LESSONS FROM JESUS & NIGERIA

This morning I was in Matthew 7 where Jesus says,
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

How is it possible for someone to call Jesus “Lord” and in His name do many miracles, prophesy, and cast out demons, only for Jesus to say, I never knew you? Isn’t prophesy, casting out demons, and doing miracles in Jesus’ name, Christian work? How can we be deceived into thinking we are serving Jesus when we are not?

One only needs to visit Nigeria to find the answer to these questions. Our time there was truly enlightening. The southern half of Nigeria is 80% Christian and is home to the largest city in all of Africa, Lagos, made up of 21 million people. Yet, Nigeria is an extremely corrupt country and evil place. The kind of place we’d say, “needs missionaries.” Yet thousands of missionaries have been working there for well over 100 years. Multiple generations of born again Christians, and yet so little impact.

We met with a handful of local Christian workers, pastors and several other missionaries. It was interesting how each group blamed the other for their problems. When I asked the question, “So, what impact is the church having on society?” I received a flood of replies that varied from, “all the local pastors want is a Western ‘sugar daddy’” to “there is a tremendous lack of discipleship”.

The first issue is modeling. The nationals do what they see Westerners do. Several Nigerians told me:

• If the Westerners are dependent on the wealthy West, well then why shouldn’t we Nigerians get money directly from the West too? 
• If the Westerners have little or no accountability for their time, taking 3 or more months off every year or 2, why should we Nigerians be held accountable for our time? 
• If the Westerners complain and make excuses about the supposed difficulties of living in our country, why can’t we Nigerians claim the same difficulties as an excuse for little production?

The second issue though, may be more serious. When we asked people about their faith, it often came back to sharing about the things they did. When people did reply, I have a personal relationship with God, it usually turned out to be buzz words and not a deep relationship with God. Interest was high in getting training, finding materials, and learning new methodologies, but few seemed to understand how to discern God’s will, or what His voice sounded like.

The couple we mentor there has started a home for abused women and children and started 4 businesses, with 2 more in the works to start this year. As the women are healed, they are trained in a business so as to have a job, a future, once they are healed.

While I was there, the owner was interviewing a woman named Juliana for a receptionist position. Juliana lived in the community and did not come from an abused background. When he asked, “Why would you want to work here?” Juliana answered, “Because I have heard and seen that God is in this place and I want to work where God is.”

We are learning the importance of using the weapons God has given us to get wisdom and gain a godly understanding for ways of doing business in the community. In time, this should transform a community who we then hope will impact the wider society. We are learning how to put prayer, fasting, and discipleship into the workplace. God cares about everything we do. Everything we do is to be done unto His glory (Colossians 3:23). People need to be discipled in ways to fight for both what is in their control and not in their control. We control systems, machines, methodologies, hours at work, etc., but we do not control the unseen forces at work around us. With the latter, we need to learn to spiritually ask God for the things we do not see or understand, and for the discipline and discernment to apply what He tells us related to these forces.

But discipleship is not words. Discipleship is a relationship. Learning to live life – do business in the Spirit, is fighting in a new arena for most. We need to understand that discipleship is a relationship. These are things that cannot be taught by words alone, but must also be modeled through our lives and work.

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus sends out His disciples to baptize and disciple. In Nigeria, the church and mission agencies seem to be succeeding at only half of this assignment.

As I am asking myself, may we ask one another; Is an incomplete obedience what Jesus means by, I never knew you? Is doing things in His name, different than doing things with Him?

I’d be interested to hear how you think things are going in your own church, or community? And how we might do them better!

A PARABLE

There was a huge, 3-day business conference being held downtown for which people paid a hefty
price to attend. During a break on the second day, a woman who had not paid the registration fee
snuck into the conference hall. She wanted to meet the Leader of this conference. She had read
his books, seen his video, followed him on his weekly blog, but she could not afford the
expensive conference fee.

The woman managed to get within a few feet of the Leader when one of the Leader’s team
members noticed the woman did not have a conference name badge, the proper security
identification. He then questioned her about it. Realizing she was in trouble and her chances of
speaking with the Leader were suddenly slim, the woman quickly shouted out the Leader’s
name.  He was less than ten feet from her, so he turned and looked at her. She immediately cried
out with a concerned voice, “Leader, help me please. My business is failing. My husband is an
invalid due to a previous work accident and no one is helping us.” The Leader turned away and
continued talking to the people in his inner circle.

The woman continued shouting, “Leader, I am certain we have the right product, and we need
your help to market and deliver it.” At that outburst, someone called security and one of the
Leader’s assistants grabbed the woman to silence her. This resulted in her shouting even louder.
“Leader, please, please, I know you can help me. I brought my business plan, the by-laws,
balance sheet, my PL statement, cash flow sheet and some customer reviews!” The Leader
paused from his conversation and looked at the woman and said, “Madam, I am here to serve my
clients, the members of this conference. They have paid their fees. Sorry, you are not a member.”

Now what would the woman do at this point?
What would you do?
What would security do?
What would the Leader’s assistants do? (Likely throw her out.)

As security and the Leader’s assistants begin to push her toward the door, the woman breaks
away, sprints over to the Leader, falls at his feet and begs, “Leader please, I beg of you, I know
you can help me, please help me!”  To which the Leader replies, “Woman, it isn’t right to take the ideas and strategies which I have so diligently worked to master and teach to others, and give them away to deadbeats and cheapskates, to vagrants and bums who do not pay.”

Stop again.  Now at this point, how do you think the woman feels?  No one person in this crowd of 20 to 30 people are supporting her or encouraging her. Not one. Security has her in their grasp and they are lifting her to her feet, starting to move her away. How does she feel? What would you do if
you were her?

