Missions : Refugees Part 4

We were called back into the refugee family's lives as their mother was diagnosed with cancer and quickly passed away.

We were fortunate to have been able to say a proper goodbye, share the Good News of Jesus with them in hardship in a very natural way, pray with the family, wail with the family, and protect the family.

To say this situation was a mess would be an understatement.

Days before the mother died, the eldest daughter, who was in charge of the mother's health care, turned 18 and ran away from home to escape potential abuse from her brother. This was due to a shame-culture mechanism whereby women are not allowed to date, but the daughter was dating.

She was aided by some well-meaning folks to get her to safety, but it created a maelstrom of other problems. The care of the mother fell to the next oldest sister, and that was a responsibility she was not ready for. Not only that but the well-meaning folks who helped her sister run away began to scheme to take all of the children away. I about lost my crap, if you know what I mean.

My wife and I for days would wail in agony before the Lord because this all just hurt so much. They are so dear to us, and to see the mother in pain without a proper diagnosis or treatment, to see the daughter run away, to see their own neighbors plot to destroy their family in the middle of this crisis while spiritually abusing them (trying to convert their children, secretely feeding them food that was against their religious diet) - well all of that is too much for a person with a heart to bear.

I went to my refugee resettlement organization and asked them to intervene as one of my fellow volunteers was beginning to scheme with the neighbors. They were very kind and understanding.

But God told us - I will take care of this situation with the neighbors. An immediate peace came over me. The next day, the mother died. It was an awful situation. The daughter who was still there was wailing at the top of her lungs - we could hear her from a block away. The tears we shed that night never seemed to end. Those moments we treasure, because as the family began to blame each other for what happened, we stepped in words of healing, which were accepted and we saw them take effect. The burial was the next day, and it too was a bleak affair. The daughter was not allowed to be at the burial ritual, but had to wait until it was finished. We held her as she watched from a distance and we prayed over her.

Then God told us something unthinkable - do not go to see them until I tell you. It was heartbreaking again, to not be able to love on them in their darkest hour. But, I understand why now. The neighbor was plotting, even during the funeral, as I received a call from a stranger asking me to help the family and the abuse problem that was voiced - they said the neighbor told them to ask me about it. We understand now (through a set of details I won't bother to explain) that God didn't want us to visit them because the neighbor was planning to use us - as she had been calling the cops on the family over and over again hoping to goad the teenage son into rage in front of the cops. Then God. Oh how I love those words - then God. Then God did something amazing.

I got a text from the refugee organization that they had found an insane amount of resources for this family to 1) move away from the scheming neighbor [they have since moved and are very happy to be safe from them] 2) the eldest boy accused of abuse is having counseling in his own language 3) the younger kids have a child psychologist to help them through the grief in their own language 4) funeral costs were covered 5) child care is provided. What?!

God is amazing. Listen to Him.

Discipleship Case Study: A Positive Update

I hope that the posts about discipleship in the American church didn't leave you hopeless. Since I left with my family to be a part of the Hispanic church, a lot of good has happened.

Two of the men in particular have really run with the men's Bible study I mentioned earlier in this blog, and I believe they have surpassed what I taugh them. I visit them occasionally and they are so much better than I ever was! One has become an elder in the church, and the other has started a Bible study at his place of work. Wow!

Missions: The Hispanic Community

After we let the refugees stabilize, God led us to another case where we could practice hospitality through a neighbor that I had mentioned earlier in this blog as a person of peace. These folks came as asylees from a terrible government that had actually attacked and severely injured the husband in the family.

We had the great joy to help them monetarily as they began their life here and to invite them to the Hispanic church we attended a few times. We feel a strong bond with this family, and we have prayed with them many times. The husband says that he accepted Jesus as Lord when I used the Roman road to explain to him his need for Jesus, but we will see if it truly took root. I have since been trying fervently to teach him to pray with his heart to Jesus, to trust Him, and also to be generous to others since one of his issues is a poor handling of money.
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My wife and I also had the privelege to be invited by a small Hispanic church plant to serve them on a few occasions (My wife is Hispanic, and we both are fluent in Spanish.). After this, we felt God calling us to stay with them and serve their leadership in whatever they needed, and that is what we have done.

I won't say it has been easy for me; the culture shock is extremely intense for me. But I will say I have received a lot of healing, camaraderie, and honestly... some healthy leadership to follow. God continues to clean out my immaturity in many matters, especially as it relates to acting in love. I truly feel at home here with these brothers because they are mostly all striving to follow Jesus. When we speak about some truth in the Bible, they listen intently and take it to heart. They are hungry and thirsty for what God has for them, and what a refreshing experience it has been to be with my own kind in that sense.
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One piece of wisdom I will leave with you for this post with respect to speaking and acting in love, especially dealing with Biblical correction: Sometimes we can be right about something, but we become wrong about something when we don't speak it in love, humility, patience. Basically, if you are in the business of conquering people instead of reconiling people, you've missed the whole point.
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My wife and I have been strong elements of the Hispanic community since before our marriage, and we are excited to be going deeper into it as the Lord allows.

