Last day of year/Urbana

It's over, and I have to admit I'm glad. I'm tired, but it's also one of the times when I'm "good tired." I'm glad to have connected with dozens of young men and women who are getting fired up to serve God--wherever and whenever. I think the enemy is taking a real hit this week...we shall see.

This morning, speaker Ajith Fernando finished up the all-week study of Ephesians, talking about that passage which goes over the full armor of God. He brought up an interesting point...that the enemy strikes where you're most vulnerable. If I strengthen in one area and neglect another, guess where the enemy is going to strike next? I want to take this seriously and begin 2007 in a way that honors God, rather than serving my own flesh. How that's going to happen tomorrow, as I wait all day for my plane, I'm not so certain. If you're reading this, I'd appreciate your prayers. I think I'm developing a fever tonight, and I don't wish to pass it on to others.

All for now--thanks for interceding.

Stretched but not forsaken,

Jeremy

2nd to last night

25 hours from right now, Urbana 2006 will come to its end, and I suspect many people will leave here having heard new things from God and excited about their futures working for Him. I think InterVarsity, the event's hosts, made a really good choice to move the event to a large conference center this year. Makes things much simpler, though it's likely more expensive.

Today, Urbana encouraged delegates to fast and pray, and I think many of them did. My organization's leaders, however, encouraged us to eat, so we would have enough strength for the afternoon's work. Glad I followed their advice. My legs are starting to wear down a bit from several hours of standing at a time. Still, it's always a blessing to meet new people who are searching for what God has planned next for them. I never presume to tell them all the answers, but I usually try to connect them with someone else who might help them better. For instance, I've run into 3 or 4 mechanical engineers so far who want to know how their skills might best be used in the Muslim world. I usually hand them off to my friends Carrie or Julie eventually, who have had experiences with Gap teams serving in N. Iraq.

Tonight, I decided to attend the main Urbna session and sit very close to the main stage...very, very loud choice. I enjoyed the worship lots. Even though I was close enough to see the speakers and singers' faces, I still usually looked at the big screen monitors. Heard Rick and Kay Warren address how delegates might best discern their calling...and it seemed really simplistic frankly. I heard nothing about waiting on the Lord, fasting, praying, seeking wise counsel. Instead, what I heard was mostly "Trust your feelings, go with what you enjoy, and look at your past to choose how God might use it. Or "Use common sense." I agree with some of it partially, but it seems like a good prescription for enabling people to stay fat in the U.S., too, rather than calling them to sacrifice what they enjoy for someOne infinitely greater...in my opinion. At the end, Warren talked about how he had gathered his six-service church together for the very first time this year--inside a gigantic stadium. He wanted the Urbana delegates to chant along with him a huge string of promises he'd written for the church (some of the vows(?!) directed to God, I think--what would Jesus say?). I stood up and chanted a little bit of it, but I couldn't keep going long because I knew I would never remember any of it, and I don't want to make empty promises. If I'm going to be judged by the words of my mouth, I need to be careful what I utter. I can't just repeat words on a screen and think God doesn't care if I don't do what I promise.

Overall, I'm enjoying this event...I'm still in much need of prayer on my last day of helping delegates through prayer, listening, and connecting. I praise God that the webcams are working pretty well, and the students seem to be enjoying connecting with folks overseas.

2nd Urbana entry

The last two days of meeting with students at Frontiers’ tent have been fruitful and exciting. At the same time, I’ve been having some more difficulty with back pain…but not unbearable. Standing up for several hours at a time can become quite wearying, but then I’ll meet some college student who has had Muslims on his heart for several years and just wants a little validation of his dream. I love to supply that mixed with prayer whenever possible. Probably my favorite part of the process is finding a Frontiers worker who’s serving alongside me who is doing the type of work the student has been training to do (and wants to know if it will be of any use in the Muslim world). Or I connect them with someone who’s been seving in the country they hope to reach. Either way it’s a success. Today, we got most of the kinks worked out of the webcam system, and more than a dozen students (maybe even 20?) talked with our workers overseas—some of whom stayed up late into the early morning hours for a chance to connect with potential new teammates.


