As a follow-up to last weeks post- here are the reflections of one of our lead pastors, Todd Tamura, who traveled with our team on the mission trip to the orphanage we are helping to build in Motipur India:
India is an all-out assault on the senses. From the moment we hit the ground in Delhi, we were bombarded by the sights, sounds and smells of the city. People are everywhere and packed into tight spaces – over 18 million in this city alone. Smoke and fumes from countless fires and motor vehicles hang heavy in the air. Traffic is a symphony of chaos. The sound of honking horns is constant as cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, rickshaws, pedestrians and animals all vie for the road. It is impossible to venture anywhere on foot without being accosted by beggars. Images of Hindu gods adorn vehicles, homes and places of business. Temples and mosques are woven into the city’s grid at frequent and regular intervals. Everywhere there is filth, abject poverty, hopelessness and despair.
Yet in the midst of this dark landscape, we visited one of the Christian “slum schools” run by Global Action on the south side of Delhi. The children greeted us with beautiful smiles and sang joyfully of Christ. Some blessed us with Scripture they had memorized, and we prayed for them. When school was dismissed, many of the children escorted us to our vehicles, waved goodbye and then disappeared into the neighborhood. God is at work here.
Later that evening, we attended a Glomas graduation ceremony for over 100 graduates of Global Action’s 10-month training program for pastors. Sundar Singh Moses, who preached at Council Road this past February, has left his pastorate to become the National Director for Glomas training in India. Reverend Moses gave the graduation address and exhorted the graduates to remember the Lord’s call on their lives as children of the Father, ambassadors of the King, servants of the Master and shepherds of God’s flock. The atmosphere was exciting and celebratory. We enjoyed worship with these Indian brothers and sisters. Some of the songs we knew, some we didn’t, but it didn’t matter because the Spirit was the same. And I am reminded of one of the great designations of the church as the “communion of saints,” a phrase dating back to The Apostles’ Creed regarding the communion of all Christians that is rooted in Jesus.
Our constant escort and companion from this point on was Abhishek Subhan. Abhishek’s father, Daniel, is the Director of the India Hope Center, the primary focus of our trip. “Abhi,” as we call him, is Chief of Operations for the center which includes the orphanage, school and church. An overnight train ride brought us to Lucknow, another bustling city of over 11 million. We met Ahbi’s wife, Jessie, at their home. They are expecting their first child in January.
The five-hour drive from Lucknow to the India Hope Center in Motipur defies description. We share the road with thousands of motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, and an assortment of animals including cows, water buffaloes, goats, dogs and monkeys. There is no concept of “your lane” as we know it in the U.S., and nose position determines right of way. The result is that you end up playing a constant game of “chicken” with oncoming and merging traffic. Not that you ever become accustomed to it, but eventually you realize that no matter which way you lean in the backseat, it has no effect on your driver. Never before have I seen people so reckless with their lives. Abhi tells us that in India there is not the same value placed on human life: “They think, if I die, I die, and I no longer have to struggle.”
On the edge of the north Indian jungle, not more than 15 miles from the Nepali border, stands a small collection of buildings called the India Hope Center. Fifty-three boys and girls have been rescued from unimaginable circumstances and call this place home. The children sing of Jesus with all their hearts, and their smiles tell you all you need to know. They are genuinely happy in this place!
They have so little here compared to what we are used to in Oklahoma. But they have a bed to sleep in, a roof over their heads, three meals each day and foster parents who love them. They go to school and worship together. They help each other and relate to each other as brothers and sisters. And somehow it is enough.
There are four couples who act as foster parents, as well as teachers. They are devoted followers of Christ and called to this sacred work. They must be. This is an up at dawn, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year call to a very arduous life with very few comforts and no luxuries. The heat and humidity must be unbearable during the summer months. The commitment as a foster parent at the center is a minimum of 10 years.
What a joy and privilege to play with the children and help teach in their school. They are so bright and love to learn. I taught fifth grade math. We multiplied and divided fractions. The children kept asking me for more problems. We also helped the contractor pour concrete for the footings of new family units that are under construction.
One week in India is really not enough to be of much practical help. The real benefit of a short term mission trip like this is mutual encouragement in the faith and the changes that take place in one’s own heart. We came to India hoping and praying that we would be of some blessing and benefit to our hosts. Instead, those of us who went were the ones who were overwhelmingly blessed. Despite the darkness of this country, God is rescuing children from the brink of disaster, and we have seen it with our own eyes. What long arms of grace our God has! He is raising up leaders from among His people to minister to this land in spite of persecution and great spiritual resistance. Clearly, those of us who went on this trip have a responsibility to be advocates for our brothers and sisters in India.
Pray for Abishek Subhan and his wife, Jessie. Pray for the pregnancy and the health of mother and child. What great respect and admiration I have for Abhi. He is so gifted. He could be and do anything, but he has answered his call to the India Hope Center. In addition to the day-to-day operations of the center, Abhi also oversees the construction of six new family units. These units are fully funded in large part because of the fund-raising efforts of those in our church and in our local business community. Future plans include a dairy farm, medical clinic and vocational training center. As if this were not enough, Abhi also has a heart for the surrounding community. The local town is Muslim, but secularized and practical in their thinking. The people are very curious about the center, and they see the improvements that are being made to the property. We were able to host games for the local children, and our men even played cricket with men from town. The mayor hosted our entire team for dinner one evening. Some of the town children joined us for Sunday night worship where the gospel was shared. Pray that the India Hope Center would be salt and light to this Muslim community.
Pray that God would raise up more foster parents to staff the center. With the six new family units scheduled for completion in six months, the limiting factor for expanding the center’s operation and taking on more orphans is the identification of more foster parents. Pray for Global Action’s slum schools. Pray for the young pastors who are graduating from Glomas training and are returning to their cities and villages to minister in the face of persecution. Pray for Sheeba Subhan, Abhi’s sister, and Director of Global Action Projects in India. These projects include Glomas training for pastors, the slum schools, the India Hope Center, and blanket distribution. Pray for Lars Dunberg as he directs Global Action on an international level. Pray for a great outpouring of God’s Spirit across the land of India.
