Nuestra Salida del País - Carta abierta a todos nuestros amigos y hermanos en Cristo en el Ecuador

Saludos de Guido y Linda Muse en El Matal, Cantón Jama, Provincia de Manabí. Después de 35 años de servicio misionero en el Ecuador, mi esposa Linda y yo estamos a pocos días de nuestra salida del país para volver a Texas.

Permítanme este espacio y su amable atención una última vez para compartirles lo que llevamos en el corazón.

Podría llenar este espacio con recuerdos, agradecimientos, y un resumen de nuestros años de servicio, pero la verdad es que a estas alturas nos identificamos más con las palabras de Jesús, "...cuando hayáis hecho todo lo que os ha sido ordenado, decid: Siervos inútiles somos, pues o que debíamos hacer, hicimos" (Lucas 17:7-10).

Salimos no con una satisfacción por nuestra pequeña parte en la tarea, sino con gran gratitud al Señor por su gracia y fidelidad a través de los años. Nuestra copa rebosa de tantos gratos recuerdos de ustedes nuestros queridos hermanos con quienes hemos servido lado a lado en la viña del Señor.  

Pero también salimos con una carga en el corazón por las almas esparcidos a lo largo del Ecuador que aún no han tenido la oportunidad de oír y conocer a nuestro amado Señor y Salvador en tantos pueblos, cantones, y regiones aún no-alcanzados con el evangelio.

Desde el 16 abril 2016 hasta el presente nuestro enfoque ha sido sobre una de las zonas del país menos alcanzados: el norte de Manabí. Me refiero a las aproximadamente 230.000 almas en viven en y alrededor de Bahía de Caráquez, San Vicente, Jama, El Matal, Tosagua, Chone, Pedernales y Canoa. Estudios realizados en esta zona cuentan con menos de 20 iglesias evangélicas conocidas y menos de 500 creyentes bautizados.

Nuestro regreso a Texas no es para jubilarnos. Sino para movilizar a iglesias y grupos en USA para venir a ayudarnos cumplir la tarea que aún falta hacerse en el Ecuador. Especialmente queremos compromisos que adopten estos cantones, pueblos, y ciudades pequeñas que no cuentan con una presencia evangélica. Por ejemplo, entre San Vicente y Chone hay más de diez pueblos no-alcanzados sin presencia evangélica. ¿Quién se compromete ir y adoptar uno de estos lugares?

Por muchos años creía que el Ecuador ya no necesitaba la ayuda de misioneros del exterior ya que la iglesia nacional era suficientemente fuerte y desarrollada para así solas terminar lo que falta hacer.

Pero en los últimos años he cambiado de parecer. Aunque la iglesia ecuatoriana sí es fuerte--aún falta visión misionera.

La gran mayoría de iglesias Bautistas (y evangélicas en general) no salen de su Jerusalén para abarcar Judea y Samaria. No piensan, no oran, y no dan por las naciones del mundo aún no alcanzadas. Es por eso que sentimos de parte del Señor volver a USA, y con la ayuda de Dios, levantar fondos para las misiones, movilizar a más grupos e iglesias de seguir viniendo para obrar en una de estas regiones no-alcanzadas. ¡Por supuesto la invitación queda abierta también a todas las iglesias del Ecuador unirse a la gran tarea encomendada por nuestro Señor hace 2000 años!

Los Bautistas del ataño tenían un dicho: "Una iglesia Bautista que no hace misiones no tiene derecho de utilizar Bautista como parte de su nombre."

Hoy en día todo el mundo Cristiano habla de las misiones pero pocas son las iglesias que realmente hacen misiones. O sea, la mayoría somos como dice Santiago 1:22, oidores y no hacedores de la palabra engañándoos a nosotros mismos.

Como Bautistas sabemos cuidarnos en tener una sana doctrina. Tenemos buenos programas. Un liderazgo maduro. Somos organizados y con estructuras y excelentes materiales. Pero en medio de nuestro orgullo espiritual olvidamos las palabras de Santiago "...la fe, si no tiene obras, es muerta en sí misma…Muéstrame tu fe sin tus obras, y yo te mostraré mi fe por mis obras." (Santiago 2:17-18) Y de todo lo que hacemos como Bautistas,  ¿qué obras superan a las que fueron dadas por Jesús de amar a Dios, amar a otros, y hacer discípulos? Estas tres deberían ser nuestro enfoque principal sin dejar de hacer todo lo demás que hacemos.

Cuando mis padres, Jaime y Patricia de Muse, llegaron al Ecuador en 1962 habían 5-6 pequeñas iglesias Bautistas en el país. Hoy, 71 años después del inicio de la obra Bautista en 1950, ciertamente hay más iglesias, gloria a Dios. Pero la visión misionera de esos primeros pioneros fue de plantar sus vidas en llevar el evangelio a TODA LA NACIÓN, a cada rincón, cantón, provincia, y pueblo. Esa visión tristemente aún no forma parte del ADN de la mayoría de nuestras iglesias de la C.B.E. 

Pregunto, ¿Dónde están las obras misioneras de nuestras iglesias? ¿Podemos seguir llamándonos bautistas sin hacer misiones? ¿Cómo podemos justificar delante del Señor que nuestra visión se limita en solamente llevar el evangelio a nuestra comunidad dónde vivimos?  

En vez de hacer discípulos en Jerusalén, Judea, Samaria y el mundo, hoy lo hemos sustituido con conferencias en Zoom, intercambios de videos interesantes, información sobre el Covid, devocionales y meditaciones en Facebook y WhatsApp, y la nueva modalidad de cultos online. Todos son actividades vistas como legítimas pero, ¿Estamos usando la pandemia como una excusa para olvidarnos que hay siervos en el campo que necesiten más que nunca nuestras oraciones, nuestro apoyo económico, y palabras de ánimo?

Por ejemplo, la hermana misionera nacional con quién trabajamos acá en El Matal ha vivido y ministrado aquí por cinco años bautizando más de 70 hermanos y abriendo seis iglesias en casa. Gracias al apoyo de Impacto Mundial, está por abrirse un nuevo centro comunitario para llegar a las madres solteras, adolescentes y niños.  Ha hecho una hermosa labor. Pero en estos cinco años de labor intensa ninguna iglesia le ha enviado una ofrenda.  Ella ha vivido por fe durante todo este tiempo de las oraciones y ofrendas de hermanos quienes la conocen.

Pregunto Hno. Pastor, ¿Usted serviría cinco años en el lugar dónde el Señor le ha puesto sin apoyo económico? Creo que no, pero así somos con los siervos quienes dejan todo para ir a lugares donde nadie más quiere ir. Ciertamente lo hacemos por amor al Señor y su llamado, pero ya es tiempo que la iglesia asume su responsabilidad de abarcar no solo en palabra, sino con hechos nuestra Judea, Samaria, y lo último de la tierra. Si nosotros no podemos ir a estos lugares aislados y difíciles, por lo menos podemos apoyar a los misioneros que sí están dispuestos hacerlo.

En los tres años que hemos estado obrando en El Matal, además de la ayuda continua e incondicional de los hermanos de Impacto Mundial, han llegado exactamente DOS grupos de hermanos de iglesias bautistas para ayudarnos con la obra en esta zona.  Hemos tenido algunos grupos e individuos de otros países, pero casi cero ayuda de las iglesias del Ecuador.  Una excepción es la Iglesia Bautista Nueva Jerusalén de Guayaquil que sí están trabajando en la zona desde el 16A en Jama y hoy tienen una linda misión en Jama. Como he compartido muchas veces con el Pstr. Freddy Jara, ojalá las otras iglesia ven su ejemplo y empiecen a hacer lo mismo en los tantos lugares donde no hay obra Bautista, ni evangélica. Pero hasta la fecha, desconozco de otras iglesias bautistas obrando en esta vasta región poblada. En verdad me extraña que las iglesias bautistas de Manabí quienes han recibido obra misionera por décadas, no toman en serio hacer lo mismo en su propia provincia.

