missions – Public Christianity

When We Love the Least of These

August 12, 2013Frank

A little over a year ago I was part of a book club reading Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis, which documents her time in Uganda eventually adopting many of the kids she went to care for. I was reminded of her when I first heard the story behind the award-winning Documentary Blood Brother. Similarly, this documentary tells the story of Rocky Braat who went to an orphanage in India for a “short term” missions trip to find himself and found much more instead.

This story is compelling enough but Braat’s friend, filmmaker Steve Hoover didn’t stop there and has made a new documentary, Gennadiy about a priest in the Ukraine who “rescues” homeless kids from the streets. I put rescued in quotes because his methods are unorthodox to say the least. Hoover is currently running a Kickstarter campaign that concludes tomorrow.
‘
So this is supposed to be a “music Monday” post, so I added the video for Audio Adrenaline’s song, Kings and Queens. As a parent, seeing children suffer tears at my heart but as a Christian, seeing people like Katie Davis, Rocky Braat, Fr Gennadiy, and the Hands and Feet Project from Audio Adrenaline encourage me that there is hope out there.

Without further ado, here are some videos. Grab a tissue.

Flashback Friday: Global Reach

May 24, 2013Frank

Reposted from last May and still appropriate for “Missions Month”. The writers’ conference I referenced isn’t until October this year, so if you’re interested you can follow that link below.

****

Last weekend I attended the Antelope Valley Christian Writers’ Conference. This was my fourth or fifth time attending, and while the pointers and tips are helpful, the fruit in attending is really found in the fellowship and encouragement to keep plugging away. Do I have a manuscript that I’m shopping? No. Am I taking baby-steps by submitting work to magazines and anthologies? No. Am I actively building my platform through social media? No, not really. So it would be easy to look at my “progress” and be discouraged and maybe even quit. So I need the swift kick in the butt at a forum such as this to continue on.

Meanwhile, last night my small group study met to discuss the fourth chapter of David Platt’s Radical, titled “The Great Why of God”. David has many versions of this succinct summary of God’s purpose for our lives: God’s extravagant grace is poured out on us so that his extravagant glory may be known in every nation. Put another way, God blesses us so that we can use those blessings to bring him Glory here, there, and everywhere (Acts 1:8). Or, God saves us to make his salvation known to the whole world. (Psalm 67)

Coincidentally (there are no coincidences with the Holy Spirit!) one of the keynotes last weekend was titled, “Until the Whole World Hears” (which tempted me to re-post this entry from last year rather than taking the time to churn out a new post this morning). The main point of this lesson was that through writing, God has given me the opportunity to reach the entire world for his glory. That sounds lofty, absent a bestseller. But through the Internet and social media, this is really true. Last night I used the example of my Twitter account. I am followed, or I follow, at least one person from every continent on this globe sans Antarctica. In my stream last night I had updates from literally all over the world. That may not be that big of a deal, since how many Twitter followers actually “know” me, but the truth is that through Twitter I have had conversations with an Elder in London, a missionary in Thailand, and a campus ministry in Indonesia. I also shared about when one of my friends got married a couple of weeks ago to a woman he met on the mission field, his wedding ceremony was Skyped all over the world. Another of my good friends here Skypes every Sunday service to his mother in Argentina.

Now I don’t know if this blog will be read by anyone outside of the town I live in or beyond my immediate family, but if I don’t write then no one will read it. In this world-wide web, I may be a whisper in a din or one among a multitude of bloggers, but I still have worldwide impact through the power of my words. And God only knows where that will lead me. One of my good blogger-buddies, Duane Scott, simply by sponsoring a child, will be travelling to Zimbabwe to write about his experience and the needs of the children there. Another of my friends, Jason Stasyszen, used his blog platform to raise money to adopt a child from Japan. And coincidentally (what did I say about the Holy Spirit?) one of the contacts I made this weekend, a pastor in Chicago named Dan Darling, is working on a book with another blogger buddy, Dan King. And what was Dan’s first book? The Unlikely Missionary.

