• 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!

Help! I’m feeling overwhelmed

Posted on April 29, 2013 by wtdavid

It’s the kind of feeling that creeps up on you.  You may be unaware it is coming until it hits you.  It’s that sensation of being overwhelmed; that there is more work and ministry than time permits.overwhelmed

The disciples knew the feeling: “And Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.”  (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”  (Mark 4:31)  There was so much work, so many people to whom they had to minister that they did not even have time to stop for a meal.  Everything was a priority except the basic need of life to eat.

Once this feeling hits we begin to drag, ministry goes into a slow motion pace.  We start voicing our “tiredness” more often to others.   Our focus shrinks from everything else to just ourselves.  We start to lose perspective and grow out of touch with the heart of the Gospel.

This is the very moment when we need to step back and take a deep breath. 

Stepping back is the action of pulling oneself out of our self focused world and gaining focus by asking others for help.  Selecting and following our critical priorities will occur as we, first of all, learn to say ‘no’ to priorities that are good, but not critical.  We all know this to be true, but it is so hard to practice it and to actually say ‘no’ to a priority or task.  Part of our unwillingness may stem from our people pleasing bent, not wanting to disappoint anyone.  This is where community can serve us well. People that know us and know the work in which we are engaged can enter our world and help us establish those critical priorities.

Taking a deep breath is physically getting up from where you are and going somewhere else.  It’s the effort to temporarily change locations to help clear one’s mind.  It may be a short walk, a run, a swim or just sitting in the grass.  It’s an activity that helps take one’s mind off of all that has been weighing on us.

Feeling overwhelmed like many of us?  Start by seeking the counsel and prayers of a strong community of friends and colleagues and taking some time outside the office or house.

Filed under: Priorities, Reflection | Leave a comment »

How are we doing?

Posted on April 22, 2013 by wtdavid

Awhile back, I launched this challenge to the World Team community:

That each worker in the World Team community would intentionally
disciple one person into a relationship with Christ and that each worker
would intentionally disciple one person into cross cultural ministry.

So, how are we doing?8842419_3104d8e9ae

Now I’m not asking for numbers or metrics in response to this question. Bringing others into a personal relationship with Christ or moving others towards a desire to serve in cross cultural ministry is a process. There are incremental steps or ‘spiritual thresholds’ as one person described it recently. There is work that we can do and there is work that only God can and that we need to be lifting up before Him.

So, maybe a better way to put it would be: where are you in that journey? What are you doing to help others get to that next step in the journey? What are you praying for that only God can do in another’s life as you encourage them to consider Christ or challenge them to move towards cross cultural ministry?

This past Sunday, I was sitting across the table from G. I have spent some time with G over the past few months. He and I actually are part of the same French association. The conversation got started by my friend Chris who asked G where he was in his spiritual journey. G says he believes in God, but he is not ready to become ‘evangelical’. Obviously, there is a fair amount of misunderstanding in his heart and mind. Chris and I encouraged him to consider the fact that faith without real practice or life change happening puts the reality of that faith in question. Chris simply challenged him as a fellow business owner to follow through fully with a decision to believe in Christ as he would in fulfilling any contract he had signed.

We can’t pull G across the threshold. We need people to pray for G that he would recognize his ‘half hearted’ commitment; that he is in many ways keeping God as one of many different masters in his life.

I loved Chris’ illustration in challenging G, but it is ultimately God who must open his heart. That’s where we are, that’s where I am.

Filed under: 1plus1, Sharing the Gospel story | 4 Comments »

Is your world too small?

Posted on April 9, 2013 by wtdavid

All of us could give strong and valid reasons for an inner call we have sensed from God to the ministry and people where we serve. That call first to serve God and then to follow Him into cross cultural ministry resonates in each of our hearts. Many spend years learning a language and gaining an understanding of the dynamics and cultural cues that are necessary to bring the message of Christ to those from another culture.small world

However, I have noticed that because of that singular focus I can sometimes lose sight of the larger world around me where God is working. I can become oblivious to what is happening in the Church elsewhere in the world. I am concerned about God’s mission, but in my limited area. I am in danger of developing a ‘mono-world’ view. My world has become too small.

