Global Andy

Just posted a devotion about Lessons from a Rhino on the blog for STINTers.  Feel free to sneak a peek.

I just posted another devotion for STINTers titled – Homothumadon.  It’s actually a product of my having just finished reading Eugene Peterson’s The Jesus Way.   Incredible book!  And two separate conversations the last two days about the need to have a unified respond to the enemies plots.

Yesterday on the “Worldwide Student Network” blog, I posted a little devotion on lessons learned from the Wildebeest.   If nothing, it gives you a few ‘bet-you-didn’t-know’ facts.  Or as I liked to say “Who Gnu?” since wildebeests are also called gnus.

Today we start the Global Briefing conference in Copper Mountain, CO. It is a briefing for 300+ STINTers (1 year missionaries) with Campus Crusade who will go all over the world. These 300+ are from all over the US. We also have a few interns who work to reach Int’l students on campuses in the US.

Our theme this week is “Christ Alone”. We will impart a lot of information on how to work as a team, how to minister and thrive overseas, etc. through main sessions and seminars. But foremost we want these young people to experience Christ this week and to know that this year is not about them. It’s not about their team or Campus Crusade’s name. It’s about Christ and Him alone.

Pray for me. I am actually leading this conference. I hate saying that because one I hope Christ is leading it and I have a team of folks who are leading. But it does make for a unique week of seeing the conference as a whole being on top of things. I also will be coaching the team from our region going to South Africa.

Robin and the boys are planning to come up late Friday afternoon and stay the weekend. Luke has his orientation for Kindergarten on Friday so they will come up after then.

C & S are in East Asia in huge city. They are not far from the recent disaster. And the crisis is greatly affecting their students and teachers. Over the course of the past few weeks, they have seen God transform a number of students’ hearts. In addition, several of S’s friends have indicated desires to learn more about God and one said that she thinks that she may want to believe. C has gotten to know a student who already believes and is interested in studying further and growing in knowledge and fellowship. And one of the guys who has helped their team in thousands of ways has expressed interest in possibly believing.

About their city, they write, “Our city has a history of deeply rooted spiritual darkness. We see this everyday in our students’ resistance to the Gospel and the walls that are put up to try to prevent ministry from taking place. About a year ago, a Brother did some research on our city and discovered several ancient gates surrounding our city that were devoted to welcoming the gods and spirits into our city. Another gate has been the sight of several major battles in our city–many lives have been sacrificed at this spot. Another is the site of the sale of drugs and traditional medicine. Each of these gates to the city welcomed in something that goes directly against the Lord. As a city, we took time a few weeks ago to visit each of these gates and spend time praying over them. It was a powerful opportunity to learn the history of our city as well as cry out for God’s grace and mercy to our city. Our God is far more powerful than any forces of evil in our city. Please continue to pray for revival in our city–that all strongholds of evil would be demolished.”

Maybe lately it has seemed like the world is gone awry. Wars and rumors of wars, nation rising against nation, famines and earthquakes in various places. On a personal side, yesterday, a friend close to my heart who had been battling cancer on and off for over six years, went home to be with Jesus. One of my eloquent co-workers said this about Paul’s passing, “Death is the last great insult as we were never created to die yet I find this juxtaposed against a strange envy for Paul.”

In the Kingdom of God, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. In the Kingdom of God weapons of warfare are refashioned into weapons of food production. In God’s Kingdom, the hungry will be fed, the lame will walk and the blind will see. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or a man who does not live out his years. Things will be the way God intended it to be.

Death is the last great insult. I saw a riveting scene on TV where a woman whose loved ones were trapped in a building after the earthquake. They first interview her and she has great confidence in her governments ability to rescue this loved one from death. But then when they tell her that the rescue was called off because of unsafe conditions, she loses it. Death is like this. It brings pain and sorrow. Death separates loved ones. Death causes grief. Death is the last great insult as we were not created to die.

Jesus, however, came to give us life.. real life. Yes, we will most certainly, and most fully experience this life after life here on earth but He also came to give us a life – a God life – now. Here’s just a few gems from John’s gospel…

~ In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
~ Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
~ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.
~ Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
~ For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
~ I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
~ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.
~ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
~ I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
~ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
~ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.
~ I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
~ I am the way and the truth and the life.
~ For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
~ Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

This is what we are to experience. That is what we are lead others to. This is the hope we bring to the world. May today we experience the life He came to give. Today may we help people cross from death to life.

Okay how many people spend a year in France and yet take a trip to Romania? Well that’s what Keith and Natalie Back did. They lead the team in Nantes, France. Over spring break, their team took their French students to Romania. In fact the pic of them is in Romania with the Carpathian Mountains in the background. While there, they spent 5 days working with CCC sharing Christ and helping with Josh McDowell outreach and then 5 days serving in 6 different State-run orphanages with a group called “Children to Love”.

