The term "rope holders" comes from a reply made by William Carey after hearing an account of the spiritual needs of India. The secretary of the meeting remarked: "There is a gold mine in India, but it seems almost as deep as the center of the earth. Who will venture to explore it?" "I will venture to go down," said Carey, "but remember that you must hold the ropes."
Every believer who seeks to extend the borders of the Kingdom of our Lord needs rope holders. Jesus warned us that we ought to expect resistance...after all, we are turning the spotlight of the Gospel on in hearts and minds where Satan's dark kingdom holds sway. Paul reminds us that we are engaged in an epic battle against hidden spiritual forces of evil and Peter tells us to remain vigilant at all times because our enemy is relentless in seeking to destroy and devour. Without rope holders, those of us who venture in to mine the priceless hearts and souls of men, women, and children for the heavenly treasury, are at an immediate disadvantage.
So will you be our rope holders?
Here are a few items for prayer:
1. Pray for Louise. It is not easy to stay behind for many reasons, but the main reason is our love for each other. Louise and I rarely do anything on our own as we truly enjoy each other's company. I will miss her as much as she will miss me. So please pray for my dear wife.
2. Pray for the people who live in the Horn of Africa. There are so many needs, but spiritual poverty, drought, and starvation are the greatest as they have an eternal dimension to them. Ethiopia is the oldest Christian Nation in the world, having been exposed to the Gospel from the days of the returning Eunuch to the present, and yet there are millions who have either not heard the Gospel or who are so bound by false religions that they are blind to it. Others are fearful to respond to what they perceive to be the truth. Pray for the Horn!
3. Pray for journeying mercies. For the roads trips from Greenville to Charlotte and back again (2X) and for the road trips we will make in Ethiopia. Pray for the flights from Charlotte to Washington to Addis Ababa to Gambela and back.
4. Pray for Bishop Grant and Dr. Wendy and their work in the Horn. It is a huge task that lies before them and they need wisdom, strength, endurance, perseverance, ongoing spiritual renewal, and so many other things that only our Lord can give them. They also need wisdom as they pray with Louise and me about our relocation to Gambela to help get the theological training school and the medical work up and running.
5. Pray for me that I may stay healthy in every sense of that word. Pray that I might discern the Lord's call clearly. Pray that I might learn what I need to learn - ask all the right questions - have a clear mind to process the information - identify the real needs, not just the more obvious, surface needs - but above all, that I might be a blessing to Grant and Wendy and to everyone I meet from Charlotte on and back...
Hold my rope, please...
Monday, March 4, 2013
Lord, what is man...?
David the king, in his song to the Lord who preserves and prospers his people, asks the question: "Lord, what is man, that you take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him?"
As I look over the entries in my prayer journal for last week, I see one answer to prayer after the other. All that I needed, the Lord provided...and more. We were not only able to pay for all the expenses concerning this trip to Gambela, but we were also able to replenish the small missions fund we had depleted at the beginning of the week! I really don't know why I am amazed. We have seen the Lord do this before.
Perhaps our amazement has more to do with the folks at Resurrection Fellowship and other friends of ours who dipped deep into their pockets to give sacrificially and cheerfully to the Lord. It is a joy to see how serious our Fellowship is when it comes to missions! Clearly, their hearts have been shaped by the heart of the Lord of missions! It truly is a privilege to be part of such a family! We may not be many; we may not have all the trappings of larger churches; we may not have much in the way of resources...but we have the Lord and he has proved to be sufficient all the way.
Then perhaps, that is where the sense of amazement really comes from. Like David, we may well ask, what are we that our Lord should deal so bountifully with us? Amazing grace....'tis mercy all...love so amazing, so divine...great is Thy faithfulness...David wasn't the first and certainly wasn't the last to write songs of praise and adoration in response to the kindness of our God.
Referring to God's bountiful provision for his people, David ends his Psalm with this statement: "How happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; How happy are the people whose God is the Lord!"
