Longevity in Ministry ~ The essentials? Or merely superfluous? ~

Several weeks ago, I started a series that I'm hoping will be both a challenge and encouragement to you, based off of a sermon by the senior pastor at my sending church. The first post focused on that oxymoron that the God is sovereign, but that men are also responsible. Imagining those two truths as a horseshoe where, as mere humans, we only see and comprehend the ends. God, on the other hand, looks at the whole and thus can see how two things that appear contradictory do actually work together. The second post considered one of the ends of that horseshoe: trusting God, not only because He is sovereign - but because He is sufficient in that sovereignty. The third post explored the other end of that horseshoe and specifically what God's Word says about obedience and abiding in Christ.

A 2003 study on missionary retention/attrition observed that the number of missionaries leaving missions for preventable reasons is increasing. One of the interesting details that they noted in their survey based research: 

"...high retention agencies placed more weight on the selection criteria for screening purposes than low retention agencies. [Additionally] High retention agencies placed a significantly greater weight on: a) Previous church ministry experience [and] b) The demonstration of mature Christian character and spiritual disciplines of prayer and devotional life."

According to this study (and not surprisingly), longevity in ministry correlated with the consistent application of key Bible based principles, particularly a heart inclined to ministry as demonstrated by consistently working to serve others before ever heading to the mission field, lives seasoned by persistent trust and God's grace, and a determination to not allow ministry to overwhelm private devotion to one's individual relationship with God.

This means that those who "started well, ran well and finished well" could not only recite the importance of what I'm listing below, but they also demonstrated a history of persevering in priorities such as:

1. growing an increasingly intimate relationship with the Lord by consistently, daily and throughout the day, seeking Him; 

2. praying without ceasing (steadfastly, continuously, patiently, powerfully); 

3. striving to maintain a good balance between personal growth and service or ministry; 

4. welcoming accountability; 

5. committing to marriage and family;  

6. choosing to be teachable even in difficult circumstances; and 

7. determining to be a genuine team player.

As this series continues, each successive post will target these priorities as key principles identified in God's Word with the goal of helping missionaries and others seeking to serve God under challenging circumstances "hang in there," allowing God to continue working in and through them to better love God and love people.

Rather than diving in immediately, however - I'm curious....

What do you think?

Are those priorities listed above essential for longevity? 

Are some more important than others? 

Would you add additional ones? 

Are some priorities easier to maintain than others?

Which do you find the most difficult?

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Series: Longevity in Ministry

1. Just Think About a Horseshoe, 26/07/2014

2. Trusting in the Sufficiency and Sovereignty of God, 09/08/2014

3. If you don't want to shorten your ministry... obediently abide, 23/08/2014

Please note: 

Italicized words are from my notes or from the guided notes in the church bulletin

and are, to the best of my recall, actual content from the sermon.

The rest comes from my continued study and meditation prompted by that sermon.

To listen to the actual sermon "Start, Run and Finish Well," click here.

Longevity in Ministry - If you don't want to shorten your ministry... obediently abide.

Four weeks ago, I started a series that I'm hoping will be both a challenge and encouragement to you, based off of a sermon by the senior pastor at my sending church. The first post focused on that oxymoron that the God is sovereign, but that men are also responsible. Imagining those two truths as a horseshoe where, as mere humans, only see and comprehend the ends. God, on the other hand, looks at the whole and thus can see how two things that appear contradictory do actually work together. The second post considered one of the ends of that horseshoe: trusting God, not only because He is sovereign - but also because He is sufficient in that sovereignty.

Today's post will look at the other end of that horseshoe: Man's responsibility, which, to put it both succinctly and bluntly, is obedience. 

I have to be honest - this was the part of the sermon which made me most uncomfortable. I'm quite comfortable with working, doing my best, keeping busy and thinking that the success of any project with which I'm involved depends mostly on me - thus ignoring the sovereignty of God. I'm not so comfortable with the idea that I can be working like mad, doing what I think is best, exhausting myself for good causes... only to finally figure out that it has all been well-intentioned, but good intentions, careful planning and hard work have nothing to do with obedience or disobedience.

I think that is a position where exhausted, burning-out missionaries often find themselves.