En verdad vamos a extrañar inmensamente al Ecuador con nuestra salida. Yo he vivido 46 años de mi vida en este bello país. ¡Me siento más ecuatoriano que estadounidense!  Al escribir lo anterior varias veces me salieron lágrimas por nuestra salida y aún tanto por hacerse en ver a un Ecuador para Cristo.  Nuestro corazón está con ustedes y con una pasión que aún arde por los pueblos y gente desde “el Carchi al Macará” que aún no conocen del Salvador.

Pedimos sus oraciones por nosotros durante este tiempo de transición.

Les amamos en Cristo.

-Guido y Linda Muse

Mayo 2021

Mi dependencia en el Señor en medio del caos

Bendeciré a Jehová que me aconseja;

Aún en las noches me enseña mi conciencia. Salmo 16:7

Amados hermanos en Cristo, escribo de El Matal esta carta de noticia para abril 2021 a ustedes con un corazón lleno de gozo y de agradecimiento al Señor. Que la gracia y el amor de nuestro amado Padre Celestial esté sobre cada uno de ustedes.

Bueno, de verdad que esta carta es de buenas noticias a pesar del caos que estamos viviendo no sólo aquí en nuestro país sino en todas las naciones por ese virus feo, por la crisis financiera, por la degradación inmoral que cada día el hombre se sumerge y el aumento de la apostasía.

En este mes de abril el Señor me enseñó que cuando sus hijos creemos de corazón que para Él todo es posible, que no existe nada que el enemigo pueda evitar, Él puede obrar a nuestro favor, conforme a Su voluntad y ver Su gloria. 

In My Name They Will Cast Out Demons (Mark 16:17)

Sunday evenings we meet at Angel and Katty’s house for church. Our normal crowd is usually 8-9 adults, several youth and children, along with an assortment of dogs who wander in and out entertaining themselves by barking at every passing vehicle on the nearby street. Due to Covid restrictions, we space ourselves in a circle of plastic chairs out under the stars.  Little did we know how bizarre the evening would end up being.

Maritza, our fellow Ecuadorian missionary partner, shared an evangelistic message. There were a number of first-time visitors who received Christ as Savior. Two of the couples present asked forgiveness of their spouses and children for the way they had acted. It was a beautiful time of reconciliation and healing. A visitor asked a question about baptism. An offering was collected for a sick member who could not afford medication. Our meeting ended about 10:15 pm.

As we were loading the car to go home, an unknown man arrived. Angel introduced the man as "Pedro" reminding us that he was the same Pedro he had asked the church to pray for.  Pedro arrived in a state of visible anxiety and tension.  He looked physically exhausted and said he had come for us to pray for him in that he could no longer bear the load of his troubled life.

Though we were very tired and ready to get back home, Maritza, Linda, and I walked him out to the street and began ministering to him. Maritza, the evangelist, began witnessing to Pedro asking him if he had ever had a personal encounter with Christ.

Pedro seemed confused and unresponsive. There seemed to be some kind of invisible barrier. As we continued to talk I noticed another man headed towards us from down the street. As soon as Pedro saw this person approaching, he pulled a foot-long knife out of his sleeve. In an instant Pedro's countenance transformed into what was clearly a demon-possessed person.  He was filled with hate and rage as he tightly gripped the knife in his hand.

Linda, Maritza and I were only steps away from Pedro who then turned his attention from the other man and directly faced us. We began shouting at Pedro en el Nombre de Jesús to drop the knife!  After a minute or so of him glaring and hissing obscenities, he dropped the knife. I quickly scooped it out of the street and threw it into the back of our car.

For the next 30-minutes, we were in an all-out spiritual battle casting out the demons who were clearly in control of Pedro at that moment. I have never heard such hatred and vitriol coming out of anyone's mouth. Mercifully the Lord blocked our ears from the horrid things the demons were saying. Maritza began to read aloud a Psalm. Other church members including Angel gathered around us to pray. Some began to sing praise songs, but still, nothing was happening with Pedro.  

By then a small crowd of bystanders had gathered out on the street to watch at a distance. Neighbors peered from their windows.  The small band of new believers gathered around us and began singing all the praise songs they knew from our green songbook. The three of us continued to pray over Pedro casting out the demons in Jesus’ Name.  

After some 15-minutes of praying out loud, Scripture reading, and back-to-back songs, Pedro began heaving—as if throwing up—as the demons were expelled from his body. This happened over and over for several more minutes.  When he finally stopped heaving, Martiza asked if he wanted Christ to come into his life. Pedro said yes, and we asked him to pray aloud inviting Christ in and confessing Jesus as Lord. We prayed again over Pedro asking the Lord to forgive his sins, cleanse him, and rid him of any remaining demons that still might be refusing to leave.

Pedro seemed soothed by the singing and kept asking us to “sing another song.”  Not knowing what else to do, we continued to sing and pray as he stood there with his eyes closed soaking in the Spirit’s presence. By this time Pedro was very weak.  Angel and I had to physically hold him upright. 

Finally, though, he collapsed into my arms like a dead man. We gently laid him down in a dry spot on the muddy road. He appeared to be in a deep sleep. After a few more minutes Pedro again opened his eyes but had NO IDEA where he was, or what had happened. It was surreal. He looked all around him and asked who we were and why was he lying in the middle of the road. We calmly explained to him everything he had been through. Everyone was amazed at what they had witnessed—as were we!

I asked two of the men to accompany me in our car to take Pedro home. We set up a time for the following day to visit and follow up on his decision to follow Christ. What transpired during that first visit and other visits is another bizarre story altogether. Suffice it to say, we have seen a dramatic change come over Pedro from that Sunday night to the present! He sleeps with his new Bible and goes out fishing with a new partner who is also a believer.

Last Sunday Angel and I baptized Pedro along with seven others in the ocean a few feet from our back porch. To God be the Glory; great things He hath done!  Please pray for Pedro. He still has many serious issues to deal with in his life and very much needs our prayers.

Barbara Lynn Rivers (1954 - 2017)

De los 299 misioneros de la FMB/IMB que han servido en el Ecuador, pocos han logrado un mayor y duradero impacto como lo hizo BARBARA LYNN RIVERS (9 abril 1954 – 5 de febrero 2017).

Barbara llegó a Guayaquil, Ecuador como misionera en 1986 y retornó a los Estados Unidos en Febrero del 2010 por motivos de salud.  Antes de su llegada al Ecuador, Bárbara fue una misionera en Guatemala por dos años, y estudió español en Costa Rica.

Durante sus 24 años en Guayaquil, Barbara sirvió a su Señor en una variedad de roles: educación teológica, obra con la Unión Femenil Bautista (UFBME), SAS en Acción (obra misionera con señoritas), consejera de Teleamigo, ministerio a jóvenes delincuentes institucionalizados, ministerio a mujeres en prostitución, fundadora de la Fundación Dorcas y su obra con los ancianos, maestra en temas relacionados a la educación Cristiana, maestra de la Biblia, autora de material didáctico y de lecciones bíblicas, guerrera de oración, y capacitador de líderes en el movimiento de plantación de iglesias en las casas.    

