May 30-31 - The longest day!

25 hours and 37 minutes!

That's how long it took from the time Doug Carlson picked us up at our house until we unloaded our luggage at our host home! One long day! Not only so, but traveling east you lose a day, so it really felt like two days.

1 hour flying time to Minneapolis. 1:45 hours to Detroit. 13 hours to Tokyo. 2:30 hours by train ti Zushi.

Some comments from the journey:

"Very long" - Andrew

"I was so tired I slept on the train" - Nicole

"I liked seeing Alaska from the air" - Nicole

"Long and exhausting and the movies were boring" - Lauren

"I liked looking out the window of the train - I liked seeing the rice fields." - Julie

"On the train, when a cell phone rang, the person receiving the call would get up and move to a special space at the end of the car to talk, so as not to disturb other riders - you'd never see that in the USA." - Ann

We were glad to arrive with safety and joy!

At the airport we were greeted by Tim and Leo, two men from the church who escorted us to Kyoko Miayazaki's house, where we are staying. It's quite a lot to host a family of six, buy Kyoko is a most gracious host.

We sat down in the evening to enjoy clam chowder and seafood pizza. Andrew, Julie, and Nicole are sleeping in a traditional Japanese room, while the rest are staying in more "western" beds. We all slept very well! This morning we enjoyed both traditional Japanese breakfast and cereal.

Today, June 1, we'll have a walking tour of Kamakura and a welcome dinner at the church. We'll be meeting up with the NWC Drama Ministries Ensemble and three other guests from Holland, MI.

May 22-30 – Renewal and Recreation

This was a truly “down” week in my sabbatical – not a lot of activity. It was a time to concentrate on the first aim of the sabbatical – to be renewed in my calling as a child of God and a servant of Christ’s church.

I spent time in personal retreat as well as another session with Rev. Harlan Van Oort, chaplain at NWC, who has agreed to help me with spiritual direction during this season of rest and renewal.

The week also saw the enjoyment of other activities, too:

Paintball with the 7th & 8th grade boys (and a few others)! It was fun to just hang out with kids from church. The pictures tell it all! I’ve got $5 for the student who nailed Jeff Guthmiller. Click on the pictures for a bigger image.

I also was able to enjoy two rounds of golf. Achievements of note: on Friday, May 25, I defeated Bill Muilenburg by a stroke (thanks to a lucky chip downhill on number 9 –hitting the pin to save par). Of course, he suggested I had to give him a couple strokes because of his recent surgery. On Monday, May 28, a long birdie putt on 3 made up for a host of errors elsewhere and a 45 bested playing partners Dr. Jeff Joiner, Rev. Jon Nelson, and Denny Brand (Shelly’s dad).

Church this week brought us to First Reformed in Hospers, where we had a chance to listen to one of my clergy support group friends – Rev. Milt Sikkema.

Tomorrow we’re off to Japan!

Thanks for your prayers on this journey. We look forward to updating you as we are able. Although Japan is a high-tech country, the places we are staying may not have as much access to the internet. Updates on the way may be a little sparse

Next Up: Japan

This is the week betwen trips. Our entire family will be getting ready to go to Japan for two weeks! Please pray for good preparations and safe travel.

This week is also a spiritual formation week and I'll be meeting with a spiritual director to process some of my life. In addition, I'll take in a small painting project and enjoy a few rounds of golf.

May 21 - Lessons Learned

I returned safely to Orange City on Wednesday night, around 6:30 p.m., just in time to catch "Ride Night" at Tulip Festival! And life hasn't slowed down a bit until this morning. Parades and Puffertjes preoccupied my time.

This morning I've had a chance to reflect more on my Bahrain experience. It's hard to absorb a lot in such a short visit, but it was a tremendous time. Here are some things I sensed:

1. The right people in the right place at the right time with the right gifts and the right vision. Our mission partners in Bahrain all seem to be a great fit for what God is having them do and seeing the fruit of ministry is a tremendous blessing. A lesson for us all is to celebrate what can happen in any ministry when God's people are unleashed in their gifts for his glory.

2. What is our mission partnership future in this place, and what does it look like? The hospital, the church, and the school, are largely self-supported entities with the exception of support for key personnel. This is largely due to the vision of the key leaders and the growth of the ministries. But our partnership is still critical: it keeps the salt and light of the gospel present in a place where it is difficult to legitimately do mission and ministry. Because our mission partners are providing quality service to the Bahrain community, it has a place to be a beacon for the gospel. This should not be underestimated, as the opportunities for other kinds of mission work are very limited.

