LarryMcCrary.com
Connect with Larry Twitter Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Archive for the ‘Ideas’ Category


Posted on March 3, 2010 - by Larry - 3 Comments

Vision

I had a vision the other day that I want to tell you about.

I have been spending some time with Michael Hyatt on his blog about how to create a  Life plan. He writes about how we need to write out what we see as our preferred future in several key areas of our life. Your preferred vision is what you want your life or aspect of your life to look like.

Maybe I am in dreamland but still I think it would be cool if I could say this about my work here in Germany.

Here is my preferred future.

I am investing weekly in several national church planters who are starting churches in their communities amongst various people groups. They are also discipling potential church planters in their church plants.

I am working with the national church. I am praying with the pastors of churches in this area. They are helping me know the culture. They are introducing me to other key people. I am helping them by supporting them through prayer and serving them in ways they feel are beneficial. I am trying to influence them regarding discipleship and church planting.

I am working with several other Christian organizations who have ministries in our city. We pray together. We dream together and we find ways where we can work together on projects. We are advocates for one another and we want to see each other succeed.

I am building a network of people who work in the marketplace. These people come from various parts of the world and they are here for often for just a season. They are believers and want to live their lives as salt and light in the marketplace and community. Because the work in the marketplace they have a type of credibility that I do not have. They are untapped resources for most of us. These Skybridge Community workers pray for one another, support one another, work with local ministries and churches. I try to provide some training and equipping for them that will help them live missionally in a cross cultural setting.

I have a few churches from North America that are helping me at various levels.

I have a team of people who pray for our ministry on a weekly basis. Some of these prayer advocates have told me they pray for me daily. I keep them up to speed via email and I have a Facebook group by invitation only that prays for us.

I have a couple of churches who are partnering side by side with me on some projects that I am working on. They provide some strategic resources. They provide our team with some short term teams that help us facilitate the church planting strategy.

I also have a couple of churches and I am always looking for more that will be the missionary in an area or amongst a people group that I cannot be engaged with at this time. I see these churches has self starters, highly motivated and able to implement their strategies in these areas. I work with them. I try to give them support and encouragement. We have good communication.

I wish this was true for my ministry. I do well at some of these areas and I have a lot to do in other areas.

I can tell you it is one of my  goals when I look at what my ministry looks like.  It is what I am working towards.


Posted on December 16, 2009 - by Larry - 2 Comments

Church Planting in Germany

As you may know we live in Germany. We have grown to love this place. Our life here is different than the life we had in Spain. My wife teaches in a high school. I travel a lot it seems with my work but I am able to have have some incredible opportunities to pour into the life of other workers. I also have the privilege of helping churches in the states in connecting with these people.

A couple of weeks ago I was able to go teach on the book of Acts at the Bible Seminary of Bonn. I always enjoy my time there. The students have such a great passion for the Lord and to serve Him.

This week I want to introduce you to a friend of mine here in Germany. Mark Wagner National training strategist for the IMB in Germany Austria and Switzerland. I have known Mark for almost 8 years now. We have worked together at various levels. Mark would be very interested in connecting with some churches that would commit to a partnership here in Germany. You can contact him at wmwagner125@aol.com.

I hope you will take 3 minutes to look at this video that I put together of my time at the seminary. (I need to give a disclaimer that I am not the best videographer and editor but I am giving it a shot.)

You will also meet on this short video Andy Wiebke who works at the seminary. I hope if you are a pastor reading this blog or watching this video that you would consider contacting me about this idea. He would love to see some pastors and church planters that would mentor / coach a student.

If you have an interest in this please email me at larry@theupstreamcollective.org


Posted on November 23, 2009 - by Larry - 4 Comments

a new type of missionary

Paris. Athens. Budapest. Frankfurt. Rome. Madrid. Vienna. Stockholm. Basel.

The urban centers of Europe are the new frontier of missions.

Stockbroker. Artist. Lawyer. Electrician. Professor. Programmer.

And these are its missionaries.

While Europe doesn’t often spring to Americans’ minds when they hear the word “missions,” the spiritual need in the region is overwhelming. Less than 2 percent of the population of most European countries is known to follow Christ.