Lo que siempre recordaré de Bárbara era su gran amor por el pueblo ecuatoriano. Su lenguaje de corazón era el Español.  En muchas ocasiones conversando con Bárbara, ¡ella no se daba cuenta que estaba hablando en español en vez del inglés!   Ella prefería leer y estudiar su Biblia en Español. La mayoría de sus amigas más cercanas eran ecuatorianas y consideraba a la familia de Humberto e Isabel Riofrío como su propia familia. Bárbara era una fanática de los deportes, especialmente todo lo relacionado con el programa deportivo de la Universidad de Texas dónde ella estudió. Su risa contagiosa era algo que le seguía dondequiera que iba.

En abril del 2011 Bárbara retornó a Guayaquil por última vez para despedirse de la gente quién tanto amaba. Si no fuera por la enfermedad que padecía que forzó su retorno a los EE.UU. creo que hubiera continuado viviendo y sirviendo a su Señor en el Ecuador hasta su muerte. Durante esta última visita, el Municipio de Guayaquil honró a Bárbara con una ceremonia especial por sus años de servicio social y sus contribuciones espirituales al pueblo ecuatoriano.  Si no me equivoco, Bárbara es solamente una de  dos personas cristianas evangélicas que hayan recibido dicha reconocimiento por las autoridades locales.

Para mi esposa y yo, Bárbara siempre será uno de esos misioneros excepcionales que Dios utilizó para tocar las vidas de tantas personas. Trabajamos juntos con ella por más de dos décadas y aprendimos mucho por medio de su experiencia y sabiduría, admirándola siempre por el alto nivel de compromiso que tenía con el Señor. La hemos extrañado estos últimos siete años, pero regocijamos que por fin Bárbara está hecha completa y goza en la presencia de su amado Salvador a quién ella entregó de lleno su vida mientras estuvo aquí en la tierra.

--J. Guy Muse

February 6, 2017

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Barbara Lynn Rivers (1954 - 2017)

Of the 299 FMB/IMB missionaries who have served in Ecuador, few have made a greater and more lasting impact than BARBARA LYNN RIVERS (April 9, 1954 – February 5, 2017).

Barbara arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1986 and returned to the United States for health reasons in February 2010. Prior to her service in Ecuador, Barbara was a missionary Journeyman in Guatemala and studied Spanish in Costa Rica. 

During the 24 years she was in Guayaquil, Barbara served her Lord in a variety of roles: theological education, work with the national Women’s Missionary Union (UFBME), SAS (young women in missions), counselor with the Teleamigo counseling center, ministry to troubled institutionalized youth (María José), ministry to women in prostitution, founding of the Dorcas Foundation and her work with the elderly, teacher of a wide range of Christian Education subject matters, Bible teacher, writer of training materials/lessons, prayer warrior, and trainer for the house church planting movement in Guayaquil and on the coast of Ecuador.

    

What I will always remember about Barbara was the great love she had for the Ecuadorian people. Her heart language was truly Spanish.  On many occasions we would be talking and Barbara would not even notice she was conversing in Spanish rather than English!  She preferred reading and studying her Spanish Bible. Most of her closest friends were Ecuadorian and she considered the Humberto and Isabel Riofrío family as her own family.  Barbara was a fanatical sports lover (especially anything Longhorns), and had an infectious laughter wherever she went.

In April 2011 Barbara returned to Guayaquil for the last time to say good-bye to the land and people to whom she had given her life. Were it not for the serious illness that ended up taking her back to the USA, I am confident she would have continued living and serving in Ecuador to her dying day. During this farewell visit, the City of Guayaquil honored her in a special ceremony for her years of service and the many social and spiritual contributions she made to the people of Ecuador. As far as I know, Barbara is only one of two Christian evangelical persons to have ever received such recognition.

For my wife and I, Barbara will always be one of those exceptional “under the radar” missionaries that God uses to touch the lives of many people.  We worked closely together for many years and learned much from her experience and wisdom, truly admiring her level of commitment to the Lord. She has been missed since leaving us seven years ago, but we truly rejoice Barbara is now whole and with the one Person to whom she gave her meaningful and well-lived life.

--J. Guy Muse

February 6, 2017

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Church in the ashes

A true story heard from a fellow Ecuadorian church planter working in a neighboring region of our province.

Luisa was eager to start with her new church plant. She had no where to go, and did not know where to start. After praying, she felt led to start under the shade of a tree near where she lived. Her first gathering consisted of herself and two other girls. Luisa was ecstatic. She was on her way to becoming a church planter!

Two weeks later, the tree was cut down by the owner of the property. Luisa was devastated. She went to her church planting mentor and cried, "Now, what am I supposed to do? I have no where else to meet. The tree has been cut down."

Her wise mentor told her, "Thank the Lord! He has now provided you with a place to sit! Resume meeting in the branches of the fallen tree."

Luisa did so, and the group meeting continued to meet for a couple of more weeks. All was going well until the owner decided to burn the fallen tree.

Luisa went back and lamented, "Now what are we going to do? The owner has burned our tree. Now we don't have anywhere to sit when we gather."

Her mentor told her, "Go back and continue to meet in the midst of the ashes. Church is not the place, but the people the Lord has given you to work with. Trust God. He is with you."

Luisa did so. She and her little band of new believers continued to meet in the spot where now only ashes remained.

Meanwhile, the intrigued owner continued to wonder at the group that so faithfully gathered no matter what he did to the tree. Finally, out of curiosity, he too began coming to the gatherings to learn more about what was going on.

A few weeks passed and he too gave his heart to Jesus. With his new heart, he donated the portion of land where the church had been gathering. Since it is hot out in the equatorial sun, he also decided it would be nice if everyone could have a shady place to sit. He then built a shelter large enough to accommodate the growing group out of the hot sun.

Many lessons can be learned from this story.

One that registered with me, is that God often has to reduce our "tree" (works) to ashes before He can build the church He intends on having.

Another lesson is the idea that set-backs, trials--and even tragedies are often viewed as detriments to the work. But more often than not, end up being the very means God uses to accomplish His purposes.

What other lessons do you see in this story?

21 prácticas que están frenando el avance del Reino de Dios en el Ecuador

Felicity Dale comparte 15 reasons why we don't see harvest. He modificado su lista original en inglés para incluir algunas de las razones que creo están frenando el avance de la obra del Señor en el Ecuador. Sus comentarios son bienvenidos.

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1. Estamos tan involucrados con otros creyentes que no tenemos tiempo para invertir con los que aun no conocen de Cristo.

2. Tenemos miedo de ser contaminados al tener demasiado contacto con el mundo.

3. Entender al evangelismo como un serie de eventos que se hacen en vez de un estilo de vida de cada creyente.

4. Líderes que creen que llenar el templo es la meta, en vez de movilizar a la iglesia a los campos de la mies.

5. Falta de rogar al Señor de la mies por obreros.

6. Poco énfasis en preparar a los obreros para la cosecha y más énfasis en el desarrollo de los líderes cuyo función principal debería ser el "capacitar a los santos para la obra del ministerio."

7. Líderes que creen que el mandato de "buscar primeramente el Reino de Dios" significa crecer más la iglesia donde ellos pastorean.

8. El creer que "hacer discípulos" significa predicar el evangelio y esperar que la gente venga al templo y forme parte de nuestra congregación.

9. Pescar en aguas donde no muerden los peces, o cambiando la metáfora...buscar cosechar en terreno que aun no está listo, o donde poca semilla ha sido sembrada.

