Central Missionary Connection – August 2005

IN THIS ISSUE
Devotional
In Other Words
Update on the American Church
Book Review – Cross-Cultural Connections
Prayer & Praise

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Devotional: Nehemiah 2 – Seize the Moment
Carpe Diem. This phrase and theme have been treated by many throughout the ages—poets, playwrights, authors, graduation speakers, and screenwriters. There’s something about the phrase that causes eyes to widen, hearts to race, and bodies to rise to the challenge of timely action.

The prophet Nehemiah is a great Biblical example of someone who “seized the moment.” In Chapter 2, when King Artaxerxes notes his troubled countenance and identifies it as sadness of heart, Nehemiah is fearful but decides to grab the opportunity to explain to the king the root cause of his broken heart. You know the story—Nehemiah asks the king not only for time off but for resources and letters of recommendation for the task. Nehemiah realized that he was the right person in the right place at the right time, so he chose not to allow the opportunity pass by. 

Would you agree that each one of us is the right person, in the right place, at the right time as we pursue the calling of God upon our lives? Would you also agree that this matter of seizing the moments—as we recognize them—should be a matter of extreme importance to us? 

Now, it seems to me that a person can’t seize the moment if he’s living in the past, nor is a person likely to seize the moment if she is only thinking of the future. The Christ-follower who seizes the moment asks the question, “What is God’s purpose for me today?” This is the first step toward being able to recognize these crucial moments and to act on them, one moment at a time.

There are a few verses in this chapter that must be noted. Nehemiah was “very much afraid” (v. 2) but he pushed through the fear and engaged His God in prayer (v. 4). The bottom line comes in verse 8: “Because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my request.” This phrase—“the hand of my God was upon me—appears several times in the older testament literature of this period. It is a “code phrase” used by women and men of that time who strongly felt that the Lord was using them in one way or another. The hand of my God is upon me…directing me, restraining me, empowering me, giving me words, giving me all kinds of energy, and/or the resources I need. It is recognition that a person has been uniquely chosen and equipped by God for a task. 

God has called us to a task. In the midst of living life there are those moments when we particularly sense God’s hand upon us, moving events, people, circumstances into position so that it appears we are in the right place, at the right time. When those moments come, we must conclude—despite all of the internal and external voices which might speak to the contrary—that we are the right person. Don’t you find that in those moments, what we desire, what we need more than anything else is not just to “seize the moment” but to know that the “gracious hand of God is upon us?” 

If so, I invite you to reread the first two chapters of Nehemiah—note the need, the heartbreak, the vision, and the several days of mourning of fasting which lead to a conversation with the king in which fear, prayer, and a moment to be seized all have a part to play. Trace the steps of Nehemiah and note what led him to sense God’s gracious hand upon him. I do believe that we can learn something from this road traveled. 

A number of years ago the home of a Methodist pastor in South Africa was fire-bombed by members of the opposition party. A church member came by the morning after the fire and found the pastor and his wife standing there among the ruins. There in front of them was a brick wall on which the pastor had written in rough letters with charcoal the commitment that every Methodist clergyman reaffirms every year. On the one remaining wall were these words: “Put me to what you will. Put me to doing. Put me to suffering. Let me be laid aside for you. Let me have all things or let me have nothing. I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.”

These are the kind of words that put us in position to seize the moment. But more importantly, these words invite the “gracious hand of God” to be upon us in the midst of these moments, and that is what we long for.  - Dave

In Other Words
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7 NIV

“ACCEPTANCE is the ability to communicate value, regard, worth, and respect to others. It is the ability to make people feel significant, honored, and esteemed. …To accept others is to love them. …Christ accepted me and held me in esteem, not because I was good or somehow worthy, but because the Creator placed his own image in me and all of humanity, bestowing upon us dignity. Because of this dignity, Christ accepted us. How did he accept us? In love, without conditions, just as we are. He did it proactively, not waiting for something from me. He did it irrevocably and unconditionally as an act of love. What Christ did for me, I must be willing to do toward others. ‘Accept one another…just as Christ accepted you.”  — Duane Elmer, in Cross-Cultural Connections

Update on the American Church by David Korb
I’m writing this from my family’s farm in Pennsylvania. Rural PA is very peaceful, and so while my days are filled with work on the old farm house, my evenings here are usually an excellent opportunity to read, work, and think in undisturbed solitude. This weekend, however, my solitude has been disrupted, not by the chatter of voices but by the chatter of my heart. It all centers on the American church. Let me explain.

