Through Their Eyes

One of the things that I love about international and cross-cultural ministry is the opportunity to see life and faith through the eyes of those with which I'm spending time.

Sometimes it is a look of confusion when a common-to-us term is used and I have to try and translate or explain it; sometimes it is a twinkle in an eye when there is understanding; or a grin of success when a joke or a tease is done in a second language.

I frequently have Chinese students join me at church.   Some have faith, others don't.  I'm always curious as to what they think, what they understood, what they "take away" from their time there.

For Easter my parents and I had four students join us at church and then go back to Mom & Dad's for brunch.  As is typical, Dad made jokes that earned him some courtesy laughs - "the girls" didn't really "get" some of what he was trying to say, but being respectful they smiled anyways.  When asked what they thought about the service, one answered, "I really liked it.  I liked how the pastor shared the whole story.  I had never heard it before."  (If you want to hear the sermon by Pastor Eric Waters, you can click here.)

As we spoke more about it, they shared that they are starting to hear more and more from their friends (who are still in China and attending university there) about their faith and becoming Christians.  They have been emailing and chatting and having their beliefs opened to new things.

Not everyone has the opportunity to travel to another country to experience another culture firsthand, but everyone does have the opportunity to find someone from another country living here, and experience it firsthand with them.  You might be surprised what you see when you look through their eyes!

Life as a Recovering A-Type Personality

"The greater truth is that when God disrupts our plans, He maybe trying to accomplish His plans that are far better. They are far more fulfilling plans in which He calls us to become participants and not mere observers."

I jotted this down a couple of months ago (and forgot, unfortunately, to also write down where I heard/read it...so my apologies to the original source!) because it really resonated with me. 

Anyone who has spent more than a couple of minutes with me knows that I usually have already formed a plan in my mind as to how I'd like to do something/see something done, where I'd like to go, etc.  I love to collaborate with others, but I usually have a sense for what I'd like to see happen. 

God likes to remind me, however, that I'm not the one in control.  That it is His plan, not mine, which will come to pass.  This can be frustrating.  I, like most Americans, want it my way, and I want it when I want it.  I'm doing better than in the past.  I'm more flexible than I once was.  I am better able to adjust to spontaneous change of plans (like having a truck driver delivering pallet of toys to my office tell me that not only will the pallet not fit through our door, but he can't get his super-sized truck in our parking lot, is parked with blinkers on busy Bethel Rd, and results in us re-routing the delivery to my garage where we by hand unloaded and stacked the pallet in my a-typically empty space).

He and I are in the middle of a tug-of-war right now regarding my June trip to China.  I have a plan.  He does, too, and they're not completely in-sync.  I'm sure that at the end of June, when I look back at how this trip and team came together and served, that I will see a plan and result far superior to what I could have orchestrated on my own.  In the meantime, I'll do what I usually do and dig my heels in, pretend I'm in charge, and then let go and let it happen as He intended the entire time.

Mission and Ministry vs. Legacy and Ego

One of the things which drives me crazy is people who say that they're doing something in the name of their faith, but really, they're doing it so that people will remember them and their name.

Don't get me wrong.  I don't think that there is anything wrong with wanting to leave a legacy, to making an impact.  To me, the wrong comes with the motivation.  I hope that when I get to heaven that I will hear God say, "well done my good and faithful servant."

I was once involved with an organization that had an amazing story.  It's rich history, heritage, impact, and initial motivation was fantastic.  But then things started to change.  Discussions around the table went from being about "how are the lives of the people that we're serving better because we're here", to "how can we capture the history of how we've served so that people will know that we were here".  The focus - in my opinion - shifted from an impact on many individual lives, to a monument of specific lives.  From mission and ministry to legacy and ego.

If you believe, as I do, that we're called to serve and strive to make an eternal impact on the lives of others, then you know it isn't at all about you or me.  That to really serve, to really humble yourself, you can't do it by yourself.  But when you keep your eyes on the mission and ministry, and the One who you are serving, anything is possible.  It isn't about applying human metrics (which in many cases are important to track), but rather remembering God's metrics which are beyond our measurement.  It isn't about who gets the credit, creating something new, or doing it "our way".  It should be about why and for whom we're doing it.

I recently started receiving daily email messages from John Maxwell called his "A Minute with Maxwell" (you can sign up to receive these FREE!).  In these video messages, he spends one minute giving his thoughts on a particular word, ranging from wisdom to hope to success and everything in between.  Today's message was on legacy.  You can listen to it here.  He says a couple of things that I want you to consider:

• We can decide today what we want people to say about us tomorrow.
• Start today to create your legacy.
• Visualize your legacy tomorrow, value it today.

What kind of legacy do you want to leave?  Do you want it to be one built of brick and mortar?  One with a plaque on the wall?  Or do you want it to be one of lives touched and blessed and written on the hearts of those who tell of it?

Go! Bless! Be Blessed!

Walking down the street I realized that suddenly all around me had gotten eerily quiet – a strange sensation when on a major street with hundreds of people within eyesight... But that’s sometimes what happens when you travel to another country, where you look – and sound - nothing like those whom you have come to serve. That first trip to rural China was filled with many unexpected experiences, curious looks, special smiles from new little friends, and a pull on my heart which hasn’t stopped and will take me back for my 5th trip this June.

Each time I go and return again, I am reminded how incredibly blessed we are; we have freedoms to live where we want to live; pursue the jobs we want to pursue; have brothers, sisters, and families of all sizes and shapes; go to the schools we want to attend; worship where, how, when, and with whom we desire. While each of us has changes we’d like to see in our lives, our jobs, our government – few (if any) places and people on earth are as blessed as we are.

June 9-21, I will lead a team for chinaconnect to a special place – a Christian orphanage which cares for the most special of orphans: those who, because of their special needs have been abandoned by their families and are not able to be cared for by other “regular” orphanages. We will hold, love on, care for, and serve these children and those who care for them.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me.” It is a long way to go, but will you join me as we go to them and share some of His and our blessings? For more information, or to say, “Count me in!” contact me.