When our pastor returned from India last year he said, “I think I have seen genuine Christianity for the first time.” I understand now what he meant. The Christian leaders God is raising up in India are completely sold out to Christ. They have forsaken all that this world has to offer for the sake of the cross. Here in America we are so tied to our comforts. We consider them “necessities.” We want all the spiritual blessings in Christ, but we hedge, not wanting to miss out on anything this life and this world has to offer. We want it all, and I include myself in the indictment. But what we saw in India were believers who embrace the sufferings of Christ just as readily as they look forward to sharing in His glory.
We have seen great darkness, and we have seen a bright light, and the light has a name.
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 NIV
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
putting worry in context
Our team that has traveled to Motipur India to help with the orphanage we are helping to build there is making their way back to the states as I am writing this. We just got a note from one of our lead pastors, Todd Tamura, who is on his first trip to the orphanage and who, as a former fighter pilot with the United States Air Force (insert your favorite F-150 joke here) has seen a lot of the world and has had his share of adventure. He wrote in part:
It's around midnight Wed night/Thurs morning. We just drove 5 hrs from
Motipur. There are no words to describe how dangerous the roads are
around here: thousands of people walking on and along the road, cows,
monkeys, dogs, water buffalo, trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, rickshaws.
They drive on the left side of the road around here, but really noone
owns any lane. My pics will never do justice to the head-on games of
chicken that they play around here.
The Hope Center and the children were absolutely awesome. Over fifty
children who have been rescued from unimaginable circumstances. Now in
school, in a Christian environment, with food to eat and people that
love them. It's amazing what God is doing there. It gives you a sense of
how big our God is and His love for all people. The children have such
joy even though they have so little. The foster parents have 10-15
children each and they are the limiting factor in terms of expanding the
operation. It's a 10 year commitment and huge because of the remoteness
of the location and the austere conditions.
Here at home, we obsess over elections and stock markets and who will win the next football game.
It is a good reminder that in most of the rest of the world, the part of the world where transportation likely means a donkey or moped and the burning question of the day is not where I will eat lunch today but IF I will eat lunch today- that part of the world where (as it is in Motipur) the nearest medical clinic may be 60 miles away and you and your loved ones have no way of getting there- the rest of the world where 18,000 children die every single day of starvation- and where 2.67 billion people have never heard the gospel or own a Bible...
...people in the rest of the world don't have the luxury of worrying about the kinds of things that give us stress.
I have a feeling that when our team comes back, we will notice that something about them has changed- and I am not just talking about their renewed enthusiasm for American cheeseburgers- I have a strong sense that "worry" will have a different context.
It's around midnight Wed night/Thurs morning. We just drove 5 hrs from
Motipur. There are no words to describe how dangerous the roads are
around here: thousands of people walking on and along the road, cows,
monkeys, dogs, water buffalo, trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, rickshaws.
They drive on the left side of the road around here, but really noone
owns any lane. My pics will never do justice to the head-on games of
chicken that they play around here.
The Hope Center and the children were absolutely awesome. Over fifty
children who have been rescued from unimaginable circumstances. Now in
school, in a Christian environment, with food to eat and people that
love them. It's amazing what God is doing there. It gives you a sense of
how big our God is and His love for all people. The children have such
joy even though they have so little. The foster parents have 10-15
children each and they are the limiting factor in terms of expanding the
operation. It's a 10 year commitment and huge because of the remoteness
of the location and the austere conditions.
Here at home, we obsess over elections and stock markets and who will win the next football game.
It is a good reminder that in most of the rest of the world, the part of the world where transportation likely means a donkey or moped and the burning question of the day is not where I will eat lunch today but IF I will eat lunch today- that part of the world where (as it is in Motipur) the nearest medical clinic may be 60 miles away and you and your loved ones have no way of getting there- the rest of the world where 18,000 children die every single day of starvation- and where 2.67 billion people have never heard the gospel or own a Bible...
...people in the rest of the world don't have the luxury of worrying about the kinds of things that give us stress.
I have a feeling that when our team comes back, we will notice that something about them has changed- and I am not just talking about their renewed enthusiasm for American cheeseburgers- I have a strong sense that "worry" will have a different context.
Monday, October 13, 2008
reasons i'm not worried
Someone asked me last week if I thought the latest financial crisis was a sign of the second coming?
I gave him all the reasons I believe the Bible seems to speak more to the advancement of the gospel around the world as something to look for than it does to any particular socio-economic or political event when it comes to the coming Parousia.
The last few sands in the hour glass will not be shifted as much by these kinds of crises as they will by the darkest corners of the planet being reached by the light of Christ and every nation language and tongue having access to the message of Christ. I believe that is what we are to look for more than anything that happens on Wall Street or the White House or on some foreign battlefield or inner workings of an earthly kingdom.
So, in short, I didn't think what were experiencing last week was more than a blip on the radar screen in the total scope of human history. It feels unsettling and is definitely a troubling and dynamic financial crisis- but I certainly don't see it as having much escatological significance.
Of course, that was before Texas beat OU and OSU beat Missouri in the same weekend.
That aside, the current political and economic upheaval does raise some important theological questions I would like to briefly address. How do we as Christians respond when the foundations begin to shake?
We need to keep in mind these three key promises of scripture:
1. For the Christian, the worst things that happen to us in this life are used for good.
All things work together for the good of those who love Christ and are called according to HIS purpose (Romans 8:28).
Those of us who have been around more than three decades would attest to the truth that the bad things that happen to us in this life God has used effectively to grow and shape our character in Christ. It is helpful to remember that God is more interested in our character than He is interested in our circumstances.
2. For the Christian, the truly good things in this life can never be taken away.
Scripture teaches that there are really only certain things in our life that are truly good. By that I mean there are some things that are good to the core and many things that seem good but are only a mirage. There are only certain things for instance that will last forever and consequently will truly matter to you a hundred years from now.
