Author: David

I bought my plane ticket! I’m leaving on the 29th!

Wow… This time in the States has been intense spiritually! It’s been an interesting ride. I’ve been gone a long time, but I’m finally going back to Ukraine! I originally didn’t plan on staying in America for this long; however, I’ve seen several things that have been good that came out of it… To name a few:

• I was specifically able to minister or witness to two people deeply during this time.
• I have been gone longer than 90 days, so there is no way that the Ukrainian visa regulations can be remotely interpreted against my favor when I come back.
• I was able to build relationships with several new people and churches this month.

Thank you to all who have been praying! Please continue to pray for my travels! I always get nervous at this stage of “pre-travel”. Please also be praying for the people that I’m staying with. Two of their family members are having surgery this week!

 

I’ve been traveling to several different churches since I got back from Ukraine, and one of the things I have noticed is that several of them are in a state of transition with their pastors. Either one is about to leave, one is just coming in, or they are currently looking for a new pastor.

Just last Wednesday, I was visiting a large church in Indianapolis, and, during one of the conversations with one of the staff members, she told me that their pastor had resigned a few months ago and they were looking for a new one. She said that two of the assistant pastors were teaching on Sundays, another pastor was taking the leadership role of the church, and that they were still looking for a new senior pastor. Now, that confused me a little.

I asked her why the “lead pastor” didn’t take that position in the church. She replied that he didn’t seem like the right guy for it. I then asked her if there was anyone else in the body that could take that role, and she said that no one else seemed to be the right fit for it.

Firstly, I want to say that I don’t believe this church is doing anything morally wrong or against God by looking for a pastor outside of their “faith family”; however, with the way I was spiritually trained and raised, it makes much more sense to me to look within rather than without, if for nothing else that someone coming from the outside could also come with a drastically different perspective on ministry and vision for the church. I would think it would be easier on the church body to simply have someone that was raised under the original pastor’s leadership, accountability, and vision to take the reins, someone that the congregation already knew and loved.

The true problem that I see is that this doesn’t seem to be an isolated instance. Like I said, I’ve been to several churches the past couple of months, and, of the ones that are in transition, they have all been looking outside of their body for a new pastor to come in. Here is my question:

Are we that bad at raising up disciples within our churches?

I was taught in Bible college that you should always have a Paul, a Timothy, and a Barnabas in your life. The “Paul” is there to instruct you and keep you accountable, the “Barnabas” is there to be your friend, encourage you, and give you counsel, and the “Timothy” is your follower, the person you pour yourself into, the person that will take over what you do when you are taken from that position by the Lord.

I’ve seen a few ministers do what I call “pulling a Peyton Manning.” I think most of my readers are familiar with the Colts’ all-star quarter back of currently the worst team in football. I’m a really big fan of Manning, and I believe that he is the greatest QB currently in the game (if he is still in the game with his injuries…), but he never took the time to raise up a successor that could truly step in to those big “size 18” shoes and command the Colts’ offense to a semi-victorious season. I wish he had, but, without their “coach on the field”, the Colts barely pulled off two victories last season.

He didn’t disciple someone to fill that position, and the team suffered the consequences when he could no longer do his job.

We aren’t invincible. We have a stopping point. We can’t count on our ability to keep going in the ministry indefinitely.

Some of these concepts are derived from a book that I read during college that outline the process of discipleship. It s called The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert E. Coleman. Discipleship starts at evangelism and ends at our “graduation from this life”, when we take off the mantle of our fleshly bodies and join the Lord. I think every Christian is in some part of this process of discipleship. Every Christian should be an active part of this process.

Many people think that they can’t be ministers because they don’t have a seminary degree or aren’t on the church’s payroll. This couldn’t be further from the truth! The Bible and the rest of history are filled with people that were able to step up and do something with their faith without being a “full time minister” or a “seminary grad”. I know many pastors, the ministries of whom are great and fruitful, that have not graduated from a seminary – they were simply discipled in a proper way (some through discipleship programs such as HSE or CCBC).

Some of you may be thinking, “Ok… You keep using that word ‘discipleship’… Now, what does that mean?”