I was driving to a doctor's appointment the other day. I'd just navigated a four-way stop and was back up to the 35 mph speed limit... cruising along, my thoughts flying along a lot faster than the car was moving. All of a sudden, the car behind me darted around then lurched back in front of me, cutting me off. That driver also caused an oncoming car in the other lane to have to swerve. Then he gunned the engine and took off and away like a bat out of hell, except? I caught up to him at the next light... and the next light... and the next stop sign without ever violating any traffic law, until I reached my doctor's office and pulled into the parking lot.

I'd already been thinking and praying about writing this post, had even done some drafting and sketching out of ideas - but it wasn't coming together like the previous ones had...

My pastor had used two verses (1 Corinthians 11.30 & Philippians 2.12) to illustrate this point about the importance of obedience as our human responsibility saying, "You can shorten your life and your ministry; God can lengthen it." He encouraged us to think about the fact that yes, we work like everything depends on us in God's strength and for God's glory." And, it's not that I don't think missionaries can't get caught up in intentional, deliberate sin. I know for a fact from personal experience that I can do so quite easily. But I do think that my hope and my goal is that most days, I'm striving to live in obedience...

When I saw that car, I think the Holy Spirit gave me this thought: We missionaries can be a lot like that car sometimes. We are so intent on our lists, on our things that we are sure we need to accomplish and all those things that we are confident God has impressed upon our hearts that He wants to see done, on our own "critical-ness" to mission success... that we go flying around anything and anyone that gets in our way... Sometimes, we even go flying around God and strike out ahead of Him in uncharted territory. We get stopped by traffic, technical difficulties, and sit there tapping our fingers impatiently waiting for God to catch up and once the light is green again, we blast away, running far harder, faster and more prone to wrong turns or fatigue - than God ever intended for us. 

Is this disobedience?

Well, I teach my kids obedience looks like 

1) starting right away, 

2) has a sweet attitude, and 

3) is just exactly what I asked for 

4) without any arguing. 

When they fail to meet those four standards, then it is disobedience. 

Thus, when I'm not doing exactly what God says, or when my attitude is one of impatience, or when I'm trying to add my own good ideas, or when the "start" includes a first step of waiting and I don't? Well, then I'm disobedient, too. I'm just like that car the other day. Under the best circumstances, that means I work a lot harder, carry a much bigger burden and fatigue more thoroughly than was ever God's plan. And it is no one's fault but my own. It also means that my efforts will likely end up nothing more than vain imaginations and strivings because I've run off from where God wants me to be.

I'm not sure if anything leads to more discouragement, more frustration, more fatigue, more stress and health issues, more marriage and family problems, more attrition - than running ahead of God. What's sobering is that we can do so in our zeal and enthusiasm and not even recognize that it has happened until we are already in a bad place.

Yes, we work like everything depends on us but it must happen in God's strength and for God's glory.

How?

Our obedience has to be the grace based obedience of trusting faith. We are saved by grace, but it is by faith that we can work out our salvation, do the works that God has set aside for us to do. Because we believe, we obey and abide in Christ. Therefore we prove out the sufficiency of God's grace through Scripture and by the power of the Spirit to empower us to an abiding relationship with Jesus that bears much fruit that remains to the glory of God.

We work out what God is working in.

Perhaps the most striking places in Scripture where God teaches about this sort of abiding with Him relationship occurs in John 15. Matthew Henry describes this as an illustration of the disciples becoming one with Jesus. 

The first 17 verses describe what is essential to growth and fruit bearing. Read through those amazing words and then consider the following paraphrases:

• the Father is the gardener
• Jesus is the true vine and we must be rooted/attached/grafted in Him to bear any fruit for God
• cleansed/pruned branches remain and are not removed
• cleansing comes through the Word, the Word condemns sin, inspires holiness, promotes growth and reveals power
• the purpose of the branch is to bear fruit
• fruit bearing is impossible without abiding
• but when abiding, fruit bearing is inevitable
• continually more branches continually bearing more fruit - is not only implied, it is inherent
• fruitless branches are the ones who do not abide and they are cast out and burnt up
• abiding gives us full confidence and assurance of a harvest
• answered prayer is a privilege of close abiding for abiding tunes our prayers to the will of God
• fruit bearing brings glory to God, not to the fruit nor to the branch
• love and obedience are intimately linked
• we know we are abiding by our obedience
• we know we are abiding because we experience fullness of joy - the exhilaration of being right with God and consciously walking in His love and care
• when we abide, we no longer hoard resentments, animosities and bitterness towards others; rather, we love
• abiding, we've become chosen friends, not ignorant servants
• abiding, we experience the initiative love of Jesus
• we can be proud of our position as friends of Jesus, bearing fruit for God

No one is more miserable than the Christian 

who for a time hedges in his obedience. 

