3 bags full

Keeping God, God

2011-12-03T22:46:00.001-08:00

I was reminded recently about the importance of keeping God, God. It might sound like an odd statement, but I think that sometimes, I for one, can forget that my relationship with the Lord, is a relationship with a being who has the ability to create and control the universe , and all the elements within it. He is the Lord of the big and the small, forging stars, creating galaxies and flinging them into the deep recesses of space, and yet despite this amazing display of power, still answers my prayer for a parking space when I’m visiting the shops.

It’s hard to blend this dichotomy of concerns into the right perspective; God the all knowing, all powerful creator, and God my friend. For me, many of the issues I have had to work through regarding my life with Jesus are relational, such as communication, intention, and spending time together. By nature, these issues are largely internal, focusing on the quality of my relationship with Christ, my core beliefs and motivations. A large part of Christ’s communication with me is also internal. Part of Him giving me His Spirit means that He leads and encourages me in a deeply personal way with that quiet voice speaking softly though the noise of my own anxieties and inner thought life. It’s so easy to forget, confuse or misplace the absolute authority of that Voice, and treat it with the same frivolity as I would my conscience, as often my own emotions and desires compete with His for audience.

For my part, reading the story of Job in the bible has been a great encouragement in addressing the lack of authority I have given the Spirit in this regard. Job, was known as a blameless man, who avoided evil and feared the Lord, however in the face of extreme adversity and hardship, even though Job didn’t sin by charging God with wrongdoing, he called the Lord to account for the problems he was going through. On more than one occasion, Job expressed his desire to challenge God, and ask Him to account for painful trials he was experiencing as he believed he had done nothing wrong to deserve his present troubles (e.g. Job 31:35).

As far as he was concerned, Job’s conscience was clear, and that made him righteous before God. Our righteousness as Christians comes through Christ, not conscience, but even if Job had Christ’s righteousness, he was ignoring God’s authority. In Romans 9:10 – 23, Paul effectively summarizes God’s authority as creator, as well as saviour as absolute. God in every sense is God; free to make any decision He wants, without question, without equal. Paul writes that even God’s mercy does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s sovereign choice (v14-16). He has mercy on some, and hardens others all according to what He wants to do.

The obvious question then is how can we be blamed for what we do? For if it’s God’s will to harden me, how can I do otherwise? Paul’s response in Romans 9:20-21 :

‘But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? ‘

This obviously can sometimes be hard to hear, especially to those who feel they are beyond Christ’s mercy. It’s so important to remember verses like Acts 2:21, which reminds us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Again, it is not our emotions, or conscience (guilty or otherwise) which has authority, but God and His infallible Word. In encouragement to Timothy, Paul also writes that he will not be shamed, for he has known who (Jesus) he has believed in (2 Tim 1:12). Remembering who, is just as, if not more important than remembering what we believe in, especially when our hearts condemn us. We believe in a God who at every turn demonstrates His love, kindness , grace and patience.

Of his four advisors, only one gave good advice (Elihu), who was upset that Job, despite his trials, was justifying himself, and not God (Job 32:1). Eventually God himself spoke to Job out of a storm and reminded him of His authority, before Job repented and the Lord graciously restored him to twice his former fortune (Job 42:10).

All authority submits to God, this is a fact that most Christians would agree with, yet moving that knowledge in the head from the ‘interesting factoid’ box, to the ‘deep convictions’ box proves to be difficult, especially in situations where obedience could cause discomfort, or conflicts with our human sense of fairness, or justice. In the end, whatever issues we may have with God’s decisions about our lives, we have to place them at His feet in submission, for whether we agree with Him or not, it’s irrelevant. If God has decided something, it is done.

Australia Refugee and Asylum Seeker Resettlement – Helping Hands International Australia

2011-08-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

Relinquishing control of your future to the Lord can result at times, in feelings of uncertainty, doubt, and pointlessness as quite often you are the last to know what’s going on as you wait for God to show himself faithful with what you have entrusted to Him. Sometimes we form a picture of our future according to what we believe God has promised us, and place our faith in that interpretation, rather than Jesus’ faithfulness. When His faithfulness, in the fullness of time, comes to fruition however, we will always find a vision fulfilled in a unique and pleasantly surprising way.

Over the past few years, Helping Hands International Australia (HHIA) has found new life supporting refugees integrating into Australian society. Originally formed in 2001 by husband and wife team Ros and Ken Myers, HHIA’s primary focus was to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief within Australia and the Pacific Islands (i.e. Solomons).

As a Christian organisation, HHIA was birthed by the Myers from a strong sense of God’s leading and purpose in helping those in crisis and the under privileged. Furthermore, both Ros and Ken had a firm conviction that the establishment, growth and fortification (longevity) of this ministry was something they were to entrust with the Lord, and leave as His responsibility. However, as longstanding arrangements both with a Queensland hospital for donating medical equipment, and the landlord of their primary warehouse were cancelled, HHIA’s future in late 2004 was looking uncertain. And so it was that with no small amount of confusion and uncertainty, Ros and Ken finally decided to wrap up operations in 2005 sending the last of their medical equipment to the Solomon Islands.

For the next few years, HHIA sat pretty much in a state of limbo. Despite Ros and Ken’s best efforts to resurrect the aid work at various times, it felt as though the Lord had firmly closed that chapter of HHIA’s life as nothing significant eventuated. Both Ros and Ken, could see the Lord’s hand in the closing of HHIA, however in light of their previous convictions, they couldn’t understand why the Lord was seemingly drawing the curtain on the ministry they had such a passion for.

