Please pray for a man I'll call VK. He is a pastor here in The Location. He is in jail now. He was arrested last Friday because he was going to send two young men from his village to work with us (in another province). I just found out today. My heart is heavy for VK.
They are accusing VK of human trafficking because he was going to send these two young men to "study" but he couldn't give them the name of the school or company. All he gave them was the name of one of our workers. The charges are a farse. For one, the two young men never made it here. They were apprehended at a bus stop and escorted back home. Plenty of people travel for no reason (and many even for bad reasons) and are never harrassed. But VK is someone they've been harrassing for years because of his faith. He is one of a very few number of Christians (and one of the first) in a very unreached people group. They can't say they've arrested him for practicing his faith, so they say he was involved in human trafficking.
We don't know what is going to happen. Please pray for VK. Please pray for our worker who was named. Please pray for us. This could eventually all come back on us and potentially be the end of what we're doing here. Or, it all blow over and be forgotten.
We trust in God.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Good Things Take Time To Grow
They say the definition of impatience is standing in front of a microwave oven screaming at it to hurry up!
I live in a semi-tropical country. That means that by all comparisons, things grow fast. In March I planted some trees from tiny little seeds around our parking area at our offices. Now these trees are over 3 meters tall already. Pretty fast, actually.
But these trees are still not big enough to provide shade for my vehicle parked there. When I look at them I think, "Hurry up! Grow taller. Grow bigger. And do it now!" I try to think of what fertilizer I can put on them to make them grow faster. I am being impatient.
The truth is, good things take time to grow. While I may wish for success overnight, I can't expect to plant a seed one day and get a tree the following day. It just takes time. Especially for things that grow.
You see, I could have constructed a shade roof for our parking area. It would have been finished in less than a week and our vehciles would have been basking in shade for the past six months. But that shade roof would never grow. In fact, without a lot of maintenance it would probably be unusable in a couple years, depending on the materials I used.
If I wait one more year my trees will provide better and cooler (as in temperature) shade than any roof I could build. And they will continue to grow providing shade for decades to come.
That which is built can be big fast; that which is grown takes time.
So it is with disciples and church planting. I could build a church. It is growth by addition. But I'd rather plant a seed by making a disciple and watch, over time, a church growth movement multiply far beyond my own influence.
I live in a semi-tropical country. That means that by all comparisons, things grow fast. In March I planted some trees from tiny little seeds around our parking area at our offices. Now these trees are over 3 meters tall already. Pretty fast, actually.
But these trees are still not big enough to provide shade for my vehicle parked there. When I look at them I think, "Hurry up! Grow taller. Grow bigger. And do it now!" I try to think of what fertilizer I can put on them to make them grow faster. I am being impatient.
The truth is, good things take time to grow. While I may wish for success overnight, I can't expect to plant a seed one day and get a tree the following day. It just takes time. Especially for things that grow.
You see, I could have constructed a shade roof for our parking area. It would have been finished in less than a week and our vehciles would have been basking in shade for the past six months. But that shade roof would never grow. In fact, without a lot of maintenance it would probably be unusable in a couple years, depending on the materials I used.
If I wait one more year my trees will provide better and cooler (as in temperature) shade than any roof I could build. And they will continue to grow providing shade for decades to come.
That which is built can be big fast; that which is grown takes time.
So it is with disciples and church planting. I could build a church. It is growth by addition. But I'd rather plant a seed by making a disciple and watch, over time, a church growth movement multiply far beyond my own influence.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Gluttony 3
More thoughts on gluttony...
My theory of how we should use/possess money is related to how I view gluttony. You will usually hear one of two approaches regarding Christians and money:
1) It's not wrong to have money as long as you tithe (10%) to God/church.
2) It's not right for Christians to be rich or make lots of money. We should live simple and not be wealthy.
The former preaches against the love of money rather than the possession of it, arguing that it's okay to have it as long as you don't love it. The latter preaches against the possession of money, usually arguing something to the effect of, "If you still have it, how can you convince me you don't love it?"
The Bible teaches us "You cannot serve both God and Money." Also, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil."
The Bible also reprimands the greedy by saying, "You have hoarded wealth...". Jesus told us the following story in Luke 12:15-21:
And while we may certainly use money in God's service, the Bible also tells us not to hoard wealth. What does that mean? It means we should not keep extra wealth around that isn't necessary when it could be used for more important things or for helping others.