This weekend, through a set of extraordinary circumstances, I met Mike, a 20-year old man I’ve not seen for 10 years. The last time I saw Mike, he and his 3 siblings had been taken in by the family living on our farm at the time. This young man’s parents had divorced and abandoned their children. Mike told me that while he was living on the farm, my father led him to the Lord. He also told me he was planning on getting married this week. He has a 2-month old daughter. I asked where they were getting married, and he answered the local justice of the peace. He informed me that they had stopped going to church because when his girlfriend got pregnant everything changed. “I just knew that we were no longer wanted,” Mike said. This young man does not have a job. I hired him for the weekend to help me work on the farm. He does not own a car. For the 2 days he rode his bike to and from the farm, 2 hours each way through hilly PA. He mentioned that the money I paid him would go toward a night at the Holiday Inn so he and his new wife could have a honeymoon.

Why is the church not caring for this young man and his family? Why does he feel so alienated? This is not just a rural PA phenomenon—I know a number of single moms and young people with “baggage” who are not able to find a church in our area where they feel accepted and cared for. Some of the churches may accept them on a project level, but not on a relational level. There is a huge difference! You do not invite projects to your home for an evening or out for a social. The person feels the difference.

While I am in PA my wife is in New Hampshire visiting her mother. Ingrid spent an evening with some friends from our church there. The husband returned 6 months ago from this second tour in Iraq, and is very disheartened by the church. This is the same man who grew up in the church and was one of the strongest youth leaders I’ve had in a church I’ve pastored, so I take his comments seriously. Why is he disheartened? Because when he left many people from the church promised to write and to stand by his wife and family. He told me that not one person followed through. He said it again, as if he hardly wanted to believe it himself: “Not one.”

What is my point in telling you these stories? I believe the US church has lost its heart for the hurting. Jesus said that if we want to see God we will see Him in the orphan, the widow, the prisoner—in other words, in the broken people around us. There is something dramatically wrong with a church that is too busy for broken people. There is something drastically wrong with a church that thinks only in terms of budget, attendance, and programs and fails to embrace the brokenhearted.

The average American family is on the run all the time and the pace does not slow when they pass through the church doors. The competition for attention and attendance is put above meeting the needs of the people who just “happen” to stop in to see if any one cares. These people linger in foyers and hang around the doors just to see if perchance someone will notice them.

What does this have to do with you? First, some of you have felt uncared for by your home or supporting churches. Many of you walk away from church visits wondering if anyone really cared that you came and will really care about you once you’ve left the property. I often feel the same way when I visit some of your churches. I really believe that it is not that people do not care, but that people have gotten so wrapped up in their hectic lifestyles that we have honestly forgotten how to care.

There’s an article in the July/August issue of Today’s Christian Woman entitled “A New Church Home.” The author cites a Barna poll finding that 1 in 7 people look for a new church home each year. The author then lists “5 Questions to Ask When Looking for a Place You Belong.” (I find this question interesting because it suggests that indeed there are some churches where you do not belong.) The questions are even more interesting: 1. Does this church preach the right message? 2. Is this church a caring community? 3. Does this church provide meaningful worship? 4. Is the church’s location convenient? 5. Can you plug into this church’s serving opportunities?         

I could write an article about each of these questions, but for now allow me address #2, our topic of the moment. The author provides the following litmus test for a welcoming (and thus caring—the author equates them) church: a) if people seated around you introduce themselves before and after the service; b) if the pastor or a visitation team offers to visit you; c) when people on stage or in person invite you to participate in an event; and d) when the church meets special needs through ministries such as divorce and grief recovery groups, 12 step programs, seeker studies, or other opportunities to integrate the unchurched into congregation. THESE THINGS, according to the author, signify a caring church.

