Keep God’s Mission as Your Mission

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MoldovaHirvobatOne of the last words of Jesus to a fledgling, ragtag group of disciples, was a message of power and revolution. A power not of this world, but a power with authority from God the Father. Because of the authority bestowed to Jesus, flowing from God the Father, the disciples would be able to go forth and share with others the words of Jesus. They could have shared his words on their own to little effect. When coupled with the power of the Spirit of God through the supernatural Word of God, lives would change, God’s church would grow, and the world would change.

 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”        Matthew 28:18-20

The world is still changing. One life at a time. Through the power of the gospel and the obedience of those who keep God’s mission their own.

I just returned from an amazing journey partnering with four churches stateside and 2 churches in Moldova, all for the purpose of building God’s kingdom through making disciples. I love returning every year to Filadelfia Church. God always does a new work each time. Lives were changed, hearts were won to Christ, and people became more dedicated than ever to the mission of God. After the journey home, I was finding myself thinking fondly and missing my dear friends in Moldova and reflecting on all the wonderful things we shared together as a body of faith. It’s always a joy to lead and come alongside others to see that together we can be a part of God’s great mission he has given the church. It is my prayer that God provides a way to return soon with others who share that passion and mission. I’m happy to be home, among cherished family and friends, a great community, and a wonderful church, but there is a longing to return. I wanted to do more, wanted to give more time, to share more truth. The task remains the same at home or in Moldova.

I write this as an encouragement to anyone wondering if what they’re doing matters to God. We go through seasons of spiritual mountains and valleys. Jesus knew the disciples would face trouble. In fact he even said that some may mistakenly think that killing a follower of Jesus would be doing God a favor. (John 16:2) No matter what they faced, Jesus knew that the power of His gospel would change lives.  The task? To go and make followers of Jesus from all people groups, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus promised them and every follower, that he would be WITH us. We have the power of the Spirit, the purpose of the mission, and the presence of Jesus.  Be faithful where you are. Have faith also to know that God can use you to speak to the nations about him. Missions is local. Missions is global. Missions is personal. Let God’s mission be your mission.

“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us,”  Hebrews 12:1

A Bus, A Dream, A Mission.

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Few can argue with the need for transportation within youth ministry. It’s a staple of ministries large and small. Either a church car pools, rents vans, or if they have the means, takes their own bus or van. Many years ago a vision was birthed to reach the students of Wilmington at a church with a newly hired youth pastor. With lots of creative fundraising and looking, a bus was found at an auction site. The bus had a diesel engine, but the listing said gas and we walked away with TWO buses at great deals. These were prison buses, used to transport prisoners.

Imagine two beige prison buses, driving back to Wilmington, and pulling into the church parking lot. For one season the youth pastor (me) tortured the youth group with orange t-shirts—riding in a beige bus! Never saw too many wear those shirts. (!) We were able to give one bus away to a young youth ministry in the next county.

Even cooler, there happened to be a guy at our church that used to paint buses! We taped the bus up, and we painted it the beautiful Teal colors you see now, in honor of our local UNCW Seahawks. We placed custom seats in it. The old seats had scratched etchings I’m not sure how cuffed-up prisoners could manage to write on the backs of the seats. We put a custom sound system in it. It was a youth ministry’s dream bus, or so we thought. It was God’s bus. It was our bus.

The memories students created with that bus are amazing. Many can tell you stories of riding to assist families hit by Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, MS, riding to snow covered mountains on treacherous winding mountain roads for unforgettable winter retreats, going to DNOW Conferences, Christian Music Concerts, Theme Parks, Caroling to Shut-Ins, or just a local trip to the beach to refresh tourists with a bottle of water and a conversation about Jesus.

All these memories were possible by God and by volunteers who gave of their blood, sweat and tears (and even a torn plantaris muscle) to get those crazy teenagers a little closer to Jesus (some quicker than others!) My drivers are the greatest in the world. They love Jesus, and they love students. All have contributed much to God’s purposes fulfilled in the lives of these students.

We are officially selling the bus. Going to miss this. In a way it’s transformational. This bus went from transporting captives as far as the law goes, to transporting those who were once captive to sin, and now set free in Jesus. Fittingly, the bus is being sold to an up and coming youth ministry a county away. Excited for them. They will rock that Bus for the kingdom! The legacy of the Green Bus will continue! I’m so glad such a resource was used and will continue to be used to point people to Jesus.

Celebrate and Reflect

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As 2015 loses the label of a “new year” after 365 days, we come to 2016 with much anticipation as to what is next. Will the Carolina Panthers win the Superbowl? Will Carolina beat State? (Ok I just had to take a jab at that) On a more serious note, Will there be war? Will there be peace? What about tragedy and triumph? Where will you or I be spiritually a year from now? Who will have changed for the better because of what you or I chose to do or not do?

One of the greatest things we can do at the beginning of a new year is to celebrate and reflect. We can celebrate all the good and wonderful things that were accomplished in the previous year. Reflect on the trials, struggles and hurt that could make us stronger or weaken our resolve, depending on our response.