10. Invitar a las personas venir a nuestra iglesia, en vez de comenzar nuevas iglesias con ellos y sus amigos en los lugares donde viven.

11. Cuando alguien se convierta al evangelio, lo extraemos de su propia comunidad para formar parte de la nuestra.

12. Evangelizamos sí, pero lo hacemos al azar en vez de buscar hacerlo con "personas de paz" como mandó Jesús. (Lucas 10:1-9)

13. El amar más nuestros reinos que Su Reino al dar prioridad a nuestros proyectos, programas, sueños, y levantar templos sobre los claros mandatos del Señor de 1) amar a Dios, 2) amar al prójimo, y 3) hacer discípulos.

14. El depender más en cualidades de carisma, estilo, organización y preparación sin importar ni requerir la presencia y poder del Espíritu Santo en nuestra obra.

15. Esperar que Dios bendiga todos nuestros esfuerzos, sean cual sean, sin tomar el tiempo para buscar lo que el Señor realmente desea de nosotros.

16. Todo centralizado dentro de las cuatro paredes de la iglesia.

17. Iglesias que gastan el 98% de sus ingresos en si mismas en vez de invertir en "hacer discípulos a las naciones."

18. Oramos por muchas cosas, pero poco por las almas perdidas.

19. Esperamos que otra persona lo haga. Y cuando alguien sí intenta hacer algo, criticamos todo lo que hacen diciendo a quién nos escucha cómo debían haberse hecho las cosas.

20. Usar la excusa, "Dios no me ha llamado para ser misionero" cuando la Gran Comisión indica claramente lo contrario.

21. División entre el Cuerpo de Cristo. Nosotros somos los "buenos" y todos los demás hermanos están errados. Mejor alejarnos de todo aquel que no es cómo nosotros para así no contaminarnos de sus falsas doctrinas.

From everywhere to anywhere

Hanging in front of my desk and covering most of our office wall is the above map entitled in Spanish "MUCH REMAINS TO BE DONE."

Covered in tiny colored dots one is able to see at a glance where the largest concentrations of lostness are located in the world. The numbers are staggering: 6500 Unreached People Groups (UPG) totaling some 4-billion people who have yet to hear a clear presentation of the life-transforming Good News of Jesus Christ. Of these, 3000 are not only unreached, but unengaged by anyone. There is no one even trying to reach them! As Kirby Woods so aptly expressed, "The only thing worse than being lost, is being lost when no one is looking for you." 

This is why Linda and I are in Ecuador. To join Christ's team in doing everything possible to make His Name known in every single one of those "dots"--from everywhere in the world to anywhere God leads his people. That is our task. Our calling. Mobilization is the term used today to describe all that is involved in making disciples of the nations, who in turn, engage other nations. To mobilize is to Pray. Teach. Train. Equip. Encourage. Mentor. Assist. Counsel. When woven together we see a beautiful tapestry of disciples making disciples of the nations.

But this task is not ours alone. It belongs to us all. As C.H. Spurgeon said, "It is the whole business of the whole church to preach the whole gospel to the whole world." After more than 100 years of the Gospel seed being sown, watered and harvested in Ecuador, our adopted country has transitioned from being solely a mission field, and is now a front-line player in sending missionaries TO THE MISSION FIELD!

This past week a fellow missionary shared the following story that illustrates the kinds of things God is doing these days...

A Brazilian musician working in Vienna, Austria has started Bible studies with more than 30 Iranians and several Vietnamese families. Last month 12 of these were baptized and a new church started. This Brazilian evangelist/musician/church planter is being trained and mentored by two American families. One living in Germany and the other in Switzerland! 

God is indeed moving his people from everywhere to anywhere!

PLEASE PRAY. My wife and I work closely with Ecuador's interdenominational missions agency in sending Ecuadorians to the nations. IM is currently working with 28 Ecuadorian missionaries who are either on the field, on home assignment, or candidates in various stages of preparation to be sent out. It is a huge honor and blessing to be part of what God is doing to complete the cycle of Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and now to the nations of the earth.

We began our own missionary journey 28 years ago serving in Guayaquil (our Jerusalem). After several years we became part of the Guayas Mestizo Team (Judea) reaching out into the province. A few years later, we were charged with responsibility to reach the neighboring coastal provinces (Samaria). And now we are faced with reaching out to the nations (ends of the earth)!!!

A great deal of our time is spent working globally in the logistical side of sending Latino missionaries from all over the Americas into all the world. The #1 barrier for sending qualified Latino workers to their fields of service is in the area of finances. Recently a new project was approved by the IMB which seeks to supplement Latino cross-cultural workers enabling them to fulfill God's call on their life to go to the nations. The special Lottie Moon project is called "Partnerships For Global Sending" (NOTE: After clicking the preceding link you will have to click VIEW PROJECTS BY PEOPLE GROUP and then select AMERICAN from the drop box. The first project should be the one.) 

Jorge, from Venezuela, is an example of the kind of person we are seeking to help. His inspiring story is entitled "Called to Go" and can be viewed by clicking https://vimeo.com/100271203

Is Latin America Still A Mission Field? (by David Sills)

David Sills is the A.P. and Faye Stone Professor of Christian Missions and Cultural Anthropology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, and Director of the Doctor of Missiology program, Director of the International Church Planting program, and Director of Great Commission Ministries. For those of us in Ecuador, David is better known as a former fellow missionary who served alongside us for several years. In one of his blog posts entitled, Latin America: Mission Force, Mission Field David shares some of the tensions facing missionaries and missions organizations serving in Latin America.

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"...This concentrated and extended time in Latin America has shown me a great many things about the state of the church here and the region’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. Reading what much of the missions literature says about Latin America and traveling and ministering here makes me wonder whether we are talking about the same place. So often, Latin America is presented as yesterday’s mission field, a place that is now reached, so missionaries can turn their sights elsewhere. However, there are significant problems with this misinformation. First, is it is not reached. The International Mission Board estimates that there are 999 people groups in the Americas, and of that number, 690 of them are among the least reached people groups with less than 2% of their population being evangelicals. In addition, 356 of those groups are not only among the least reached, they are unengaged, which means that no one has been trying to reach and plant churches among them for at least over the last two years. Furthermore, 85 of those groups are also completely uncontacted; in many cases, missionaries simply know that they are, but not necessarily where they are or very much about them. There is much to do to reach all of the peoples of Latin American countries with the gospel. However, even though I’m advocating for the unreached of Latin America, please be very careful not to buy the lie that missions equals reaching the unreached. Yes, reaching the unreached is biblical and necessary, but the Great Commission is much broader and deeper than that, it is to make disciples among the nations (ethnic groups), baptize them, and teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded.

The argument that Latin America is reached (which it is not) and therefore we should leave it with the national brothers and move on is misguided. Jesus did not send His church to reach and leave the nations, but to reach and teach them—everything He has commanded us. That remains to be done throughout the jungles, mountains, farmlands, banana republics, modern urban megacities, and seaport cities of that beautiful, resource-rich, and spiritually challenging area of the world that we call Latin America. Countless groups of indigenous peoples, mestizo Latinos, Asians, Arab peoples, Afro-Americans, and Jews live lost lives in a land that is counted as Christian because of the cultural Christianity surface statistics claim.