Then while being dragged away, she faces the Leader and cries out, “Yes Leader, you are right,
but even the vagrants and bums eat the crumbs, the garbage that is tossed out of the homes of the
rich.”  At those words, the Leader stopped, and looked directly at the woman. The Leader, whose name by the way is Jesus, says to the woman, “Your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.”

You may read another version of this story in Matthew 15:21-28.

Perseverance and believing your idea is His idea is essential to succeeding in B4T. Many of us
have been down to our last dollar. We’ve sold everything causing our families to suffer, yet we
kept believing. We worked even harder. And then, in His grace, Jesus answered our prayers for
our businesses.

Do you believe your job, your business, is Jesus’ idea? Are you willing to give it your all – and
put everything into it? Then keep working. Keep moving forward. And keep begging for His
blessing.

DO YOU COUNT EVERYTHING AS LOSS?

The following was submitted by an OPEN worker in the Arab world.

Paul tells the Philippians, For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3:3

Paul points out the differences between the circumcision (us) and the uncircumcision (non-believers) is 3-fold:
1) We worship by the Spirit of God. For example, Jesus tells the woman at the well that she worships what she does not know but a day is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
2) We glory in Christ Jesus instead of the things of this world.
3) We put no confidence in the flesh, but instead put our confidence in the righteousness of Christ that depends on faith (v.9)

One of the three differences between us and the world is that we glory in Christ Jesus. Paul goes on to say that he counts all things as loss, including his earthly credentials (v.4-11). It got me thinking: what are the things that I glory in? Unfortunately, it’s not only Christ Jesus that I glory in. He has me in a process of learning, painful as it is, to count all things as loss and glory only to Himself. In Galatians 6:14 Paul chases this idea with, But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Isn’t that astonishing? May boasting in anything save Christ alone be far from us as well! I want to call us to a greater holiness here. As B4T’ers, many of us secretly glory in our business. I sometimes hear a pride in the voices of B4T’ers that we are working with our own hands and not living only off of what other people give. We could slip into a state of pride that our business is going well. We can forget to count as loss all that we have given up to get this far. These are traps. Let us not fall in them.

I struggle to count my career as loss. I struggle to not overthink about all that I could have back home. Do you see what I’m doing here? When I let my affections stir for these things I’m failing to count them as loss. I’m feeling as though I have sacrificed something to be here doing what I’m doing. This is a real problem because in these moments, I’m miscalculating the tradeoff I made. These things are rubbish, says Paul. These things are worthless in comparison to what I got.

In the parable of the treasure in Matthew 13:44, Jesus has this to say: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and buried. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The treasure we have in Christ is so infinitely valuable that the man sold everything to go and buy that field – and he did it with joy. He didn’t do it grumbling; he didn’t do it with the pressure of his local church behind him. He didn’t say, “Oh, okay, Lord I will do it.” In his joy he sold everything to get ahold of this.

We have this same treasure in Jesus. Let our businesses, let all the things we left behind, let money and fame, let approval, let control and power all be counted as loss for the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and being known by Him.



What do you need to count as loss today?

ANOTHER WORD FOR GRIT

This blog was submitted by an OPEN worker serving in the Middle East.

The only thing that I see that is distinctly different about me is: I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked, period. You might have more talent than me. You might be smarter than me. You might be sexier than me. You might be all of those things. But if we get on the treadmill together, there’s two things: you’re getting off first or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple.
– Will Smith

If what Will Smith is saying about himself is true, he has some serious grit. But Will Smith knows what he’s after. If you don’t know what you’re after, it wouldn’t be the best idea to be very gritty. Grit demands a goal, it needs to have an end in mind. As B4Ter’s, we know our goal: we want to bring holistic transformation to the least-reached communities in the name of Jesus via business. Being fruitful in terms of B4T means seeing the power of God rescue men, women, and children from least reached people groups and transforming them into His likeness as part of His Church.

In her book, Grit, Angela Duckworth defines grit as the equation; passion x perseverance. Passion will fizzle out without perseverance. Yet, when the two are combined, you have the ability to pursue something wholeheartedly until the end. There is a good biblical word for grit: endurance. Where perseverance is the ability to hang in there until the end (and is grown in us by the testing of our faith – James 1:2-4), endurance is the persevering through pain and trials. When everything is against us and the world is crumbling all around, endurance will get you through. Indeed, the Scriptures say that the one who endures until the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22, 24:13, etc.).

So is Duckworth right? Is grit the defining characteristic of the successful? In one sense, she must be right. By the very definition, those who stick around until the end will see churches planted. Duckworth states that 90% of life is showing up. I think this is pretty accurate in terms of our faith as well. The Scriptures are clear that it is God who works in us to produce results (Philippians 2:13, Ephesians 2:10). We need to show up humble and ready to play His way, and He will coach us to victory.

So, though I’d add some necessary qualities to grit to bring about a harvest amongst the unreached, I’d also say that any qualities without grit (read: endurance) will not result in transforming lives or seeing a church planted. We need grit to work long-term overseas. We need grit to go the distance in order to see His plans for salvation of a lost people group brought to fruition.

YOUR IMAGE

I am cleaning out my files from the 1980’s – pre-computer days. I found this story. No author is attributed to it, so if you know, please let me know so I may credit them. I trust it will encourage you as it does me.

There was a group of women doing a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which says; "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next study.

That week this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond sharing her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest in order to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot. Then she thought again about the verse, "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. "She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined."

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver in place, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver were left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" 

He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy—when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that you are in God's hand, He has His eyes on you, and He will keep holding you and watching you until He sees His image in you.