He does not love sin enough to enjoy its pleasures, 

and does not love Christ enough to relish holiness. 

He perceives that his rebellion is iniquitous, 

but obedience seems distasteful. 

He does not feel at home any longer in the world, 

but his memory of his past associations and the tantalizing lyrics of his old music 

prevent him from singing with the saints. 

He is a man most to be pitied; 

and he cannot forever remain ambivalent.

DA Carson

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What are your biggest obstacles to abiding?

What are your biggest obstacles to obedience?

Share a time when you've experienced fullness of joy (i.e. the exhilaration 
of being right with God and consciously walking in His love and care) 
while ministering overseas.

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Series: Longevity in Ministry

1. Just Think About a Horseshoe, 26/07/2014

2. Trusting in the Sufficiency and Sovereignty of God, 09/082014

Please note: 

Italicized words are from my notes or from the guided notes in the church bulletin

and are, to the best of my recall, actual content from the sermon.

The rest comes from my continued study and meditation prompted by that sermon.

To listen to the actual sermon "Start, Run and Finish Well," click here.

Longevity in Ministry ~ Trusting in the Sufficiency and Sovereignty of God ~

Two weeks ago, I started a series that I'm hoping will be both a challenge and encouragement to you, based off of a sermon by the senior pastor at my sending church. Before delving into my notes, however, I'd like to share a story of one of our scariest moments overseas... one of those times when our only hope was to trust in God, His sovereignty and particularly?  In His sufficiency.

The story centers around our precious Anna...

She was six years old, in her first full year of school at a local French language school, still young enough that we called her by her baby nickname (Anna-lu) and that she still cried when we dropped her off at school - before bravely trudging on in through the gate. Elsie Mae had recently joined the family... she was only a few weeks old... 

One afternoon, Anna came home from school's morning session telling us she didn't feel well. Over the course of our sieste that day, she continued to wilt. I was pretty sure she was running a fever and so we took her to the recording studio where Tim was working (and the air conditioner was running) to see if we could cool her down. She only ended up chilled and uncomfortable, curled up by her daddy's feet under the production desk, as far away from the AC as she could be.

I decided to take her to the doctor.

Once there, she promptly threw up all over the waiting room... which sent us to the front of the line. A blood test confirmed that she had malaria and our doctor immediately prescribed medication. I think it took three pharmacies to find it. Three days later, her prescription had run its course, but Anna wasn't acting as if she felt any better. It was so evident as we sat poolside, trying to entice her to drink a strawberry milkshake, that her treatment hadn't worked. I took her back to the doctor, where they agreed that she was clearly worse. They wanted to admit her to the clinic and start her on IV medications.

This was one of the better clinics, but it was still a far cry from medical care in a developed country. 

• Mosquitoes (the bugs that carry malaria) buzzed around the room, 
• paint on the walls was chipped and stained, 
• doctor bedside manner did not feel gentle or compassionate, 
• everyone rattled along in rapid fire French and my exhausted-caring-for-a-newborn brain struggled to keep up while catching and making sense of all the technical vocabulary, and 
• the only place for me to sit was the stained and very worn-out mattress on the other cot in the room. 

The nurse did move in a TV... and we brought our own DVD player... We knew they cared and were doing the best they could for our little girl, yet she wasn't improving. In fact, she was lethargic, pale, and had lost 15 pounds - 25% of her body weight - in just a few days. Her doctors concluded we were not only dealing with a resistant strain of malaria, but also a resistant form of amoebic dysentery. 

The two most common causes of death for young children in W. Africa. 

Our little girl was sick with both of them. Yes, our Anna was one very sick little girl.

My hormone-befuddled brain did't quite grasp that reality of just how sick, however. I really felt we were doing the very best we could for our daughter... until our supervisors asked if we wanted them to begin arranging a medical evacuation.

It hit me like a ton of bricks that maybe we weren't... we had other alternatives... and that if we didn't make the "right" decision, we just might lose our Anna-lu... 

