Saturday, January 12
Virtual missionaries?
Some might question the validity of "virtual missionaries". But when there are so few to cover so many, having someone serve as a virtual strategy coordinator for an unreached people group makes sense. After all a virtual missionary committed to the task is better than nobody doing anything at all! After viewing this CommissionStories.com segment, see if you don't agree. Could God be leading you to serve in this capacity with us here in South America? If so, get in contact with us via email in our profile. You might be just the person God is calling to serve Him overseas from your home in the USA, or wherever in the world you might be reading!
Thursday, January 10
What's wrong with this picture?
Les Puryear has done us a favor by pointing out some interesting comparisons on statistics as reported by the IMB and USA SBC churches at large. Good job, Les, for all our many faults and blunders as field missionaries, I found your observations quite telling. Let the numbers speak for themselves!
I don't know if anyone has noticed but God has been working mightily through our IMB missionaries. Overseas baptisms in 2007 were an astounding 609,968 compared to 475,072 in 2006 (2007 Book of Reports, p.56). That's an increase of 28.4%!Les, you ask some good questions that need answers. What does this say about the way we view and understand Christianity and the Church in the USA? Indeed, what is wrong with this picture?
Also, IMB reports 25,497 new overseas churches planted compared to 23,486 planted in 2006 (2007 Book of Reports, p.56), which is an increase of 8.5%.
We currently have 5,338 field personnel under appointment. These numbers are staggering. Do you realize that the number of baptisms equals 114 per missionary? Do you realize that the number of new church plants equals 4.77 per missionary?
Compare those numbers to our numbers in the USA for 2006 according to the 2007 Book of reports. Our baptisms were 394,321. Our new church plants were 151. The number of churches in the USA is 44,223. Based on these figures, the number of baptisms per church was 9. The number of new church plants was 0.0034 per church.
What's wrong with this picture? How do 5,338 missionaries account for 114 baptisms per person and 44,223 churches account for only 9 baptisms per church?
I think it is time for SBC pastors and leaders in the USA to turn to our own IMB for a better understanding of how to reach people for Christ. I call on the leaders of our convention to adopt the evangelism techniques and mindset currently in use by the IMB and provide training opportunities for all SBC church pastors and leaders in such techniques.
Tuesday, January 8
My ten favorite books for 2007
All ten of my favorite reads this past year were books published prior to 2007. Since they come from different literary categories, there is no way to list them in any kind of priority order. Suffice it to say, ALL TEN are "must read" books.
My top five favorite books for 2007 in no particular order:
Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens by Neil Cole. One of the highlights of 2007 was my trip to Southern California to an organic church planting conference sponsored by Neil Cole and friends. I picked up a copy of his book there and consider it to be one of the better house/simple/organic church books written to date. I would highly recommend this as a good place to start in one's journey to discover church outside the walls of institutional Christianity. I echo Curtis Sergeant's comments on the book, "I heartily recommend this book. It is packed with deep insights; you will find no fluff in it. Among the books on church planting, it offers a rare combination of attributes: it is biblical and well written, its model has proven effective, and it is authored by a practitioner rather than an observer or an ivory-tower theoretician."
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts On Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller. All I can say is read the book. It took me a few chapters to get into Miller's style of writing, but once I did, it was hard to put down. Through his everyday life stories, there is a wealth of spiritual truth, humor, and relevancy that refreshes one's soul like few other books are able to do.
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I was initially turned off by the title, but what a great read! I was challenged by what Bell writes so much I shelled out $170 to buy the entire video series that deals with many of the same themes addressed in the book. I like books that challenge the status quo. This is one book that will really get you to see another angle to things normally taken for granted in Scripture.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang is a real life saga of a Chinese family over three generations in twentieth-century China. It is an insider view into everyday life as lived and understood from a Chinese perspective. To read this book was for me an eye opening experience into the era of Chairman Mao's China. My understanding of communist China has been greatly enhanced by Chang's detailed explanation of everyday life of real people living under the oppression of a government that rules over every aspect of an individual's life. Wild Swans has been around since 1991, and after finishing this amazing book, can understand how it has sold over 10-million copies and translated into 30 languages.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini certainly rates amongst the best fictional novels I have ever read. It is a powerful story that takes place in Afghanistan. You simply cannot go wrong in getting hold of a copy of this book. Just make sure you have a long uninterrupted space of time to read, because once you start, it will be hard to put down!
