August Ministry Update

A good friend of mine recently said, “If we were smart, we would stop asking God to have his way with our lives.” Fortunately, I am not very smart in that respect.

I’d like to start off out communications by telling about one of the ways in which that prayer was answered for me. When I first got back from England three years ago, I felt a little lost. For the first time in my life I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. The only thing I did know was that I eventually wanted to get back to England. But the rest of life was unknown. After some searching and experimentation, God started to show me where He wanted me and what He wanted me to do there.

As a result of God gradually revealing His plan for my life, I have become a vocational missionary in London on staff with CRM. My aim is to create environments where non-mainstream people can have an authentic experience with God. And up until about two weeks ago the plan has been to teach for my first few years here and gradually reduce my teaching schedule as ministry demands grew.

And then I attended CRM’s First Things training (their orientation for new staff); it was a truly profound week for me. It gave me the opportunity to meet eight other people who are also new to CRM’s staff. I received some training in how to share about my ministry in a variety of ways. And I reconnected with some of the CRM staff that I have known for years.

But even more importantly, during that week God changed my heart about what ministry could look like. For some time I had been concerned about the physical toll teaching took on me, and wasn’t sure how much energy I would have left for ministry. But I trusted the plan God had for me. Then during the First Things training I began to imagine what ministry could look like if it took up all of my time, not just a small piece of it. And it got me really excited! It looked like the life I had always dreamed of living. So I began to pray about whether this was God’s will or mine. And shortly after I arrived in London, I sat down with one of the godliest women I know and asked her opinion.

It became clear during our discussion that I already knew what the answer was. I have no doubt that God’s plan all along was for me to be a full-time missionary, not a missionary and teacher. I also have no doubt that God had reasons for only revealing each step of my journey to this moment one piece at a time, and that my experience teaching is still part of the unrevealed greater plan for my life. Over the last couple of years, I have really grown in my faith and understanding of who God is, as well as in my understanding of myself. The teaching training has made me a better communicator and a more confident leader. I am also sure that I’ve learned things I don’t even realize will play a part in ministry.

Obviously, this changes some things, and I’ll share those as time goes on. But I wanted to get us rolling by sharing my heart and the thus far illuminated plan.

The Cardinal Virtues

In his book, Mere Christianity, CS Lewis outlines the four cardinal virtues, "those which all civilized people recognize."* They are Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude. Or, to paraphrase Lewis' interpretation, Exercised Intelligence, Moderation, Fairness and Courage. My question is this: What could the world look like if Christian faith communities committed themselves to living out these virtues?

Now clearly, there is more to devoting your life to following Jesus than just incarnating these four virtues. But think of this: If these are the principles of right living which civilized society recognizes, how many people, Christians or non, really live them out? And if everyone recognizes them as the right way to live, then why are Christians not making it their first priority to become standard bearers for these cardinal virtues.

In a society where Christians are seen as part of the problem, we must instead become a guidepost to the solution. We need to be inviting them to a life they are excited about living, and we need to model that life in a way that is inviting. What if, when people looked at Christians, they saw a group of people leading the charge against hunger and poverty? What if they saw a group of people committed to being the best they could in their respective fields or positions? What if they saw a group of people who ate, drank, slept, purchased, worked and played enough but never too much?

What if that is what it meant to be a Christian from the world's perspective? Who could help but be intrigued by that group of people? Who could help but be drawn to it?

Just imagine what the world could be, and how we could make it more like what God originally intended.

*Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. HarperOne. New York. 1952