I now have a permanent home: www.culturaldichotomy.com. For the 1 person reading this, update your links and feeds.

-shorty

The purpose of my trip to the States was to speak at a conference. The purpose of the conference was to interact with and get to know churches that might have a desire to get involved with work here in Western Europe. During the conferences we had little break-out sessions where we were able to really jump into conversations with the representatives from the churches that attended. I really enjoyed getting to know these people, their heart, and their interest in things happening overseas.

But there where two things that struck me about my conversations. One, there’s a big difference between “doing missions” or being “missions minded” AND being missionAL or being ON mission with God. The first two terms seem to indicate that missions is simply a ministry of the church, like the mens ministry or the childrens ministry. I heard these two terms from quite a number of those attending the conferences. The second two terms indicate (or should indicate) the inherent nature of you and your church. Being on mission with God should be at the center, the core, of who you are to those around you, and how your church is seen by others. Unfortunately I didn’t hear these terms used very often.

Now some might say that it’s simply a matter of training or re-training. But I think it goes deeper than that. We’ve been conditioned to see church in a consumeristic way. We, being the consumer, come to shop on Sunday’s (or for really big churches most days of the week) and get our fill. In many cases these things have the purpose of making us feel better about ourselves. Now, no one would say that’s the purpose, but let’s be honest. When a guy comes home from a men’s ministry camping weekend, or the wife comes home from a weekend women’s conference how do they report their experience? And mission trips are no different…another ministry opportunity to get people “plugged in”.

However, the missio dei (the mission of God) is about seeing His kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven. It’s inherent in who He is. He doesn’t have a mission, He is the mission. And His mission should be carried out not only in the church, but in the lives of the individuals that make up the church…that’s you and me. Don’t make missions another ministry, another short term trip, another dollar in the offering plate. Make it who you are, someone who is on mission with God, not just someone that is missions minded.

The other big thing I noticed is that there were several churches that were waiting to get involved because they felt as though they didn’t have the resources. I’m sympathetic to smaller churches with small budgets not feeling as though they can make a “big” impact on things happening overseas. My recommendation…don’t wait until you have the resources. You never will. Partner with other churches, start small, start with a single purpose in a single place and let God grow it. But better still, start in your own community. Being on mission with God doesn’t necessarily mean that your involvement with God’s mission has to be done over here. Bring about God’s kingdom in your community. Partner with other churches that share your vision and passion for seeing God move in your community and in your world. And go from there…

If any of this resonates with you I’d love to talk more with you about it. Shoot me an email. This is something I’m passionate about and I would love to see your community transformed through your obedience to be on mission with God.

Technorati Tags: misisonal, church

I was planning to post another short about my recent trip to the States, but it will have to wait for another day. This post, while it is about America, has nothing to do with my trip. I wouldn’t normally comment on things like I am today, but I couldn’t really let this go.

My mom forwarded me an email the other day about Oprah. Let’s pause here and just say for the record that my mom is really good about not forwarding emails to me that she knows I’m not going to be interested in. And I appreciate that. But this one I guess she couldn’t resist. The email had a link to a YouTube video that basically says we need to be aware of what Oprah is preaching, flip off our TV, etc., etc. It seems a new resistance, or problem, or worrying trend, or whatever you want to call it, has sprung up against Oprah regarding her new book club selection The New Earth. It’s basically a new age book, which according to some, looks very similar to what you would find in Buddhism. Now for the record I don’t think or care about Oprah all that much. They air her show over here about 6 months after it airs in the States. The only time I really get interested in watching is when Dr. Oz is on. I like him, and come on, when is more knowledge about your colon not a good idea.

I think many individuals for a long time have realized that when it comes to faith or spirituality Oprah is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. So when she speaks about faith (or anything related to it) I typically don’t pay much attention. And I haven’t paid much attention to this either. And I don’t really plan to. And I don’t think you should either.

Here’s why. Focusing on things like this only succeed in taking our focus off things that really matter, things that will in the end have a lasting impact on eternity. Focus on being Jesus to your neighbor, your co-worker, your children, your parents…basically anyone you come in contact with. Take all the energy and effort you would use to tell the masses about the evilness of Oprah and use it to tell about the greatness of God. Go work at a homeless shelter. Clean up your neighborhood. Invite your neighbors over for dinner. Do something to increase the Kingdom. Don’t waste your time on Oprah.