As time passed, they even began to question whether these convictions were God given in the first place.

As this was taking place, the school in Brisbane where Ken was working (and still works today) experienced an influx of student refugee s and welcomed the assistance of voluntary staff to help with their ESL (English as a Second Language) program. Ros volunteered and was soon helping kids displaced from completely foreign cultures come to terms with western life, English and the horrors of high school arithmetic.

She quickly befriended many of the students and was shocked to discover the savage nature of their former lives. Stories of sexual abuse and violence faced by fleeing refugees beggar belief when reading about them, but to hear firsthand accounts of the horrible mistreatment and social conditions fuelling the need to leave one’s home country is quite confronting. Both Ros and Ken gained considerable insight into the mountain these kids have to climb emotionally let alone academically and socially. This paired with an unstable, inconsistent history of education and long periods of displacement, it is little wonder that these kids need all the help they can get just to get their heads around our language, let alone hope to pass an Australian standard high school maths exam and grapple with issues of social inclusion.

Others became aware of Ros and Ken’s involvement with the children, and in November 2007, they received a call from a local church seeking their assistance in helping a refugee Sri Lankan family’s social integration. For the next 18 months, Ros and Ken helped the best way they could, befriending the family, and helping them face day to day life in Australia. With the help they offered to the first family, other refugees became aware of Ros and Ken and contacted them for help as well.

As the number of families and children needing help increased, under the name of HHIA, Ros and Ken started to form a number of mentoring and support programs. By simply making themselves available, Ros and Ken coach families through a variety of day to day issues from knowing how to book a doctor’s appointment, through to finding work without recognised qualifications. For most the latter is quite a challenge, and at times ethically confronting, as the only work one poor refugee; a Hindu man, could find was in an abattoir!

Concerning Australia’s current attitudes toward immigration and policy governing asylum seekers, after listening to how asylum seekers lived in their countries of origin, and the nature of their oppressions, Ros believes policy makers cannot afford to be dogmatic about how refugees come to Australia as application processes followed are less than ideal. In some instances, alerting authorities of your family’s intent to leave their native country invites persecution and further hardship. Ken and Ros have heard many stories of false imprisonment and physical recriminations under such situations, and so to expect all asylum seekers to follow official process is completely unreasonable.

To date, some of the support programs HHIA offer include In Home Support, Homework Club, and Birthing Support. Part of the vision for HHIA includes the construction of a friendship centre for refugees between Brisbane and Logan, however apart from the occasional government grant, most of this work is funded by Ken and Ros.

Thanks to a handful of helpful volunteers, the number of refugees benefitting from this program has increased, however, more are desperately needed. If you have a heart for refugees and would love to play a vital part in a family’s flee from tyranny and establishment in Australia, please contact Ros or Ken Myers:

Email: ros@helpinghands.org.au or ken@helpinghands.org.au
Ph: 0421 076 303

Raising Church Support for Children in Africa

2011-07-25T06:05:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had the good fortune to chat with a visiting Pastor from Zambia; Ps Philip Kazhingu, who is visiting Australia promoting the work of the Acts Initiative, a ministry of Eagles Wings (Zambia). To date, Acts Initiative is working with churches in countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to grow awareness of social justice issues surrounding orphaned and vulnerable children, and ultimately foster the development of church based social justice ministries within local communities. I spoke to him to get an idea of the challenges he has faced as coordinator of the Acts Initiative, and the approach he has taken to assist local churches grow their social justice programs.

For the last few years, as coordinator, Philip has had to travel extensively throughout central and southern Africa, visiting different church groups, and forming relationships with congregations from varying cultural backgrounds. Initial trips are to form relationships with church leaders and grow awareness of social issues specifically concerning vulnerable children, however these quickly develop into more pragmatic education, as workshops begin once needs in a church’s local community are identified. With no additional funding to start ministry, churches are encouraged to use the resources they have at hand to support their respective outreaches which can be as diverse as community education and feeding programs, to foster care and mobile clinics to remote areas. Encouraging churches to act using whatever resources they have at their disposal is a key element of the Acts Initiative, as it is an encouragement to act now and rely on God’s provision, rather than waiting for donation.

The depths of Philip’s convictions are evident, not only when he speaks about child welfare, but are also reflected in his family life. Philips is not a rich man, in fact, quite the opposite, and yet, in addition to supporting 3 children of his own, he and his wife Esnart over the last few years, have adopted another seven (yes seven) children, providing for them a loving home and a much brighter future. Even though Philip loves travelling and has a strong passion for this ministry, he often misses home as his work often requires that he spend large amounts of time on the road.

Pastor Philip has been in Australia for the last three weeks informing Australian supporters of the progress made with churches in Africa, and to explore ways that Australian churches can partner with the plethora of ministries blossoming from this initiative. He describes Australia as paradise, however, after meeting and talking with other Christians, he has found it surprising the amount of loneliness, and unhappiness here even though we have significantly better living conditions and compared to the majority of Africa, much more wealth. For him it has highlighted the fact that happiness has nothing to do with externals, or what a person has, but rather happiness is more to do with what is going on inside a person.

Philip is returning to Zambia this week to continue his work with Eagle’s Wings. To find out more about the Acts Initiative visit http://www.ewafrica.org/ and click on ‘Our Programs’.