Missions: Refugees Part 3

It got a little bit weird after a while with the refugees and they got a little too codependent on us, so we let them figure out a few things on their own, only helping when they didn't have a way to solve problems themselves.

After a lot of study time with them and some driving practice, the father got a driver's license, which has opened up a lot of great things for him! We are so proud that the family is becoming more self-sustained. 

That being said, my family is now exhausted and we have taken a step back from the volunteer work to recharge. One thing God has been teaching me is knowing my limits. I never liked to think I had limits, but I do.

I have begun a slow, steady friendship with another immigrant from the same people group. He is a brand new Christian, but he doesn't really know anything Biblical and I'm not sure he has received the Holy Spirit yet. He still doesn't hear God's voice steadily. That relationship is missing some key parts.

So, we will see how God wants this to go. I am leaving it up to God at this point, since I typically try to pressure people into stuff and then they run away. (Hey just admitting my shortcomings).

Missions: Refugees part 2

Now the honeymoon has gone away, but we are still very much excited to be a part of this precious family's life. Because of the language gap, we have been using google translate, biblegateway.com non-English versions, another person from their language group, made-up sign language, etc. And also because of that language gap, we have focused on activities rather than communication. 

So we went to the zoo, which they were not impressed with. We went coat shopping. We went to the biggest park in our city and played with styrofoam planes, rubber band planes, kites, sidewalk chalk, bubbles. We also played soccer.

Even though our communication is limited, we find ourselves very much in a caring, reciprocal relationship with this family. We could just sit back and enjoy that very much, but we also have to think of their spiritual need for relationship with God. It helps to talk to God throughout these relationships, because He keeps your focused on what is important.

But how can we communicate the message of the good news if we can't speak the language, yet? One of my friends called me and told me about how he had shared the story of Jesus in John 8 who defended and forgave a woman caught in adultery with someone from this people group and how it really blew their mind. I hope to print this story in their language and share it with them soon.

Missions: Refugees

Something that we've been working on for a while. We had been getting ready to welcome refugees to the United States and help them transition into life here. It's about love. Or at least it should be.

This particular group gets a lot of political flak, and I've even had to endure stern warnings from my family for working with them.

However, obedience to God is the most important action of a follower of Jesus. Loving the stranger, offering hospitality - those are commands. "A new command I give you," it says in 1 John, "Love one another."

Love is our most powerful spiritual weapon. It can overcome bad theology, idolatry, hardness of heart, etc. The Holy Spirit works in this heavenly love to open men's hearts and to give us favor before even the toughest of people.

Well, they arrived, a large family that did not speak a word of English. And although I had been studying their language in order to be able to communicate with them, I still only speak basics. We helped them get settled in, showed them their local supermarket, stocked their fridge (family of 7!!!), bought them some clothes, bought them some phones, showed them the bus service, started teaching them basic English. We took them to a restaurant and the owner comped the meal! For 10 people! We took them to the lake and to the zoo, too.

But the best was being able to start telling them that we follow Jesus, that Jesus loves them and that He is the reason we love them.

I'm in the middle of it right now, and it's turning my world upsidedown as I try to balance my work, my family and them.

One on One: Harsh Reality

Well, we almost finished the study of Luke, but tragedy struck one person and he had to drop out to grieve. The other just sort of went incommunicado for a while.

So, life just happened. I want to be honest in this blog, so I'll be honest. It was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking not only to see the tragedy that fell on my brother, it was heartbreaking to stop seeing him (by his choice, not mine). I really did slump into a sadness, but I gave it God and just kind of numbed out for a while.

It was just such a stark transition from being elated, feeling like God was using us all together, seeing the "lights come on"... and then immediate separation and isolation from each other.

It hurts, people, it hurts. I deceived myself thinking I had found a golden opportunity that would be perfect. No, there will always be challenges, no matter what.

So, we keep asking God, begging God for His direction, mercy, and orders. Hopefully, we listen.

Until then, the encouragement is 2 Corinthians 4 and 2 Corinthians 1, wherein Paul details how much pain he endured spreading the good news. I will say this, if you care enough about God's word and people, it will hurt you a lot.

One on One: Foundations

So, every other week I am meeting for about 3 hours with 2 different people. One week I meet with one, and the other week I meet with the other.

It has been fantastic. Not only have we covered a lot of chapters of Luke faster than a Bible study, but we have spent our time applying it, empowering one another, teaching the simplicity of the good news, getting the elemental things right from the get go. It is refreshing to not have to pour into people who have already been indoctrinated. Now they can just develop in the wonder of God's vision for them and the world. That foundation is key. Everything else comes second. 

