Post-class thoughts

I'm not sure this will come out as one coherent post of organized thought, so I'm not really going to try. Just try to track with me, and we'll see where my reflections take me...

Strategy for Kingdom Advance--the name of a course that could have been more accurately titled, "Right on, let's discuss this!" For a postmodern young person, such as myself, this type of learning format was highly enjoyable and very effective. It seemed like whatever topic came to mind, so long as it was in some way relevant to church or missions, was open for discussion. And in this way, I learned about church planting movements, cross-cultural evangelism, insider movements, reaching this generation through media such as Facebook, spiritual warfare, and even arranged marriages.

Since the class, I've become more and more aware that God needs to be in the center of any kingdom advance movement, and God needs to be the primary actor. His Spirit will impress in individuals ways in which He wants them to carry out His kingdom strategy, and it is their job to be obedient and faithful to God's call. The church really messes things up so often by preoccupying themselves with how everyone else is carrying out God's call to advance His kingdom. "Person A is wrong because God has impressed upon my heart that He wants to reach such-and-such people group via such-and-such strategy." Well, fine! That's wonderful--praise God! Be obedient to His call, but just because God has called you to this, doesn't mean He's calling the universal Church to the same strategy. He may call you to one specific strategy plan, while calling someone else to another strategy plan to fill in the gaps where your strategy is lacking. Don't you think God knows what He's doing when He works in the hearts of individuals? Not all are called to tentmaking. Not all are called to church planting. Not all are called to children's ministry. And certainly not all are called to pastoring. Leave every man to the Holy Spirit.

And how dare we determine who the Holy Spirit can use and what He can do! What is heresy except what is clearly out of line with Scripture? What is inappropriate except what Scripture deems as inappropriate? We see God moving in controversial movements such as the insider movements happening in Muslim countries or the house church movements of China--is that not the Spirit of God moving? Sure, there may be some false teaching, but is that absent from our own churches? We may be tentative about new believers doing the bulk of evangelism, but if their frontline is larger than ours and if they are more effective in reaching their frontline than we are, then why not? Why stop them? This is about advancing the kingdom of God, not about crafting church the way WE see fit. We need to get on board God's mission, because He is not about to lend His powers to the fulfillment of our mission.

I suppose I'll end on that note. I'm not very good at this blog thing--not when I don't update regularly. Efforts to prevent addiction to such forms of self-dissemination have, in a sense, crippled my ability to publish updates on the inner workings of my mind. Very unlike my generation, I know. One day if there's a need, I could probably get into it...

Thoughts in Class

• Moral law is written on the hearts of men. Though incomplete in their understanding, it's evident in people of all ages in all cultures, no matter how undeveloped and unreached. However, as examined by C.S. Lewis and in my observations from working with morally uneducated children, moral conscience is often still impelled by selfishness.
• Is poverty necessarily evil? Sure, we seek to eradicate it, but I think it's a very opportune means to reach hearts. When we reach those humble hearts and help them rise above their poverty, then they can reach out and do the same for others. The Bible speaks so much blessing to the poor.
• Are we seeing individuals or are we seeing numbers? Dangerous trap missionaries (and perhaps church-planters, especially) should watch out for.
• Social v. Evangelism: linked, for sure. I see evangelism as the heart motive in social aid. Of all the gifts I give to others, the gospel is the best of the best I can offer. By meeting social needs first, I establish a relationship based not on my "religious agenda," but on my love for the person. And because of that love, I want to give that person Jesus, too.
• Process of salvation: I've heard it said that when we evangelize, our objective is simply to bump the person one chain link closer to God.
• I really loved the "triangle" explanation of the Trinity--the Word and the Spirit being Almighty God's means of communication to us.
• In our discussion of Satan and the evil powers, one question I have is if it is wise for Christian tourists or missionaries should enter pagan temples, either for ministry or for curiosity/education. How much does fear factor into the prudency of the situation?
  

Reading Reflection (1/24/09)

As I've been going through the readings in the Strategy Reader, I'm suddenly reminded that in the midst of all this strategizing we can't forget the heart of missions. In Chapter 72, the author of the article Robert A. Blincoe mentioned Mother Teresa. While his focus was on her ability to maximize her charitable movement, my reflections went back to her actual mission: to help the poor of Calcutta. That was the heart of her mission. Though she may have approached it from a strategic standpoint so as to allow for the furthering of the gospel, her mission still began with the one person in front of her. Perhaps I'm just not getting it, but I'd hate to think that in the process of learning about strategy, I forget to "stop for the one." What is my duty as an individual equipped with the truth of the gospel? To go where the Spirit leads me to go, to share the gospel with whomever the Spirit gives me the opportunity to cross paths with, and to as much as possible make sure that the gospel being understood is in fact the true gospel. I can approach this mandate or duty from a strategic standpoint so as to make the futhering of the gospel most effective, but I had better be spending more time actually sharing than just planning.

Reading Reflection (1/22/09)

Before I really begin, I'd like to say that this whole concept of "ransacking" is wonderful and efficient--I just don't quite have it mastered yet. For a detail-oriented person, it's very difficult to just skim through headings, subheadings, a few sentences here and there and feel like I actually got something from the chapter. Nevertheless, I think what I have ransacked has sparked some thought.

Oh, and one more thing: it is insanely difficult for me to concentrate on my reading on the computer screen. I know I've always preferred hardcopies to digital files, but I never knew it would make this significant of a difference!

