions today in light of a few thoughts I have recently read:

  • In Mobilizing Gen Z, Jolene Erlacher and Katy White quote the Future of Missions study from Barna: “Only 35 percent of engaged Christian parents of young adults say they would definitely encourage their child to serve in missions, while 25 percent are not open to the idea at all.”
  • “In the West, we have multiple churches in any given community, yet more than half of the world’s population has little or no access to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
  • A friend wrote recently: “The sacrifice of missions is real, it’s deep, it’s enduring.”

Maybe we should give time and energy to better understanding the hesitations of Christian parents, and how we might challenge them to pray for the future of their children from God’s perspective.  Perhaps, we might re-build the vision of the incredible ride and journey cross cultural church planting is.  And maybe, we just need to rehearse again and again Jesus’ call to disciple the nations – some of whom may not land on our shores.

Michael Griffiths wrote a short book many years ago called: Give Up Your Small Ambitions.  Maybe that’s a word for us today: how do we share the wonder, joy, and sacrifice that is cross cultural church planting with those around us?   What are your thoughts?

Filed under: Church planting, Coaching, Crossing cultures, Reflection | Leave a comment »

This is where we need you!

Posted on October 27, 2023 by wtdavid

Filed under: 3C Global Conference, Coaching, Mission | Leave a comment »

The Father loves me

Posted on May 22, 2023 by wtdavid

One of our natural reflexes regarding ministry is to try and address a significant problem by creating a process.  It might be a new process, or it might be one that has worked well for us in the past. I’m certainly not against processes that might allow us to work a problem, difficulty or obstacle that we are facing. 

However, there are times when our hearts tell us there is something “deeper” in need of work because of a difficulty or problem we are facing.

In the past five years, World Team has lost over 100 workers.  Now there are understandable reasons for some of that attrition, but the reality is that the number of new workers coming into World Team have not offset that loss.  As a result, we have less resources with which to sustain and launch ministry initiatives that our God has placed in front of us.

There are many creative and innovative ideas being shared by WT colleagues to raise new resources (people, prayer and finances).  And many of those ideas are good and worthy of our consideration.

But my heart tells me there is a deeper need.  I was recently reading the prayer letter of a close friend when I came across these words: “This year, they (a group of believers) asked for teaching on how inner renewal is reflected in relationships of love and service.”  Inner renewal means telling ourselves again and again about the power of the Gospel to change lives, and in particular our lives.  Or as Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City (USA) puts it: “Taking the Gospel downtown to our hearts to effect deep change.”

Maybe that’s the missing part.  Work new processes but give as much attention and more to inner renewal.

Give time to inner renewal; asking God, our Father, to remind us again of His love for us. The result of that time spent would be a Gospel culture built among us that would draw others to want to be part of what God is first doing among us, and then through us.

I want to coach 2-3 new workers into cross cultural ministry this coming year.  However, I want to definitely coach them first and foremost to see their daily deep need of Jesus.

#gospelgoingdowntown

Filed under: Coaching, Gospel, Mobilization | 2 Comments »

He is sovereign!

Posted on April 14, 2023 by wtdavid

Probably one of the more neglected teachings of Scripture in our current day is that of the sovereignty of God.  It is a truth that even we who are engaged in cross cultural ministry can tend to neglect.  To put it in its most simple form, sovereignty means that God has “absolute authority and rule over his creation[1].”  God is God and we are His creatures. 

However, we can certainly state that God is sovereign all the while living and working as if we, as His creation, are self-governing and independent.

So, what benefits might we gain from a deep dive into the notion of God’s sovereignty?  At least three come quickly to mind.

First, God’s sovereignty provides us with a profound sense of security amid all the troubles, struggles and difficulties of the work to which He has called us.  Nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  That is how the apostle Paul expressed it (Romans 8). No matter what wall or obstacle we may come up against, we know that God is fully aware and works to use everything in our lives for our growth and the furtherance of His missional project for this world.

Next, a trust in God’s sovereignty will lead us to worship Him.  Knowing that He rules over all creation frees us from having to carry that responsibility ourselves. It will cause us to rejoice in knowing that nothing escapes His view (Hebrews 4:13); that He is always at work for the good of His creation; and that one day He will be recognized as Lord over all by all (Philippians 2:10-11). How can our heart not sing in response to this truth?

Finally, God’s sovereignty is a reminder and call to prayer. To whom else can we turn?  In whom else can we put our trust and hope if not the sovereign God?  We can know, through prayer, that He will answer in His way and in His time.  The famous British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, once said: “Prayer assumes the sovereignty of God.” 

There are many ‘walls’ that we as individuals and as a World Team community are facing these days.  To name a few.  We lack 50% of the funds needed to cover the costs of the Global 3C Conference.  The numbers of cross-cultural workers serving with our teams is diminishing.  We are not seeing the fruit, the multiplication we long for in disciples of Jesus and communities of believers among the people we serve.

God’s sovereignty reminds us that this work is not our own.  It is His work. And because it is His work, we can rest in His grace, freed from worry, and inspired to go to Him for each of these ‘walls’; using the strength and grace He provides to give ourselves to work toward seeing these needs, these ‘walls’ addressed.

[1] Our Sovereign God, James M. Boice, page 149

Filed under: Grace, Sovereignty | 6 Comments »

Not a mixture

Posted on January 24, 2023 by wtdavid

We are a movement.  Those who participate in this movement seek to live out the truth that every member is important. In fact, we believe that we need one another to accomplish the task.

As a movement, we are committed to the same mission, vision, and guiding principles (WT Ministry Framework).  Our framework for ministry is not a mixture or conglomeration of each individual’s mission, vision and what one may believe is important. 

This is another reason why we need one another: to ensure that we are all pulling and working together to go in the same direction.  When one rower begins rowing against the work of the others, the boat pulls to the left or to the right.  The other rowers must help this rower to bring his/her work (rowing) back into alignment with the overall direction.

This is where difficulties often arise.  When someone begins pulling a team in a direction that is counter to the overall direction of the movement, several responses can happen:

  • None of the other team members say anything.  Team members are afraid of hurting the lone team member if they say something; or believe that the “pull” in a counter direction will simply go away over time.
  • One (or more) of the team members take the person to task in an overly critical way, lacking grace and empathy.  This is the offensive approach and often is at the start of larger team conflict.
  • Team members ignore and stop listening to this person.  We might call this the ‘silent’ treatment where the member who seems to be pulling the team in another direction is paid no attention.  The team misses an opportunity to learn together from such a crucial conversation.

None of these responses are helpful to the growth and re-alignment of the team; nor do they help the team pull back around the larger mission and vision of the movement.

Perhaps Galatians 6:1-2, though not speaking specifically to this situation, might give us some help and principles to guide our efforts to keep rowing together in the same direction: “Brothers & sisters, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him/her in a spirit of gentleness.  Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.  Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

How can we best, with much wisdom, keep one another aligned with the larger mission and vision to which God has called us?

Filed under: Alignment, Mission, Movement, Vision | 2 Comments »

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