On this Saturday morning at Baxter Institute in Honduras, the invisible God is visible.
Colossians 1 describes Jesus as evidence of the invisible God. Today, God is visible in other ways. God is visible in the freshness of the morning after a night of rain. God is visible in the joyous laughter and fellowship of his people as they await the activities of the day as Seminario Baxter 2012 concludes. God is visible in shared conversations that seek to advance the kingdom around the world, and especially in Latin America. God is visible in a common faith and hope, a common love and purpose.
It is a blessing to be in places where God is made visible. It is a blessing to be around the people of God living out the presence of God. Today, let each of us as Christians seek to make God visible in our little place in the world.
Friday morning at Seminario Baxter
Seminario Baxter is off a a great start. Attendance is significantly higher than in past years–about a 30% increase in registrations. (And that increase is without the presence of BICA students from Guatemala and Nicaragua this year.) Classrooms are filled, the upper auditorium overflows during the primary sessions.
Calvin Henry is doing a masterful job of handling this year’s theme which focuses on the importance and practice of church discipline. The classes are designed to meet basic needs in the churches–leadership, strengthening families, evangelism, and the study and preaching of God’s Word.
It is a privilege to participate, a blessing to know additional brothers and sisters in the Lord, a blessing to renew friendship in Christ.
Will you pray today for the advance of God’s kingdom work in Latin America? Will you add to your prayer list the churches of Central America and South America? God is at work–let us joyfully join him in the great work of taking the gospel into all the world!
Doors Opening, Opportunities Abounding
God works through us in mysterious ways. We plan to do one thing, and God opens more and more doors. We set up a Bible study and an entire family is present when we arrive. We set up a Bible study with one person and there are 13 present for the study. We go to a place with a teaching and preaching schedule set, but once we are there we receive even more invitations to preach and share.
Today I am at Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I teach the first half of my seminario class today–four hours today, four hours tomorrow. When I finish with today’s class, I will go preach in a local congregation, answering an invitation I received only yesterday.
We are sowing seed, strengthening and encouraging Christians, sharing good news. The kingdom of Jesus Christ spreads because God’s kingdom people do what they are called to do in the kingdom. The growth of the kingdom is automatic (of its own accord, Mark 4:26-29) because God’s kingdom people do what kingdom people are called to do and be.
We cannot expect kingdom growth when kingdom people do not live out the reality of the kingdom in their lives. God opens doors so that we can walk through them. He opens doors to those who have seen and acted on open doors in the past. Opportunities abound every day. The question is not whether we have opportunities. The question is whether we see them and use them to God’s glory and the advance of God’s kingdom cause.
Onesiphorus: He often refreshed me and was not ashamed of me
Paul’s description of Onesiphorus (2 Tim. 1:16-19) has been the subject of many articles, even of entire sermons. Paul describes Onesiphorus as one who had refreshed Paul’s spirit, was not ashamed of Paul’s chains, went out of his way to find Paul in Rome, and had also helped Paul in Ephesus.
As I reread Paul’s description of Onesiphorus, my mind turned to the “others.” Thankfully, Onesiphorus did the things Paul describes, but the text leaves various questions unanswered. Were there others who had the same opportunity but did not act? Were there others with the opportunity to visit Paul in prison and refresh his spirit? Were there others who could have sought out Paul but did not? Were some of those “others” ashamed of Paul’s imprisonment? Were there others with opportunity to help who did nothing?
Paul was grateful for the love shown by Onesiphorus, and he prayed God’s mercy on him. Perhaps Paul had also received help from others but mentions Onesiphorus because he was outstanding in his assistance and encouragement. But one can also wonder if Paul’s heart was perhaps breaking as he considered those who could have helped but did not.
You have perhaps known the hurt. The “friends” and “brothers” you thought were dependable turned out not to be so. Those you expected to stand with you deserted you. The refreshing word went unsaid. The encouraging visit never came. You expected that your friends and brothers in Christ would do for you as they would want you to do for them.
Praise God for Onesiphorus. Sometimes one positive can overcome a lot of negatives. It was so for Paul. Be a positive in someone’s life today–you can make all the difference.
Tuesday evening in Honduras
Tuesday evening in Honduras, safe arrival, delightful beginnings. Most of the seminario guests will arrive tomorrow.
This evening is rainy and cool. I am enjoying the renovated Hospitality Suite on campus. There is still a little work to be done, but the accommodations are very nice and comfortable.
Calvin Henry also arrived today, delightful conversations, catching up, dreaming and sharing.
Pray for the work we can do to strengthen and build up churches, both in the seminario this week, and in the leadership seminar next week in Catacamas.
Ernesto Sanchez–An Opportunity to Serve in Jesus’ Name
Saturday evening Jan and I attended a benefit dinner at the Park Plaza church facility. The purpose of the dinner was to raise funds for a heart transplant for Ernesto Sanchez. Some of Ernesto’s family is involved at the Iglesia de Cristo-Park Plaza in Tulsa. This is an opportunity to help with a life-and-death need, but of even greater importance, by helping you can also communicate the love and spirit of Jesus to the extended family.