This is how our use of money relates to gluttony. It is not wrong to have it or use it but we should not consume (or store it up like fat around our waistlines) more than we need.
I have no problem with Christians making millions of dollars doing honest work and business. But how much of that do they spend on themselves? Do they feel they have the right to use 90% of that just because they tithed 10% to their church? Are they not still accountable for how they spend every penny? Would they not also be guilty of "building bigger barns" and hoarding wealth when they build themselves mansions and buy lots of very expensive "toys"?
I know of one Christian business man who does in fact make millions of dollars. But his standard of living is on par with someone making $30,000 - $40,000 a year. No one would ever know how much money he actually brings in, and indeed most people around him do not. What he spends on himself is a small percentage of what he could spend. So, what does he do with his money? Not only does he tithe to his church (and beyond) but he also supports many different kinds of ministries and specifically, he helps missionaries in his denomination establish businesses in "closed" (creative access) countries. He has helped establish dozens of these enterprises in order to get the gospel into places that are difficult to reach. No one can accuse him of hoarding his wealth.
I also know of a young man who does not make enough money to live on. It's not because he's lazy, addicted or mentally impaired. It's just that he has never had anyone to help him get a good start. I expect that he will eventually establish himself and make enough to live on and help others. But it will take time. Right now, he sponsors a child in Haiti and gives a few dollars to his church on Sunday. If you were to do the math, the money he gives to his church and child would probably be around 5% of his income. Yet, it is still difficult and a sacrifice for him. Most people with his level of income don't give a penny because they need it to eat on. I believe this man is like the woman who gave a few pennies to the temple--Jesus said she gave more because he was giving all she had to live on. It was a sacrifice. Many of those giving large amounts weren't sacrificing, but giving from what was left over from an abundance.
We should not be gluttons for money. We should use and give money; not love it and hoard it.
My theory of how we should use/possess money is related to how I view gluttony. You will usually hear one of two approaches regarding Christians and money:
1) It's not wrong to have money as long as you tithe (10%) to God/church.
2) It's not right for Christians to be rich or make lots of money. We should live simple and not be wealthy.
The former preaches against the love of money rather than the possession of it, arguing that it's okay to have it as long as you don't love it. The latter preaches against the possession of money, usually arguing something to the effect of, "If you still have it, how can you convince me you don't love it?"
The Bible teaches us "You cannot serve both God and Money." Also, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil."
The Bible also reprimands the greedy by saying, "You have hoarded wealth...". Jesus told us the following story in Luke 12:15-21:
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."It is clear that we should not love money and wealth. It is not our goal. It is not our purpose to become wealthy. Our purpose is to serve God and his Kingdom. If we pursue worldly wealth, then we are not walking according to God's plan.
And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
And while we may certainly use money in God's service, the Bible also tells us not to hoard wealth. What does that mean? It means we should not keep extra wealth around that isn't necessary when it could be used for more important things or for helping others.
This is how our use of money relates to gluttony. It is not wrong to have it or use it but we should not consume (or store it up like fat around our waistlines) more than we need.
I have no problem with Christians making millions of dollars doing honest work and business. But how much of that do they spend on themselves? Do they feel they have the right to use 90% of that just because they tithed 10% to their church? Are they not still accountable for how they spend every penny? Would they not also be guilty of "building bigger barns" and hoarding wealth when they build themselves mansions and buy lots of very expensive "toys"?
I know of one Christian business man who does in fact make millions of dollars. But his standard of living is on par with someone making $30,000 - $40,000 a year. No one would ever know how much money he actually brings in, and indeed most people around him do not. What he spends on himself is a small percentage of what he could spend. So, what does he do with his money? Not only does he tithe to his church (and beyond) but he also supports many different kinds of ministries and specifically, he helps missionaries in his denomination establish businesses in "closed" (creative access) countries. He has helped establish dozens of these enterprises in order to get the gospel into places that are difficult to reach. No one can accuse him of hoarding his wealth.
I also know of a young man who does not make enough money to live on. It's not because he's lazy, addicted or mentally impaired. It's just that he has never had anyone to help him get a good start. I expect that he will eventually establish himself and make enough to live on and help others. But it will take time. Right now, he sponsors a child in Haiti and gives a few dollars to his church on Sunday. If you were to do the math, the money he gives to his church and child would probably be around 5% of his income. Yet, it is still difficult and a sacrifice for him. Most people with his level of income don't give a penny because they need it to eat on. I believe this man is like the woman who gave a few pennies to the temple--Jesus said she gave more because he was giving all she had to live on. It was a sacrifice. Many of those giving large amounts weren't sacrificing, but giving from what was left over from an abundance.
