Sunday, October 30, 2022

Live life as a mango, not an orange.

As I flew on a very long flight from Chicago to Addis Ababa on Friday, I was unable to sleep and therefore got a lot of reading and writing done.  One quote that I read jumped out at me:  Christians tend to live their lives as oranges, not peaches.  Since there are more mangos in Africa than peaches, I switched it:  As a Christian, I need to live life as a mango, not an orange.

The quote makes sense.  Oranges are segmented.  They are self-contained.  They have a rather strong "flesh" that protects the juice from inside each segment.  Like oranges, we too compartmentalize our lives into segments.  We create layers between them, often unintentionally, that keeps things neatly separate.  From the outside, it looks like one cohesive unit.  It's only upon peeling the orange, that you see the divisions.

Eating an orange is easy.  The peel and rind come off relatively neatly with just your fingers.  The segments keep your hands from getting sticky orange juice on them.

Mangos, on the other hand, are different.  You need a knife to take off the peel.  The inside pulp of a mango has no divisions.  In fact, the pulp and pit are so connected that it is difficult to separate them. We had five mango trees in our yard in Liberia, and I don't remember anyone eating a mango neatly.  Mango juice dripped all over faces, hands and clothes.  

Christians (and all humanity in normal everyday life) segment our lives. These segments keep things neat and clean in their isolated boxes. Some of the segments that we have created in our lives are those that we believe are important to God.  Some segments we do not believe are important to God.  

The segments we believe are important include church services and activities, social action activities, evangelistic activities.  The segments we do not believe are important are work, rest, leisure, sport and the arts.  

We believe that the segments are real and even Biblical.  But they are not.

Colossians 1:16 reminds us that "all things were created through him and for him."  Colossians 1:20 reminds us that God expects us to bring restoration or reconciliation or shalom of all things to Him.  This includes both material and immaterial things.  And everything in life is connected - it's how it was made to be!  You cannot do just one thing.  There are ripples and impacts everywhere.  And yes, that can get messy - but in good ways!

And so, we continue to discover new ways to explain the sacred/secular divide.

This week we are in Morogoro, Tanzania - thirty-seven of us from twelve different countries.  We will learn how to be mangos.  We will discuss new ways of how God is revealing to us His message about eradicating the sacred/secular divide.  Our desire is to listen and engage together, sharing what we are learning about what works and what doesn't work.  Our desire is that every person can hear this message in a way that will resonate with their own heart and mind in order to bring about whole-life discipleship, without segments.

Please pray for us during this time!  Here are a few pictures of the arriving teams - there is great excitement to be together again after three long years!

Uganda team
Nigeria team
Burkina Faso AEAD team

Burundi team

Ethiopia team

Monday, October 24, 2022

Reclaim!

One of my favorite lines in our work in Discipling Marketplace Leaders is to "reclaim the redeemed marketplace."  I love the line because it reminds us that Jesus has redeemed all things - we are not in the business of redeeming the marketplace.  But we do have to reclaim it. Jesus is in the marketplace, beckoning for us to reclaim it for Him.

This line seems to have resonated with our partners in Southeast Asia who just started a business called "Reclaim"!

Since going through the DML training, one of the partners has launched a "Discipling Marketplace Leaders Institute, where they have been training leaders in understanding the God of Business.  But they have also launched a business called "Reclaim" and so far have two products under it:  laundry detergent and baked goods.  These two products are being made by very poor women who are often called "ragpickers" as they live right next to a massive landfill, and they typically spend each day going through newly dumped trash for anything salvageable.  When we visited them, we learned that the men often feel so hopeless that they "pick" enough to buy alcohol and leave the rest for the women and children to "pick" for survival.

This partner is helping to change that narrative by providing businesses and trainings for these women.  In addition, they provide a school for the children and a church for the families.  

But the products in this business are called, "Reclaim."  There are many things that they are reclaiming:  The marketplace for Jesus.  The dignity of the women.  The fruitfulness of the work of our hands.  The ability to contribute to the flourishing of society by providing soap for clean clothes and bread for healthy eating.

