Ready for the Weekend

The first week of this trip to Honduras is almost over.  What a joy to have the daily opportunity to see God’s people in devotion as they begin their work day at the clinic, to see the students and their joy at being able to train to proclaim the good news of the Gospel, to meet the Christians who are part of the many groups that come through Baxter.

I rejoice to be part of an effort that provides a firm base for Latin American missions in Honduras, and will make a difference into the future and into eternity through the graduates already trained (almost 500) and those who are now students and will soon go forth.  (Incidentally, the number of graduates represents those who have completed the resident program, and does not include the hundreds who study at Baxter via correspondence courses.)

Please pray for the work we share.  The day is concluding–we will share the evening with friends and talk about good times and God’s goodness.  God is great, God is good, God is God.  Let us praise him for his magnificence.

Back to Honduras

The coming two weeks (almost) in Honduras will go along way toward taking some of the pressure off a really busy May-June. Associate minister interviews, Mother’s Day, Senior Graduation activities, small groups, Memorial Day weekend–all have been a part of a grueling church schedule. In the meantime, I managed a week in Honduras during mid-May to teach on the Baxter Seminar, work with the strategic planning initiative I am overseeing for the Association and its works at Baxter and the JMA Clinic, and to assist with the presidential transition.

Now another two weeks of strategic planning and transition oversight are ahead, capped by a couple of days at Quest at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City. The topic for the sessions I will teach is “Current Trends and Directions in Ministry”. Wow! How different is ministry now than it was 40+ years ago when I began. Constantly new skill sets, changing expectations, incredible opportunities, new challenges. New temptations, increased need for accountabilities….some days, the list of things that show up on the ministry plate is unbelievable!

Pray for success in these kingdom undertakings! Thank you for your love and support and encouraging words. May God bless us as we seek kingdom involvement in things that matter for eternity.

A Cool Sunday Morning in Honduras

Today is the combined worship service that follows the seminario. Guests who were present for seminario but have not yet begun the journey home, along with members of many of the Tegucigalpa area churches, will assemble on the Baxter campus to worship–perhaps as many as 700-800 Christians. The singing is always superb, the prayers heart-felt, the communion a special reflection on God’s gift of salvation and also his gift of relationships between brothers and sisters.

The morning is brisk, and the hearts of Christians sing as the birds have been doing since about 2 a.m. The day will become warm, God will be recognized, respected, and thanked–in prayer and praise, in hearing his word and sharing fellowship. Then we will go home. Some may say nothing has changed, and that those who assemble for worship will go home to the same old problems. But we will know in our heart of hearts that much has changed–because we are empowered in our weakness to reflect his glory.

Seminario Baxter-2009

Seminario Baxter concludes today. The number of registrants is up almost 50% over last year, the classrooms were overflowing, and the spirit on campus was excellent. I enjoyed seeing many old friends and meeting new ones.

It is easy for us to begin to think (without realizing it) that the work of God to change the world occurs primarily in the world where we live. Everytime I travel to Latin America, I am reminded that God is at work in places and ways I see only infrequently. I am reminded that the gospel is being preached, churches are growing, and souls are recognizing the salvation found only in the Lordship of Jesus.

I urge Christians to pray more diligently for the work of God in the world. Join God’s work in the place where you live, both with your talents and time, and with your financial resources. Thank God for Christians and churches that keep the flame burning brightly in lots of places around the world with their support of mission work.

If you are looking for a good place to put some monetary resources, in a work that is making a difference for eternity, consider Baxter Institute. Student campaigns, student weekend work, and the work of our almost 500 graduates across Latin American results in 100s of conversions each year.

God’s Unlikely Ways of Working

The way God works in this world often makes no sense from a human vantage point. He works in the little, out-of-the-way places and through little-known people to bring others into kingdom awareness and blessings. The work of God is not by human power but by his Spirit. To share in the work of God requires perseverance.

Today the guests will start arriving on campus for Baxter Seminario. Every year they come–graduates, ministers, church leaders, Christians. They come to learn about God at work, to revive their spirits, to renew their faith, to restore their enthusiasm. They come to share and to grow. The numbers are not overwhelmingly large–but the Sunday gathering for worship is always special as Christians from across Tegucigalpa and various Central American countires come together to praise God, perhaps 1000 strong.

It is tempting to identify God’s presence and work with the spectacular, the self-serving works and people that call attention to themselves, and the short-cuts that promise immediate results. God’s work is as often in the still small voice that urges us onward daily.

God, use us in your service today, open doors, provide opportunities, and give us wisdom to use the opportunities you place in our way. May we always reflect the presence of your Spirit within us, even when those about us disappoint and fail. May we be faithful servants, both when results are not obvious, and when we can see the “exceedingly abundant” ways you work. Empower us and use us, through Jesus who gives us salvation, relationships, and hope. Amen.

Honduras Update

What a beautiful day in Tegucigalpa! This week is my first opportunity as board chairman to spend significant time on site during a time of normal operations. I am blessed by the opportunity to become better acquainted with the work being done.

The clinic devotional begins at 7 a.m. and the singing, prayers, and Bible study were uplifting. The work done through the clinic, along with the nutrition program, is incredible. With about 8000 patient contacts each year at the clinic site, and thousands more through the mobile clinic and medical brigades programs, the amount of good being done is immeasurable. The nutrition program not only serves the needs of undernourished children and families, but provides nutritional training and vocational training, coupled with the counseling services of our social worker. Each year at graduation, a group of guests attends the graduation for those who complete their vocational training. The nutrition program makes a different for families in need, and can be funded for about $1/day to help a needy family.