The only thing that’s worth noticing about the latest belief system of Oprah, and those that are following her is that once again, it’s evidence that America is heading towards post-Christianity. In all honesty, America is the new mission field. And just think, you’re there, living right in the midst of it. You don’t even have to pack up your belongings and move across the ocean to be on mission with God. It’s all around you, right where you live.

-shorty

I recently went to the States to speak at a couple of conferences. This was my first time back to the States since the first part of 2006…almost 2 years. I’m planning several posts about my time there.

To say I felt a little funny would be an understatement. The first night I ate at Chili’s with a colleague. Chips and ranch, chicken crispers, and loads of sweet tea. I paid the price later that night, but for an hour or so it felt great to eat some “old-normal” food. You see, I’ve had to differentiate between old-normal and new-normal. Chili’s, the mall, and driving on the right side of the road, these are the things that are my old-normal. The Gourmet Burger Kitchen, arcades (not the kind with games), and driving on the left side of the road are my new-normal. I don’t know that one is better, or that one is right, and the other is worse, or wrong. They’re just different. And for the first time in my life I felt a little out of place in that Chili’s. The teenagers, the dress, the accents, they all felt a little weird. When we went through training before moving over here we were told that our kids were no longer called MK’s (missionary kids). The new term was TCK’s (Third Culture Kids). Our children don’t fit in with American culture, and they don’t really fit in with the culture here. They fit in a third, almost undefined culture. I felt a little like a TCA (third culture adult).

I enjoyed my time in the States. It was short. But I was glad to get back to western europe…where I feel more normal.

-shorty

I was watching a show recently where a part-time character was killed in an auto accident. One of the main characters was responsible for telling the spouse about her husband’s death. The main character commented that until this particular day she didn’t even know the wife (they worked at the same place), but was now the one that brought the news that would make up one of the worst days in the life of the wife. The main character would now be known as the one who told the wife of her husband’s death. She would be “that” person in the wife’s story of her life.

It got me to thinking…what part have I or will I play in the stories of others? When my neighbors tell their life story what part will I play? Will I be the one that showed them what Jesus was like, or will I show them what hypocritical religion was like, or will I even be mentioned at all?

I hope that when others I know, or will come to know, mention me in their stories it will be because in me they saw and experienced the hands, feet, eyes, mouth, and ears of Jesus. Hopefully they will say that I pointed them to the throne of Christ.

-shorty

Technorati Tags: gospel, misisonal, stories, life

I recently listened to a sermon by Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village church in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It was part of a series he was preaching on Ecclesiastes. It was a really good message, and one of the better presentations of the gospel that I’ve heard in quite a while. During part of the message he spoke on what “repentance” meant. Until then I had not really given it much thought. It’s been one of those words that I’ve heard all my life, growing up in church. But after I finished the message I really started to spend some time thinking through the word “repentance” and how I would explain it to a not-yet believer.

So, I’m wondering…how would you define “repentance”, especially to a not-yet believer?

If you’re interested in listening to the message, you can subscribe through iTunes here, or from the Village’s website here. It’s message number 5 in the Ecclesiastes series. Oh, and by the way, here’s Matt’s definition of repentance:

Let me try to explain repentance to you, because I think it’s been done really badly. Like, how many of you have heard this, “Repentance is a military term that means to change from walking one way to walking the other way.” Anybody ever hear it spelled out like this? Well, if that’s the definition of salvation, I’m in a lot of trouble. Because Christ kind of enacted in my heart and woke up my heart, and man, for the last thirteen years, I’ve been turning the other way, taking three or four steps and with my long gangly arms, reaching back there and grabbing stuff. Is it just me? No, liars, you too. So, if the definition of what is required for salvation is to go 180° and walk this way and never touch anything back there again, I’m out. So, what is repentance then? Here’s what I think repentance is: repentance is a sorrow over our sin that creates an earnestness and a ferocity to know Jesus deeply. And when that’s the pursuit, you’re running towards Jesus, this stuff starts fading away.