Everything else is just chaff in the wind.
The Bible teaches that the truly good things you possess in this life- God's love, His joy, His peace, His salvation - can never be taken away.
When the Bible speaks of the "glory of Christ", it is using a very important and specific word in defining the lasting nature of what is truly good. The word "glory" means literally "weight". It is where we get the English word "matter". The only things in this life that really have weight, that really matter, are those things that last.
When you drop paper in a stream it floats with the current, but when you drop a stone in the current, it sustains it's position despite the water flowing over it.
In the same way, the truly substantive things in this life that are promised us by Christ can never be taken away.
It is important to remember in times of change and turmoil, that there are things in our life that have enough substance to withstand whatever is thrown our way.
That is what we mean by the glory of Christ.
3. For the Christian, the very best things in this life are yet to come.
Christianity is the only religion that is truly escatological and futuristic. Every other religion either looks backward to a law and tradition or spins the adherent in endless cycles or reincarnation and reinvention.
Only Christianity sets the future on a linear plane and points to a glorious conclusion.
Christianity teaches that our future will be so glorious and complete, in fact, that whatever we go through in this life cannot even be compared to is as far as it's value and importance.
We all know that when a person has lost only one of his senses, his life is changed dramatically. Imagine having thousands of senses! Imagine seeing millions of colors and having your taste sensation multiplied exponentially! The Bible seems to imply that this is what we will experience in our future.
I think of the words of C.S. Lewis as he reflects on what all of us will one day be:
Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).
Think of it like this- our future glory will be so overwhelming that comparing our present self to our future self is a little like comparing a tomato or squash to our present self.
The apostle Paul put it like this in Romans 8:18:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
These are the important Biblical truths that every Christian has access to- the worst things in this life Christ will use for good- the truly good things can never be taken away- and the very best in this life is yet to come!
I gave him all the reasons I believe the Bible seems to speak more to the advancement of the gospel around the world as something to look for than it does to any particular socio-economic or political event when it comes to the coming Parousia.
The last few sands in the hour glass will not be shifted as much by these kinds of crises as they will by the darkest corners of the planet being reached by the light of Christ and every nation language and tongue having access to the message of Christ. I believe that is what we are to look for more than anything that happens on Wall Street or the White House or on some foreign battlefield or inner workings of an earthly kingdom.
So, in short, I didn't think what were experiencing last week was more than a blip on the radar screen in the total scope of human history. It feels unsettling and is definitely a troubling and dynamic financial crisis- but I certainly don't see it as having much escatological significance.
Of course, that was before Texas beat OU and OSU beat Missouri in the same weekend.
That aside, the current political and economic upheaval does raise some important theological questions I would like to briefly address. How do we as Christians respond when the foundations begin to shake?
We need to keep in mind these three key promises of scripture:
1. For the Christian, the worst things that happen to us in this life are used for good.
All things work together for the good of those who love Christ and are called according to HIS purpose (Romans 8:28).
Those of us who have been around more than three decades would attest to the truth that the bad things that happen to us in this life God has used effectively to grow and shape our character in Christ. It is helpful to remember that God is more interested in our character than He is interested in our circumstances.
2. For the Christian, the truly good things in this life can never be taken away.
Scripture teaches that there are really only certain things in our life that are truly good. By that I mean there are some things that are good to the core and many things that seem good but are only a mirage. There are only certain things for instance that will last forever and consequently will truly matter to you a hundred years from now.
Everything else is just chaff in the wind.
The Bible teaches that the truly good things you possess in this life- God's love, His joy, His peace, His salvation - can never be taken away.
When the Bible speaks of the "glory of Christ", it is using a very important and specific word in defining the lasting nature of what is truly good. The word "glory" means literally "weight". It is where we get the English word "matter". The only things in this life that really have weight, that really matter, are those things that last.
When you drop paper in a stream it floats with the current, but when you drop a stone in the current, it sustains it's position despite the water flowing over it.
In the same way, the truly substantive things in this life that are promised us by Christ can never be taken away.
It is important to remember in times of change and turmoil, that there are things in our life that have enough substance to withstand whatever is thrown our way.
That is what we mean by the glory of Christ.
3. For the Christian, the very best things in this life are yet to come.
Christianity is the only religion that is truly escatological and futuristic. Every other religion either looks backward to a law and tradition or spins the adherent in endless cycles or reincarnation and reinvention.
Only Christianity sets the future on a linear plane and points to a glorious conclusion.
Christianity teaches that our future will be so glorious and complete, in fact, that whatever we go through in this life cannot even be compared to is as far as it's value and importance.
We all know that when a person has lost only one of his senses, his life is changed dramatically. Imagine having thousands of senses! Imagine seeing millions of colors and having your taste sensation multiplied exponentially! The Bible seems to imply that this is what we will experience in our future.
I think of the words of C.S. Lewis as he reflects on what all of us will one day be:
Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you may talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet if at all only in a nightmare. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).
Think of it like this- our future glory will be so overwhelming that comparing our present self to our future self is a little like comparing a tomato or squash to our present self.
The apostle Paul put it like this in Romans 8:18:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
These are the important Biblical truths that every Christian has access to- the worst things in this life Christ will use for good- the truly good things can never be taken away- and the very best in this life is yet to come!
Monday, September 15, 2008
india burning
If you think Islam is the biggest offender of religious liberty around the world- you are mostly right. In India, Hindu radicals are now making a run for that ominous distinction. The next time you hear a Hollywood celebrity talk about the acceptance and tolerance of Eastern "New Age" religions, think about how Hindus are treating Christians in "modern" India. (Read the documentation of the persecution here).
Over the past few weeks, while we here in America have been consumed with elections and hurricanes, churches in India have been burned to the ground and Christians thrown into prison, beaten, persecuted and in some cases brutally killed. One of our church planters from India recently learned that his elderly mother has been arrested by the Hindu thugs. Her crime is that she runs a Christian Orphanage that takes care of over 1,000 children.
