Archive for the ‘Missions’ Category
Posted on July 31, 2010 - by Larry - 1 Comment
Intrigued
This weekend I have been in Norfolk, Virginia. I had some great conversations with three pastors in this city. I am very much a novice at what I am about to write but want to learn more about this subject. I am intrigued.
This area is sometimes called Hampton Roads and then at other times it is known by the distinct cities it represents. The area is highly affected by the amount of people in the military that live here. I am intrigued about what ministry looks like in these type of places. I greatly respect these men who are leading their churches to minister to here. Thanks for spending time with me.
My observation:
What a challenge to pastor in an area like this!
What an opportunity to pastor in an area like this!
Potential Challenges -
The transitional nature of the community and how that affects the church.
Building continuity amidst transition.
Caring for families as they are separated due to deployment.
Potential opportunities -
Your church members move all over the world.
Empowering your members to live missionally wherever they are sent.
Being able to minister to the families in the community during times of transition and tragedy.
Posted on July 10, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
Staying!
Several years ago I was talking with a couple who had been on the mission field for over 30 years. I asked the couple about what was the one thing that kept them on the field over the years.
Her answer was quite profound- She looked at her husband and said “we have never both wanted to leave on the same day”. I was probably a couple of years into our time on the field. I did not quite understand her response then. I do now!
Why do missionaries leave the field?
I have asked myself this very question recently. Our family has been overseas for almost nine years now. Last week I was reading in the Evangelical Mission Quarterly a very good article on this topic. It was an executive summary about The Engage! by James Nelson.
The Engage! is a study comprised of surveys of on the field missionaries and interviews with former field workers. It is across 18 different sending agencies. This blog post does not give the results of the survey. I recommend picking up a copy online or hard copy of the journal. They consistently produce good stuff!
What really grabbed by attention were the questions that field workers need answered in their lives. These are in no particular order. As I read them I recognized some would be more important to me than others but I saw how all of them can be relevant to longevity on the field.
Is my family provided for?
Do I have real friends?
Does my agency listen and speak to me respectfully?
Do I have the support of those at home? (I am in the middle of a series on www.theupstreamcollective.org regarding the Sending Church which is an important key for on the field workers.
Does someone know and care about what I do?
Do we (colleagues and partners) live and work well in community?
Is the work progressing with purpose?
Does integrity flow from the top of my agency?
Am I free to do what needs to be done?
Does my agency prepare people to be effective?
I think most of us would agree that our calling is paramount in the missionary experience. However, the truth is that our circumstances quite often affects our calling.
What questions on this list are important to you? How would you answer these questions in your private journal?
What would you add?
more soon,
Larry
Posted on June 30, 2010 - by Larry - 1 Comment
Home and Abroad
I had the bright idea this month to take a 5 week intensive German class in a nearby city. Each day I go to class. It is a class that meets from 1 – 5 pm each afternoon. The class is interesting in that there are 12 people or so in the class from 9 different countries: Italy, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, USA, Turkey, Bosnia, Kenya, Serbia and 10 if counting Tennessee (that would be me).
For me it really puts in perspective the Great Commission and in particular the part about Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. I personally do not feel this is an either / or Commission but rather a “both/and”.
No matter where you live there will likely be people from the uttermost parts of the earth living in your city. How does your strategy include this? If you are willing to take a trip around the world to an unreached people group then I believe you should be willing to do the same at home.
Missions is now Home and Abroad at the same time.
Together.
Compartmentalization should be over. We need to have strategies in our churches and in our mission networks/ organizations that have a global vision. Take a quick look at this video.
Jet Set Paris // Daniel from The Upstream Collective on Vimeo.
Posted on May 14, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
More than Money!
I am adopted. Some of you may know this about me. I was adopted when I was almost 2 years old though my adoptive parents took care of me much earlier. I am a huge advocate for adoption. I am thankful that my parents chose me and gave me a home. When I was a pastor in the states I actually served on a local board for Bethany Christian Services in our city. It was a very meaningful time for me and a way I could honor my parents who adopted me. I am so thankful for people who adopt children. They are my heroes. Every child deserves loving and caring parents no matter where they live. Now that I think about it I may even start writing some posts about adoption.
