• 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!

The King and the Cross

Posted on February 13, 2012 by wtdavid

When we talk about the ‘ethos’ of World Team, we mean the environment or framework in which we carry out our work and ministry.  At the very least, this environment is structured by our global purpose, vision and values.  We currently affirm four core values: the Gospel, prayer and worship, interdependence, and developing and releasing leaders.

It is hard to talk about the Gospel as one of our values because it is the overarching, driving force behind all we do.  We do well to frequently remember and go over in our hearts what the Gospel means and what it brings to us.

To that end, I am inviting you as a World Team community to join me in reading this year, King’s Cross, by Dr. Timothy Keller [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kings-Cross-Story-World-Jesus/dp/1444702130/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329136272&sr=1-1]

We will begin an interactive discussion on the book in the next one to two months so as to give time for each of us to purchase or download this book.  I am willing to send PDF files of the opening chapters if you are in a place where getting a copy of the book will take some time.

Tim Keller makes this comment in the introduction to his work: “[This volume] is an extended meditation on the historical Christian premise that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection form the central event of cosmic and human history as well as the central organizing principle of our own lives.  Said another way, the whole story of the world – and of how we fit into it – is most clearly understood through a careful, direct look at the story of Jesus.”

May that serve as our expectation in reading this book together: that Jesus will become, more and more, the central organizing principle [Person] of our lives.

Filed under: Gospel, Reflection | 2 Comments »

Are you gathering for prayer?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by wtdavid

Tomorrow marks the start of some important meetings. From Wednesday through Friday of this week, members of the global structure task force are meeting here at our house to finalize a proposal for creating a global network or alliance to better support and resource our World Team ministries. 

Right after that (starting Saturday), our leadership team of Area Directors and Sending Country arrives for a weeklong conference where we will share draft project plans for the coming years that seek to further our global vision in light of global trends.  There will be much discussion and feedback intended to refine and improve these project plans.

We have asked for prayer for both of these meetings for the past number of weeks.  I am asking again for your prayers during these days.  Would you gather for prayer with others and pray for these discussions that God would give wisdom and insight?

It is not an easy task to gather for pray.  We often find ourselves coming up with numerous reasons why we should put it off times of prayer until another more “convenient” time.   On February 2nd or 3rd, World Team is setting aside a Day of Prayer.  This is an opportunity for us to celebrate what God is doing and to pray for current needs.  This is an opportunity for us to be innovative in our approach to prayer together.

  • Perhaps gathering might mean inviting a group of workers by Skype conference to pray together online for half an hour.
  • Perhaps gathering might mean opening your home or apartment in the morning for an open time of prayer.  People could come whenever they wanted, and stay to pray as long as they could.
  • Perhaps gathering might mean meeting for a meal, praying before the meal, during the meal and after the meal for World Team ministries.

Maybe you have other ideas about how to gather for prayer.

 

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

Reflecting on “the list”

Posted on January 23, 2012 by wtdavid

The question is a difficult one to answer, and one that we as a community have pondered over for some time: “What is church?”  Or to put it another way, “What do we mean by church?”

If you go to a theological handbook, you would probably come across a definition such as the following: “The church is the community of all true believers for all time.”  This definition, though, refers primarily to the universal or global church.  What about the local church that we long to see established where we live and serve?  What are the elements that make up a local church or community?

I remember one of my profs in school walking us through an exercise where we had to write down all the elements that we believed were essential to the local church.  Once our individual lists were established, we then discussed them with fellow students, trying to agree on what were the irreducible elements.  Needless to say, that exercise was not completed in ten minutes.

My friend Steve wrote a blog post a number of months ago which reminded me of that very exercise.  I quote it in its entirety because I think it is relevant to our situation and discussion:

“Let’s drop in to the home of Cornelius (Acts 10). Cornelius and his extended family and friends have just come to know Christ through Peter, the reluctant missionary.

It’s late at night and the next morning Peter and his companions are leaving. Peter hopes to return in the next few months, but there is no guarantee.

Time is running out and Peter needs to explain to Cornelius what it means to be the people of God.

What do they need to form communities of disciples? To leave anything out that is essential will corrupt what this group becomes and what it reproduces. To add anything that is not essential will reduce its ability to function and spread unhindered.

Put yourself in Peter’s place. List every possible element that you could include in helping Cornelius understand what it means be God’s people. Now remove every item you can until what you have left is the irreducible minimum of a church.

