It seems like most of what I’m thinking about nowadays has something to do with “waiting”.  What did it feel like for the Hebrews in Egypt?  What was it like for the faithful Israelites who where scattered into foreign countries or lived in their own desolate land?  What did they do in the mean time?  Is faith only good and fun when things make sense, when things are manageable?  Or is it in these times where faith makes the most sense?

It was the summer of 2003 when we first visited South Africa.  It was the early fall of 2004 when we began  investigating a call to relocate. It’s now the beginning 2010 and we’re wondering why this deep rooted passion is not leading us quickly to South Africa.  It wasn’t my idea to go to South Africa.  If I were to consider a mission field I felt suited for, I guess Ireland would be my choice.  I love music and I am allergic of hot weather.  But this is not the passion God has put on our hearts.  Both Kristin and I can’t seem to take our attention off  this place and these people.  But why?  What are we waiting for?

Last Wednesday our home church committed a day to fasting and prayer for God to give direction.  I would like to share what I experienced 2 days later.

That Friday I received a call from a friend who asked how I was feeling.  Honestly,  nothing seemed different.  I was just honored, humbled and encouraged that people chose to pray so earnestly for us.  He proceeded to remind me that I had prayed that God would give people a unified sense of direction..  He told me that he was talking with another friend and both of them seemed to get a clear sense that we should “stay the course” and continue our pursuit of this calling.

Earlier that morning I was doing inventory work in a warehouse by myself.  It’s not uncommon for me to talk to God when working alone.  I had a clear sentence pass through my mind.  It went something like “Remember you said that you wanted God to do this in such a way that only He could get the glory.”  It was true.  Somewhere in 2005 I began praying that very thing.  Then another sentence passed through my mind that went “Aren’t the tables set in such a way now that only God can get the glory?  Not strategies, not hard work, not even generosity.”

That day was an encouragement to us but, what does this mean?  Honestly, we don’t know. Staying the course for us right now means, one foot in front of the other.  What we do know is that God, whatever the outcome, will be working in and through us for His glory.

So, where’s glory in waiting?  I don’t know clearly the answer to that question.  There are hints to the answer in the Bible as well as history.  William Carey was confronted by a Brahmin in India around 1796  who said “Indeed, I think God ought to repent for not sending the gospel to us sooner.”  Carey’s response:

“To this I added, suppose a kingdom had been long overrun by the enemies of its true king, and he, though possessed of sufficient power to conquer them, should yet suffer them to prevail and establish themselves as much as they could desire, would not the valor and wisdom of that king be far more conspicuous in exterminating them, than it would have been if he had opposed them at first, and prevented their entering the country? Thus by diffusion of gospel light, the wisdom, power, and grace of God will be more conspicuous in overcoming such deep-rooted idolatries, and in destroying all that darkness and vice which have so universally prevailed in this country, than they would have been if all had not been suffered to walk in their own ways for so many ages past.”

Paul teaches us more about the glory of God in waiting when he was speaking in Athens.

²⁴ The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ²⁶ And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷ that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us

(Acts 17:24-27 – ESV)

So, I do not know why God has us waiting, but I do know that He has “…determined allotted periods…in the hope that they might feel their way toward [God]…”  I can find peace in knowing that while we wait to bring the clarity of Gospel light to the Xhosa, “…[God] is not far from each one of us…”  The waiting still doesn’t feel good, but maybe it’s not supposed to.

What an opportunity!

I continue to be excited about the “Day of Generosity” coming in November.  Those of you familiar with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches know that there are many more members and churches outside the U.S. than in the U.S.   We may often think of missions as the work of the West with our access to vast resources that make it possible for us to go, but God has called all believes to be involved in the work of the Great Commission.   The are many Grace Brethren around the world that have felt God’s call to minister cross culturally.  They have left their homes and taken their families to the places that God has called them.  Many, if not most, of these missionaries have come from churches that do not have easy access to financial resources.

On the “Day of Generosity” GBIM is offering the Grace Brethren Church in North America the opportunity to participate in the work of these missionaries around the world.  Their goal is to raise $321,000 in matching funds to be provided as grants to local Grace Brethren mission sending agencies around the world.  What a wonderful opportunity for us!!!!  An opportunity to use our resources for eternal purposes in the move of God around the world.  An opportunity for us to say to those missionaries – you are part of our body and we want to participate in the call that God has placed on your life.  An opportunity to learn more about the move of God around the world.  An opportunity to invest our resources in something with a guaranteed return.

Please go to this website to learn more about the Day of Generosity!!!

A little while ago I was in a situation where a close friend of mine was in need of intervention love.  It was a day when I was particularly tired and wanting to relax and have sweet fellowship.  The situation required urgent attention so a couple of friends and myself headed over to “meet” my friend.

On the way over I was praying quite a bit, not knowing exactly what to expect or what I should say or do.  As I prayed I was reminded that God loves my friend much more than I do.  This time, however, this thought was not comforting.  I thought, “If You love him more than I do, and you can do all things, then why do you let my friend go through these situation?!”  Almost right away, as if God were saying it to me, the thought came, “Chris, I DO love him more than you do and this is precisely why you HAVE to love him!  This is the way I made it.  Your hands and feet will be representatives of My love for your friend.”

This is not a new thought for me, but it really hit me hard that night.  I was reminded of Colossians 1:24 where Paul writes, “²⁴Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.”  An odd sounding verse.  The only explanation that I ever understood was that Paul was doing in person what Jesus could no longer do since he had ascended to the right hand of the Father.  Therefore, it seems that part of God’s design is for all of His character to be demonstrated through the actions and emotions of His children.

