Archive December 2008
Frustrations and Joys of a Road Warrior
My passion for God’s mission takes me to many different places. Travel also requires me to be able to do whatever it is I do wherever it is that I go – and while I am going! I’ve been doing this long enough that I can remember the days when I would fly with a separate carry on bag specifically for study books, concordances, commentaries and the like. Today I carry all that on a laptop computer. Makes traveling easier – sometimes.
I frequently fly on small, regional jets, and that requires certain packing strategies. I use a medium size briefcase with wheels and a separate bag that attaches on top of the briefcase. I bought the briefcase specifically because it just fits in the overhead bin of a certain regional jet I often fly. That way I stow the briefcase overhead and use the smaller bag to place under the seat in front of me. That smaller bag contains stuff I want to use during flight. Pretty nifty, huh?
As planes have grown smaller and more crowded, I have pretty much resigned myself to not even expecting to use my computer during the flight.In my smaller bag I pack a couple of books, a few folders of notes and a writing pad.
Last week was one of those watershed moments. A lower priced ticket tempted me to travel on an airline I don’t use very much. I found myself on a small, regional jet headed to Pennsylvania. Pulling out my legal pad, I discovered that the space between me and the seat in front of me was so cramped I could not comfortably write on a legal pad. Good grief! It’s time for a new strategy in this never-ending war against human productivity and peace of mind.
Jeff's New Travel Companion
At our annual staff Christmas party the staff gave me a generous love offering as a Christmas gift. I decided to add a few bucks to it and purchase a mini-notebook, or what is sometimes called a netbook. Sweet! The cute little thing is about the size of a medium study Bible – 10″ X 7″ X 1″ and weighs just a tad over two pounds.
After examining multiple options, I decided on the MSI Wind U100, a sleek, shiny black package that has up to 6 hours of battery life and a 160 gig hard drive. My new travel companion should enable me to be more productive and less frustrated. I figure that anything that is smaller, lighter, more efficient and makes life more simple has to be a gift from God!
Burger Virgins and the Gospel
Several have commented and sent me links regarding the new Burger King promotion. I’ve seen it on TV and checked out the links. Wow! Their message is clear, simple and good. In case you have been off on a secret mission and don’t know what I’m talking about, check this out, then let’s talk.
This ad campaign has stirred up some loud controversy among the PC crowd, but I find it fascinating that they have taken the “good news” of the Whopper to those who have never heard. Growing up in America it’s hard to imagine someone who has never tated a hamburger. Harder still is to absorb the fact that there are still millions and millions of people in this world who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. There are still over 2,000 languages with no portion of scripture and over 16,000 people groups in the world classified as unreached.
While Burger King spares no expense and brakes through barriers of culture and language to make this series of commercials, many Christians are far too busy ministering to themselves, complaining about their churches, stuffing their brains with still more information that they never seem to apply to their lives and fighting worthless battles that have nothing to do with things eternal. I’m thinking that we might be more effective if we simply pay Burger King to write the Gospel on the inside of the foil and paper wrappers they use to cover the Whopper.
If you are not impressed with the Burger King effort, we could always ask the Coca Cola folks how they did it. They’ve been virtually everywhere for decades. Maybe we cuold learn a few things about cross-cultural ministry.
What Is Your Greatest Joy?
Yesterday morning I was reading through 3John and reflecting back on Tass’ powerful story Sunday morning. That’s when some thoughts came together for me.
You might remember that John’s third epistle is written to a church leader names Gaius. It seems that a self-centered, self-promoting individual named Diotrephes had gained control of the church of which Gaius was part. As was the custom at that time, missionaries coming by the church expected to be helped forward on their evangelistic journeys. Not only had Diotrephes squelched this engagement in God’s mission, he had taken to throwing out of the church anyone who dared to go against his wishes by receiving these missionaries into their homes to assist them.
Understanding the context of this brief letter is important to put in proper perspective John’s opening words.
The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3John 1:1-4
That final part about having no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth is often quoted in the context of one’s physical children. A broad, general application of principle in that way is certainly permissible and understandable. That is not,however, the direct context. In the proper context, John is simply saying that he has no greater joy than to see the lasting fruit (John 15:16) of his disciples.
I thought about this in the context of Tass’ testimony Sunday morning that he considers himself and his family to be fruit of our church. When his son Ben came to faith in Christ, he was afraid to tell his Muslim father what had happened. Some here at church began a 24/7 prayer chain and the result was the conversion of Tass some three months later. All of this happened 15 years ago, but Tass still feels the family tie to our church even though he was never officially a member here and went on to grow in Christ in another church in another place. It’s hard to describe the power of that testimony as people, many of whom were not even here 15 years ago, were astounded at the power of prayer and the amazing fruit that God has given through Tass and his family.
As my mind raced making all these connections, I had to agree with John that it is hard to imagine any greater joy than seeing the lasting fruit of the disciple-making process. Since making disciples is the mission that God has entrusted to us, it sure underscores God’s goodness in giving us unparalleled joy by carrying out our principal mission. I stand amazed that some followers of Christ trudge on with a somber face and seem to carry weighty burdens.
Where is your joy? What is your joy? If there is no joy, maybe you are doing the wrong thing!
Transformation and Tass
What an amazing day! For nine weeks I have been preaching about how God builds World Changers, using the example of the transformation of Saul of Tarsus to Paul the Apostle. We spend so much time focused on Paul’s missionary journeys and New Testament writings that we often forget that he was once a self-righteous, angry murderer who oversaw the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7. This morning I pulled off my “surprise” of introducing you to Tass Abu Saada, a modern example of a Paul-like transformation.