From Little Things, Big Things Grow

2011-06-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to me, to see and sometimes be part of ministry through which God’s blessing obviously lies. It’s an absolute delight to see 1 Corinthians 1 ‘...God chose the weak things of this world to shame the strong’ in operation, as it reinforces the realisation that God is in control of His kingdom, and our successes depend entirely on His blessing. No matter how big, small, well connected, wise or foolish we are and sometimes feel, the reality is that in ministry, despite our efforts we are simply children of God, doing a finger painting for our Father. It is Jesus who chooses if and when to use our best efforts, with all our inadequacies, hang ups and short fallings, and transform them into something of value for the sake of His kingdom.

Of all the ministries I have seen that should have worked, that had the right people, facilities, finance and determination, the humblest of all of them is the one that continues today with the most profound of impacts. Christian Tract Outreach is a small website in the recesses of cyberspace through which many are receiving strength, encouragement and the gospel. It is run by an elderly husband and wife, Danny and Terri Maher, and is funded almost entirely by the small senior’s pension both of them receive. Although we may have heard the slogan ‘from little things, big things grow’ related to superannuation, the same can definitely be said of Christian Tract Outreach.

The ministry itself started in the 70’shortly after Danny gave his life to the Lord. It began with two tracts; The Right of Choice and Jesus Christ the Word of God, and was borne out of an insatiable hunger for God’s Word. Initially the tracts were distributed via letter box drops throughout Danny and Terri’s home suburb, Wynnum in Brisbane. With the help of a retired missionary who owned a small printing press, for the next 20 years other tracts were written printed and distributed. From the outset, tracts focused upon salvation through Jesus and the Gospel message, sanctification (what it means to be set apart by the Lord and shaped in His image) and fruit bearing. This focus is still interwoven through tracts written today. As time passed, the tract ministry gradually slowed down and all but petered out, as both Danny and Terri’s focus were increasingly drawn to pastoral matters and small groups.

In 2004, Danny was led back to the tract ministry with a renewed sense of vigour. Through prayer, and spending time with the Lord, he felt the great commission’s call to ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel..’ (Mk :16:15) had particular relevance to the tract ministry, he just wasn’t sure how to do it.

A couple of days later, I met Danny and Terri for the first time through a mutual friend. We met at a bible study at Danny and Terri’s house, and after, they shared a little bit about his tract ministry in the 70’s, and how in the past he and Terri did a letter box drop in the area. As I was a computer programmer, I offered to knock up a quick website for him so he could try and reach people he normally wouldn’t have contact with. I’d love to be able to say that at that time, the clouds parted and I heard the Lord’s deeply resonating voice proclaiming ‘Thou shalt build a website, and it will be good....’, but the reality was I figured I was giving an old fella a leg up and some encouragement.

Over the next couple of months, I visited Danny and Terri once a week for dinner, and worked on the site at their place until we had something simple up for people to read, and download tracts. For the next couple of years Danny reworked many of the 200 – 300 tracts, and even wrote new ones adapting them to bible studies so that they could be downloaded and used. After some time had passed, Danny received an email from a young Indian man studying in Bangalore. He had found the site, and wanted to be able to use them for evangelism at the college where he was studying. He and Danny built up a bit of a relationship over email, which eventuated in Danny couriering out a couple of hundred copies of the first two tracts he ever wrote, to be used in a campus crusade.
Slowly, emails started to trickle in from other countries too. Pastors, evangelists and readers from Tanzania, Nigeria and other parts of India began to regularly contact Danny for support in the form of tracts to be posted out and used by churches for evangelism and encouragement. Through the enthusiasm and diligence of 3 pastors in particular, Christian Tract Outreach tracts were helping evangelists reach more and more people throughout central and eastern Africa as well as India.
As the demand for printed tracts grew, it quickly became apparent that simply printing and couriering tracts from Australia was a slow, and ridiculously expensive task, especially as all this was being funded by two pensioners in Brisbane. A printer was found in Tanzania who offered their services at a reduced rate, and tracts were able to be printed and distributed within Africa at a fraction of the original costs.

Since this time, in the face of lack of finances, persecution (of evangelists in non Christian countries), and ill health, more and more people have been requesting and receiving tracts for evangelistic purposes throughout predominantly Muslim, Hindu and Christian countries. To date, over 4 million tracts have been printed throughout India and Africa in over 15 countries and in 10 different languages. Over 200 pastors and 12 evangelists use the tracts for evangelism and outreach. The website has undergone a couple of revisions and facelifts; the latest one allowing Danny to maintain and update it himself. The future for Christian Tract Outreach is looking bright as it recently has unofficially partnered with online bible college Trailblazers, and this coming year, Trailblazers will be visiting key people in Ghana, Tanzania and India who are distributing and using the tracts, with the intent to train new pastors with an emphasis on caring for new believers. Christian Tract Outreach does receive some additional financial support, however to the greater extent, Danny and Terri still fund its work personally.

The greatest blessing from all of this according to Danny, is that he has been able to witness Jesus take control and be part of everything in this ministry. From the greatest of issues to the smallest of details, Danny insists that he has been like a spectator in the whole thing. All that has been necessary for Danny to do is to trust and obey. To follow the path that the Lord presents, and to trust in Him during times when that path isn’t clear.

For myself, to watch this ministry bloom has been an opportunity to watch my God in action, choosing the humblest of vessels to do His work. Two people in the later years of their life, still full of life and love, pure heartedly offering their service to bless their Father, without the formal support of church, and outside the boundaries of a conventional ministry, funding the majority of their work from the contents of their own pockets and at a time in life when they have the least. Many can learn from their love and willingness to serve and bless their Jesus!