This week, I leave for Tanzania, where I will be joined by 35 members of the DML team for our DML Global Summit.  This is a rich time where we gather as the DML family to laugh, learn, share, pray, and celebrate what God is doing in His church and how we get to participate in that work.  Every partner will share their best practices that have been learned thus far, and it is a time of iron sharpening iron.  

We have not been able to meet in person since 2019, so we are very excited to get together!  It is no small feat to gather people from thirteen countries and so we ask for your prayers for flights to arrive on time and for no problems with immigration.  

It is also a meeting that comes with a high financial cost, and we are so thankful for two amazing business sponsors who help to make it possible:  Alsum Farms and Produce and Belstra Milling.  We thank God for you!

We still do need additional funds for this meeting, so if you would like to contribute, please click here.  


Monday, October 17, 2022

Children: Some of the Hardest Workers We Know

A few weeks ago, I was blessed to share a message at my home church in Grand Rapids.  In preparation for the message, the pastor asked for all members to send in pictures of themselves at work.  I took those pictures and put it into a slide show for a worship song.

[Side note:  Too many of our worship songs that we sing when we are gathered have pictures of nature as the backdrop.  This gives the subtle message that worship can only happen when we are in beautiful scenery.  Having worship songs pictures in the workplace reminds us that work can be an act of worship and the workplace can be a spiritual place as well.  More ideas below!]

I chuckled when I saw some of the pictures of children, especially when I saw one of a toddler on a potty.  But then I had to remind myself that potty training is serious work and critically important for functioning in this world!  

The realization and growing understanding is that everyone has a frontline - a workplace - and as I think about it, children have some seriously hard work to do! (I've posted a couple of pictures of my children doing the hard work of learning under the age of three.)

Think about it - in the first three months of life, a baby has to learn significant motor skills, including controlling his/her head and limbs. A baby learns to see and hear during this time and refines that to be able to identify parents from others.  A baby begins to communicate without being able to talk, identifying their own needs, smiling, and the list goes on.  

We all have a workplace.  Some of those workplaces are paid.  Some are not.  Some of those workplaces are recognized.  Many are not.

All of us are called into fulltime ministry.  But our specific assignments are unique and different!

As I was pondering this last week, a friend shared a Ted Talk that was done by a seven-year-old(!) on how the game of peek-a-boo could change the world.  I was intrigued that a Ted Talk was done by someone that young and enjoyed listening to her.

And it reinforced the importance of the work of children and the incredible work of parents!  If you are inclined, you can watch it here:

Molly Wright: How every child can thrive by five | TED Talk

In the meantime, my home church continues to move toward "whole life discipleship" as can be seen in the pictures below.  There are maps where people can identify the parish where they serve (reinforcing that a church has as many parishes as members - even more when we count home, work, and other places of influence!).  And a mirror, which says "Missionaries We Support."  This acknowledges that every member is on mission.  I love this!  They have been doing commissioning services on different Sundays for different industries.  This coming Sunday (October 23), I am privileged to bring a message at Madison Square Church at 10 am on this topic of whole-life discipleship.  Please join in person if you are in the area, otherwise you can tune in on YouTube!

Pins of where members live and work, both locally and beyond!  Madison Square Church in Grand Rapids, MI has many parishes!

"Missionaries that Madison Church Supports"

Monday, October 10, 2022

Reality, Grief, and Hope

Reality. Grief.  Hope.  These are the three tasks of a prophet, according to Walter Brueggemann.  

Naming reality and exposing myths that we use to disguise reality is the first task.  It is often a thankless task, rejected by those who hear it.  Usually faced with denial, the prophet needs to look for new and creative ways to break through our perception of reality to see truth.

Grief is next, in which we grieve losing our romanticized version of reality in order to grasp the reality that we actually have.  Grief is the antidote to denial. Grief slows us down and reminds us to respond to the "who" before we respond to the "why."  It challenges our impulse to hurry up and "fix things" by being realistic about our humanity, disappointment and loss.