BUT since this is part of my series on developing partnerships with churches I need to transition to this topic. Here it goes!
I also think that every missionary deserves a loving and caring church that they can call home. Some of my readers may think this is a no-brainer. However, you would be surprised how many workers do not have a place they can truly call home. They do not have a church that supports them by:
Praying for them in specific ways
Giving care to them
Holding them accountable spiritually and strategically
Supporting them
Being involved in their ministry on the field
Simply talking to them and being interested in their work.
These six things can make such a difference in the life and total health of a missionary and his / her family. In many ways these workers need a church who will adopt them and call them their own. I know this may sound silly but I do not think so. This is my big question to every potential worker coming on the field: “Do you have a sending church and how are they involved in sending you?” My question to churches who are sending out someone is “how do you plan on staying in touch and how to you plan on supporting them in ways other than financial assistance?” Churches please do not simply outsource this to mission agencies. Most missionaries want your involvement even after they are on the field. I would add that we all need your involvement.
As I have written before about Acts 13 and beyond there was a connection to Paul and the sending church Antioch. There was an on-going relationship. This is vital to the life of the worker in my opinion. Missionaries need more than money!
I am not going to start an adoption agency for workers but if you need help with this let me know. If you are a church looking for a person to adopt or if you are a worker needing a church to adopt you please let someone know.
I will do all I can. Feel free to email me at larry@theupstreamcollective.org
Posted on May 6, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
On-going communication, Part Four
Previously I wrote about what to say and how to say if given a chance. An important key to me is not just a “one time” communication but having “on-going” communication with the church.
As overseas workers we need to find ways to create advocacy with our churches. We cannot afford to be out of touch with them. We definitely do not want to only come around when we need something. Our motto should not be “pray, pay and get out of the way”. The Great Commission was given to the church and we need to help the church in this venture. I have some friends whom I think do an incredible job with having “on-going” communication and their secret is that they allot some of their time each week to develop partnerships and communicate with them formally and informally. They put it on their calendar.
Here are some other ideas. Feel free to let me know what works for you.
Some people write email updates and create an email distribution list. I like the idea of this. I always make a point to reply personally to those who reply to my general letter. This keeps the conversation going and personalizes it more in my opinion.
If you need to keep security in mind you can always send your email to a person and they could distribute it for you. I also use a “b/cc” so as not to show everyone on the list who I am sending it to. It also helps curtail those who “reply to all” when they get an email from you.
Others may print out a newsletter and mail it though I think that number has greatly declined in the recent years with such connectivity with the internet. I know we have some people in one church who print out our email updates and send it to people who do not use the computer. We are thankful for them doing this for over 9 years now.
Create a private Facebook group where you can tell your advocates about prayer requests as they come up or you can message the entire group at one time.
Then there is Twitter. For me it is more for general requests and not so much extremely personal ones.
Others create a You Tube account and upload short videos about their work.
All of these social networking tools can be inserted into your blog or website for your advocates to be able to connect with you when they have time. Again, you have to decide how public you desire your work to be. Once it is in on the internet the world can see.
I hear more and more of workers doing skype calls with the church for a morning service or with a small group. This is a great way to have a presence in a church on a regular basis. It is a way you can be in front of the people while you are on the field.
I am also a huge fan of the partner church having a designated advocate that is tasked with regular communication with their workers. Many churches are project driven but I am finding more and more churches who have a person either on staff or a member who is the contact person for the overseas workers. This ensures on-going connectivity between the church and the worker. This person can help tell your story to the church. If you have regular communication with this person then your work spreads quickly. I know some people who have advocates in several churches and so the worker spends time communicating with their advocates knowing that they will tell their story to others.
Next Up
What about the worker who does not have a partner church? I have an idea!
Posted on April 27, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
How do you say it? Part Three
Let’s be honest.
When you hear that a missionary is coming to speak at your church what is the first thing that comes to your mind? “It would be a good day to volunteer in the nursery?”
Do you have mental images from your childhood of missionaries wearing interesting clothing and bringing their slides and some unusual food?
