A fellow World Team worker sent me the following link to an article about community which I found very challenging and with questions for further reflection: https://newwaymin.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/hell-change-us-completely/
Take the time to read this article.
Filed under: Community, Honesty | Leave a comment »
While recently sharing with leaders in one of our ministry locations, I invited them to quickly read one of two texts: Joshua 1-3 or Nehemiah 1-2. I then asked them to discuss a series of questions, one of those being: What was the leader’s priority in this situation? And how did they work that priority?
The discussion that ensued showed the relevance of these texts to our ministry today as cross cultural workers.
Among the many thoughts that were shared was the need to bring some structure, organization or order to the overwhelming project that these leaders and their teams faced. Now I don’t imagine that Nehemiah or Joshua edited some Excel spreadsheets or Microsoft Project documents to better direct the work ahead of them. However, delegated work and shared ministry occur best in a context where there is a focus on the goal to which the team is directed.
That ‘order’ or loose knit structure seems to be part of the church we read about in such texts as Ephesians 4: “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
Filed under: Setting goals, Structure | 4 Comments »
One of the reasons that I liked John’s book, In Other Worlds, was because of the simple honesty with which he shared his journey as a cross cultural worker.
As cross cultural workers, oftentimes we are averse to honesty about our ministry journey. We can feel as if it doesn’t ‘play well’ to supporters, friends, or those praying for us. We hesitate from sharing when a ministry project fails or doesn’t produce the fruit for which we were praying. We try to put a positive spin on such a situation, so that others will continue to think well of us and our work.
John pointed us back to the truth that it is in our weakness that we find our strength. It is when we find ourselves at ‘the end of ourselves’ that we see God’s faithfulness and love to use people like ourselves, ‘wrecks that we are’, for His mission.
There is actually a freedom in believing that the ministry is all about God’s work in our lives and others’ lives. It allows us to be honest with our own failings and faults, and to marvel in the amazing truth that God loves us with such a deep and powerful love.
The outcome or fruit of basking in such a truth is the growing desire to serve Him and please Him more.
Filed under: Gospel, Honesty | 2 Comments »
I hope you enjoy this interview with John (WT Canada). I so thoroughly enjoyed John’s book and found deep encouragement in it for us as cross cultural workers that I would like to offer a free hard copy to every World Team worker.
If you would like a free copy of the paperback edition, please send a note to Cindy Nicholson at cindy.nicholson@worldteam.org before April 19, 2015.
Make sure you include the following information in your note:
Filed under: Core Values, History telling, Mission, Sharing the Gospel story | 2 Comments »
In last week’s post, I wrote: “One critical area of personal health is growth in emotional intelligence. In other words, growth in understanding how others ‘receive’ us. As our attitude should reflect our love and devotion to Jesus, we often miss the mark and do not even realize that our comments can appear cutting or hurtful to others. The outside-in input of others in a community in which we are engaged can greatly help us to recognize blind spots and learn to grow in demonstrating love to others.”
How do I get that outside-in input? You ask for it. You ask God for the courage to ask others around you and then you approach others to ask the following questions:
There are plenty of other questions you might ask, but these might serve as a way to get you started. As people provide you with feedback, you will begin to see common threads which should help you identify areas for growth in your emotional intelligence.
This is not about a self-improvement plan where you try harder to please others. This is a growth process where the Spirit makes us aware of our ‘hurtful ways’ (Psalm 139) and drives us back to the Gospel to find the wisdom and strength to respond to others in a more Christ-like manner.
Filed under: Community, Emotional intelligence, Personal health | 2 Comments »
In talking about the inner life, Jesus said: “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” (Mark 7:15) His words created quite a stir among the religious leaders of the day (see Matthew 15) who based holiness on outward conformity to a set of sacrificial and ceremonial laws. 
If I were to try and put this in our language today, I would say that God yearns for each of us to have strong personal health or a deep inner life. A deep inner life is the driver behind right and fruitful ministry activity.
Time, energy and effort must be given to cultivate our inner life. It’s not something that happens by osmosis. It’s not something that happens on our own.
Cultivating our personal health certainly includes meditation on the Word of God and honest dialogue with the Father. However, the deepening of our own inner life also comes through our engagement and interaction with a community of believers. In this context, we work out the truth of the Scriptural principles that “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17)
One critical area of personal health is growth in emotional intelligence. In other words, growth in understanding how others ‘receive’ us. As our attitude should reflect our love and devotion to Jesus, we often miss the mark and do not even realize that our comments can appear cutting or hurtful to others. The outside-in input of others in a community in which we are engaged can greatly help us to recognize blind spots and learn to grow in demonstrating love to others.
Personal health is certainly ‘personal’ when we talk about one’s individual inner life. However, one’s personal health depends in so many ways on the work of the Spirit and the input of others around us.
Filed under: Community, Emotional intelligence, Personal health | 6 Comments »
Thoughts Along The Journey 