3. How can we maximize connectedness? There are many practical things we can do and that are desperately needed and that they cannot provide from Bahrain: a) We can buy books & DVDs for their church library, b) we can send children's books from scholastic and other sources for the school - quality books in English, c) we can send short-term (2-year) teachers to the school. These are our best source of being salt in light in a somewhat closed country, d) we can learn from this mission partnership about doing ministry here in our own, suddenly multicultural community.

4. We need mission partnership as much as, and sometimes more than, they need us. This is a critical thing I am learning from my first two trips to Africa and Bahrain - we need them to remind us of the urgency of the gospel, the need to share our resources with others, and the vibrancy of faith lived to the full. In some ways, the mission field "over there" speaks prophetically to our busy-ness around things unessential to the gospel, our greediness for the things of this world, and our compartmentalization of life. Christians in other parts of the world do not know the same compartmentalization that we do - there is no separation from ones walk with God and ones life outside the church. In a country where it is illegal for someone to convert to Christianity, you better be sure where you stand. In our freedom, are we equally committed, leveraging that freedom for gospel fruit?

5. The need for the next generation: This came home in a big way, as all three mission partners in Bahrain are 59, 60, and 62. There number one concern for the future is who will replace them? Much has been done in the last 10 years to build a solid foundation for a new century of mission, but who will God raise up? This is not a small thing, for outside of pastoral leadership, the needs are very specialized: a K-12 school Principal who knows Arabic, a hospital administrator who can take a high quality facility and continue its growth. Those are not easy to come by. The need for Christian professionals is acute. Would you pray with me to this end?

May 15 – Fond Farewells

“My Father is always at work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (John 5:17)

Tuesday was the last day to enjoy Bahrain, and I spent sometime walking the streets and alleys as well as enjoying down-time at the Al Raja school to use their internet. In the afternoon Maja took me to the Suk for some last-minute gifts to bring home.

The plane didn’t leave until midnight, so the RCA mission personnel gathered for a lovely dinner, hosted by Dr. Paul and Rebecca Armerding. It was a joy-filled night. In the pictures below you’ll see three young women who are recent college grads and volunteers at the Al Raja school and you’ll see Apu and Lollie, supported by American Reformed in Orange City to be a chaplain at the hospital.

As from the first moment I experienced the mission work here, I cannot help but leave impressed that these servants of the Lord as simply following Jesus each day in mission. Sometimes they have a ministry of presence, sometimes of words, sometimes of word and deeds, but all their work is leveraging a foundation for the gospel that is salt and light in the world, and I’m so pleased to be able to have experienced this week in Bahrain.

May 14 – Servant Leadership

Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve. (1 Peter 5:2)

Today’s main events included walking around the suk (local shopping area), attending the church board meeting, and witnessing ministry in the labor camp.

Peter Kapinga took me around the local suk, as he speaks Arabic and knows the history. It was delightful array of sights, sounds, and smells. Most of the products are imported, so there won’t be many local crafts to take back. But I found the people all very nice to be around. Peter’s explanation of the history and customs was fascinating. He also showed me several different community centers and mosques, explaining the differences between each one.

We walked all the way to the coast, where Bahrain’s new financial district is booming. All the land you see in the pictures was claimed from the sea. In fact, virtually all of Bahrain’s building programs are on land pushed out into the sea. I said, “Looks like what the Netherlands did.” Peter replied, “The Dutch have won the building contract.” Alas, but I saw no windmills or tulips.

In the evening, I attended the first part of the church board meeting (can’t get away from consistory meetings on sabbatical!). The church leaders were all very kind and gracious to me, and we shared a little about how each of our congregation’s do leadership.

Pictured in the back row is a young man, named Raj. He is the associate pastor and a passionate servant of the Lord. He is not ordained, but the church would love him to get seminary training. They are exploring several options, but all are quite costly. Maybe it would be a gift of Trinity to help fund his education, or for some individual to help. He also would like any theological books we could send him, or CD-ROM based theological libraries.

Raj is in charge of outreach. Outreach here consists of sending teams to visit in the hospital, prisons, and labor camps. All of the hospitals welcome visitors to go room to room and ask the patients if they want visitors and prayers. Since many patients are from other countries and have no family here, they have many needs, which the teams try to help with.

Following the board meeting, Raj took me to one of the many “labor camps,” where imported workers live. These men are lured here to work on roads and buildings, but are often given substandard care and little income. I met with five men who share one room (about 12x12). In it are all their living quarters. It is unimaginable.

The English Language Congregation has several teams that go out and care for some of the men. Recently they purchased gas stoves for them to cook on and several used refrigerators to store food. It was heart-breaking to see such conditions. Worse still was the hopelessness in their eyes.

But one of the impressive joys of the ministry being done in Bahrain is the true nature of the shepherding care these leaders have for their people and their work.

May 13 – Salt & Light

“You are the salt of the earth. … You are the light of the world . . . [L]et your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

I launched out on my own today to explore the city and ended up at Starbucks for coffee and wi-fi.

The rest of the day was spent at the American Mission Hospital and Dr. Paul Armerding, RCA missionary and CEO of the hospital. What an amazing man and story.

Twenty years ago he left a thriving surgical practice in Phoenix, AZ, looking for a meaningful place to be salt and light. He accepted the call to missions and took over the leadership of the AMH in Bahrain. When he came, the very existence of the AMH was in question and the RCA was considering shutting it down. One-third of the work force had just been let go and it was barely solvent.

Paul embraced the challenge. Twenty years later the hospital is setting the standard for care in many respects, has undergone a major facelift and significant additions. It is highly respected in the community, and much of its development work is being done right here through a proactive communications department. In fact, I opened up the morning paper to discover that the AMH sponsors the daily weather forecast on the front page.

There are three things that impressed me in particular:
1. Paul’s vision at AMH, as with the Dick’s vision at the church and Peter’s at the school, has seen the institution become essentially self-funded through funds in Bahrain, meaning that the primary support the RCA brings is for the leadership of these ministries, which is absolutely critical.

2. Salt & Light: Paul’s commitment to excellence, integrity, and mission, means that the gospel is proclaimed first in deeds, and is gaining credibility for words. Its reputation is stunning around the community. When you see the wall of contributors at the hospital, you see the names of important Bahrainees along with local corporations and global companies with operations here. More and more local people are seeking out the care of the AMH – last month they delivered over 60 babies!

3. The fruit of sacrifice in Paul and Rebekah’s life: they left an extremely profitable practice in the States to be tentmakers in Bahrain. I heard their story of God’s leading and was so blessed by their journey. It seems the very best of what NWC calls Vocare – finding God’s call for your life in the world. These faithful servants for the harvest are leveraging their skills for God’s glory in a far-reaching ministry to both the Arab and ex-patriot community.

Sacrifice came home even greater to me when Paul showed me the historic Christian Cemetery, where the graves of two Zwemer daughters lie. They died 8 days apart in 1904. The grave stones are a reminder of the extreme sacrifices so many early missionaries endured for a gospel beachhead in the gulf.

I also preached twice on Sunday. Once at the AMH devotions, featuring a celebration of nursing and at the evening church service for the English Language Congregation. One of the special blessings of the evening was that a man I met in a restaurant and who asked about worship, came to the service. What a blessing!

May 12 - Encountering Islam

Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. (Acts 17:22)

Today was a day to explore some of the land of Bahrain and enjoy it’s people. Jamie Ongna brought me around to some of the sites. Jamie is in the picture below.

In the morning I visited the Grand Mosque in Bahrain and took a tour of the facility. It was my first conversation with a woman wearing the complete Muslim head covering, with only her eyes showing. It was also my first time in a mosque. This building is very beautiful – simple, yet intricate.

You can read on your own about the meaning of the architecture, but what intrigued me was how this woman shared about Islam and Christianity – pointing out on several occasions how they accept Jesus as a great prophet and how much there is similar between the two religions, careful not to point out the differences.

To some degree, she is right – we both believe in one God, we both believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, and a some other things. But I also discovered some differences. Of course, there are the obvious ones (Christians believe Jesus is the sacrifice for our sins, the unique Son of God, and the one in whom all the fullness of the Deity resides, while Muslims believe Jesus was a great prophet but not the Son of God.), but I was intrigued by some smaller differences: when praying, for example, there is a very strict order in body and in words for how Muslims pray. Failure to follow the pattern exactly, she explained, would mean that the prayers would not be heard.

It made me wonder about the nature of grace and mercy for Muslims. Something I’ll want to explore later.

Jamie then drove me out on the coastal causeway to the border with Saudi Arabia. On the Bahrain side there is a little restaurant and tower to look across the border (an identical tower and restaurant is on the Saudi side). This was as close as we could go. It was the first time I experienced being forbidden to enter a country. Americans cannot enter without a formal invitation from someone in authority. If we had that, Jamie would have been forbidden to drive and she would have been forced to completely cover herself. As one worker in Saudi would later tell me, whenever he crosses the border, it is as if a veil descends on the land.

Lunch brought another Turkish meal of kabob, hummus and bread, and guests Sunnel and Regina, who I met at church on Friday. See that post for a picture of Sunnel, he came to NW because of the influence of John Hubers.

The evening was spent with a Christian teacher I met in church, and a Bahrainee friend of his. We went to - where else? - APPLEBEES! It was a wonderful encounter with someone raised in Islam and on the island and who had all kinds of questions about the Bible and Christianity. The two men read a few verses each week of the Bible and discuss them. As the Lord would have it, the verses they had read for that week were the exact verses I had read in my morning devotions! The end of John 3. We had a great talk about what Christians think it means to be born again and that the Father had placed all things in the hands of the Son.

On Sunday, I will be preaching for the American Mission Hospital worship service and the evening service at the English Language Congregation.

May 11 - Church of All (actually, 25-30) Nations!

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:9)

Friday is the day of worship in the Middle East, and most Christians follow that calendar. The church building is called the National Evangelical Church (NEC). It is one of essentially 2 protestant buildings in the country. It is used by congregations from the many language groups on the island (Indians, Filipinos, Malaysians, etc.). There are church services from 6 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Friday and others throughout the weekend.

The RCA presence is the English Language Congregation (ELC - Click the link to visit the website), which holds services on Friday morning and Sunday evening. The Sunday evening service is the historic time and is more blended in worship with fewer instruments. The Friday morning service is now the main service, with about 350 people from 25 nations, worshiping in English. I preached at the that service.

What is immediately obvious is that there are people from many nations present! How fun! There is also much joy in the room - it is completely alive (I'll have to show you the video). I felt like I was at a great service at Trinity, only with many nations present - there was upbeat music, testimonies of God's faithfulness, and earnest prayer. There was also a special mission offering for Darfur suffering in Sudan. I met many wonderful people and was so blessed by them all.

When Dick came to pastor the church, he made youth his priority and it is obvious. The ELC was also hosting a regional youth conference on beauty, body image, and sexual purity, using a speaker from Ravi Zacharias ministry in Florida. It was a joy to witness a church that was completely focused on following Christ in mission and ministry.

Here are some pictures of the congregation. You'll notice pictures of the front of the church and the congregation at worship in the new church building, the praise band of young people, NW grad and Trinity attender Jamie Ongna leading a time of prayer for the youth group, and 1997 NW grad and Trinity attender Sunell Vincent with me.

On Friday evening, I went to a play put on by the Al Raja students, faculty, and staff. It followed the story of Narnia, including clips from the movie, acting on stage, and songs and dance routines to go along (to contemporary Christian songs, a couple of hymns, and the Hallelujah Chorus). It was a special evening to see the students put on this huge production, which was exceptionally high quality in nature. NW grads who teach at the school gave a lot of extra time to make it happen, and it was very special.

May 10 - Vision, Passion, and Perseverance

Time to get things updated. This trip will likely have less pictures in the blog, as taking pictures can be a more sensitive matter in this part of the world.

Thursday May 10

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. (John 4:35).

I arrived safely on Wednesday night about 8:30 p.m. local time, and I was greeted by Rev. Dick Westra at the airport.... and intense heat! It was over 90 when I arrived.

After a night of rest, I had some wonderful experiences on Thursday to get quickly acclimated to the culture: we attended the morning chapel service at the American Mission Hospital (AMH), I visited for about 3 hours at the Al Raja school and principle Peter Kappinga (Trinity-supported missionary), had lunch at a Turkish restaurant, attended the Arabic language worship service at 7:00 p.m., and went out for supper to an Indian restaurant with the associate pastor (Raj) of the English Language Congregation.

My first impressions of what God is doing through the leaders here are words like vision, passion, and perseverance. The RCA has three ministries - the hospital, the English congregation, and the school. Trinity has shares of support in Rev. Dick Westra at the church and Mr. Peter Kappinga at the school.

Vision

You can't help but be impressed with the vision around here for ministry. Both from the history of the missionaries and the ones who serve here today. 100 years ago someone had the vision and foresight to see 100 years into the future and they bought land - land that today would be impossible to buy and even harder to establish the buildings and uses for today. Praise God for their ideas and sacrifices.

But there is also great vision here today. The three current leaders of these three ministries have eyes on the next 100 years as well. The hospital CEO - Paul Amerding (RCA) has incredible insight into the next generation of work to be done. The school principle took a school that was in disrepair from program and facility and completely rebuilt the school and its focus. Something many thought was impossible. But his eyes are on the future. And the church - Oh my - is enjoying a revival of sorts with many new people coming, increased ministry among the youth, and a powerful testimony of God's provision and power. They completely remodeled and added on to the church and facilities over the last 10 years with no outside funds. In fact, the church's only mission assistance is for the English-speaking pastor. All other resources are now self-sufficient. (I'll talk more about the church in the next post).

Passion

It is abundantly clear that our mission personnel are completely resolved for being part of a great work in this part of the world. They are enthusiastic about their call, focused on mission and ministry, and excited for the future.

Perseverance

The other thing that impressed me was the perseverance it must have taken the missionaries 100 years ago and throughout the generations that followed. Today, Bahrain is a modern place, air conditioning takes the bite out of the heat, cars move freely, sky scrapers line the skies, gas is cheap ($1 a gallon!), and goods are in abundance. But it wasn't always the case. The early missionaries suffered much and labored hard. Others had to make difficult decisions to keep the ministry forward focused.

That was impressed upon me even more when I realized where I was staying - in the RCA mission house, where two Trinity families lived for some time - Ray and Dorothy Weiss, and John and Lynne Hubers. The church was served well by these servants and I've learned of their contributions during their years of ministry here. They built on someone else's foundation but always on Christ. They left the ministry in good hands for the next person to follow and the church prospered under their watch. It made me aware that all of us are part of something bigger than ourselves as the presence of God in the world through the work of the Holy Spirit.

There is here, an abundant love for the people of Bahrain and the peoples of the world who make their home in this island nation. Thanks be to God for the eyes of yesterday and today that see the field in which God is at work.

Bahrain Awaits!

Tuesday, May 8

I'm sitting in the Minneapolis Airport wondering what the Lord will show me next. I'm on my way to Bahrain. Originally, it was hoped I would travel to both Africa and either north Africa or the Middle East to encounter Islam in the same trip. But situations made that impossible, so it is a separate trip.

Please continue to pray as I make this journey. Here's the schedule:

Leave Minneapolis at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, and arrive in Bahrain at 8:30 p.m., Wednesday (local time).

Thursday May 10:

• Visit Al Raja school where Trinity missionaries work and Jamie Ongna (TRC attender in NWC days) teaches.
• Visit Arabic-speaking congregation.

Friday, May 11:

• Preach at 10:30 a.m. worship service (English language congregation).


• Visit T.E.E. (Theological Education by Extension).


• See a play at Al Raja

Saturday, May 12:

• Visit with Jamie Ongna


• Visit with Bruce Williams

Sunday, May 13:

• Preach at Hospital chapel service


• Preach at church

Monday, May 14:

• Visit church board and the labor camp.

Tuesday, May 15

• Visit with RCA mission personnel


• Leave for home (10:00 p.m.)


• Arrive in Orange City during Ride Night at Tulip Festival!

I'll be staying with Trinity-supported missionaries Dick and Maja Westra. To learn more about how the Reformed Church serves in Bahrain, click here.

Prayer:

1. Save travel

2. Joyful time of learning, resting, and enjoying what God is doing in Bahrain.

3. Save times for Ann and the kids. This is the only week that I am totally separated from everyone else.

4. Maja Westra - her mother in Edmonton, Canada is very ill and she made an emergency trip back to the Canada to be with her.

Church Time II

"This is how you should pray..."
(Matthew 6)

Second Church Visit - May 6

Church at the Gate, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Things Observed:

1. Church at the Gate (CG) was chosen as a visit location because it is involved in prayer ministries like 24-7 and International Houses of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. It is a newer congregation that meets in two sites.

2. Worship times at the main campus are 6:00 p.m. Saturday, 8:45 and 10:45 Sunday. The second campus worships at 10:30 on Sunday. We worshiped in the 10:45 service at the main campus. The pastor's message was on video tape from the earlier service. Children's Sunday school is dismissed 30 minutes into the service.

3. Worship lasts 2 hours, with much time for prayer and a 40 minute preaching time.

4. The building is newer, on what was an open space, but now is surrounded by homes. From their cramped space, it's clear why they are adding on. The priority in building was on quality worship space and children's ministries, which were all very nice. Like Sunnybrook (see previous post), there is a coffee bar (with donuts for SS teachers!), and people are encouraged to take a cup of coffee with them into worship.

Things Learned

1. Multi-site worship can work when technology is top-notch. It is clear they invested a lot in the quality of re-broadcasting the preaching portion of the service.

2. Saturday night service may be one way to alleviate a space crunch, but it was also clear they needed a lot more volunteers.

3. Continue to pursue a prayer-bathed ministry. I would like to follow-up this visit with some time at the multi-church Great Plains House of Prayer in Sioux Falls.

4. 2 hours is a long time for kids to hang in there for church :).

What might they learn from Trinity?

Again, probably the same comment as I shared for the previous post.

Church Time

"Let us not give up meeting together..."
(Hebrews 10:25)

One piece of the clergy renewal program is to learn from other congregations. While three in-depth visits are planned in late June and July, "off weekends" now provide additional opportunities for additional visits. I'd like to give you a synopsis of places we worship at. I'll share things observed and things learned, as well as things I think others could learn from Trinity.

First Church Visit - April 29

Sunnybrook Community Church, Sioux City, Iowa

Things Observed:

1. Sunnybrook Community (SCC) is the new name for the old Morningside Reformed Church. They went through a painful time several years ago, with a group of people leaving MRC to form Peace Reformed. One result is that SCC is totally fixed on a common purpose (from their web site): Sunnybrook Community Church is a growing church that is committed to biblical and relevant teaching, celebrative worship, life-changing small groups and creative outreach. To be sure, Peace also shares a commong purpose and is doing quite well.

2. Today, SCC worships in 3 identical services (8:00, 9:30, and 11:00). Infants through pre-K are ministered to during each service. Children's Sunday School takes place during the 11:00 a.m. service, with many families attending the 9:30 service and sending their kids to SS at 11:00. We attended the 11:00 service, which was moderately full. Total worship attendance hovers around 1100.

3. Their new addition allows more room for children and youth and they have created a coffee bar experience for fellowship times after worship (and coffee cups are encouraged in worship).

4. Worship is straightforward and contemporary, and Pastor Jeff Moes preached an excellent message from Romans 7.

5. Most adult discipleship is emphasized through small group ministry.

6. Parking attendants help direct traffic flow :).

Things learned:

1. A commonly shared vision provides powerful synergy as it was clear all hands on deck were following Christ in a common direction. Such a vision will not be the same from church to church, but a common vision within each church is powerful indeed.

2. Although they added on, there was still quite a log jam of people mixing between services. Maybe they need more space.

3. Creating high-priority space for children seemed very wise.

4. If Trinity were to have 3 Sunday morning services, this would be one model to look at for times. The downside, of course, is concurrent Sunday School and worship for one of the services.

What might they learn from Trinity?

In visiting other places, one of things I think Trinity does very well is the human element. I think I know more what "Story-formed worship is" when I don't see it. That is, the power of the The Story of the Gospel has the most impact when it is shared communally in the stories of the congregation gathered, whether a testimony is shared or simply in the participation of many people. The way in which Trinity's worship leaders weave worship together so that it is one large piece of work instead of a collection of activities centered around a common theme is a powerful gift to the worship culture in our world.

Then again, perhaps it is a simple acknowledgement in my spirit that Trinity is experiencing something that I long for and resonate with.

Fallow Time

"...in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest..." (Leviticus 25:4)

"What do you do when you're not away on part of your sabbatical?"

I rest and recreate and renew.

That's what this week is about. Part of the aim of the renewal program is to let my mind lie fallow from the daily work of ministry and be ministered to. In these "down" times I find myself enjoying more of the Lord in prayer, more time with family, and, yes, some time for fun.

For prayer, I'm working again through John Baillie's classic "A Diary of Private Prayer" (edited by Jeff Barker). The book of John is my daily regimen of devotions. And I'm reading whatever I want. ESPN The Magazine is quality :), along with "A Short History of Christianity" by Stephen Tomkins" and "A Resilient Life" by Gordon MacDonald.

This week's fun included a round of golf with Paul Aykens (don't ask the score!) and a trip with Orange City Elementary 5th Graders to Outdoor Ed. With three in the class I figured I should do my part!

Thanks so much for all your prayers. Next week Tuesday, I head to Bahrain for one week with the Westra's and Kappinga's, including a visit with former Trinity attender and NW grad, Jamie Ongna. I'll also be preaching in the Protestant Church.

Re-entry and Reflection, Part 2

Tuesday, May 1

"How can we get involved in helping Africa?"

That is a common question upon my return and seeing people around town. I first give a glazed-over look because the needs are so great. My mind cannot wrap itself around all that could be done and how much doing all we can appears at best to be a drop in the ocean of need.

There are all kinds of levels of need: the immediate human need to survive (food, water, shelter, medicine), the developing need for sustainable life (schools, infrastructure, agriculture, economic), the great need for growing the church deeply in the Word (spiritual formation, counseling, theological education of pastors and lay leaders), and the long-range goal that belongs to Uganda Christian University's Vice Chancellor, Steven Knoll - to raise up godly leaders for all aspects of African life (business, politics, law, education, social work, communications, medicine), which sounds a lot like NWC's Vocare program.

So, where to start?

One aim of my clergy renewal program (click here to see the program explained) is to rekindle a passion for mission, ministry, and vision for our shared journey as pastor and congregation. One activity outlined in the program is to connect with the world church to discern how to have ongoing relationships that are partnerships in the gospel. To that end, let me suggest both individual and church-wide efforts that could be undertaken. No, we cannot change all of Africa, but we can make an eternal difference in one part, one village, one ministry. If every church in North America adopted one ministry to partner with, the few drops become a life-giving spring to Africa's great need and opportunity.

INDIVIDUAL:

1. Informed Prayer: Make Africa part of your regular, personal prayer life. Try fasting to identify with hunger. Use a prayer guide, like www.24-7prayer.com.
2. Buy a bracelet: Some Trinity members are making Africa AIDS bracelets to sell. All proceeds will go directly to help people living with AIDS in Africa. It's a small way to get involved, and everyone can participate.
3. Support a Compassion Child: Some people in our church already do, and I saw one group of CI children in Seeta, Uganda. From first-hand knowledge, it appears to be a very worthwhile effort. For about $1 a day your gift feeds, clothes, and educates a child. (www.compassion.com)
4. Adopt a Child: Perhaps the Lord would put on your heart the desire to work with a Christian orphanage to bring a child orphaned by AIDS or war into your life for the long haul.
5. Go on a short-term mission trip: Wow! That'll rock your world. I'd love to take a group back.
6. Buy a windmill: For $750 your family can buy a windmill for sustainable agriculture in Ethiopia with RCA missionary Caleb Swart!

CHURCH-WIDE:
1. Buy a lot of windmills!
2. Adopt a ministry to become deeply involved in: perhaps as we walk through our own building program, we could be used to help others build and maintain ongoing ministry. For example, $100,000 would go a long, long way in completing Titus' Field of Dreams. This would build a counseling center for people dealing with AIDS, depression, and other spiritual needs. It would also be enough to get the right building and equipment to launch more radio programs in minority languages to northern Uganda and southern Sudan (coming to life after decades of war and the Lords Resistance Army that has ravaged the land and people). We could also adopt a school and build one. As I mentioned in Titu's field of dreams blog entry, much money is pouring into Africa for AIDS medicine. What the church is longing to provide is the spiritual needs of people dealing with AIDS, this is something UN money and the Gates Foundation and others are not providing. The counseling center and ministries like it are trying to fill that gap.
3. Bring a team to Uganda for 2 or 3 weeks, partnering with the local churches in ministry and mission. We could do development work in a rural area, provide professional training for lay counselors, do children's ministry in the rural parishes, do workshops at the university (maybe our strong NW connections could build partnering relationships with UCU, which is part of the CCCU).

The opportunities are virtually limitless. The need is great. And, no, we can't do everything, but let's do one thing and make an impact.