I think that is a very common way to look at choices and decisions. 

Either the decisions we make are right. Or they are wrong. If they are right, the results are what we wanted and hoped for. If we make a wrong choice or decision, however, there will be consequences to bear. That mentality neglects to consider that we serve a sovereign and sufficient God.

"Trusting [in] the sufficiency and sovereignty of God [means knowing and believing that] every day is a gift from God, Who IS the source of faithfulness." Remember that cliché often heard in church circles?  Pray like everything depends on God; work like everything depends on you. For me, at least, it is easier to work like a mad-woman... and forget to pray. Especially as a mama. Especially as a mama who is also a missionary. Even especially more as a mama who is also a missionary and who lives off of the support and gracious gifts of others. In that sense, I live my life as a "practical atheist," a term my husband coined almost 20 years ago.

With that mentality, it is easy for me to work myself into nothing less than a frenzy.

It's a pretty quick and surefire recipe for a burnout disaster. I know. I've been there.

It's also easy to slip into the trap that if (and when) I remember to pray, God will work everything out just the way I'm asking Him to... and that if He doesn't, my prayers (i.e. my work) weren't sufficient.

But what does God say? God's Word teaches us that our responsibility is to trust in both His sovereignty and sufficiency.

Psalm 127 (from the EasyEnglish Bible) is pretty clear:

If the LORD does not build the house, the workers cannot do anything.

  There are men who watch (for danger).

  But if the LORD does not guard the city, they will be useless.

If you work all day for food, from early morning to late at night, you will get nothing.

  It is God who gives sleep. He gives it to the people that he loves.

Children are something that God gives.

  The fruit of your body is a gift (from him).

The sons of a young man are like arrows in the hand of a soldier.

The man with many of them will be very happy.

  He will not be ashamed when he meets his enemies in the city gates.

In these verses, the Psalmist instructs His people to remember that it was God Who saves, God Who preserves and protects, God Who provides, God Who presents us with anything and everything that is important and/or worthwhile: homes, food, family, well-being, safety, peace. In this Psalm, the name/title of "Lord" is used to refer to God. That is His covenant name, a covenant cut in sacrificial blood. The people promised to love and worship God alone. They agreed to obey Him. God promised to help those He calls His. Put simply, God's providence provides whatever it is that He knows that His people need. Even when we don't like His provision, it is still what He sovereignly knows to be best.

How can that be true?

Why trust in His sufficiency and sovereignty?

1. We should trust because even pagan kings recognize His sovereignty. Daniel 4 contains an amazing account of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful men to ever live. He concludes: "At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth... Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble."
2. We should trust God because He is faithful. He proves Himself every day, every moment, every breath and every heartbeat. "Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds."(Psalm 36.5) "Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds." (Psalm 119.90) "The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I have hope in Him.;" ( Lamentations 3.22-24)
3. We should trust because God does give faith to live and to die [and sometimes to watch those we love die] for His glory. This is such a hard thing. I love that God gives us faith to live. I love living. I love this life He's given. So what about those times when His choice as sovereign is that this life will be no longer? Does that mean He's no longer sovereign? Does that mean He's no longer sufficient? No. It means I -and those I call mine- are His to do with as He sees fit. I have the opportunity to choose trusting Him, regardless of what I feel or perceive.
4. We should trust because Christ is building his church and we are privileged to join Him in His work. Jesus said to Peter, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16.18)" Jesus builds His church. Jesus' literal words are "I will build..." The Greek word translated build literally means to erect or construct upon a foundation a home or other edifice; figuratively, it means to edify by literally building someone up and helping them to stand firm... to be strong and sturdy. One of the key ideas as we approach ministry is to recognize that it isn't "MY" work... but rather it is God's work and He gives us opportunities to join with Him in what He is already doing. Thus, success depends on Him. Our job is obedience without worrying about results or effectiveness. That takes a huge burden off of our shoulders, a load the Lord never intended for those He has placed in international missions to carry. But, the other neat side of this idea is that God is also the One Who has uniquely equipped and prepared us to do the work He has set before us. He has "built us up" to be just the person He wants for such a time as the one before you.

Are you curious about "the rest of Anna's story?"