Keith writes, “What was most encouraging was that we had 6 of our students come on our trip, and most of them are going to be future leaders here in the movement. The trip was great but I would say the ministry here in Nantes, France is taking off because there has been a great passing the baton of leadership from the older students to the younger students this year. Next year in the ministry, we are looking at a strong core of young leaders eagerly waiting to step up in leadership. Praise God!”

If you didn’t catch that, the Back’s are re-upping for a 2nd year. they actually return to US this weekend to start back on support-raising so they can return.

Speaking of returning… Lucy, Peter, John and Susan return to Narnia this weekend… at least on film. Prince Caspian premieres in the US. I am sure in most places where you are its already out on pirated DVDs for a buck; copies with someone’s head blocking the view part of the time, persistent coughing in the background and someone bumping the hidden video recorder while getting a refill of their bottomless popcorn bucket.

I don’t have a copy of the book with me at the office as I type this so I am sure some Narniaphile will correct me. But near the end of the story (spoiler alert), Aslan is about to make Caspian the king. Caspian mentions he is not worthy and Aslan says that actually qualifies him.

I know I totally butchered that but the jest is that humility is a prerequisite to leadership. Think about it, if God resists the proud that means He resists the proud leader. Leading is being humble, serving, considering others more important than yourself, et. al.

In fact, Philippians 2 is such a great passage on being a leader of humility. I feel like I don’t really need to point this out because I am sure you know this passage so well. There are three commands, that are worth another look nonetheless.

The first is in verse 3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” In 1:17, we see that some in Paul’s day were preaching out of selfish ambition. Some things never change. James says that if we harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in our hearts, we should not boast about it or deny the truth. He goes on to say that where you have selfish ambition, you find disorder and every evil practice. We know from Gal 5 that is an act of the sinful nature.

Do I have selfish ambition? Am I vain? Or do I choose to consider everyone I see better than myself – my team, my co-leader, the lost, the crowds, elderly, orphans in Romania, etc.?

The second is “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It’s a given in this passage that we will look out for own interests. It’s even given that we should. But Paul says we should look not only or merely for own interests. Interests could be just what we are interested in. You know that section in your facebook profile that no one read unless they are ‘interested’ in you. But interest also means ’something that contributes to or increases one’s well-being’.

Do I look out for others interests? Do I really care about what contributes to their well-being? Or do I only care about what I care about? Am I only looking out for myself?

The last command is ‘to have the attitude of Christ Jesus…’ In one of the greatest passages that describes Jesus, we see that He – though God in the flesh – didn’t hang on to that place of honor and glory. For our sake he emptied Himself. The Creator became creation. And that wasn’t enough, He became a lowly servant. And that wasn’t enough, the One who lives forever died. And that wasn’t enough, He didn’t just die. He died in the most excruciating way possible – on a cross. In fact the word ‘excruciate’ means ‘to crucify’. Jesus’ attitude was complete humility. No one can even come close to matching it because if you think of the most humble person they probably didn’t die in such a painful sacrificial way and even if they did, they weren’t God.

And yet, Paul commands us that our attitude should be the same at Christ’s. Impossible apart from a greater source that goes back to the first part of the chapter. The ‘if’s…

if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ
if any comfort from his love
if any fellowship with the Spirit
if any tenderness and compassion

May we be so overwhelmed by being united with Him… so comforted by His love… so in sweet fellowship with the Spirit.. so inundated by tenderness and compassion… that we consider others as more important than ourselves, look out for other’s interests and we take on the attitude of our Lord: a humble servant willing to give up all.

Graham Bryant (in the back row with a beard) is leading the team in Bosnia. Spring as been a busy time for them. The ‘Porn Nation’ outreach that has been used all over the States came to Sarajevo – it was the first time it had been done overseas. Graham says, “About 150 students heard the gospel – by far the largest outreach in the 7-year history of the movement in Sarajevo. Many requested some sort of follow-up, but the coolest part of that was our believing students were excited to be a part of the follow-up. They went on many of the follow-up appointments with us and were able to share their stories with the students we met. It was exciting to see our students want to become a part of taking the gospel to the other students of their city. On top of that, we had a team of Albanian students and staff come and go on campus with us for a week. They really took every opportunity to share Christ here. It was especially powerful to hear Albanian believers from Muslim backgrounds challenge Bosnian Muslims to follow Christ.”