-shorty

Technorati Tags: gospel

I read with great interest blogs and sites that deal with issues of strategy and methodology in missions. I appreciate and respect individuals like Guy Muse and David Rogers. They talk about things like MAWL (Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave), or common elements found in CPM’s (Church Planting Movements), or strategies from Wolfgang Simpson’s book Houses That Change the World.

In and of themselves these are all good things to discuss. I’m of the belief that while strategies are good to study, the implementation of them is quite dependent on the geographical location and group of people you are working with. There are things that Guy writes about on his blog that simply wouldn’t work where I’m at. It doesn’t mean that they are bad, they’re just not right in this context. Much of what is written about mission strategy starts with a wrong assumption. The assumption is made that there are those that have either come to faith, or about to come to faith. So the strategy focuses on what to do at the point of conversion so that it can be duplicated such that it leads to a movement. This is why much of what I read about mission strategy doesn’t work for me.

I live in a European context. But I’m not working with Europeans. I’m working with Muslim ethnic minorities. The community is completely closed. They have little to no use in outsiders. If you don’t have a good or service to offer them they want nothing to do with you. To “do life” with them is very difficult…next to impossible in my opinion. Theological discussions will not persuade them. And these people are not coming to faith and are not near coming to faith.

So you can see that I have a hard time taking what others are doing (or not doing) and try to implement it here. I have to find something that works for where I’m at and who I’m trying to reach. And this has led me to a passage I read recently in John 4. The son of a royal official is very ill. The father comes to Jesus asking him to heal his boy. Jesus responds by saying, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe”. In other words, Jesus is saying “look, you won’t believe in me based on what I’m saying, so I’m going to have to show you something miraculous and blow you out of the water in order for you to believe.” And he does just that. He heals the boy and as a result the father and his whole household come to faith (v. 53). This is where I’m at with strategy. I’m not giving up on building relationships with those in my community. In fact, I’m doing just the opposite. But I truly feel that these people will have to see sign and wonders, and will have to have dreams and visions in order to come to faith. I know that God can move anyway he chooses, but it just seems that something is going to have to shake these people to their very foundation before they will look and behold the glory and grace of Jesus Christ.

So now my strategy contains a lot of praying for signs, wonders, dreams, and visions. It may be the only way this community is saved.

-shorty

Technorati Tags: gospel, ministry, missional, strategy

So, here’s a question. Can you be in the will of God, doing what you’re called to do, and be unhappy at the same time? I’m not talking about joy. Happiness and joy are two totally different things. I’m talking about being unhappy with life. And if you’re unhappy how do you fix it?

I was speaking with a colleague today and his opinion was that unhappiness was due to one of two things: either working outside your giftedness, or selfishness. In other words, if you have peace about where you are and what you’re doing, you know that you are in God’s will for your life, and you are unhappy it could be that the work you are doing doesn’t match up with what you’re gifted in. Or, you are unhappy because of selfishness, wanting things that you can’t have or don’t need. For example, when you move to a new culture you inevitably miss things from back home like certain aspects of the city you’re from, friends, familiarity of things, etc. If you begin to want those things in the new culture you find yourself in, knowing full well that you won’t get them, you can become unhappy with your current situation.

So how long should this unhappiness be allowed to last? And how do you take care of it?

Technorati Tags: life, ministry

I’m relatively new to the life of being a “missionary”. I’m not new, however, to what it means to “share the gospel”. My hope and prayer is that through building relationships with others they might come to know about the sovereign grace of Christ, that the Holy Spirit will awaken their soul, and that God will call them to Himself.

But how far do you take things in a given conversation when things turn spiritual? In fact, just today a colleague told me that she felt the Holy Spirit was preventing her from taking things deeper in a conversation she was having with a friend.

When is just being a friend and living life with someone not enough? When do you push things deeper, and how do you know that it’s the right time?

Just very simple, basic things I’m working through right now.

UPDATE: After reading through my post I feel that a little clarification is needed. I live in a Western European culture. But I work with Muslims. It’s highly unlikely that someone in this context is going to come to faith through good old fashioned theological debate. The sticking points will always be issues such as the trinity, the incarnate nature of Christ, the crucifixion and resurrection. The point of my post was me asking the question, how often and how deep do I push these things, knowing full well that their witness of my life is more likely to lead them towards Christ than a spiritually deep conversation. And I don’t know that this question has an answer, but it needed to be asked anyway.