But then comes hope.  An alternative consciousness is presented with new forms of faithfulness and vitality. The prophetic task, Brueggemann reminds us, is to "declare and enact hope for a buoyant future that is securely in the purview of God" (Brueggemann, Reality, Grief, Hope, p. 101).

Last week, I was privileged to attend the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication conference, in which 100+ church-planting organizations from around the world gathered to look at the state of the church and where it is going.  

There is a need for a reality check.  The Global Church continues to undergo difficult times in a changing world.  There must be a paradigm shift in the way we see the church - moving from the building to the people.  Moving from the church having one parish (where the building is) to having many parishes (where the people of God are).  Moving from a professional pastorate to the priesthood of all believers.  

There is a need for grief.  There is a need for lament.  There is a need to slow down.  To remember the who and not just focus on the why.  There are hidden people groups in our cities and towns, in our workplaces, who need to see Christians live out their faith through fulfilling the Great Commitment (Genesis 1:28 and 2:15), the Great Commandment, and the Great Commission.  We need to grieve the missed opportunities in those places over the years.  We need to grieve our lack of focus on the restoration through Jesus of our broken relationship with work and creation.  

And then there is hope.  Hope that the church continues to be the bride of Christ.  Hope that God is in control, and that there are many good people doing many good things in many good places.  There are new opportunities for faithfulness.  There is vitality coming in shapes and forms that show new creativity and innovation.  

Discipling Marketplace Leaders takes a tiny role in offering a piece of reality, grief and hope for the global church.  It's not a word that is always welcome or well-received.  It's not a word that offers a quick fix or move to action.  It is a word that needs to pause with some grief and refocus.  

But we are seeing and hearing more organizations saying "Yes" and "Amen" and for that we give thanks to God.  

And for those of you who continue to support and encourage this work, we thank you as well!

Monday, October 3, 2022

Prayer for Burkina Faso

A week ago, I was flying out of Burkina Faso to Liberia.

Just five days later, on Friday, September 30, Burkina Faso experienced their second coup this year by the military.   In January of 2022, the elected president was overthrown by the military who claimed that there was not enough being done to protect the country from Islamist extremists.  A temporary government was set up for 18 months and elections were set to be held next July.  While I was in Burkina Faso, I had the opportunity to meet one of the candidates who is running for president.  He is a Christian and has established a Christian party.

While I was there, I was told by a number of people that there had not been much improvement in addressing terrorism and instability in the country.  BBC reports that Burkina Faso only controls about 60% of their territory and that Islamist violence is worsening.  Since 2020, more than one million people have been displaced because of the violence.  The Islamic insurgency started in 2015, and in that time more than 2 million people have been displaced.

On Monday of last week, September 26, eleven soldiers were killed while escorting a convey of civilian vehicles in the north. Fifty civilians are missing.  This follows another attack on September 5, in which another convoy was attacked, killing 35 civilians and wounding another 37.  Protest broke out in the capital, Ouagadougou, last week concerning this.

On Friday the 30th, I started receiving messages of concern from one of our partners, Pastor Theo, who lives quite near the capital.  He reported that there had been shooting, explosions, and he could see soldiers about 250 meters from his house.  At the time he didn't know what it was, but later he confirmed there had been a coup.  Announcements were made publicly, borders were closed, and the airport was shut down.  On Saturday, a counterattack was made by the ousted military leader.  Main roads are shut down and businesses are closed.  

On Sunday, the ousted leader (who had ousted the President in January) agreed to step down.

I know this is not a new story.  Sadly, this is not a unique story.  But it sure feels different when you were just there and people that you call colleagues are in the middle.  And so I ask you to pray for Burkina Faso.  Pray for safety for the citizens.  Pray that this country may find a strong leader who knows how to lead a nation to flourishing.  Pray for those who have been displaced.  Pray for those who have recently lost loved ones.  Pray for healing.

I have left Liberia, despite delays and problems with my flights, and am trying to make my way to Minnesota for a conference.  I thank God for what He is doing in Liberia and continue to ask Him to strengthen the mind and heart of Liberians as they still have much recovery to do from their own civil war.