If the foundation is head knowledge, they will become intellectuals. If the foundation is rules, they will become religious. If the foundation is feelings, they will become emotion-driven puffballs. If the foundation is the living Jesus, they will walk with God.

That foundation is very difficult to make sure is laid right. I have had to ask some very penetrating questions about what they think the good news of Jesus is. Why is your salvation good? It starts at "I don't go to hell now." And that is a terrible way to think of salvation. The questions drive them to... you are now in relationship with God. Then the question is, why is that good? Because you were meant to be with Him. You were meant to be on good terms and in friendship with God. You were meant to walk with Him. You were meant to depend on Him. You were meant to be filled with His presence. It is the meaning of your existence...

I have to admit that even with this, I've given written to them a mini-class on Biblical interpretation so they can read the word for themselves and not have to depend on anyone but God to get the basics going. Obviously, I love group interpretation of the Bible, but you have to know the Bible to let it interpret itself to you as well...

I have to say, I feel like this is the entire purpose of my life at this point. My relationship with God has been overwhelmingly peaceful, and "I feel His pleasure," like that quote from Chariots of Fire.

What is even more exciting is that they both now feel very drawn to be leaders in the Church! My only warning has been that they should know what true Biblical ministry is before they are swallowed by church culture's ideas.

I think our next step will be finding a way to make our tiny one-on-one sessions something people can be invited into, a gathering for the people God is calling to Himself. I wonder what this will look like. So, I began asking them to just think about talking with their friends about Jesus and see what comes up in their minds. We will get into that later, but it's good to put that little bug in the mind...

One on One: Venturing into the Small

It has been heart-wrenching to think of taking a break from this group, but due to the summer vacations, attendance has been low. Not just attendance, but communication with one another has been low. If I am honest, I am concerned that we have not really taken to heart what it means to be the Church. Doubts are creeping in about the spiritual state of the group since we have become so insular.

So, I am taking a break from the group to focus on discipling one or two young Christ-followers, to try and develop together on the go and in real life, away from the church building. It's a bit unnerving to shift from what I know into something that could fail miserably. But, isn't that faith?

Discipleship Case Study: 2016

The past few months have been amazing. We finished Mark, and we are well on our way to finishing 1 and 2 Corinthians. I believe that we were lead by God to read in that order to first connect to Jesus.. and then to understand who we are to be as the Church and as ambassadors of the good news. God has truly taken over our men's group. It is no longer I that leads, but truly the Lord. I am now very comfortable that my men can read the Word for themselves and love one another.

I tell you what, it's been difficult to get to this point. It's an exercise in patience. I'm sure I've looked foolish, pushy, lackadaisical and everything in between at times to these Men of God. But in the end it was a lack of me that hopefully pushed the men towards seeking God first. As John said of his ministry, I must become lesser and He must become greater. I have intentionally been lazy in my leadership.

I think that one of the main points of leadership in the Church is to give that leadership away so God will be the greater and so people will go to the Source instead of an imitation like me. I want to disappoint them a bit so they will turn to the One who never disappoints.
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Here's what we've seen. Men are leading other men. They are opening up and teaching one another with experience and the Word. They are listening to rebukes in the Word. They are fed by encouragement from the Word. They are allowing the Holy Spirit to interrupt the "flow", and they are following the paths the Spirit is having them go down. They are eating with each other - always. They are praying for each other about the hard things in life.

I think they are at a stage where they are beginning to depend on the Lord in a way they didn't understand before. They are beginning to mature from being babies who only drink the milk that is predigested from the minister's mouth. Now they are eating the steak and potatoes (with a side salad) of the balanced Word of God, and they are relying on the Spirit to interpret and guide.

That is a very firm foundation, but we do lack some things. We are not mission-oriented, as we still have not hammered down what a vision of the church actually is. We are struggling so much with internal issues that we have no time for the outside. I look forward to the day when we can be healed from those hard things and go forward into the darkness to be the light. I believe it's coming soon. They also lack a dying desire for Christ. I'm waiting patiently for the Lord to move over His men so they will gain the strength to be willing to die for Christ, not just literally, but also emotionally and through the sometimes harsh times of godly discipline.

These things will be added to them, but it will take time, and there may be fewer men than when we started. However, such is the Kingdom. It's always marching forward.

Special Topics: Business as Mission

There are many different vehicles of missions. For example, one can spread the Good News of Jesus while also providing great health care in medical missions. However, one might not think that business and missions go hand in hand. I mean, think about all the money and greed in business, right? 

There's an imaginary tiered system that we often think about if we were raised in church. Imagine a pyramid of importance, with the missionaries at the top - I mean they risk their lives all day long for the Gospel and left their homelands, the state-side ministers below them, the health care people below them, and then all the businesspeople... right above purgatory.