It’s a blessing to be here, but I also feel my body beginning to wear out. I need rest, so I’m going to cut this short a bit.

First Urbana '06 entry

Today, I’m in downtown St. Louis, MO with 38 others from Frontiers – some from as far away as India and Malaysia. We’re getting our booth ready for Urbana ’06, which is attracting more than 21,000 college students and young people (delegates) for 5 days of worship, learning, and seeking out how God would have them bless the nations.

I’ve come here seeking to develop new relationships with people from across America who already feel called to reach Muslims or are just investigating the possibility. Already, I’m seeing God’s mercy at work. About 2.5 weeks ago, my back was in serious pain – to the point that I could barely walk. When I looked in the mirror, it appeared as if my hips were in one side of the room and my torso in the other. By God’s grace and with the help of a brace, I’m feeling well enough to participate.

Another blessing has been that Urbana is, for the first time, being held in a convention center of a major city, rather than a campus hours away from a major airport. This has saved our team so much time and energy. We’re using hotels for the first time as well, and the one I was booked to stay in became overfilled, so Urbana changed things at the last minute. I’m now staying half a block away from our exhibit, rather than half a mile. A huge blessing!

One other item of praise – past Urbana have been so overrun with students that exhibitors like myself were barely ever allowed to participate in the main sessions, where thousands of delegates worship together and learn from God’s Word. Most of the time, for space considerations, we were relegated to a lecture hall or gym, where we could watch what was going on via television. This year is different – we can take part in everything because the main event is taking place on an NFL football field. I’m very excited.

In the summer of 2005, in England, when Frontiers overseas workers and others were discussing what our exhibit should be, I found myself suggesting that we take advantage of the latest technology and allow Urbana delegates to interact live, one-on-one, with Frontiers workers overseas. The idea was accepted. Over the next four days, fourteen field workers from the Muslim world, will be available to answer students’ questions about what life is like in their various fields. We could sure use prayer as we seek to work out technical glitches to make this dream a reality. We’ve also set up a large, authentic Moroccan tent where students can watch a challenging video about the Muslim world and pray.

I’m excited about what God is going to do in the next few days, and I look forward to posting more praise reports and praise requests—maybe some photos, too! Thanks for your partnership through prayer!

Serving God by serving Katherine

Just want to write a little appreciation of my bride, Katherine Brett, who loves me enough to tell me when I'm wrong, who is beautiful without even trying, who knows me better than anyone else but still chooses to love me. She loves God with all her heart, and yet she loves other things, too, like the violin, Beethoven, our exchange student, Stephanie, sweet things, hosting parties, good books, and wearing new clothes. From the moment I saw her, I knew that I wanted to be near her. She has a smile that lights up any room she's in, and I'm very grateful God changed her heart to consider and love me. May the God who created Katherine grant her joy in her innermost being and grant me the grace to love her as He would.