About a month ago, the girls on the Bosnia team helped put on a women’s retreat, gathering students from Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia for a weekend. (Sort of a reunification of Yugoslavia.) “The girls were really amazed to see how intently the students listened when spiritual truth was being shared”, Graham writes. “This was a big answer to prayer!”

I think most of us know or have sung Micah 6:8.
“He has showed you, O man, (Women echo: O man)
what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.”

This is what is required of us. This is what it means to follow Him. If we are launching movements of true followers of Jesus, this is what we should all look like. I am actually going to take these three last to first, because the progression I think goes from humility to mercy to just acts.

To walk humbly with our God - James writes that those of us who are rich should take pride in our low position because we will fade like a flower. I used the inclusive language of ‘us’ because we are so rich in comparison to most of the world. Humility says I have nothing except what has come from God above. There is nothing to take pride in. We humble ourselves before Him. It’s not about us. We are in desperate need of Him. God dwells with a man who is humble. God delights in a humble woman.

To love mercy - Mercy comes from a big heart toward God. Mercy looks on people with compassion the way Jesus did and moves with acts of compassion that Jesus did. It is both loving the lost and serving the least. Mercy is always interpersonal. Mercy is forgiving 70 x 7. Mercy is like the Good Samaritan who puts himself in harm’s way to minister to those in need. It is the fruit of a wisdom that comes from heaven. Mercy does not show favoritism. As pride is the opposite of humility, judgment is the opposite of mercy. Mercy triumphs judgment. And when you show mercy to the least of these, you show it to Jesus. (Matt 25:31-40)

To act Justly – Justice flows from the other side of a God-sized heart. Isaiah 42 tells us that Messiah Jesus would come to bring justice to the nations. Justice is crying out ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. Justice is seeing the oppression of people and taking what is wrong and making it right. Most often Justice in scripture speaks to the most vulnerable… the widows, orphans and strangers… those who are rarely experience justice. James says that what God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. The LORD himself goes one step further speaking about David: “He did what was right and just,so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” (Jer 22:15-16) . Justice is at the very heart of someone who knows God and follows Him.

Maybe you have had some of these thoughts: “This is a distraction from our higher calling” or “This is good for some but we are called to something else, something more noble” or “Good Deeds is a good strategy.” But what if we saw that if we really want people to follow Jesus this is part and particle of what we call people to do? What if we did these things because that’s what followers of Jesus do? What if we saw that it fits in win, build and send? What if we just desired that God would raise up men and women from every nation who would do what He required? Men and women who loved the lost proclaiming the Good News and served the least displaying the Good News?

J and A lead an AIA STINT Team in East Asia at a Sports University. J is down front. A is man on the right and his wife S is in the red cap. K is their other teammate on top of the rock.

In the fall J met a girl and nicknamed her, “Stalker,” because she called so much. J says, “In our earlier conversations it seemed that Stalker wanted to be my friend for the wrong reasons, (to just learn English) and I really did not like her. After a conversation with her last semester, I had to confess to God my attitude toward Stalker, ask Him to help me see her like He does. I lost contact with her when I changed my phone number and then I left the country for a month. I thought I was free of Stalker. One day I was walking to the cafeteria a different way than normal and ran into her, she asked for my phone number, which I really did not want to give her, but my phone was in my hand at the time. So I thought, ‘I will give her one more chance’, even though I had brought up spiritual things a few times before and she seemed uninterested. When we met, I was able to share the gospel, and she prayed to receive Christ! I was surprised and wondered if it was a real decision. Time will tell if her decision is genuine, but after meeting with her again, it seems like it is. I asked her to buy a Bible, and the next day she attempted to do so. However, when I looked at what she bought, it was a book of stories about the Bible.”

Earlier J and K led another friend to Christ. Over lunch J initiated spiritual conversation and asked this friend, “What do you believe in?” She answered, “I believe what my mom believes”. “What does your mom believe?” J asked. She answered, “I do not know.” J writes, “This example gives a taste of the culture in which I live.” Since this girl received Christ made her mom will and they will in fact believe int he same thing.

I don’t know if this is a smooth transition but since J mentions culture I will share with you part of an email I got last week. I asked some of our international partners to send prayer requests and I got one from an ICS whose team is handing the ministry over to students.

“For the ministry finances, that the students will be able to raise and sustain local funding for the weekly meetings (they have to rent a room and pay for the snacks)”

SOAP BOX ALERT!!!!!

Is this what we have succumb to that when we hand off ministry that our biggest prayer is that they have money for a meeting space and snacks?!?  Not that they persevere and follow Jesus?