The bottom five of my favorite ten books for 2007 (in no particular order):
The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom. I had the privilege of hearing Ori Brafman in person as he gave a seminar on this extraordinary book. Much of what he shared with us during the conference can be found in the pages of this book. The authors give us an entertaining look at how decentralization is changing many organizations. The applications for the Church are clearly visible and it is no wonder those in the house church movement have gravitated towards this work.
The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: An Extraordinary Guide to Understanding the New Testament by Frank Viola is a fascinating look at the New Testament in chronological order, rather than arranged by size as we have today in our Bibles. This helpful book does a good job at explaining a lot of the background which helps us gain a much clearer understanding of how all the pieces "fit" in what often seems like a jigsaw puzzle. Few write on the subject of the early first-century church as comprehensively as Frank Viola. This volume is yet another in a long list of helpful books on first-century ecclesiology.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman is a book everyone in ministry must read in order to better understand today's changing world. While parts of the book are a bit tedious and share more information than I was interested in knowing, one has to recognize Friedman's ability to identify the patterns behind many of the complex global developments taking place in our lifetime. After reading this classic, I feel I have a much better understanding of today's rapidly changing world.
Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive by John Eldredge. John is one of my favorite authors. It seems I connect with everything he writes. Waking the Dead is no exception.
Pagan Christianity? Exploring The Roots Of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna is a revised and updated version of Viola's 2002 book by the same title. This book is sure to cause waves in evangelical circles once released later this year with Barna's name attached. I plan to blog on this book in the coming days so will reserve my comments for then. I predict this will be one of the most unpopular and criticized books of 2008. For now, stand warned that if you read Pagan Christianity be prepared to have your Christian world turned upside down!
My top five favorite books for 2007 in no particular order:
Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens by Neil Cole. One of the highlights of 2007 was my trip to Southern California to an organic church planting conference sponsored by Neil Cole and friends. I picked up a copy of his book there and consider it to be one of the better house/simple/organic church books written to date. I would highly recommend this as a good place to start in one's journey to discover church outside the walls of institutional Christianity. I echo Curtis Sergeant's comments on the book, "I heartily recommend this book. It is packed with deep insights; you will find no fluff in it. Among the books on church planting, it offers a rare combination of attributes: it is biblical and well written, its model has proven effective, and it is authored by a practitioner rather than an observer or an ivory-tower theoretician."
Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts On Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller. All I can say is read the book. It took me a few chapters to get into Miller's style of writing, but once I did, it was hard to put down. Through his everyday life stories, there is a wealth of spiritual truth, humor, and relevancy that refreshes one's soul like few other books are able to do.
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. I was initially turned off by the title, but what a great read! I was challenged by what Bell writes so much I shelled out $170 to buy the entire video series that deals with many of the same themes addressed in the book. I like books that challenge the status quo. This is one book that will really get you to see another angle to things normally taken for granted in Scripture.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang is a real life saga of a Chinese family over three generations in twentieth-century China. It is an insider view into everyday life as lived and understood from a Chinese perspective. To read this book was for me an eye opening experience into the era of Chairman Mao's China. My understanding of communist China has been greatly enhanced by Chang's detailed explanation of everyday life of real people living under the oppression of a government that rules over every aspect of an individual's life. Wild Swans has been around since 1991, and after finishing this amazing book, can understand how it has sold over 10-million copies and translated into 30 languages.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini certainly rates amongst the best fictional novels I have ever read. It is a powerful story that takes place in Afghanistan. You simply cannot go wrong in getting hold of a copy of this book. Just make sure you have a long uninterrupted space of time to read, because once you start, it will be hard to put down!