How I Met my Father-in-law

2011-05-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

I should probably feel bad about the amount of pain the Lord put my Father in law through in order to give me his daughter, but the reality is that his pain has become one of my happiest testimonies! A few years ago I met my wife, Sylvia, on a short term mission trip to Zambia. She was the 2nd grade teacher at a community school in a compound (suburb) called Twapia. Shortly before leaving and meeting her for the first time, I had in my time with the Lord, read a verse which I felt had particular importance to what lay ahead. It was Joshua 1:9 –
‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.’

I also had two people independently approach me to encourage me with this verse before leaving, saying they felt it had some particular relevance to the trip I was taking. I have never in my life had that happen, and so I was a little worried as I was sure something nasty was going to occur that would stretch my faith in some sort of ‘trial by fire’ way.
Thankfully, nothing nasty did happen, in fact quite the contrary. When I met Sylvia, we were both leaders on a camping trip, taking 40 underprivileged children to see Victoria Falls. Being Australian, and she Zambian, we were paired together to overcome any communication and cultural boundaries with the children. This pairing worked well as we are still paired together today, even though we live now in Australia.

Neither of us up until that time had ever considered the possibility of being with someone outside of our nationalities, let alone marrying someone with so different a culture or upbringing from ourselves. This being the case, when we had to separate and I returned to Australia, leaving her in Zambia, we really had no idea what to expect. We had, however, committed our relationship which was just beginning to the Lord, and trusted that if this was what He wanted for us, all issues such as distance and cultural differences would be solved in time.

As time passed, and phone bills increased, we found that instead of dwindling under the pressures of distance and faulty phone lines, our relationship strengthened. It became obvious to us that our relationship was not going to fizzle out, and as we made plans for our future, we also had to make plans to meet and be introduced to the wider family circle.

Sylvia was a little uncertain how her parents would take the news that she fell in love with a Muzungu (white man). In all honesty, these sort of relationships in Zambia are met with a degree of scepticism, and in my time there I had heard stories of ‘marriages of convenience’ where travelling foreigners working in Zambia married Zambian women even though they were already married back home.
In fact, I remember the last week I was in Zambia, holding Sylvia’s hand and walking down the street. Albeit we do look an odd couple, even so, the looks of surprise and suspicion we got were, for me, a little unexpected, and when a fellow in a passing bus took it upon himself to lean out the window and shout in Bemba ‘hey... you’re making a new breed...’, I realised that this relationship would be little different. So it was with a fair bit of encouragement from me, and much trepidation, that Sylvia one night sat her parents down in the living room and told them both that she was in love with a white guy, and that I would be coming soon to meet them.

To their credit they handled the news as well as could be expected. Sylvia’s mum handled the news well, but Sylvia’s father, a strong Christian, had many concerns and questions, most of which were about my character and faith. Who is this white guy? Why can’t he find someone in his own country? What does he believe in, and is he genuine? Who are is parents? What is his family like? Tell him to go away, he will just waste your time..... Obviously this made me, back in Australia, very nervous.

Three months before I returned to Zambia, Sylvia’s father, who was a truck driver, was in a nasty truck accident. His leg was shattered just below the knee, and the family were very worried. He spent some time in hospital where his leg was set in a cast before returning home to recover. To me, God is absolutely amazing, as during this time, my sister who was also in Zambia on mission at the time, is a nurse, and was able to give my soon to be father in law some simple care and advice. The Lord was introducing my family to Sylvia’s family.

Over that three months, despite receiving medical treatment, his leg worsened instead of healing, and so it came to be that when I landed in Zambia, and I was taken to meet him, I met him on a bed where he had remained for the previous few weeks. The leg was in a very nasty way. The cast had been taken off by the doctors, for reasons which will remain a mystery, and I could see that he was in tremendous pain. Whenever he lifted his knee, the shin would bend in the middle like carrot that had spent way too long in the fridge, and he was at risk of amputation.

Despite this, he made me feel welcome, and even asked me a few questions about who I was, why I wanted his daughter, and most importantly what I believed in. It was obvious though that he was in a lot of pain and I could only visit for a short time. We prayed together briefly before I left.
I left with a sense of wanting to help any way I could, but I had no clear direction on what to do. I also wanted to demonstrate that I had nothing but honourable intentions for his daughter, and to put his mind at rest that I was a trustworthy guy. At the time I was staying with a missionary couple relatively new to Zambia as my sister and her husband at the time, were back in Australia having a well deserved break. Being new in the country myself, neither the couple I was staying with, or I had any idea how the healthcare system worked, or even who to contact for assistance.
Both Sylvia’s, and other people’s experience of Zambian health care essentially boiled down to consulting whichever doctor was available. There was no specialist referral system to speak of, the only real chance of getting specialist help was to medivac to South Africa, which was way too expensive, and so I shot out a general SOS to a couple of family members..... none of which had any real experience or knowledge of Zambia, or medicine in developing countries. Sylvia and I started praying.

A day later I received an email from a good friend of the family, who had heard of some doctor who had left England a little while ago to help out in central Africa somewhere, and that he might be in Zambia. She sent his email address which I used to make the first contact, briefly explaining the situation and giving him my phone number.

To my delight, the very next day I received a text message from a man called Alan Norrish, a travelling paediatric surgeon who specialised in reconstructive surgery! He explained that he was in the country for two more days, and that if I had recent x-rays, and if I could get my father in law to a hospital in Lusaka by lunch tomorrow, he would operate. Praise God, we had recent x-rays from the last check-up, He had given us a way forward!

