Jeff Adams

The last day I was in Cordoba, Argentina I couldn’t connect to the Internet. Not until I got back to Buenos Aires did I see the e-mail informing me that Chung had been promoted to Heaven. Every human being is unique and incalculably valuable. Once in a great while, though, an individual comes along who is so rare that you know he or she will never be replaced. Such a man was Chung Anderson. His parents named him Charles Adrian Anderson. We knew him simply as Chung. He turned 74 last January.

This morning a great celebration of Chung’s life was held at church. What a great time, and what a great family Chung leaves behind. Several of them shared their memories along with others whose lives Chung influenced. There is no way to know how many thousands of lives this remarkable man touched. He loved God with a passion, loved his church, loved his family and he simply loved people. He also loved to shop! He had a wonderful way of sharing his faith, and he shared it with anyone and everyone he met. Some people can be either obnoxious, goofy, silly, or sickeningly sweet in bearing witness of their faith. Chung was none of those things. He loved people in such an open, obvious and genuine way that he seemed to be able to tell you anything without offending in the least.

In addition to being a remarkable evangelist, Chung was a veteran, a patriot, a great husband and father, and headed our People Ministry for many years. Above all he was an incredible athlete. He was an amazing high diver and swimmer, a golden gloves boxer, an accomplished left-handed pitcher, and track and field star, especially a sprinter. He had boxes of medals, many from the Senior Olympics where he competed and won medals at the highest level.

Pastor Jay Grimwood did a masterful job of officiating at the service this morning. I had a chance to share my own impressions of Chung. Years ago Chung knew I was getting ready to preach from Hebrews 12, a passage that says a bit about running the race. Let me refresh your memory.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Hebrews 12:1-3

Chung approached me in the hallway of church and said in his typical humble way something like, “You can throw this away if you want. I mean, you probably already know this, but I really like this passage because it talks about running a race. I thought I might write down some of my thoughts.”

With that he put in my hand four handwritten pages ripped from a steno pad. Not only did I read it, I have used his thoughts many times over the years. My office walls are completely lined with books, but when I want to understand Hebrews 12:1-3, I turn to one of my prized possessions — Chung’s handwritten commentary. I thought it might be fitting to share it with all of you.

Aside from the crowd watching and running light, there are four elements that you will find in any textbook race (sprint) that is short enough to require starting blocks – 100m, 200m, and 400 meters. These four factors are a must and will be found in any journal in any library.

* The Start

* The transition from start to pace

* The pace (run relaxed)

* The finish (look 10 yards beyond)

1. No one is effective with a standing start. You need your head down and in the blocks. It’s important not to raise your head or stretch your neck at this point. Stay focused on the track (your lane) immediately in front of you. Do not jump the gun (false start). Wait for the one in charge to send  you out. This is like our service to God. We need to start on our knees, focus on our immediate path and don’t leave until we’re sent.

2. Our transition from start to our pace. It is important  not to rise too soon – come up gradually, while staying focused and in rhythm. No need to stumble here. Keeping our head straight with our body, as we rise we will begin to see what is ahead of us. No reason to look around. This can only get us off stride and get us into trouble (the sin which besets us).

3. Pace – this is the most important aspect of the sprints. This is where even world class sprinters have a problem. No need to grunt, clinch your fists, strain your neck or tighten your jaw. Once you reach your peak you do not, cannot gain speed. This only causes you to get off balance and lose speed. The key here is to run relaxed, even to the point your hands and jaw should be flopping. Carl Lewis (the greatest) does not have a burst of speed like everyone believes or thinks. What he does is run with patience when others tighten up and the begin running slower. The greatest single factor in these races is patience.

The ironic thing is every Bible scholar comes to Paul’s aid here and substitutes a word for patience in their Bibles. A quote from a commentary from a well-known seminary in the U.S., “Patience is not an attribute commonly associated with running, so a better word here is endurance.” Some Bibles use persistence.

If these scholars would have checked out a library book on running they would have discovered Paul knew about running, or at least he had a personal relationship with the one who invented it.

4. Last of all – look beyond the finish line – do not slow down at the finish. In the sprints we need to look at least 10 yards deeper.  The only challenge left for those that have run a good race is the motivation and love to look beyond the finish line of our earthly service, just as Hebrews 12:2 says that Jesus looks beyond the cross that was set before him.