Author unknown.

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD

Be realistic. Listen to feedback. Play well with others. Compromise. These are things we are often told. Well, what if the “other’’ party is wrong? What if the conventional wisdom is too conservative?

An entrepreneur is someone with faith in God’s ability to work through us to make something where there was nothing before. To an entrepreneur, the idea that no one has ever done this or that is a good thing. An obstacle is an opportunity.

Steve Jobs was famous for his drive and ambition. Though clearly not Christ-centered, this drive made him notoriously dismissive of phrases such as, “It can't be done” or, “We need more time.”

Jobs learned early in life that reality was falsely hemmed in by rules and compromises that people had been taught as children. Jobs had a much more aggressive idea of what was or wasn't possible. To him, when you factored in vision and work ethic, much of life was malleable.

As an example, when developing a new mouse for an early Apple product, Jobs had high expectations. He wanted the mouse to move fluidly in any direction, which wasn't a concept for any mouse at that time. In starting to solve the problem, a lead engineer was told by one of his designers that this would be impossible. What Jobs wanted wasn’t realistic and wouldn't work. The next day, the lead engineer arrived at work to find that the employee who’d said that no longer worked for Apple. When the replacement came in, his first words were, “I can build the mouse.”

This was Job’s view of reality at work. Malleable, adamant, self-confident. Not in the delusional sense, but for the purposes of accomplishing something. He knew that to aim low meant to accept mediocre accomplishment. But a high aim could, if things went right, create something extraordinary. 

When the Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath," implying that His disciples should abide by the rules, Jesus pointed out that their view of life and worship was not God’s view.

Entrepreneurs and visionaries see beyond. God has opened our eyes to the opportunities and the potential created by today. Yet for many of us, such vision does not come easy. It's understandable. Our schools, our churches, our Pharisees – so many people in our lives have preached the need to be realistic or conservative or worse—don’t rock the boat. This is an enormous disadvantage when it comes to believing God to walk new paths, build bigger things, be better.

Understand that our doubts (and self-doubts) feel real, but they have very little bearing on what is and isn’t possible. Our perceptions determine, to an incredibly large degree, what we are and are not capable of doing. In many ways, they determine reality itself. When we believe in the obstacle more than in the goal, which will inevitably triumph? We need to be open. Question.

Jesus makes it clear, but with God, all things are possible. (Mark 10:27) Listen to Him. Abide in Him. Work with Him. Live with Him.

And in speaking to Mary the angel says, "For nothing will be impossible with God." Taken another way, that means the only thing that is impossible for God is to do nothing. Jesus clarifies in Matthew 6:33, but seek first His kingdom and His righteous and all these things will be yours as well.

Get your input from God, not men. Seek His mind, His vision for your life and work. Do not be hamstrung by the naysayers around you. If we are with God, nothing will be impossible.

PRIVACY – NO ROOM ON THE BEACH

Are you ever tired? Looking for a bit of rest? Need a break?

Jesus often took breaks, but they didn’t always go as planned. In Matthew 13 Jesus goes out of His house to sit and rest by the sea.

I live 100 yards from the ocean. I have a favorite place to sit and enjoy God’s awesome creation. I would guess that Jesus had His favorite rock, or spot on the sand to sit at too. It is likely before He began openly teaching and healing people that He went there often. However, on this day, He no sooner sits down than someone sees Him and informs the community and a crowd forms.

People had come from as far away as Tyre (Mark 3:8) to hear Him or be healed, so it is logical to assume there were hundreds of people camped around the village of Capernaum where he lived, hoping for an opportunity to meet Him. He’s spotted, a crowd gathers. Wanting space and rest, He calls for one of His friends to bring over a boat and climbs aboard. He sits down, but rather than sail to some distant quiet spot, He addresses the crowd and begins to teach.

Do your ever tire of living in fishbowl – a life where people are constantly pushing and pulling on you, touching you, asking you for things, never allowing one minute of alone time? Being recognized by everyone as the only foreigner in the city or neighborhood?

Well give thanks to God, for we are being just like Jesus!

ARE YOU TOO BUSY?

The following was found in my notes from 1988. The Author is Unknown, I checked online.



Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church.  We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ.


Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ.


This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection through-out their day!"


"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels. "Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.  Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles.  Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"


Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice.  Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive.  To keep the TV, internet, iPhone’s and their laptops going constantly at home and at work. See to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."


"Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.  Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.


Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so their husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives.  That will fragment those families quickly!"


"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week. Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders.  Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!


And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions. Go ahead, let them be involved in soul-winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.


Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work!  It will work!"


It was quite a convention.  The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more and more busy and more and more rushed, going here and there.


I guess the question is: Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge!
Does "busy" mean:  B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?




As I’ve said many times, there’s no such thing as a balanced life. Jesus was one of the most unbalanced people I’ve studied. The hours He worked, the miles He walked, the thousands He healed, spoke to and touched. The sermons He preached, the parables He told, the all-night prayer meetings, the 40 days of fasting, the demons He fought off.  Balance? If you seek a balanced life, do not go in to B4T work. But in the midst of all He did, Jesus was never rushed. He was always in control of His time.


And that’s how you know when you are too busy; it’s when you lose control of your time that you know you are too busy.  So.  Are you too busy?


And let me ask again. Has the devil been successful at his scheme?

IS IT FINISHED?

Do you have a problem finishing what you start? That book you've been meaning to write?  That door that's been waiting to be fixed?  The outing you are going to take with your child? Weight you are going to lose?  Do you have a problem finishing what you start?