We immediately made plans to pick up Sylvia’s father that afternoon so we could make the 5 hour journey to Lusaka the following morning. As my sister and brother in law were back in Australia, I was able to use their car to make the journey (thank you Lord!). Unfortunately due to a run down set of solenoids the car was not turning over, and unable to start. We could potentially jump start the car, however Sylvia had never driven before, and I doubt her father would get in and travel in the condition he was if the car wasn’t reliable, and required his wife’s help to push start!
Finding parts at such late notice was an issue, and using a bus would have been an impossibility as we would not have been able to make it there on time. A 5 hour trip on a cramped bumpy bus ride would have been unbearable for such a badly broken leg.... but it was the only other alternative we had as we had so little preparation time. So again we prayed.

Early the next morning I got up and tried to start the car, which had been rendered unstartable for the last three days. It turned over first time! I was able to take it to the fuel station without incident, so we decided to risk it. We picked up Sylvia’s parents and headed off to Lusaka.

We arrived at midday, and met Alan Norrish, the surgeon for the first time. Taking a look at the x-rays we brought, and after examining the shattered leg, to our delight he announced that rather than having to undergo amputation, Sylvia’s father would be up and walking again within 3 days. His leg would be pinned in several places and bone would be grafted in from his hip. I had just enough money in the bank to pay for the surgery and get home (2 trips to Africa within 6 months is not cheap – so this was a miracle in itself)! Even so, after explaining the situation to my folks, they were also happy to chip in.

And so it was with a deep sense of relief and gratitude towards the Lord, and the surgeon that Sylvia I climbed aboard the car, leaving her parents at the hospital to undergo the hastily organised procedure that would allow my father in law to use his leg again. Turning the key, the car failed to respond... but by this stage I didn’t really mind. The Lord had allowed the car to run without issue for just enough time to get the job done. Sylvia and I were able to eventually jump start it and limp it back to Ndola. Upon returning home, Sylvia’s family had a lovely surprise waiting. Even though we didn’t arrive back until around 11pm that night, her family had stayed up to say thank you as I was due to fly home to Australia the next morning. They had even baked a cake with a special ‘Thank you Ben and God bless you’ message on top.

For me this really was ‘the icing on the cake’! It was such a relief and a blessing to me to be put in such a position where God would use me to bless my soon to be extended family. I had come to Africa nervous about how I would be received by Sylvia’s family and keen to make a good impression. I had wanted to be able to demonstrate that I was a nice guy with good intentions who only wanted to bless and be part of their family.

Over a small period of time, Jesus had done all these things and more. The verse in Joshua He had given me rang true, the Lord did go before me and made my path straight. All I had to do was be strong in not letting my anxieties or fears dictate my actions, and to keep walking forward in trust. I didn’t have to push, muscle, force or fight anything to make it happen, all I did was to keep walking down the path as it took shape before me. As in most things, the battle started within, challenging the doubts that such a cross cultural relationship would go anywhere, let alone the doubt in trusting that I would ever get married to start with! Once dealing with my own doubts and fears, funnily enough the challenge moved to fending off other people’s misgivings, yet the Lord continued to faithfully work out his plan for us.

As time passed and I moved to Africa, that verse had a broader, more far reaching application, but I can happily say that it was one of the most special times of answered prayer I have experienced thus far. For me it has been a real encouragement to ‘take my hands off’ life’s steering wheel and simply trust that God is in control. Whether its through challenge or blessing, its a great comfort to know that the Lord will always be with me. All He requires is that we be bold enough to resist our own misgivings, and the misgivings of others, and to simply stand and wait patiently as He continues to reveal His magnificent love and faithfulness to us.

The Business of Mission

2011-04-03T00:28:00.001-07:00

Over the last 10 - 15 years, I have worked with a variety of missions and ministries both within Australia and Zambia at the operational and management level, and have discovered that finding and maintaining a steady income to sustain mission is difficult, and at times a delicate balancing act. During my time in Zambia, I came into contact with many missions, who shared a similar social objective; to build a self sustaining organisation to provide and foster opportunity within a disadvantaged community. In English, this means to share the Word of God while meeting a social need within a disadvantaged community. Most missions do this by starting an NGO (non government organisation / not-for-profit organisation), through which Christ is shared, needs are met, suffering is alleviated and lives are changed. It has been my observation that sustaining mission with a regular income stream can be one of the many stresses of mission, and so I thought I would talk a little bit about a few approaches I have seen in the field.

Most missions begin (and sometimes end) with donation. The missions have been a part of typically start with fund raising to get the necessary funding for infrastructure (i.e. buildings), and rely on continuing donation to sustain existing work and future expansion. One of the issues with donation is that it is a bit of a rollercoaster... sometimes donations are up, bills are met, wages are paid, new programs are developed, but sometimes donations are down, and can be a struggle just to maintain day to day operation, let alone plan for the future. This rise and fall can be attributed to anything from changing economic conditions (i.e. the GFC), to a change in staff. As a good friend who ran a mission struggling to be independent of foreign donation said to me, ‘People give to people, not to organisations.’ As staff, whether they are paid, or volunteers from overseas, come and go from a mission, quite often they take with them the regular donations given in support of their work which helped meet mission running costs.

To combat the ebb and flow of donation, and move closer to the goal of financial autonomy, many missions look to establishing of some form of sideline business to supplement donated income. Initially businesses are small scale and easily managed with existing staff, such as growing and selling produce, or some other service such as milling flour, renting equipment, renting basic accommodation, or starting a small community shop. As a mission grows however, so to do the bills, and many find the need for a business with a greater turn over to not only support its own running costs, but that of the mission as well. The growing need, or dependency on a business within mission often presents a mission with a number of issues.

