Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

One of the few reality TV shows I actually enjoy watching is ABC’s Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition.  Now in its ninth season, the show is built around the idea of building or remodeling a home for deserving people.  Projects that would normally span several months are completed in seven days by bringing together a team of designers, contractors, hundreds of workers and local volunteers!  The lucky homeowners always have a heart-warming story: heroes, community leaders, and a plethora of inspirational families are truly the heart and soul of the show.  My wife Becky usually has a box of tissue handy when Ty yells out that familiar line, “Move that bus!”

The reason this program is so popular is, at least in part, because we believe everyone deserves a place to call his or her own – a home, a place where family dreams are made, and futures are built.  Having a house or a home is more than just a luxury in our culture. It’s a place for security, protection and building life-long relationships.

Building someone a house, especially if that someone is a very deserving individual, is something that attracts attention.  Habitat for Humanity is one of the most respected non-profit organizations today.  They have built homes from literally thousands of people and inspired volunteers worldwide.

House building, an important metaphor in the writings of the Apostle Paul, describes what believers are supposed to do for each other.   The word is translated “build up” or “edify” and is used at least six times in the letter to the Ephesians.

It was a common term used to describe the actual building of a house.  Paul used it to talk about what we should do for each other.  To “build up” a brother or sister in the faith means to use words and actions that encourage, uplift and strengthen them.  Literally, we are to “build a house” for them with our love and kindness.

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”  (Ephesians 4:16 KJV)

Just as a carpenter plans well for the construction of a home by selecting the right materials, we must carefully choose our words and reactions to those around us.  In a sense, we are building houses in the way we treat each other, houses that will provide safety, security and hope. We “minister grace” through our words.

This spiritual house-building is not optional.  It is critically important for the entire body of Christ.  In Ephesians 4:12, Paul talks about the “perfecting” of the saints and the “building up” of the body of Christ.   The word “perfecting” is a rare medical term also translated as “mending.”  The building up of the church comes from the healthy mending of each member.  Later in the same chapter (v. 16), the Apostle suggests that only as every member “supplies” what they are designed to give, can the body of Christ build itself up in love and grow into the “full measure of the stature of Christ.”

What are you building through your words, and through the way you treat others? Are you building them up or tearing them down?  Do your words build healthy relationship or do they contribute to broken relationships?

A Gift from the City Dump

I’ve been to Honduras countless times. In fact, I even lived there for a while. Almost every time I go, I bring something back with me, something that impacts my life and my ministry. This last trip was certainly no exception.

Most of the team members on my latest mission trip to Honduras had read, Radical, by David Platt. In that book, Platt describes a life-changing experience he had at the Tegucigalpa city dump. Everyone wanted me to take them there. For several reasons, I did not want to go. I had been to the city dump about five years ago, and I knew the conditions had not changed, at least not for the better. I knew we would see poverty, injustice, and human depravity at its worst. My thirteen-year-old grandson Noah was with us, and I honestly didn’t know how this would impact him. But we decided to go.  Click here to see the Tegucigalpa city dump.

Unless you’ve been there, you cannot begin to imagine this place. Nothing can prepare you for the sights and smells. To see children, young teens, and women living and working in the filth of miles and miles of garbage is simply beyond description. Locals call it the Crematoria – the best translation being, “the burning place.” It reminded me of Jesus talking about hell in Matthew 1:8. He used the Greek word geenna - the name for the valley outside of Jerusalem, where mounds of garbage burned constantly – to describe a place where the fire is never quenched.The Crematoria is much like the geenna of Jesus’ day.

At the city dump, there was smoke rising out of the trash everywhere you looked. The smoke and smell permeated everyone and everything in that place. Our bus stayed only a few minutes, then turned around, and headed back down the hill, away from what was perhaps the most depressing place in the world. As we drove down the winding road out of the dump, everyone on the bus was quiet-no words, no conversations, no questions, nothing but silence, and a lot of tears. I think they were all shocked at, and I was certainly reminded of, the stark reality of how people live in places like that.

I feel sure there are crematorias in many other places around the world – places where people live in abject poverty, where people suffer injustice, and live totally without hope of anything better. We don’t have to go to Tegucigalpa to find people living in some kind of “hell” they can’t escape. People like that are much closer than we think.

