They are amazingly powerful things, words are

They are amazingly powerful things, words are, especially for often being invisible, coming only from our mouths, invisible messages transmitted from one to another. Yet they have the power to build up and to tear down, encourage and discourage, empower and disempower, express ideas and destroy people. Every invisible word we speak has an immediate impact on those who hear.  They are amazingly powerful things, words are.

I am a purveyor of words: speaking, blogs, books and dialogue. I play with them, carefully consider them and use them as a craftsman uses his or her tools. They are my tools and powerful tools, words are. Finding a new word to convey the right meaning is like striking a vein of gold so powerful those words can be. Putting them in sequence for the right effect is like arranging the books on my study shelves because arrangement matters.

Our words reveal the temperature of our hearts for what is inside tumbles out, sometimes unwittingly and with later regret. “Did I say that? That way? I hurt you! I cannot believe I said that!” Our words the invisible revealer of the invisible us. Once unleashed, never to be recalled. We can only use other words to minimize the damage but those terrible words, ever invisible live on in the hearts of those who were wounded by them.  Our words have betrayed us, or revealed us and the ugly remnants of our sinful humanity. They are amazingly powerful things, words are.

Being invisible and coming so easily we pay too little attention to our words. Jesus told us to consider our words. James warned us of the power for good or for evil they contain. Proverbs speaks often of words and their impact for good and evil. Paul wrote of words that should not be spoken and words that should be spoken. Because they are amazingly powerful things, words are.

It is easy to allow our words to become useless items frittered away on topics that are base and in ways that are harsh – other people the likely target of our spiritual poverty. They are precious things, words are, because of their power. To loose them carelessly is to squander opportunity and to diminish the wonderful gift they can be. For our words can shape entire lives or diminish the same so powerful they are and so long they live invisible yet remembered.

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable to you O Lord. For each of us will give an account for every invisible word we spoke. They are amazingly powerful things, words are.

“Father, help me craft words that heal, reflect your character, bring your love, and soothe the wounds of life today. May I use words for your purposes today and not mine. Even better, give me your words to speak for your words are pure and holy and loving and true. They are words of life from a heart of love. May I be a purveyor of your words today.”

Keystone habits that can change organizational culture

Eight years ago when I assumed leadership of ReachGlobal, the international mission of the EFCA I made two decisions that would radically impact the culture of the mission. The first was that we were going to place a very major focus on health: healthy staff, healthy teams and healthy leaders. The second was that we were going to develop, empower and release healthy national leaders wherever we worked.


While I knew that these two decisions were the right decisions for ReachGlobal I did not know how foundational they would be for the organizational culture long term.  I am currently reading Charles Duhigg's groundbreaking book on The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in Life and Business, where Duhigg defines these kinds of decisions as Keystone habits which while seemingly insignificant in themselves (who would argue with healthy individuals, teams and leaders?) have a lasting and long impact on the organization's culture.


The focus on health forced us to re-evalutate our screening processes for potential missionaries and we actually shut the process down for six months to rebuild it from the ground up. It allowed us to deal with some staff who were disruptive to others.


It also spawned a new way of mentoring and coaching, team training, supervisor training and a redefinition of what leadership in the organization was about. That one directional decision touched everything we did and how we did it. My book "Leading From the Sandbox" defines our approach to leadership and teams all in line with that one directional decision.


The focus on developing, empowering and releasing healthy national workers wherever we worked shifted the focus from what we as missionaries could do to how we could help others do what they could do better than us. Again, that seemingly small keystone habit changed our whole approach to mission strategy.


I would encourage all those who lead to read Duhigg's book. But I would also encourage leaders to think carefully about what key habits should define your ministry culture and realize that you can intentionally change or redefine your culture for the better by a few key directional decisions. That is, if you have the resolve to see them through. 


What I have learned is that it does not take many decisions to actually redefine one's culture. It usually takes one or two that you believe in fully and have the resolve to stick to no matter what. 


People understand that you are actually serious and that it is not the flavor of the month when you make hard decisions that are in alignment with those directional decisions (keystone habits) you have resolved to live out. In the early days of my leadership and still today I tell staff "Do not question my resolve" to see these things become reality.


All organizations have a culture that is either intentionally created or accidental. Intentional is far better than accidental. In fact, there may well be habits in an organization that are unhealthy and which should be replaced by new habits. Understanding what is and what should be is part of the job of a leader.

The most important thing we leave our grandchildren

I remember how important my grandparents were to me. Even from a distance, growing up in Hong Kong they had the most special place in my heart. I am not sure what it is about grandparents but they are sometimes even a step above our parents as we grow up. They love us unconditionally, they are old and therefore wise, they have great stories of the "old days" and for whatever reason, very, very special.


