Are you waiting for the Golden Years?
Mar/09/2010 08:30
On Saturday Angelina and I took our semi-regular walk down to a part of our larger neighborhood where there are several man-made lakes. When we take our walks during the week the lake area is usually silent and except for us and a few ducks, empty. However, because the sun was out with a blue sky and a gentle breeze the lake was buzzing with extra ducks and visitors. As we came around the bend we saw something we had never seen before, a group of older people all huddled at the shoreline. I couldn't quite make out what they were doing but they held something in their hands and they were all leaning out over the water intently staring at white floating things. At first I thought they were engaged in some weird duck ritual but as we got closer I discovered that they were racing miniature remote-controlled sail boats! The group was silent in concentration steering their racers through the course while a race announcer countdown played on a portable boombox behind them. No one said a word, the race was cut-throat until the man on the tape called “time.”
As we walked past it occurred to me how apt this event was in describing the American mindset of the “Golden Years.” Without casting aspersions upon our geriatric lake pirates I find it funny (or a little sad, depending on how you look at it) that for many people in the West that scene is the quintessential retirement life. If I was to take a poll, I wonder how many people would agree that this is what life is all about? Work hard, sacrifice, scrimp, save, play it safe, all until one day when your only care in the world is protecting your sail racer championship title near your little house on the man-made lake.
Reading Luke 12:13-21 I don’t get the impression that living life and storing up a fat chunk of change for the golden years is God’s design for our lives. Yet (I’ve posted this before) Francis Chan’s “Balance Beam” describes the mentality of many, many Christians.
Count me among those who will not give up, will not give in, and will not retire until God takes me home or Jesus returns. I was never promised ease or comfort in this life nor was I promised an easy retirement in my Golden Years. My Golden Years will come when this physical body lies 6 feet under and I rest with Jesus on the streets of gold for eternity. Until then there is an adventure to live, a wife to love, a church to minister to, a people to save, a King to be glorified, and a hurting world to serve. What about you?
As we walked past it occurred to me how apt this event was in describing the American mindset of the “Golden Years.” Without casting aspersions upon our geriatric lake pirates I find it funny (or a little sad, depending on how you look at it) that for many people in the West that scene is the quintessential retirement life. If I was to take a poll, I wonder how many people would agree that this is what life is all about? Work hard, sacrifice, scrimp, save, play it safe, all until one day when your only care in the world is protecting your sail racer championship title near your little house on the man-made lake.
Reading Luke 12:13-21 I don’t get the impression that living life and storing up a fat chunk of change for the golden years is God’s design for our lives. Yet (I’ve posted this before) Francis Chan’s “Balance Beam” describes the mentality of many, many Christians.
- Are you really living or simply waiting for the Golden Years?
- Are you caught up in the adventure of living life with Jesus or working hard so that you can take it easy and retire?
- Are you running a hard race through the finish line or racing for the retirement payout to coast into your coffin?
Count me among those who will not give up, will not give in, and will not retire until God takes me home or Jesus returns. I was never promised ease or comfort in this life nor was I promised an easy retirement in my Golden Years. My Golden Years will come when this physical body lies 6 feet under and I rest with Jesus on the streets of gold for eternity. Until then there is an adventure to live, a wife to love, a church to minister to, a people to save, a King to be glorified, and a hurting world to serve. What about you?
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The Power of the Whine
Mar/05/2010 07:07
One great thing about the internet is the instant collaboration and commenting that takes place except when what you say (write) comes out so fast that you can't take it back.
Yesterday Bill Streger posted a very intriguing blog post asking tough, critical questions of Acts 29 and the types of church planters they were recruiting. Bill is an Acts 29 planter, so he's an insider with insight that you and I don't have. His main contention with Acts 29 was that the recruits he was interviewing were all the same. In his words, “they all sound the same.” Apparently, they looked the same, talked the same, developed the same plans of action, and were all trying to reach the same hip, urban, sophisticated crowd. I thought his post was great and his point “that uncool people need Jesus too” was worth considering. So I commented...
Have you ever had that moment where you wish you could immediately hit unsend? As I was reading my comments right after I posted them, I wished I could’ve hit unsend. It wasn't the content of my comment but rather the tone of the comment. I sounded like a spoilt 11 year old girl.
The reason why I'm posting this here is two fold:
1) be careful not only of what you write on other people's blogs but how you write it. I think I gave the foreign mission crowd a black eye amongst the urban church planters by sniveling my way through that comment.
2) try to make your point when and where it will be heard. There's nothing wrong with my comment per-se. It's true. Why is it that if I wanted to plant somewhere in N.America I would have a $50,000 salary to do so today? Why are most church planting/missional orgs/congregations funneling MILLIONS of dollars into American cities and doing the same type of ministry as everyone else? Why do urban American church planters get money thrown at them but those of us wanting to plant and grow churches on foreign soil have to grovel on hands and knees? Not sure. But, having that kind of discussion is appropriate here, not on a blog post about Acts 29.