There was a man in my neighborhood when I was a kid who left his Christmas lights up all year one year.  He did not want to take them down when it was cold outside, and come the Spring, he went on holiday. By the time he got around to it, he realized he might as well leave them up, for it was July and only half a year away from Christmas, and just 2 months from being legitimately early.


Many of us are good at starting things, we are not so good at finishing things. But prizes are not awarded for great beginnings, but only for great finishes.


Haggai was the ‘Prophet of Priorities’. The name Haggai means festive.  There is only one Haggai in the Bible.  He was born during captivity, so perhaps his birth brought joy to his parents.  Joy, Charity, what a name.


This book is one of the easiest books in the Old Testament to date for it says when Darius was king. Thus, the time is 520BC.  The governor is Zerubbabel and the high priest is Joshua.  Haggai is the first prophet after the captivity.  He has a zealous message, a message for a slothful people who were hurting from captivity.

Haggai’s burden increases his zeal. His burden increases his focus. His mission is to rebuild the temple. The people had started the rebuilding 15 years earlier, but they had never finished.  For 15 years, there had not been worship as there was no place to praise God.


We read the people believed that it is, not time for God's house to be built.  They had other priorities – building their own houses, tending their own fields. After Haggai challenged the people, it still took the people 23 days before they acted.  In addition, both the governor and high priest still hesitated to act. 


Then, and now, it takes time for people to obey God’s message and act.  In your own life, how long has it been in your life since God spoke to you about something you need to do?  But you've not done it yet.  Is there a relationship you need to fix? Time, you need to invest in the Word? A bad habit to stop?


In explaining to His followers the cost involved in following Him Jesus says;
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'   Luke 14:28-30


Incomplete assignments. Unfilled promises. Defective work. Unfinished obedience. None of these brings glory to Jesus.


About His own life Jesus adds, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. And His last words on the cross were, It is finished. Jesus completed His assignments.


Jesus is glorified in our finishes. Is there anything He wants you to finish?
There’s still 30,931,200 seconds left in this year to get it done!

GOD IS SUPREME

I'll be honest with you. Sometimes it's a real pain to embrace the diversity in our movement. Working with strong personalities, bridging denominational differences, mission backgrounds and juggling various agendas is demanding.  I often hear a cacophony of voices pulling me in what sometimes feels like different directions:

“We need to make prayer a greater priority!”
“There’s not enough emphasis on business!”
“Why aren't we spending more time in worship?”
“Shouldn’t there be more emphasis on language learning?”
“Where is the power of Spirit in all this?”
“We don't spend enough time on best practices!”


But lately the Spirit has been showing me a more positive aspect to our diversity.  What is the unifying theme or ultimate value behind all of our desires? The ultimate value is our desire to see God glorified in all things. Truly we yearn for the supremacy of God working in us and through us.


What do I mean by the supremacy of God in all things? To value the supremacy of God in all things means that we seek a God-centered way of thinking, living, working and witnessing that exalts His magnificence and surrenders our flesh to His lordship. When I begin to exalt His magnificence, something happens in my heart. My self-centered focus, my burdens, my anxieties melt away. I feel secure. I feel loved. I feel rest.  My soul is fortified, my vision renewed. I am ready to fight the good fight of faith. This in turn moves me to greater surrender – because I long more of Him. Desiring the supremacy of God in all things glorifies God, satisfies my soul, and motivates me to serve Him.

I experience His supremacy when I acknowledge my dependence on Him through prayer. I experience His supremacy when I delight in integrating His glory in my work. I experience His supremacy when I walk in the Spirit and drink from the rivers of living water. I experience His supremacy when I submit to His will for the people and in sharing His will in their language.  

I am humbled and strengthened as I reflect on this ultimate value. I am humbled because I realize that I need a full dose of each of these things. No one person, no one strategy has it all. The supremacy of God is most fully manifested as we pray, worship, walk in the Spirit and abide in His Word. We need each of these emphases.


At the same time, I am strengthened because nothing moves me more deeply than exalting His magnificence and surrendering to His lordship. I feel like Mary this Christmas: “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” Luke 1:47-48


May we all exalt the Lord in this season.

The Ideal Painting

This blog is contributed by an OPEN worker, serving in the Arab world.

The painting above, is the result of a marketing survey, which asked people “What would be included in an ideal painting?”  The most popular answers were; George Washington, deer, mountains, trees, a family, and clouds, so the artist created the above image. 

The idea was to show that sometimes marketing surveys ask tons of questions in such a way that they can’t possibly understand their customers’ needs from the answers they receive. It’s funny how many things could be in an ideal painting, yet when all of them are put together it makes for a goofy picture, one that nobody would really purchase to hang over their mantle.

Sometimes we try too hard. We try too hard to be something or someone, we are not. At times we try to know a certain subject or understand something new, when that’s not who God intends us to be. Yet when we try too hard, especially of our own devices, we end up looking like this hodge-podge painting that attempts to be jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

This story has many implications. For business, we must know our customers, our market niche. We can’t chase every opportunity that comes along to make money. We need to know our target market. We should focus on what we do best and leave other services or products for other companies.  We need to know what our customers want and give them that. We don’t need to sell George Washington, deer, clouds, mountains, families, etc.

When it comes to relationships with others, we need to know who we are. What is your identity? How do you view yourself?  Is your identity found in what you do (your job) or is it found in being known by the Most High?  Godliness requires we understand who we are in view of a holy, loving God. We will not be effective in reaching the unreached if we can’t even figure out who we are.  If our friends value George Washington and shouldn’t try to become George Washington to please them. And if we think that the speaker at a conference is terrific, like the mountains/deer/family/grass, that doesn’t mean we need to become like the mountains/deer/ family/grass to be like him. Each of us is designed uniquely by God with gifts given by Him that we use to present back to Him for His glory (Psalm 139 is a beautiful picture of this).