Which gives us as grandparents amazing opportunity in the lives of our grandchildren. We can say things to them that others (even their parents) cannot say and be heard. We can love them without being the disciplinarians. We can talk about faith issues without them thinking we are pushing an agenda. We are, after all special. 


What is the most important thing we leave behind with our grand kids? It is an example of a life well lived, a faith that meets all circumstances with grace and trust in Jesus. It is belief in them that they can be what God made them for. It is love that mirrors the love of Jesus. It is the example of simple faith lived out in the day to day issues of life - loving Jesus with all our hearts.


Grandchildren don't often forget their grandparents. Long after they are gone I remember mine and one of the things I look forward to is a reunion in heaven. Theirs was not a sophisticated faith: it was real and powerful and authentic. The way faith is supposed to be. Most of all I remember their love for me and acceptance of me. 


I am thankful for the relationship my kids had with their grandparents. They taught them many things including some mischievous things. My father in law from peasant roots in the Ukraine taught the kids how to make switches from the apple tree in his back yard and fling apples far and wide in the neighborhood - thus ridding his lawn of apples :). He taught Chip how to jerry rig anything to fix something. My mother in law from Sweden took the kids on long walks through the nature preserves to learn flora and fauna. My folks allowed them to be themselves even when it might have offended their sensibilities.


Grandparents are special. If you are one, leave them two things: unconditional love and a love of Jesus that they cannot ever forget. You have amazing power in their lives. Use it to help them grow as individuals and as Christians. Grandparents may have more influence over their grandchildren than even their children. 

A Submarine Captain on the Power of Leadership Language

From Fast Company - A great read on the power of language and words that empower or disempower. 


http://www.fastcompany.com/1843334/a-submarine-captain-on-the-power-of-leadership-language?partner=homepage_newsletter

Seven Dangers of leading alone rather than through team

Lone ranger leadership is dangerous territory and there are plenty of examples that bear witness to it. Leading through team is far healthier, more effective and can contribute to long term effectiveness.


Here are some advantages of leading through team rather than by ourselves.


1. We are only as good as the skills we possess. When we combine our skills with those of others we multiply the possible outcomes, enjoy robust dialogue and are not limited by our own skills and gifting. Leading alone has built in limitations.


2. We are never as good as we think we are but left to our own we over inflate our effectiveness and under estimate our weaknesses. Leading through team - if it is a healthy team - protects us by compensating for our inflation and weaknesses. 


3. We can only handle a certain span of relationships. Thus when we lead alone we inevitably plateau whatever we are leading at some point. Leading through team, on the other hand is immediately scaleable if done right.


4. We hear and believe what we want to. All of us have a bias about what we hear and believe. None of us are unbiased in our judgements and decisions. Having a team around us that gives us another perspective and tells us the truth when we need to hear it can save us a great deal of dumb tax. 


5. Leadership isolation eventually leads to a bad place. Lone ranger leaders easily become isolated and autonomous, especially if they see success. It is a dangerous place because isolation often leads to actions that we would not engage in when we are in community. We were made for community not isolation. 


6. Alone breeds pride while team breeds humility. Leading through team tempers our natural tendency to think too greatly of ourselves as it is by definition no longer about me but about us. Leaders who lead through team share the success with the team - in fact the best ones credit the team! Lone ranger leaders have no one to share the success with (they think) and often take the credit.


7. Leading alone is lonely while leading through team is collegial and offers the support of a group. Leadership is lonely enough. Trying to do it without others is lonelier still. Healthy individuals enjoy the benefit of relationships in the journey.


If you lead, don't do it alone. Form a healthy team. You will be a better leader, a better individual and your organization will thank you.

A connected world with siloed ministries: Why?

We live in a connected world. More so than ever before and it is growing rapidly. But churches, denominations, mission agencies and other ministries are still disconnected, siloed and living in their own small universe. Why?


Talk to any business leader and they will tell you about alliances with other businesses across international borders. Talk to non-profits and they will describe the interconnected nature of what they do. Why? Because they realize that they can do more through strategic alliances and connections than they can alone. It is a very connected world.


Then talk to most denominational officials, local church pastors and mission agencies and they look at you with puzzled eyes when you ask them about their strategic alliances with others - or cooperative efforts. And they (we) work for the Lord of the universe whose Kingdom needs no competition but huge cooperation. Once again, the church and missions are decades behind the rest of society and poorer because of it.