In societies so numbed to the institutional church, cultural rituals and historical Christendom, being a “missionary” often calls for something totally different than the traditional face of North American missions.

What if the most effective missions meant simply living life with purpose among the peoples of Europe, working in a normal job, building friendships with co-workers and neighbors?

What if churches in the United States actively participated in sending out their best church members, not as missionaries, but simply as themselves? What if churches prayed and dreamed with those workers about how to live their lives as salt and light in their new European hometowns? What if churches took back – and took full advantage of – their role in the Great Commission?

Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be about anyway?

check out – www.skybridgecommunity.net

The above post was written by a member of the Skybridge Community.



Posted on November 4, 2009 - by Larry - 5 Comments

language learning, the final chapter

If you are reading this and you are a pastor or worship leader then I want to ask your forgiveness on the front end. Seriously. I am not a pastor nor a worship leader though I have been a pastor before. I have never tried this nor even thought of it til now. I know that Sunday comes around every 7 days and your weeks can become quite full. The last thing you want is for someone who is currently not doing this to try to suggest some new ideas for worship. Thus, this is my asking forgiveness on the front end. Maybe some day I will pastor again. If I do I think I would possibly try these out.

Our idea is how do we help our church learn a foreign language?

Here are my “what if’’s”

What about getting a translator and have your sermon translated into another language one Sunday? Warning: If you typically speak for 30 minutes you would need to cut down how long your sermon would be since the translator repeats every word you say. smile.

What if the worship leader could teach the church a worship song in the desired language? This would take several weeks but I bet after a few weeks you would be surprised how well the people do. I have heard “Shout to the Lord” in at least 8 different languages so it the words are out there. Be sure to have the slides done correctly in the other language.

Read the scripture in another language. Print it out in English and the other language.

Have the prayer in a different language. (I am not talking about tongues. smile)

If you have a printed worship bulletin what about identifying some key words in another language?

Hola – Hello
Guten Tag- Good Day
Oracion - Prayer
Amistad – Friendship

Find ways you can introduce vocabulary words to your church. Perhaps with having bi-lingual posters or banners.

Play background music from another language or culture in the foyer or community areas of the church.

What if you did a little of this each week? In other words don’t just do this on a mission emphasis Sunday but do this for an entire series or make it a part of who you are as a church.

The BIG thing that we must realize in language learning is that most often it is a life long journey. We have to be learners!

Do you have other ideas that we could try?
Have you tried any of these?

more soon!


Posted on November 2, 2009 - by Larry - 3 Comments

language learning




I recently spent some time talking with Sarah Perkins who is a Language and Culture Resource Specialist for IMB, Europe. Thanks Sarah for your work on this and for passing it along for others to use.


Here are some of her ideas and some great links. This can be helpful for new workers coming to the field BUT I think there are some great ideas for churches who are wanting to be prepared to have an incarnational presence on the field whether that is a one week trip or sending long term teams. Here you go!


Language and Culture Preparation Before Field Arrival


Some Suggestions…

Read about cross-cultural expectations and adaptation.

  • American Cultural Baggage, by Nussbaum
  • Cross Cultural Connections and Cross Cultural Servanthood, by Duane Elmer
  • Culture from the Inside Out, by Alain Cornes
  • Figuring Foreigners Out and The Art of Crossing Cultures, by Craig Storti

Become familiar with principles and methods related to language learning.

Begin language learning now.

  • Take classes at a local university
  • Hold language classes at your church and taught by a qualified teacher

Some practical suggestions:

  • Learn at least the following things before arrival in the country:
    • Alphabet (if other than Latin-based)
    • Basic greetings and leave-takings
    • Basic expressions of politeness
    • Numbers
    • Basic expressions needed for shopping
    • Basic expressions needed for ordering food and drink
  • Learn about the country (history, current events, important people, worldview, etc)
  • Read the newspaper online
  • Listen to music in the target language
  • Locate speakers of the target language for conversation groups (such as language teachers in the local schools and universities)
  • Follow the progress of a national sports team in the country where you are going


Posted on October 29, 2009 - by Larry - 3 Comments

Start Up Ideas for Language Learning, part one

Here are some ideas about a few ways your church can get started learning a foreign language. Grammar and vocabulary are important. I love being able to say this. I hear this all of the time from my German teacher.