[A good friend pointed out that a very practical person wrote that prayer request and that there are people there who are concerned for the movement being like Jesus. This friend, who I totally respect, suggested I add more grace here and believe the best. I agree. The following is sarcasm which is not words that build up but its not meant so much to scoff the people serving in that location as much to point out we all in our best efforts may be building something that is too American in nature. I will keep it as is but note that I exaggerate the point to make a point. And I am just as guilty.]

I am sorry but I can’t imagine Paul and Barnabas appointing elders in every town laying hands on them, encouraging them to remain true to the faith, and then saying: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God… so don’t forget to raise money for snacks.” When Paul was in Athens and he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica was he really worried if these young believers had enough Baklava? Maybe the Bereans would have covered the snack issue better since they were more noble. Surely when Paul was kicked out of Philippi, he didn’t worry about them needing to rent a weekly meeting space because the believers met by a river, in Lydia’s house and a jail.

Does it sound like I am being too harsh? My soapbox is that I am afraid we have created a monster (or are in process in creating ones all over the world). We launch movements to leave them. Our whole diabolical plan is to turn them over to Nationals… whether staff, volunteers or students. It’s a not a death when we finally leave, it’s a celebration. It’s what we long for.

Jill & Josh Felix and Sarah Overmyer are leading in their second year of ministry in Wellington, New Zealand. Their team of 9 is a mixture of ICS (The Felixi), senior staff stint (Sarah), stint, national staff, and a national intern. Since it is only the second year for Student Life in Wellington, in a lot of ways they are still pioneering.

Sarah writes, “The school year started at the end of February, so action groups have only been going for a few weeks. One of the big praises this year is that the Lord has led us to students that do not have a relationship with Him but are keen to learn more about who Jesus is. One of the student women involved in one of these explorer Bible studies asked for a Bible so that she could read all of Luke over the Easter break! “

Josh adds, “As I move into my second year in New Zealand, I discover more or more how much I really don’t know about following Christ and yet God has called me to lead a staff team overseas! This year, I’ve seen a deep desire emerge in my heart and in the hearts of my teammates to truly live a missional lifestyle – where ministry is not our life, but our lives are ministry. Personally, I feel like I struggle far less with the conceptual side of following Christ than I do with the action side. And I’m not talking about the daily ‘Ministry to Do’ checklist, but really living out my faith day by day so that Christ would be seen and known through my life.”

“As we’ve felt this tension in our hearts, we have hoped that students within our movement would begin to grapple with it as well while their own journeys to becoming disciples of Christ. To help facilitate this, we’ve formed a once-a-month gathering point (instead of a weekly meeting) to bring students together from all our campuses in Wellington to deeply explore their faith in the context of community. This evening (Fuse) entails a dinner together, a faith discussion, communion, and fellowship. Ultimately, as our student movement comes together at Fuse and other connecting times, our goal is that we are considering ‘how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.’ [Hebrews 10:24] We want Jesus to be known and the Gospel to be within arm’s reach of every student… everywhere.”

Yesterday at the Day of Prayer, we opened by reading one of the penitential psalms, Psalm 130.
From the depths of despair, O Lord,
I call for your help.
Hear my cry, O Lord.
Pay attention to my prayer.
Lord, if you kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
But you offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear you.
I am counting on the Lord;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word.
I long for the Lord
more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.
O Israel, hope in the Lord;
for with the Lord there is unfailing love.
His redemption overflows.
He himself will redeem Israel
from every kind of sin.

This Psalm is in the group from 120 to 134 that are postexilic and were sung on the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Perhaps even Jesus as a boy of 12 sang these Psalms as his family took the pilgrimage for the Passover feast. Maybe he and the disciples sang them again before he went up the last time to Jerusalem. Kind of cool to think about.

I am struck by the oxymoron in Ps 130 that its because God forgives us that we should fear Him (or as this translation states ‘learn to fear’.) It seems it may mind that I should fear God if I wasn’t sure He forgave. And yet we should tremble before Him because He keeps no record of wrong… we stand in awe of a God who redeems us from every kind of sin… we learn to fear Him because in the depths of despair He hears us and with unfailing love redemption overflows. Amazing! Amazing!

When I think of ‘fearing God’, I am always drawn to the comparison/contrast in Exodus 20 when the assembly sees thunder, lightening and the mountain brimming with smoke and hear the trumpets and God audibly speak the 10 Commandments. Needless to say they are scared spitless.

That’s how I am when I think of my sin and coming before a holy God. I would go further than Josh in saying ‘I don’t know much about really following Christ’. I am chief of sinners. Numero Uno. And yet from this depth of despair, I cry out to a holy awesome God!

The contrast is in Exodus 20:20 when Mose says “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The Israelites (afraid) stayed at a distance but Moses (fearing God) approached the thick darkness where God was.