What I brought back with me to my home, to my job, and to my ministry in Greensboro was not just another memory or experience, but rather a message from the Holy Spirit that is already impacting how I work, how I live, and how I relate to others. From what I saw, smelled, and felt in the dump, the Spirit of Jesus wants me to remember that these are the people He came to die for, and these are the people He sends His Church to care for, and reach out to with His love and the good news of His mercy and grace.

In a real sense of the word, there are city dumps all around us. But, we tend to build our interstate highway systems, and our lives, so that we avoid them. Our busy schedules and commitments don’t allow us time to see them, much less interact with them. Our homeowners’ association covenants, and city building codes prohibit them from moving in next door. And, our fear of catching some strange disease, or being the victim of crime wouldn’t allow us to move to their neighborhood either. They have their world, and we have ours. And, that’s the way it is. But, I have to ask, is that the way it should be?

What I brought back with me, is a determination to find a way to break into their world – the world of the city dumps – and somehow, some way become the Good News to them. I now understand a little better what it means in John 4:4 where it says, “He had to go through Samaria.” Respected rabbis in Jesus’ day, didn’t go through Samaria, and avoided all contact with Samaritans because of racial and religious prejudice. Going through Samaria, and going into the city dumps is not what most religious leaders do today. But, if we follow Christ, we must follow Him into Samaria and beyond.

I also brought back a commitment to never again look the other way. I refuse to pretend there’s nothing I can do. I reject the temptation to blame their poverty on them, or their governments, and by doing so, excuse myself from any responsibility to act. I’m reminded of the words of William Wilberforce, the man who helped end slavery in England:

“Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way; but you can never again say that you did not know.”

From this trip to Honduras, I brought back a desire to look for the poor and the outcast in the city dumps, and find ways to step into their world in order to make a real difference. I want them to know my Jesus! Perhaps I’m crazy, but I’m done with living in the sterilized bubble of the American Dream. It’s time to go to Samaria!

I’ve seen the need. I’ve felt the Holy Spirit nudging me forward. I cannot look the other way. I’m ready to go where only Jesus would lead me. I wonder, how many people feel the way I do? Would you go there with me?

Larry Doyle

Keeping Focused on the Essentials

The Eastman Kodak Company dominated the photography market for over 100 years.  No company commercialized the camera and its associated products as successfully as Kodak.  Some of Kodak’s landmark products include the Brownie camera introduced in 1900, Kodachrome color film, hand-held movie cameras, and the easy-load instamatic camera.

Today, Kodak is only a shadow of its former self, largely due to shifting its focus away from photography to other interests.  In the late 1980s, Kodak began expanding into pharmaceuticals, memory chips, healthcare products, document management, and a host of other non-photography related fields.  During this time of diversification, photography began its transition from a film-based industry to a digital one.

But because Kodak had lost its focus, it failed to recognize the seismic shifts occurring in the photography world. It didn’t take long before Kodak, who had been a leader in their field for over a century, found themselves chasing several competitors who had aggressively embraced the digital era. Within a few short years, Kodak was unable to catch up, and unable to recapture its magic.  Kodak’s stock price today is about 97% below its peak of the mid-1990s.  Kodak is all but a relic of the past because it lost its focus. Other things, not all bad, distracted Kodak from its main purpose.

I wonder if the church isn’t suffering from the same mistakes Kodak made – failure to focus on the essentials.  Pick up any book on church growth or church planting, and you will find a list of things the church or the church planter should do to start or grow a successful church.

Many of these books are filled with great ideas based on wise leadership and organizational concepts, but at the same time, they often miss what the Bible tells churches to focus on.  Many of the books lead its readers to conclude the church should be devoted to well-planned events, solid mission statements, catchy core values, innovative media, or relevant music.  Nothing is inherently wrong with any of those things, but they are just not where the Bible instructs the church to focus.

It took Luke only a few short words to summarize what the first church was centered on: “and they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42).

We see four things the first church made a priority. The first church was devoted to the Gospel–the teaching of the apostles.  They were devoted to living together in fellowship that was a direct result of their mutual fellowship with Christ.  They were devoted to practicing Christ-ordained, cross-centered worship, including the Lord’s Supper.  They were devoted to private and corporate prayer.