Discipleship is simply the process which occurs when God takes two people and uses them to better one another spiritually while one serves as a spiritual leader and the other as a follower. Jesus commanded us to do this in Matthew when He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19, 20 NASB)

How should we begin to disciple these future leaders? I believe it starts with two things – investment and invitation. We need to invest our time and energy into building real relationships with those around us. We need, then, to invite them to follow us. Like Jesus said, “Follow me,” and Paul, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”. As we are doing this, of course, we MUST endeavor to follow Christ as closely as possible. How can we lead others to follow someone that we are out-of-step with? We MUST follow Him.

Secondly, we need to give them opportunities to minister and work, to succeed, and, yes, even to fail. That last one is the one I most struggle with. I never want to see anyone fail, especially someone on my team… But, they must get a sense of what real ministry is like – with the training wheels off. Now, this all must be kept in perspective. Just as you wouldn’t hand a ten-year-old the keys to your Harley on the day he graduated from his training wheels, I don’t think it would be wise to send someone off with an obvious, though inexperienced, gift of teaching to preach on Sunday their first time before people. Let them share a devotion with their peers, then build them up to a home study, etc. Take it in stages, encourage them, and see how God uses their particular gift (they may not teach exactly like you…).

Also, teaching others to eventually disciple still others is essential for our work to continue. Our followers have an expiration date, just as we do. We will all stand one day before the Lord. They will need to raise up a new generation to carry on the Glorious Gospel that was handed down to us.

Lastly, we should pray for them. This really should’ve been first, in the middle, and all the way to the end of this process. God uses prayer. He responds to us when we call to Him. “…You do not have because you do not ask.” (James 4:2 NASB). “”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7, 8 NASB) For the sake of our churches, for the sake of our pastors, for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s ask.

 

Starbucks can be a funny thing, I think. Either you love ’em or you hate ’em, it seems… kinda like the Patriots, but that’s another story. 😉 Anyway, I just wanted to relay a story about Starbucks and a young woman whom I will call “Sally” (for anonymity) that I met there the other day. Now, I’m not that much of a coffee drinker. Mind you, that’s not because I don’t like coffee – I love coffee… I just don’t like what it does to me. My hands get shakey, my heart starts racing, and I just generally freak out about anything and everything. Therefore, I don’t drink much coffee.  Thankfully, Starbucks doesn’t only offer beverages of the burnt bean variety, so I still venture in and get a something-or-other every once in a while.
The other day, I went to Starbucks just to relax for a little while and do some work on the internet. After entering the building, I proceded to scan the dining room for appropriate seating (I love to sit in one of the cushioned chars in the corner at Starbucks.  If I have to sit at a table, I’d rather just go somewhere else if I’m by myself…).  I found an availible seat with my preferred specifications next to a young woman with a bunch of paperwork and a laptop.  I asked her if she minded if I sat in the chair next to her, and she replied, “Sure, if you don’t mind the mess!”  I responded with the fact that I was “living on the road” and didn’t mind at all.

“Are you in town for the Superbowl?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “I’m a missionary in Ukraine, and I’m traveling around, visiting different churches and sharing about the vision we have for ministry there.”
She found this very interesting, as she had some friends that had been missionaries to Ukraine. That opened a door to an amazing conversation about spiritual things.  I asked her what kind of church she went to.  She responded with the fact that she didn’t go to church but used to on the north side of Indianapolis.
We eventually got around to the question of, “What do you do with Jesus?”  Her answer was that she wasn’t sure.  She thought she believed in Him and in the Bible, but it was because she had been taught that all of her life.  She also basically said that she wasn’t living as a “good Christian”.

From that, I took her to John 3, where Jesus describes how we get to see the Kingdom of God.  I explained to her that the definition of a Christian in the Bible isn’t being a “good person.”  It’s being born again.  She then asked what that meant, and I took her to Ephesians 2 and told her how we are “dead in [our] tresspasses and sins” and how we need to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation.  I explained to her that, after we believe, we are changed from the inside and then want to do what God wants us to do.  I also gave her a card with my blog address on it.
She allowed me to pray for her later in the conversation about some other things…  Please pray for her.  She has some important decisions to make soon.

Have you ever done a blind blessing before? Have you ever given an anonymous donation or done a ding-dong-dash and left groceries? That is a great way to bless a family in need and often a great way to point someone to or back to God; however, some people apply this approach to evangelism and world missions.