The bottom five of my favorite ten books for 2007 (in no particular order):
The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom. I had the privilege of hearing Ori Brafman in person as he gave a seminar on this extraordinary book. Much of what he shared with us during the conference can be found in the pages of this book. The authors give us an entertaining look at how decentralization is changing many organizations. The applications for the Church are clearly visible and it is no wonder those in the house church movement have gravitated towards this work.
The Untold Story of the New Testament Church: An Extraordinary Guide to Understanding the New Testament by Frank Viola is a fascinating look at the New Testament in chronological order, rather than arranged by size as we have today in our Bibles. This helpful book does a good job at explaining a lot of the background which helps us gain a much clearer understanding of how all the pieces "fit" in what often seems like a jigsaw puzzle. Few write on the subject of the early first-century church as comprehensively as Frank Viola. This volume is yet another in a long list of helpful books on first-century ecclesiology.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century by Thomas L. Friedman is a book everyone in ministry must read in order to better understand today's changing world. While parts of the book are a bit tedious and share more information than I was interested in knowing, one has to recognize Friedman's ability to identify the patterns behind many of the complex global developments taking place in our lifetime. After reading this classic, I feel I have a much better understanding of today's rapidly changing world.
Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive by John Eldredge. John is one of my favorite authors. It seems I connect with everything he writes. Waking the Dead is no exception.
Pagan Christianity? Exploring The Roots Of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna is a revised and updated version of Viola's 2002 book by the same title. This book is sure to cause waves in evangelical circles once released later this year with Barna's name attached. I plan to blog on this book in the coming days so will reserve my comments for then. I predict this will be one of the most unpopular and criticized books of 2008. For now, stand warned that if you read Pagan Christianity be prepared to have your Christian world turned upside down!
Saturday, January 5
Are house churches unhealthy? You decide!
I have been thrilled to see the growing interest for house churches in the North American context and especially in the Southern Baptist Convention. As IMB-SBC missionaries, most of us are heavily involved in training, teaching, and planting house churches around the world.
Recently at sbc Impact! Geoff Baggett did a good job introducing some of the concepts with his post House Churches: Will They Really Work In North America?
What follows are a few phrases from the 61 comments shared on that post. I would encourage you to read the complete thoughts in context of those expressing concerns. Most of these are fairly common objections about house churches that we hear all the time...
My own observation about the above is that most of the comments are coming from people who have not experienced first hand life as part of a local ekklesia (house church). Rather than spend my time individually refuting each of the above concerns, I would rather share what DOES take place in a house church meeting (at least in our Guayaquil, Ecuador context.) After reading, you can judge for yourself if any of the above expressed concerns are relevant to what actually takes place when a church meets under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, her founder and head.
The believers started arriving around 9am on a hot, bright Sunday morning.
Chairs and furniture had been rearranged into a large circle in what was a spacious living room of one of the house church members. We sat around and caught up on one another's week. There were about 20 adults and youth present along with several small children.
A new couple arrived and were introduced, giving them ample time to share who they were, where they were from, and to make them feel welcome.
Songbooks were handed out and we began a time of singing hymns and praise songs to Jesus.
Impromptu testimonies were interspersed between songs of how those sharing had come to know the Lord.
Three people shared words of exhortation/encouragement from the Scriptures. I remember one of them being 2 Cor. 12 where Paul asks that the thorns in his flesh be removed. God seemed pleased to allow the thorns to remain. The comment was made that wasn't it true that most of us in the room carried thorns in our flesh? Isn't at least part of the reason God allows his servants to bear thorns to keep us humble and operating in the power of the grace of God, rather than our own strength?
We then entered a lengthy time of prayer. Every month a prayer list is distributed throughout the Guayaquil house church network. We feel it is important that we all be praying in a united, continuous way about the things we want to see Christ doing in our city. A few of the ongoing items that we continuously petition the Lord are:
A loud floor fan was turned on for 30-seconds to help move the air around before being turned off again so that we could hear one another.