We do not see the first church establishing business meetings, writing vision statements, starting special programs, doing community events, or trying to be relevant to the culture.  None of these things are bad, as long as they are peripheral and not central.  These things can become distractions if they become the church’s focus.

Like Kodak’s fateful diversification, the church’s failure to devote themselves to the four things the apostles and the first church devoted themselves to, can distract us from our Acts 1:8 mission to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

God does not need the church in America with all its innovations. God needs simple churches focused on His Word. Churches are springing up all around the globe, many under severe persecution. These churches are not distracted by programs and man-made philosophies, but are following the footsteps of the early church.  These churches may not boast huge buildings and multimillion-dollar budgets.  They may not make Outreach Magazine’s list of “most innovative churches,” and they may not have satellite campuses broadcasting their pastor to tens of thousands.  But what they do have is an Acts 2:42 focus, and that’s all they need.  These are the churches God will use to truly change the world.

Steve Doyle, pastor

Harbins Community Baptist Church

Dacula, GA

The Journey Is Too Great For You

At first glance these words don’t sound all that encouraging. It’s like saying to someone running a marathon, “You’ll never make it to the finish line, the distance is too great for you.” Although that’s not want the marathon runner needs to hear, it was exactly what the prophet Elijah needed to hear. And, it’s what we need to hear in our journey as followers of Jesus.

At the lowest point in his life, Elijah needed a word from God. In spite of his awesome victory over the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and the revelation of God’s power in answer to his prayer for rain to end the seven-year drought, Elijah sank into a dark hole of depression and self-pity.   Feeling alone and worthless, he wanted to die. At that moment, God’s word came to him through the angel who said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” (1 Kings 19:7)

What journey? Where was the Prophet going? His destination was a cave on Mount Horeb – the place where he finally heard a “still small voice” calling him back into service, and back to the place where God would use him again. These words served as the Prophet’s wake up call! God provided exactly what he needed at that moment in his journey.

The Bible is full of stories of great men and women who have experienced something similar to what Elijah experienced.   For example, Moses was on a course of certain burnout, when God provided a wise father-in-law by the name of Jethro. After seeing Moses attending to the needs of the people day after day, Jethro said, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” Moses heeded his advice and set up a system of leadership to take care of the needs of the Israelites. (Exodus 18:13-27)

Simon Peter, the great Apostle of the early Church, needed something a little different when his journey was in danger of taking a wrong turn. After leading the Church to accept and welcome non-Jewish believers, and after standing firm against racial and religious prejudice, he caved in to the pressures of his peers by refusing to eat with the Gentiles. A younger and less experienced leader in the church by the name of Paul called him out. Boldly and courageously, Paul confronted Peter with his hypocrisy. (Galatians 2:11-21) When the journey became too much for Peter, God provided exactly what he needed, a firm rebuke from a loving brother.

I’m also reminded of one of the greatest figures in the Old Testament, King David. Although God described him as “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22), he too faltered in his journey. His adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and the brutal cover-up of his sin, was perhaps the lowest point in his journey. He was totally off course and out of fellowship with God. At that moment, God provided what David needed, a prophet to call him to repentance and restoration.   David’s prayer in Psalm 51 reveals the impact of this divine intervention in his journey.

The journey we are on is too great for all of us; but God is faithful. He knows the journey we are on, and will provide what we need at the moment we need it. Whether our need is for food and rest, wise guidance and counsel, a loving rebuke from a friend, or soul wrenching call to repentance, His provision is always on time and on target.

If one day, we hope to say, as the Apostle Paul said, “I have finished the course, I have kept the faith,” we must, 1) embrace the truth that the journey is too great for us, 2) humbly receive God’s gracious intervention, and 3) remember God’s awesome promise, “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!” (Joshua 1:9)

Where are you on your journey? Where has God intervened in your life recently? Take a moment to thank Him for bringing into your life exactly what you needed to complete your journey. If perhaps you are at a crossroads where you need Him to step in, I invite you to “seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.” (Isaiah 55:6)

Amazed and Humbled

At first, I didn’t recognize the teenage boy standing in front of the registration table at Camp Bethel Medical Clinic, just outside of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Scores of people came to the clinic that morning, and we were very busy trying to register them so they could be treated. “What’s your name?” I asked the young boy standing in front of me. “Brian, Brian Josue,” he said. “And, how old are you?” was my second question as I worked through completing the form in Spanish. “Sixteen,” he answered. “Why have you come to the clinic this morning?” I asked. “I had surgery on my heart last month, and I’d like a doctor to look at it.”