Until you can answer that question, you will not see a church planting movement. You may see some churches planted, but not a movement.

Movements know what the essentials of church are, and that’s what they produce and reproduce. Nothing more, and nothing less. Other things may be desirable, but not essential. They slow a movement down. Some elements are so essential, that if they are removed what is left is no longer a church.

What goes down on the list? What gets crossed off?

Luke has his list, the bare bones of what a church is (Acts 2:42-47). Nothing added that would slow down the spread of a movement. Nothing neglected that was essential.

The more you add to that list, the harder it becomes for new believers to form churches in their world. If new believers are not forming churches, you’ll never see a church planting movement. You may plant churches, but they won’t multiply.”

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

What do we do if ministry has become an idol?

Posted on January 18, 2012 by wtdavid

Several of you shared the struggle that can easily arise as we let ministry become an ‘end all’ in our lives.  What do we do, though, when we become aware that we have “inflated something to function as a substitute for God”?  When something other than Jesus Christ has become our ‘savior’?

We should “turn and rush”. “For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)

We should “turn”, that is, we should acknowledge our sin, own it and turn from it.  We call this repentance.  We should also “rush” back into the arms of Jesus, the One who saved us from the mess of sin.  We call this faith.   

Sounds straightforward in some respects, but we are all susceptible to the wiles of the evil one and our own sinful tendency towards excuses that keep us from acknowledging the depth of our sin and our great need of His love and forgiveness.  One writer has written: “Satan’s main temptation is to convince us that we are half the sinner we actually are and that we have half of Christ’s acceptance as we actually do.”  [Charles Spurgeon has a wonderful message which describes this response of turning from idols and rushing into His arms: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2236.htm]

This is why the community around us is so important.  We need others who can help us to ask those hard questions that dig deep to search out the roots of sin and idolatry in our lives.  We need others to remind us again and again and again of His unfailing love, forgiveness and righteousness.  This is the kind of community we should be building and nurturing around us.

 

 

Filed under: Assessment, Gospel | Leave a comment »

Can ministry become an idol?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by wtdavid

That’s a hard one to answer.  In one sense, it’s difficult to believe that ministry can become an idol when the very nature of ministry is to help people “turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).  It’s a spiritual work.  It certainly is not true that ministry has become an idol when we are saddened or upset when someone or something frustrates the spiritual work in which we are engaged.

Yet, in another sense, many of us may have become functional idolaters without realizing it.  One writer describes idols this way: “[They] are objects or persons to which we give inordinate attention.  Idols are things that we glorify other than God.  An idol is anything that gets more glory, more weight, more importance in our eyes than God does.”

What do you lead with in conversations?  That question alone can reveal the core direction of our heart.  Is our conversation sprinkled with what we do (ministry) or who we serve (God)?

When there are difficulties in ministry, how do we respond?  Are we devastated, do we blow up at others, or do we turn away in self-pity?

Idolatry, Os Guiness says, is to “inflate something to function as a substitute for God.”  Ministry can become our god; it can function as a substitute for God when our lives revolve around the work in which we are engaged, rather than the God who called us to that calling.

We need to keep asking questions like the ones above to help us expose the roots of idolatry of ministry and in our ministries.

 

Filed under: Assessment, Gospel | 4 Comments »

When the gospel is central

Posted on January 13, 2012 by wtdavid

Thanks to many of you for the various comments and e-mails about recognizing that we are rescued people needing to learn to become dependent people.  It’s a process, a journey that we are on with Jesus and each other.

That journey has its ups and downs as we struggle to learn how the gospel works itself out in our everyday lives and relationships.  I experienced that that struggle just yesterday.  Growth comes as we learn to live our lives “by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.”  (Galatians 2:20)  This is our daily journey.

One writer put it this way: “Gospel power comes when the gospel is central.”  In other words, the struggle comes when something else becomes central to our lives; when something else or someone else becomes our ‘savior’.

This is when we need each other.  So often we can be blinded as to how we have strayed from Jesus; from trusting Him alone as our Savior. Well placed words by others of gospel reminder can shake the heart and mind from its stupor and set us back on the road to the cross, to forgiveness, to laying claim to His righteousness on our behalf.

Do you have people like that in your life, as part of your community?

 

Filed under: Community, Gospel | Leave a comment »

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