That’s a very interesting concept to me. I think it’s a good thing to remain anonymous when giving a donation or something like that.  Think that comes from what Jesus said in Matthew 6…  “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 NASB) On the other hand, there’s another scripture that I think we sometimes neglect. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 NASB)

I was touched by a story that K. P. Yohannon shared in his book Revelution in World Missions. He spoke of a country in Southeast Asia that had been blessed with missionaries for the past hundred years. These missionaries had brought all kinds of social improvements to the country. They changed most of the country from not being able to read to proficient literacy. The problem was, in all of their “social gospel”, they forgot the Gospel. They didn’t preach with words, only with actions. Consequently, after 100 years of missions work in that country, there are barely any Christians anywhere.

Here’s my point – Jesus didn’t come to make our lives better here on earth. He came to pay for the way and show us the way to Heaven, to knowing God, to a better life in Eternity. He expects us to be about the same mission. If all we do is give someone a more comfortable ride to Hell, what good is all our good works? Jesus emphasized the Gospel as our mission in his last few addresses to the disciples.

Matthew 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NASB)

Mark 16:15-16 says, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (NASB)

Again, in Luke 24:45-49… “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (NASB)

Jesus wants “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.”

Jesus tells His disciples in Mattwew 5:46-47 to go beyond what he world does. There are charities started by other organizations, etc. we are the only ones with the true answer to the Eternal Question. Why wouldn’t we give that away? I’m not ever trying to say that we are supposed to stop any charitable opportunities. What I am saying is not to neglect the Gospel. It’s not intolerance. It’s love. If you truly love them you will give them the real truth.

Picture a little boy that has been clothed, fed, and loved by Christians, but he was never told the Gospel. He dies and goes to hell. You and I, who clothed him and fed him, pass by on our way to the Glorified Gates, and he says, “I know you gave me a good life in the past, but why didn’t you tell me about where you’re going now?”

Ok… I don’t mean to guilt trip everyone one into caring, but I hope that gets my point across. Please – lets get the Gospel out. They’re depending on us, Jesus is telling us, and the Holy Spirit is empowering us… What more do we need?

“…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NASB)

Please don’t misunderstand me. I want to help people with their physical needs as well. We should. Jesus did this. However, His chief mission was to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Let’s share the Gospel in a way that feeds others, in a way that clothes others, in a way that truly shows them we care… but let us never loose sight of the whole purpose of the Gospel – saving mankind from sin, Hell, death, and the grasp of the devil!

Well, I just got done visiting my dad and family in Minnesota, and I’m about to fly out from Minnesota to Texas. I’ve had a lot of fun here. It was really cool to be able to fit in with everyone so, very well. I’ve never met several of these people, but a couple of them, I feel like I’ve known for years. I’ve really had fun with them.  I even got to connect with a Calvary Chapel pastor while I was here.  He’s the pastor of Calvary Chapel St. Paul, MN.  I really enjoyed eating a Chicago dog and drinking some coffee with him a couple of days ago.  He knows the Markey family and knew George Markey Sr. before he left for Ukraine the first time.

Some of my Minnesota family…

The weather is kind of funny right now.  In Minnesota of all places, we didn’t have a white Christmas.  It’s been sunny out the past couple of days, and I’ve really enjoyed it.  Others here miss the snow, though… haha.  I told them, “You know… God knows I’m a Texan, and He’s being nice.”  This place can be even colder than L’viv, Ukraine, and I’m really glad that God’s holding off the cold, at least until I leave.

I’ll be in Texas for about a week and will be celebrating New Year’s with my mom and family down there.  Thanks a lot for everyone that prayed about my stomach issues from the last blog post.  I’m feeling WAY better and I should be just fine.  I still feel like I could be getting a little sick, but I don’t feel sick to my stomach at all.

You guys can see more pictures of my trip so far in America on my Facebook page under the Christmas 2011 album (or just click here).  I’ll be updating that more ‘n’ more while I’m here.  You may have to be signed into Facebook and added as a friend of mine to access those photos, though.  😛

Please be praying for my trip back.  I haven’t purchased my ticket yet.  I’m still trying to work out the exact dates with my travel agent.  Thanks!