Jeff Adams

Greetings from Panama City! Marco and I got up about 3:30am Monday morning to head this way. We are training leaders at the El Dorado Baptist Church. Our good friend Ricardo Fernandez received us at the airport, took us to lunch, checked us into the hotel and shortly afterward picked us up to go to the first meeting held last night at his church. It was well after 11:00pm when we finally got to the room last night, so forgive me for not checking in with you. Last night approximately 800-900 pastors, leaders and those who want to be leaders came out to learn the biblical definition of leadership. It’s after midnight Tuesday. Again we just got to the room and had another full house tonight.

You have heard me talk many times about my burden to train and equip Latin American pastors as the Latin American church matures and engages in God’s global mission. Over the years, Marco and I have held seemingly countless conferences for pastors, operated the Que Dice la Biblia Bible Institute from KCBT and done all we know how to do to reproduce ourselves in Latin American leadership. Ricardo represents the prototype of what we have asked God to do.

Ricardo was a successful attorney with a fine position in the corporate banking world and an active member of his church. Through a series of circumstances he suddenly found himself leading his middle to upper class congregation. Rather than receive encouragement and help from other pastors in his denomination, he was sharply criticized because he did not have a seminary degree. Discouraged and desperate, God brought two single missionary ladies into his life. These women had invested their entire lives translating scripture and working with indigenous people in the Panamanian jungle. They encouraged him to contact us and study the Bible with Que Dice la Biblia.

I was not even aware of Ricardo until I came to Panama City some years ago to speak at an international congress at the University of Panama. As I entered the conference center, I saw a man in a suit literally running across the floor toward me. It was Ricardo. With tears in his eyes he asked if he could give me a hug and kiss on the cheek for saving his life and ministry. I was dumbfounded, but grateful to God for using me even when I was totally unaware of what was happening in Ricardo’s life.

In the past few years Ricardo has continued his studies with us as he has had opportunity to do so along with the many other responsibilities he has. His church has become the largest Baptist church in the nation. Other pastors look to him now for leadership. Some of you may remember Ricardo, as he has attended some of our conferences and most recently spoke on a Sunday morning at KCBT last May. As you heard that day, Ricardo openly gives thanks to God for using the ministry of KCBT to set him on the right path. He looks to me as his mentor and has trained his church to systematically and biblically make disciples of Jesus Christ and multiply themselves as other disciples and churches result from what God is doing. He credits his KCBT education for learning how to effectively equip his church with solid biblical teaching.

Through an amazing chain of events an AM/FM radio complex fell into Ricardo’s hands and now broadcasts truth across Panama. Our services each night are being broadcast live to the nation. I have met many people these past two days who listen to me daily on the radio here in Panama.

As the result of Ricardo’s consistent application of what he has been learning, the El Dorado church has begun five others in the past few years, including one among the Cuna, an indigenous people of Panama. A growing number of other pastors are looking to him as a leader and he has been able to train some of them. One of his disciples is pastor of a growing church and has already caught a global vision. For several years this pastor has taken small teams into Cuba to train leaders in discipleship. One couple in Ricardo’s church caught the discipleship virus and each year they invest their time and resources to travel to San Blas Islands, a Panamanian territory, and train leaders. Now, almost the entire population where they are working has come to Christ.

I’d like to say that every pastor with whom we have established a relationship has experienced the same type of fruit. Many have to lesser degrees. The issue is not the number but the fact that they are reproducing themselves in others. The truth is, there are others just like Ricardo. He is a great prototype, though, of the answer to our prayers to raise up a new generation of leaders for the Latin American church, and it is a joy to be associated with them and learn from them as they learn from us.

Famous evangelist D. L. Moody had just finished preaching an evangelistic meeting in Brockton, Massachusetts during the 1880’s. A testimony meeting followed, and a young man stood to share what God had done in his life. It was quite clear that he was not a public speaker and didn’t know much about the Bbile. Nevertheless, in one of those special moments when a new believer stumbles upon deep truth, the young man pressed on in his attempt to verbalize what he had just experienced. In closing he said, “I’m not sure - but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.”