Another challenge in Latin America is the vast biblical illiteracy. Certainly, some of the most godly pastors, most well-equipped academicians, and most gifted Christian writers are Latin American brothers and sisters. However, they are faithfully serving in their ministries that demand as much of their time as the ministries of their USA counterparts do. They are both overwhelmed in the ministries they serve and are far too few in number for the task before them. Missionaries never concentrated their work on training more like them. The majority of pastors I meet acknowledge that they need training and they plead for it. It saddens me that pastors regularly ask me heartbreaking questions such as, Was Jesus saved before or after His resurrection? Which woman was it that saved Him? Is it okay for Christians to continue to venerate the earth goddess? Many churches here are steeped in animism but meet in buildings with crosses on the top so missiologists and researchers count them as Christian. I recently preached in an indigenous church that has been meeting together for 25 years. A mission agency built them a building 25 years ago, but they never returned to disciple the congregants, teach the leaders, or even to preach—they never set foot in the community again. It is no wonder that the church members still practice their traditional witchcraft and sorcery; they say that they never even knew that it was wrong to do so.

Many regions of Latin America that we have scratched off our lists as “reached” are Christian in name only; they have never been discipled but rather simply joined a church. Since the Spaniards, conquistadors, and Catholic missionaries came in the late 1400s, Latin America is the recipient of a form of Catholicism that is not only the product of the Spanish Inquisition, but is also pre-Reformational since the Reformation did not begin until 1517. And since the Reformation never made it south of the Pyrenees, even subsequent waves of Catholic missionaries were never tempered with the truth of Grace and the Solas. They imposed the harsh Catholicism that they brought with the point of a sword. Indigenous peoples became very adept at embracing the outward forms of new religions for personal gain and protection.

Reading my blog and Facebook posts about my travels in Latin America has prompted many new friends to email me about their call to the peoples of the Western hemisphere and express their frustration at not finding ministry opportunities. Indeed, many traditional mission agencies are redirecting their efforts to other areas of the world. In hard economic times, they are following the donor dollars that are more interested in the least reached places on the planet. Everyone would hopefully agree that we must reached the least reached and preach the gospel to every person as soon as possible. However, we must also conserve the hard-won advances we have made by discipling and teaching the believers that we have reached. The effort to reach the least reached would be better served by training up a host of evangelists and missionaries whom God is calling from the traditional fields we have served so long, who can go before us and go with us to serve alongside us.

I always tell those called to Latin America but who find themselves frustrated by various mission boards, that they must follow God’s call on their lives, not God’s call on the agency. As a friend of mine often says, “The board is not the Lord.” Never compare your call with another’s to decide the right course of action. I have seen many Christians drawn away from their duty and calling by comparing themselves and their lot with others. I preached not long ago on the four kinds of men in the world: a man’s man, a ladies’ man, a selfish man, and God’s man. Each of those seeks to please someone, either other manly men, the ladies, self, or God. Whom will you serve?

Sometimes the emails I get are asking what kinds of missions opportunities are available in Latin America. A short list of some of the greatest needs would include theological education, pastoral training, university ministry, youth ministry, MK teachers, orphanages, hospital ministry, physicians, dentists, water-wells, health education, evangelism, discipleship, guesthouse ministry, vocational training, rescuing streetchildren, Christian camps, publishing, bookstores and literature ministry, reaching the influential segments of society, intercultural training and missionary orientation, church planting, and whatever the Holy Spirit has called and gifted you to do. The highest and best use of your life is to do what God calls you to do in the place He calls you to do it. Never apologize about your call. If God has given it, He knows why and He knows that you are the perfect person for the job and the perfect place for you to glorify Him.

Some of the mission agencies that have continued to maintain a strong focus on Latin America are increasingly my heroes. I could write a book on each one of them and the contributions they have made, and are committed to continue in Latin America. Some of the brighter lights in the harbor are Latin America Mission, South America Mission, CAM International, and Global Outreach International. Of course, major missions agencies like the International Mission Board, Avant, and HCJB that have made such a great impact here will very likely always have a presence, though it is rapidly diminishing. If you share my burden for Latin America, why not write an email to those agencies focusing on Latin America and thank them for their commitment to this vital region. If you have influence in the agencies that are diminishing their efforts here, why not exercise it to encourage them to stay the course and refocus on new challenges and opportunities rather than abandon the region. The needs are so great, the opportunities are so numerous, and the time is now to seize the day for Christ’s glory and the advance of His kingdom.

I would add a word of caution to the agencies that are drastically reducing their missionary personnel and resources to Latin America. I have seen several major traditional missions agencies’ offices and guesthouse properties for sale in the last few months, evidence of a dramatic draw down. Be aware that as evangelicals leave, Muslims are coming in behind us. One brother in the USA told me a sad tale of going to Latin America to help an ailing missionary pack up and move home. He said as they pulled out of town, they noticed two young Mormon missionaries moving in. Well, the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are still coming in increasing numbers, but Islam is also firmly established and still coming. While missiologists debate the exact population figures, a missionary who concentrates his ministry to reach Muslims in South America estimates that their numbers are around 21 million and growing. Leftist governments in Latin America are eager for Muslim governments’ economic resources. We have a proverb that he who pays the piper calls the tune. We dare not abandon Latin America to untrained brothers and sisters who acknowledge the threat and their need and are requesting our aid.

Rather than leave, our ministries should change. We must train theologians, prepare pastors, teach teachers, and disciple disciplers (2 Timothy 2:2). As we train them, we are ensuring their protection from the cults and false religions that will seek to deceive and win them. As Latin Americans feel called to reach, teach, and preach in their own and neighboring countries, let us train them for the work. They will do it better than we ever could once their heads, hearts, and hands are prepared for the work. We should train those called to go to the world to be the best missionaries they can be. They will be able to reach and teach in many areas much better than we could and with much easier access since they do not carry a USA passport that garners scrutinizing examination from increasing numbers of USA-hostile governments. We talk a lot about creative access, especially to Arab lands. Perhaps the most creative access of all is to stay and train Latin Americans to go to those with whom they shared the Iberian Peninsula for almost 800 years."

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So, what do you think about what David writes above? Any thoughts?

Guayaquil De Mis Amores

193 years ago Guayaquil gained her independence from Spain. October 9 is Guayaquil Day. View some historical and current photos of the city where my wife and I have lived and served for 27 years.

Teleamigo is 20 years old

Teleamigo is an evangelistic counseling and prayer ministry which we helped begin back in August 1993. Last night Teleamigo celebrated her 20th anniversary. Literally thousands upon thousands of people have been touched and lives changed by this volunteer ministry that uses prayer and counseling to reach people for Christ. There are so many people to thank. So many whose lives, love, and offerings have gone into making Teleamigo a ministry that has impacted over 3-million people who have made contact through one or another of the different levels of ministry.

As my wife and I participated in the anniversary celebration, I couldn't help but reflect on all the people whose lives have been part of Teleamigo over the past twenty years. It was noted that at least three different sister ministries are today the "grandchildren" of Teleamigo. Each of these three have gone on to specialize in areas of helping people that go beyond what Teleamigo is able to offer. The leaders of these other ministries all "cut their teeth" with Teleamigo and today continue to impact people's lives with the love of Christ.

Jesus assured his disciples in John 14:12 "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father." How true!

Over the past fourteen years the "five loaves and two fish" offered to the Lord on August 3, 1993 have been abundantly blessed by Jesus Christ. What began as something so small and insignificant, has touched the lives of over 3-million people:

Untold thousands have been helped...
tens of thousands prayed over...
marriages saved...
babies born instead of aborted...
the abused forgiving those who have hurt them...
alcohol and drug addicts loved and ministered to...
families restored and reconciled...
the hopeless encouraged...
and yes, hundreds accepting Christ as Lord and Savior.

Only eternity will show the full impact this tiny ministry operating on a shoe-string budget has had on the lives of so many who live here in Guayaquil. To God be the Glory.