No wonder my friend in NH felt uncared for during his time in Iraq. I am sorry that you often feel the same way. I really am. First, let me say that it is not about you but instead reflects the definition of “care” currently embraced by the American church. Now, I have to be fair and state that this is not universally accurate, but it is all too familiar. 

Second, you work with broken people. I have met so many of you and I KNOW that your hearts break for the broken people of this world. You do care. You allow them to enter your hearts and your lives. You really do pray for them, pour your life into them, and walk with them through some of the deepest moments of their lives. Please tell your stories. Model for the American church what it really means to care. Tell the church that there are broken people visiting and in their congregations each week. Encourage the church to allow its heart to break for that which breaks Jesus’ heart. 

Book Review
Cross-Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting In Around the World by Duane Elmer, 2002 InterVarsity Press, 215 pages
(Reviewed by Suzanne Johnson)

The author opens with the story of a monkey and a fish:

“A typhoon had temporarily stranded a monkey on an island. In a secure, protected place, while waiting for the raging waters to recede, he spotted a fish swimming against the current. It seemed obvious to the monkey that the fish was struggling and in need of assistance. Being of kind heart, the monkey resolved to help the fish.

“A tree precariously dangled over the very spot where the fish seemed to be struggling. At considerable risk to himself, the monkey moved out far on a limb, reached down and snatched the fish from the threatening waters. Immediately scurrying back to the safety of his shelter, he carefully laid the fish on dry ground. For a few moments the fish showed excitement, but soon settled into a peaceful rest. Joy and satisfaction swelled inside the monkey. He had successfully helped another creature.”

Despite our best intentions, we often behave like the monkey when we interact with members of cultures. Our natural inclination is to do what seems right from our own frame of reference, although it might be inappropriate, ridiculous, or offensive in the context of the other person’s culture. A little education and preparation can go a long way when it comes to crossing cultures, and this book is a great place to start if you or someone you know is preparing to travel, do business, or minister cross-culturally. As I read, I wished I had been armed with the tools and strategies presented in this book before my semester abroad…or my last dating relationship, for that matter. I am sure both would have been even more satisfying (and less frustrating) had I been more aware of and prepared to deal with cultural differences. 

This book is divided into 4 sections. In the first, the author helps the reader gain a perspective of culture and the concept of right, wrong, and different. In Section 2, Elmer addresses dealing with the new and different and the “shock” that often—if not always—accompanies life in a new and different culture. He then presents a map that illustrates both the high and the low road in dealing with the new and different, allowing that most spend time on both, but suggesting that proper awareness can help a person spend most of their time on the high road. Section 3 provides attitudes and skills for cultural adjustment, which include openness, acceptance, and trust. Section 4 sheds light on differences that confuse, including time and event, individualism and collectivism, straight and curved logic, and guilt and shame. Finally, Section 5 addresses the complexities of returning home after various lengths of time in another culture.

Activities are sprinkled throughout the book, and each chapter ends with a reflection exercise and discussion questions, making it an excellent book for a person to go through with his/her mentor, a couple to read and work through together, or a team to read and discuss together with their leaders or trainers. I believe this book would be a valuable tool for anyone preparing for or newly engaged in mid or long-term missions, international business, study abroad, local cross-cultural ministry, cross-cultural dating or marriage relationships, or anyone interested in improving the way they relate to and understand people of other cultures.

This book was recommended to us by Cheri Pierson, assistant professor in the Intercultural Studies Department at Wheaton College. The author, Duane Elmer, is professor of International Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL.

Prayer & Praise
1.  Pray for WorldVenture TCKs starting college this fall; also remember those returning to campus. Pray for smooth transitions to campus life and American culture; for good friends and churches for these students. Pray for their Christian witness among classmates and professors.

2.  Pray for God’s gracious provision for the future of Bethesda Mission Hospital (West Indonesia Borneo). Pray for Paul Geary, who has been appointed head of the Crisis Management team during this difficult time.

3.  Pray for Tim & Jessica Brubaker as they mourn the loss of a close friend from their home church, Skokie Valley Baptist.

4.  Pray for WorldVenture’s Fall Leadership Retreat, September 25-29. 

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