Indeed. We have been blessed...we have blessed so that we, in turn, may be a blessing.
I will sing praise to you, O Lord, among all the people groups; I will sing praise to you among all the nations!
As I look over the entries in my prayer journal for last week, I see one answer to prayer after the other. All that I needed, the Lord provided...and more. We were not only able to pay for all the expenses concerning this trip to Gambela, but we were also able to replenish the small missions fund we had depleted at the beginning of the week! I really don't know why I am amazed. We have seen the Lord do this before.
Perhaps our amazement has more to do with the folks at Resurrection Fellowship and other friends of ours who dipped deep into their pockets to give sacrificially and cheerfully to the Lord. It is a joy to see how serious our Fellowship is when it comes to missions! Clearly, their hearts have been shaped by the heart of the Lord of missions! It truly is a privilege to be part of such a family! We may not be many; we may not have all the trappings of larger churches; we may not have much in the way of resources...but we have the Lord and he has proved to be sufficient all the way.
Then perhaps, that is where the sense of amazement really comes from. Like David, we may well ask, what are we that our Lord should deal so bountifully with us? Amazing grace....'tis mercy all...love so amazing, so divine...great is Thy faithfulness...David wasn't the first and certainly wasn't the last to write songs of praise and adoration in response to the kindness of our God.
Referring to God's bountiful provision for his people, David ends his Psalm with this statement: "How happy are the people to whom such blessings fall; How happy are the people whose God is the Lord!"
Indeed. We have been blessed...we have blessed so that we, in turn, may be a blessing.
I will sing praise to you, O Lord, among all the people groups; I will sing praise to you among all the nations!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Pray for the Horn!
This is the first of several Virtual Prayer Walks for the Horn. I will try to post one per week, although I may not be able to do so while in Gambela...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX0lbD1bFFk&list=UUZBUu0_dWv-duQdDg1T37eg&index=7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX0lbD1bFFk&list=UUZBUu0_dWv-duQdDg1T37eg&index=7
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Pray for the Horn!
As you all know by now, Louise and I are exploring the possibility of serving together with Bishop Grant and Dr Wendy LeMarquand in the Horn of Africa. Our task will be to assist in the establishment of a Theological Training Center and Medical Health Centers. Please pray for us as we enter into this time of discernment.
But above all, pray! PRAY FOR THE HORN!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Book Review: When Bad Christians Happen to Good People
When Bad Christians
Happen to Good People by Dave Burchett
Ok, so we all know the famous quote from Bara Dada,
"Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians -- you are not like
him." But while voices from those
on the outside looking in can easily be dismissed, when the cry comes from the
inside, we need to stop and listen.
Reading Burchett’s book can be compared to riding a roller
coaster. While for the most part the
ride is enjoyable – and Burchett is a master entertainer and comedian – there
are also many nail biting, terror-filled (scream: “oh no, that’s me!”), “ouch”
moments. Yes, the book is filled with
horror stories of emotional and spiritual in-house butchery (one in particular
is a very personal story about the author’s daughter, Katie), but it also has
golden-glow-sunrise, life-changing, joy-filled stories of Christians whose
reflection of the amazing grace and love they received served as the healing balm
of Gilead. The title seems to indicate
that the book is filled with finger pointing, soap-opera, “it’s all your
fault!” stories, but it is actually more like a reality check (his analogy of
going to the dentist fits well). Of all
the communities of the world, evangelical Christians are often the most
dishonest people, simply because being real may result in their being hurt by
other equally dishonest people. (Pastors
especially are privileged to provide their flock with so much to talk
about…“bless his heart”.) Burchett
shines the spotlight on us all and reveals that we are all broken, hurting
people desperately needing other broken, hurting people to understand our pain
and help us deal with the ups and downs of life in a fallen, dysfunctional
world…ahem…and Church.