When Paul said that he became all things to all people in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, he had the prerequisite mastered first. He said that he was free from all. We are not free if we are trying still to be cool – to please men. (Galatians 1:10) We are not free if we are trying to impress our boss or our parents or our co-workers. Paul was already free from all that. He became all things to all people, so that he might save some. He was already others-focused when he decided to become a servant to all. (1 Corinthians 9:19)

So instead of trying to be like the ideal painting, which is an example of both a bad marketing survey and a botched attempt to create something beautiful, let’s be first servants of the Most High God. After we understand who we are in Him, we will be free to become servants to our neighbors, friends, co-workers, bosses, etc. so that we might save some.

WHY ISN’T JESUS’ ASSIGNMENT DONE?

The following is submitted by Brad Buser of Radius. Radius trains cross-cultural workers in the skills needed to start healthy, viable and reproducing churches in the least areas of the world. For more info see radiusinternational.org. 

The church of Jesus Christ has been sending thousands of workers and putting hundreds of millions of dollars each year towards ‘missions’.  During the last 30 years alone with the amount of workers that have landed in various countries, the question must be asked… “Why haven’t we completed our task of seeing churches planted in every ‘tongue, tribe, and nation’?”
 
To oversimplify here would be unfair… and there are exceptions.  The issue of missionary turnover and lack of success IS complex, but there are some common threads that continue to hamper efforts, hurt potential career missionaries, and dampen the focus and zeal of sending churches.  When young couples that could have ‘changed the world’ come home broken or discouraged, it is difficult for local churches to send the next family into the fray.

So what are some of the current reasons we’re not making the progress we should?
 


1.      Unrealistic expectations for families.  The sacrifices and hardships that wives and children will endure must be acknowledged and prepared for!  Family issues top any list when actual reasons for missionary turnover are tallied.
 


2.      Workers are not ready for the extreme discipline of culture and language acquisition.  Some gospel workers go to the field not even knowing phonetics and phonemics.  How are they supposed to hear and mimic fine differentiations in sounds?  How can they avoid being seen, AND HEARD, as outsiders?  Some learn phonetics but have never mastered it in a live situation where they must start from scratch and go through the pain of being seen as a ‘slow awkward outsider’ for months.
 


3.      Many workers have a deep-seated sense they are NOT connecting with the people they are living among; they rightly wonder if the sacrifices they are enduring have a point to them.
 


4.      Vague goals - “I want to minister in Mongolia”, “Make disciples in Syria”, or even “I want to plant a church in northern India” are not enough to guide the worker through the many complex choices ahead of them. The long-term missionary lost in his business efforts who occasionally has religious discussions is becoming common.
 


5.      Social Media/Internet… which provides a haven for the lonely, frustrated, bored missionary. This hidden cause is quietly allowing missionaries to ‘live’ overseas, without fully BEING in the country they live. (Often times families and supporters are complicit as they ask the missionary to ‘regularly connect’ with them; not realizing how much of a day is spent anticipating that small Skype session.)



6.      ‘Diaspora’ work now draws many missionaries to stay right here in the USA!  Such re-labeling masks a significant shift in missionary allocations happening in some agencies.  Churches in Iowa end up funding missionaries working in Minneapolis while churches in Minneapolis fund missionaries going to India (or to a college campus right back in Iowa!).  When Paul and Barnabas were commissioned and sent out in Acts 13 they did not head off to Jerusalem. Of course, other ethnic groups were present in Jerusalem… but there was also a church in the area.



Obviously, each of these areas has many nuances and complexities to them, but these 6 issues are the main components of what is hindering progress towards planting actual churches among those language groups still without the gospel.


What hindrances do you see to finishing Jesus’ assignment of reaching every people, language, nation and tribe for His glory?

KEEP ON KEEPING ON!

Do you recognize any these familiar thoughts in your thinking?
•   Thinking a particular "method" will reach people?
•   Being impatient to see breakthroughs in people's lives?
•   Neglectful, lazy in really hearing from God in Scripture?
•   Discouraged about whether God is at work in your area?
•   Giving in to thoughts that what you're doing is for nothing?
•   Feelings of wanting to quit God’s assignment; disillusioned by setbacks or resistance?

Perhaps all of us have had such thoughts at any given time during our life and work for the Master.  But they are symptomatic of a lack of abiding (or remaining) in Jesus (John 15:4); that is, never moving from that place of trust and belief.  If allowed to continue, these ideas will rob us of persevering in order to inherit the promises of Scripture for the people with whom we work and for ourselves. Such thinking can relegate us to growing weary, to hard-heartedness and unbelief, thereby forsaking the hope of the gospel and His assignment for us.

Perseverance is a fortitude that comes from fixing our eyes on Jesus and communing with Him.  It is a steadfastness that makes us firm, abounding in God's work.  It is a patience that allows God to work all things together for good, believing that He is at work because of the hope He has given us through the life and resurrection of Jesus.  Perseverance is rooted in a faith that God will perform what He has promised. Through discipline, faith and patience we inherit the promises, (Hebrews 12:6) though, like Abraham we may not see all the results in this life. And perseverance is one of the qualities recommended to us in 2 Peter 1:4-6 as a to-be-worked-on additive to our faith.