We need to stay on our knees, stay focused, come up slowly while maintaining our speed and prevent stumbling, get into our pace with patience and then look beyond the finish line.

Through Chung’s battle with cancer, he never slowed down. He never complained and never felt sorry for himself. He never stopped serving, never stopped loving. Just last Sunday as I was headed into the auditorium, a Chung smile lit me up for the day as we met briefly in the hall. He never let on that he was running the race of his life. He was holding his pace with patience. He had his eyes firmly set beyond the finish line.

Last Wednesday Chung flew across the finish line, his chest breaking through God’s golden tape stretched tight.

Speaking with his wife Shirley, she said that the last couple of weeks it seemed to finally be dawning on Chung that he might no longer be able to run, swim and do those things he loved so much. This must have been a tremendously difficult realization for Chung. Today, though, Chung is no longer on the track. He is now in the stands along with that great cloud of witnesses, cheering us all on.

“Keep that head down and be careful not to rise up so fast! Watch it! Don’t stumble! Relax! Don’t tense up whatever you do! Let those arms swing loosely and don’t clinch your jaw. Come on! You can do it! Keep that pace. Patient! Focus! Keep those eyes 10 yards out beyond the finish line!”

Many people who loved Chung could not make it this morning. If you would like to share this, remember just to click the button to the bottom right that says “Email this post.”

Chung, I miss you so much already!

I’m tired, but very grateful and satisfied. I just flew in from Cordoba and checked into a hotel. I ran down the street and gobbled up a yummy empanada. Very nice. Tomorrow night I head home and arrive around noon on Friday.

The time with CEC in Cordoba was beyond my expectations, and my expectations were high. The leadership team is very excited about taking biblical discipleship and the Directions book into the churches in over 5 countries in this area of the world. They have a team already thinking through their training strategy. They expect the first copies of Directions to roll off the press here in Argentina just a little over three weeks from now.

I continue to be impressed with the quality of this team. They truly have their act together. This is just another reminder that we live in a new world. Those of us from the United States no longer have all the answers (never did! We just thought we did). We have so much to leearn from each other. If we can learn to work together there is no limit to what we can trust God to do.

It’s late and I’m tired. I’ll try to catch you up on some of the happenings later. Goodnight!

The tires of the big 767 hit, bounced and hit the runway once again. The voice came over the PA system, “Welcome to Buenos Aires. The time is approximately 9:15am and the temperature is currently -2 degrees, or 30 degrees Fahrenheit.”

OK, remind me again. Why am I doing this?

On my last flight to Buenos Aires I got some pretty good sleep. Most of the time I don’t quite as well. This time was more in the middle. I got my bags, tried to clean up a bit and caught the shuttle bus to the other airport across the city. I grabbed a bite to eat and then found out my next flight to Cordoba was delayed. So, I landed in Cordoba, got my bags (Including 60 pounds of Directions books), walked directly to Thomas’s car, drove to the CEC headquarters and walked into the room at 8:05pm where I was to begin teaching at 8:00. WIth good help I soon had the computer and PowerPoint set up and launched into full training mode for the next two hours.

It may have been good; it may not have been good. I’m not sure what all I said. I’ve always said I could teach discipleship in my sleep. Tonight, I got my chance! I’ll let you know how it went when someone tells me.

Seriously, I think it was fine. There is a great air of excitement among the young people. They WANT to make disciples and they want to do it right. I think I must be in Heaven!
Full day of meetings starting early tomorrow. I’m going to see if I can get a bit of sleep tonight. Pardon me, but I’m out of here. I’ll check in when I can.

What a day. What a week! I got back Saturday evening from a week on the East Coast, preached this morning and here I am in Houston on my way back to Cordoba, Argentina. Good grief! Here are the options folks: 1) I’m stupid; 2) I really think this is what God would have me to do.