A young woman had been asked beforehand to prepare and share the week's Bible lesson. Several passages out of Matthew and Mark were assigned to various ones present. To her credit, she didn't try to tell everyone what the passages meant, but simply asked questions of the passages. There were several awkward moments of silence as people struggled to come up with a clear understanding of what Jesus is saying to us today. Usually someone would come up with at least the beginnings of an answer. Others would then join in with their thoughts. After a few minutes a really good biblical discussion would ensue as the entire church wrestled with the implications of the text. Not once was I consulted as visiting missionary to correct any "wrong interpretations." To be honest, there wasn't anything shared that wouldn't have gotten an A+ in my book. The Holy Spirit is quite capable of leading, guiding, and teaching truth to His Body.
A prayer was said and the weekly offering was taken up. We sang a few more songs as the monies were counted.
A quick impromptu huddle was held to decide what to do with the week's offering. It was decided by consensus to give the ENTIRE OFFERING to the visiting couple to help them with upcoming medical costs for the birth of their first child! We then gathered around the couple to minister to them, laying hands on them. Several believers prayed for the safe delivery of their baby, and for blessings upon their marriage and family. Needless to say the couple was overwhelmed by the love and concern expressed for them.
As sandwiches and drinks were being served (it was then about noon) several shared about the people they were evangelizing and discipling. The brother to my left has started his own house church. His wife began talking to me about the new group she was about to start and askee me how to get hold of some materials. Nearly everyone in the room during the week have people they are visiting, witnessing to, or discipling. It is considered something embarrassing to not actually be doing what Jesus said to do! Another impromptu group discussion took place about the upcoming training center they are inaugurating to train believers from other churches to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach others to do what Jesus said to do.
All of the above was led by the various members of the house church assembly. One would be hard pressed to identify exactly who the leaders even were (they were there, though, trust me!) Everyone present participated actively throughout the entire meeting, including the children. Time flies by quickly when everyone understands their responsibility to "one another" each other.
Three hours after arriving, I left to take the visiting couple home in our car. All the way back to their house, all they could talk about was how powerfully God had spoken to their lives that day, how much they had learned, and how moved they were by the love of the people.
THREE QUESTIONS: What part of the above is not New Testament? What would even be objectionable by Baptists? Are not these kind of gatherings what we find the church doing in Acts and the Epistles?
Again, go through the above list of house church concerns/objections and see if any apply to what actually took place at what is a typical house church gathering in Guayaquil. Your thoughts and observations are welcome!
Better yet, contact us by email (in our profile) and come help us reach an un/under reached county of our province. Put some of that knowledge and doctrine you have into practice!
Recently at sbc Impact! Geoff Baggett did a good job introducing some of the concepts with his post House Churches: Will They Really Work In North America?
What follows are a few phrases from the 61 comments shared on that post. I would encourage you to read the complete thoughts in context of those expressing concerns. Most of these are fairly common objections about house churches that we hear all the time...
...accountability and proper doctrine would be my two red flags
...the rise of house churches is more of mark of unhealthiness
...house churches are dominated by people who do not want to submit themselves to the leadership of the church
...the lack of biblically trained leadership would often create an environment rich in heresy
...early churches meeting in homes, is that descriptive or prescriptive?
...I tend to think of this as more a reaction against the mega church and mega-wannabe
...I think that house churches work better in some cultures than in other cultures
...To me, the key biblical point is not where the church meets. The key point is whether the pastor meets the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
...House churches work well in places where there is persecution and a need for secret meeting places.
...I don't think it would work in my context
My own observation about the above is that most of the comments are coming from people who have not experienced first hand life as part of a local ekklesia (house church). Rather than spend my time individually refuting each of the above concerns, I would rather share what DOES take place in a house church meeting (at least in our Guayaquil, Ecuador context.) After reading, you can judge for yourself if any of the above expressed concerns are relevant to what actually takes place when a church meets under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, her founder and head.
The believers started arriving around 9am on a hot, bright Sunday morning.