The issue of arguably the greatest importance, is the dilution of vision. For a mission directly involved in managing a business and its day to day operation, there is a chance that the mission’s initial focus on charity and social need, may waiver in the face of incorporating often contrary goals presented by commercial enterprise. The overarching vision for mission may remain intact (for example, to disciple and reach the lost while fostering opportunity), however in the when it comes to the day to day decision making, as business goals and mission goals often differ, compromises may have to be made. Indeed, there is a risk of running the business as a mission, or alternatively, running the mission as a business. Both are bad. Both can have a negative effect on meeting the social and spiritual goals set by a mission.

Running a mission as a business, without a clear separation between mission and business staff and management, can sometimes undermine that mission’s focus and vision, limiting the mission’s effectiveness and even alienating those involved. As the need for money is usually always present, and as the business will assumingly be meeting that need, there is a danger that the mission management’s focus could increasingly shift to the business, rather than the mission itself. If staff from the mission also work within the business, then often one entity’s vision and values are compromised with the other. A mission typically is a charity by nature, whereas a business is commercial.

Sometimes this overlap can also adversely affect staff morale. Most of the time, the biggest contributors to a mission are its staff, working for lower than normal wages so the mission may spend more on the affected community. If their focus is taken away from the community and spent on the business, it can sometimes lead to disgruntlement, particularly if they can see the money the business generates, and they remain on a reduced wage.

The opposing tendency to running the mission as a business, is to run the business like a mission. Running a business as a mission can result in poor business performance and big administrative (and sometimes legal) headaches, again due to the differing visions and values between commercial and charitable organisations. The line becomes blurred between what is to be done as business (and charged to the business) and what is to be done as charity. Mission resources can be used inadvertently, and sometimes illegally (if bought tax free by the not-for-profit mission) by the business, and vice versa. Expectations can be made of staff by either entity, that aren’t necessarily shared, and roles and responsibilities can be ambiguous and confusing. Starting and running a business takes a lot of time and energy, just as much as the mission itself, and as its a commercial endeavour, it needs to be run as such.

So what’s the answer? How are these things best avoided? Well I don’t believe there is a silver bullet; a one size fits all solution. Keeping in mind that I have never founded a mission of my own, I believe each mission is its own beast. From my observations, I have formed a couple of simple principles to keep in mind when looking for a business to fund mission.

Number One – pray! Sounds obvious, but sometimes we rely on what we think is common sense rather than submitting it all to the Lord and trusting in His direction.

Number Two – talk to others. A problem shared is a problem halved. It has been my experience that quite often missions work largely in isolation. Many missions face the same problems, and ultimately share the same objectives, so it makes sense to network and get some advice from others who have faced similar issues.

Number Three – draw a line and separate business from mission. As much as feasibly possible, keep all staff and resources separate from one another. If possible separate the business premises from the mission premises. All of this costs more money, and creates more work up front, but I believe it will preserve the integrity of both the mission and the business to do what they were created to do. Arguably, if the business can’t stand on its own two feet, and relies on constant use of mission resources, then its arguable that it wasn’t a feasible business to begin with.

Number Four – keep it that way! Let the business rise and fall on its own commercial merit, and don’t prop it up using mission money. Its a business that, if successful, will support the mission, not the other way round. Stick to the business plan, and make sure there is an exit strategy. If it fails, then it fails independently of the mission. If resources are shared between the two, then the mission will ultimately suffer. If there is good separation, whatever happens to the business, affects only the business, and the business is free to donate support to the mission from its profit free from scrutiny. Not-for-profit organisation expenditures are always under scrutiny due to the tax bonuses they can offer.

Number Five – ensure the mission is represented in the business management structure. Whether its at the board (if one exists), or strategic planning level, this will ensure the links and support for the mission are preserved and monitored.

In the end after all the strategising and planning, its good to remember that God is in control! And what a relief that is! Wasn’t it Jesus who said ‘... I will build my church’? If its His mission, He will look after it. Overall this has been a very simple look at what can be a complex problem, but as in all things, we do our best and let God do the rest, praying everything according to His will.

Communication in Cross Cultural Marriage

2011-02-19T21:09:00.001-08:00

A little over a year ago I married my wife, a working class Zambian national, in a small country town on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. For me it was a time of amazing blessing and adventure as the two of us spoke our vows before 300 friends and family and stepped out as one, full of promise to face the challenges of life together. Even though we are only one year down the track, and relative newbies to marriage, I thought it would be worthwhile to share a few thoughts regarding what I have discovered aboutcross cultural marriage thus far.

To give some background, I come from white middle class Australia. I have had a largely Christian upbringing, and the opportunity to receive a well rounded basic education and a couple of university degrees. I have two loving parents, and two sisters. I have travelled a little around the world, and found myself in Zambia on a short term mission 4 years ago, where I first met my wife (for the full story, read my blog at http://www.beninzambia.com/news). Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world , and an Aussie can expect to live around 81 yrs (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html).

My wife is one of 13 children in her family; a black working class family in Zambia. She too has been raised in a loving Christian household, and has received a basic education, and some tertiary, recently completing a diploma of teaching. She has lived and worked as a teacher amongst the some of the poorest communities within Zambia. Zambia a third world nation, with about 86% of the population living in poverty (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/za.html) and an average life expectancy of 52years. Growing up in Zambia, she has had a firsthand understanding of living in poverty, and all social issues caused by impoverishment.