Sobering Up

I feel like I need to acknowlege my lack of posting to this blog--have felt bad about it...so now I will put blogger guilt behind me and get to the main task at hand.
If you've been reading this for very long, you know that one of the ways I think God speaks to my heart is through movies. On my birthday, this last Tuesday, I saw something I'll never, ever forget--so stirring and shocking that I'm not sure I'd ever be ready to see it again. The film is Sophie Scholl, The Final Days, and it tells the true story of a 21-year-old German college student who followed the dictates of her conscience, along with her brother, to resist the Nazis and spread anti-war flyers around her campus. After she's caught, Sophie skillfully uses alibis to try and avoid punishment for herself and her family. She claims to be "apolitical." Watching her lie, I longed to see the Nazis believe her and set her free. I don't know that I've ever rooted so much for someone who's trying to escape through lies as I did watching this film. To me, it seemed like the right course of action in the face of such atrocity as the Nazi regime. In my business, I know that our workers are called into government offices at times--on occasion, they're asked point blank, "Are you missionaries?" This becomes more of an ethical problem if, when you're home, you refer to yourself and let others refer to you as a "missionary." Some people rationalize their answer of "No" with the belief that God has indeed called them to their country of ministry, and He wouldn't want their response to get in the way of His work. In the Muslim world, "missionary" is a loaded term--some think of them as Westerners who pay people to become Christians and divorce their culture, giving up their morality. When put into those terms, our workers may feel they're not lying by saying, "No,we're not missionaries." I'm not saying that all our workers respond the same way when faced with what seems to be a choice between lying and remaining on the field (or staying out of jail)--I'm just pointing out some of what I've heard goes on and hoping anyone who reads this will begin to wrestle with the issues of "How/when is it acceptable before God to resist an oppressive government official using lies?" and "What honors God the most?"
Anyway, back to the movie...When Sophie realizes "the jig is up," she finally confesses and ends up making a passionate defense for her actions against the Nazis, revealing her faith in a higher justice than her government currently provides and warning against the impending judgment her accusers will soon face. She acts as bravely in the face of death as I would hope that I would--if God ever allows me the privilege of suffering that way for His name.
Three days after seeing the film, I am still shaken and haunted by the moment of her death. By the look on her face as she realizes what's the Nazis are quickly going to do to destroy her body. It might last 10 seconds between the time she enters the room and sees the tool of exocution and her actual death. It's that fast, and I will never forget it as long as I live. Death is not clean, painless, and honorable--it's messy and humiliating, but God gave grace to Sophie (according to historical reports, not just the movie) to endure this final suffering before she met Him. When we stumbled out of the theatre, Katherine and I were both pretty upset. Later that day, I resolved in my heart to no longer take her to films in which "surprises" like that ending can come up and haunt her--I've needed to be a better protector of her heart for a long time, and it took a seemingly crystal clean movie like Sophie Scholl to show me that my ignorance when going into films or turning on the TV is no excuse. If I'm intending to show something to my wife, I need to know what it is I'm showing her, rather than leaving her at the mercy of entertainment producers and trying to point at them as if it's their fault. I've told Katherine that, as she's an adult, I think she should decide to see what she feels morally right about seeing. But when I take her to see something or flip on the telly while she's there, I believe God sees me as the responsible party for violating her heart. Hope that makes sense.

Results of The Rage

I showed up at The Rage--a Christian event where about 30 bands would play and 3-4,000 teens and young adults were expected to show up, have fun, ride roller coasters, play video games, and enjoy Christian punk, rock, hip hop, etc.

I quickly changed into a Pakistani outfit and hat, and I began carrying a sign saying, "Tell Me About Your Jesus". I began walking around, trying to make some eye contact and looking for someone willing to talk with me. The results were great, as mostly young men ran up to me and shared with me about Jesus. I would ask a few questions at times--sometimes I even called myself Mohammed--questions like, "So you believe that God had a son?" followed by "So you believe in two gods (or three gods)?" You believe that Jesus was God?" You believe that God died?"

It was very interesting to see how people would respond--mostly, it seemed to me that people, in their witnessing, were talking very fast. After talking a little while, I would let them know that I was actually a follower of Jesus working for Firestone. They were glad to hear it, and we would walk over to my booth, and I would share with them about what our org. does and give them additional info.

I had a friend there with me, and she wore a traditional burka with a full face covering--she had a different experience as people stared, pointed, and generally treated her badly. One of her signs read, "Does God care about me?" Later in the day, reflecting on how people had reacted, she broke down in tears, thinking about how Muslims must feel.

About 90 minutes into our sign-carrying, enough complaints had been made toward the event organizers that we were asked to stop using the signs--violated our booth agreement, they said--or leave. We chose to stay, and God was faithful to bring us more people who have a heart to reach Muslims.

I'm really glad I went and am now trying to think through how this experience should impact my future recruiting opportunities.