I write this jokingly, but there is a manufactured disconnect between business and mission. In all reality, Paul, arguably the best human missionary in the Bible, was in fact a tentmaker. He used this skill to make money to support the spread of the gospel.

Fast forward to the present day and a new trend is helping us complete the Great Commission to reach the whole world with the gospel, including the places where we are forbidden. Businesses have been started in other countries with the expressed intention of not just bringing economic development and monetary profit, but also the chance to disciple workers 8 hours+ daily.

We have started an importer business with this exact aim. I can already tell that there are unique challenges. The amount of work that has to be done is very challenging. When you work on something that much, it becomes evident that obsession creeps in. Obsession is an enemy of God. It's also known by its sinister flavors of lust, greed, idolatry. Working hard is necessary, but remaining faithful to God is moreso.

May God have His way with us and may His Good News go where it is not permitted.

Special Topics: International Missions

This is a special topic post for those who consider spreading the good news of Jesus with people of other cultures. This can be done in your current country among immigrants, or it can be done internationally. My experience comes from living in Guatemala and Switzerland and also working among immigrants in the USA.

Living internationally is a very difficult experience that requires a lot of emotional support from your loved ones. You never understand how much your culture means to you until it is taken away. You never understand how much your family and friends mean to you. You never understand how much your national infrastructure, such as roads, internet and grocery chains mean to you. You might believe that these things aren't really a part of your core identity, but you're just wrong. :D

Here are some things I've learned. Don't go alone. Perhaps you have an idea of a lone ranger who goes out and saves the world. Guess what! The apostles were sent out by Jesus in twos. This was a genius move on Jesus' part, because those apostles supported each other physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Loneliness is a deadly enemy that can easily ensnare expats into sin.

I've counseled a few folks who fell into sin while serving alone as missionaries. Because of the traumatic effects of culture shock that come from having your entire support system torn away from you, it is necessary to have a partner to care for you and for you to care for them.

I've made the mistake of believing my culture was better than others, as well. You really have to go in understanding that people are people. There will be things that really irk you about the way people do things, but you aren't better than them. There will be sin that people do in that culture, and those will need to be addressed, but it must be done Scripturally, not through the cultural mores of America or whatever you nationality may be. The first book you should read is American Ways, by Gary Althen, available at Amazon.com or other retailers. It is a book designed for immigrants coming to the USA, but reading it will show you how different your culture is from the rest of the world. It's the first step in shedding ethnocentrism.

Read about other cultures in order to have a cursory understanding before you go. Please note that no book will prepare you to adapt to another culture, but it can help you understand that there will be differences that you might misinterpret. Use resources lightly, but use them. Don't go on stereotypes. A great series of books available at Amazon.com or other sites is called "Culture Shock". See if there is one written for the country to which you wish to go, for example, Thailand. The Kindle versions usually run about $6. 

Culture shock isn't just the title of a book series, it's a psychological phenomenon that happens to people changing their physical location. It happens to people moving from one state to the next, although it is cushioned because of the common culture. Moving long-term to another country and culture can be devastating. At first, there is a honeymoon period where everything seems amazing about your new home. Then there is a period where you hate everything about a culture, and it is very difficult to go through with grace. My shock trigger is either illness or a haircut. Haircuts, I find, are extremely intimidating when you can't speak the language of your barber, plus there is a risk of HIV with unsanitary barbers. If you get past this, you adapt and find your personal identity in the culture, seeing the good and the bad and becoming a member of society.

The hardest part of international living may be finding a place in the culture. The role of a missionary is an awkward one, especially when making introductions. "Why are you here?" is a question oft-asked of expats.

Saying you are a missionary gets a lot of bad or even odd reactions. I was called a Mormon frequently. I was also thought to be a Mennonite because I tried to dress like the local men, complete with fedora and tweed jacket. Fortunately, I worked as an English teacher, so I had a place in the society. There are other ways to be legitimate. The medical field and international business offer a lot of opportunities to take a proper place in a different culture. 

Some, if not most, are hostile to the idea of a Christian missionary coming to them. It is very important to consider how you will fit, because people will judge you by your role, whether you like it or not.

Special Topics: Health Care Missions

This is a special topic post for those considering work in the medical field and/or medical missions.

Medical missions are a type of mission activity that fuses medical care and the act of healing with spreading the good news about Jesus. Medical missions can be found all over the world, in the most dangerous places in the world, and even among immigrant and uninsured populations in the USA.

Medical work is a tremendous commitment that one should never take lightly; it is truly a career that I believe you must be called to do in order to do it because of the pain and suffering that it entails.

I've been privileged to join with 2 short-term groups for a number of years and worked a long stint with a medical mission, serving people in Haiti, Guatemala and inner-city America. I worked as a medical interpreter, pharmacy technician and eventually as a patient navigator, which is a new field that is akin to social work. I also worked in graphic design, film editing, and preventive/sanitation health care teaching.