Suddenly, all the dots connected in my mind, and to say the least, I was overwhelmed. This wasn’t just another patient. I remembered, ten years ago, when a medical team I was on, stopped to look at a six-year-old boy standing beside the road going up to Camp Bethel. I recalled the slim figure of this little boy, much smaller than the other children. He was lethargic, and didn’t run and jump like the other children around him. I remembered it like it was yesterday, putting my hand on his chest, and actually feeling the swishing of the blood moving back and forth from one side of his heart to the other. His congenital heart defect should have been repaired soon after birth, but he wasn’t born in a hospital, and his family lived in abject poverty. We all thought there was no hope he’d ever get the surgery he so desperately needed.

Other memories came flooding back. I remember the team’s commitment to do everything possible to get this little guy back to the United States for his surgery. I recall the physician on our team telling us if Brian didn’t get the surgery, he would not live past his fifteenth birthday. I remember the months and months of prayers, and the futileattempts to get paperwork signed, doctor’s permissions, visas and such. Nothing worked. Then, after two years of unsuccessfulattempts to get this child to the United States to have his surgery, he and his mother suddenly disappeared. They moved to a different part of Honduras, and we lost contact with them. I often wondered what happened to him, and indeed, if he was still alive.

Now, ten years later, that same little boy stood before me. Through joyful tears, I asked him how he got the surgery. He couldn’t tell me exactly how it came about, but a medical team from the United States came to Honduras last month and repaired his heart defect. He came by the clinic that day to thank us for our prayers. He and his mother had moved from Tegucigalpa to a place near the U.S. military base where someone from the hospital near the base discovered Brian, and took an interest in his condition.

Although he didn’t know the details of how and who, what he did know was many people had prayed for him, and God has answered those prayers. He knew ten years ago his grandmother and other relatives were not followers of Jesus. He knew growing up that a lot of badthings took place in the house where five to ten families lived. He knew some of his uncles and cousins were still in prison because of the things that had happened then. And, most importantly, he knew Christ had transformed his family. He came to the clinic that day to say thank you, and to give God the praise for what He had done.

He couldn’t explain why, but he knows God spared his life – something even more difficult for him to understand when he thinks about his nine year-old cousin, Christian, who is dying of cancer in the same house.

As I reflect on how God answers prayer, I am amazed, and humbled. I’m amazed at how God uses different people, from different places, at different times, to fulfill His sovereign purpose. I’m humbled that God in His sovereignty would allow us to participate in bringing about physical and spiritual healing to one single family, and one single person in a world filled with so many hurting and suffering people.

Yes, it’s just one boy, and one family in one small, country, Honduras. In some ways it seems like so little in the face of such overwhelming need around the globe. But, that’s how the world is transformed, one person at a time.

Jesus was always there for the least of society. Can we do less?

Then the righteous will answer Him, “Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” The King will answer and say to them, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

Matthew 25:37-40 (NASB)

“Extras”

You see them, but you don’t pay much attention to them.  They are present in almost every scene, and without them, the picture would be incomplete; yet, no one remembers their names or any details about them.  You could say, they are both indispensable and invisible.  In the motion picture business, they are called extras.  Hundreds and thousands of them are hired for motion pictures and television dramas.  They are the people walking by on street scenes, or sitting at the tables in the restaurants.  They are always in the background, and essential to create the perfect picture of reality.  Yet, their names do not appear in movie credits, or on theater marquees.  These people are important to the success of the movie.  In the end however, they are just extras, and like objects carefully chosen for the scenery, they are soon forgotten. How would you like to be forgotten, or invisible?

I’m afraid too many of us live our lives the same way, ignoring the “extras”.  Certain people are always, as they say, front and center on the stage, while others become little more than scenery.  In one sense of the word, that’s the way things are.  But, is that the way things should be?  We must give attention to our family and friends – these are the people who make us who we are, and give meaning and purpose to why we live.  However, is it possible we are missing something even more significant in our lives by ignoring the “extras” all around us every day?