The devotional with the students was also delightful. On average, Baxter Institute graduates 15-20 ministers each year. These finish four years of intense study capable of effective ministry. Most not only work as ministers, they also go forth to help with smaller ministry training programs in various part of Latin America. I believe if you will do your research, you will find that we are graduating as many ministers each year at Baxter as is the case in some of our well-known Christian university programs in the U.S. This is a program worthy of support and encouragement–the cost of training is significantly less than in the U.S. and has the potential to yield incredible results as wave after wave of students go forth into ministry, and as members of church planting teams and mission teams.

I would like to personally share the story with you or your church. Let me know if you would like more information about the programs and opportunities here.

From Honduras…May 11

This was a travel day, up a little before 4 a.m. and not enough time for a morning blog.

The flight to Tegucigalpa was uneventful–enjoyed seeing friends (in Christ) in the airport in Houston, and hooked up with Howard and Jane Norton to accompany them to Honduras for their orientation visit. Howard has been selected as the next President of Baxter Institute; this was Jane’s first trip to campus, so she was traveling to see her future home for the next 2 1/2 years!

We had to fill out one more form at the Teguc airport–a sworn statement that we weren’t sick and hadn’t had contact with anyone that was sick. Swine flu cautions!
Lunch on campus (Italian pasta with Italian vegetables). But they couldn’t fool me! The tortillas didn’t look or taste all that Italian to me!
A fruitful day of meetings with various people on campus to work out transition details, strategic planning processes, and a host of other little details demanding attention. I enjoyed spending time with the students. I know this week will fly by. Seminario guests will start arriving on Wednesday, and the latter part of the week will fill quickly.

I will write more when I can. Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)

Sunday Again: May 10, Mother’s Day

You are blessed today if you have a mother you can hug and love, one to whom you can say “I love you” and “Thank you.” This is the 16th Mother’s Day I have experienced since my mother’s death.

My mother taught me about Jesus. She taught me to love the church. She taught me to think about what the Bible says without accepting what everyone else is saying. She taught me compassion. She taught me commitment, and excellence, and relationships. She taught me to never give up–to keep growing and developing and becoming.

I cannot personally tell her thank you today, so I will simply say thank you to God for giving me the foundations of life in the faith and life of my mother.

Missional: Christianity on the Fringes

We have been observing for at least two decades that Christianity is being pushed to the fringes of our society and culture. Beginning as early as the publication of Newbigin’s Foolishness to the Greeks, the removal of Christianity from the public sphere to the private has been observed and documented. One result of the privatization of religion has been the development of a subjective religion in which every person independently develops their own “religion” with little concern for what others think or what the Bible says.

This week the continued efforts to push Christianity to the fringes have been emphasized by our President’s decision to eliminate a a formal observance of the National Day of Prayer from the White House agenda. Our nation is struggling with the difference between the separation of church and state and the elimination of religion from the state. In response to the statement from the President’s office that all presidents pray, one atheistic organization was quoted as saying they wish the President wouldn’t pray at all.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the church goes outside its walls into a mission field that exists immediately around it. We live in a mission field. We must recognize that our nation is no longer a Christian nation (or at best, is minimally Christian). We are a nation where 80% or more of those who claim Christianity as their religion are casual Christians who irregularly or seldom attend worship assemblies. On any given Sunday, as few as 15% of the population is in church.

Missional living requires that we rethink the shape of Christian faith. In 2003, I wrote about Philip Jenkins’ book, The New Christendom. The challenge is perhaps more obvious today than it was then.

(1) We must preach the necessity of personal faith in Christianity, connecting personal experience and faith. (2) We must preach the demand for personal morality in Christianity. (3) We must preach personal responsibility in Christianity, understanding the autonomy of believers. (4) We must preach the power for personal change in Christianity, to save eternally and change lives here. (5) We must preach the necessity of personal application in Christianity in the context of culture, recognizing that Christianity is independent of culture.

While some may see all of this as bad news, historically the church has been strongest when it had to function missionally, when the world around it was a challenge rather than a support, when it understood clearly its role as strangers and pilgrims in a hostile world.

What Does God Want–Again!

What does God want?  What does he want from his human creation?  What does he want for his human creation?  I wrote about these questions last July (check the blogs under the category “God” or go to mid-July 2008).

The answer to the question is crucial.  The answer influences how we share the good news–what we say about God and what we say about the gospel.  We must think more deeply.

What does a parent want for a child?  To say that a parent wants a child to obey either substitutes the  means for the  end or reflects a selfish parent. 

I am still struggling with the desire to write something coherent and biblical on this subject.  I have reviewed dozens of books and articles and  hundreds of biblical texts which touch the subject.  I am reading through the New Testament again with this question in view.  Surely the answer is more than decision-making, obedience, and salvation. 

God has a grander plan and greater purpose for his human creation.  As impossible as it is, I want to begin at the beginning.  In a world with millions of people who have never heard of Jesus Christ, and millions more who have faulty or incomplete ideas about God, what should I be saying and writing?

I would be honored to hear what you think about these rambling musings!