One of the people listening that night was a musician named David Towner. Taking notes on what the young man had said, he passed them on to John Sammis who turned them into lyrics. The result was a beautiful hymn that has been sung by countless thousands ever since. Here is the first verse and chorus:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

I thought of those words early this morning as I was reading through Numbers 20. I try to get to the office early enough on Sunday mornings to have some time to get my heart warmed by letting God preach to me before I preach to you. God’s message to me this me this morning is that it is very important to understand that trust comes before obedience. If we trust, we will obey. A small child jumps into Daddy’s arm because of trust. You can obey a robber who has a gun to your head, but that does not mean you trust him. Begin with trust and obedience follows.

In Numbers 20 the saga of Israel in the desert continues. The people are thirsty and begin to complain once again. With their short memories, they complain that they never should have left Egypt and would be better off dead. By this time Moses is up to his ears in whining and complaining. He’s simply had it! He and Aaron fall on their faces before God not knowing what to do.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. Numbers 20:7-12

God tells Moses to take his shepherd’s rod and speak to the Rock. You can observe a bit of an attitude as Moses spits out this verbal explosion calling the people rebels and doing some complaining himself. “Must we fetch water out of this rock?”

Excuse me! Just who is going to cause the water to come out of the rock? Would that be Moses and Aaron, or would that be God?

The real problem, though, is that instead of speaking to the rock, Moses hit it once again with the rod. You might not think that to be a big deal, especially since that is exactly what God had told him to do the first time in a similar event recorded back in Exodus 17:1-7. But God was painting a picture, giving them a living parable, and Moses messed it all up.

The Apostle Paul clearly explains in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that the rock is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 1Corinthians 10:4

This Rock, Jesus, is to be smitten only once. That’s what happened on the cross, never to be repeated.

For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Romans 6:10

But after that you can speak to him all you want.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Notice something else, something I think is profound. God rebukes Moses and Aaron telling them that for this reason they will not be the ones to lead the people into the promised land. But, he does not rebuke them for disobeying, rather for not believing, for lack of trust. “Because ye believed me not,” is how God expresses it. To believe is a concept that can admit several shades of meaning, but this particular Hebrew word translated believe is one that carries a strong and basic implication of trust more than mere intellectual belief.

Some people get so concerned about a literal, legalistic obedience, they pass over the deeper issue of trust. You can obey without trust, but if you truly trust you will freely and naturally obey. I am reminded to examine my own heart to affirm that I really do trust God. How about you?

Two separate but special experiences somehow got connected in the hidden dark recesses of my brain. Do you ever have things like that happen to you? I sure hope so! let me explain. Both experiences have to do with perceptions of ministry.

This morning I had the honor of giving the commencement address for the graduation of Calvary Bible College and Theological Seminary. Calvary is not a large school, but it is a fine one. I have known some truly outstanding Calvary grads who have been mightily used of God in diverse places and capacities. Calvary has been a part of our city for over 70 years and numbers of KCBT folks have studied there. In fact, three people from our church family graduated today. Chris Devanny received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biblical Counseling and Jeff Cox, our executive pastor of operations, received his Master of Science Degree in Bible and Theology, both with honors! Also, Gee Hae Park received a Masters of Arts Degree in Biblical Counseling in absentia, having returned to Korea.

I felt very honored to have been asked to speak on this occasion, though I must admit it felt a bit strange to be “introduced” in my own church and stranger still to speak from the pulpit I use every Sunday decked out in full academic regalia. Years ago I gave the commencement address at Maryland Bible College and Seminary and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. This was the first time, though, that I have worn my official colors since earning my Ph.D. I didn’t even wear regalia at my own graduation because I opted not to attend (that was a stupid, short-sighted decision).

What does one say when asked to give a commencement speech? I used Genesis 12:1 as my basis.

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: Genesis 12:1

My challenge was for the graduates to likewise get out! I told them it was time for them to get out into the world, to get out of their comfort zone and to get out of the classroom into a lifetime of intentional learning. I gave them my top five practices for getting out from where you are to where you need to be: 1) spend structured, substantive time with God daily in prayer and in his word, 2) journal, 3) read books, 4) take care of your body, and 5) invest your life in people.