How many people do you go through life alongside of, yet never really see? Are there people in your church you really don’t even know? Do you know everybody in your office? Really? If you go to the same place often for lunch, can you recall the name of the server who usually waits on you? What’s your dry cleaner lady’s name? How about the gal who usually checks out your groceries? How well do you know your mechanic, or your mailman? What about the paperboy? What about your neighbors?

Looking at Jesus’ life, it seems He gave most of His attention to people who would have been considered the “extras” of His day.  In other words, He sought out the people no one seemed to care about.  He spent time with the blind, the widows, the poor, the hungry, and the outcast.  Even the children, whom the disciples tried to push away, found favor in Jesus’ eyes.  Perhaps that’s why the King of Kings wasn’t born in a palace, but in a stable.  That’s why the Great Physician didn’t open his medical practice among the rich and famous.  That’s why the greatest teacher who ever lived didn’t spend His time hanging out with the religious leaders of His day, but rather a rag-tag group, consisting of uneducated fishermen, hated tax collectors, revolutionaries, and others of questionable reputations.

You might say, He focused on, spent time with, and loved on the “extras.” He never treated them like scenery.  They were all “extra” special to Him!  Here’s one example . . .

“Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)   But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?”

 

When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” (Mark 2:15-17 / NLT)

 

How can we live our lives more like He lived His life?  Who are the “extras” God has placed around you and your family?  Are their people who cross your path everyday who need someone to see them – to speak a kind word to them – to make a difference in their lives and possibly impact them for eternity? How many opportunities to witness are you missing every day, because you fail to notice the “extras” in your own life?

Extreme!

The word “extreme” came to mind when I was searching for a way to describe what I experienced a few weeks ago while on a mission trip in Honduras.

Usually, the first thing I think about when I hear the word “extreme” is extreme sports.  I imagine skydiving, mountain climbing, or ridding the rapids somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Honestly, I’m not a fan of extreme sports. In fact, I think you have to be extremely crazy to do those things!  Some people, however, live for adrenaline filled thrills and heart-stopping challenges!

Generally speaking, the word extreme is used to describe something beyond the ordinary or common place. We use it in reference to an extraordinary activity or experience, such as something extremely dangerous, extremely satisfying or extremely courageous.

I’ve never thought about obeying and loving Jesus as something extreme.  That is, until that week in Honduras.  In fact, I would classify that week as one of the most extreme weeks I’ve ever experienced.  Along with twelve other men I was privileged to participate in a mission trip to Honduras.  Although the purpose of the trip was to construct a building that will serve as a medical clinic for families in a poor community, God used this experience to show me what extreme love and obedience really looks like.

In the middle of extreme poverty – poverty unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else in the world – we saw humble, faithful men and women ministering to their communities in the face of unbelievable challenges and life-threatening opposition.  We saw extreme courage in pastors serving in areas where their lives are in constant danger.  We worked with people this week who’s trust in God reveals, what I can only call, extreme obedience to God’s call on their lives, and extreme love for their fellow man.  Most of all, we saw extreme faith and absolute dependence on God.  Totally extreme!

Seeing this level of commitment and dedication, I had to face the fact that, most of the time, my faith is less than what it could be.  Although I desire to be extreme in my commitment, and my love for God and others, I fall short – far short!

Our experiences this week also reminded me of something else extreme: God’s faithfulness!   He is always “extreme” in His love, His presence and most of all, His amazing grace!  His love for us is unconditional and eternal.  His presence is extremely important because without Him, we can do nothing, and with Him we can do anything.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Philippians 3:13

Extreme faith!  Extreme love!  When you think about it, the word “extreme” is the best (and most biblical) description of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  God was extreme in the way He loved the world so much that He gave His only Son to die on Calvary.  And, Jesus’ obedience to His Father’s will was so extreme He willingly gave His life for us, taking the horror and humiliation of the cross we rightfully deserve.

In light of what I’ve experienced I must ask myself these questions.  Can the word “extreme” describe my life in Christ?  Am I as extremely in love with Him as He is with me?  And, how extreme is my love for others?

What about you?  How extreme is your commitment to follow Jesus?   Remember what Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”  (Mark 8:34)  When you think about it, that’s pretty extreme!

How’s The Soil Where You Live?

