Backyard Missionaries

I get World Magazine (I highly recommend it. It's like a conservative Christian Time magazine) twice a month. I was intrigued by an article entitled "Mission To Metropolis" (Feb. 14, 2009, page 61). The article is about Eric Metaxas who has set up a ministry to reach America’s cultural elites. He makes a statement in the article that is profound. “We cannot delude ourselves into thinking that, simply because they live in America and speak English, these cultural elites have heard the gospel already and have rejected it. If the gospel has not been translated into a language that they understand, and if it has not been brought to them by people with whom they have some cultural affinity, they have not heard it.” Isn’t that statement true no matter what people group we are talking about?

Have you ever noticed that the longer we are in Christ, we become less and less able to speak to those who are different from us? That, of course, is the enemy of evangelism. We are no longer missionaries in our own country, but saints inside the camp. We become more and more separated from those outside the camp, until we slowly begin to think of them as a hostile “other,” rather than broken and exiled parts of our own selves, whom we are commanded by God to heal and restore. How do we get to the point that we have forgotten what it is like to be missionaries in our own backyard? It might be because we no longer know many people who don’t know Jesus. I am guilty of this. When you are involved in ministry it is easy to become suffocated by the saints, how about you? Let’s work on getting out of this!

I was asked a while back to help a church staff contextualize the gospel into their culture. That question really means -- “How can you help us be better missionaries in our culture?” The answer to that question is -- “What are the unsaved people like where you live, and who are you?”

Who are you:

• educational level
• blue or white collar
• income level
• race
• sex
• ethnenticy
• sports fan
• fisherman
• hunter
• career woman
• stay at home mom
• etc.

We need to know who we are because we all tend to hang out with people like us, which is no crime, it is just who we are.

What are they like:

• what do they read
• what do they watch
• where do they hang out
• what is important to them

and then the rest of what I already mentioned about you?

If you want to become a better missionary to the culture you live in, get involved with that culture! That culture is not inside the four walls of a church building on Sunday morning.

Eric reminds us that, “We are sinners, too, in need of God’s grace. Or did we think we could get into heaven simply by not watching HBO?” We all need to step up with compassion. Jesus did not come into the world to condem it, but to save it. We will become top notch missionaries in this culture when we have the eyes of Jesus that can see every person with His unconditional love!

How about if we try relating to and loving someone this month whom we did not love before? Will you accept the challenge? Let me know how it comes out.

Mighty for God

Those in the know say I need to blog at least twice a month for this to be effective at all, so here goes.

I thought I would concentrate on looking at Bible passages during my mid-month blog.

There seems to be a need to dig a little deeper into The Word since acedia sets in in the church when it comes to reading and studying God’s word, too.

This year I am studying the English Standard Version of the Bible for the first time, so the text comes from this translation.

Genesis 10:8 says, “Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be called a mighty man.” I want my first grandson named Nimrod!

What is it to be a mighty man?

How can one be a mighty man for God?

What do I need to do to become a mighty man?

In what areas might I be a mighty man, and in what areas am I lacking?

How about you, are you in for this mighty man stuff?

A Mighty Man: faithful, quality quiet time, study the word, involved in ministry, staying in shape, eating better ("Watch the sweets," for me.), reading (all kinds of genres, stay out of the Christian-book-only trap -- get an insight wherever you can), TV viewing (no filth . . . which means there is little or nothing on . . .), organizational, disciplined (the spiritual kind), see the big picture, help my sons financially (no enabling, please), pastor to pastors (seems to be my niche, right now, and they need it), U.S. missions (across the street first, then across the ocean), good work-ethic, healthy (Get to the gym.), where God wants me to be, honest, and a man of integrity.

How are you doing? (You could also be a mighty woman for God!)

I was thinking then, the opposite of being a Mighty Man of God would be a Midget Man: conditional love (I am good at this.), husband (back seat to career), father (when I have time), encourager (what mercy?), controlling (power), lost friends (Do I know any?), saved friends (I have to many.), offensive, demanding, prideful (selfishness is king), stubborn (sounds like OT Israelites), self-seeking (Hey I can be on the main stage.), too negative at times (negativism, it’s all around us), think the worst at times (the Obama bailout package), work too much (workaholics are kings), not enough relax time (Vacation, what’s that?), condemning of others not on same page with me (I have all the right answers.), not enough of a disciple at times (a life long learner).

Let me hear you. Are you a man or mouse? Are you a Midget Man/Woman or a Mighty Man/Woman of God? The only way I know I can even attempt to be a Mighty Man is if my God is Mighty. Let’s take Him out of the Cracker Jack box. He is not some toy, but the King of the Plant. We can only be Mighty through His Power!

Overcoming Acedia

I can’t believe I have finally joined the blogosphere. You might be wondering about the title of my blog – “Overcoming Acedia.” I was reading a book review of Overcoming Acedia, by Kathleen Norris. Kathleen Norris resides, certain times of the year, in a family home in Lemmon, SD. I have read two of her other books, Dakota and The Cloister Walk. Maybe you have read them as well? In Overcoming Acedia she talks about her husband passing away and getting much of his medical treatment in Bismarck, ND (which is, Lord willing, where NPEA is going to plant their next church in the fall of 2012).That gives you a little background.

Now back to the title of this blog. Acedia, what is that? Standard dictionary definitions include: “apathy,” “boredom,” or “torpor” (I would have to look that word up). I personally prefer the Greek root, which means “absence of care.” Our modern definitions of the word seem quite shallow, compared to the historical definitions which are more pregnant with meaning.

In the late 19th century, psychiatrists were defining acedia as a mental condition of sadness, mental confusion and apathy, bitterness of spirit, loss of liveliness and utter despair. Acedia oftentimes seems to set in motion a cycle of self-defeating thoughts. It also could be strongly linked to physical and spiritual laziness. Not to get bogged down in definitions, let’s turn to why Overcoming Acedia has become the title of my blog.

As I travel the country and speak in many churches and visit with many people in God’s Kingdom, I see acedia way too often. I have become concerned by the lack of commitment and caring among God’s people: preachers, elders, deacons, and the rest of the Christians sitting in the pews. What has frightened me even more is that I am not immune! My own selfishness has from time to time infected my soul as well, to the point where I lift my hands in the air as my mind says, “Who cares?” Acedia in God’s people, and at times in my own heart, has reached epidemic proportions. We could quarantine it, but that would simply be putting a bandage on a wound where cure is needed. We must overcome acedia!Jesus was anti-acedic! We must follow His example.

This blog will address all aspects of life and how we can join forces in overcoming acedia on a personal level.

This blog will address church life and how we need to identify apathy in the body and once again overcome it.

This blog will address church planting and the need to overcome the laziness that we observe in many of God’s people concerning a practise He mandated.

Jesus was anti-acedic. Our goal is to become like Him. We will be on this journey together so we can look in the mirror and eventually see the face of God. Come enjoy the journey with me!