To me, parts II and III are the most important sections of
the book. While Christians may be licking
their wounds received from other Christians (some of whom, sadly, never recover
enough to risk returning for a possible second dose), non-Christians turn their
heads away in disgust and walk away justifying their refusal to follow
Christ. Bara Dada is a case in
point. So, true: Jesus weeps…and still
does…but Burchett then moves on to deal with non-sugar-coated Gospel living in
a badly scripted, role playing world.
There are some amazingly jaw-dropping steep drops in this section as
well, but far from being a list of rules slapped on thickly like rancid butter
on too little bread, Burchett points us in the right direction. In my humble opinion, he hits a home-run on
page 176 where he says this:
“It is easier to be
critical than truly helpful. In the
gospel of John, Jesus talked about how we must be in relationship with Him
before we can be fruitful in our endeavors.
Simply stated, when you are in a vital relationship with Christ, your
thoughts and actions will reflect that connection.”
Jesus lived a very real and thus very
counter-(religious)-cultural life.
Burchett invites us to walk with Him.
And yes, there is a bonus.
An eight-session study guide to change knowledge gained to attitude
changed to conduct altered.
"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this
review."Monday, February 18, 2013
How does one know...?
How does one know that you are called to be a cross-cultural missionary? This can be as confusing as plotting a course through a storm. Bill Taylor in a work book entitled "Send Me! Your Journey to the Nations", co-authored with Steve Hoke (World Evangelical Fellowship, William Carey Library, Pasadena, CA, 1999, 36-37), lists four main paths that lead to the missionary call.
Path 1: Some kind of personalized call, vision, powerful encounter, or voice from the Lord. "They feel a deep sense of having received a mandate from God. It's incontrovertible." However, Taylor adds a wise word of caution: "..a 'personal call' is not a built-in guarantee that one will be a successful missionary."
Path 2: A matter of obedience to God's will made clear through a combination of circumstances and relationships. To me, this is little too subjective...circumstances are open to all sorts of interpretations and sincere, well-meaning people can often be as misled as we are. Taylor says: "This route isn't easy." It leaves one susceptible to doubt and questioning.
Path 3: A "serious evaluation of prime factors: deep commitment and obedience to Christ, plus a personal assessment of interests, gifts, experience, and dreams, combined with a heart of compassion for the lost and the poor, and an opportunity to serve to make a difference in the world...more a case of the best job fit, with conclusions made after much prayer and evaluation."
Path 4: A "radical obedience to Christ that meant a willingness to do anything, go anywhere, pay any price, plus an identification of their gifts and other's needs. Discovering this great need provided the final indicator of where and what would constitute a strategic investment of their life and gifts."
Taylor then lists certain crucial components that are common to all four. "In all there is a passion to serve Christ in a risky venture larger than one's own life. All call for radical obedience to God. All involve an overall process of wise evaluation and of confirmation and guidance from trusted colleagues and spiritual leaders. And in all there is a final, profound, unshaking (sic) conviction from the Spirit of God that 'this is what God truly has for me'...'this is what I've got to do with my life'."
I think this list is very helpful in answering the questions Christians may have with regard to knowing whether they are, indeed, called to cross-cultural mission work.
For Louise and me...I wish I could say path 1...a clear-cut word from the Lord, "Go forth and serve in..." would be great...but this path is dangerous for me. The call to Global Missions has always been very strong and I know I am far too willing "to do anything, go anywhere, pay any price", and so I can quite easily mistake God's voice for my own. Which sort of answers my own personal question of how God has led and is leading us. For us, I think it is a combination of paths 3 and 4 and, perhaps most importantly for us, "confirmation and guidance from trusted colleagues and spiritual leaders" as well as the growing conviction that the Spirit of the Lord is leading us in this direction. For us, the pillar of fire and cloud is clearly on the move!
Path 1: Some kind of personalized call, vision, powerful encounter, or voice from the Lord. "They feel a deep sense of having received a mandate from God. It's incontrovertible." However, Taylor adds a wise word of caution: "..a 'personal call' is not a built-in guarantee that one will be a successful missionary."