Chairs and furniture had been rearranged into a large circle in what was a spacious living room of one of the house church members. We sat around and caught up on one another's week. There were about 20 adults and youth present along with several small children.
A new couple arrived and were introduced, giving them ample time to share who they were, where they were from, and to make them feel welcome.
Songbooks were handed out and we began a time of singing hymns and praise songs to Jesus.
Impromptu testimonies were interspersed between songs of how those sharing had come to know the Lord.
Three people shared words of exhortation/encouragement from the Scriptures. I remember one of them being 2 Cor. 12 where Paul asks that the thorns in his flesh be removed. God seemed pleased to allow the thorns to remain. The comment was made that wasn't it true that most of us in the room carried thorns in our flesh? Isn't at least part of the reason God allows his servants to bear thorns to keep us humble and operating in the power of the grace of God, rather than our own strength?
We then entered a lengthy time of prayer. Every month a prayer list is distributed throughout the Guayaquil house church network. We feel it is important that we all be praying in a united, continuous way about the things we want to see Christ doing in our city. A few of the ongoing items that we continuously petition the Lord are:
- laborers for the harvest...
- asking God for 500,000 new souls in the coming five years...
- to give each of us passion for Jesus, perseverance in the work, and power in the Spirit...
- that the Lord would keep us from Satan's tactics to discourage, distract, and divide us from the tasks He has given us to do...
- individual and specific prayer for each of the missionaries we support as a house church network...and many more.
A loud floor fan was turned on for 30-seconds to help move the air around before being turned off again so that we could hear one another.
A young woman had been asked beforehand to prepare and share the week's Bible lesson. Several passages out of Matthew and Mark were assigned to various ones present. To her credit, she didn't try to tell everyone what the passages meant, but simply asked questions of the passages. There were several awkward moments of silence as people struggled to come up with a clear understanding of what Jesus is saying to us today. Usually someone would come up with at least the beginnings of an answer. Others would then join in with their thoughts. After a few minutes a really good biblical discussion would ensue as the entire church wrestled with the implications of the text. Not once was I consulted as visiting missionary to correct any "wrong interpretations." To be honest, there wasn't anything shared that wouldn't have gotten an A+ in my book. The Holy Spirit is quite capable of leading, guiding, and teaching truth to His Body.
A prayer was said and the weekly offering was taken up. We sang a few more songs as the monies were counted.
A quick impromptu huddle was held to decide what to do with the week's offering. It was decided by consensus to give the ENTIRE OFFERING to the visiting couple to help them with upcoming medical costs for the birth of their first child! We then gathered around the couple to minister to them, laying hands on them. Several believers prayed for the safe delivery of their baby, and for blessings upon their marriage and family. Needless to say the couple was overwhelmed by the love and concern expressed for them.
As sandwiches and drinks were being served (it was then about noon) several shared about the people they were evangelizing and discipling. The brother to my left has started his own house church. His wife began talking to me about the new group she was about to start and askee me how to get hold of some materials. Nearly everyone in the room during the week have people they are visiting, witnessing to, or discipling. It is considered something embarrassing to not actually be doing what Jesus said to do! Another impromptu group discussion took place about the upcoming training center they are inaugurating to train believers from other churches to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach others to do what Jesus said to do.
All of the above was led by the various members of the house church assembly. One would be hard pressed to identify exactly who the leaders even were (they were there, though, trust me!) Everyone present participated actively throughout the entire meeting, including the children. Time flies by quickly when everyone understands their responsibility to "one another" each other.
Three hours after arriving, I left to take the visiting couple home in our car. All the way back to their house, all they could talk about was how powerfully God had spoken to their lives that day, how much they had learned, and how moved they were by the love of the people.
THREE QUESTIONS: What part of the above is not New Testament? What would even be objectionable by Baptists? Are not these kind of gatherings what we find the church doing in Acts and the Epistles?
Again, go through the above list of house church concerns/objections and see if any apply to what actually took place at what is a typical house church gathering in Guayaquil. Your thoughts and observations are welcome!