Do you automatically tune out?
Do you get excited to hear what God is doing in another part of the world?
One challenge that we face as missionaries is that we are not living in the states anymore. It does not take long to be out of touch? It is also quite possible when we re-enter a church that we are in extreme culture shock ourselves. For better or for worse our lives are different.
In most cases the churches that we are involved in internationally look and feel quite different than the churches we come from in North America.
So how do we communicate once we get a chance?
Here are 10 things that we can do that may help us prepare to speak.
- Spend some time online researching the church where you are speaking.
- Listen to a few of their sermons online or via podcast. Get to know them.
- Talk with some people or the pastor of the church to get an idea of where they are regarding missions and partnerships.
- Talk with the person who set up your talk regarding clear expectations of your time and talk.
- Use less time than you are given.
- Do not feel that you need to razzle and dazzle them with your power points and stuff. Keep it simple.
- If you do have something that you can hand them at the end it can serve as a good reminder for them to pray for you.
- Use current stories of your work.
- I think that slides and videos can be great ways to communicate your story but be sure to get there in enough time to give it a test run and make sure it all works. How many times have I seen it fall a part on this one!
- Ask some of your supporters whom you communicate with on a regular basis about ideas of what they would want to hear.
Feel free to add to this list.
Posted on April 15, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
What to Say? Part Two
On my last post I noted some examples from scripture about conversations that seemed to have happened between the worker and the church.
- Telling stories of the work
- To let the church know how the workers are doing
- Encouragement to the worker
- To give encouragement to the church
- Received them in joy and honor
- To give praise for what God had done
The church and missionary should have an on-going relationship. If the worker is sent through a mission organization all three entities need to know how to relate to one another regarding the work. The church should never simply hand over the missionary to the sending agency and feel like their work is done.
The church needs to stay connected with the worker even after they are on the field and even if they are part of a mission organization. The mission organization cannot take the place of their church. The Great Commission was given to the church. The workers need the on-going prayer, care, nurture, strategic involvement and accountability from the church.
So if there is regular communication between the worker and his / her church then it is quite natural for the worker to report as he returns home. You would not believe how often I hear those who say they rarely hear from their home church unless they (the worker) initiate the conversation.
Another caution that I want to address is that since it takes money to live on the field then often the missionary lives in a tension between reporting about their work and raising support for their work. If the only time the church hears from their missionaries is during a point of financial need then that message can get old to the church. It also can put the missionary in a position of needing to have some thing spectacular to report on. Quite frankly this can hard if you are serving in a new area, a non-harvest area or if you serve in more of a “support” role. We sometimes tend to elevate certain types of workers above others.
So..
What do you say to your church if you have
5 min?
10 min?
30 min?
What do you say if you have one hour in a Small Group Setting?
What do you say if you have put together a Special Event such as a concert, dinner, art exhibit?
What is your story?
What do you think they need to hear?
What do you think they want to hear?
Next week we will look at “How do you say it?”
As always would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Posted on April 13, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
What to say? Part One
Last week I wrote about “How do you report back home?”
This week I want to take a quick look at “What do you say once you are there?”
David Hesselgrave in Planting Churches Cross-Culturally wrote regardless of how you deliver the message (we will get to that one the next post) we need to communicate two things. Dr. Hesselgrave has studied and written much about Pauline Mission so I underlined these points in his book.
He says that these two objectives need to be kept in mind (p.427)
- To achieve a thorough understanding of what God has accomplished through the missionary evangelist and how this fits into His purpose for the church.
- To achieve a full participation of all Christians in the missionary efforts of the local church.
I started looking up places in scripture where we see the church gathered.
Paul after the second missionary journey
22When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. Acts 18:22
Paul after the third missionary journey
17When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. Acts 21:17-19
Epaphroditus to the church at Philippi
28I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, Philippians 2:28-29
Tychicus and Onesimus to Colossae
7Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. Colossians 4:7-9
Can you see a common pattern in these verses?
Here is what I see.