It happened again this year. The scorching summer heat effectively killed all the grass in my yard, leaving me to mow the remaining weeds. Regardless of how much I pay for grass seed, or what fertilizer I use, the lush green lawn I start out with in the spring, ends up as a patch of weeds and clover with very little grass by mid August. The problem isn’t the twenty-plus days of over-90 degree-heat, or the near-drought level of rainfall. The problem is the soil.

Jesus told a parable about a man sowing seed, and how the seed fell in four different types of soil: hard soil by the roadside, shallow, rocky soil, weed-contaminated soil, and good, fertile soil. Although it is known as the parable of the sower, in reality, it is a parable about soil. The soil represents the human heart, the place where God’s Word is sown daily. The yield of the crop is directly related to the condition of the soil. (Mark 4:1-20)

Parables are literary word pictures. They relate profound truths through common objects or stories. The focus of this parable is the condition of the soil where God’s Word falls. Some hearts, like the soil by the roadside, are hardened and unreceptive. When our hearts are hardened, Word of God doesn’t penetrate, and is swept away before it has a chance to produce fruit.

When our hearts are like the shallow, rocky soil, they may appear to produce good fruit, but the lack of strong roots makes them vulnerable to the blistering heat of persecution, and to the raging winds of tribulation, and the fruit does not last.

The most troublesome soil is the soil contaminated with weeds. You can’t see the weeds, but they are present. And, just like the weeds in my front yard, they don’t show up until it’s too late to stop them. According to this parable, they choke out what the seeds produce, and render the soil sterile and useless.

Then, there is the good soil. In the good soil, all things that are of God grow and flourish, because they are grounded in the Word of God, and fed daily by the Holy Spirit. Good soil is to be cherished.

This parable does not draw a line between unbelievers and believers. Actually, anyone of us could have one or more of these bad-soil conditions in our hearts at the same time. A lack of faith can make our heart hard just as it did the first followers of Jesus. (Mark 6:52 & 8:17). A lack of depth in our walk with God can make our hearts fickle and flighty, and our temporary joy turns to disappointing failure at the first sight of trouble or opposition. There may be a lot of emotion, but little depth. And emotion alone cannot withstand the storms of life.

While a hardened heart, like soil by the roadside, is difficult to penetrate, and rocky soil is difficult to recognize, weed-contaminated soil is the most difficult to deal with. As Jesus described it, this soil is filled with the deception of riches, our love and desire for things for things, and the worries of life. (Mark 4:19) These “weeds” choke out God’s Word and render our lives sterile. Jesus had harsh words for fruitless branches. He said, “A branch that does not bear fruit is taken away . . . cut off and thrown into the fire.” (John 15:1-11)

It is only in the good soil that we bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit. But, good soil doesn’t come easily.  Do you ever wonder why we don’t see more fruitfulness in our churches? Could it be the condition of the soil . . . our hearts? Are our hearts are hardened, our commitments shallow, and our lives are full of weeds that choke out God’s Word? Bad soil can show up anywhere, at anytime! So, how’s the soil where you and I live today?

If our soil is bad, what we do about it? Here are a couple of remedies from God’s word:

• For hard soil, God says, “Break up your fallow ground . . .” (Jeremiah 4:3)

• For shallow soil, the Psalmist cried, “Search me, O God, and know my heart . . .” (Psalms 139:23)

• For contaminated soil, King David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart O God . . .” (Psalms 51:10)

• But when there is good soil, we can “hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty or even a hundred fold.” (Mark 4:20)

The condition of our heart (soil) is God’s biggest concern, and changing our heart is His greatest joy!

 

Comfort or Character?

Some time ago, I heard someone say, “God is more interested in our character than our comfort.” This past week, on a mission trip to Honduras, that truth became a reality to me.

Having been to Honduras a number of times, I was used to cold showers, roosters crowing at 4 am, and creeping creatures like spiders and scorpions. However, even with my past experience, this week was one of the most uncomfortable weeks I have ever spent anywhere.

Everyone in our group was plagued daily by tiny, little insects. You couldn’t see them, and you didn’t even know they’d bit you until your skin began to itch. No one, not even the locals, knew what they were. Their bite wasn’t poisonous, and we weren’t in any danger of getting sick, but the itching drove us crazy! Nothing we did seemed to deter them. If fact, I think they loved the insect repellant as much as they loved our fair complexions!