We didn't lose her. After nearly a week in the clinic, consistent IV treatment - lots of pokes, lots of liquids and lots of prayer, she slowly began to perk up and was clearly on the road to a full recovery. A month later, she'd regained all of that lost weight and it was easy to forget she'd been so sick.

I hope I never forget, though, the things God taught me during that time.

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How are you seeing God's sovereignty at work where you are currently ministering?

How are you currently experiencing God's sufficiency where you are currently ministering?

Can you share a testimony of how God has grown your trust in His sovereignty and/or sufficiency?

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Series: Longevity in Ministry

1. Just Think About a Horseshoe, 26/07/2014

Please note: 

Italicized words are from my notes or from the guided notes in the church bulletin

and are, to the best of my recall, actual content from the sermon.

The rest comes from my continued study and meditation prompted by that sermon.

To listen to the actual sermon "Start, Run and Finish Well," click here.

Longevity in Ministry ~ Just think About a Horseshoe

For I am now ready to be offered, 

and the time of my departure is at hand. 

I have fought a good fight, 

I have finished my course, 

I have kept the faith: 

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: 

and not to me only, 

but unto all them also that love his appearing.

The senior pastor at my sending church recently preached a packed-full-of-great-stuff sermon - and I spent the entire time listening intently while scribbling notes like mad. Afterwards, I was talking with another missionary friend (who's also been home on furlough this year as well - talk about a treat for my family, having another missionary family with kids the age of my teens, but that would be another story for another day), and the first comment out of both of our mouths was that his sermon had such great practicability and application for those like us who find themselves seeking to serve the Lord while far from "home." 

Thus, over the course of the next several times I write, I want to share the principles our pastor outlined, along with my further study... with you. I hope you find it both as practical and encouraging as I have.

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"Like longevity in life, some basic things are needed - right genes [children of God], right diet [God's Word], right exercise [involvement in ministry] and right environment [a place in God's community - the Church]. The Apostle Paul set it as his goal to walk worthy and finish well. So should we!"

But what do we mean by longevity? "Very simply, it is the number of years that God, in His sovereignty, allots you, no more and no less." The key word in that definition? Sovereignty. Theologia defines sovereignty as: 

The Sovereignty of God is the biblical teaching that all things are under God's rule and control, and that nothing happens without His direction or permission. God works not just some things but all things according to the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11); nothing takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not merely that God has the power and right to govern all things, but that He does so, always and without exception. In other words, God is not merely sovereign de jure (in principle), but sovereign de facto (in practice).

John MacArthur has this to say about God's sovereignty: 

No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation is entirely God’s work....

I have to agree with MacArthur... 

People balk at accepting the sovereignty of God for many reasons. Another reason might be that God's sovereignty, while always perfect and just, just isn't always fair in the sense that everyone has the same challenges and/or opportunities. With that in mind, we must keep in mind that longevity for me might look different than longevity for you because God has different plans and trajectories for our lives.

Regardless of our personal opinions, the Bible clearly teaches that God is sovereign. Pagan kings understood and proclaimed that truth. God's Word, the existence of creation, the rules of physics, the intricacy of the human body... So many things reveal to men that there must be a sovereign God.

It is a truth to which we must grasp and cling tenaciously, however, if we hope to achieve longevity in the ministries in which God has placed us. Sometimes that is hard to do because it involves trusting in the sufficiency and sovereignty of God even when we can't see any reason to do so because nothing in life or ministry is making sense, no matter how hard we work, how we strive to obey, how intently we seek the Savior's face.

My pastor shared an illustration that I found very helpful when it comes to looking at the sovereignty of God. He'd heard it, I believe, from one of his Bible teachers. 

As men and women with limited perspective and a very finite view, we look at a crazy oxymoron where God says He is divine and yet, that we are responsible. His Word teaches both. It doesn't make sense, no matter how hard we try.

But that is because we can only see as if we are the standing at the open side of an enormous horseshoe, so enormous that we cannot see the U-shaped part of the horseshoe. Human responsibility is on one of the separate ends; divine sovereignty at the other. Our perception, and rightly so if we lived our lives based only on what we see, is that those two are separated by a wide space... irreconcilable... and made of material that bends or changes shape only under great pressure or heat.