The Rage

I'll confess a weakness--I have a really difficult time dressing up to look like a Muslim, standing in front of a little work display, and trying to communicate with Christian churchgoers about the need for more workers overseas. Sometimes I catch myself feeling bitter about Christians' lack of concern (or my perception of it). But I wonder whether it's really me who's wrong? Instead of standing in front of a booth wearing a costume, maybe God expects me to do something else--like preach. Or pray on my face? Or invite people to come and have some tea? Any good salesman knows that you don't get new customers by simply standing inside your store and lighting up your sign. Advertising and good word-ofmouth is needed. Maybe a mailing with some coupons? When you start blaming the general public, that's right about the time you file for bankruptcy.

So this weekend I've got a plan to invade the Christian bubble of a huge, loud Christian rock event, which is taking place at a theme park. I'm planning to show up with some friends and poke at that bubble a little. I don't want to cause guilt--but I want them to see how rich they really are to have Jesus, to have heard about Jesus, to be in a public place where Jesus is being sung about quite loudly. In comparion to those who have never even heard His name once. That's what I hope to communicate--and I want some of them to come and worship at the upcoming Take My Life event--www.takemylife.org

If you read this, I hope you will pray, because, frankly, I'm a little scared, and I long to see God move in the hearts of many young people. And I'm going to do something for a couple days that I normally find pretty difficult. I pray that my heart will not grow hard and cold--even if some people do choose to ignore the need for Muslims to hear about Jesus.

"Well, I'm back."

I believe the subject line I wrote above is the last piece of dialogue Tolkien used for his Lord of the Rings Trilogy, as Sam returns to his Rosie after the last bit of adventure with Mr. Frodo. I had a rather extraordinary December, leaving Dec. 3 with 7 other men for relief work in Pakistan until our return to the U.S. Dec. 16th. It seemed longer than it was. I was so proud of my teammates, some of whom had never ventured overseas before. God used them in mighty ways, building relationships with devastated Muslims as they also built metal shelters. One of the guys, on a whim, had been studying the local language for the last year--he was able to put his skills to great use while he helped manage the base camp and distribution of materials. We went without showers for two weeks, endured various sicknesses, and ate what was put in front of us by Pakistanis (mostly chai, but also other dishes). Our God was faithful to keep us all safe and in good spirits for the duration, despite dealing with people who had lost everything and some who were looking to profit from this tragedy. What did I learn? I believe that God further confirmed my role as a sender/equipper of others, while He also gave me a heart for the local people, who desperately need Jesus. My passion is to send tons of Arizonans and New Mexicans to go change this part of the world, through God's Spirit living inside them. More tomorrow or maybe even tonight...

This Saturday

I wouldn't blame anyone for not reading this blog anymore, due to my infrequent postings. This place has been a bit of a madhouse, and this has been one of the last things on my mind.

Tonight, I'm meeting with 7 other men and their families to talk and pray about our journey ahead. The plan is to fly out Saturday morning early, go to New York. I might get to spend a few hours with a friend there at the airport. Then, we fly to Kuwait, stopping in London first. Finally Islamabad at 440am on Monday!

From there, we plan to get some transportation to the base camp up north, where ample work awaits us for the next couple weeks.

I will give more details when I have them. For now, I ask that you pray for me and Katherine as we prepare to separate for a long time. Pray that God will protect Katherine and me, bringing us back together.

Pray for the other guys--Jarrod, Zach, John, Brian, Josh, Ken, and Shon--as they prep to leave jobs and families for this intense time.

Bless you,

JRL

65 men

65--that's how many people are headed overseas in the next 10 days to help earthquake victims in Pakistan. Our office has been working with 53 of them over the last week, and it has been both taxing and exhilirating. Had to tell a few people "No" today--even one who has served with our organization in difficult circumstances before. 65, though. May God grant these men grace in obtaining their visas quickly. May the Lord protect, equip, and prepare them for the suffering they're voluntarily walking into. May He be pleased to bear fruit through their good works, granting them work that makes a difference and prayers that move mountains on behalf of these people.

Incredible Days

Here's a little timeline detailing the events leading to a massive deployment of relief workers heading to Pakistan (from my limited perspective:

Thursday, 11/3--I first began to sense that God might be leading me to go serve earthquake victims in Pakistan through erecting shelters. I talked with my boss, and he said that he was also considering going. That afternoon, I sent an email to some people in my church and on my prayer list. Quickly, I began receiving responses from other men who were considering going.