The day of ministry brand loyalty to the exclusion of other brands should be over. The day of ministry brand cooperation needs to start. It is a connected world and those connections can make all of us healthier and more fruitful. 


As in business alliances, this does not mean one loses their identity and certainly one chooses with whom they want to be connected but they do so for a higher kingdom purpose and are willing to set aside the lesser things that divide us for the greater purpose that unites us - the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the expansion of His Church and Kingdom.


In the old world, connection was hard and often impossible. That was in the pre-globalized black and white world. In the new world the whole world is connected - with the exception of most ministries. Yet today it is not only easy but necessary. No church or denomination can reach a whole city. We need connection. No mission can reach a city, region or country. We need connection. 


How connected is your ministry - beyond itself: With other ministries in common ministry pursuits? How connected is your mission with other missions in common mission pursuits? 


The advances of connection in today's world are a great gift to the church if the church will take advantage of it. The petty differences that divide many of us should be set aside for the sake of the Gospel and the advance of His Kingdom. Our own egos and ambitions need to be set aside for the sake of Jesus's name and reputation and Gospel.


I have 2600 friends on Facebook from all over the world (the introverts strategy of being an extrovert). When will ministries connect that way in a connected world? It is worth thinking about and praying about. 

Short Term Missions - Doing it Right

Short term missions is a widely popular practice to give our people a means of connecting with the larger world. Done well it has many advantages. Done poorly it can actually create more issues that it helps. Here is the key to successful short term missions: Putting as much attention on what it will produce for those you are serving as you do on what it will do for those who go.

Those who go on a well done short term trip experience life in ways that they have often never experienced in their own culture. Often they face poverty they have never seen before. They may be in a culture that is neutral or hostile to Christianity. And they are exposed to a radically different culture than their own, something many Americans do not often experience. I have personally seen major paradigm shifts take place in those who have participated in short term missions.

The West is a can do culture and too often, we enter into these short term adventures with too little cross cultural preparation which can result in team members doing things that they don’t realize have negative ramifications in their host culture. 


Long term missionaries have seen the best and worst of the impact of short term teams which has left them wary of teams that have not been trained for the context they are going to or have not worked with them to ensure that the experience leaves something positive rather than something negative.

The United States is a very open culture with a wide latitude for behaviors. This is not true in many other cultures. For instance, one would never point their feet at another in Thailand (a major insult), and one always defers to their elders in many parts of the world. Loud speech in some parts of the world is offensive while in others it is the norm. Understanding the basics of the culture you are going to is 101 in short term missions.

Then there is the issue of money and how it is used. How money is used in short term missions is a huge issue. To give one well known example, places like Haiti are black holes of dependency, in large part because American agencies and ministries are not discerning about how they use money.

Equally important is working with the receiving hosts to ensure that what you intend to do and how you intend to do it will actually help them rather than complicate their lives and ministries. Remember that your hosts have their own work and ministries into which you are entering for several weeks. Think of adding the hosting of a short term team on top of what you already do in a typical week and you get the picture.

It is critical to work with your hosts to ensure that the team is a long term help to them rather than a short term distraction. Teams can be wonderful leverage points for workers on the ground – if there is mutual understanding as to what is needed rather than a team autonomously making its own decisions which rarely works well for long term personnel.

When considering a short term team experience, consider the following:

1. What spiritual and cultural training do we need to do in order to ensure that our people are ready for this ministry experience? If possible, use someone who has had cross cultural experience for this portion of the training.

2. Ask your participants to read, When Helping Hurts. It will open their eyes to the issue of resources, money and how it can help or hurt your efforts. This is imperative when coming from a country of wealth and doing ministry in a country of relative poverty.

3. Do some training in the area of spiritual warfare. They will likely encounter it and you want them to have some handles on how to respond.

4. Be sure that you have worked out a ministry on the receiving end that will help your hosts in their long term ministry. Ask them what you need to be aware of, what the team should avoid and what their expectations are of the team.

5. Raise up a prayer team well in advance of your trip to pray for those you meet, for spiritual protection and for God to work in the hearts of those you will encounter. Be sure that concerted prayer is part of the team preparation so that it is natural on your trip.

6. Where possible use leaders who have had experience in the context you are going to before – or at least in a cross cultural situation.

It's not my job! Sometimes it is

There are many things in the organization I serve that are not my job - very many! 

Empowered ministry organizations don't get in the way of others or disempower them by doing what they should be doing unless there is a very good reason. That includes allowing others to make decisions you would not make and to learn from mistakes they might make. Much of what we learn in life is through our own "dumb tax."