This morning was great. We finished the Reasonable Service series and I was so excited about how everyone responded to the story I shared and the New Testament-give-away-challenge. If you weren’t there this morning, this is for sure a time when you need to watch on the website when the service gets posted, probably tomorrow. One guy who works for the IRS was convinced he could prayerfully use a case. He waited patiently until we knew that everyone had at least one, and he went off into the sunset with a case of testaments on his shoulder. As I was getting ready to board my plane, I ran into a KCBT family member who works at the airport. She took two testaments this morning and knows exactly who they are for. Very cool.

This trip really has me excited. The passion of my life and that of our church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ. This is our mission. The leadership of this group in Argentina seems to be really excited about learning how to do a better job of making disciples. Making disciples is a lot like having kids — anyone can do it! It takes no special talents, tools, or techniques in most cases. But, it sure makes a difference if you understand what and why you are doing what you are doing!

This particular group is the one where I spoke at a leadership retreat in April. Sorry, but I don’t have time to go back and add the fancy hyperlinks today. I will try to keep you posted when and if I can. I will fly all night, land in Buenos Aires in the morning, have to take a cab across the city to another airport and then fly on to Cordoba. I get in right around 6:00pm and start teaching at 8:00pm. Can you say “tight?” By the time I get to bed that night I am sure I won’t feel like connecting to the Internet and doing a post. So, don’t expect to hear from me until maybe Tuesday. The schedule promises to be a brave new adventure, so don’t hold your breath. Eventually I will surface and let you know what is happening. Meanwhile, I will appreciate your prayers.

One thing I said this morning that I don’t want you to miss – this is a missionary organization with ministries in several countries of southern South America. They are very excited about learning to make disciples using the Directions book in Spanish. They simply did not have this in their budget for this year, so our own Reality Living Resource Center is making possible the first printing of this book in South American in cooperation with them. As I have explained to you, the folks (mostly volunteers) who work in the bookstore do so out of a sense of mission. They are using their special gifts to be part of the process of making disciples. Those of you who have purchased items through the bookstore (including many of you who don’t even live in Kansas City) are also part of this same process. No one keeps profits; they are channeled back into the ministry of providing key tools for key people in key place. You are a part of this, and I thank you.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? I sure do! This week has been a flurry of activity in different directions, but all about God’s kingdom. Tuesday, I was with Brad and his folks in Princeton. Wednesday, united by a common human influence, I had the chance to spend some time with Jim O’Neill of CrossWorld.Today, we had a sweet time getting to know the new missionary candidates at Christar here in Reading, PA.

When I think of all the many people, the ideas, the different missions, the many groups of people that need the light of Jesus Christ, the theories, techniques and methodologies to reach them, the many personalities involved and … I could go on and on. Add to that the fact that I know of only a small fraction of the groups, missions, organization, churches and people who are faithfully serving God around the globe. Sometimes it gets very overwhelming.It all makes me feel very small and insignificant.

So many books have been written and come off the press each year. There are countless seminars, workshops and the like to train those who are busy serving. I have concluded it is simply impossible to keep up with all of them. I am not complaining about this vast body of material — I write books and offer workshops and conferences myself! There is no way I can keep up with the latest and greatest book. I do what I can and am grateful for the good books and ideas God brings my way. There is, however, much I never get to read and much that I don’t even know exists.

I often see folks who run to try and keep up with the latest and greatest. At any moment the spotlight shines bright on the latest superstar of Christendom, someone who has build the biggest, best and most beautiful version of church or mission or whatever. They have taken Church v.4.08 and just released Church v.5.0 that promises to fix all the bugs and be totally user-friendly. The next step, of course, is to write the book and hold the conference. They will come! So many people are desperate to replicate the success of others.

Sometimes this is good. There are many people who have much to share. Their life experience and knowledge need to be available to others. Iron sharpens iron. We need each other. Sometimes, though, we get caught up in the “me too!” game. Instead or cultivating our walk with God and discovering the riches and wonder of who he made each of us to be, we blindly and indiscriminately try to copy the latest technique or trend.

In moments when I am drowning in the overwhelming flood of hype. propaganda, consumer-driven Christianity and trendy excess, I find refuge in the wisdom and confidence of Paul.

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 1Corinthians 15:10

Paul didn’t have to follow the latest trends and fads. He knew who God made him to be and it was all due to God’s grace. Paul didn’t seem to have much time or patience to say, “me too!” He simply said,”follow me.”

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1Corinthians 11:1