I currently work for a secular hospital, where I'm still able to share Jesus with others, albeit unofficially. Medical work is a great passion of mine, and I can also speak to the difficulty of balancing work with evangelism.

The great challenge of medical missions is simply being able to do the work of medicine while maintaining a missionary focus. The work is all-consuming, and there is never enough time in the day to finish. So where are the points wherein we can talk about Jesus with folks?

The balance comes from a dynamic shift in thinking. Is the physical self more important than the physical self? If I believe that the physical self is the most important thing, then I may find myself using all of my energy and time to heal people from their illnesses. If I believe that the spiritual self is most important, that will overflow automatically into my speech and actions. I will heal people physically, but I will shower them with the Word of God, a healing balm to the soul. I will treat them, reminding them of the Great Physician who healed my own soul and will do the same if they accept Him, Jesus.

There are many resources out there to aid us in how to care for people spiritually and medically. A superb book is Multiplying Light and Truth, by Stan Rowland. It's a difficult book to find, but in it is contained one of the best models I've ever seen and experienced in the integration of community ownership, preventive medicine, medical/hospital care and evangelism. Reading this book will give you far more insight into how medical missions should work, rather than reading any post I could write.

I would also recommend to anyone considering a life of medical missions to watch Dr. Kent Brantly speak. He was the first person on U.S. soil to be treated for the Ebola virus, which he contracted while serving as a medical missionary in Liberia, Africa. (Video can be accessed by clicking: http://vimeo.com/122761210)

Special Topics: Ethics of Illegal Missionary Activity

This is a special topic post for those interested in cross-cultural, international missions.

The link below will address a difficult question. Is it ethical to break the laws of a sovereign government in order to spread the gospel of Jesus? Pardon the academic, neutral language of the paper. It was written in fulfillment of an MBA assignment in ethics.

Academic Paper on the Ethics of Illegal Missionary Activity

Discipleship Case Study: 2014

I wanted to report a great experience we've had in our church. We began to meet as a group of 9 men around the book of Hebrews and James.

A couple of us knew each other, but the rest didn't. So we spent a long time introducing ourselves. That was the whole of our first time together.

We needed to get folks to bring a meal each week on a rotation. So the question went out and the men responded. Like I said earlier, food binds folks together. Time together without food isn't going to produce the best relationships.

Lastly, we each wrote down our individual prayer requests on a 3x5 card and passed it to the person to the right. Everyone was expected to pray for the person next to him, and that's all. This avoids gossip-time that has really dominated prayer request sharing.

At our first time together with food, we broke out the Bibles. It was awkward to read an entire chapter of the Bible and then go down verse by verse, or paragraph by paragraph, waiting in silence for people to tell how it impacted them. People are not used to reading large portions of the Bible and talking about it. Some people are much louder than others, and as a facilitator of discussion, I would have to gently stop them and ask others to talk. 

After a few of these meetings, we began to really see the transformation in our hearts. We opened up to who we really were. We challenged each other, as men do. We worked through really difficult passages in Scripture. We celebrated when others had great things happen. We prayed when others had bad things happen. It became a real brotherhood. I've never experienced that before.

Later, we divided the leadership down. I stepped back from facilitating and taught others how to facilitate on their own. Some did better than others. Some tried to teach a lot. Some talked a lot. The hardest thing was "herding the cats". That just means getting people back on track, listening to God, focusing on what He would want in our gathering, rather than talking about random political or other things.

It's sort of become a great experiment to see if leadership can be multiplied through a simple table conversation.

We look forward to starting the gospel of Mark in January. 

Cases: Current Stories of 2013-2014

Another confusing post. It's all over the place, but then again, so is life.

Self
I took a long hiatus from telling others about the awesomeness of Jesus. My health was suffering over the last few months by both sickness and injury, and I wasn't in very good spirits. I wasn't really connecting to the Lord, and that was purely my fault. Again, I'm a real person. God also led me to the wild, the actual wild forest, to be formed again. To state all of the ways I have been called to repentance would just take up the whole post and not really glorify God. Suffice it to say, God is amazing. When the world and your own body steal your purpose, God is relentless in pursuing you and giving you back your purpose. 

For me, there is no use in trying to connect others to God when you yourself are not connected to Him. Otherwise, you will disciple "twice a son of hell" as yourself.

Network of Prayer
God really worked on us to show us that nothing moves in history without Him doing it. So we developed a faithful network of people who would just ask God to bless our efforts (which are clearly in His will to do) to spread God's good news.

The difference is night and day. Whereas before things were slow and hard, things are much more smooth. We can see the story God is writing on people's hearts much better; we can also rest better than before knowing that we don't have to push too hard since God Himself is working. I really don't know if that makes sense, but it certainly does to us. Thank you Lord, and thank you brothers and sisters who have been faithful in praying for the lost.