Technorati Tags: gospel, life, missional

Is there more than one Gospel? Does a “social gospel” exist, and if so, what is it’s message? At it’s base, a social gospel would take Christian principles and apply them to social problems. Many would view Jesse Jackson as a social gospel advocate. At the same time, Jerry Falwell could be viewed as a social gospel advocate. He was simply advocating different things than that of Jackson. Falwell took issues (social issues) such as abortion and homosexuality and made them political. Jackson has done the same thing for poverty and equal rights.

Timmy Brister recently wrote a post on his site, Provocations & Pantings, asking for opinions about socio-political priorities for evangelicals. As one can imagine, abortion (or the sanctity of life in general) topped the list. Here are a couple of quotes from the comments:

There is no greater evil in our country than the slaughter of millions of pre-born children.Most serious in America – abortion. Globally – terrorism and nukes.

And my favorite:

I think the issues of life (abortion, euthanasia, genocide, etc.) are the most vital issues of the day, and will remian to be. I find it strangely ironic that we have people consumed with saving the lives of people thousands of miles away, and stopping genocides across the world, when we neglect the fact that millions of children are being brutally murdered right under our noses.
Any sort of outcry for mercy and justice that denies the fact that abortion is both unmerciful and unjust, and that ignoring it is neither merciful or just, just rings hollow to me. (Do you hear that Jim Wallis?)
It’s hard for me to take people seriously who call us to save children in Africa when those same people ignore the millions killed hear…or rather endorse it.

First of all, there are greater evils in America today than abortion. You could make abortion illegal tomorrow, and you’ll still have untold millions that live this life, and die, without a relationship with a Savior. They will undoubtedly spend and eternity separated from Christ. That’s a greater evil. Secondly, I’m not ignoring or endorsing abortion. It exists. It’s a problem. But the solution is not to make it illegal.

A government, any government, will never be able to successfully legislate morality. More than 30 years ago Jerry Falwell established the Moral Majority. And for 30 years the Moral Majority attempted to legislate morality, especially regarding homosexuality and abortion. What are the fruits – abortion is still legal and some states have started to accept civil unions for homosexuals.

Through the Edict of Milan in AD 313 Constantine announced toleration of Christianity. This removed penalties and persecution for professing Christianity. From Wikipedia:

The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian Emperor in the Church; Constantine considered himself responsible to God for the spiritual health of his subjects, and thus he had a duty to maintain orthodoxy. For Constantine, the emperor did not decide doctrine – that was the responsibility of the bishops – rather his role was to enforce doctrine, root out heresy, and uphold ecclesiastical unity. The emperor ensured that God was properly worshipped in his empire; what proper worship consisted of was for the Church to determine.

By AD 476 the Roman Empire had fallen. Government can not effectively legislate morality. So why do we continue to waste our time? The same individuals that made comments on Brister’s post that abortion was the number one socio-political issue of our day also admitted that, by and large, they were doing nothing to help the poor, overcome oppression, and fight injustice. Why is this? Why do we insist on legislating morality while ignoring the orphans and widows. Helping the poor, overcoming oppression, and fighting injustice are tangible things that we can do today to impact a lost world for Jesus Christ.

Dr. Mohler has just written a post about several articles appearing in major newspapers regarding selective reduction (i.e. abortion). Toward the end of the post Dr. Mohler makes the following point:

The cold, clinical, calculating nature of the decisions reported by Liza Mundy takes us to the heart of the human problem. The essence of sin is the ambition to be as God.

I agree with Dr. Mohler that the nature of the decisions made by these women is the heart of the human problem…sin. But I disagree that the sin is the ambition to be as God. I believe that it’s ultimately the lack of knowledge (ignorance) of a saving God. To impact the morality of a society we must impact the individuals that make up that society. The only life changing impact that can change the course of a culture is that of Jesus. There is no social gospel. There is THE gospel. That Christ came as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind, that He desires to have a relationship with His creation. Only through this relationship will society be changed.

Technorati Tags: gospel