Path 2: A matter of obedience to God's will made clear through a combination of circumstances and relationships. To me, this is little too subjective...circumstances are open to all sorts of interpretations and sincere, well-meaning people can often be as misled as we are. Taylor says: "This route isn't easy." It leaves one susceptible to doubt and questioning.
Path 3: A "serious evaluation of prime factors: deep commitment and obedience to Christ, plus a personal assessment of interests, gifts, experience, and dreams, combined with a heart of compassion for the lost and the poor, and an opportunity to serve to make a difference in the world...more a case of the best job fit, with conclusions made after much prayer and evaluation."
Path 4: A "radical obedience to Christ that meant a willingness to do anything, go anywhere, pay any price, plus an identification of their gifts and other's needs. Discovering this great need provided the final indicator of where and what would constitute a strategic investment of their life and gifts."
Taylor then lists certain crucial components that are common to all four. "In all there is a passion to serve Christ in a risky venture larger than one's own life. All call for radical obedience to God. All involve an overall process of wise evaluation and of confirmation and guidance from trusted colleagues and spiritual leaders. And in all there is a final, profound, unshaking (sic) conviction from the Spirit of God that 'this is what God truly has for me'...'this is what I've got to do with my life'."
I think this list is very helpful in answering the questions Christians may have with regard to knowing whether they are, indeed, called to cross-cultural mission work.
For Louise and me...I wish I could say path 1...a clear-cut word from the Lord, "Go forth and serve in..." would be great...but this path is dangerous for me. The call to Global Missions has always been very strong and I know I am far too willing "to do anything, go anywhere, pay any price", and so I can quite easily mistake God's voice for my own. Which sort of answers my own personal question of how God has led and is leading us. For us, I think it is a combination of paths 3 and 4 and, perhaps most importantly for us, "confirmation and guidance from trusted colleagues and spiritual leaders" as well as the growing conviction that the Spirit of the Lord is leading us in this direction. For us, the pillar of fire and cloud is clearly on the move!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
The Greatest Mystery...
Louise and I are going through the Perspectives Course at present (see here: http://www.perspectives.org/site/pp.aspx?c=eqLLI0OFKrF&b=2806295). It is a very challenging course, but also one that inspires greater love for our Missionary God...to see what He has done to bring lost souls to Himself is simply awesome. But it is also heartbreaking to hear from the speakers that are still so many people groups that have never...get that...never heard of Jesus. They do not have one single Christian resource at their disposal. Not a quarter page of the Bible we all too often take for granted.
Surely there is something wrong with this picture. If God Himself could traverse space and time and humble Himself by taking on the form of one of His creations to save the lost from eternal damnation, surely we could cross boundaries, whether geographical or otherwise to join Him in His quest to reconcile all to Himself through Jesus? Why then are there so few laborers and even fewer supporters?
I think Robertson McQuilkin in his book, The Great Omission, Authentic Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO, 1984, says it so well.
"...the greatest remaining mystery is not the character of God nor the destiny of lost people. The greatest mystery is why those who are charged with rescuing the lost have spent 2000 years doing other things, good things, perhaps, but have failed to send and be sent until all have heard the liberating word of life in Christ Jesus. The lost condition of human beings breaks the Father's heart. What does it do to ours?"
What indeed...
Surely there is something wrong with this picture. If God Himself could traverse space and time and humble Himself by taking on the form of one of His creations to save the lost from eternal damnation, surely we could cross boundaries, whether geographical or otherwise to join Him in His quest to reconcile all to Himself through Jesus? Why then are there so few laborers and even fewer supporters?
I think Robertson McQuilkin in his book, The Great Omission, Authentic Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO, 1984, says it so well.
"...the greatest remaining mystery is not the character of God nor the destiny of lost people. The greatest mystery is why those who are charged with rescuing the lost have spent 2000 years doing other things, good things, perhaps, but have failed to send and be sent until all have heard the liberating word of life in Christ Jesus. The lost condition of human beings breaks the Father's heart. What does it do to ours?"
What indeed...
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