When my world becomes too small, I can keep my heart from opening to the needs of people in other places. I might thwart God from possibly moving me from my current world and ministry to another. Now I am not saying that we should all be thinking about moving to another place or country. I am calling us, though, to open our hearts to God’s larger missional activity in the world around us and asking questions about how He wants us to respond:

  • You might choose one worker from another region and ask to receive their prayer letter; ask them to point you to some links about the people group that they are working among.
  • Build a love for another people group through prayer or through a simple act of reaching out to those who are different from you right where you live.
  • Prayerfully consider opportunities in other places in WT where your gifts and experience might be used.

Filed under: Global realities, Worldview | Leave a comment »

“Thinking” about a book

Posted on March 18, 2013 by wtdavid

think piper bis

There are probably a number of good books on this topic of deep thinking and reflection, but one that came to mind over the weekend was: Think, by John Piper.

It’s worth a read. Maybe you might have some others to suggest to our readers?

Filed under: Reflection, Thinking | 5 Comments »

Deep thinking is more than just discussing

Posted on March 14, 2013 by wtdavid

Something caught my attention in a business blog post I was reading this week. The author wrote: “Focus is hard to come by and we all have to switch between projects and tasks all the time, for a variety of reasons. I mean, it comes with the job-any job really. I don’t think many would argue that when you eliminate distraction and focus, you’ll get better work done faster.”discussion

What I think the author is trying to say is that the outcome or the natural outflow of deep thinking and reflection is focused and directed action. To put it another way, deep thinking is more than just discussing because it leads to specific outcomes or acts.

Discussion is the activity of looking at an issue from a variety of angles. Many of us are very good at this activity. However, discussion in and of itself often does not lead to practical outcomes and steps. We can feel good about having “sized up” an issue and given our thoughts and ideas about the issue. Deep thinking is more than that.

Deep thinking certainly includes discussion, but it pushes us to ask the focused question of how to take all that we have considered and work it out in our lives and ministries. Deep thinking pushes us to “focus” on the issue and discern the practical ramifications for our work.

Discussion is one starting point. However, to move on towards deep thinking, we might ask the question: With the hour that is in front of us, if we focused on this issue, what action steps would flow out from the core principles we have raised and discerned? It takes courage to move the discussion in this direction. It will call for us to first “eliminate distraction” and focus.

Filed under: Reflection, Thinking | 3 Comments »

Taking the time to think

Posted on March 12, 2013 by wtdavid

“Most of us have not learned the discipline of stopping, getting away and thinking about all that we are overseeing and have responsibility to lead.” The leader coach who authored those words is calling us to take the time to think and reflect on our lives and ministries.the thinker

Now, it is way easier to “say” we will take time to think and reflect than to actually “practice” it. Our lives and ministries move at internet speed most days and to try and add something else into an already crowded schedule is near nigh impossible. For example, the idea of journaling or taking time to creatively dream and reflect on issues sounds wonderful, but there is just no more room in my day.

Besides, what would I actually do if I took the time to step back and “think”?

Great question! Maybe we need to think about how to take time to think? Let’s look at a couple of ideas:

• Begin by ending my day five minutes earlier. Most of us have trouble just stopping. Ministry certainly presses in around us, but setting an ending to our day would allow us to ask a few simple questions like: What went well? What didn’t go well? What might I do differently tomorrow then to serve and lead others well?
• Take several days to meditate on the verse from Ephesians 5:17: “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” To accomplish this task, we will need to “think” hard about what the will of the Lord is. Taking the time to chew on this verse might help us to slow down long enough to get some new thoughts about what that might look like in our lives.
• Tell a co-worker that you are going to take an hour to go out to a park, a café or some other location to sit and prayerfully write down ideas that come to mind as you look back over your life and ministry in the past month. Ask your co-worker to check back with you to see if you actually took the time to get away.

Taking time to think is not “wasted” time. Taking time to think will allow us to move into the future with a greater sense of what God might be calling us to do.

Filed under: Reflection, Thinking | 8 Comments »

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