Here’s some things I see from this:
~ Both look the same – throughout scripture fearing God is described as trembling before Him.
~ But being afraid of God keeps you at a distance.
~ While fearing God draws you to Him like a moth to the flame.
~ Being afraid of God, we make promises like the Israelites did to obey but with little real life change, certainly not a life worthy of Him.
~ Fearing God though brings about transformation. It keeps us from sinning.
~ Being afraid of God, we feel guilty.
~ Fearing God, we experience His mercy and unfailing love.

As Leaders we need to be like Mose. We need to fear God. We need to learn to fear Him. We need to wait on him like a sentry waits on the dawn. We need to lead others to understand His mercy in order to learn to fear Him. That’s the gospel.

M and M are in East Asia in one of the largest cities in the world. Their team of 5 is the first team to live out near their campus which is actually one of five universities built right next door to each other. All of the campuses were built in the last 5 years (lot of 5’s) and they house primarily freshmen and sophomores although there are some upperclassmen. M (on right) writes, “Our team has loved the adventure of pioneering new movements among these campuses as well as guitar hero and the Lord has certainly surprised us even this semester.”

Since the winter holiday, M (on the left) has spent time with a local house church. The pastor’s heart is to equip and empower students to go share Christ with others on campus! “It has been great to see the Lord work in the body with and without us this semester. I even had a non-believing friend whom I was so burdened for, but whom I couldn’t communicate with (her English was poor and my language is coming along) trust Christ at their church!”, M goes on to say.

She concludes, “While we’re seeing the Spirit move we have definitely felt the effects of spiritual warfare as well from illness to computer malfunctions to physical encounters with unclean spirits. Our city and nation has a dark past of worshipping foreign gods and the places we live in are not exempt from the repercussions. Although we’ve been surprised, as this degree of spiritual warfare has not been something we’ve faced in our lives in the states, I think we’ve all grown stronger in our convictions that the One within us truly is stronger than the one in the world.”

Ceasarea Philippi was a city like this. It was a pagan city built at the foot of Mount Hermon by Herod Philip, a son of Herod the Great. It’s history was rooted in worship of false gods. Before Joshua conquered this area, it was a place of Baal worship and later King Jerobam set up a golden calf on a high place in this area. During the time of Jesus, at the base of a cliff outside the city more than a hundred feet, the people of Ceasarea Philippi had built temples and shires dedicated to various gods. In fact at one time, the city was called Panias after the god Pan, the fertility god of mountains and forests. (Not the elfin boy that wouldn’t grow up and liked peanut butter.)

The pagans believed that water represented the abyss and that caves were a door to the underworld. Caesarea Philippi stood near a cave with spring water flowing from it, and the locals thought of the cave as a gate to the underworld. This city was at the very Gates of Hell.

It was here in the shadow of this cliff of temples and the Gate to Hades, that Jesus asked his disciples, “”Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They answered with some crazy theories being tossed around, “John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or another of the prophets”. (All dead guys.) Jesus asked them the Kennedy questions, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

So Jesus, here in this pagan paradise, replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter (little stone) and on this rock (Petra) I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ” Jesus added that Peter would be given authority to bind and loosen whether in heaven or hell.

Here some key points I think for us as leaders from this passage and the verses that follow. (Matt 16:13ff ).

~ Jesus is building His church. He is doing it. It will happen. He will win.

~ It’s upon this rock that He is building it. I guess this can be taken three ways.
a. A small peddle become a rock when filled with the Spirit. Compare and contrast, bold but scared Peter before Pentecost vs. 3,000 saved from his sermon, boldly speaking before Sanhedrin and ‘rising up killing and eating’. (Though I don’t think makes him Pope, sorry Benedict.)
b. It’s upon a rock of confession. A declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the sent One who came to bring justice to the nations. That’s what the church is built on.
c. It’s upon Satan stronghold’s like this cliff at C.P. . Jesus isn’t about building his church in wimpy places. He came to set the captives free.

~ The church is to be on the move and heaven the gates of Hell can’t hold her back. It’s like Jesus was declaring that there would be movements everywhere. We should be about taking new ground for the Kingdom… in cities with Satanic strongholds, in places of apathy, in crime-infested areas, in war-torn danger zones… everywhere. Wherever our foot trods, it is where the church is to advance and greater is He that it is in us…

~ It is by His death, burial and rez that He conquers the gates of Hell. The victory is already won. It’s a foregone conclusion.

~ Jesus invites us into the plan of building his church by denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him. It’s not a job, its a relationship. It’s life.

May we walk in victory today!