While the below video has been out now for several years, it is a good summary of what God continues to do through this ministry. Thanks for viewing and especially for praying for Teleamigo as she begins her 21st year of ministry.



To read past articles in this blog about Teleamigo, type in the word "teleamigo" at the top of the page in the search box.

Ecuadorian Baptist Identity

In Ecuador, what is it that makes a Baptist a Baptist? Is it our traditions and practices brought to us by the first Baptist missionaries who arrived in 1950? Our programs and literature?  Our contextualized understanding of Scriptural mandates and doctrine? Exactly what is it that determines if one is truly an Ecuadorian Baptist, or more identified with some other group of evangelical believers?

I have observed with interest in recent weeks a resurgence amongst many of my Ecuadorian Baptist brethren the expressed need to clearly identify what it is we believe as Baptists. In an evangelical world that is fragmented almost beyond recognition, many are wanting to define positions on a number of contemporary issues, including: church polity, same sex marriage, the church's involvement in social ministries, Christians in the political arena, education, the role of the State within church convictions, Baptist distinctives, role of women in ministry, etc.

One of the earliest attempts to define who Baptists are is the London Baptist Confession 1644/1646. While too long to quote in its entirety, I pulled a few of the articles that caught my attention. As I read this document many of their original convictions mirror my own. After each article are my own comments in italics. Some of my observations are particular to our own context here in Ecuador and not necessarily issues in other parts of the world.

XXXVI.
BEING thus joined, every church hath power given them from Christ, for their wellbeing, to choose among themselves meet persons for elders and deacons, being qualified according to the word, as those which Christ hath appointed in His testament, for the feeding, governing, serving, and building up of His Church; and that none have any power to impose either these or any other. Acts 1:23,26,6:3,15:22.25; Rom.12:7,8; 1 Tim.3:2,6.7; 1 Cor. 12:8,28; Heb.13:7,17; 1 Pet.5:1,2,3, 4:15.

"...choose among themselves" seems to be the pattern of those early Baptists who preceded us. The current practice of importing trained professionals from outside the congregation seems foreign to the wording in this article. As is the idea of home-grown plural "elders and deacons" which is in contrast with the more common "Senior Pastor" model which seems to be the norm today.

XXXVII.
THAT the ministers lawfully called, as aforesaid, ought to continue in their calling and place according to God's ordinance, and carefully to feed the flock of God committed to them, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Heb.5:4; John 10:3,4; Acts 20:28,29; Rom.12:7,8; Heb.13:7.17; 1 Pet.5: 1.2,3.

"...ought to continue in their calling and place..." means to me that if they are a school teacher, they are to continue in that profession and not abandon it for the ministry. Our modern idea of having full-time professional church ministers seems out of tune with this earlier confession of Baptist belief and practice.

XXXIX.
BAPTlSM is an ordinance of the New Testament, given by Christ, to be dispensed upon persons professing faith, or that are made disciples; who upon profession of faith, ought to be baptized, and after to partake of the Lord's Supper. Matt.28:18,19; John 4:1; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 2:37.38, 8:36,37,etc.

"...to be dispensed upon persons professing faith..." is the only prerequisite for baptism. In many Baptist contexts, especially in Ecuador, other prerequisites are often added to that of "professing faith"--usually in the insistence that the person requesting baptism be legally married (not living in adultery/fornication) before consideration is given to their profession of faith.

XLI.
THE person designed by Christ to dispense baptism, the Scripture holds forth to be a disciple; it being no where tied to a particular church officer, or person extraordinarily sent the commission enjoining the administration, being given to them as considered disciples, being men able to preach the gospel. Isa.8:16; Eph.2:7; Matt.28:19; John 4:2; Acts 20:7,11:10; 1 Cor.11:2, 10:16,17; Rom.16:2; Matt.18:17.

The administrator of baptism are disciples. No where in Scripture is baptism tied to a particular church office. Our modern practice (especially overseas where this is an issue) of only ordained, recognized church leaders being the only ones authorized to baptize seems to contradict not only our Baptist forefathers but Scripture itself.

XLII.
CHRIST hath likewise given power to His Church to receive in, and cast out, any member that deserves it; and this power is given to every congregation, and not to one particular person, either member or officer, but in relation to the whole body, in reference to their faith and fellowship. Rom.16:2; Matt.18:17; 1 Cor.5:4,11,13;12:6;2:3; 2 Cor.2:6,7.

Again, what caught my attention is that "power" is in the body of believers, and not in any particular sub-group or special persons like it is in many Baptist churches here in Ecuador (usually the pastor.)

XLVII.
AND although the particular congregations be distinct, and several bodies, every one as a compact and knit city within itself; yet are they all to walk by one rule of truth; so also they (by all means convenient) are to have the counsel and help one of another, if necessity require it, as members of one body, in the common faith, under Christ their head. 1 Cor.4:17, 14:33,36,16:1; Ps.122:3; Eph.2:12,19: Rev.2:1; 1 Tim.3:15, 6:13,14; 1 Cor.4:17; Acts 15:2,3; Song of Sol.8:8.9; 2 Cor.8:1.4, 13:14.

While meeting in various geographic locations around the city, the "several bodies" are to "have the counsel and help one of another..." How I wish we could get back to this basic practice of understanding that we are all one in Christ and in need of one another. We are to be there for one another and not separate ourselves from our brothers in our own mini church kingdoms.

XLV.
Also such to whom God hath given gifts in the church, may and ought to prophecy [viz., teach] according to the proportion of faith, and to teach publicly the word of God, for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the church. 1 Cor. 14:3, etc.; Rom 12:6; 1 Pet. 4:10, 11; 1 Cor. 12:7; 1 Thess. 5:19, etc.

This is nothing more than direct teaching from Paul out of I Corinthians 14. Yet we have taken away from the people to publicly prophecy/teach and hired out professionals to edify, exhort, and comfort the church.


Comments? Oberservations? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

Teleamigo: Guayaquil, Ecuador

Built upon the foundation of prayer, the Teleamigo Counseling Center in Guayaquil, Ecuador has been used to reach over 2.5 million people in the past decade.

A shift in our missionary role

My wife and I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador as missionaries in December of 1987. In those early missionary days we labored at the center of where "the action" was taking place. We were in high demand by the churches, associations, and Ecuador Baptist Convention and all their related institutions and programs. A lot of our time was spent attending all the different meetings of both our own denominational work, as well as the events and programs of other evangelical denominations. I served on various denominational boards, committees, and task forces. Our advice and opinions were respected and listened to. We were constantly called upon to preach, teach, administer, counsel, train, and coordinate ministries, institutions, and strategy. Each of us wore multiple ministerial hats. All of us were responsible for carrying out an assortment of assignments, often in areas we were not particularly gifted in, but "someone" had to fill those shoes, so we took on these tasks as well. Our phone rang incessantly. Rare were the days when we had an entire evening to ourselves without someone in our home, someone dropping by to chat, or the phone ringing day and night.

Over the years, all of the above has continued to decrease to, what is today, a mere trickle of what it was 20 years ago. Has the work diminished? Not at all. In fact far more is happening now on multiple levels than anyone could have ever imagined. But our personal influence and role has diminished from what it once was. Probably to be fair, a better description would be our influence and role has changed. While we are certainly still loved and respected by our Ecuadorian brethren, the things we used to do--as "principal actors on stage"--are now being done by those we poured ourselves into years ago. The very men/women/youth we taught, counseled, trained, and encouraged have taken our place. They are the ones now that others call upon, serve in "important" capacities, speak, teach, train, travel, lead, preach, etc.

