Jeff Adams

You’ve felt that way, right? You’re not weird. This is a common human condition. I was reading in Psalms this morning and came to these very familiar words that have been the object of much meditation and the source of much consolation.

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday. Psalm 42:1-4

We all pass through times of spiritual drought and depression. I find it comforting to see that the Bible is faithful to record this human tendency and not suggest that something is terribly wrong with me if I find myself in this condition. Instead, the Bible is open, honest and gives me the instruction I need when I go through these dry times. This is not a psalm of David, by the way, but of the sons of Korah.

In the midst of horrible drought an oasis awaits us to face our condition and resolutely determine to put our trust in God. This oasis is found in the psalm’s chorus in verse five.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. Psalm 42:5

The chorus is repeated in essence at the end of the psalm in verse eleven with one significant difference.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psalm 42:11

The psalmist fearlessly faces his fears and desperation by asking himself “Why? Why am I so anxious and panicky?” He instead makes the conscious decision to place his hope in God over circumstances and feelings. In verse five the psalmist praises God for the help of his countenance.

The word countenance literally points to one’s face, but encompasses our soul and spirit that radiates through our face outward toward others. You can almost always tell when a close friend has a sad countenance or a joyous countenance. The psalmist found help by basking in the presence of God’s countenance.

Yet in verse eleven, it is this intentional trust in God that in turn transforms the countenance of the psalmist. When we are dry, thirsty for God and depressed, we can find hope in God, such hope that it is capable of even transforming our countenance.

Psalm 43 is a companion psalm of Psalm 42. The final verse of this psalm is a repetition of this same chorus praising God for restoring the life and brightness to his countenance.

But how does this happen? What does one do? How do we take the first step? The first step is to remember those sweet times of victory and blessing. Look at the word remember in verses four and here in verse six.

O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar. Psalm 42:6

Can you remember two or three significant times in your life journey when God’s presence has been amazingly real to you? What are those moments when God came through for you in a supernatural way? Stop and remember those times. That’s where hope becomes more than a word.

Psalm 43 gives us the next step.

O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. Psalm 43:3

We decide to remember the times of God’s blessing and provision. Then, we pray for God to send out his light and truth for guidance on our journey. Today, we find that light and truth in the scriptures.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105

What is your commitment to let God speak to you through his scriptures? Are you sitting under the preaching and teaching of God’s word? Have you been through systematic studies of the Bible such as the Directions study?

There is one more final step you can take to restore the health of your countenance. You can go on vacation. And that, my friends, is exactly what Cheryl and I going to do tomorrow. We’ll be checking in from time to time.

Dan had some great comments and questions on yesterday’s post about the joint venture summit I am attending in Omaha. Check the comment section under yeasterday’ post and you can read what he said in its entirety. Basically, how do we balance the biblical emphasis on the local church with a host of Christian organizations and missions that operate outside the church? What does the Bible say about this? That question is really the reason for this meeting and the basic source of contention and frustration that often exists between churches and outside organizations.

Parachurch is the compound of para and church (brilliant, huh?). Para is a Greek word meaning “beside.” In John’s Gospel Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the paraclete (Comforter), meaning the One called to come along side of us as believers. The idea of a parachurch organization is to pull up alongside of the church as a help, an auxiliary to help the church do what it could not do alone or to help it do a better job of what it does. The problem is when the parachurch organization becomes an überchurch organization — that is to say it places itself above the church in terms of authority, mission and function.

The roots of the parachurch organization are found squarely in the New Testament. For example, when I teach missions in Shepherd School or another setting, I point out in 2 Corinthians 8, especially verses 10-24, that this passage gives evidence of churches working in cooperation with each other to send missionaries and raise an offering for the believers in Judea and Jerusalem that was beyond the scope of a single church. This is the same spirit we should look for today.

If we keep this biblical foundation in view, we can remember that the local church is part of the Church, that is to say the entire body of believers. This way, the local church retains authority and autonomy and is able to work together with other churches through partnership and organizations to accomplish what would be difficult if not impossible alone. What’s true for churches is true for individuals. Christianity was never intended as an individual journey, but that we see ourselves as a body together where each part contributes its unique combination of gifts and abilities. Same for churches. Each has something to contribute, and working together in harmony can accomplish more together in synergistic form.