First up…

If you have an extra room in your church why not set up a computer lab or learning center? You can make use of such products as Rosetta Stone in the language of your choice. There are plenty of software packages around. I have enjoyed Rosetta Stone in Spanish and German.

Buy multiple copies of Rosetta Stone and make them available at your church for people to check out. Be sure to let people know about this option and but plenty of copies to go around. I would suggest putting a time limit for how long they can have the software checked out.

Do a google search and find a few online language learning tools that you can promote to the people trying to learn a language. Ask someone to be the resource person for your church in this endeavor.

Go online and find out if there are language learning schools in your city. One church found a site where they could learn Italian http://www.italianforfun.com/index.cfm located in their own city.

If there is an University or Junior College in the city find out if you could hire a professor to teach a class for a semester at your church or better yet encourage your people to enroll in a class at the university or Junior College. Offer some scholarship funds for people completing the course work.

Find out if you have a few language experts in your church and see if they will become tutors for your students.

Encourage your college students to take classes in the desired language.

Promote the idea amongst your college students to go to a country and do a study abroad program for a semester or two. They will not only learn the language but they will also have ministry opportunities while there.

Same suggestion but for people who have retired and can take several months to study abroad.

What are some other ideas?

Next Up .. Putting your language learning to practice in your own community.


Posted on October 26, 2009 - by Larry - 4 Comments

TCFL – Teaching Churches Foreign Languages


The Idea

I mentioned before about a conversation that I had with a church leader about his desire to see his church learn another language.

This thought has grabbed my attention so I thought what would I do if I pastored in the states again. Perhaps if any church needing a pastor reads my blog it would take care of that possibility but here goes the thought.

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) is a program that many universities and language schools have throughout the world. I guess our new institute can be called TCFL (Teaching Churches Foreign Languages) Okay, so that was bad. I really do not have a institute but this is the idea. How can a church learn a foreign language?

I guess before we get to the “how” we need to look at why would we even consider such a thing.

Many churches today that I work with have an interest in reaching a particular people group with the gospel. They have been going on short term trips all over the place and I hear quite often they are tired of being spread out and they are ready to focus their efforts.

As they think about the “going” implications they also realize that in many cases those same peoples live in North America and often in their own cities. They begin to think about how can they connect with them in their own community. Therefore when they are putting together their mission strategy they are thinking both where they are and in other parts of the world.

They are also saying that they feel the Great Commission belongs to the church and that they need to be doing more and outsourcing missions less. They want to be involved strategically.

With this being the context one key aspect of cross cultural missions is how do you have an incarnational presence amongst the people? Language obviously is one element of that. These churches are thinking “how can we be better prepared?” If it is one person or a family then they normally arrive on the field and start language school for an amount of time until they can become proficient in the target language. What needs to happen if you do this for an entire church?

Here are a few foundational points that I think are very important if you are really serious about TCFL.

Vision of leadership – I believe key leaders in the church have to have the vision to see this as important. I think if they are trying to learn the language and using the language themselves it will go a long way in creating ownership of the vision to the people. Some how the church has to constantly put this vision before the people on a regular basis. More ideas on this in another post.

Time and Resources- The church has to find some ways to put this into the two important value checkers: their calendar and their resources.

Think Small Groups – One of the best places to start is with the small group structure of the church. Perhaps it is with the first groups going out locally or internationally.

Committed locally and internationally- It is important to be trying to find ways to minister to the people in that language group locally. So this means the church needs to focus on the group(s) they are wanting to work with.

Identify your language talent in your church. Chances are you have some people in your church that are fluent other languages. Discover those people and the languages that they speak and start working with them.

I will post some ideas on how to see this happen soon.


Posted on October 21, 2009 - by Larry - 4 Comments

language learning

I heard today in a seminar that 56 percent of all Europeans can converse in two languages.
11 % can converse in three languages.

This is really amazing to me. It was a struggle to learn Spanish for me 8 years ago. Now I am trying to learn German but finding it very difficult. I do not know when I can make it to three.