A couple of days into the trip, as we were treating over 100 patients a day in the medical clinic, itching like crazy, and bone tired, I remembered the statement about comfort and character. I didn’t go to Honduras to be comfortable, and God never promised I would be comfortable serving Him. In fact, He told those who wanted to follow Him to expect to be treated the same way He was treated. Then He added, “Unless you take up your cross and die daily, you cannot be My disciples.”

When I thought about what Jesus went through on the cross, my itching body and my tired feet didn’t seem so important. They really weren’t much at all-just minor inconveniences—- in comparison to all the suffering Jesus did for me. God had used those little critters to teach me an important lesson.

Most, if not all, of the 97 people in our group were experiencing the same insect attacks, but, to my surprise, the young people weren’t complaining!   When they returned to the camp each night after a day of missions, I heard testimony after testimony about what God had done that day. Then I realized again, it wasn’t about comfort, but about character . . . about what God was doing to shape their lives for their future in His Kingdom.

It is so easy to focus on whether or not we are comfortable, and complain when we’re not. That’s exactly what the enemy wants – to get us so attuned to our own comfort that we forget about our character, and the character of others. I’m glad God is always focused on the condition of my heart, gets me out of my comfort zone, and does whatever it takes to shape my character into the person He designed me to be.

One of the teenagers said it best in a poem she wrote toward the end of the week:

Not Forgotten

Little eyes staring
Little feet, no shoes
Hands, so dirty
Clothes so worn

Bumpy roads
not paved
houses, no doors
that have dirt floors

Joy when given hugs
Eyes excited to play
Full of energy
Ready to be lead

Prayers going out
People being saved
Holding heads high
Humbly committing to the Lord

Not proud,
Not boastful
ready to change
Thanks God, Thanks God, that’s why I came.

                                                       Victoria Bilton

                                                        Deep Impact, Honduras-2011

How is your character shaping up today? 

Larry Doyle

Director of Missions

Piedmont Baptist Association 

Missional Small Groups

This book is the product of the author’s quest and passion to find a way to do small group beyond the usual, “huddle and cuddle” Bible studies or self-help groups. His twenty-plus years of searching for effective ways to do small groups led him to the principles and practices found in this book.  The author, M. Scott Boren, takes a totally different angle from the normal books that talk about strategies, technical skills and knowledge about the dynamics of small groups.  What you find here is an attempt to reframe the entire discussion of small group experience.

His book is divided in to two parts.  Part one lays the foundation for becoming missional, and what that looks like within the context of a small group.  The author begins by identifying the life rhythms of small group life – rhythms that tells a story unique to each group.  According to the author, all small groups play rhythms that tell one or more of the following stories

• The story of personal improvement
• The story of life-style adjustment
• The story of relational re-vision
• The story of missional re-creation

The goal of the small group leader is to guide the group make the kind of “music” that makes a difference in the world.  In other words, to “learn the musical rhythms that line up with what it means to be the people of God.”  These rhythms often conflict and run counter to those played by our culture and in this way, create both a challenge and a barrier for the small group.

The second part of the book contains the “meat” or what the author believes it means to be missional as a small group.  Essentially, he answers these two questions. What’s the difference between the normal small group and the mission small group?  What does it look like to live out our faith in a missional small group?

The author identifies three life-rhythms present in missional groups:  1) missional communion, 2) missional relating, and 3) missional engagement.   The remainder of the book is devoted to explaining these rhythms and identifying the principles and practices that create and enhance these rhythms in the small group.  When a group is able to play all three rhythms, the group is able to join God in His mission in the world – becoming truly missional at heart.  It is no longer about the individual, or even the group, but about what God is doing in our world.

In my opinion, this section is worth the price of the book.  In one sense of the word, these are practical spiritual disciplines for missional groups.   This is not a book about structures or curriculums, and it isn’t a book that will help you answer the question, “How can I make my small group grow?”  But it is a book that will help you reframe your thinking about what small groups are, and how they connect, or fail to connect with real life, and most importantly how they do or do not reflect the missional heart of God.

This is a “must read” for leaders who are involved in small groups, and for pastors and staff who are interested in starting small groups in their churches.   

Reviewed by:

Larry Doyle
Director of Missions
Piedmont Baptist Association