With over 90 graduates, this was a large class for Calvary. Looking out over this group cranked up my imagination and caused me to wonder how God would be using these graduates. Since this is a Bible college and seminary, most of them will be involved in some aspect of “career type” ministry such as teachers in Christian schools, missionaries, pastors and staff members in churches.

The second separate event that got connected in my mind with the first was a wedding Cheryl and I attended last night in Springfield, Missouri. As we were walking toward the church, I looked across the parking lot to see a gentleman I had known for some years. To see him there was not really a surprise since the groom’s family are mutual friends. I was happy to see him because I knew that he had gone through a very difficult period of life and I had not heard from him for several months. He holds a doctor of Education degree and has been involved in the field of education for many years. During this same time he has had a fruitful ministry to college students and a mission ministry that has spanned the earth. His recent difficulties resulted in resigning his ministry position, and I was concerned to see how he was dealing with all that.

For many people, transitioning from “ministry” to “secular work” is grueling torture. One of the reasons for this is that we have artificially divided life into “spiritual” and “secular.” We think of “ministry” and “job.” We unfortunately think that ministry is standing behind a pulpit and preaching or teaching, or starting a church. Anything less is just not real ministry, or so we often think. I have known missionaries, for example, who have found it necessary to transition off the field and faced the possibility of finding a different type of employment. More than one has said something to the effect, “I just can’t lower myself to taking a secular job after having been so long in ministry.”

While I can certainly appreciate that it would be difficult to make such a transition, that type of thinking reveals a basic flaw in understanding the nature of true biblical ministry. I’ve often said that one of our objectives is for every member of our church to be a minister. If that means that everyone should be a pastor, missionary or church planter, we would all be in trouble! No. What I mean is that every one of us as followers of Jesus Christ should understand that we live to serve God and minister to others.

With that criteria, I was delighted to hear my friend’s report. He had purchased a business — a dog daycare and grooming business! Honestly, I have never heard him so excited about ministry! He is having the time of his life! He has open doors to minister to people he never dreamed possible. I think he gets it! He doesn’t feel that he has “lowered” himself at all, only that he has entered into a new type or phase of ministry, and one that is very effective and rewarding. That doesn’t make his previous difficulties go away, but it sure makes it easier to deal with them.

How I long for a day when followers of Jesus Christ are just that - followers of Jesus Christ! Obviously, there is a need for leaders in the church just as in any organization. Yet in the true church all are ministers. When we “come to church,” that is not the time to “do ministry.” That is the time to equip believers so that all can go out to do the ministry that really matters whether that is in a public school classroom, a bank, an office, a factory or a doggie day care business!

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Ephesians 4:11-13

Here’s how I see it. As a pastor my job is to perfect the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. I am an a trainer. Ministry is the job of all of us no matter what we do for a living.

Even on vacation I have not been able to escape the Myanmar cyclone (hurricane) disaster and the number of casualties that grows daily. Today’s reports indicate that the number of dead may reach or exceed 100,000. Do those numbers seem as staggering to you as they do to me? I honestly have no way to even understand. We lived through a civil war that left 80,00 dead over a period of about eleven years. Most of my readers can’t relate to that, but 100,000 or more in a single day? That seems to me like some of those numbers we read about in the Bible, except that this is happening in real time.

Every so often our private space is invaded by news like this. Most of us watch, wonder and get on with life as long as it doesn’t affect us. It’s different if it affects us, isn’t it? The first night of vacation is when the storm with hurricane force winds and a few tornadoes blew through Kansas City. We awoke to that news and spent the first part of the day checking the Internet to find out exactly what happened. Then we called family to be sure everyone was safe. Even though some people lost their homes, no one died. Even so, we spent the rest of the day thinking about what had happened in Kansas City.

In comparison, I didn’t think as long and hard about Myanmar, at least initially. I am not trying to load myself or anyone else up with a guilt trip. Tragedies and disasters happen regularly in this world and always have since the entrance of sin into God’s cosmos. As I was reflecting on my Bible reading today, I thought that we could all stand to be more sensitive to human suffering wherever and however it occurs.