Last Friday I received the following email from my good friend Lars Dunberg, whose organization Global Action we are partnering with to build an orphanage in Motipur. You may remember that Michael Butler and I traveled to Orissa last year to help lead a conference for young Christian leaders. That part of India is now especially out of control:
Twenty fifth August 2008 has become one of the saddest days in the history of Orissa as the angry mob attacked Christian Churches, Institutions, burned houses to ashes, beaten and even killed a number of pastors, missionaries and believers. 4014 houses burnt in 300 villages displacing more than 50,000 people, 2 pastors killed, 6 priests severely injured, 1 Nun gang raped, 2 ladies burnt alive, 24 other Christians killed and many injured. The young pastor of the church in Tatamaha was brutally killed. The mob dragged his dead body and thrown it in the field by the road-side. His wife and two-year old daughter are missing. At Sankarakhol, the pastor was asked to deny Jesus, as he refused to deny Him they cut his throat and killed him. His house and the church destroyed.
The village of one of our students was attacked by the mob. Church building and Houses were destroyed and burned. Three people were killed in this village. The believers are still hiding in forest. In Gajapati, about fifteen villages have been attacked. Churches and houses burned, destroyed and looted. Another one of our students said, ‘Two men were killed; one of them was burnt alive. People are still in jungle as some of these villages have been attacked for the second time."
Another student serves as a pastor with Bible Fellowship Church. About 70 people came and ransacked his house and destroyed it. He, his wife and their two little children ran for their life and escaped. Meanwhile the mob looted his house and another student, being unaware of what has happened, came across the mob as he was riding his bicycle on his way to conduct worship service at a house church four kilometers away from Khurda district head quarters. He thought some accident might have taken place, so the people have gathered. But when he came nearer to them one from the mob said this fellow is a Christian, catch him. The mob got hold of him, beaten him badly, poured diesel on him to burn him alive. But something unusual happened, none of the match-sticks lit up. By the time police came and he was rescued. Even our own office was not spared. The mob managed to take about eight cartons of books, dumped those in front of our gate, poured petrol over them and burned them."
The church here in America needs to pray for India. The church here needs to pay attention. We need to get the word out about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in this part of the world.
Spread the word.
Indian churches are burning.
Over the past few weeks, while we here in America have been consumed with elections and hurricanes, churches in India have been burned to the ground and Christians thrown into prison, beaten, persecuted and in some cases brutally killed. One of our church planters from India recently learned that his elderly mother has been arrested by the Hindu thugs. Her crime is that she runs a Christian Orphanage that takes care of over 1,000 children.
Last Friday I received the following email from my good friend Lars Dunberg, whose organization Global Action we are partnering with to build an orphanage in Motipur. You may remember that Michael Butler and I traveled to Orissa last year to help lead a conference for young Christian leaders. That part of India is now especially out of control:
Twenty fifth August 2008 has become one of the saddest days in the history of Orissa as the angry mob attacked Christian Churches, Institutions, burned houses to ashes, beaten and even killed a number of pastors, missionaries and believers. 4014 houses burnt in 300 villages displacing more than 50,000 people, 2 pastors killed, 6 priests severely injured, 1 Nun gang raped, 2 ladies burnt alive, 24 other Christians killed and many injured. The young pastor of the church in Tatamaha was brutally killed. The mob dragged his dead body and thrown it in the field by the road-side. His wife and two-year old daughter are missing. At Sankarakhol, the pastor was asked to deny Jesus, as he refused to deny Him they cut his throat and killed him. His house and the church destroyed.
The village of one of our students was attacked by the mob. Church building and Houses were destroyed and burned. Three people were killed in this village. The believers are still hiding in forest. In Gajapati, about fifteen villages have been attacked. Churches and houses burned, destroyed and looted. Another one of our students said, ‘Two men were killed; one of them was burnt alive. People are still in jungle as some of these villages have been attacked for the second time."
Another student serves as a pastor with Bible Fellowship Church. About 70 people came and ransacked his house and destroyed it. He, his wife and their two little children ran for their life and escaped. Meanwhile the mob looted his house and another student, being unaware of what has happened, came across the mob as he was riding his bicycle on his way to conduct worship service at a house church four kilometers away from Khurda district head quarters. He thought some accident might have taken place, so the people have gathered. But when he came nearer to them one from the mob said this fellow is a Christian, catch him. The mob got hold of him, beaten him badly, poured diesel on him to burn him alive. But something unusual happened, none of the match-sticks lit up. By the time police came and he was rescued. Even our own office was not spared. The mob managed to take about eight cartons of books, dumped those in front of our gate, poured petrol over them and burned them."
The church here in America needs to pray for India. The church here needs to pay attention. We need to get the word out about the suffering of our brothers and sisters in this part of the world.
Spread the word.
Indian churches are burning.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
why covenant matters
In my previous two posts regarding the need for covenant in church membership I pointed us to the Biblical context of covenant. I argued that the strength and heart of any relationship is the covenant. After all, a relationship in which one person is allowed to constantly violate the unspoken terms upon which the relationship is based is very definitely an unhealthy and even abusive relationship. A relationship without boundaries (covenant) is called "co-dependent". God is not an enabler. He invites us into healthy relationship.
Similarly, we are to arrange our relationships within the Body of Christ in this way. The strength and vitality of our growth together will depend upon our agreed upon covenant. In this post I would like to demonstrate why this arrangement is so important. I want us to see that the purpose of the church is so incredibly important and that the mission that each of us individually and corporately are called into is of such great and transcendent importance, that to not join together in this way diminishes all that we are called to accomplish in this life.
The trajectory of the gospel is from heaven to earth, redeeming the earth and bringing it into complete fulfillment, culminating in the second coming of Christ.