Better yet, contact us by email (in our profile) and come help us reach an un/under reached county of our province. Put some of that knowledge and doctrine you have into practice!
Friday, December 28
Top 10 "M Blog" posts (2007)
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According to sitemeter.com the "M Blog" posts receiving the most hits in 2007 are... (drum roll)
10. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions. While generating only four comments from readers, apparently many read the post, or were linked to it through search engines. The post shares ideas for giving to the annual offering that is collected in S. Baptist churches for international missions. Also tying for tenth place was Effective church planting which was actually an email shared with us from fellow IMBer Kevin: Somewhere in South America.
9. Conflicting visions was one of my personal favorites. It is essentially a post about "There are two Christian visions that compete: 1) traditional church with its structures, programs, and leadership, and 2) the Biblical imperative of Christ to his church to go to the lost, make disciples, baptize those who believer, and teach them to observe Christ's commandments. Two worlds colliding..."
8. Is breaking the law always a sin? generated 30 comments on a subject that gets into the complicated copyright laws we live under and whether or not breaking these laws constitutes sinning in the eyes of God. Those commenting offer some good observations on the subject.
7. Growth vs. Reproduction is an excerpt from a Carol Davis article entitled, "Let's Stop Planting Sterile Churches" and looks at the difference between the church "growth culture" that many of us have been trained, and a "reproduction model."
6. What did Jesus say and what he did not say is a reproduction of an article by India church planter Victor Choudhrie. Even though this entry was originally posted August/2006, it is still getting lots of hits mainly through search engines by readers looking for material by Choudhrie, or "sayings of Jesus".
5. How missions minded are we really? gets spot #5. This is an IMB news story excerpt questioning some of our priorities. "As I travel, I hear a lot about how 'missions-minded' Southern Baptists are," said Gordon Fort, IMB vice president of overseas operations. "I often ask, 'How much does your church pay for utilities each year?' Then I ask, 'If you are paying more for your utility bill than you are giving to reach a lost world for Christ, how does that make you a missions-minded church?'"
4. Top Ten Einstein Quotes for Missions and Church Planting is another 2006 post that keeps getting hits mainly from search engines. It seems Einstein knew as much about missions and church planting as many of the "experts" today! My favorite Einstein quote is his definition of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Aren't we all guilty of this in our own work and ministry? That one quote has had more impact upon our own ministry than entire seminars attended over the years. Read the rest, they're all great!
3. Top ten reasons for planting house churches is the list from Rad Zdero's book, "The Global House Church Movement." Seems there is a growing interest in house churches coming from a wide variety of believers from across the evangelical world.
2. CPM concepts revisited was one of my favorite posts this past year. This article by David Watson was a huge encouragement to me personally, and was glad to see that many "M Blog" readers also benefited from it as well.
1. Women shepherds took first place by a landslide in terms of numbers of readers and 106 comments generated! This post was actually a follow-up to my earlier Shepherd: function or office? which I thought was a better post. It is basically a question about the role of women in ministry. If you do decide to click, please read the original post first before tackling the second "Women shepherds" and don't forget to take along a cup of coffee if you should decide to plow through all the comments!
Five other of my personal 2007 favorites that did not make it into the top ten are (in no specific order)...
The Garden is a great YouTube children's animation that so perfectly illustrates the futility of trying to do Kingdom work in the power of the flesh. God alone is the one who causes all things to grow, including church plants. I am embarrassed at how much like "Toad" I really am.
What a difference you've made in my life and What a difference you've made in my life (Part 2). This is an ongoing story taking place in our work here in Guayaquil. It is hard to convey in words how inspiring this story really is. If you haven't yet read it and viewed the accompanying photos, click and be blessed. This story is still developing even as I write!
Things I wonder about is a post about things I wonder about! For example, Where in the Bible does it refer to believers as members of a local church? And, why don't we ever hear any sermons on 1 Corinthians 12:28ff "...in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues..." and, why aren't our churches structured according to Paul's order, rather than the way we are structured today with Senior Pastors leading the list? Are pastors even mentioned in the 1 Cor. 12:28 list?