In the case of Myanmar I have reason to be reflective and concerned. My concern has a face and a name - Dr. Peter Pullman (not his real name for security reasons). A few years ago I was hustling down a hallway at church during a mission conference when I noticed an oriental man approaching me. He was obviously keen to intercept me, though I think he was as surprised as I was that we should be intersecting right that at that particular place and time. I did not recognize him, but stopped and introduced myself. We often have outside guests for our conferences, and I was not surprised to hear that he was visiting. He already knew who I was, and he politely introduced himself as Dr. Peter Pullman.

“Dr. Pullman,” I asked, “where are you from” I was not prepared for the answer he gave me.

“Burma,” he said with a straight-into-my-eye look that at once suggested pride, determination and a challenge. I noticed immediately that he used the older name “Burma” and not the current official name of Myanmar. He probably and correctly assumed that a Westerner would more readily identify with Burma. And, in a mission conference, perhaps he knew that the name of Burma would provoke all sorts of emotions if one were aware of the history of missions. And, if one was aware of the history of missions, chances are there would be a corresponding awareness of the state of Burma today. In my case the answer to all of the above was “yes,” and that was all the more reason I found myself frozen in one of those memorable moments of time as I stretched to try and match the courteous bow of Dr. Pullman.

“Burma?” I kept repeating to myself as I smiled and began to ask some basic questions of Dr. Pullman. “Burma? There is really a man from Burma walking around in our church?” That sort of thing just does not happen every day, not even in good old multicultural KCBT.

Burma, you see, is where Adoniram Judson ministered for over 40 years beginning in 1813. Judson, a Congregationalist missionary was America’s first missionary to a “foreign” country. Doing a study of baptism on the long sea journey, upon their arrival in their chosen field of India Judson and his wife requested baptism by an English Baptist missionary associate of the famous British missionary William Carey. America’s first foreign missionary became a Baptist. They were then summarily informed by the East India Trading Company that they were not permitted to stay in India. Through a series of circumstances they soon found themselves in Burma, considered by many the very bitter end of the earth!

Burma was considered impenetrable. The resistance and difficulty he faced must have been about as hard for us to understand as the number of 100,000 left dead in a cyclone. For three years Judson and his wife spent twelve hours a day to learn Burmese. Then, armed with his knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew, he tackled translating the Bible into Burmese. It was not until after almost seven years in Burma that he dared to hold his first semi-public service. Months later he baptized his first convert. After twelve years the Judsons could count only 18 converts. Nevertheless, by the time he died there were hundreds of churches across Burma.

What happened? Today Burma is ruled by a military dictatorship and is one of the world’s most closed societies. So much so, that even in the face of a disaster of this magnitude the military government is resistant to allowing help to come in from the outside. The church that Judson began is still there, of course, but is under incredible persecution and oppression, a mere speck of light in a country of heavy and tangible darkness.

Dr. Pullman is from a minority people group and for the past years he and his brother have labored to translate the Bible into their own language. The reason he had come to the States was to complete his theological education and learn how to improve their ministry and translation efforts. While in seminary in Florida he met a Mexican (still unknown to me) who told him that he needed to come to Kansas City to meet Jeff Adams. And that, my friends, is how I came to stumble across Dr. Peter Pullman in the hallways of KCBT.

It just so happened that during that particular conference there were representatives here from The Seed Company who, as much as anyone, know that Dr. Pullman is working in one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world today. They knew that for him to even be in the conference was a risk. For them to speak to him was a risk to their own representatives in that part of the world who could be dangerously compromised should Dr. Pullman turn out to be less than honest.

What took place over the following months was one of those daunting dances that often occur when followers of Jesus seek to minister in places far removed from familiar culture. The result was that Dr. Pullman turned out to be who and what he claimed to be. However, even with all of its resources and experience, it turned out that it was just not simply a good fit for The Seed Company to draw alongside of Dr. Pullman and assist him, though both have a healthy and godly respect for the other. We in the West have ruled the world of mission for so long we sometimes fail to see ourselves as others do. We don’t mean this for sure, but we can sometimes come across like Burmese military dictators to those in other cultures who have totally different world views, ways to process information and make decisions, even those who are also followers of Jesus Christ. Sometimes the most sensitive and loving thing to do is to recognize that not only do we not have all the answers, but our very presence or association could severely compromise our brother and sisters in certain places and situations. We don’t have to control everything or even understand everything that God is doing in the world today.