Every other religion envisions an escape from earth into a heavenly realm that is purely spiritual and non-material. Only Christianity sees the work of God as healing creation and bringing the material world into reconciliation. We learn in scripture of God’s love for the city. God told Adam and Eve to develop the world. In their disobedience they were cast out. The city was given to us as a way of contending with the fall. It is a place of protection and development and advancement and spiritual challenge. A missional church is one that has the gospel at the very heart of its belief and passion.
Missions comes from the heart of God. Missional people are driven to move the gospel message wherever they are and implement The overriding knowledge for the Christian is that Christ died for us. That one truth affects and instructs every other truth. At the cross, the wrath of God was satisfied by His grace and love. Christ went to the ultimate extreme in forsaking His place in heaven, becoming human flesh and humbling Himself to the point of death on the cross. The trajectory of salvation is from heaven to earth, from the immaterial to the material. God has moved into our world and is redeeming the earth.
Sin, justice and wrath are not popular subjects in modern culture, but how else can one explain the issues of evil and suffering? The world suffers because it needs redemption. More and more intellectuals today are coming around to the idea that there is evil in the world. I recently heard the story of a minister who was asked to advise a panel of Hollywood producers who were determined to make more religiously-oriented films. He asked them, “How many of you believe in God?” Only about half of them raised their hands. He then asked, “How many of you believe in evil?” Every single one of them admitted that because of their own experiences and observations about life, they could not deny that evil was present in the world. The problem of evil in the world is undeniable.
The secularist who does not believe in God’s wrath and justice has no answer to the issues of human violence and evil. After all, when one looks around nature, he sees that violence is natural and that evil is prevalent. If it is OK for big animals to eat small animals, for instance, what is wrong with murder and violence and war in human behavior? If it is true that human beings are a part of nature and have no other meaning above their natural content, then why would we recoil at human violence?
How is it that the human heart understands the plumb-line of human immorality? It must mean that God’s perfect sense of justice is in place and therefore that justice must be satisfied. It is only in Christianity that you find such a complete answer to the problem of evil and justice. God in His perfect sense of justice cannot just “let sin go”. Sin has to be paid for in some way. God in His justice demands payment, but in His grace and love He provided a way in the death of Christ on the cross.
His redemption: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and JUST and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
By His death on the cross, Christ paid the price once and for all in real and tangible expressions. It is interesting that this verse says if we confess our sins, “He is faithful and JUST and will forgive us.” His justice is satisfied by His death. Because He died I don’t have to die. On my behalf, He will plead not for mercy, but for justice, because God in His perfect justice will not require more than one payment for my sin. Both legalism and liberalism corrupt the meaning of grace. Religious legalism uses God - it serves God in order to get something out of Him.
True Christianity serves God out of the knowledge of His love and the abundance of His grace. Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted because he did not have faith in the abundant mercy and grace of God, while Abel’s offering came from a joy and appreciation for what God had already done in fulfilling His covenant promise (future tense). Therefore, it was the sacrifice of Cain that was honored by God. This story from Genesis 4 is a precursor to the Gospel. Cain, the older brother, tries to coerce God into his mold, while, Abel, the younger and less impressive brother depends solely on the work and grace of God. The theme of the older brother not receiving the honor (birthright) of God is all through the Old Testament (as well as a parable of Christ) and foreshadows the coming of Christ, the second Adam, who by His new covenant brings a new and better way.
The question for all of us is, “Am I a Cain or an Abel?” The Cain’s of this world are only concerned with self, power and control. Christ is the new and better Abel, whose blood cries out from the ground not for justice, but for mercy and grace (see Hebrews 12). As followers of Christ our passion is for His redemptive work in the world.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
To understand the gospel is to have passion for reconciliation. Christ reconciled us to Himself and then gave us the ministry of reconciliation. From the gospel we learn of God’s passion for the lost. He was the first missionary, walking in the garden in the cool of day calling out to Adam, “what is this that you have done?” Even at the moment the curse took affect, God was providing a way. “You will strike his heal and he will strike your head,” He said to the enemy, prophesying the coming of Christ on the cross. At the cross, Christ took the blow and became the covenant curse so that we could be the covenant blessing.
As we are drawn into Him and become more like Him it is natural for us to open our eyes and hearts to a lost world. As the Father seeks worshippers and calls out for covenant restoration, our passion is for reconciliation and restoration. Missions is at the heart of God and therefore is at the heart of every believer. At the very core of our being we are drawn into Him and out into a lost world.
So what does the ministry of reconciliation look like? As the Bride of Christ, we are to have the priorities of Christ. Jesus made it clear that he came to “seek and save that which was lost.” We believe every member is a missionary, and every member is a minister. All of us are called into the Cause. Our “CAUSE” is to “love people to Christ” – to “reconcile” them to Christ. It is our “Lp2C” formula. There is a profound implication in those words. We are to love them to Christ. We are not to beat them to Christ, guilt them to Christ, scare them to Christ or badger them to Him. These failed strategies are a turnoff anyway, and have done immense damage to the witness of the church. All of us are called to reach our world for Christ; there is no question of this. But how are we to do it? The answer is found in the words and example of our Lord:
You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:13-15)
Jesus makes a clear allusion here between the church’s responsibility to be an influence to the community outside it’s walls. The church is to have an outward focus. It involves getting outside the comfort zone of the “Christian bubble” and moving into the darkness. Salt has no effect if it is not out of the salt shaker. A light hidden is useless. We must be actively relating to people who don’t know Him, investing in their lives and inviting them to be part of our faith journey.
We also have a role as a church community. It is to be, as Robert Lewis puts it, “a church of irresistible Influence.” Lewis writes of the huge difference between the evangelical church at the beginning of last century—with its reputation for impacting society through humble acts of charity, effective community strategies and far-reaching acts of community ministry and sacrificial works of service—and the single-minded “proclamation by preaching” that passes for an evangelical expression of Christian faith in most evangelical churches today. He writes:
The evangelical church finds itself, not surprisingly, disconnected from the real world. We are isolated, self-assured and socially uninvolved. The Church of the 21st century must shift its focus from an institutional orientation to a community orientation if it is to survive and thrive. (Robert Lewis, Church of Irresistible Influence).