We really want to see the church as missionary. We work with a lot of North American churches who are interested in finding ways to have an incarnational presence on the mission field. They want to be prepared when they come over on short term trips.

I have been thinking some about a conversation that I had last week with a church. They are wanting to have a presence in an European country. They are struggling with how can they do this and not know the language. They know they can use their English on occasion. Many Europeans speak English but they also know that in many cases in order to get to a deeper conversations they need to learn the heart language of the people.

They are exploring ways in which they can learn a second language as a church. Not just one or two people in the church or even the mission team that may be coming on a short term trip but they are wanting to emphasize learning a second language as a church so the Lord can use them both in the states and abroad.

I like this idea.

What do you think this could look like?
Any ideas that you can share about ways to go about this?


Posted on May 13, 2009 - by Larry - 0 Comments

The Chat Project in Spain


You have got to check out this really cool work that is going on in Spain. These are some really good friends that we have known for several years. Please remember them as they work there but also it is a great opportunity to connect with and work along side of them.

The Chat Project …
is a program that connects people around the world through intercultural exchanges. We are based out of beautiful San Sebastián, Spain, and working through a non-profit foundation that serves our area by providing quality English conversation with NATIVE English speakers.

The idea…
was developed over several years, beginning with the desire to be a contributing, valued part of the international community in order to have a voice in the global conversation. We are Christians intentionally engaging people in conversation, cultural events, concerts, exchange programs, and sharing the transformational truth we have experienced in Jesus. We love God, we love people, and we love to TALK!!!

The details…
We believe in the principle of “doing unto others” and have developed a program that treats people and language learners like we would LOVE to be treated. In our years of living overseas, we know what it is like to learn a second and third foreign language. Having time to practice with patient, native speakers is the ONLY way to improve your verbal proficiency. So, knowing that ENGLISH is the global language, we wanted to give Europeans, and especially those in the beautiful BASQUE region of SPAIN, the opportunity to do just that – practice with patient, native English Speakers whenever they want at our English Lounge.

But it gets even BETTER!!!
The other side of the program lets us “do unto others” for our US volunteers and partners. So many people want to be a part of the global community and share the love God has put in their hearts for the world. The CHAT Project provides the opportunity for all our volunteer partners to connect with internationals in meaningful ways even on short-term trips. In addition to 1 or 2 week volunteer trips with groups (English speaking travelers) who help us with special events and English immersion weekends, we rely on semester and year long volunteers to supplement our career staff. Our longer term volunteers have the opportunity to learn Spanish or Basque in the mornings and serve our community with The Chat Project in the afternoon.

If you want to learn more about this check out their site and get in touch with them here.


Posted on December 14, 2008 - by Larry - 3 Comments

Reverse Mission Opportunities

On my last post I wrote about what we could / should we consider doing differently regarding missionaries from North America. I work in Europe. Many people describe Europe as being post Christian. This is not to say that there are no believers here. This is not to say there are not churches here. Both exist but in smaller numbers. It is saying that many people believe that Christianity was tried here and does not work. Others may simply reject it or dismiss it or say it can be one of many choices.

Ministering in this context is quite a challenge. I must admit that my previous experience in the states focused more on attracting people to church. Now when I hear of people coming to Europe to “teach” us the latest attractional model I know I can sometimes be skeptical of such. For the attractional model assumes that people actually are looking for a church. This is not the case here.

BUT… what if…

I had a conversation with a worker yesterday and he gave me a neat idea. Part of my role is helping churches in North America connect with Europe. What do you think of when I say that? I know for me I use to always think that this means that we need a church in the states to come and HELP a church in Europe.

What if we reversed that? What if we had a church in America partner with a church in Europe not to be the great hope but to actually be a “learner”?

What if the church here in Europe could help you? Here is the idea on this. If North America is following the path of post Christian Europe could we not learn from some expressions of faith and community in Europe? How are they thriving or not amidst the world they are living in? What are they learning about the attractional model in a post Christian context? What can we learn from them that would better prepare our churches here in North America to reach our communities?

Anyone looking for such a partnership?


« Older Entries