Monday, 11/7--By now, there are 4 men from my church and one other friend who are seriously taking two weeks to go help. It's becoming clear that other men from around the country are beginning to consider this work, too.

Tuesday, 11/8--I sent out an email asking a lot more people to pray about whether I should go. This evening, Zach, John, and I gather for prayer in a small apartment, asking God to confirm or deny our involvement. We agree together that we will fast on Friday, 11/11. We ask God to send an elder from our church along with us.

Wednesday, 11/9--We receive an urgent phone call from the field that heightens our office's awareness of the need and motivates swift response (excerpt below):
"This is an incredible opportunity and a desperate need. WE NEED MEN HERE, NOW, to get into the valleys where all the houses have been destroyed, and where until now no relief people have showed up. We could save thousands of children’s lives. I can’t sleep. It’s 1:30 in the morning. I’m calling all the pastors I know. January is too late. It can’t even wait until Thanksgiving. The winter snowstorms are coming, and we must get there first. This shelter is amazing, far superior to tents. The shelter will last through the winter. And the materials can be re-used to help build permanent homes in the spring."

This email is then circulated around the country, and we begin to receive a host of inquiries by phone and email from different groups desiring to take part.

Thursday, 11/10--Katherine's birthday! Things are starting to get a lot more hectic around here as the phone keep ringing and applications start flying in. Today, one of our church elders sent an email expressing his interest. I talked with my pastor, and he's excited about it--he's been counseling people to take part, glory to God! He wants to help partner with us in prayer and financially, it looks like, too. I'm still unsure about going myself, but two guys from my church seem pretty sure about it. At Katherine's birthday celebration, I get to talk with John, who is nearly committed by now--he has experience in this part of the world already, and he will be extremely valuable.

Friday, 11/11--Our day of fasting. Today, it seems like I never stop working. But I did get a quiet spot to ask the Lord what He would have me do--below are some of the results I came away with:
1) There really is a tremendous need--if I go, there will be plenty of work for me and my teammates to do. The long-term workers who are there have been persistently asking for men to come help them--not just because the manpower is needed, but also because the people there need to be loved by followers of Jesus. This area and these people need prayer and compassion from people who know Jesus and want to make Him known. In the long-term workers' own words: "Our plea for workers is because we have a need to set up shelters. But we want to bring God's people who will pray over these lands, show God's care for the people, and build up [their] vision for this part of the world."
2) So far, there are four men from my church who are looking to me for answers to their questions about this new work they want to begin in early December (finishing just before Christmas), and I'm already feeling some real bonding taking place. I believe there's a definite place for me to serve alongside them.
3) I believe that I'll become much more effective in recruiting others> long-term for this area, if I take part in this effort now. The long-termers have been praying and seeking new laborers for quite a while, and this aid to the earthquake victims is expected to last long past winter--in hope and faith that indigenous churches will begin to spring up among Muslims who will follow Jesus. 4) My pastor and two of my bosses have been very in favor of me taking part in this work. Katherine is standing with me, too, and that means so much.
5) I can't think of anything more pressing for me to be doing than to join with other men in supplying shelter while offering physical and spiritual aid to people whom Jesus loves. I believe this work will bring glory to God, and I want to be where He's working. I'm going on record to say that I believe God has been calling me to go and serve at this time, and my only choice is to obey and move forward until He says differently, whatever the cost.

11/12 and 11/13--Over the weekend, I check my email and see many more people expressing their interest in going--it's almost like a feeding frenzy! Katherine's college friend just married a man who wants to go in a couple weeks. Sunday night, a group of us who are seeking to go gathers for prayer and looks at a map. There are now two more men who are interested. Just before meeting, we've heard a message from our pastor (planned several weeks ahead of time) about disciples being challenged by Jesus to give the crowds something toeat without anything in their hands--about how being a disciple means more than calculating what you have and giving some, but it's more about living beyond our means. On the way home, I pick up a voice mail message from another friend who's considering going.