Born a Palestinian, raised in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Tass was a young man with hatred and frustration in his heart from having been dislodged from his homeland. Though his father had given his family a very comfortable life and become friends with the royal family, Tass ran away from home and become a top Palestinian sniper and aide to Yasser Arafat. It’s a long and fascinating story of how God eventually brought Tass to Kansas City, gave him a wonderful and faithful American wife and two children. Beginning as a dish washer in his adopted homeland, Tass worked his way to running an exclusive restaurant and having great success in this industry.
I knew Tass as Ben’s dad. Ben began dating the best friend of our youngest daughter and came to faith in Christ in our church. He was fearful of how his Muslim father would react and some in the church began a 24/7 prayer chain to pray for Tass. Three months later, God used a long-time friend who was his very first customer when he began to serve tables years earlier, to bring him to Christ. The story is too long to tell in blog post, but it is best to let him tell you himself in his book Once An Arafat Man. I could not put this book down! You need to get this and read it. I briefly reviewed this book here.
I have sometimes been disappointed by “Christian” authors and celebrities who have let fame and success go to their heads, or who seem to have self-serving motives. Tass and his wife Karen are the real deal. Cheryl and I, along with Pastor Jay and Andrea, enjoyed so much having lunch with them after services today. We both commented on how we just feel like “family.” I was moved by their genuineness, their humility and their openness to just see God’s kingdom built up regardless of who gets the glory. We look forward to seeing how God would lead us to partner together in future ministry.
You can hear Tass’ story yourself on our website. By Monday or Tuesday, the video from this morning’s service should be up and accessible from our homepage at www.kcbt.org. You do not want to miss this! No one who was here this morning will ever forget it.
Thoughts on Burger Virgins and Artificial Divisions
I’m still thinking about yesterday’s post. If you didn’t see it, go back and take a look so that this will make sense. I’m struggling to think that commercial enterprises like Burger King and Coca Cola before them have found ways to cross cultures, languages and political barriers to “reach people” where Christians often only dream of going.
Here’s a thought. What is called the “Gold Age of Missions,” or the “Golden Century” of missions was stimulated in large part by European explorers and conquerors who plied the world seas. Believers who could see no further than their own existence were suddenly confronted with the realities of peoples who had never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether Roman Catholic priests, Moravian farmers or Protestant missionaries, all were carried abroad by the same “secular” sailing vessels that traded in spices, gold, silver, exotic animals and other treasures discovered in strange new worlds.
Sure, colonialism also brought excesses that often spilled over into missionary activity and left stains and splotches on Christianity that remain to this day. On the other hand, the most vibrant biblical faith in the world is now surging forth from the very areas that were once colonized by European powers. Despite the bad, European missionary activity did result in some good fruit, and fruit that has remained to multiply.
Why, then, can’t we seem to penetrate the unreached peoples of the world to the same degree that Coca Cola and Burger King (and KFC, McDonald’s, etc.) have sometimes accomplished? There are obviously many factors, and the truth is that some missionaries are doing quite a good job! But, I do think there are a couple of artificial divisions that contribute to the inefficiency of many Christian missionary efforts.
Artificial Division #1: The division between clergy and laity. From the first century onward this has been a problem, even on hinted at by Jesus’ rebuke of the Nicolaitans in the Revelation. Today this division is often manifested by the attitude that it is the job of missionaries to reach the unreached. Only professional clergy ministry to people. You need to go to seminary to be pastor of a church, and you need specialized training to be a missionary. “Therefore,” some reason, “I thank God that I am not called!”
The Bible teaches that we are all servants and ministers. Some are led of God and designated by the church to occupy positions of leadership according to their gifting. Seminary and special training can be of great use to help these individuals become more effective at what God has gifted them to do. But, every believer is called to serve and minister. All of us are needed to accomplish the Great Commission we have received.
In Acts 8 the leaders remained behind in Jerusalem while common people were dispersed in the persecution that arose with the martyrdom of Stephen. These everyday believers, untrained “laity”, were those who went out and were greatly used of God to begin works like the great missionary church in Antioch of Syria.
Artificial Division #2: The division between secular and sacred. This is the thought that believers live in a spiritual world and unbelievers live in a secular world and that the two are in total opposition. This concept has people thinking that they go to church to feed their spiritual nature, and then go to work in the “secular world” on Monday morning. I can’t think of many issues that have more greatly hindered the Gospel today than this one.
Yes, the New Testament writers speak of the world when they refer to the fallen moral order of the cosmos. IJohn 2:15 tells us that if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Yet, the same author, John, says in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. The word for world is the same Greek cosmos. What’s the difference? It is the difference between the redemptive love of God toward the world and the participatory love of weak believers who want to be more closely identified with the lostness of the world than with God’s redemptive love toward his creation.
Though fallen, God’s creation is sacred because it still belongs to him. Did God give you your job? Then it is sacred, not secular (Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 have a great deal to say to this, as do many other scriptures). Does God rule over the community where you live, even if drug dealers kill each other with regularity and crime runs rampant in the streets? Then it is sacred, and you are there as salt and light to call others to the God’s love and light.
This artificial secular/sacred division has caused many believers to hunker down in fortress-like churches and debate obscure points of doctrine of interest only to other believers who have no time or interest to engage in God’s mission. All the while we have ceded the world to the likes of Burger King and Coca Cola. We tell ourselves that we have nothing to learn from them because they are secular. So, the Internet encompasses a shrinking world, Coca Cola reaches people who have no clue who Jesus is, and Burger King finds ways to do taste comparisons between Whoppers and Big Macs in places where no one has seen a Bible. Meanwhile, in our arrogant ignorance, we cast a condemning glance out our stained glass windows at the wicked world around us and wonder why no one wants to come into our fortress churches and be like us.