Because of our very different cultural backgrounds. I had more than a few concerns about what challenges we would face in marriage. I had many questions about what she expected from a husband, and how I would meet them. I had questions about family and extended family, what they expected and how we would manage that expectation. I had questions about Visas and where we could live, children and how we would raise them, arguments and conflict and how we would resolve issues. On the surface of things, there seemed to be a never ending supply of differences that could trip us up and break the harmony in our relationship.

We often discussed these differences at length before getting married, but now, one year down the track, I am finding that it’s the similarities, not the differences which have the most influence over our relationship. I’m happy to say that many of the deeper concerns about culture have disappeared as we have been able to openly discuss many of these and begin to form our own marital culture.

Surprisingly, the source of our relatively few issues, has been communication itself! Slang and phrasing play such an important role in communication, especially within the context of the Australian vernacular, and so quite often I feel I have effectively communicated something to my wife, and she is left uncertain of what I have said. My wife has spoken (and taught) English for most of her life, and so for us, understanding the literal meaning of what is being communicated between us is not an issue. Its the understanding of how each of us communicates that causes the greatest ambiguity. This is especially so when talking about an emotional subject.

To give an example, the other day, I felt I had somehow upset my wife, and I wanted to correct this. She had been quiet for a little while, which is never a good sign, so I asked her if I had done something to offend her. Our conversation came to a posting on Facebook, so I asked her what it said. Her response to the question was ‘You can read...’. Normally, I would understand her response as an invitation to, ‘Have a read through the Facebook post and tell me what you think...’ – which was what she was actually saying. Unfortunately, as I already believed her to be upset with me (which, thankfully, in this instance she wasn’t), I interpreted ‘You can read...’ as an upset remark ‘You have the ability to read, why don’t you read it yourself?’. I had misjudged how she was feeling, and it affected my ability to correctly understand what she was saying to me. As a result, I became offended, and inflamed the situation. It took a few more upset remarks and a little while before we realised what had happened, and were able to sort it all out.

Overall, I’ve discovered that cultural difference is not a boundary to relationship, rather its an enrichment as it has opened both of us to a wider experience of family, and a better appreciation of what it means to be part of God’s family. We both share a deep belief in and love of Christ, and as such, we share many common values and beliefs. It is this foundation of Christ which effectively unifies us in our marriage; two people with completely different upbringings, from intensely divergent cultures, who in Christ, have the same desires, values and moral grounding. In John 17:11, Christ prayed for His disciples, asking that ‘...they might be one as we (Jesus and the Father) may be one’. In Christ, through the Holy Spirit, all believers are unified, and as such have more in common with one another than difference. We all (believers) share the same desire to know Christ, and to live lives that would make Him proud. Culture is often seen as a boundary, and we can tend to express culture in terms of difference. Over these last few years I have found that in Christ, culture is not the cause of differing beliefs and values, but rather its an influence on how values are expressed.

The Gentle Art of Specificity

2011-01-16T14:05:00.001-08:00

The gentle art of specificity

Quite often, our ability to plan and work towards the fulfilment of a desire, want or need, hinges entirely upon how we define that desire. Whether we are expressing a need verbally, or simply thinking through an issue, the terms we use when speaking or thinking often influence how we plan to meet a specific goal or need.

A good illustration of this is how many of us address time management and finance issues. At some point in our lives, most of us would know what it is like to desire to have a greater financial security. To be clear, I am not addressing issues concerning financial hardship, or impoverishment, or failing to meet basic financial needs, I am more addressing the desire to have a little more recreational money to travel to another country say, or simply go to the movies a little more. To have a little more cash so that we can not only meet our bills, but are free to do the things in life that we would like to do.

In our conversational and thought lives, the above could be expressed as a money issue, where we ‘wish we could make a little more’, or as a time issue where we ‘wish we could find the time..’ Whatever the need may be, we identify a shortfall between how we are living, and how we would like to live. There is a difference between what we are doing at the moment, and what we would like to be doing, and this difference is causing discomfort.

Looking at the problem in this light, it could be considered that the issue may not actually be a lack of money, but the feeling of discomfort that tight finances brings. To express it in words, the issue changes from ‘I don’t have enough money’ to ‘I am not content with the money I have’.

By defining it as a money problem, we only allow ourselves one solution for meeting our need, and that is to acquire more money. We may make plans to work harder, get another job, start a business, or take out a loan, all in an effort to fulfil our specific desire. However, if the central issue is not really money, but that of contentment, we may find that what we are doing again falls short of fulfilling our true desire. In fact we may even meet what we initially desired (more recreational money), only to find a new desire has taken its place. We have treated the symptoms, giving ourselves short term relief by meeting what we thought was our desire, but as we failed to correctly identify what the specific issue was in the first place, the sickness (not being content with the money I have) will show in other ways.

By probing a little deeper, and finding a more specific way to describe the issue, we are able to shift the focus of our planning from addressing external factors (acquiring more money) to addressing our internal state. We are able to speculate whether our lack of contentment is simply caused by too much work and not enough play, or more hidden motivations and anxieties. We have been able to explore the issue at a much deeper and comprehensive level, by simply taking the time to find appropriate and specific terms to express it. We are able to quickly determine whether this issue will in fact be solved by making more money, or whether a deeper more introspective method is needed.