Family
My wife and I shifted our focus from random people to our family members. We were able to lead one member to dedicate their life to Jesus after a focused Bible study and also answering her own questions. She was a student and was being taught a lot of illogical and disrespectful things about religions and how to relate (or not) to God. I covered this in an earlier post. Follow up and discipleship has been slow, but that doesn't bother us. We pray she would continue strong in her journey, and we praise God that she's moved from death to life!

My wife's mom was able to lead another family member to Christ, and the follow up has again been slow. Praise God for saving her!

We also had the joy of baptizing a member of my family. Yay! Their life was immediately challenged/attacked spiritually, but he is doing amazingly well and there has been a complete change in him. I mean, it really is absolutely nothing I did. God is doing this great work, and it is amazing to see Him work.

Neighbors 
We also shifted how we approach our neighbors, and he's slowed our pace way down. We began simply using a cultural practice of taking food to neighbors. For instance, we had an ice storm paralyze our city. Everyone was stuck inside. This was a perfect opportunity to bake and take some cookies to our neighbors to meet them. It was really fun. We hung out with one couple, but they soon moved to a different city. 

However, another not-yet-believing family we met are what we think are "people of peace", c.f. Luke 10:5-7. We have become pretty good friends. It's an ongoing and slow process, but there have been great doors opened this very week with them, including worshiping with the church together. God's also given grace for me become closer to the man of the house, which is a pretty amazing to me to see that God is working with men. Men are pretty difficult since they tend not to see the world through spiritual eyes. I strongly believe that God will use this family to let us spread the good news to many people who are their friends.

Other Cases
We began a small business with Guatemalan artisans to help develop an impoverished area there, but also to sell some really cool stuff. The artisans we partner with disciple youth in danger of being inducted into gangs. Their shop is in the middle of a very very dangerous area. Of course, this project has many purposes, but one big one is to disciple others in the workplace and to support these type of grassroots companies around the world.

I've been pleased to pray with a couple of my patients and coworkers in my new job working with cancer patients. Emotionally, some of these relationships have been very hard to be a part of because of the brokenness and great need in their situations. My previous clinic allowed me to pray with others, but I work for a hospital now, and this is pretty much prohibited. Oh well.

Lastly, I have been friends with a man from my old clinic for a few years now. He has a very sad story of his family falling apart, and he is now a bit of a nomad. He's been unable to work. He still sees the good news as an academic, historical type story rather than a story that actually means something to Him. This has been one of the most painful relationships I've ever had in my life, seeing this man's steady spiritual and physical decline. Pray for God's great mercy on Him. Pray that He would be driven to drink of the presence of God and be satisfied.

Lessons Learned
So many things have happened that are simply joyous to experience. We learned that God doesn't want us to do anything without Him; sounds weird, but it means that nothing will work unless we are close to the Lord. In His kindness, He loves us so much that He wants to always guide us and lead us and shepherd us. 

We learned we need to use food. We learned we need to be satisfied with a slower pace. We learned we have to be open in our schedules to let others in. We also learned that some people need more structure than others when studying the Bible. In short, we needed to learn to just love people.

Going forward
We still don't know how to get people into follow up, but we suspect it has to do with there being a need for a stronger foundation of friendship before leading someone to Christ. We are satisfied with a slow pace, but we also watch for the opportunities that the Spirit is creating, such as spiritual questions, whacked out movie plots, friends of friends, time folding laundry with people, teaching others to build fires in the woods, etc. 

Cases: Stories of 2012-2013

What a mess! At the beginning of this blog, I noted we would be sharing our struggles in spreading the good news, so here goes.

About a year ago, I put out flyers for a Bible study with little tear off strips at the bottom with our website and Skype information. I put one in English and one in Spanish outside my door in the clinic I worked at at that time, and the other I put on a bulletin board outside of my apartment complexes mailbox center. 4 people responded. 3 actually did studies with us. None of them are studying with us now. It's kind of difficult to put that in writing, but sometimes it just happens. It's certainly been a learning experience, and we won't forget the lessons we learned.

As a side note, we did all of this openly under the eldership of our local church, giving frequent reports. 

1 English speaking guy
This one started out nice. I met the guy at a local restaurant to hang out and just get to know him better before going forward. He follows Jesus, and we enjoyed being around each other. We hung out a couple of times, had some moments of spirited prayer, but after about 4 times seeing each other we never did anything together again. Not for lack of follow up, so I don't really know what went on. I think it was just hard for him as a traveler to get his schedule on. We offered to skype with him when traveling, but it was never accepted. Oh well. God bless him!!