Every so often I get an email from Dr. Pullman. He loves KCBT and remembers fondly his time with us. Some of you have asked about his safety due to the cyclone devastation. I simply don’t know. I have emailed him and will wait to see if and when he replies. That is as much as I can do. I can’t tell you his real name and I can’t tell you where he is located — all to protect his safety. However, from what little I understand of the regional geography, I am guessing and praying that he is not in the immediate area of impact. As we can imagine, though, services throughout the entire country are in disarray. What I can do is ask you to join me in praying for him, his family, other believers and their country. Not long ago a horrible tsunami brought unthinkable death and destruction to areas not far from Burma. From preliminary reports, one of the long term consequences to the disaster relief has been an increasing awareness and acceptance of the Gospel. Let’s pray that the same effect takes place in this case also.

VACATION UPDATE: Home tomorrow night! Had a great time in Quebec City and Montreal.

This post is Dan’s fault! You might want to check out his fascinating brief history of mirrors in response to my last post Mirror Image. He also offers some interesting thoughts as one who works in the amazing world of fiber optics.

Dan, in your references to some fabled mirror references, you left out a big one ”Through the Looking Glass - and What Alice Found There” by Lewis Carroll. Most kids in our culture grew up with some type of exposure to “Alice in Wonderland”. Through the Looking Glass is the mirror image, set exactly six months later, inside rather than outside. The work is filled with references to mirrors, direct and indirect.

This morning I was reading from both Psalm 48 and Hebrews 9. Psalm 48 is a bombastic celebration of the greatness of Zion, the city of our God, the mountain of his holiness. Reading through this short psalm it becomes apparent that the psalmist’s burst of praise transcends the literal city of Jerusalem and points to a higher reality. This is the reality that Paul saw in Galatians 4:26, that John saw in Revelation 21:2 and that is also mentioned in Hebrews 12:22 — the earthly city of Jerusalem is a figure of the heavenly reality, the very abode of God.

Hebrews 9 follows a similar theme, but focuses on the temple. The point of the chapter is how meticulously the high priest of Israel presented the blood of the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement for the sin of the nation of Israel. The writer of Hebrews then points out how much more special that Jesus, our great High Priest, presented his own blood once and for all in the heavenly temple not made with hands. Several times in Hebrews 8 through 10 we are reminded that the temple was built according to the divine design revealed to Moses, but that it was merely a figure of the heavenly reality.

Man has long been fascinated with what we currently call alternative realities or alternate universes. Or, what it would be like to pass right through that mirror, or looking glass, to the reality on the other side. As believers we are assured that there is another reality that we can not now see with our eyes or experience with our senses. Yet, we are told that we have spiritual access to that reality right now. Hebrews 4:16 admonishes us to come boldly into the very presence of God on his throne in the holy of holies. Supernatural is just as real as natural — just beyond natural, on the other side of the looking glass.

In biblical times the nation of Israel’s life was centered around Jerusalem and its temple. How much more should our lives be centered around the reality on the other side of the mirror? What would such lives look like? What are the practical implications of this? I don’t have a good grip on it, but I am sure thinking that it doesn’t mean we would look like freaks or act obnoxiously. It would mean that we would be different, distinct, set apart from others who do not know God. But, what does that look like?

VACATION UPDATE: On Friday evening Cheryl and I took the 3 and 1/2 hour train ride from Quebec City to Montreal. What a contrast! We went from a very small, quaint city to the largest French-speaking city in the world outside of Paris. I got a steal on a downtown hotel room on a Montreal tourism web special and it’s a very nice hotel right in the heart of the city. Talk about cosmopolitan! The weather has not been too great these past couple of days and we have spent a lot of time in the Underground City — 18 miles of city under the city. That’s right — 18 miles of shopping, services and eating beneath the ground. Pretty interesting. We come up for air every so often, but tomorrow the weather is supposed to turn nice.