11/14--There's so much work to be done, but what a great problem to have. We're busy trying to organize who does what, as we now have more than 110 inquiries and roughly 30 completed applications. We're planning to send people out in waves--11/28, 12/5, and 12/12. May God be glorified as we look to Him for strength and determine who is going, how we'll train them, how to support them well over there, and how to help them "decompress" and debrief once they return. Please pray.

Over There

This morning, I got a little surprised when I began to sense that God might be leading me to go serve among earthquake victims this winter in the Indian Subcontinent. I'm not sure yet whether He's calling me to go, what I would do there, how much it costs, who He's calling to go with me--I just felt that I had a part in helping people there and glorifying God. It wasn't an audible voice--just a gut instinct as I viewed some of the photos and heard how people are definitely expected to die because of the lack of shelter this winter. We have a project going on now that helps provide immediate shelter for Muslims who are cut off from aid and have been virtually forgotten.

Katherine is supporting me as I investigate whether this is what God wants. My boss is supportive, too, and he's even considering going himself. Please pray with me. Pray that others will answer the call to come with me, if this is what God wants.

Getting knocked out of the race

This morning, I received a surprise email from a young man whom I had helped lead during my first short-term mission trip to Alaska. He was 15 or 16 at the time, so now I guess he must be 22-23. He's married, working, and going to school. He made some good decisions, like taking part in a one-year Teen Mania internship and attending a Christian school. But an old habit has come back to haunt him and his marriage--one that I had counseled him about way back then, and he is now asking me for "insight" about how to deal with his addiction to pornography.

Repeatedly, I seem to be confronted with this issue as people come to me for advice. With the Internet, I think this junk has found its way into so many more psyches. Sometimes, I recommend a book like Joshua Harris' Not Even a Hint or even Eldredge's Wild at Heart. The bottom line seems to be--guys start to get bored, then they get into trouble. They look to a fantasy woman for safety and good feelings, then they feel disgusted with themselves afterwards and utter things like, "I can't help it..."

I think we're creatures who crave satisfaction and will do anything to obtain it, by nature. God designed us this way and gave us these desires, so that we would be satisfied and delighted by Him and through Him. If we don't find satisfaction in Him, we'll find it somewhere else. We demand it--that is, our flesh. Another writer (maybe Chesterton) said that "Every man who goes into a whorehouse is really looking for God." It may not seem that way on the surface, but that's how serious seeking porn is--straight up idolatry.

So I'm tempted to get in this guy's face (even though he's in another state) and tell him he's an unbeliever--that his eternity is at stake, along with his marriage. For now, I'm strongly encouraging him to seek Biblical counseling through his church, read those books I mentioned earlier, and I also told him about a program called Covenant Eyes that tracks every website a person looks at and provides a report to someone else. Please pray with me for this young man and so many others like him who are addicted to this junk and being drawn into their doom and distraction from the main thing--glorifying Christ in their bodies.

Freedom from fear of man

We're doing an office staff retreat today, and I heard a message from a field worker (our main speaker) about not submitting to the fear of man, but everything becoming overwhelmed and dwarfed by our fear of the Lord. It was a real burden-lifter, and I could see how my efforts to win people over to Christ through persuasive argument or to get them to apply with Frontiers or come to a conference really reveals a lot of my fear of man and failure to love others as I love myself.

In other words, I was convicted, I'm happy to embrace some new changes, and I'm looking forward to meeting with people tomorrow in Tucson with a lot better attitude. Please pray for me as I go and listen to people's hearts and goals. God, please grant me wisdom to know when to speak, what to speak, and listening ears more than a ready mouth.

Getting good and scared

This morning seemed like it would be fairly normal--I had some oatmeal with nuts and raisins alongside the love of my life, along with some orange juice (is that what did it?). I went to work and sat in front of my computer working on email and Take My Life web text--suddenly, I began to feel a lot of pain that began in my chest, near my heart, and it rose up to my jaw and head without much explanation. Having never felt a real heart attack before (and not wishing to anytime soon), I didn't know how seriously to take this. It went on for several minutes, and I asked my co-worker if I looked pale to her. I think she said something like, "Not any more than usual." Thanks!