Having said that, it is easy to so focus on what is our job that we neglect what is all of our jobs.

It is all of our jobs to see that what we do is integrated into the whole. My job does not live in isolation from others but must be part of a whole. That means that I have to think of the whole picture even as I concentrate on what I am responsible for.

It is all of our jobs to care about what is best for the ministry as a whole. What is best for me and my division is never the question. What is best for the ministry as a whole is always the question and my decisions must be made in light of the whole.

It is all of our jobs to be in alignment with one overall mission. I don't have my own mission but am a part of a common mission. Too often ministries are made up of sub ministries with their own mission leaving the overall mission hostage to multiple missions without an overall focus.

It is all of our jobs to do what we need to do to see the ministry succeed. If my part of the ministry flourishes but the ministry itself does not, I have not been successful. It is when the ministry flourishes that we are together successful. 

It is all of our jobs to engage in the kind of dialogue that will help the ministry get to where it needs to go. I cannot hunker down and stay silent on issues that impact the ministry. I am responsible along with other leaders to see the whole, care about the whole and discuss those issues that impact the whole.

You see a trend here? There are some things that are our jobs. There are many things that are all of our jobs. You may want to have a conversation with your teams as to what is everyone's job.

What are you and your church doing to raise up workers for the harvest?

In a significant passage related to ministry and missions we read these words. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Matthew 9:35-38).’”

One of the marks of Gospel centered churches is an intentional effort to pray for and to raise up those who would answer God’s call for full time ministry. And to provide mentoring and ministry experience to them to ready them for a lifetime of service.

When was the last time you can remember corporate prayer in your church that God would raise up those who would give their lives to full time service? Yes Jesus asked us to do just that.

This is not to indicate that God has an A team and a B team – those in full time ministry and those who are not. It is to respond to the words of Jesus that there are many in our world who are harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd and He is asking us to pray that individuals will step forward to share the Good News.

The minority (wealthy world) is often driven by careers, salaries, a secure life and the avoidance of danger. Those who choose to work outside of their own culture often pay a significant personal price for doing so. Yet it is one of the primary ways that the Gospel is spread and eternal destines determined. Congregations that encourage their people to consider a life vocation in ministry and who are willing to mentor, encourage and stand behind those who fit the qualifications and are ready to go multiply their ministry influence in huge ways.

As the letters to the seven churches in Revelation indicates, God not only evaluates our individual lives but he sees the spiritual vibrancy or lack of it in congregations as well. How we view our passion for the Gospel becoming well known in our community and world would certainly be an indicator of both our obedience and our passion – as well as the joy we together enjoy in the journey.

Generous churches, like generous people, see beyond themselves and their mission is not primarily about themselves but about impacting lives, communities and the globe with the Gospel. They give away their time, energy, resources and love so that the name of Jesus is lifted high and His name becomes well known. They love on their community, they love on the unloved, and they love on the unsaved. So much so that whole communities know that they are a congregation of love.

Generous congregations love when people come to them but they are focused on going to others, meeting them on their ground and ministering to them on their turf. They look for ways to meet needs, share truth and love people in the name of Jesus. They don't wait for people to come to them but find ways to go to others including sending their own and reaching beyond their borders.

Life is not about us but about Jesus. It is true for us personally and it is true for congregations. Just as many Christ followers don't get that, so many congregations don't get that. But those who do see the fruit of their generosity as people and communities are impacted with His love and we are energized by our Christ centered actions and God's smile on our lives.

How many people found Jesus through the ministry of your congregation in the past year? It is worth keeping track of and working to see it increase. How many people has your congregation sent into full time ministry?  It also is worth counting and keeping track of. It is one of the markers of a Gospel centered church and it is what Jesus longs for.

The heart of a Christian leader: sacrificial service

I have recently been mulling on the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 and their implications for Christian leaders everywhere. The Corinthians were not an easy bunch to minister to. They were full of themselves it seems and rather ungrateful for Paul's ministry to them. He had opened his heart to them but they not to him (2 Cor. 6:11-13). All of us can relate to that at times in leadership.


Read carefully what he said about how he ministered to them.


"We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be descredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of god with weapons of righteousness in the right and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed: sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."


These themes stand out:


- A life and ministry that are above reproach
- Kindness and patience toward those he ministered to
- A life lived in the presence and power of God
- A willingness to suffer hardship for the sake of the Gospel
- A spirit of joy in spite of those hardships


There was no sense of entitlement on Paul's part. Rather, there was a willingness to endure hardship, misunderstanding and physical deprivation for the Gospel. He did not envy those who had more (the Corinthian church was wealthy) because he understood what he did have in spite of all his difficulties. He took a humble posture even toward those who had a posture of pride.