Until the whole world hears. And it is a small world, after all.

Seeing The Invisible Mission Field

February 18, 2013Frank

Recently the National Museum of the American Indian held a symposium on the depiction of Native Americans in sports. Being hosted in Washington, DC, the conversation naturally steered towards their NFL team, the Washington Redskins. The mayor of Washington has gone on record to oppose a new stadium for the football team inside city limits unless they drop the name.

A few weeks ago a blog previewed the hats that Major League Baseball teams would be wearing for spring training, showing a sample image of the Atlanta Braves’ cap featuring an image of their mascot, the “screamin’ indian”, Chief Knockahoma, which hasn’t been used since 1986. After considerable backlash, the Braves are wearing their traditional script A on their hats.

And don’t get me started on the legal dispute over the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

I’m not going to weigh in on one side or the other. But I want to call it to our attention. How many of us cheer for a team, or wear a particular logo, without consideration of where that name or brand came from? The AP story on the Native American symposium highlighted a fan who wore his Redskins gear and was so moved by what he heard that he ditched them. He simply never thought of it before.

Face it, the Native American is the nameless, faceless race that used to inhabit North America and is often depicted as the bad guy in classic westerns. How many of you know a Native American? Depending on where you live, it is unlikely you’ve ever seen one. The idea of a sports mascot named the Braves, Warriors, or Chiefs doesn’t cause us to flinch. A super-fan dressed up in a war bonnet with his face painted might strike us as odd, but not necessarily racist. Familiarity may breed contempt, but unfamiliarity breeds indifference.

We may not know them, we may not see them, but they’re still there. They are still a strong and proud people. And they, just like the “foreign savage” we send missionaries to overseas, need Jesus.

I’m sensitive to this myself. I grew up just outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation. I grew up with classmates who were Arapaho or Shoshone. Every year my hometown would celebrate the “Gift of the Waters” pageant, an artistic reenactment of a treaty signed between the Shoshone tribe and the US Government handing over some of their land that included a natural spring the tribe considered sacred. Before I went away to college I knew the family of the Shoshone chief, Joseph.

Many missionary organizations emphasize raising up indigenous people to lead in local ministry. Yet we’ve forgotten about the indigenous in our own country.

So I was sad to hear of the sudden passing of “Uncle” Richard Twiss, a Native American missionary and founder of Wiconi International. If you’ve never heard of him, don’t feel bad because neither had I. But I was ashamed because as much as I try to be “plugged in” to American Christian Culture I was ignorant to the man and this much-needed ministry.

Not knowing him, I can’t speak much about him. But I encourage you to check out what others have said honoring his memory. (Lots of links: Christianity Today, InterVarsity, Out of Ur, Urban Faith, Sojourners, Patheos, and Red Letter Christians)

Also please pray for the indigenous of this country. Twiss’ work is far from finished. May we be as moved to be missionaries to the natives of our own soil as we are to send missionaries to foreign lands.

Global Reach

May 8, 2012Frank

Until the whole world hears. And it is a small world, after all.

The Power to Change the World

February 8, 2012Frank

Imagine you’re God for a moment. (Maybe that’s easier for some of you than for others) Imagine all the hurt, all the suffering you see among the eight billion people inhabiting your creation. Imagine hearing all of their prayers, all of their cries, and all of their curses. Imagine having all the power to eliminate pain and anguish while appearing to do nothing about it.

If you’ve seen the movie Bruce Almighty, you can get a hint of this overwhelming responsibility. If you’re following along in the book, Kisses from Katie, you can get that sense seeing the Third World through the eyes of Katie Davis as she adjusts to her life in Uganda.

It would be tempting in her shoes to try and fix everything. The poverty. The orphans. The lack of education. The disease, especially HIV. Given her First World resources living in the Third World she could have the power to do it. But it would be too overwhelming to fix everything. So instead, Katie chooses simply to love. You can see the seeds being planted for her future family here. She recognizes that she can’t fix every problem and help every child, but she can teach and love as many children as come to her. Education leads to a better life. Love leads to a sense of family. Together those two “small” ingredients have the power to change that country.