You can go to the website of the National Foundation for Transplants to give online. On the NFT homepage, you will see a button to find the patient. You can enter the following information: Ernesto Sanchez, Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Using full names instead of first letters will help with the sorting process and take you to Ernesto’s web page more quickly.)
Even better, here is the link to Ernesto’s personal webpage where you can read his story and make donations.
Finally, we ask you to pray for Ernesto and his family–for physical life and health, and also for spiritual life and health.
It’s Sunday Again: “Sunday at the ‘Park'”
Since I devoted this morning’s Mother’s Day blog to sharing memories of my mother, I am posting my Sunday reflections on Sunday evening.
Some of you already know that Jan and I have changed “church homes.” Although we had communicated our commitment to be members at Park Plaza last week, today was our first Sunday as members at the “Park.” Wow!
Mitch hit a home run with a special Mother’s Day emphasis in his continuing sermon series on God’s resurrection power. Keith Lancaster led our hearts nearer to God in song. The prayers, Scripture reading, and communion were led by some of the young men (teens) in the congregation. A highlight of the morning was the announcement that Francisco and Millie Davila will become full-time workers in the Spanish ministry as of July 1. We anticipate that the work will flourish even more with this decision. The shepherds’ prayers for Francisco and Millie, and for the Spanish work were especially touching.
Jan and I attended early service, and also attended late service as part of our extended family, sons and grandchildren, joined us. The grandchildren enjoyed Bible class, and since our youngest grandchild wouldn’t stay in class without Nana, Jan even got to assist a little with the 2-year old class!
We connected and reconnected with friends and acquaintances from our past, and with many new brothers and sisters in Christ. What a joy to see Vivien Dillman again! That goes back to the 1970s in Tulsa at Fifteenth Street!
Today will linger as a special memory in our spiritual journey. One brother’s greeting summed it up well when he said, “Welcome home!”
An Idea for Prayer
Many mornings, one of my early activities is check in on Facebook and send a few birthday greetings. Late last year, I noticed that my page randomly loads 10 friends when I open it. Each day’s friends sampler is different. I decided to include those whose names and pictures appear in the list, and also the birthday people, in my morning prayer. The idea is free, yours to use if you wish.
The principle has wider applications. God randomly (purposefully!) places people in our lives each day–personal contacts, phone, email…. One of the things we can do as we seek to bless those who enter our lives or cross our paths is to pray for those people. Why not include such people in your evening prayer, or in your brief thought prayers as you go through your day?
Magnet or Springboard?
The weekend leadership and planning seminar touched numerous topics as the church leaders discussed the unique challenges of the local congregation. The church is like many other urban churches in that most of the members drive fairly long distances to attend worship and activities at the building. The result is predictable–with the exception of Sunday morning worship, attendance at activities at the building is generally low. The church has had some success by scheduling fellowship activities in the areas where members live.
As the leaders discussed local evangelism, the challenge became clearer. Should the church focus its evangelistic efforts in the area around the church building where few members live, or is there a way to reach out evangelistically in those areas where the members live and in those places where they live their daily lives? On the basis of Matthew 28:19-20 (as you are going, make disciples….), the conclusion was that evangelism must occur where the members live.
Out of the discussion came the contrast in today’s title: Is the church building a magnet or a springboard? The question cuts to the heart of what it means to become a missional church.
If the church building is seen as a magnet to attract people to Jesus, most or all of the church activities will occur at the building.
The alternative is to understand the church building as a springboard for entry into the community. The church gathers at a building, but the focus is not internal but external. The real work of the church occurs “out there” rather than “in here.”
The church building is a tool to be used according to the opportunities God provides. There will be activities at the building. Some of the activities at the building will seek to attract outsiders. But Christianity is not ultimately about a building; the church can exist without a building. A good understanding of our buildings is to see them as springboards that enable us to go forth as God’s ambassadors, taking his presence and power with us wherever we go.
As you are going, make disciples….
Why I “Retired”
I have read several articles recently about why people should not retire. I would hardly be so bold as to say that one should or should not retire. Retirement is difficult to define and means different things to different people. Jan and I talk much more about reinvesting our lives than about our retirement. Nonetheless, the articles caused me to think about some of the reasons I stepped away from full-time salaried ministry.
- I did not retire to so I could work less. In fact, I am doing more now than before.
- I did not retire to rest and relax. I get up earlier than ever and accomplish more than ever.
- I did not retire to spend my life in leisure, doing the things I want to do. I spend less time doing the things I want to do than ever before.
- I did not retire so I would have more time for recreation. I have always found refreshment in changing activities, and have never spent much time in recreational activities.
- I retired so I could have more time to do the things that were of supreme importance and priority in my spiritual life.
- I retired so I could more easily walk through the doors God opens.
- I retired so I could help people without concern for finances–helping those with the greatest needs, answering calls to serve with no concern for economic matters.
- I retired so I could answer calls for help more quickly.
- I retired so I could serve the people who most need it and can least afford it.
- I retired so that my kingdom service would not be connected to financial remuneration, so I could serve and minister for the pure joy of ministry.