More importantly, we can celebrate the fact that our purpose, rooted in eternity and affirmed by the fact that we are all a part of God’s creation, can move us to humbly thank God for his gift to the world, himself, in the flesh, in the person and divine nature of Jesus Christ. Despite our sinfulness, Christ paved the way for all who would repent of their sin and believe in his name to become a new creation. Jesus gives us the ultimate reboot, the ultimate restart in life.

So as we reflect, we thank God for a good year, no matter the struggle or the pain. God has seen us through it. That’s the point. He’ll continue to do so. That’s our hope, grounded in the unshakeable faith in a God who desires that we see our lives as becoming more obedient to get rid of the selfish desires that face us constantly, and die to self, take up our cross and follow Jesus. As John 3:30 states, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” Happy New Year!

Trusting God at 80mph

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Understanding the title before you begin to read the rest of this post is most important. Picture me, frozen in time, gripping the handle tightly as my driver friend (insert favorite NASCAR joke here) races through the rainy, very slick roads of a small town in an Eastern European country, with a determined look on his face which speaks to his desire to make it to his intended destination—a church he pastors, or otherwise scrape the paint off the next vehicle ahead. I’m convinced this guy is passionate about seeing souls coming into the kingdom of God, based not on the attention he gives to the road, but rather the passion in his heart for the people of Hirbovat, Moldova.

Faithfully serving and teaching those gathered on a cold Sunday morning, where there are no padded pews or ladies who persist on having the thermostat adjusted (there is no thermostat here). The temperature is just fine, thank you. A warm 45 degrees Fahrenheit. The sermon comes with a dose of bundled up worshippers who sing with breath-you-can-see joy after walking fifteen minutes over mud, bumps, potholes; enduring splashes from passing vehicles and nosey loose pets. Such people are grateful for a space to call their own, although this is the second time they have moved, and are moving for a third very soon.

What is behind the passion of this pastor and the commitment of such people as these? It is, simply and profoundly put, trust. A trust in a faithful God who asks for reckless abandon to all who would come and follow him, no matter the cost. God will see us through. Through the sanctifying work of Christ, God will see us through. Trust that shows faith and courage when the power from a single power cord stretched to the limit goes out and the worshippers continue, not missing a beat. Trust that points to the power of prayer as family members come to Christ, and needs are met, proving God cares for his children.

Trust that even at speeds that feel like 80mph to me, are echoed by laughter and proclamation of a pastor who says, “I LOVE working for God”! To the God who owns the silver and the gold, everything is His, He proves himself faithful to this young pastor.

The same can be said of others who have come before this pastor, fervently working to plant a church that plants churches. Having moved multiple times and to multiple locations, there are many in Filadelfia Church who desire to see everyone in Aneni Noi come to faith and repentance in Christ Jesus. From young women being discipled, the widow’s needs being met, the student’s questions being patiently answered, orphans being rescued, to passionate missions teams eager to lock arms from across the ocean, this church stands on the front lines in the spread of the gospel.

The Challenge of Being In The World and Not of It

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The recent shootings on the campuses of Seattle Pacific University and Reynolds High School are indeed a tragedy and a reminder to us all that life is precious and also temporary on this earth. We hug our children a little tighter, thank God for their safety and presence with us, and continue about our lives.

As I heard the news reports come in bit by bit, the media began a typical play by play of tragedies that we are becoming all too familiar with. Finding out incoming new details quicker than the next guy can become a pursuit with an easy search on social media. But at the heart of the tragedy are lost lives, broken hearts and communities reeling with grief and questions that often go unanswered or are given answers unsuitable to the ones asking. The armchair philosophers chime in quickly (and oftentimes should) on the ills of such things as gun violence, lack of safety in the schools, or the nature of broken families impacted by divorce, mental illness, lack of a moral compass, or any number of fill in the blank crises that many students shoulder daily.

If you want to go down the gun violence path, blaming the guns isn’t going to help. You can find research that points to an increase in gun ownership and a decrease in gun violence if you like. But that’s not the point of this post. My point is simply this: The world we live in is the world that Jesus called us to be in, as his followers. We are to not shrink back and go hide in a hole until Jesus comes back. Tragedies will happen. Our students and people in general need the light of Christ in their lives. We are the light of the world, a city on a hill.

I love the public school system because in large measure it’s where the greatest mission field of students is. You can make the argument for homeschooling and private schooling and I’ll sit down with you and agree with you whole-heartedly over a cup of coffee. I’ve chosen to send my child (who is a believer) to public school because I believe that I should practice what I preach, and teach him the same. I volunteer at the public school; I visit the lunches at public school. I go to students’ events and games. I’ve volunteered at the private school and visited lunches there also, simply to be amongst the students God has placed in our community. My wife and I have even attempted homeschooling with our son, going to the homeschool convention, with an armload of curriculum to boot. It’s the call of Jesus on my life to be in the world and not of it that beckons me to be among those who need Jesus, no matter where that takes me.

When tragedy happens, don’t make the mistake of throwing the baby out with the bath water. There are a lot of teachers and administrators and students in the public school system that needs the church to be salt and light with them.

Pray for the victims and families of these senseless tragedies. Pray for the perpetrators too. Thank a teacher, principal, or parent. Encourage them in their role in the public sector. Follow Jesus’ command to be in and not of in John 17:14-19 or as someone put it better, not of, but sent into.