I told my wife about it a little later when she called me, and she asked me to promise to see the doctor today. So I called my doctor's office, and they couldn't see me today. When I was asked for my symptoms, I was directed to head straight for the emergency room--"Do not pass go, be sure to pay $150 for your co-pay..." Not in a lot of pain anymore, I decided to try an Urgent Care place instead, and they took care of me fairly well. They seemed to think it may have something to do with my ongoing struggles with heartburn or be stress-related. They even hooked me up to an EKG machine! Came back normal, praise God.

It's interesting when I reflect what I was thinking about today, in relation to meeting the Lord, as I considered that it might be sooner than later. So much that I have been delaying, so many things that I have been doing that could wait, what will Katherine do now?, could I have prevented this?

I feel pretty fine now, but I don't want to forget the sense of urgency had for about an hour earlier today--"Because night is coming, when no one can work..." and "The days are evil..."

A Sampling

Without invading anyone's privacy, I thought you might be interested in learning about some of the new stuff going on in the lives of people I'm working with who may be headed for the Muslim world, as God leads:

--Two newlyweds, one of whom already went through the app. process with Firestone as a single, are looking to go to North Africa in the near future.

--A young man with a handicapped arm isn't letting that stop him from pursuing a nursing degree and eventual church planting in North Africa or Central Asia.

--A young couple has joined two other couples who are planning to head overseas with another prominent mission agency. They are heading out for a vision trip next month to investigate where God is leading them to serve together.

--A young man is looking into the possibility of making impacting films in the Muslim world, which could help with recruiting.

--An entire team of seven are meeting together regularly in a house church, along with many others, and they're planning to head for the Muslim world in the summer of 2007. A second team plans to head out during the summer of 2008.

--A young lady let me know this past weekend that she's interested in serving in India after she graduates in May--we're looking into how she might reach this goal.

--Three single women, a single man, and a couple are taking part in a one-year internship to prepare for the field, led by one of my esteemed pastor co-workers and friends.

--Three of the people I've been working with are engaged to be married: two of them to one another.

And there always seem to be people jetting off with their church to do short-term mission trips. If you would like to connect with one of the people I've mentioned here, send me an email at jeremyloveskatherine@yahoo.com

A Refreshing Perspective

This email message recently arrived from a friend of mine serving in the Middle East--thought you might enjoy it:
Dear co-worker,

If you're like me, you might have spent several years in the field and be discouraged by an apparent lack of success in your ministry. My team has been in place for 10 years, with about 10 unbaptized Muslim-born believers (MBBs) to show for it. Of them, most are not extremely interested in growing mature in their faith, nor do they want to meet with each other.

While sustainable at first, a good attitude under adversity becomes harder to maintain over time and with the accumulation of difficult experiences. One is tempted to allow nasty little questions to float through the mind. "Why isn't God answering our prayers?" "Is this really worth the effort we have spent, not to mention the expense footed by supporters?" Or worse yet, "God, have you found me unworthy of bearing fruit?"

We all want to see the fruit of our labors. And when I say fruit, I mean shiny red apples or bright oranges hanging in trees; clearly visible against the healthy green leaves. We want reproducing fellowships of MBBs. What I would like to suggest to you is that the vast majority of us are laying groundwork that will later lead to that fruit. However, since we are working in the ground, we should look for the fruit of the ground: Potatoes, carrots, turnips... Let me explain.

I surveyed my team last week, and asked them to give estimations about the work that we have done here. After we had finished, everyone agreed that they believed their numbers to be conservative. After calculating the totals, I came up with the following statistics:

32,000 hours of prayer have been spoken over our city by our supporters and us
2,600 people have been mobilized to pray regularly for our city
900 copies of the Injeel (New Testament) have been discerningly placed into responsive Muslim hands
2,200 people in our region have been influenced by our reputation in the community
3,000 hours have been spent "good-newsing" (gospel and other godly subjects)

Now I know that God can do anything that he wants to without our
\help, but I can't help wondering if maybe none of this would have been true if we hadn't responded to God's call.