All that to say, the idea of anonymous Christians I think is fascinating. Taking a look at insider movements, anonymous Christians, and the practice of contextualization has really stripped down the gospel to the bare essentials for me. That's not saying I have a list of doctrinal points which I consider to be the "bare essentials" of being a gospel believer. However, it's just a clear reminder that the gospel we practice here in the States does come with a huge amount of cultural baggage. We've turned so many cultural moors into doctrinal tenets. However, the gospel, like a mustard seed, is something so small and simple that grows into something so powerful. It is so simple and so pure that such things as "anonymous Christians" and "insider movements exist." In some respects, I feel like those involved in Insider Movements must be careful that they don't slip into syncretism--but who's to say we haven't either? The gospel in its pure unadulterated form is simply the transforming faith in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's when this faith pours out into our life actions that we begin to struggle with what is acceptable and what isn't.

I love the fact that anonymous Christians exist. It's such a powerful (and humbling) reminder to me that the gospel is faith. It is neither a system nor a label.

Reading Reflection (1/19/09)

Just a few thoughts on what I've read so far, which really isn't much:

It's the first time I've heard of the E-1, E-2, and E-3 distinction, but I find it quite fascinating and probably useful as well. Although I'm looking to enter missions, my experience in the field is quite limited. It seems from the reading there are always strengths and weaknesses to debate when a focus on any of the types of evangelism is proposed. I agree, cross-cultural evangelism should not be neglected, but neither should E-1 evangelism. I appreciated Philip Hogan's response to Ralph Winter's article, because it put into perspective the order of business. The Holy Spirit is the main actor in evangelism, and may we never forget that. We can strategize, plan, and debate until the return of Christ, and still our labors will be in vain without the Holy Spirit. I feel also that while debate is stimulating, there will be no right answer. To those who promote E-2 and E-3 evangelism, those will always be the most neglected yet most important types of evangelism. Those who promote E-1 evangelism will say the same thing. Either way, as Dr. Winter makes clear, all types of evangelism are necessary and strategic. It is when one aspect is overemphasized that another is neglected. Thus, if the Holy Spirit is the main actor, and the Holy Spirit convicts workers to delve into a certain type of ministry, then we can rest assured that if all workers are faithful to their personal call, the work of evangelism will be balanced, strategic, and powerful. All components are necessary, and you can bet your fortune that the Holy Spirit will make sure all components are carried out for the furthering of the kingdom through the message of the gospel. Again, that is not to say that discussion is not important; rather, we must merely remember that it ultimately boils down to what God has called you and I as individuals to do. We are not responsible for the Holy Spirit's strategy, but we are responsible for our call.

My Story Up-to-Date

Like many stories of this type, I begin by saying, "I grew up in a Christian home." Life was always comfortable, and I had a religious routine of weekly church and Sunday School. Interestingly, though, the gospel message was never presented as applicable to my life. I guess you could say God decided to take matters into His own hands, and that's where my story takes off on its own.

I was nine years old when Mom started running around attending every local revival meeting with her friends. One of these weekends, we ended up at a church retreat where Tommy Tenney commenced the weekend with a night of prayer. At first, I was quite disappointed that the evening would be so boring, but what else could I do? I had to follow suit. As I began to pray, my mind suddenly began to form images of a concrete cinderblock room. There were no lights, no windows, and no furniture--just a doorway. I saw myself, holding the hand of a figure I knew to be Christ, who was leading me into the far corner of this bleak room. There, Christ knelt with me and began to tell meof all my sins. I could not audibly hearHis words, but I knew well enough that I was in deep need of forgiveness. That night, the scrawny kid in the front row with glasses experienced her first supernatural vision, and she didn't even realize it.

The next night, I attended the youth session where after the message, the speaker laid hands on whoever wanted prayer. I lined up according to my mother's wishes, but as I stood there praying, with tears streaming down my face, a clear blue sky opened up in front of me. It was wonderfully blue. A tan road also stretched out before me with many translucent houses on either side. Int he center of this road sat a golden throne with royal purple cushions, and at the foot of the throne ran the River of Life. I was observing the scene from the far bank of the river, opposite the throne. The river separated me from the magnificent scene of serene beauty, but I was captivated nonetheless.

After the retreat, I knew a change had occurred within me, but the only way I knew to describe it was to ask my mothe if I could be baptized. However, due to church protocol, I couldn't get baptized until a year later. Although I didn't comprehend it at the time, I'm amazed by the order of God's revelation to me. The first night he showed me my need, and the next night, He offered His eternal gift. I never did pray the sinner's prayer or make the "conscious decision" to get saved, but I've always known it happened.

Throughout the years, I've continued to grow and mature in my faith, learning to trust the Lord more and more. I've taken many steps back, but God has led me forward, too. When I was 13, I realized a longtime desire to serve the Lord on the mission field. I felt within me that unless I was helping meet the real, tangible needs of others and giving them the best gift I have to offer, the message of the gospel, I personally could not be truly satisfied. That same year, I became very involved in children's ministry, which has continued to be a passion of mine. Since then, I have also dabbled in inner city outreach, music ministry, and TESOL and ESL.

At 15 or 16, God gave me a vision to reach the younger high risk boys of urban Latin America. Reading David Wilkerson's book, The Cross and the Switchblade further solidified that vision, and during high school and college, I continued to develop that vision. I came to CIU with a rather extensive and detailed vision, fully passionate about it. However, since being here, I've realized taht perhaps I've been serving my vision more than I've been serving God. There's been a lot of re-evaluation, adn while I would still love to work with the high risk children of Latin America, I know I cannot limit the imaginative power of God to send me anywhere. God has also been developing my writing and editing skills the last few years, and I feel very strongly that this is something that will follow me wherever God places me. I will do what God calls me to do, but even more, I want the world to hear the stories of His work as I am witness.

For now, my story has me here at CIU, but when I'm finished, I know I'll be happy to serve Him wherever He calls me to go, whomever He calls me to serve. However, my prayer is that no matter where I am, I will be faithful to see the needs of those God places before me and to apply the gospel as the only remedy.