Fortunately there are still some missions and other organizations who clearly understand the place afforded to the local church in scripture and honor that. Unfortunately, there are many who do not. Eleven of the finest churches in North America are represented in this meeting and we have all been impressed with the way in which Avant is working in harmony with churches. I have been very encouraged by both the content that was spoken and the spirit in which it was spoken. I have had personal experiences with missions and other parachurch organizations that have have resulted in painful personal experiences, so I am thankful that some are going about their business in a biblical and positive manner.

Classic examples of parachurch ventures have been youth ministries that serve many smaller churches who do not have enough youth to provide for the interaction with other Christian students. Sadly, some such ministries grow huge and forget the local churches that form the core and essence of the Church. Education is another common example. Our church is blessed to be able to provide college level training. This is very expensive and labor-intensive for a local church to provide. Most churches do not have the resources to do this in an effective way. Even our church does not have the resources to provide the resources needed for a secular accreditation process. For that, we must work in concert with others.

Missions, of course, is another area where biblical cooperation among churches has existed throughout the centuries since the book of Acts. In today’s world there are many practicalities that make such this desirable and wise in many cases. As large as our church is, providing adequate health insurance for our employees is a daunting challenge. Our missionaries cannot qualify for our health insurance or pension plans. With missionaries in different countries and situations, just those two issues alone are one of the blessings of being associated with a good mission where they can provide such opportunities due to their numbers. That’s simply one example of many that could be offered of the benefits of pooling expertize and experience. The bottom line, of course, is that in the New Testament age the local church has always been and will always be the basic unit of Christ’s Church for which he died. The church is God’s plan and must be honored as such.

I learned some good information today and was greatly encouraged. I was also thankful for the chance to meet some new people from other like-minded churches. It is always amazing to me how God uses these contacts and networks to accomplish his plan. Tomorrow I head home.

I drove up to Lincoln, Nebraska today for the first ever Joint Venture Summit sponsored by Avant Ministries. Avant is an excellent mission agency with about 300 missionaries in various countries around the world. Their headquarters is in Kansas City. Some of you may remember when they were called Gospel Missionary Union. KCBT has had the privilege to help support some of their missionaries and they are a great group. You can learn more about them on their website.

One of the biggest struggles in missions today is working out the relationship between churches and mission agencies. Mission agencies sometimes feel that local church place unnecessary demands on them or fail to understand some of today’s complex issues involving God’s mission in a rapidly changing world. Local churches often get frustrated with missions and feel that they make unilateral decisions without their input or are only interested in getting their money and people. To Avant’s credit they are attempting to explore ways to improve the communication, trust and cooperation between missions and local churches.

A generous foundation make this meeting possible here in Lincoln. Eleven large churches from various locations in the United States and Canada are represented here. This is an invitation only event and I feel blessed to represent KCBT. I always find it encouraging to meet people from other churches and learn from them.

Part of their effort to improve mission/church relationships involved commissioning a major research project that surveyed some of the largest churches in America about their missions ministry, concerns, values, goals, etc. Tonight they presented some of the results of the survey. There was also opportunity for all of us to contribute in sharing what we hope to get out of this meeting and some of the desires we have to see a better trust relationship between churches and missions. We also shared some of the blessings our churches have experienced recently in missions.

Our church has sent out a fair number of missionaries over the years and we have acted as our own mission board in many of those cases. In that way we have represented a trend among many larger churches, cutting out the “middle man” of the mission so to speak. While there are some advantages to that approach, I have also been very concerned about our changing world. As God has led us to focus more and more on the more strategic least reached peoples of the world, I have realized that we need the expertize and experience that a mission organization can offer. The difficulty level is often to the degree that it is more than what a single church can do. I am thankful for good missions like Avant that give us options when God leads some of our people to serve in other places in the world.

Pray for us as we continue meeting tomorrow and explore ways to work together in better partnerships. Tonight, I was able to share with the group our partnership with The Seed Company in three scripture translation projects in Mexico. This partnership has been a positive experience for both mission and church and it has stretched us both.

That was the thought this morning as we finished up our study of John 20 and considered the example of the one we all know as “Doubting Thomas.” The video sermon should be up tomorrow or the next day on the kcbt web site.