We should not be gluttons for money. We should use and give money; not love it and hoard it.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Gluttony 2
A few more thoughts on gluttony...
If we compare the consumption of physical food to the consumption of "spiritual food" it is interesting to draw some parallels between our physical and spiritual health.
I didn't get into the whole topic of the kinds of foods we should eat versus the kinds of foods we shouldn't eat in my ramblings on gluttony. It is important, but I didn't go there. One of the points I wanted to make was that, for weight loss, added exercise doesn't usually help us if we don't have a change in our diet.
So it is spiritually. Doing good things, serving and performing other kinds of ministry are good. But they don't really help our spiritual health a whole lot if we are still consuming a steady diet of spiritual junk food: TV smut, pornography, celebrity gossip, soap operas, romance novels, pop psycology books, gossip with other people, music TV, advice from men's/women's magazines, or any other media that convey messages about our worth, value, meaning, or worldview that is different from God's word.
I'm not saying we can't "taste" SOME of these things so we at least know what the world is saying and how people who do eat these things up are affected, but they shouldn't be our "main course." Instead, it would do us well to have a steady diet of God's word and to help us understand God's heart and how to hear/listen to his voice.
Bearing good fruit without being deeply rooted in the Vine is very difficult to do.
If we compare the consumption of physical food to the consumption of "spiritual food" it is interesting to draw some parallels between our physical and spiritual health.
I didn't get into the whole topic of the kinds of foods we should eat versus the kinds of foods we shouldn't eat in my ramblings on gluttony. It is important, but I didn't go there. One of the points I wanted to make was that, for weight loss, added exercise doesn't usually help us if we don't have a change in our diet.
So it is spiritually. Doing good things, serving and performing other kinds of ministry are good. But they don't really help our spiritual health a whole lot if we are still consuming a steady diet of spiritual junk food: TV smut, pornography, celebrity gossip, soap operas, romance novels, pop psycology books, gossip with other people, music TV, advice from men's/women's magazines, or any other media that convey messages about our worth, value, meaning, or worldview that is different from God's word.
I'm not saying we can't "taste" SOME of these things so we at least know what the world is saying and how people who do eat these things up are affected, but they shouldn't be our "main course." Instead, it would do us well to have a steady diet of God's word and to help us understand God's heart and how to hear/listen to his voice.
Bearing good fruit without being deeply rooted in the Vine is very difficult to do.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Gluttony
I've been thinking about gluttony lately. It is one of those sins we don't take very seriously in the American church. If we were to compare gluttony to adultery, they would come out at completely different ends of the "seriousness of sin" spectrum we have constructed in our minds or in our society. How many times have you heard of a pastor that has "fallen" because he committed an act of gluttony... and therefore had to step down from ministry in disgrace?
Yeah, me neither.
I confess to the sin of gluttony. And I haven't just committed an isolated act of gluttony... I do it regularly! Buffets and bars (of the salad/food type) are temptations I can't resist. What's worse, I often eat to stay awake while I watch a late-night movie, drive, or work at my computer. Nothing keeps me awake as well as eating. Over time, these actions have accumulated quite the display around my mid-section.
I know... I'm not alone. Perhaps you're right there with me. So many people share this problem that we rarely, if ever, hear taken seriously in church. And this is while America is one of the most (or is it THE most?) obese nations on the planet!
It is ironic that in a society that equates "fat" with "ugly" (here in The Location being a little overweight can be attractive, and at the very least is not detractive) and where you can search for hours in magazines and soap operas to find one image of an obese person without any success, that obesity is on the rise and is smashing records.
But this post isn't about obesity--it's about gluttony. Obesity is one of the the consequences of long term gluttony.
Gluttony, plain and simple, is eating more than your body needs. Our bodies only need so much. And for millenia humans on earth have mostly dealt with the issue of not having enough to eat. In poor and developing countries you hear people talk about average caloric intake of the population. Usually it is BELOW what people's bodies need. And so organizations like the UN's World Food Program try to get balanced meals to kids that include high levels of protein in order to up the calories they consume.