Was this man biblically baptized? is an example of the difficulties encountered when we would substitute man-made baptismal guidelines for the clear instructions given to us by Jesus. More than 1600 people viewed our YouTube video Salitre Baptisms "Send Us Out" where this event actually took place.
And finally, One million disciples a post that combines many of the themes close to my heart: unity in the Body of Christ, prayer, making disciples, city church, and the Kingdom of God.
We will be out of town for a few days of R&R to the sunny coast of Ecuador, and so we won't be able to respond immediately to any comments. Until we get back, I would invite you to share which of the above posts you connected with the most (or any others not listed.)
Gracias for reading the "M Blog" this past year and especially for all of you who took the time to leave your thoughts and comments. Like most bloggers, we love to see people interact with what we share!
Wednesday, December 26
Signs
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find a baby wrapped in cloths,
and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12
you will find a baby wrapped in cloths,
and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12
Does God really give us signs today like he gave the shepherds? I think so.
If only God would give us a sign! Like the cartoon above, the true spiritual picture is one of being surrounded with overwhelming manifestations of God's love, concern, and direction for our lives. We do not see his signs because we come to him with our own set of expectations. We want things our own way.God is all around us. He is working behind the curtain of our life in all its multiple dimensions. But do we see him?
Earth's crammed with heaven
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Aurora Leigh" VII.821-22
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Aurora Leigh" VII.821-22
Sadly, the "signs" God sends us are not always what we are looking for. When we don't get our "bush afire with God", we assume God isn't interested and settle for "plucking blackberries."
Our problem is we want God to do for us what it is we want him to do. When he doesn't comply, we sigh, and wonder where is God?
What are the clear, tangible signs of his love, care, compassion, guidance and direction in our lives? Can we identify the signs he has surrounded us with? If not, maybe we need to spend the remaining days of this year asking God to open our eyes to see Him at work all around us. Let 's not settle for blackberries when every common bush is afire with God!
Oswald Chambers says it like this,
We can all see God in exceptional things, but it requires the culture of spiritual discipline to see God in every detail. Never allow that the haphazard is anything less than God's appointed order, and be ready to discover the Divine deSIGNS anywhere.
As we finish 2007 and approach 2008, may the prayer of our heart be this well-known praise song...
Open the eyes of my heart Lord,
Open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see you.
*The above cartoon was first seen on Debbie Kaufman's blog.
Monday, December 24
The best Christmas present of all
Yes, it is hard being away from friends and loved ones at Christmas time. Instead of snow and cold weather, sweat drips down my back as I sit typing this post. Instead of Christmas Carols in the background, I hear salsa music coming from the neighbors house. The door bell rings every few minutes with children asking us for their Navidad (Christmas). We give them as many mangoes as they can carry and send them on their way. Instead of the usual baked goodies and sweets, we enjoyed a great Christmas Eve meal of shrimp ceviche with chicken empanadas. The side dishes were chifles (plantain chips) and popcorn. Of course, to drink, we had thick, sweet mangoe juice!
But the real joy of being a missionary at Christmas time is to stop for a moment and reflect back on all those who through the grace and mercy of God have entered the Kingdom this past year. It is a humbling thing to be a small part of all that God is doing in Ecuador these days.
Yesterday, for example, our family was invited to one of the house churches to share in their Christmas turkey dinner (rice, potato salad with peas, carrots and apples). As I gazed around the hot, humid room, amidst the laughter and smiling faces, it dawned on me that most present were celebrating their first REAL Christmas of knowing Jesus. We attended many of their baptisms this past year. In fact, I counted ELEVEN people present in just this one house church that I was present at their river baptisms! The biggest reward and most meaningful Christmas gift I will get this year is to hear these precious new brothers and sisters address me as hermano Guido (brother Guy)!
Thank you for your prayer support for us here in Ecuador. Thank you for making it possible for us to be here by your gifts to the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We honestly wouldn't trade places with anyone on earth!