It’s been a long day and I’m very tired. I get to the office around 7:00am on Sundays and head home close to 1:00pm. Today, we finished the last class of Ezra on Leadership in our Shepherd School at 6:00pm. The final exam is next week for those who are going for college credit. It’s been a fun class to teach and the students very responsive. They have done a fabulous job in the practicum, learning to put leadership principles into practice through serving. Some worked during our Bible conference a couple of months ago and others are working on our Memorial Day celebration coming up next month. Following class I had to run home for our new member reception held at our house. What a great group of folks! Here’s some quick highlights of the day:

• Several people came to faith in Christ today. One young man responded to the sermon today as having become filled with doubt during his college years. He realized that it was time to put his faith in Christ.
• A twelve-year-old-girl responded to the invitation to come to Christ in the first service. She was so focused on understanding that she went back and listened to the sermon again during the next service.
• I met some wonderful new people after each service today in the International Visitors Suite.
• Tonight, a man from Omaha came to the house for the new member reception, even though this was his first visit today. He and his family are moving here, and he is in town exploring job opportunities. As a devoted believer he is looking for a church home. Stopping at a local BBQ restaurant last night (Jack Stack), he asked the server if she could recommend a place to attend church. She responded that she attended KCBT and that it was multicultural. That seemed to interest him and he showed up, met people and ended up in the First Connections Class where he was invited to join along with everyone else to come to the pastor’s house. What a neat guy! It was great to hear his story and we are all looking forward to meeting the rest of the family.
• A young couple at the reception tonight shared how they recently moved here from Chicago and how they were looking for a diversified church. They had visited a number without success when the husband found us on the Internet. Even though we are a bit of a distance from where they live they decided to come. A trip to Kenya last year had a major impact on their lives. It just so happens that the first day the came to church I prayed for Kenya before I preached. They saw that as confirmation they were in the right place.

Yesterday I explained the significance of April 24th as the beginning of the genocide of the Armenian people. I promised to tell you Edgar’s story. Edgar is an Armenian/Argentine pastor and missions leader who lives in metro Buenos Aires.

During the 1915 genocide Edgar’s grandmother lost no less than 40 members of her family. By the grace of God she escaped to Argentina. While many Armenian people are filled with hatred and bitterness against the Turks to this day, she decided to raise her family in a different way. She always told them that the Turkish soldiers were just following orders and it would not be right to be consumed with hatred and vengeful thoughts. Her children took the same approach. As Edgar was growing up his parents simply would not tolerate any hint of resentment toward the Turks or anyone else for that matter.

A few years ago Edgar was invited to attend a conference in Arizona with the goal of discussing how to evangelize Turkey. Some statistics suggest that Turkey, once was the very heart of vibrant first century Christianity, is the least evangelized nation on earth. Edgar took another pastor friend from Uruguay with him to the conference.

The two Armenian pastor friends had heard that a few Turkish pastors had also been invited to the conference. They wondered how that would be and how they should handle this opportunity to be in such close proximity to Turks. Though neither of them was prejudiced, they were realistically aware of the incredible hatred and animosity between the Turkish and Armenian peoples. Arriving at the conference, they determined to ask the organizers for an immediate opportunity to ask forgiveness of the Turkish pastors on behalf of their people.

The conference organizers were quite taken back by the request of these two Armenian pastors from South America. “What? Aren’t the Turks the ones who massacred your people? Shouldn’t they be the ones to apologize to you?”

The Armenians explained that they were not concerned for any apology from the Turks, and that they could only be responsible for their own actions and attitudes. The truth is, they explained, many Armenian people carried the baggage of decades of hatred and bitterness. This is what they had to confess and get off their collective hearts and consciences.

The conference leaders suggested that they wait until the last night of the conference when they were planning to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, feeling that would be an appropriate opportunity. Edgar and his friend continued to insist that they would prefer to do this as soon as possible, but eventually yielded to the wishes of the organizers.

The first night of the conference was in full gear when, suddenly, a Turkish pastor ran to the front and grabbed a microphone. Apologizing for interrupting, he explained that he was under deep conviction and just couldn’t wait a minute longer. He had heard that a couple of Armenian pastors were in attendance and he had to clear his conscience. He eloquently asked forgiveness of the Armenian pastors on behalf of his people.

You can guess what happened next. There was an unprecedented time of mutual confession, forgiveness, embracing, weeping and rejoicing. Everyone got a lot more conference than they had anticipated.

Edgar went back to Argentina and began the Friends of the Turks Fellowship (Confraternidad Amigos de los Turcos). To this day Edgar continues to cast his vision of seeing the Turkish people come to Christ and being an agent of transformation to promote reconciliation and healing between the two peoples.

When I think of Edgar’s story it makes it hard to understand people who allow far less offenses to drive a wedge between people whether two church members, marriage partners, friends or co-workers.