It seems that their gatherings consisted of
- Telling stories of the work
- To let the church know how the workers are doing
- Encouragement to the worker
- To give encouragement to the church
- Received them in joy and honor
- To give praise for what God had done
The church and missionary should have an on-going relationship. The second part of this post will come out on Thursday. Until then…
Posted on March 10, 2010 - by Larry - 1 Comment
The Sending Church – my favs list
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post here about a few observations from my backpacking trip across Europe last month. I want to write some more on the topic of the importance of a sending church. I feel a lot like a musician that only has a few songs. So this one is a Fav and I sing it a lot. I really believe it to be important.
I receive quite a few emails or calls from people who are interested in leaving their home culture and moving to a new one either in the marketplace or with a mission sending organization. I really love this part of my ministry. I celebrate what God may be doing in their life. I think I always end up talking about their “sending” church.
We often hear a compelling message in a worship service, read a text from scripture or even sense in our prayers a calling to go overseas. All of these are ways that I believe the Lord speaks to us regarding missions. I also believe one’s call is in the context of community.
As I read Acts 13 I see a church that was devoted to the Word, prayer, fellowship and the Lord’s Supper as Acts 2 describes. Out of this church we see the Holy Spirit calling out Saul and Barnabas. Next we see the church returning to prayer and fasting and then they laid hands on them and sent them out. What happened between the time they heard from the Holy Spirit and sent them on their way? The Bible says they prayed and fasted again. Could the church been affirming this call on their lives? I believe conversations were taking place in the church about their sending Saul and Barnabas. We do not get all of the details other than they prayed and fasted and then sent them on their way. But we do see throughout Acts a relationship with the church at Antioch with their missionaries. In fact after they went on their trip they came back for a time with the church (Acts 14:27). I believe that the importance of having a sending church is paramount to the success of the cross-cultural workers.
Way too often the church has outsourced this to mission agencies or denominational entities. The Great Commission was given to the church. This is true in their church planting strategies locally and internationally. The church needs to have an active role in the sending of their people.
The sending church can help the cross-cultural worker in many ways:
Discipleship
Accountability
Strategic involvement
Logistical support
Member Care (this is the term mission organizations will sometimes use to describe pastoral care or counseling)
Prayer
Ministry needs
I am sure there are more.
The cross-cultural worker sent from a church is in a sense one way that the church can have an incarnational presence on the field.
The reason why I talk to people about this is that I do not want to see them coming overseas without a strong relationship and affirmation from their sending church and I do not want to see that stop once they go on the field. The churches involvement and responsibility does not stop once they physically leave the church and go on their mission.
So if you are a church what process or plan do you have in place to help members serve overseas? How do you stay involved?
If you are a mission organization / network how do you work with sending churches to facilitate a three way partnership ?
If you are an individual or couple and feel a calling overseas how are you involving your home church?
Just some thoughts.
I would love to hear yours?
Posted on February 19, 2010 - by Larry - 0 Comments
7 reasons why I like working with young churches
I am headed to Atlanta to be with my good friend David Putman at ChurchPlanters.com Velocity conference. So I am on the road again.
I always love going to MountainLake church near Atlanta. If you are attending this conference be sure to look me up. I would love to see you.
This past week while leading our Upstream Jet Set tour across Europe I was able to think about some of the reasons why I like to work with young churches or church plants on the field. This does not mean I do not like working with other churches. I am just making some observations about why new churches can be great in missions. I think they make great partnerships for cross cultural church planting teams, working along side a national churches, or a church plant on the field.
So here is my list.
1. They are self starters. Since they are church plants they usually know how to get things started. They live in a constant state of start up mode. They know how to start something out of nothing.
2. They can live with ambiguity. This is life on the mission field. We rarely know what lies ahead on the field. This is how church planters roll. They are fluid.
3. They are explorers. They love to take a look into the unknown. Their exploring often leads to creative ideas for missional living.
4. They have lots of energy. They work very hard. They do whatever it takes to get the job done.
5. They are bold in their witness. I have noticed that most of these planters and young churches actively find ways to share their faith in natural ways.
6. They are practical. They have a keen sense of what works and they move towards that end.
7. They are risk takers. They do not like to fail but they are not afraid of failing or taking a chance.