Merry Christmas to all!
But the real joy of being a missionary at Christmas time is to stop for a moment and reflect back on all those who through the grace and mercy of God have entered the Kingdom this past year. It is a humbling thing to be a small part of all that God is doing in Ecuador these days.
Yesterday, for example, our family was invited to one of the house churches to share in their Christmas turkey dinner (rice, potato salad with peas, carrots and apples). As I gazed around the hot, humid room, amidst the laughter and smiling faces, it dawned on me that most present were celebrating their first REAL Christmas of knowing Jesus. We attended many of their baptisms this past year. In fact, I counted ELEVEN people present in just this one house church that I was present at their river baptisms! The biggest reward and most meaningful Christmas gift I will get this year is to hear these precious new brothers and sisters address me as hermano Guido (brother Guy)!
Thank you for your prayer support for us here in Ecuador. Thank you for making it possible for us to be here by your gifts to the Cooperative Program and Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. We honestly wouldn't trade places with anyone on earth!
Merry Christmas to all!
Friday, December 21
NT Churches with OT Structures
When did we start going back to the Old Testament to find systems of organization, leadership and finances for New Testament churches? Alan Knox hits the nail on the head with his recent Old Testament Structures and the Church. Here are Alan's thoughts on the subject...
Often, when I'm talking to people about church structures and organizations, they usually point me to Old Testament structure to defend hierarchies, authorities, buildings, positions...temples, tithes, etc...
The conversations tend to go something like this (in a condensed form, of course):
Person #1: "The pastor has authority over the local church."
Me: "I can't find anything in Scripture that gives the pastors authority over anyone."
Person #1: "Well, you have to go back to the priest system of the Old Testament."
Person #2: "You should give tithes to the local church."
Me: "I can't find any teaching in Scripture that tells us to give money to a local church."
Person #2: "Well, you have to go back to the tithe system of the Old Testament."
Person #3: "You need someone trained in music to lead your worship."
Me: "I'm sorry but I don't see that in Scripture. Nor do I see music called worship."
Person #3: "Well, you have to go back to the Levites of the Old Testament."
Person #4: "Why are you not saving money to build a church (meaning, 'church building')."
Me: "I don't see a requirement for having a church building in the new testament."
Person #4: "Well, you have to go back to the temple in the Old Testament."
Here's my concern: I don't see the New Testament authors making these connections. Instead, I see the New Testament writers calling all believers "priests" (Rom 15:16; 1 Pet 2:5,9; Rev 1:6; Heb 10:19-22 - notice the resemblance to the sanctification of priests). But, pastors/elders/overseers are never specifically referred to as "priests".
Once again, all believers are taught to share generously with those who are in need, with those who are traveling away from home in order to proclaim the gospel, and with those who teach and lead them well (Acts 2:45; 4:34-35; James 2:15-16; Gal 6:6; 1 Thess 5:12-13; 1 Tim 5:17; 3 John 3-6). But, I do not see the New Testament authors comparing this to the tithe of the Old Testament, nor requiring a tithe to be given to the "local church".
Similarly, all believers are encouraged to exhort one another with songs, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; 1 Cor 14:26). However, I don't see where training, practice, or even talent is a prerequisite for this singing (although, it does seem that being filled with the Spirit is a prerequisite). Also, I can't find any connection between singing in the New Testament and the Levites of the Old Testament.
Finally, I also see that all followers of Jesus Christ are compared to the "temple" (1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21). But, as far as I can tell, "temple" is never associated with a designated meeting place for Christians.
So, where did this contemporary practices come from? When did we start going back to the Old Testament to find systems of organization and leadership and finances? When did the Book of Nehemiah start teaching how to have a successful church building campaign? The exact details of how and when and why these interpretations of the Old Testament filtered into the church continue to be debated among church historians today. I think they all started when the church ceased to be the people of God and started to become an institution. In order to justify the institution, the leaders had to go back to the Old Testament system - the very system that the author of Hebrews calls a "shadow" of the reality that we have in Jesus Christ.
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