This has a lot to do with missions and all types of community relationships in general.  When relating, when reaching out to “the least of these”, when crossing cultures, when forgiving transgressions, when seeking justice, when enjoying fellowship, and many other ways of relating; we are acting on God’s behalf.  When I go to South Africa, I am not as much attempting to do something nice for another culture as I am communicating through my actions, words and emotions the real love of God to them through ourselves.

I get a similar feeling every morning when I leave for work.  Sometimes I see Samuel before I leave for work and think of how much I love that boy.  I look at the clock and realize I have to leave for work.  All I can do is say to Kristin, “Love him for me.”  This is a huge reality to many diverse aspects of life, but it’s worth meditating on and considering as we approach our neighbors.  God says, “I love your neighbor, your co-worker, the cashier, your enemy, yes, even your children and spouse more than you!  That is precisely why you HAVE to love them!”

I am so excited about the upcoming “Day of Generocity” in November.  This is a great opportunity!!  I will be writing more about in the coming weeks.

View the introductory video here.

Check out this article from Desiring God here

We’re here in Winona Lake, IN attending our CORE Training classes.  It’s interesting how God works in little ways.  We’ve faced some discouragement the past several years at the delays and waiting for this “call” to become a reality.  As we get to know those who are attending this class with us a little better we find that some of them too have been waiting for some time.  It’s been encouraging to be able to bounce our hopes and frustrations off of one another and share perspectives that help endure and persist in the waiting.  I can’t say that the problems have been solved or reasons have been given, but there’s something powerful in simply sharing in the common frustrations with others.

We wait at the age of 38 and feel like we’re too old.  This could be an accurate perception if I used cultural norms as a gage.  It’s true that it’s possible and not uncommon for people to have careers and retire in their mid to late 50’s.  At our age we can’t even consider this as part of our future (nor do we desire this future for ourselves).  Yet as I consider some of the significant people in the Bible I have to think of how a timetable may have frustrated their plans.

First you have Abraham.  We’re told that he was rather well-to-do and in his 60’s when God calls to him.  He’s told to uproot everything he has and move to a new unknown land that God will give him.  Oh, and by the way, God is really going to give it to his descendants centuries later, Abraham can just wander around for now.  Yet, Abraham trusts God, presses on with this “call” that God gave him, and is known as the father of Israel.  In fact, Paul later says that all believers are considered sons of Abraham.  I wonder if Abraham ever felt too old to begin something significant for God.

Than there’s Moses.  Everyone loves Moses, right?  He grows up in royalty, but recognizes his Hebrew identity and kills an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave.  This forces him to flee his current, comfortable setting at the age of 40.  The following 40 years seem to be in total seclusion.  Did Moses replay the failure and choose anonymity?  Did he feel he was being prepared for something else?  Did he disqualify himself and decide to leave the dreaming to people who don’t screw things up?  I can’t say for sure, but for some reason God looked at this 80 year old shepherd and said you’re the man for the job.

So, I come back to my frustration over the past 5 years and wonder why God has to make the process so long and hard.  Did I miss my window of opportunity?  Should I disqualify myself?  This perspective now seems frighteningly close to my sons tantrums over having to stop playing Legos for a while in order to eat dinner.  Maybe I can trust God better,  live in the moment a little more acutely and continue to trust my “call” knowing that nothing is wasted in pursuing God’s will, nothing is unredeemable in God’s plan, and nothing is too late for those who want to be used by God.

Here is a short blog entry on the Desiring God website about the role of missions.

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1877/

For some time now I’ve been thinking about the concept of community.  I’ve been viewing both humanity and Scripture through a lens that’s looking for community and insights about it.

A few years ago I was given the opportunity to teach an 11^th grade Christian Ethics class.  I decided to begin by looking at a time in the Bible where God’s design had not yet been tainted by sin.  Prior to this class I always thought the tree in the garden was the most puzzling part of this story.  However, this time I noticed something very interesting.  In Genesis 2:18 God looks at His creation and says that something is not good.  Notice that this is before “the fall” or sin enters the picture.  What does this say?  It at least says two things to me.  One, that the institution of marriage is to be held as incredibly important and significant to how life is intended to be lived.  Also, it says that goodness seems to need community.  “It is not good for man to be alone.”  This is not because he is bad and needs correction.  This is not even because he cannot care for himself.  I think life’s accomplishments and joys, failures and tears are all meant to be shared.  I don’t think I understand this completely (or even partially), but it seems that something about this is true.  And given the placement in the Bible, I would say that it is way more important than we would like to acknowledge.

This is yet another one of those issues that flies in the face of the American Dream.  It at least flies in the face of American habits and values.  One thing I seemed to catch while growing up; maybe from my parents, maybe culture, maybe a little bit everywhere is the idea that growing up meant becoming independent.  Now if community is really that important, if aloneness is not good, then the kind of independence that I see demonstrated is totally contrary to God’s design and desired intent.  In fact the increasing population and diversity in the world seems to require more dependence on one another, not less.  Lets face it, the really big issues of the world cannot be dealt with by having thousands of independent people happening to work toward some unified result.  It is not good for man to be alone.

So now we find ourselves in the process of Partner Development as we try to follow what we believe is God’s call on our life to plant community impacting churches in the Xhosa townships of South Africa.  There’s a side of me that feels like a loser because I cannot generate the people or the resources for something of this magnitude by myself.  Then I remember that it is not good for man to be alone.  If God wants to do something in this world, why would he do it in a way that reinforces what He called “not good”?  I know there are many other factors to my fears of asking people to work together with us.  But I cannot forget that it is not God’s ideal design for us to do this alone.

This video was shot in the area of South Africa where we hope to work. The link will take you to a page with an article, you will have to click on the “Watch Video” link to watch it. It is disturbing so do not watch it with children around.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2008/01/south_africa_ev.html#

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God

Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem – the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece