A Tree Stump in the Path

My bike and my world!

I was heading full-speed down a single-track on my mountain bike yesterday, when suddenly there was a tree stump in my way. Normally I would have easily been able to avoid such an obstacle by choosing a new line and adjusting my focus and body weight accordingly. But, this time I wasn't as lucky, I went full-tilt into the tree stump and flew over my handle-bars! I came out of the situation relatively unscathed, but just a bit shaken. It did get me thinking though ...

Why did I not manage to avoid this relatively benign obstacle, when I've successfully avoided hundreds like it before and many still during that very same ride? After much pondering, and reliving the incident, I came to the realisation that it was a focus issue. I hit exactly what I was looking at! I was staring at the stump, and because it took up to all of my attention I didn't have the presence of mind to choose the correct line.

What happens in life when we lose focus? There are many things out there to distract us from the plans God has for us, sometimes even seemingly good things: relationships, work, entertainment, money, sport and random problems that pop up. The question is, what are you focussed on?

The writer of Hebrews admonishes us to keep our focus on one thing and one thing only, while we run this race of life:

 " ... let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." (Hebrews 12:2 NKJV).

Our focus should be on Jesus, He is always the right line to choose through the lightning fast single-track we call life. If our focus is on little, insignificant problems and side-shows, then we will end up tripping over them and flying into the dust. Do that enough and at some point you wont be getting back up again, you'll stay down and you'll wonder where it all went wrong.

"Keep focused on Jesus and avoid the pitfalls."

The Unexpected

"Unexpected": Not expected or anticipated. Unforeseen, surprising, unpredictable, astonishing and out of the blue.

If you follow me on Twitter you'd know that  I've been on a bit of a soap-box about doing the unexpected. I realise that for most people it turns out to be a bit cliched, more like a self-help thing, but the principle remains a good one.

Too often we end up doing the same thing over and over again. Humans are creatures of habit and work best in routine, even creativity works best within a structured lifestyle; this is undeniable. However, the very routine that created the environment for creativity can also stunt it. As much as people are comfortable with the same thing, we need change in order to grow and reach our potentials.

This is where my argument for the unexpected develops from. We do the same things over and over, because we know which results to expect. But, what about doing things or thinking certain ways, where you have no idea what the outcome will be; how will people react to you or how you will react? Let's take a quick example (see Twitter challenge video below):  We all have songs that are on our hearts and in our heads. But why should these songs remain there, why not sing out LOUD and let the whole place be blessed by the song that God has put on your heart (even if it is a rap song!)?

This is a silly example, but it illustrates a point. How will we ever be able to realize all that God has for us, if we never try something different, in a different way, from a different angle; doing the unexpected? Doing the unexpected, has been separating the success stories from the average Joe's from the beginning of time. Who would have thought that by going on a hunting trip Georges deMostral would get the idea of making Velcro (get out the house!). What about Thomas Adams, popping a bit of the material he was, unsuccessfully, trying to make toys out of, into his mouth and opening the first chewing gum store not long after that (try new tastes!) These inventions have not only made the inventors successful and allowed them to pursue their passions, but they have also made the lives of millions of people around the world so much more joyful!

Isn't that what we are called to do? The reason we are blessed is to be a blessing to others. We shouldn't limit God's blessing in our lives by expecting Him to work in and through us exactly the same way, every time. We can learn a lot about God's nature in the diverse ways that we, and those around us, respond when we do the unexpected! Even if your singing isn't that great ...

G.K Chesterton Quotes

Some great quotes for you to ponder by a brilliant author, thinker, philosopher and apologist, G.K Chesterton.

"And when they had made a Holy Day for God, did they find they made a holiday for men" - Orthodoxy

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried" - What's Wrong With the World

"It (courage) means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die" - The Paradoxes of Christianity

"Whenever we feel there is something odd in Christian theology , we shall generally find there is something odd in the truth" - The Paradoxes of Christianity

"A man is not really convinced of a philosophic theory when he finds something that proves it. He is only really convinced when he finds that everything proves it" - The Paradoxes of Christianity

"Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief is superficial" - Orthodoxy, Authority and the Adventurer

"There are two main moral necessities for the work of a great man: the first is that he should believe in the truth of his message; the second is that he should believe in the acceptability of his message" - Twelve Types

"For if there is a wall between you and the world, it makes little difference whether you describe yourself as being locked in or locked out", on freedom within Christianity there is still separation - Paradoxes of Christianity

On passing trends and fashions, "It is always easy to let the age have its head; the difficult thing is to keep ones own" - The Paradoxes of Christianity

"Christianity is a superhuman paradox whereby two opposite passions may blaze beside each other" - Orthodoxy, The Authority and the Adventurer

A New Kind of Missionary : You

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations ... teaching them ..." - Matthew 28:18-20

If this new perspective I have on missions could be summed up in one word, it would be, discipleship. Jesus did not commission us to make converts, but to make disciples. Disciples are people who are mature in the word of God, people who are bearing fruit and are able to replicate what has happened in their lives, in other people. Disciples are able to endure hardships and not lose faith, they are able to rejoice in suffering and be humble in victory. Disciples are able to help other people break through, just as they themselves have broken through. Disciples are people of character, integrity and hope. They are submitted to the word of God as the final authority in their lives and go from glory to glory as they mature in Christ.

The way missions have previously been done is old. Not only is it outdated, but it is very difficult. In the past, a well-funded (or not so well funded) missionary would be sent from a church or organisation in Europe or America and come and set up a work in a foreign country, which they felt God has called them to. In the coming years, they then learn the culture, the language and try to earn the trust of the locals they are wanting to reach, slowly starting to influence these people with the gospel.

This model has birthed many success stories, but there are just too many stories of missionaries being burnt out, disillusioned and giving up out on the mission field, after years of ploughing into a community.The amount of success stories for missions in this manner are way too few compared to the people who have tried, and come back with stories that will break your heart.

I believe the reason for this, is that the aim of a missionary should never be to "go and stay", the great commission said to "go". Go to a place God has called you to, disciple local people, raise up leaders and then go again, allowing the local people to create an environment of sustainability and stability for their context. It is an extremely rare occurrence for a foreigner to be fully accepted by a culture, adopted, taken in and respected; least of all them wanting to become like the foreigner in their faith. We must raise up locals, they are the ones who can take their people into the future.

Their are a few glaring problems with this suggested model though. The first is that in order to make disciples, you must be a disciple. In order to teach you must have been taught and in order to train you must have been trained. Thus, having a calling as a missionary is not good enough, you must be trained and equipped so that you can effectively train and equip others. Some of you may be thinking, but this is obvious. Not as obvious as it would seem. Many missions organisations are so overwhelmed by the need in the world, that they will accept anyone with a contactable reference.

The harvest is so great that it has lead to many churches speeding up the development process of would-be missionaries and sending them off without the necessary skills and experience to be effective. In our eagerness we have set up generations of missionaries for failure. Not laying any emphasise on the 'disciples' part, nor the 'teaching them' aspect of missions, only 'go' and adding the 'stay'.

So, is having a 'calling' to be a missionary enough? No, we need to be disciples in order to make disciples. Discipleship is but a vehicle for a message though.Think of it like this: If the process of discipleship is like a 4 x 4 truck going into a dry country, the message would be the fresh drinking water that is being carried on the back of the truck. The truck itself is not going to have any effect on the health or well being of the people in that dry place, but what it carries will. The problem comes in when we use the vehicle of discipleship to carry a diluted or poisonous message. What people need who are desperate for water, is water that brings life. What good is the water if you choke or die from drinking it? No good.

Thus, it is no good 'going' and 'teaching' if what we are going to tell them and teach them doesn't produce life in them. If our message is not the gospel, if it's not good news, then there is no use in even leaving your front door; unless the news you carry is too good to be kept to yourself. (The content of this site focuses on the good news of God's unconditional love and grace, read other posts to see more on this)

Thus our focus for missions is to ground people and disciple them in the good news of God's unconditional love and grace. Then sending them to places where they are called and have them reproduce what God has done in and through them to the people in that place, until the people in that place are ready to do the same thing, and on and on it goes ... isn't that what were all called to do, aren't we all missionaries? When the bible says 'go', it may mean to 'go' to your children, 'go' out your front door or 'go' to your friends. Where we 'go' changes, but why we go never does. We go because we have a message, the good news of God's unconditional love and grace for the world, and we go because we're on a mission, to make disciples!