This is the ground fruit that I am talking about. When we arrived, we had the option of building immediately on the sand, but we started about the work of placing the Rock first.

There is a building going up next door to ours. I watched the builders carefully as they were putting in the foundation, wondering how they would stabilize the structure when there was only sand to work with. As I watched, they spent 6 months digging a single floor depth into the sand, filling the depression with several tons of intricately bent and arranged rebar, and finally poured an incredible amount of cement into it. After all that work, they were still at ground level. Except for a few vertical strands of rebar, they hadn't accomplished anything!

Sure, nobody wants to point to the footings of a building and say, "Look what I did!" We all want to see the finished new building, standing tall and strong. But be encouraged! The work that you have been faithful to complete is as beautiful in God's sight as the end product, which he is faithful to produce and finish.

Let me finish by giving you one of my favorite scriptures, and an explanation for it.

"Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel." (Zech 4:10)

When the children of Israel were returning from exile, there were with them old people who had once lived in Israel and young people who had been born in exile and never seen their home country. The plumb line is a tool used to make sure that the foundations for a new building are level. When the foundations for the new temple were being laid out, the old people who had seen how much bigger and grander the first temple had been, started grumbling and despising this day of small things. However, the young crown were rejoicing at the start of the new project, even though it was just a small beginning.

Rejoice! The kingdom of heaven is being built in our day among Muslims!

Salaam,

Disqualifying People

Can anybody who volunteers be a missionary? Does God care about the quality of people He chooses to use, or merely quantity? What could stop God from using anyone He chooses? The answer to the last, of course, is no one. But there does seem to be a lot of blockages helping to keep people from getting to the field. Even when agencies like ours desperately want them there--there are pauses that can take years and even prove to eliminate some of the people who may have once felt called to the mission field.

I have been working with a man who's quite skilled in many areas, and he wanted to go work in one of the most dangerous regions of the world. He was excited, but we weren't quite ready to send him off for training because it was so expensive, and we wanted lots of other people to benefit from this training alongside him. So he waited, and waited, and we kept telling him a target month, then another, then one more, and...

Finally, he made a choice at work that made it very hard for him to finally go, once we were ready to send him. We respect that choice, but I ask God, "Why?" "Why were we not able to send this man overseas, who seemed so qualified and ready?" I don't have an answer yet, but, for now, it seems to be, "Wait and see."

3D communication

Yesterday morning, the head of our movement came to our morning meeting and gave us an update about "3D Communication," a rather new concept that means we are striving to adopt the same message that may be used among Muslims, secular media, and the church--without being offensive to any of them. Our leader emphasized that we will, by no means, leave behind our apostolic calling, but we will seek to make some big changes that will grant us more integrity and keep us from appearing to be one thing in one circle of people and another in a different circle.

For instance, if I go to church, I may be introduced as a missionary, whereas in the Muslim world and talking to the media, we might identify ourselves as English teachers. How can we communicate effectively with all groups in the same way and not deny what God has called us to do? Do we start calling ourselves "peacemakers"? Will that term fly better with the media and with Muslim governments? Will churches be willing to accept it and help send peacemakers, rather than missionaries?

This is tricky stuff. And I keep hearing how change is needed because we're now living in the post 9/11 world, where the media is now tuned in to ministries like ours seeking to reach Muslims. But I ask myself--who are we trying to please? How will we know when our mission has been accomplished? What is motivating this change? Is it God? Is He calling us to be transparent and develop new language that everyone will accept and condone? Or does He know that His name is and has been offensive to many throughout most of the world...and doesn't care? "Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me" I don't think the Lord is calling us to hold tightly onto the term "missionary" with all our might. But what are we doing by giving it up? Are we saying that the generations of church planters who went before us were wrong to use the word to define themselves? Do we stop referring to them with the dreaded "m" word? Must we now legitamize our ministry from the Lord with some type of humanitarian aid or other social service?

Are we following the world, or are we following the Lord? To what length will we go to be accepted by Muslims and the media?