In America, people spend hundreds of dollars each year for gym memberships to go running on machines that are designed to burn up all of the extra calories we consume. Kind of funny. (It's too bad we can't capture all that energy and load it into the power grid. Actually, I just saw in a neighboring country to The Location some public exercise bikes in the park that are hooked up to what looks like water pumps. Not sure what they're pumping for.)
I have always bristled when people would suggest to me that I eat too much in explanation of why I'm overweight (like I needed it, thanks). I would point to my roommate in college who has always been something of a "rail." He would eat every bit as much as me--perhaps more--and would never get fat. Nope, always thin. I would completely envy his "metabolism." Yet, I am the one guilty of gluttony, not him?
Many people have said, "God just made some people fat and some people skinny. We should just accept who we are and how he made us." And for a long time, though I had wished God made me thin, I just accepted that this is how I'm supposed to be.
But now I am starting to see things a little differently...
My father has diabetes, my older sister is getting it, and I have high blood pressure. I know what's coming. If I don't change my weight, I will surely get diabetes in the future. The risk of diabetes is extremely effected by being overweight. If you can control your weight, you can actually prevent diabetes. (I know this isn't true for 100% of diabetes cases, but it is remarkably high.) There are a host of health related problems that are caused by obesity.
So, is this just how God designed me? It seems he didn't design our bodies to be overweight if by being overweight it causes all of these problems for our bodies.
If by eating more than I need I put on weight, the solution seems pretty obvious to me. I don't need to eat as much as I do. In different scenarios in the human experience on earth, this would be a huge blessing. I actually don't need to eat as much as my college roommate. If we lived together 3,000 years ago during a world famine, I might survive while he perished. It's not that God has cursed me with low metabolism--it's just that he has blessed me with not needing to eat as much as I do. (Not that I don't want to--desire/hunger is another issue.)
The solution to obesity, for me, isn't in trying to burn off all the extra calories I consume. That just seems silly. I mean, exercise is good for the body and good for the heart. But when you sit back and think about it, it is crazy--our bodies need a certain amount of calories, but we eat more, so then we do artificial activity just to burn off those extra calories. And what is even more funny--it doesn't even work that well. You see, our bodies crave equilibrium. So, if we are accustomed to eating so much and then all of the sudden we do new activity to burn off those calories, our body reacts by making us hungrier so we will consume more calories to make up for the ones we're losing. Exercise without diet change is a recipe for bodily disaster (in terms of obesity--it is still good for the heart). That is why any fast changes is our weight is not good. Our body will work against us. Slow change gives our body enough time to adjust to a "new equilibrium."
Not eating more than I need is the solution. Not committing gluttony, actually. (Funny how obedience to God's way is the best for us.) And this is where I must wage the battle.
When I was growing up my parents expected me to "clean up my plate." I had to eat everything set before me. Often, when we were clearing the table and putting things away, there would be a little leftover pasta or stuffing. My dad would ask me, "Do you want to eat this so it doesn't go to waste?" The idea is that if we threw it away, it would be wasted. But if I ate it--even though I was already finished eating--it would be "saved." That is crazy thinking, really. "Contribute to future obesity via gluttony by eating this extra amount of food so that we don't have to feel wasteful by throwing it away."
Just because there is more food on the table than my body needs doesn't mean I have to eat it.
Eating only what I need is not self-denial (though it might feel that way at first), it is simply what's right. Self-denial would be eating less (which is what fasting is--and that is something we're expected to do on occasion). I need to learn what that amount is, and prepare my meals accordingly. If others prepare a feast, I must learn how to (respectfully) say no to more.
I don't know how it's going to go. I'm so accustomed to eating more than I need; consuming beyond what my body requires. I'm thankful for the abundance of food. But I must not hoard it all into my body.
Yeah, me neither.
I confess to the sin of gluttony. And I haven't just committed an isolated act of gluttony... I do it regularly! Buffets and bars (of the salad/food type) are temptations I can't resist. What's worse, I often eat to stay awake while I watch a late-night movie, drive, or work at my computer. Nothing keeps me awake as well as eating. Over time, these actions have accumulated quite the display around my mid-section.
I know... I'm not alone. Perhaps you're right there with me. So many people share this problem that we rarely, if ever, hear taken seriously in church. And this is while America is one of the most (or is it THE most?) obese nations on the planet!