Why is this important? Some might read the above and think – ‘well, thats great, but really its just words, what difference does it really make? What tangible benefit does this give me?’. Lets apply the above to another example.

Increasingly I am finding a growing discontent, at least within my friendship groups, with the conventional attractional chuch. There are many reasons why or why not people chose to attend one church over another, however many of the complaints I have heard, and sometimes shared begin with questions of service format, and authenticity but narrow to specifically revolve around feelings of disconnection, and a lack of genuine fellowship. The true need can be specifically defined as ‘I am not content with the level of Christian fellowship and support in my life’.

I have had many conversations with friends concerning a need for deep Christian fellowship on a regular basis, and how they feel conventional church has failed to meet that need. As a result I am finding that some are choosing to find an alternate form of church to try and meet that need. Whether its small groups, home church or other forms the structure and format of conventional church is being blamed for the cause of this deficiency and some are looking for alternatives.

The question is, if the issue concerns depth of fellowship, or lack of it, how does changing church model address it? The issue, once identified and specifically defined concerns the depth of relationships with other Christians, and has nothing to do with the format of a service on Sunday, or when and how we choose to meet as Christians. Arguably, like the finances example, we have treated the symptoms of the issue, giving ourselves short term relief by meeting what we thought was our desire, but as we failed to correctly identify what the specific issue was in the first place, the sickness will continue to show in other ways.

In using this illustration, I’m not advocating one way of doing church over another. In many cases, change is beneficial (at least in the short term) as people often receive a new sense of purpose or feeling of belonging when engaging with new fellowship groups. This is just a simple example illustrating the benefits of thinking about what we are saying and thinking, and how the accuracy of this dialog determines how effective we are at meeting our needs.

What is faith anyway?

2010-12-19T14:23:00.001-08:00

It is impossible for us to think, make decisions and interact with the world at large without relying on some personal beliefs which are formed, to the greater extent, by our personal faith.

Every one of us has a world view which includes ideas about what faith we have and what we trust or believe in. It forms a small part of our overall ‘world view’, and we can think about it in different ways; we have ‘faith’ in many aspects of our everyday lives.

In order to keep living ordinary lives, people must have faith in objects, people, position and structure, in facts, in processes, and ultimately in God and of course in some spiritual and moral framework. In this article, I will explore aspects of some of these different meanings of ‘faith’.

One meaning of ‘faith’ is ‘trust that objects will behave the way we expect them to’. Whether we are exploring new scientific principles, or deciding on whether to take the umbrella to work today, at some point, our decision requires that we trust the information that we receive from other people, and apply it to our everyday activities.

In the case of the umbrella, on the evening news, we may first hear the weather report telling us to expect rain. Relating this report to our wider world view, we decide how trustworthy that information actually is, remembering perhaps our previous personal experience of the reliability of weather forecasts. Finally, we make our decision.

To make even the simplest of decisions like these, we have to at some point trust the information we are receiving based on our core, fundamental beliefs as well as past, subjective experiences. At some level, we choose to put our faith into facts, interpretations, or opinions of others, so that we can make a decision now.

The alternative to making faith-based decisions such as this, is to investigate all the facts oneself. So instead of trusting the weather report, we buy all the tools necessary to conduct our own meteorological assessment, set up our own lab and undertake the tests. However, we are still placing our faith in the instruments being used; that they measure what they are supposed to measure, and that in fact, these measurements are what are needed to assess weather patterns in the first place.

At some point, we have to base our decision making on something, or someone we believe to be true, as it is completely impractical to retest previous research on fundamental assumptions every time a new decision is required.

As this decision process largely happens unconsciously, sometimes its a good idea to spend a bit of time reflecting on a few of the faith based decisions we have made. This is especially useful when we find that our faith in one area contrasts, or even contradicts with faith in another.

By placing too much faith in other people and human understanding, we can very easily let un-Biblical, worldly faith-based statements that ‘have the appearance of wisdom’ influence our understanding of moral values and ideas about who God is, and what He desires and respects.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and evil in the heavenly realms. Personally, I am increasingly finding that this struggle almost always starts within me. Hebrews 10:14 states:

‘For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.’

For me, a large part of that being made holy, is challenging how I think, and where I put my faith, as Christ continually encourages me to place more and more faith in Him and the promises He has given me.

Romans 8:5 tells us that living by faith is setting your MIND on what the Spirit desires. Where we set our minds defines how we are living with Christ. Surely this is one of the biggest battle lines drawn for us in our walk with Christ.

One of the greatest weapons given us, is that we as Christians have been given the ability to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ through the Word of God, in both the person of Jesus and written Scripture (2 Corinthians 10:5). We literally have the ability to capture each thought we have and submit it to the authority of God’s Word, to determine whether we are putting faith in this world, or faith in Christ.

‘...faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ’ (Romans 10:17).

When I read the Bible, I find a God whose values sharply contrast with the values and beliefs of this world. Where society fosters self reliance, strength and self belief, I find a God who fosters innocence, innocence, complete dependence, humility and contrition. In fact, it is through these Godly qualities, that the Lord shows his perfect power (2 Corinthians 12:9: ...for my power is made perfect in weakness.).

If the ability to take captive every thought to make it obedient is a weapon, then scripture is the ammunition for that weapon, however to aim this weapon requires complete dependence on Christ.

God works within us, giving us the will and the ability to act according to His good purpose, as written in Philippians 2:13. Even for the will to assess my thinking; to decide where to put my trust and my ‘faith’ in my everyday living, I need the Lord’s intervention.

All I need do is ask – and ask earnestly.