One of the hardest missions lessons is the one John the Baptist must have also struggled with: "He must increase; but I must decrease." Someone once defined missionary success as working oneself out of a job.

But actually saying these words is a lot easier than living with the consequences of someone else now doing and filling the roles one used to have. We too want to be needed, sought after, consulted, and called upon. In fact, instead of the phone ringing in the evenings with yet another crisis for us to solve, we now can sit most nights quietly reading a book without interruption.

As I reflect back over the years of all the assignments, responsibilities, tasks, and roles we have played; ALL, without exception, are today in the hands of nationals who are doing an excellent job.

So what are we still doing here if we have successfully worked ourselves out of all our jobs?

The task is far from completed. With only 7-10% of the population in Ecuador followers of Christ, much remains to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our region of the world.

What I sense is most needed is not more missionaries continuing to come from other parts of the world to Ecuador, but rather a shift in role existing missionaries play.

We must begin to see ourselves more in the apostolic role of encouragers, enablers, equippers, trainers, motivators, connectors, and coordinators who are principally engaged in mobilizing God's people into the ripe harvest fields--not as fun as front line stuff, but necessary!

While there will always be room for the first generation apostolic church planter who goes into unreached/under-reached territory to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and leave a NT ekklesia; in the later stages of a ripe harvest field (like Ecuador) we best serve the King by shifting our focus to helping the church see what remains to be done, how to accomplish the task, provide tools and training, and mobilize to lead hundreds of laborers to bring in the harvest God is giving.

Another way of understanding this role change is to explain it this way: I can feel great about spending 30-40 hours a week directly engaged in proclaiming the Gospel, making disciples, baptizing 15-20 and hopefully planting 1-2 churches in a year's time...or, I can spend that same time modeling, training, mobilizing several hundred others to do the same things, and at the end of the year see the Kingdom grow by dozens of churches and hundreds of baptisms and scores of new disciples also equipped to going out and making even more disciples.

In the first role we are the primary actors on stage. Everyone sees us, needs us, and looks to us for direction. In the second we are behind the scenes and the ones "seen" are those we are coaching. The difference in the way we understand our apostolic/missionary role is between planting a church, and being an instrument in the Spirit's hands for dozens of churches planted all over the region.

What do you think? As usual, your thoughts and observations are welcome.

What would you do differently if you knew you only had three more years of ministry?

Jesus accomplished the Father's will and did so in three years of ministry. Can we claim the same?

Unconsciously, most of us think we have a life time in which to carry out the Lord's work. But what if we were guaranteed to having only three more years of ministry? What would become our priority? What would we do differently?

I don't know about you, but for me, making disciples that make disciples would be my priority.

Another related thought that continues to haunt me is that if just ONE CHURCH of 200 members were to commit to making ONE disciple per year, and were to faithfully carry out that task--with those discipled each year doing the same--by the time of our retirement in 15 years, theoretically THE ENTIRE WORLD would be followers of Christ.

Yet we can't seem to even win/disciple ONE per year!

The problem is we THINK we are doing what Christ commanded, but aren't. To illustrate, just ask for a simple show of hands next Sunday of those who in the past five years have won a single person to Christ and made discipling them a priority. If there are 5 out of 200 (including the full-time paid professional church leaders) who have done so, I would be shocked!

The fact is, we are NOT making disciples. We are doing a lot of good 'churchy-type' activities, but winning the lost, and making disciples is not amongst the top priorities of most churches out there.

What does a church look like that indeed has evangelism/discipleship, church planting, and missions as a priority?

I visited one a few weeks ago. There were about 20 adults present (10% of the typical church mentioned above), along with children running in and out of the room. The church 'service' was anything but orderly, with everyone talking at once about the previous week's experiences of:

* lost family and friends they are praying for
* people being discipled and related questions they came up during the time together
* how and where to purchase follow-up materials for people won that week
* logistics for an evangelism blitz the coming weekend
* funny stories that took place in the new house church being planted across town
* prayer for a couple that were going out that week to visit a family
* needing more money from the collected offerings to buy Bibles for new believers
* several testimonies of God's opening doors for them to 'preach the Gospel'
* a missions report about what God is doing in another Latin American country

I am not exaggerating. The entire church 'service' was what I have described. There were a few songs sandwiched in, along with a short teaching from the Gospel of Matthew, but the rest was everyone pumped-up about their excitement of being on-mission with God.

This is a church that is truly missional in every sense of the word. They aren't looking to attract people to their tiny garage church, they are a vibrant church on mission with God, taking the church out to where the world is dying in its sin. I don't know about you, but that is the kind of church I want to belong to!

It would seem most of us (including me) are greatly distracted by all the programs, buildings, financial needs, meetings, and paraphernalia of Christendom that we have lost sight of the simple mandate of Christ to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach.

What do you think? What would you do if you knew you only had three more years of ministry?

Solo los enfermos necesitan hospitales

Jeannette Walls en su memoria personal "El Castillo De Cristal" relata un incidente de su niñez cuando estaba cocinando y por accidente se incendió dejándola severamente quemada. Su mamá despreocupada la llevó al hospital. En poco tiempo sus médicos determinaron que Jeannette vivía en un ambiente pésimo con padres disfuncionales y al borde del mal trato. En su casa cada uno de sus tres hermanos tenían que velarse por si mismos ya que sus padres no hacían nada para atender a sus tres hijos.

Cuando Jeannette llegó al hospital encontró todo un mundo de maravillas y placeres que hasta entonces no conocía. Allí le daban de comer tres veces al dia--y buena comida! Todo el personal del hospital la trataba con cariño. Gente desconocida le traía regalos. Las enfermeras cambiaban las sábanas de su cama diariamente. En fin, un mundo totalmente a lo opuesto a lo que Jeannette vivía en su propia casa.

Con tantas comodidades nunca antes disfrutadas, Walls no quería sanarse de sus quemaduras. Pretendía estar en más sufrimiento de lo que estaba para convencer a los médicos de NO DARLE DE ALTA del hospital. Ella quería vivir para siempre allí en ese paraiso y no tener que volver a la triste realidad de su vida difícil y el mundo cruel afuera del hospital.

Muchos Cristianos son como Jeannette Walls. Se contentan con la atención y el buen cuidado que reciben en sus iglesias. En sus templos encuentran un oasis de tranquilidad en medio de un mundo cruel y lleno de problemas y dolor. Pero la iglesia no existe para ser un hospital permanente en la vida del paciente. ¿Qué hospital quiere que sus pacientes estén allí como miembros permanentes en un continuo estado de recuperación?

Como Jeannette, muchos no quieren salir del hospital. Quieren quedarse, y hasta buscan trabajos voluntarios y llenarse de cargos hospitaliarios, todo con no tener que salir de nuevo al mundo. Pero nuestro "Médico Celestial" sabe que no fuimos creados para pasar nuestros dias en un hospital. Más bien, fuimos creados para ser un hospital móbil entre gente verderamente enferma allá fuera en el mundo.

Jesús mismo dijo: "Los que están sanos no tienen necesidad de médico, sino los que están enfermos; no he venido a llamar a justos, sino a pecadores." (Marcos 2:17)

Se dice que en el Ecuador hay dos millones de creyentes evangélicos. Si esta cifra es real, ¿cuántos Jeannette Walls hay entre nosotros? Creyentes que año tras año se han acostumbrado a la vida de hospital y no quieren regresar al mundo de enfermos que se encuentra allí afuera? Si solamente el 5% de los supuestos 2-millones de creyentes se mobilizaran a los campos de "enfermos espirituales" y harían "hospitales de campo" en medio de esos enfermos, ¿qué resultados diferentes tendríamos?