Does God sit idly by as His creation suffers? Some would argue so. Of course, his creation is designed with some built-in rules regarding free-will, but surely He could do something, right? No, he doesn’t snap his fingers to eradicate all disease. But he does move in the hearts of people like Katie, or like you and me reading about her story, to give or to serve.

It is important to keep that perspective in mind when reading this book, and I pray Katie holds this perspective as she continues in her ministry. She, or you, or I, is not alone. God moves in the hearts of the rich and the poor. Some give up everything they have to move to the other side of the world. Others build successful business that they use to fund efforts that help faces they may never see. God moves in hearts to serve in the Third World as well as to serve in the urban ghetto. God moves in hearts to adopt starving children from Africa as well as to adopt fatherless African American children. When God is moving in the hearts of his people, there is no limit- geographic, economic, political, or racial- that cannot be overcome.

No, God is not idle. And Katie is not alone.

This blog is part of a book club reading Kisses from Katie. Jason Stasyszen and Sarah Salter are leading the discussion. Head over to their blogs for more.

Every Nation

June 29, 2011Frank

I love maps. And I especially love old maps. I don’t really know why, I’ve just always thought it was neat to look at old maps and see how the world has changed- borders move or whole countries disappear, old maps guessing what the western hemisphere looks like, and so on. When I became a Christian, these maps began to mean something more. I could look at a globe and see where the Gospel of Jesus needed to be spread. It wasn’t long before I would use maps to help me pray for the global Church.

When my wife and I were first dating I shared this with her. She then took the time to make me a desktop map, listing out all of the countries in which my fellowship of churches either had church plants or missions work. Now that was a prayer aid! I still have that map on my desk at work. I often wonder what someone thinks when they look at China and see “Red Dragon 1” since the church there is underground.

This past Sunday, my church and a sister church we help support raised over $150,000 for missions work. (full disclosure: the entire sum, regrettably, does not go directly towards missions. I’m on our church’s board and we’re working on that) While I was encouraged to see us exceed our goal ($130k) I’m still left wanting to do more. I’ve talked about this before, but there is no denying the need to spread the Gospel to every people group on the globe. Even as borders change, the people are still there. Thinking “every nation” is too limited.

An interesting thing I recently learned: the only verb in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is not “go” but rather “make disciples”. The tense in Greek literally translates “make disciples as you go” which is where we get our translation of “Go…” Keep that in mind as you listen to this lesson from David Platt from the Southern Baptist Convention two weeks ago. It is pretty much a rehash of Chapter 5 from his book Radical Together, but it’s worth seeing with your own eyes and hearing in his own voice the passion he has for this subject. (he starts at the 8 minute mark)

The Mission Field in Front of You

May 26, 2011Frank

Yesterday I talked about world missions with the desire to preach the World until the whole world hears. But doesn’t the “whole world” include the world right outside our doors? Take my co-worker, whom I mentioned organizes mission trips to Russia and Mexico. During his 4-5 hour drive on the way down to Mexico, he will drive by on the order of ten million first-generation Mexicans. Most of us will never get the chance to take a missions trip, but how hard would it be to board a bus to the inner-city?

Last week I had the blessed opportunity to visit the headquarters of World Impact and take a tour of their Teen Center. I find it funny that an urban missions organization calls itself “World” Impact and is headquartered in the heart of Los Angeles. Until I consider the above. The truth is, the whole world is represented in LA, so I can spread the gospel to the “whole world” by driving only an hour or so. I like World Impact’s vision: they consider urban areas a mission field, “missionaries” move-in to run their programs, and they plant house churches in blighted neighborhoods where they then train up local pastors and lay-leaders. An inspiring model, quite honestly. In the process they’ve opened up schools, recreation centers, and medical clinics just as you would on the foreign mission field.