Perseverance results in believing God is at work regardless of the circumstances we see.  It indicates that we are partakers with Jesus in His sufferings and in the work He is doing in our hearts and lives.  It assumes we are mentally prepared for action (1 Peter 1:13) and being careful to live holy lives.  Perseverance is essential for continuing our hope in how Christ is shaping us for the gracious revelation of us as His own.  It keeps us from growing weary and losing heart in the work He gives us, inviting others to share in fellowship with God. (Hebrews 12:3).

Perhaps for you, perseverance will work itself out in continually believing that God is carrying out His plan for your children.  Perhaps it will require more tangible persistence in Christ's ways in the face of hostility.  Maybe for you it will be continuing to pursue someone who hasn't yet believed He is truly Lord of all.  Whatever face perseverance takes in your life, it is essential for doing Business for Transformation and retaining the hope that does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5)

And it is important to grasp that perseverance in our lives affects those with whom we are in community.  We affect each other by the attitudes of mental alertness, steadfastness, faith, patience, and abounding in God's work that define our lives.  Conversely, when we have a short-term, expect quick results mentality, we also communicate our carelessness, laziness, forgetting the promises of Scripture, disillusionment, lack of faith, etcetera, to each other.  We have a bona fide responsibility for each other for wise and stimulating edification. (Hebrews 10:24)

What God has you doing; whoever God has you working alongside, we need to encourage one another into perseverance!

BUSYNESS

The following is contributed by a B4T worker in the Arab world who has a family and works 10-hour days for a multi-national company. If you have a blog you’d like posted here, do send it to us.

Most people today feel overwhelmed with busyness. It is really a fact of life. All the gadgets that were supposed to free us up to do other things, actually take up more of our time than the old calendar and type writer did. (Maybe we should consider getting rid of some of these anxiety-causing gadgets!)

Let’s pause for a moment, take a deep breath. Now tell yourself it is okay to be busy. The reality is no one is too busy to do the things that matter most, because we each will prioritize what is most important to us. If we continually feel that we don’t have enough time to pray or be still before God in His Word, I challenge you right now to stop and think hard about what is taking the place of those things. Extra sleep? Getting to work 30 minutes early? Going to the gym? Whatever it is, let’s stop making excuses and discipline ourselves to do what matters most first.

But again, it is okay to have a busy life. However, it’s absurd to have a busy soul.

We often confuse a busy life with a busy soul. It’s not the busy life that causes stress – it’s the busy soul. When our soul is busy, it feels like we are operating on the edge of a cliff. To many people, life seems to be a disjointed mess. The result is we fail to see the “story” God is writing in our lives.
Understanding God’s “story” in our busyness is a key to good health, spiritually, emotionally and physically. When we recognize the path God has us on, when we see the direction He is taking us, when we understand the bigger picture, the busyness of our lives becomes controllable, because it’s understandable. David writes, “… in God my soul finds rest.”  A soul connected to God, no matter what’s happening around it, is a soul at peace.

As we pray, we must focus on our relationship with our Heavenly Father, rather than on the things we want to get, or the things we want Him to do. And as our relationship with Him blossoms, observe as He uses our prayers to transform us into a beautiful work of art. Watch and see how He will proclaim His marvelous works through us to co-workers; how He will change our attitude toward our boss; how He will involve us in things that awaken deep longings in our hearts.

When our souls are content, we will begin to truly live. Rather than just sucking air and eating groceries, we’ll know His presence – we’ll feel His joy. Our souls will be calm and still before Him, and all the busyness of life will cease to create the stress it used to.

Instead of focusing on your busyness, focus on His business.

NO MAGIC FORMULA

I was talking to an experienced field worker (not a B4Ter) recently. During our conversation, he mentioned a couple of times his “targets” in reference to the people he was ministering. And as we talked, it became clear to me that he had a formula to win people to Jesus, and his objective was just that, to win “targets” to Christ. The local people were the object, and his purpose was to win those “targets”. As he shared, I realized that the more people he talked with in a day, the prouder he seemed to be of himself and his strategy. When I asked him about his results over the years, he admitted that there was not much to show for his efforts, but he felt good in the Lord as he was faithfully sowing the good seed on hard ground. When I shared the idea of plowing into people’s lives, like most people I talk with, he readily agreed and then refocused on his own strategy.

How wonderful would it be, while we discover far-away planets, to rediscover the needs of the people orbiting around us. Love, plowing His love into people’s lives, requires some creativity on our part. There is no magic formula. Language fluency, and establishing deep relationships, which working in business creates for us, are key, but they are only a start. 

Realize that good intentions and conventional strategies, so often used to appease our conscience, are not enough. We know this, but do we truly practice it? Mission work is not about us, it’s about Jesus. May we remember that those around us are not a statistic or a target. The target has a face. The statistic is always a real presence, a person in need. Yet we must work to earn respect and trust, person by person, one by one. 

The story of the Good Samaritan is the story of today’s humanity. People's paths are riddled with suffering. Yet our focus is often on our own needs first, or on the many things we desire; instead of the people around us. And often there is this habit by people who call themselves Christian, of not taking care of those we see wounded around us. In so doing are we not like the priest and the Levite?... Leaving people behind, or even communities of people on the side of the road? 

Remember, the Good Samaritan not only rescued the wounded Jew, but paid for his treatment and lodging. Mother Teresa said: “One cannot love, unless it is at their own expense.” In business terms, that’s skin in the game. Language learning, long work hours, children deprived of the benefits of growing up at home. It is arduous work. There’s no magic formula. 

Paul in old age writes his disciple Timothy, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Keep fighting. Keep running. He is worthy. 

B4T & BALANCE (PART II)

When you are first starting your job overseas or your business, you may need to abandon any idea of balance. That’s a serious statement that warrants strong consideration before moving into the B4T world. You will need to get family, friends, loved ones and especially your leaders on board with your full-court push and be prepared for some backlash at the drive you’ll need to settle into your job or to get your business going.