So here it is, the apology and warning. I’m sorry for sounding like a spoiled girl scout and next time I’ll be more careful with what I say or write.
Yesterday Bill Streger posted a very intriguing blog post asking tough, critical questions of Acts 29 and the types of church planters they were recruiting. Bill is an Acts 29 planter, so he's an insider with insight that you and I don't have. His main contention with Acts 29 was that the recruits he was interviewing were all the same. In his words, “they all sound the same.” Apparently, they looked the same, talked the same, developed the same plans of action, and were all trying to reach the same hip, urban, sophisticated crowd. I thought his post was great and his point “that uncool people need Jesus too” was worth considering. So I commented...
Have you ever had that moment where you wish you could immediately hit unsend? As I was reading my comments right after I posted them, I wished I could’ve hit unsend. It wasn't the content of my comment but rather the tone of the comment. I sounded like a spoilt 11 year old girl.
"My wife and I have been working in Europe and concerned for Europe for the past 8 years. We’re moving back to Europe (to Portugal) in May which only has .08% born-again population according to the last sociology census. The sad/ironic thing is that we’re trying to scrape money together for our project and at the same time have been told that if we were considering planting in Las Vegas or Salt Lake that we would have an all expenses paid church planting career if we wanted it. I know a group that is pouring over 1 MILLION dollars into this project alone. There are more Christians in Mormon Salt Lake than in the entire country of Portugal and we can’t get $2000/month in support.
Am I missing something?"
The reason why I'm posting this here is two fold:
1) be careful not only of what you write on other people's blogs but how you write it. I think I gave the foreign mission crowd a black eye amongst the urban church planters by sniveling my way through that comment.
2) try to make your point when and where it will be heard. There's nothing wrong with my comment per-se. It's true. Why is it that if I wanted to plant somewhere in N.America I would have a $50,000 salary to do so today? Why are most church planting/missional orgs/congregations funneling MILLIONS of dollars into American cities and doing the same type of ministry as everyone else? Why do urban American church planters get money thrown at them but those of us wanting to plant and grow churches on foreign soil have to grovel on hands and knees? Not sure. But, having that kind of discussion is appropriate here, not on a blog post about Acts 29.
So here it is, the apology and warning. I’m sorry for sounding like a spoiled girl scout and next time I’ll be more careful with what I say or write.
Top 5 Support Raising Mistakes
Feb/12/2010 16:18
Missionary Confidential posted a link to a new Support Raising Solutions article from BodyBuilders.net called the Top 5 Support Raising Mistakes. It’s a fantastic article with a lot of helpful advice especially for those of us who’ve broken each of these at some point in our ministry. My favorites?
1. I prayed too lightly
and...WHY oh why do I not pray more?! When I pray…I see God work. When I don’t pray…it seems like His blessings dry up. So, why do I not pray more? I guess I am just a fool. To think I can plan my work and work my plan without bathing “the before, during, and after” in prayer is the height of arrogance and pride and shows precisely where my security is—in myself, instead of God. If I choose to sacrifice time in the prayer closet because I am supposedly too busy, I am literally shooting myself in the foot!
#2. Put a $ on their forehead
Well worth a read if you’re in the support raising season.I thought I could determine in advance what someone would give. The better off they seemed, the more I expected. Well, not anymore. I have been blessed so many times by the sacrificial giving of those who didn’t seem to have anything to give.
Should cost be a factor in your ministry decision?
Jan/20/2010 11:54
Money. Moolah. The almighty dollar. Many a missionary decision has revolved around the subject of money and ultimately where to go. For many years, perhaps since the 1960’s the decision to minister in cheaper locales (like the 10-40 window) has unfortunately been driven by cost, not by command causing many places to be neglected. While we’ve never been beaten over the head because of our choice of ministry location, we have experienced a backlash from those questioning our decision to work and minister in Europe because of the cost. We’ve heard things like:
“Why don’t you go to Asia or India where the needs are greater?”
“We only support the 10-40 window because we get more bang for our buck.”
“Europe had their chance, now it's the poorer countries turn.”
Ironically, when I compare the European portion of the Mint map with this map of Western Europe I see an interesting correlation; those places that we’ve labeled “too
Ultimately, I believe the question comes down to a matter of obedient faith. Do we trust God to care for us no matter where we go by being obedient to the command to go into all the world? Does Christ elevate poorer places because of their poverty to the exclusion of richer places. Has cost played a factor in your choosing where to minister? Explain why or why not in the comments.