1 Spanish-speaking Jehovah's witness
This was a hard one. I met this lady during a financial counseling session at the clinic and noted a lot of irregularities with her family situation because of a lack of control of pretty much every aspect of her life. When I asked if she was being abused, she said she was. I had her read a few books of the Bible, and we would come together and discuss these and how God's spirit was speaking to her. She seemed to improve over time. My wife and I even traveled about an hour to get to her house and have a family Bible study with her boyfriend and other family members present. However, the friendship took a turn towards obsession on her part, and I had to exit the friendship for the sake of honoring my lovely wife. In this, the Spirit taught me a huge lesson contained in Titus 2:3-5, to teach those of your own gender.

1 Spanish-speaking lady
This was a beautiful story. This lady knocked on my office door asking to become part of this study. Karen and I went to meet her at a restaurant. She had been saved by God from a number of cults she had been a part of, and she herself will also tell you she was saved from her own homosexuality. We met with her over a number of weeks and discussed a great number of things and began to get close. Through her we were able to witness to a Muslim friend of hers and to support our dear sister in spreading the good news to her coworkers of other faiths. She introduced us to other of her friends. It faded for a season, and we have not seen her for about a year. We will probably begin meeting with her again soon.

However, one thing we learned with her is that she loved the theologically hard things and focused mainly on those during discussion times. It was difficult to steer conversation back to the simple calling of Jesus on our lives when we were always talking deep into eschatology. It's hard to know what to do with these things. The temptation is to impose structure when things aren't perfect. We let the Spirit move, and we firmly believe Jesus is quite able and ready to lead the church Himself, in reality, not theory and of course without a human mediator.
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*Another guy, actually a rap producer, came into the clinic just angry at the world. We talked, and I felt the Spirit telling me to ask him if he had given his life to the Lord. We prayed together to rededicate his life to the Lord. It was pretty awesome. I texted him for follow up and linked him up with a local pastor, but he never did follow up. That did not feel awesome. :(
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**My wife also started developing a relationship with a coworker, eating out with them and going to galleries together. We consequently got invited to a unitarian universalist wedding, which quite possibly ranks as the most blasphemous experience I've ever endured. Slowly but surely we are making a relationship with the coworker and her husband. She is connected to a large Buddhist following in our city, and I had the awkward privilege of talking to the main guru over it who claimed to follow Jesus. 
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It was greatly discouraging to lose what we lost. However, we also know that it was a great joy to share in the presence of God and to share the Word of God with others. It was a privilege. It still is a privilege. It's amazing to see God work, even in the mess. 

You can really get burned out if you dwell on these failures, or what appear to be failures, if you take all of the burden of it onto your own heart. It is good to desire good for others and be disappointed when they reject it and reject you. But these are things Jesus told us would happen (like Luke 10:1-16), and we must drink of the amazing calm of passages like Matthew 11:28-30 and 1 Corinthians 3:5-9. 

We learned two great lessons from this. First, talk to God all the time and beg God when preparing to go to one of these things. Nothing moves in history without Him, and we must also talk to Him so we can align ourselves with the work He is already doing in people's lives. Second, we have to build relationships slowly... slowly. Trust is the currency we deal in when we desire to make relationships. Flyers, I think, may be the worst way to meet people. It's very inorganic and awkward to start a relationship with a flyer. I'll talk about in the next post what we changed up. Third, people do need a little anonymity for their own protection sometimes, and exchanging emails and cell numbers before you even meet them can be a blessing and a curse.

The Word: Salvation

Committing your life to Jesus is not something to be taken lightly. None of us knew what it fully meant for our lives when we first believed, but we did it anyway - all as a matter of trusting that the good news we received was both true and that is was also meant to govern our lives.

But still, understanding what salvation is beforehand is simply vital. Salvation has this image of passing from death to life, from old to new, from illegitimacy to adoption, destination hell to destination heaven.

What is the point of salvation? Is it to be safe? Is it to just live life like you want and to know you are eternally safe? No, it's for the joy of being with God forever starting today that we are being saved.

Here is the idea of it all: without salvation in Christ, you are dead and you gotta get with the person who defeated death to get off this earth alive.

Jesus said it best when he told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son that whosoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life." John 3:16. For a more extensive list of Jesus' words on salvation, click >>here<<. 

Other salvation verses include Romans 10:9-10,13, Acts 2:38 (both based on Joel 2's prophecy) and a bunch of others. My own personal opinion is that moving from death to life is as simple as accepting Jesus as absolute King, God and Savior over your life. It is quite clear from verses like Acts 4:12 and John 14:6 that Jesus is the only way for us to be reunited with God - which is salvation. It is purely grace through trust, not by the things we do, so that no man can say he's saved himself and boast about it, Ephesians 2:8-9. No, it is only by God's power and moving that one is saved, since no dead man can do anything for himself unless he is resurrected by God.

So lead people to turn from their old ways and give full allegiance to Jesus Christ. Have them say it out loud, and be very tender to the moment. If they have trouble saying it, but truly want to, help them form the words.

Be aware, though, that in so leading someone to the Lord, this is only the beginning, not the end: Matthew 28:18-20 tells us to teach and disciple people - an ongoing process - and to dunk them in water (see Romans 6:3-5 and 1 Peter 3:20-21 for an explanation of "baptism").
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Religious Word of the Day: Baptism. Okay - this is a touchy subject, but I don't really know why. Baptism is a Koine Greek word, it doesn't really come from English. When we see this word baptidzo (Greek) used outside of the Bible in other Koine Greek texts, it refers to things like a sunken ship or submerging pickles (lol). It means to "immerse in water". To see the source material I'm speaking of, click >>here<<. You have to read the whole page to see the full picture.

The Word: Getting Back on Track

People will inevitably try to derail Biblical discussion. Not only are there people who intentionally do this, but our very human nature will do this. Some things in the Bible are painful. Others are quite confusing. Much of the Bible directly confronts culturally accepted practices. This is normal.

More to the point, people will try to explain away hard parts like "Love your enemies." "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me." "Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Of course this also applies to parts of the Bible that speak of some of the more controversial topics, such as homosexuality, lust, divorce - for some reason the sexual stuff raises more eyebrows than the passages condemning slander, malicious intent, drunkenness, witchcraft, gossip, etc.

People will try to explain it all away by saying that that was the way it was back then, but not now. Or, the Greek really says [blank]. The excuses are sundry. 

The natural tendency is to argue back, shove it down people's throats, or just ignore it and let people say whatever they want for the sake of peace. All of these, in my opinion, are problematic. If the Spirit allows you, I would suggest stating this very humbly: "If it doesn't say what it says, why does it say it?" or "What if it IS actually saying this?". This may help break people's tendency to propose excuses. Or you might share a time where Scripture challenged you and you yourself had to conform, rather than you conforming it to your liking. Remember that you yourself are still conforming yourself to God's will, and you are still struggling to obey.

As you read through as a people, and continue to ask the question - "What does this want me to do?"... you will see that God is calling some of the people to salvation. This is an exciting time wherein people are really beginning to grasp the goodness and great love of God. They are feeling healing. They are sensing their life is renewing and has a purpose. They begin to see the confusion clearing in their lives. And a grand, daunting choice of whether or not to commit is standing in front of them.

The Word: How to Teach

We have established that our clever arguments and even our deeply personal stories cannot save anyone. In fact, none of us can bridge the divide between God and man. But to present the lost to the Lord, we must lead them to the Word of God. We learned that it is alive and effective, and that the best expression of the Word of God is Jesus Himself. The story of Jesus is found in the first four books of the New Testament called the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

But how do you read through Scripture with someone who knows nothing about it? How do you teach Scripture if you don't know it? I've heard people say you have to get a Bible degree to do a good job, and sure it doesn't hurt to do that. However, the Apostles were not all college material. Many were rural fishermen. If God can use them, he can use us no matter where we are. We don't have to have all the answers.

First pray before opening the Bible. I'm guilty of not doing this. It's not so much a guilt thing, but it's just ineffective to read the Bible without the Spirit of God directing. So pray, invite the Holy Spirit into the study, and let Him guide you and direct you. If you really have trouble figuring out what to read, just start with John. It's a great book.

If we have established that the Word of God is living and active, why can't it teach itself? Guess what? It CAN! You can read the Bible in short bursts and discuss it. I like to start with 10-12 verses, trying to keep in line with the chapter breaks. For example, if the paragraph or story is 17 verses, I will have us all read the whole 17 verses. It is better to read according to the story structure in the Bible rather than the verse structure. (If you think that is blasphemous, consider that chapters and verses were later added to the text to help us quote and reference it. There is nothing holy about verse/chapter structure.)

Sometimes it is best to set some questions in play, then read the passage and then review it. For instance, we might ask 4 questions: Is this confusing? (Let people know that it confuses you sometimes, too), What does this mean?, Does this hurt?, What should I do?

What this looks like afterwards is that you read through verse by verse aloud (or preferably let someone else read through) and ask if there were any thoughts on the questions asked... again verse by verse. This often gets turned into good discussion and gets derailed. This is what you are wanting. You want the structure to get slightly derailed, because people's deep soul thoughts and feelings aren't expressed in structure.

We may not have to have all the answers, and it is always better to let people go on the journey to truth themselves so they will own their conclusions themselves. If they don't own the conclusions, they will not be passionate about them. Half of getting to know God is this very struggle. If people are struggling, then they are most likely beginning to understand. It's okay if people struggle! I promise! Jesus is a challenge for everyone, even when He taught people face to face, offensive to some and amazingly refreshing to others.

Over time you will begin to see people make their decisions. Some will not accept. This is not your decision to make. Some will find a passion ignited in them for Jesus Christ, and those people will want to know Him more and will want to know what to do. We'll discuss that next.