In its disconnection from the real world, the church becomes increasingly adamant in its disgust and opposition to popular culture. What the world sees is angry shouting and moralizing, with threats of boycotts and strong-armed political pressure aimed at conforming state to church and forcing people to act more like us. The problem with this, of course, is that the church loses its saltiness if it no longer has influence. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. To love people to Christ is to show love in such compelling and irresistible ways that the Gospel is brought to bear not just by what we proclaim, but by the way we live. Evangelism, in other words, is not just something you say, it is what you are. And additionally, as we covenant together in membership, it is therefore who we are.
Similarly, we are to arrange our relationships within the Body of Christ in this way. The strength and vitality of our growth together will depend upon our agreed upon covenant. In this post I would like to demonstrate why this arrangement is so important. I want us to see that the purpose of the church is so incredibly important and that the mission that each of us individually and corporately are called into is of such great and transcendent importance, that to not join together in this way diminishes all that we are called to accomplish in this life.
The trajectory of the gospel is from heaven to earth, redeeming the earth and bringing it into complete fulfillment, culminating in the second coming of Christ.
Every other religion envisions an escape from earth into a heavenly realm that is purely spiritual and non-material. Only Christianity sees the work of God as healing creation and bringing the material world into reconciliation. We learn in scripture of God’s love for the city. God told Adam and Eve to develop the world. In their disobedience they were cast out. The city was given to us as a way of contending with the fall. It is a place of protection and development and advancement and spiritual challenge. A missional church is one that has the gospel at the very heart of its belief and passion.
Missions comes from the heart of God. Missional people are driven to move the gospel message wherever they are and implement The overriding knowledge for the Christian is that Christ died for us. That one truth affects and instructs every other truth. At the cross, the wrath of God was satisfied by His grace and love. Christ went to the ultimate extreme in forsaking His place in heaven, becoming human flesh and humbling Himself to the point of death on the cross. The trajectory of salvation is from heaven to earth, from the immaterial to the material. God has moved into our world and is redeeming the earth.
Sin, justice and wrath are not popular subjects in modern culture, but how else can one explain the issues of evil and suffering? The world suffers because it needs redemption. More and more intellectuals today are coming around to the idea that there is evil in the world. I recently heard the story of a minister who was asked to advise a panel of Hollywood producers who were determined to make more religiously-oriented films. He asked them, “How many of you believe in God?” Only about half of them raised their hands. He then asked, “How many of you believe in evil?” Every single one of them admitted that because of their own experiences and observations about life, they could not deny that evil was present in the world. The problem of evil in the world is undeniable.
The secularist who does not believe in God’s wrath and justice has no answer to the issues of human violence and evil. After all, when one looks around nature, he sees that violence is natural and that evil is prevalent. If it is OK for big animals to eat small animals, for instance, what is wrong with murder and violence and war in human behavior? If it is true that human beings are a part of nature and have no other meaning above their natural content, then why would we recoil at human violence?
How is it that the human heart understands the plumb-line of human immorality? It must mean that God’s perfect sense of justice is in place and therefore that justice must be satisfied. It is only in Christianity that you find such a complete answer to the problem of evil and justice. God in His perfect sense of justice cannot just “let sin go”. Sin has to be paid for in some way. God in His justice demands payment, but in His grace and love He provided a way in the death of Christ on the cross.
His redemption: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and JUST and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
By His death on the cross, Christ paid the price once and for all in real and tangible expressions. It is interesting that this verse says if we confess our sins, “He is faithful and JUST and will forgive us.” His justice is satisfied by His death. Because He died I don’t have to die. On my behalf, He will plead not for mercy, but for justice, because God in His perfect justice will not require more than one payment for my sin. Both legalism and liberalism corrupt the meaning of grace. Religious legalism uses God - it serves God in order to get something out of Him.
True Christianity serves God out of the knowledge of His love and the abundance of His grace. Cain’s sacrifice was not accepted because he did not have faith in the abundant mercy and grace of God, while Abel’s offering came from a joy and appreciation for what God had already done in fulfilling His covenant promise (future tense). Therefore, it was the sacrifice of Cain that was honored by God. This story from Genesis 4 is a precursor to the Gospel. Cain, the older brother, tries to coerce God into his mold, while, Abel, the younger and less impressive brother depends solely on the work and grace of God. The theme of the older brother not receiving the honor (birthright) of God is all through the Old Testament (as well as a parable of Christ) and foreshadows the coming of Christ, the second Adam, who by His new covenant brings a new and better way.
The question for all of us is, “Am I a Cain or an Abel?” The Cain’s of this world are only concerned with self, power and control. Christ is the new and better Abel, whose blood cries out from the ground not for justice, but for mercy and grace (see Hebrews 12). As followers of Christ our passion is for His redemptive work in the world.
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
To understand the gospel is to have passion for reconciliation. Christ reconciled us to Himself and then gave us the ministry of reconciliation. From the gospel we learn of God’s passion for the lost. He was the first missionary, walking in the garden in the cool of day calling out to Adam, “what is this that you have done?” Even at the moment the curse took affect, God was providing a way. “You will strike his heal and he will strike your head,” He said to the enemy, prophesying the coming of Christ on the cross. At the cross, Christ took the blow and became the covenant curse so that we could be the covenant blessing.
As we are drawn into Him and become more like Him it is natural for us to open our eyes and hearts to a lost world. As the Father seeks worshippers and calls out for covenant restoration, our passion is for reconciliation and restoration. Missions is at the heart of God and therefore is at the heart of every believer. At the very core of our being we are drawn into Him and out into a lost world.