In starting out, the work-life balance you achieve may be more like 90/10, than 50/50. Know your own contentment level. Strive to understand what that balance is for you personally and be prepared to make the commitment to act upon your decision. As you settle into your job, that balance will change and you’ll be able to invest more time in things and with people away from the office. It’s important to recognize that the fulcrum of balance will be a sliding point on the bar of life.

Sometimes the decisions revolving around balancing the various areas of life and work will be easy, other times they’ll be more difficult. The important thing is that you know yourself. It’s essential to have ways in place to relieve some of the internal pressure you place on yourself. The B4T path is one of constantly assessing and reassessing what are the best long-term decisions you can make at each moment in time.

Regardless of how much your B4T life requires you to devote to your work, knowing your position in Christ and finding meaning in your days is what will ultimately contribute to the best work-life balance. This is why the advice to, “do what you have a passion for,” is so incredibly important.
Each of us is different. So, balance will be different for each of us. A former mentor used to tell me with a smile, “You know what balance is? Balance is where I am at.” To help you manage the work-life balance debate, tune out the opinions of others and start checking in with what the Lord is saying to you. Ultimately, it’s up to you to figure out what balance works best for your own situation, but if you need some help finding that equilibrium point, there are others who have gone before you who can help. Find a mentor or attend a Huddle to gain perspective (you can contact us directly for both of these). Understand that every person is different and just because some people are exhausted having to work 50 hours a week does not mean everybody is. The key is to find the Lord’s equilibrium for His will for you.

When you are walking with God in His will, He will give you a love for your work and a passion for the people you work with—His joy for what you’re doing every day. To achieve balance, keep Jesus front and center in all areas of your life and work, then intertwine Him into your passions and your profession. Realize, everyone is different, so get comfortable with the balance point that works personally for you.

The things that others typically compartmentalize into the “life” box (family, exercise, vacation, leisure activities) are essential to our work too. They serve as a means to recharge and reset our mental and physical health and productivity. So, no more worrying about the work-life balance myth. Stop treating your personal life as something you have to make time for and your work life as something you have to apologize for. By His grace and for His glory we are B4Ters. And what God made us to be and what He’s given us to do transcends both.

BALANCE & B4T

The typical picture of entrepreneurs—20-hour work days, always-on email, working nights, weekends and holidays—screams for work-life balance. The “go for broke” ambition that turns B4T entrepreneurs into workaholics can either burn you out or send you to an early grave.

I’ll be honest with you: I hate the phrase “a balanced life”. Jesus was one of the most unbalanced people in history.  Seriously, who fasts for 40 days? Who in their right mind consistently challenges their religious leaders? Who stays up all night praying?  Who tells people to take up their cross and choose the narrow, hard path over the wide and easy one? Balanced people? No, I don’t think so.

Jesus calls us to be slaves of God. Is slavery balanced?  In Luke 17 Jesus talks about the life of a slave.

"Suppose one of you has a slave plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the slave when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? Won't he rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?'"

The very fact that the term work-life balance exists implies that things are inherently out of balance—that there’s something broken that needs to be fixed. And the implication, at least in Christian circles is that “work” is bad and “life” is good. The thinking is that the two are mutually exclusive, when in reality, they’re inseparably interwoven parts of the same whole.

As an entrepreneur who has started 10 businesses and 3 non-profits, I’ve grown frustrated at the way mission organizations treat B4Ters who are entrepreneurs. Surely we are the minority, a special breed, one who are set apart. There needs to be greater understanding to help the normal majority to gain a perspective on how our lives actually work. We should not be expected to conform to the rules of others, when God has created us to be rule breakers.  Did Jesus break any rules?  When I raise that question I am quickly told that Jesus was God.  True, I am not God, but He has filled me with His presence and as a Christian we are “little Christ’s” who are made in His image.

Everyone of us is different; different gifting, different experiences, different calling. Who we are is not to be compartmentalized. Personally, I am a father, husband, business owner, team leader, basketball coach, mentor, and lover of Jesus, wherever I am and whatever I am doing.  I may be coaching the basketball team in the evening, but I am still a business owner. When I am at work, I am still a father. I am not any less “me” when I’m answering work emails nor am I any more “me” when I am enjoying supper with my family at home.

Wherever you are and whatever you do, you are you. Understand that work and life are not going to be separated by something as simple as a hyphen. Jesus’ day, and our days, are not arranged on a scale that is seeking equilibrium.

THE RICHEST MAN IN THE WORLD

I was asked, “Do you know who’s the richest man in the world?” When I replied, “Yes, I know him personally,” my friend looked at me surprised, and exclaimed. “You know Bill Gates!” To which I related, “Bill’s the second richest man in the world, the richest man in the world is Jesus.”

I’ve talked with several people this month who are discouraged.  Life, especially doing business, is as Jesus promised – full of tribulations. (John 16:33) Yet, often because our view of Jesus is so small, we trust Him only as far as we can see. We only ask for what we can obtain ourselves. We only desire what we feel. We do not recognize the supernatural around us. We do not draw on His power within us. Our actions reflect that we do not believe Jesus possesses all knowledge, and all things. We only believe what we can see Him doing.

Jesus tells us that if we had the faith of a mustard seed, we could move mountains. Jesus was rich. But He chose to deny Himself of His personal riches to become a man to model for us the way to heaven, to show us what godliness looks like, to reveal to us His word and His ways.