Completely coincidentally, I had the opportunity to hear World Impact’s founder, Dr. Keith Phillips, speak at a National Day of Prayer function. His short talk blew my socks off. He started by himself in Watts in the mid 60’s. (think about that for a second) Once he realized the Projects were too tall a task for only him, he solicited the help of Biola University and soon he and 300 students were reaching out to more than 3000 inner-city youth.

If your vision has been focused on the mission field overseas, consider: in LA 45,000 people slept in garages in want of a home while 45,000 more slept on the street in want of a garage (citing Dr. Phillips’ numbers to the best of my recollection). A million and a third people in the inner-city of LA do not have access to a hospital. On average, most children who grow up in the inner-city will never travel further than five miles from where they were born. Those stats stirred my heart and Dr. Phillips didn’t even mention crime rates, average income, the number of children growing up without fathers and mothers without husbands (the modern-day orphan and widow), the ridiculously low life expectancy, and I could go on and on.

Yes, foreign missions are important. And if we don’t have the opportunity to go, we should generously give what we can to support those who do. But at the same time, we cannot neglect the needs right in front of us.

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)

Missionary Man

May 25, 2011Frank

You can tell it’s that time of year when churches are fundraising for foreign missions. Videos are being posted on Facebook from sponsored churches and missionaries are making the rounds to local congregations. Churches may be raising money to send someone from their own congregation long term or for the summer, or they may be raising money to support a church in the mission field. My church is in the midst of the latter, supporting churches in the Baltic and Nordic regions of Europe.

That may not sound sexy, but both are hit with unique challenges. In the Baltics, they still bear the scars of the former Soviet Union. I met a guy last week who was in Russia for nine years. He was in the middle of Siberia. We talked about how when communism fell everybody wanted to go to Russia, but few made it further than Moscow. In the meantime, the former Soviet Republics were suffering for being a forgotten mission field. In the Nordics, the situation is different. They are not necessarily hurting financially; they are first-world, yet they are taxed to such an extent that there is very little disposable income. No disposable income translates into an inability to pay ministry staff, rent facilities, or otherwise maintain an active church (unless that church is state-sponsored). Before I moved to California, the church I was a part of supported churches in the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos who face abject poverty, communism/dictatorships, and many other obstacles to the Gospel. So they, too are on my heart.

I can’t embed the Flash videos from Facebook, but here are updates from the Baltics and from the Pacific Rim. (I’m not sure if the privacy settings will let you through or not, they’re not my videos)

At the same time, there’s a risk of being tempted to just throw money at the mission field without a personal stake. An attitude of “let someone else deal with it.” David Platt gives an example in his book, Radical, where he was speaking at another congregation and was being thanked by the local pastor:

“Brother David, we are so excited about all that God is doing in New Orleans and in all nations, and we are excited you are serving there. And, brother, we will continue to send you a check so we don’t have to go there ourselves…
I remember a time at my last congregation when a missionary from Japan came to speak. I told that church that if they didn’t give financial support to this missionary, I was going to pray that God would send their kids to Japan to serve with that missionary…And my church gave that man a laptop and a whole lot of money.” (Radical, pg 63)

So I admire those who are willing to pack up their things and actually put boots on the ground. One of my coworkers organizes semi-annual mission trips to Russia while also spending a long weekend in Mexico quarterly. One of these days, I tell myself, I’m going to tag along.

Once upon on a time, my family of churches shared the attitude of “go anywhere, do anything in the name of Christ.” As we’ve all gotten older that attitude seems to have waned. It will be easy for some to give exponentially to these foreign missions, while I recognize in the current economic climate it will be hard for others. But I wonder if it would be easier for all of us if there was an actual passion on our hearts for that mission field. That if we can’t be boots on the ground, we can pray fervently, we can keep in contact with the churches overseas (made even easier today with Facebook and Skype) to encourage and strengthen them in the faith, and we may share their struggles with others to possibly inspire and encourage another to “stand in the gap” in our place. That together we may share the Gospel until the whole world hears.