So what does the ministry of reconciliation look like? As the Bride of Christ, we are to have the priorities of Christ. Jesus made it clear that he came to “seek and save that which was lost.” We believe every member is a missionary, and every member is a minister. All of us are called into the Cause. Our “CAUSE” is to “love people to Christ” – to “reconcile” them to Christ. It is our “Lp2C” formula. There is a profound implication in those words. We are to love them to Christ. We are not to beat them to Christ, guilt them to Christ, scare them to Christ or badger them to Him. These failed strategies are a turnoff anyway, and have done immense damage to the witness of the church. All of us are called to reach our world for Christ; there is no question of this. But how are we to do it? The answer is found in the words and example of our Lord:
You are the salt of the Earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:13-15)
Jesus makes a clear allusion here between the church’s responsibility to be an influence to the community outside it’s walls. The church is to have an outward focus. It involves getting outside the comfort zone of the “Christian bubble” and moving into the darkness. Salt has no effect if it is not out of the salt shaker. A light hidden is useless. We must be actively relating to people who don’t know Him, investing in their lives and inviting them to be part of our faith journey.
We also have a role as a church community. It is to be, as Robert Lewis puts it, “a church of irresistible Influence.” Lewis writes of the huge difference between the evangelical church at the beginning of last century—with its reputation for impacting society through humble acts of charity, effective community strategies and far-reaching acts of community ministry and sacrificial works of service—and the single-minded “proclamation by preaching” that passes for an evangelical expression of Christian faith in most evangelical churches today. He writes:
The evangelical church finds itself, not surprisingly, disconnected from the real world. We are isolated, self-assured and socially uninvolved. The Church of the 21st century must shift its focus from an institutional orientation to a community orientation if it is to survive and thrive. (Robert Lewis, Church of Irresistible Influence).
In its disconnection from the real world, the church becomes increasingly adamant in its disgust and opposition to popular culture. What the world sees is angry shouting and moralizing, with threats of boycotts and strong-armed political pressure aimed at conforming state to church and forcing people to act more like us. The problem with this, of course, is that the church loses its saltiness if it no longer has influence. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. To love people to Christ is to show love in such compelling and irresistible ways that the Gospel is brought to bear not just by what we proclaim, but by the way we live. Evangelism, in other words, is not just something you say, it is what you are. And additionally, as we covenant together in membership, it is therefore who we are.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
living missionally
LP2C (loving people to Christ) is first and foremost an attitude of the heart. As we are captivated by the gospel, our eyes are opened to the incredible value and worth of every human being we meet. Every single person we encounter in this life is seen as someone for whom the God of the universe was willing to die.
I was reminded of how the gospel affects us in this way yesterday when I read the following email from Denise Behymer, the wife of our Executive Pastor, Norman Behymer:
Today I went to the dentist. It was a dreary and rainy day in the middle of August which was a rest from the one hundred degree days we have been having. I saw her immediately when I walked up to check in at the desk. It’s a small office so I really couldn’t miss her. She immediately quipped out, “I like your purse.” I said thank you and sat down beside her to chat more about the purse. “I like a big purse,” she said. And we started talking about the features of the purse that we both liked.
She announced that she was ninety one years old. I noticed there was no one there with her and later on found out she had driven herself there. With no apparent apprehension she started telling me her story. She had lost her husband several years back due to complications of diabetes, and added in that no one helped her with him. She didn’t seem to be angry, just sad. As I listened to this ninety one year old lady spill her heart out to a complete stranger, I asked myself and questioned the Lord. “What are you doing here Lord?” She began to tell me how she had sold everything after her husband had died. My immediate reaction was, “Wow I wish I could have been there for that sale!” Her lovely 3000 square foot home and most everything in it including some very expensive silver and her farm with livestock and chickens were sold also.
She began to tell me that her only son had married but her daughter in law didn’t like her. “He never calls,” she said. Lonely, she’s lonely I thought. Also thinking, their going to call my name any minute and I’m not sure I’m finished with her. I kept listening for an “in” to her faith or if she even had any. She did mention that she went to the Catholic Church so I asked her if she had friends from her former church in another town. She only said that she thought they would call when she moved but they didn’t.
One of the stories she told me was that she took her granddaughter shopping and just let her try on everything she liked and then bought everything for her. They didn’t teach her to say “thank you” she said. Holding a lot of grudges I thought. How sad. I just sat and listened and nodded every once in a while with a smile. She just needed someone to talk to and spill her hurts to. Still a complete stranger…
Finally I heard my name called as well as her name. We were headed in the same direction and then I turned to her and told her that I hoped she would find peace and then we went into different rooms. I couldn’t get her off my mind all the time I was getting my teeth cleaned.
What was so funny is that this little lady just couldn’t get past how much she liked my purse, even offered to pay me to find her one. So she ended up giving me her name address and phone number. I told her she could go to Ross and find one perhaps and told her how to get there.
Long story longer, I went to Ross to look for her a purse to no avail and there she was. I ended up walking her to her car in the rain and she said the most precious thing I have ever heard said to me. She looked at me standing in the rain and said, “I like you, I really like you”
I have spent the rest of the day crying and thinking about her. Worried if she got home in this weather, thinking about her being all alone in a town she doesn’t think cares for her. I imagine I will just write a note to her and send my purse to her. I hope that thru my actions that some how she saw Christ, that maybe I was His hands and His feet and His touch to her today.
As I was driving home with tears filling my eyes feeling like I hadn’t done enough I heard the words come into my mind. “I was a stranger and you took me in.” Oh my, thank you Lord for an experience I will never forget.
I was reminded of how the gospel affects us in this way yesterday when I read the following email from Denise Behymer, the wife of our Executive Pastor, Norman Behymer:
Today I went to the dentist. It was a dreary and rainy day in the middle of August which was a rest from the one hundred degree days we have been having. I saw her immediately when I walked up to check in at the desk. It’s a small office so I really couldn’t miss her. She immediately quipped out, “I like your purse.” I said thank you and sat down beside her to chat more about the purse. “I like a big purse,” she said. And we started talking about the features of the purse that we both liked.