There is great danger if we decide that because we can't see how they meet, they can't... that one or the other is more true... should take more priority... than the other and therefore we can discount the other. Those who believe the whole is God's divine sovereignty risk an extreme fatalism. Those who believe the whole is human responsibility risk extreme humanism. Neither extreme pleases or honors God.

God, however, looks at that horseshoe from above. He looks down and sees the whole and how those two principles fusing together and forming a single amazing, protecting, correcting, steadying and sustaining, healing and building reality. 

Those truths - God is sovereign and man is responsible - are so important... so necessary, as we consider this issue of longevity. 

How does a horseshoe serve a horse?

• It protects from bruising and extensive wear, 
• It corrects or improves performance/presentation issues (i.e. stride length, overreaching, etc.), 
• It helps steady draft or trail horses by maintaining or providing traction as they work, 
• It is therapeutic, aiding in recovery from injury or while building strength. 

Put simply, people use them because horseshoes extend the longevity of the horse.

And perhaps this image of the horseshoe will help you remember to trust God in His sovereignty... but all the while know that there is a rest of the story to come.

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Do you ever find yourself swinging on that proverbial pendulum, seeking balance between divine sovereignty and man's responsibility?

What do you think when you hear these words, usually attributed to Augustine: 

Pray as though everything depended on God. 

Work as though everything depended on you."

Please join us again in 2 weeks, 

as we look more specifically at the sovereignty of God.

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horseshoe photo credit: w0LD via photopin cc

all other photos are mine

Please note: 

Italicized words are from my notes or from the guided notes in the church bulletin

and are, to the best of my recall, actual content from the sermon.

The rest comes from my continued study and meditation prompted by that sermon.

To listen to the actual sermon "Start, Run and Finish Well," click here.

Found to Follow

For almost two years, now, I've been studying my way very slowly, very methodically, through the Gospel of John... I'm finally somewhere in chapter 9. As I literally crawl my way through this book of the Bible, the Holy Spirit is challenging me on what it means to be not just a wife, mom, missionary... but first and foremost a disciple of Jesus.

I'd like to share with you one of those "challenges."

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. (John 1.43-44)

Before looking too closely at these verses, I dove into a quick "crash course" entitled "Who was Philip, disciple of Jesus?" Where is he mentioned in the Biblical account, other than as the guy usually listed fifth in any recording of the disciples?  Some speculate (based on church tradition) Philip was the one who asked to "bury his father" before following Jesus. The text doesn't specifically identify which disciple, however. In John 6, Jesus tests Philip, specifically asking him how they could provide a meal for the 5000 plus crowd listening to Jesus teach. Shortly after the Lord raises Lazarus, Philip helps some Greeks visiting Jerusalem for the purpose of celebrating the Passover Feast "encounter" Jesus. Philip is Greek name so possibly he spoke Greek and could function as a bridge for those foreigners desiring to interact with the Lord. Finally, Philip doubted the unity of Jesus and the Father, struggling to believe that in seeing Jesus, he had already seen God. This gave the Lord a beautiful opportunity to teach His disciples about the amazing-beyond-human-comprehension unity He shares with His Father. 

I was surprised at how many times Philip actually came to the forefront of the Gospels. Apparently he was a more prominent disciple than I'd ever noted before.

Once I moved on to actually studying the verses above, I noticed immediately that the other three men (Andrew, an unnamed disciple - possibly John, and Peter) all sought Jesus. They had been looking and waiting for Him, finally finding Him and recognizing that He was the One for Whom they'd been searching, waiting, hoping... 

Not so with Philip. 

Jesus had made up His mind that it was time to return to Galilee, so He would be leaving Bethsaida and her environs - but before He did, He found Philip. 

I was curious because you can find something - as in stumble across it... or you can find something - as in search extensively and locate it... 

According to Strong's, in the Greek either meaning could be inferred by the use of this particular word. However, those really smart people who write concordances and know all about Greek think that this isn't a search, discover, find scenario. Rather, it is more like Jesus was on His way and in the process fell in with... started walking alongside, if you will, Philip. That bothered me at first. A lot, in fact.

I hoped... wanted actually, to dig deep and discover that from the text, I could infer that Jesus had actively, persistently, sought Him out. (Which is, by the way, a dangerous Bible study habit - because then I can tend to try and make the Bible say what I want to say, informing the Lord what I think He should be teaching... rather than letting Him teach and lead me.)