In today’s world, it seems much easier to turn to Google than to Jesus for our answers. But He is with us, ready to reply, ready to supply – if we only trust Him.

Jesus.

He not only owns all the animals in the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills, but He created the stars, the moon, the seas. He owns everything. He knows everything. He is the richest man in the world. Trust Him.

AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE

Two times this past month I have been asked about the authority of Scripture and the authority of the sending church in the life of a B4Ter.  This blog centers on the authority of Scripture in the church.  Arron Currin writes on his blog…

Imagine that we have a kingdom with a very powerful and glorious King. The King desires for the people to know more about His person, His power, His kingdom, and their citizenship; so he issues a document describing these things and inviting all citizens to become members of the royal court. The King realizes that no common man can pen this story for then would enter the opinions of paupers who knew little or nothing of the King. For a time he considers having his loving and loyal friends compose this work, but though this would ensure greater accuracy, still his friends would be inclined to their bias and opinion and truth may be lost. So, fueled by his desire for the people of his realm to truly have an absolutely accurate description of his person, his power, his justice, his grace, his love, and his might, He decides to pen the work himself. He uses stories, poems, history, prophecy, biographies, and explanatory epistles in his manuscript, and once it is complete he sends it out throughout his kingdom. Now the questions arises…would anyone receiving this work, knowing that it was from the King’s own hand, really pose the question: “Is this accurate?” Surely not. The query may indeed be leveled if someone doubted that the king himself had written the book; but no logical citizen would raise such a question if they actually believed it was from the hand of the king. They may scoff his justice, laugh at his love, and reject his invitation, but they would never deny it as truth. 

The core issue is not to argue whether the Bible is truth or not. The issue is who actually wrote the Bible? Buddhist and Hindus agree that their holy writings originated from the wisdom of men. Yet we are assured the source of our Scriptures are not the efforts of wise men, but of God (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).  2 Timothy 3:16-17 makes it clear that every word of Scripture is “God breathed”. Unless we believe the Scriptures are the very words of God, it would be foolish to stake our lives and work on its writings. 

Muslims contend that Muhammed was given, handed, the Quran by Allah. Thus, their view and ours are similar. And though Muslims are quick to debate “Is the Bible the word of God,” they will never debate, “Is the Quran the word of God.” Why? Because they believe the latter is fact. Just as the color of these letters on this page are black, you do not debate what is an established fact. The point that Christians are willing to debate the authenticity of the Bible, already proves to Muslims that we question the source of the Bible. 

The Bible is the infallible inerrant word of God. No discussion. No debate. When discussing the Scriptures with others, remember Arron’s story. And remember our assignment is to introduce people to Jesus, not win arguments.

Arron’s blog:  http://bldg28.com/does-the-church-carry-more-authority-than-the-bible/

DO B4Ters DOUBLE DIP?

Last month a pastor in the USA called me, a bit annoyed. He said, "I just learned our worker is being paid a good salary by the business he’s working for, yet we are still supporting him $2,500/month!"

And this week I received the following question:

My church has historically only supported traditional workers who receive all their living expenses from donors to do full-time vocational ministry.  Recently we've been asked to support a cross-cultural worker who spends much of his time working in a business and this business also generates at least part of his living expenses. What's the role of the church in supporting someone like this?

Are B4Ters double dipping?...  Getting two incomes and living high off the hog?  I hope not. (Especially if you are working with Muslims. 😊 )

Nothing is more controversial than money. Woody Allen put it this way, "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." It’s well known in B4T circles that as long as your business is losing money, the mission agency and the church back home are all happy. But, if your business begins making money? Especially if it’s making lots of money—watch out!

Like most problems, the real issue with those perceived to be double dipping is communication and a clarification of needs and expectations. However, there’s often two very different scenarios which leads to confusion and problems between B4Ters and those who support them.

The first scenario involves Joe, who is led by the Lord to go to Timbuktu to start a business and reach the local Arab people. Joe determines the financial support he needs to live and work in Timbuktu and then raises that support from churches and friends. From the beginning, Joe is clear with everyone about his objectives; first he will invest two years studying the language and then he will work to start a business from which he will reach out to the community doing B4T.

Joe raises support to cover the first two years so that he can support himself and his family to live and to learn the language. Joe determines the budget his family needs to live on, is $5,000/month. This budget becomes his support raising goal. Once the support is raised, Joe and his family move to Timbuktu and begin learning the language. After two years, Joe begins his business. From day one, Joe wishes to pay himself a salary, but as the business is starting out he limits himself to a local wage of $500/month. At this point, Joe should inform his donors and churches of his change in income.  The church may now reduce Joe’s income accordingly.

Now many would wisely caution that because of business fluctuations, Joe shouldn’t immediately encourage the church to reduce its support. Rather, it is wise to request donors to keep giving the full $5,000/month for 6 to 18 months after the business opens, in case the business has financial problems. (It is common for new businesses to have cash flow problems.) I agree with this thinking. As Joe’s income from the business grows, he can reduce his support from his home country.

Recognize, the key to avoiding hard feelings is clear, transparent, communication. If you solicit moneys from well-meaning individuals and/or churches, we need to be willing to be accountable to these people for the money they have given us. After all, they are giving to the Lord, and they expect their donation to be stewarded for His Kingdom. Just as investors have a right to know how a business is using their investment, so donors have a right to know how a person is using their gifts. Both business investors and donors to God’s work are sharing their hard-earned monies with the expectation that there will be some benefit or fruit from those gifts. In fact, Jesus tells a parable of God Himself making an investment and expecting a return on His investment. (Matthew 25:14-30) So it is wise and good that people have an accounting of their gift or investment.

…next week, the second scenario.