Is there such a thing as "called to full-time ministry?"

I am getting ready to go to camp tomorrow to speak to 200 youth on the subject of God's call to full-time ministry. Most of those listening to me tomorrow will certainly consider me--the missionary--to be somebody in full-time ministry. But I would argue the point that people like me are actually one step removed from full-time ministry! Most of my day revolves around other believers. Those who actually live, work, and study out in the secular world are potentially in a much better position to engage in meaningful ministry.

Jesus did not call us to remove ourselves from the world, but to be salt and light in the midst of the world.  Many of us so-called "full-time" ministers spend little time in the real world for which Christ died.

I agree with what Dale Losch writes, "The dichotomous notion that religious work is ministry and secular work is not has been very harmful. Speaking of the tragic disconnect between the world and the church, author Dorothy Sayers lamented: How can anyone remain interested in a religion which seems to have no concern with nine-tenths of life!"

What I hope to share tomorrow with the youth is that where they live, work, study, and play is the most strategic place of ministry for any follower of Jesus. We must be intentional in all the relationships the Lord has allowed us to have. And realize that 'making disciples' where we are is our full-time job, but that doesn't mean we have to leave our secular job to do so!

Earlier this week I had coffee with a young man who is a medical student. He "gets this" about as well as anybody I have met in a long time.  During the week he has started a cell group at the university with his fellow medical students, has a house church in his home, and on weekends travels to a neighboring town for a new church plant with the rural poor. In his mind he is a full-time minister of the Gospel. I couldn't agree more.

Just imagine if all of Jesus' followers were actively engaged in making disciples where they lived, worked, studied, and played?  I believe that was the way it was in the first century where every one of Jesus followers was part of his called-out, chosen people, royal priesthood, part of his holy nation, and a people belonging to God, that all of us together might declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9)

20 prácticas que están frenando el avance del Reino de Dios en el Ecuador

Felicity Dale comparte 15 reasons why we don't see harvest. He modificado su lista original en inglés para incluir algunas de las razones que creo están frenando el avance de la obra del Señor en el Ecuador. Sus comentarios son bienvenidos.

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1. Estamos tan involucrados con otros creyentes que no tenemos tiempo para invertir con los que aun no conocen de Cristo.

2. Tenemos miedo de ser contaminados al tener demasiado contacto con
el mundo.

3. Entender al evangelismo como un serie de eventos que se hacen en vez de un estilo de vida de cada creyente.

4. Oramos por muchas cosas, pero poco por las almas perdidas.

5. Falta de rogar al Señor de la miés por obreros.

6. Poco énfasis en preparar a los obreros para trabajar en la cosecha.

7. Líderes que creen que la Gran Comisión significa crecer más la iglesia donde ellos pastorean.

8. El creer que "hacer discípulos" significa predicar el evangelio y esperar que Dios haga su obra.

9. Pescar en aguas donde no muerden los peces, o cambiando la
metáfora...buscar cosechar en terreno que aun no está listo, o donde poca semilla ha sido sembrada.

10. Invitar a las personas venir a nuestra iglesia, en vez de comenzar nuevas iglesias con ellos y sus amigos en los lugares donde viven.

11. Cuando alguién se convierta al evangelio, lo extraemos de su propia comunidad para formar parte de la nuestra.

12. Evangelizamos sí, pero lo hacemos al azar en vez de buscar hacerlo con "personas de paz" como mandó Jesús. (Lucas 10:1-9)

13. El amar más nuestros reinos que Su Reino.

14. Falta de evidencia del poder del Espirítu Santo en nuestra obra.

15. El insistir en trabajar en secuencia (orar, planificar, proclamar, ganar, enseñar, bautizar, discipular, capacitar, ministrar, etc.)

16. Todo centralizado dentro de las cuatro paredes de la iglesia.

17. Iglesias que gastan el 95% (o más) de sus ingresos en si mismas en vez de invertir en "hacer discípulos a las naciones."

18. Líderes que creen que llenar el templo es la meta, en vez de mobilizar a la iglesia a los campos de la mies.

19. Esperar que otro lo haga. Y cuando nadie lo hace criticar a los demás por su falta de compromiso con el Señor.

20. Usar la excusa que no he sido llamado para eso, o de no haber recibido de parte del Espíritu Santo los dones necesarios para obrar en los campos de la cosecha.

Say that again? Things people say to missionaries

I bet y'all eat a lot of Mexican food down there in Ecuador.  Nope, we only eat Mexican food when we're in Texas (or go out to one of the two expensive Mexican restaurants in our city.) In Ecuador we eat Ecuadorian food. You ought to try some, it's very delicious!

When are you guys coming back home?  You mean, when will we be going back home to Ecuador?  Home is less a place, and more wherever it is that we are together as a family.

How do you talk to people when they don't speak English, or do they speak English down there?  You have to learn their language. In our case, that would be Spanish. Language and cultural adaptation are two of the toughest hurdles for most cross-cultural missionaries. 

Can you share a 5-minute testimony in our Wednesday night service? I would love to share in your church, but wish it was more than 5-minutes. It is hard to summarize three years of experiences in a meaningful way, and share what the Lord has laid on my heart, but I will give it my best shot. Five minutes is better than nothing at all.

Will your kids be going overseas with you?  Are you offering to keep them with you while we are gone for three years? [smile] Yes, they will be going with us. We believe God calls families, not just moms and dads. Our kids are just as much a part of our mission as we are.

Right now our church is doing other things and can't take on any new committments at this time. You do understand, don't you?  No, I really don't, but what else can I say.

[Closely related]: Our church is committed to the building campaign and for now missions giving is on hold. Once this is paid for we can look at some ministry options with you. Can you get back with us in a couple of years?   Thanks, but no thanks. Just hearing from you that 'missions giving is on hold' for something else, confirms for me we are not reading the same Bible and not a good partnership match. As I walk away, I am quoting Luke 9:5 to myself, "wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."

We aren't doing missions because our church is into other things right now.  Are those "other things" keeping you from obeying what Jesus Christ has commanded? If so, maybe those other things are what need discarding.

Why are you down there in Ecuador when there are so many lost and needy people right here at home?  Yes, there are lost and needy people wherever we go, but the Great Commission is not only about our Jerusalem, but also about being his witnesses in Judea, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.  What makes you so sure I am the one in disobedience?

Our dollars are needed right here at home. Those people are just 'reaping what they have sown.'  I understand where you are coming from, but before jumping to conclusions, why not come down and spend a week seeing first hand the plight of 'those people', and then decide where it is you want to invest all those dollars you think should be kept 'at home.' My experience is those who speak the loudest on keeping money at home, neither give to help those at home--or anywhere else for that matter!

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NOTE: All the above (along with their variations) are real things that have been said to us on more than one occasion. We share them, not to embarrass, but hopefully to help the reader see things from our perspective. Not all missionaries view these things in the same way. What I have shared above are just my reactions to some of these statements that have been repeated to us over the years.

Pindal Medical Missions Trip

A short video of last week's medical missions trip to Pindal in Loja Province of Ecuador (see previous blog entry.)

Thanks be to the Lord for all He did last week to the honor of his Name.

Also thanks to the wonderful team the Lord put together for this trip: Shelby and Frances, Wray, Geoff and Teresa, Hank, Dee, César, Daniel, Xavier, Manuel, Elcie, David, and myself.