And I couldn't. And so I had to stop there and think and pray for a bit - actually for more than a bit. The "box" I had pre-constructed for the Lord, at least in this particular scenario, limited Jesus to actively, unceasingly seeking out those He wants to follow Him. That may be the case other times, but it doesn't appear to be so here. Instead, Jesus was going about doing what His Father had Him going about to do and "fell in with" Philip.

To fall in with someone means to become involved with that individual, to concur with or harmonize with. Jesus was on His way elsewhere, but He took the time to walk alongside and join with Philip for those moments. And after those moments, He offered Philip an alternative to his present path. He invited Philip to follow Him. 

I pondered the implications of that thought.

Jesus walked along with Philip - perhaps only He and Philip know for how long - experienced Philip's path and direction and then with no criticism, He offered Philip a different possibility. He asked Philip to take a new road and to begin following Him. And when He offers Philip the opportunity to follow, Jesus offers Philip the path of steadfastly clinging to Him, conforming to and seeking His example in both living and in dying. 

What a powerful model for evangelism! 

What an incredible missionary strategy because it isn't one. (How's that for an oxymoron?!) 

It is entering into community, falling in with, learning about, investigating new cultures, opening your heart and mind to new thoughts, investing in lives and conversation... becoming a part of - and then offering the opportunity to follow a different path.

Possibly, God will direct me to "fall in with" someone for a time, understand their life, their world... travel their road together for a bit BEFORE inviting him/her to join me walking the "Jesus road" as a fellow disciple of the Lamb of God. 

I call myself a missionary. This idea certainly bears further contemplation and discernment for application! 

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What do you think?

How do you see this idea of "falling in with" prior to inviting others to "follow" Jesus playing out in your life?

repost from the archives of

Our Wright-ing Pad

"You are... You will be..."

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter). (John 1:43)

Is it just me, or does this seems like an anti-climatic "confirmation of/or call" to ministry? 

After all, this is Peter we're talking about.

You know... the guy who would

• walk on water...
• only to then sink dismally;
• recognize Jesus as the Son of God...
• only to turn around and tempt Him to walk a different path;
• be chosen to keep watch and pray
• only to repeatedly end up snoring instead;
• bravely and loyally step forward with sword to defend Jesus
• only to deny even knowing him when confronted later;
• give up on himself and go back to fishing fish
• only to become an impassioned preacher, gifted with words and a heart for souls that could only come from one mightily forgiven.

...Paul's conversion and call to ministry was nothing short of miraculous and amazing. I guess, if I didn't already know the story, I would have expected something similar for Peter. Fireworks exploding or the like!

That just isn't the case. 

Sometimes only the one called knows something is going on... sometimes the one called only knows that God has quietly given a new name... a new identity... as His ambassador. 

That means something to me as a missionary, as one convinced He'd called me to serve on the mission field at the tender age of five (no kidding!).

There really isn't much to this part of Peter's story. His brother Andrew comes home after meeting the Lord. He tells Peter he'd found the Messiah and then takes him to meet Jesus. Once there, Jesus identifies who he is: "You are Simon..." and then gives him a new identity: "You will be called Cephas."

This wasn't the first time that God gave a new identity when He placed His hand on a life. Think of Abraham... Sarah... Jacob... Joseph... Daniel... 

God doesn't always clearly give His reasons, although we can certainly make some inferences and guesses from what we read in the biblical text. I believe it is possible that He's showing each one of them they are now embarking on THE mission, the one for which He created them, the one for which He had been preparing them. That new name clues the receiver in on God's divine plan while reassuring them that He still orchestrates all. 

Those name changes seem to correspond to life changes resulting in very different people, each time. Only thing? The change didn't always happen immediately. Sometimes it took time. Sometimes it happened very quietly and unnoticeably. Abraham didn't immediately become a father of multitudes... Simon still had much growing to do before he became recognizable as Cephas, a... if not the... key leader and preacher in God's newly established church.

I find that so encouraging. 

God recognizes me TODAY for who I will become SOMEDAY... by His grace. 

Who are you, today?

Who do you pray you will be someday, by God's grace?

Can you show God's grace to a specific someone who is today... but by God's grace will be, someday? How?

(Edited post and much needed-for-me reminder from the archives of Our Wright-ing Pad.)