It is ironic that in a society that equates "fat" with "ugly" (here in The Location being a little overweight can be attractive, and at the very least is not detractive) and where you can search for hours in magazines and soap operas to find one image of an obese person without any success, that obesity is on the rise and is smashing records.
But this post isn't about obesity--it's about gluttony. Obesity is one of the the consequences of long term gluttony.
Gluttony, plain and simple, is eating more than your body needs. Our bodies only need so much. And for millenia humans on earth have mostly dealt with the issue of not having enough to eat. In poor and developing countries you hear people talk about average caloric intake of the population. Usually it is BELOW what people's bodies need. And so organizations like the UN's World Food Program try to get balanced meals to kids that include high levels of protein in order to up the calories they consume.
In America, people spend hundreds of dollars each year for gym memberships to go running on machines that are designed to burn up all of the extra calories we consume. Kind of funny. (It's too bad we can't capture all that energy and load it into the power grid. Actually, I just saw in a neighboring country to The Location some public exercise bikes in the park that are hooked up to what looks like water pumps. Not sure what they're pumping for.)
I have always bristled when people would suggest to me that I eat too much in explanation of why I'm overweight (like I needed it, thanks). I would point to my roommate in college who has always been something of a "rail." He would eat every bit as much as me--perhaps more--and would never get fat. Nope, always thin. I would completely envy his "metabolism." Yet, I am the one guilty of gluttony, not him?
Many people have said, "God just made some people fat and some people skinny. We should just accept who we are and how he made us." And for a long time, though I had wished God made me thin, I just accepted that this is how I'm supposed to be.
But now I am starting to see things a little differently...
My father has diabetes, my older sister is getting it, and I have high blood pressure. I know what's coming. If I don't change my weight, I will surely get diabetes in the future. The risk of diabetes is extremely effected by being overweight. If you can control your weight, you can actually prevent diabetes. (I know this isn't true for 100% of diabetes cases, but it is remarkably high.) There are a host of health related problems that are caused by obesity.
So, is this just how God designed me? It seems he didn't design our bodies to be overweight if by being overweight it causes all of these problems for our bodies.
If by eating more than I need I put on weight, the solution seems pretty obvious to me. I don't need to eat as much as I do. In different scenarios in the human experience on earth, this would be a huge blessing. I actually don't need to eat as much as my college roommate. If we lived together 3,000 years ago during a world famine, I might survive while he perished. It's not that God has cursed me with low metabolism--it's just that he has blessed me with not needing to eat as much as I do. (Not that I don't want to--desire/hunger is another issue.)
The solution to obesity, for me, isn't in trying to burn off all the extra calories I consume. That just seems silly. I mean, exercise is good for the body and good for the heart. But when you sit back and think about it, it is crazy--our bodies need a certain amount of calories, but we eat more, so then we do artificial activity just to burn off those extra calories. And what is even more funny--it doesn't even work that well. You see, our bodies crave equilibrium. So, if we are accustomed to eating so much and then all of the sudden we do new activity to burn off those calories, our body reacts by making us hungrier so we will consume more calories to make up for the ones we're losing. Exercise without diet change is a recipe for bodily disaster (in terms of obesity--it is still good for the heart). That is why any fast changes is our weight is not good. Our body will work against us. Slow change gives our body enough time to adjust to a "new equilibrium."
Not eating more than I need is the solution. Not committing gluttony, actually. (Funny how obedience to God's way is the best for us.) And this is where I must wage the battle.
When I was growing up my parents expected me to "clean up my plate." I had to eat everything set before me. Often, when we were clearing the table and putting things away, there would be a little leftover pasta or stuffing. My dad would ask me, "Do you want to eat this so it doesn't go to waste?" The idea is that if we threw it away, it would be wasted. But if I ate it--even though I was already finished eating--it would be "saved." That is crazy thinking, really. "Contribute to future obesity via gluttony by eating this extra amount of food so that we don't have to feel wasteful by throwing it away."
Just because there is more food on the table than my body needs doesn't mean I have to eat it.
Eating only what I need is not self-denial (though it might feel that way at first), it is simply what's right. Self-denial would be eating less (which is what fasting is--and that is something we're expected to do on occasion). I need to learn what that amount is, and prepare my meals accordingly. If others prepare a feast, I must learn how to (respectfully) say no to more.
I don't know how it's going to go. I'm so accustomed to eating more than I need; consuming beyond what my body requires. I'm thankful for the abundance of food. But I must not hoard it all into my body.
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