She announced that she was ninety one years old. I noticed there was no one there with her and later on found out she had driven herself there. With no apparent apprehension she started telling me her story. She had lost her husband several years back due to complications of diabetes, and added in that no one helped her with him. She didn’t seem to be angry, just sad. As I listened to this ninety one year old lady spill her heart out to a complete stranger, I asked myself and questioned the Lord. “What are you doing here Lord?” She began to tell me how she had sold everything after her husband had died. My immediate reaction was, “Wow I wish I could have been there for that sale!” Her lovely 3000 square foot home and most everything in it including some very expensive silver and her farm with livestock and chickens were sold also.
She began to tell me that her only son had married but her daughter in law didn’t like her. “He never calls,” she said. Lonely, she’s lonely I thought. Also thinking, their going to call my name any minute and I’m not sure I’m finished with her. I kept listening for an “in” to her faith or if she even had any. She did mention that she went to the Catholic Church so I asked her if she had friends from her former church in another town. She only said that she thought they would call when she moved but they didn’t.
One of the stories she told me was that she took her granddaughter shopping and just let her try on everything she liked and then bought everything for her. They didn’t teach her to say “thank you” she said. Holding a lot of grudges I thought. How sad. I just sat and listened and nodded every once in a while with a smile. She just needed someone to talk to and spill her hurts to. Still a complete stranger…
Finally I heard my name called as well as her name. We were headed in the same direction and then I turned to her and told her that I hoped she would find peace and then we went into different rooms. I couldn’t get her off my mind all the time I was getting my teeth cleaned.
What was so funny is that this little lady just couldn’t get past how much she liked my purse, even offered to pay me to find her one. So she ended up giving me her name address and phone number. I told her she could go to Ross and find one perhaps and told her how to get there.
Long story longer, I went to Ross to look for her a purse to no avail and there she was. I ended up walking her to her car in the rain and she said the most precious thing I have ever heard said to me. She looked at me standing in the rain and said, “I like you, I really like you”
I have spent the rest of the day crying and thinking about her. Worried if she got home in this weather, thinking about her being all alone in a town she doesn’t think cares for her. I imagine I will just write a note to her and send my purse to her. I hope that thru my actions that some how she saw Christ, that maybe I was His hands and His feet and His touch to her today.
As I was driving home with tears filling my eyes feeling like I hadn’t done enough I heard the words come into my mind. “I was a stranger and you took me in.” Oh my, thank you Lord for an experience I will never forget.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
please pray
I want to let everyone know of a couple of urgent prayer needs:
From Chris Wall:
"We had a sweet young single parent family in our church from Korea. Christine (Eunju) was the mother and she was a doctoral student at OCU. Robin and I met her walking through our neighborhood. Robin invited her to church and about two months later, prayed with her as she accepted Christ. After she got saved, she went back to Korea and brought her two daughters to live with her here in the states. The oldest, Joy, went to kids camp this summer.
Today is a sad day because this afternoon, all three were on vacation in Virginia on a tour bus. The bus crashed and Christine was killed. The two girls were mediflighted to separate hospitals and are in ICU. The oldest, Joy, is doing better. The youngest, Michelle, is in surgery as I write this email. I do not know the details of the crash, only that Christine died at the scene. Moon, one of our church members was able to call Christine’s mother in Korea to tell her the tragic news and she is on her way to the United States. Moon has also agreed to go to be with the girls until their grandmother can arrive from Korea. Another Korean lady has willingly agreed to go with Moon so they can minister to the girls. Several of our church members have committed to pay for this trip and send these ladies to be with these precious girls.
Please pray for these little girls. They are very precious and we are all so sad that this has happened. In the midst of our sadness, I am so thankful that Christine came to the United States and gave her life to Christ."
The second is from Kris and Shelley Riggs, who are missionaries connected to our church who are a part of the Western Niger Fulani team:
"We've been asked by some of our believers here to pray for rain. They've planted their fields some twice and others three times already this rainy season. The current crop is starting to yellow and they need rain desparately to save this crop. Furthermore, if this one doesn't make it, the rainy season would likely be too short to provide even a decent yield to sustain them. These guys in particular are in a remote village and are the makings of one of our church starts. As you pray that the Father would send them good, regular rains for their fields, please pray that God would strengthen their faith and increase their numbers in their fellowship."
From Chris Wall:
"We had a sweet young single parent family in our church from Korea. Christine (Eunju) was the mother and she was a doctoral student at OCU. Robin and I met her walking through our neighborhood. Robin invited her to church and about two months later, prayed with her as she accepted Christ. After she got saved, she went back to Korea and brought her two daughters to live with her here in the states. The oldest, Joy, went to kids camp this summer.
Today is a sad day because this afternoon, all three were on vacation in Virginia on a tour bus. The bus crashed and Christine was killed. The two girls were mediflighted to separate hospitals and are in ICU. The oldest, Joy, is doing better. The youngest, Michelle, is in surgery as I write this email. I do not know the details of the crash, only that Christine died at the scene. Moon, one of our church members was able to call Christine’s mother in Korea to tell her the tragic news and she is on her way to the United States. Moon has also agreed to go to be with the girls until their grandmother can arrive from Korea. Another Korean lady has willingly agreed to go with Moon so they can minister to the girls. Several of our church members have committed to pay for this trip and send these ladies to be with these precious girls.
Please pray for these little girls. They are very precious and we are all so sad that this has happened. In the midst of our sadness, I am so thankful that Christine came to the United States and gave her life to Christ."
The second is from Kris and Shelley Riggs, who are missionaries connected to our church who are a part of the Western Niger Fulani team:
"We've been asked by some of our believers here to pray for rain. They've planted their fields some twice and others three times already this rainy season. The current crop is starting to yellow and they need rain desparately to save this crop. Furthermore, if this one doesn't make it, the rainy season would likely be too short to provide even a decent yield to sustain them. These guys in particular are in a remote village and are the makings of one of our church starts. As you pray that the Father would send them good, regular rains for their fields, please pray that God would strengthen their faith and increase their numbers in their fellowship."
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