This is evident from the last sentence which is profound: "having nothing and yet possessing everything."  He fully understood that whatever his personal circumstances he actually possessed everything in Jesus. 


It is very easy in ministry leadership to feel sorry for ourselves, to think about what we do not have that others have and to feel a sense of entitlement and pride. But the heart of a true Christian leader is one of sacrificial service that gets its true satisfaction from the One we serve.


I want the heart of Paul because it is the heart of Jesus.

Seven keys to developing meaningful ministry relationships

I am a firm believer in developing kingdom relationships for kingdom purposes. My life is deeply enriched by all the wonderful friendships that have developed over the years, both inside and outside of my movement. God can use these relationships for His purposes in ways that are wonderfully creative and synergistic. 

Here are seven keys to developing these kingdom relationships.

One: Be intentional. I pray regularly that God would bring me into contact with those who I should meet. When they come across my path I take the time to spend time and get to know them. This includes those who are younger and have smaller ministries than we might have. It is not about meeting people who have a "name."

Two: Be genuinely interested in them and their ministry. This is not about what they can do for you - it is about relationship and if there are ways you can help one another, that will become clear. If not, you have a new friend.

Three: Invest in the relationship. Stay in touch. Let them know you genuinely care about them. Small acts of kindness go a long way.

Four: Go out of your way to contribute something to them. We have a philosophy in ReachGlobal that whatever we have we will give away. We want to bless others and bless God's work. It is what He would do and about His Kingdom.

Five: Find out what makes them tick. People are wonderfully unique. The more you understand what drives and motivates them and their unique wiring the better you know them and can relate to them.

Six: Never use them. People know when they are being used. And, there are groupies in the Christian world just like the Rock world. When we use people we have violated the last four keys. Never do it. That is not true relationship. 

Seven: Pray for them. If we really care about someone else and their ministry we will take the time to pray for them. And, if you pray for them, it will no longer be about what they can do for you but you join them in their ministry.

The single greatest ministry accelerator: It is not what you think!

The single greatest ministry accelerator is overlooked by many leaders. It is not a great strategy. It is not working harder or doing more. It is not having the right people (although that is important). It is not a charismatic leader (and does not require one). It does not require money. 

It is clarity! 

Many leaders miss this and expend a lot of energy in the wrong places. Getting to clarity is the single greatest accelerator of ministry there is. But it requires time, careful thought and constant reinforcement. It is actually the most important thing a leader does - or fails to do.

Lack of clarity leaves personnel to their own devices to figure out what is important, and different individuals will come up with different answers leaving the organization without a focused, aligned ministry. General focus yields general results with general accountability and general effectiveness.

Without maximum clarity, an organization will never have integration or alignment (around what?), will not attract the best people who want to know what they are giving their lives to, will not know when they have achieved success (what results are we seeking?) and leaders will not know how to intentionally lead their teams (toward what?) or have a clear means of making key directional decisions.

It is not necessarily an easy task to achieve clarity but getting there is the single most powerful accelerator to ministry results and organizational alignment. While a leader must take responsibility for helping the organization get to clarity, it is essential that the key stakeholders (boards and key leaders depending on the structure of the organization) take part in the process and are in complete agreement.

Without clarity one cannot lead well. With clarity, your leadership becomes much easier because there is focus and common direction for you, your team and the organization. Maximum clarity changes the leadership and organizational equation in a huge way.

The four areas were maximum clarity are crucial are these:

Clarity on mission: what we ultimately are committed to accomplishing.

Clarity on guiding principles: how we are committed to working.

Clarity on the central ministry focus: what we need to do every day - and do it well to accomplish our mission.

Clarity on the culture of the organization: An intentionally created culture that makes it possible to accomplish your mission.

If you have not gotten to clarity you may want to look at chapters 2,3, and 4 of Leading From the Sandbox. There is a path laid out there that can help you.

If Jesus wrote an eighth letter to the churches in Revelation and it was yours, what would He say?

It is clear from Revelation two and three that Jesus evaluates churches as well as individuals. In the seven letters to seven churches He speaks positively of some traits and negatively of others and calls them to a higher commitment to their original calling.

This latter point is important. The vision and commitment that churches have at the start often strays over time. Passion for Jesus can fade and be replaced by other things - even programs and numbers. Or, just busyness and a focus on ourselves rather than on Gospel expansion and transformation.

Here is a great question for church staff and leadership boards: If Jesus were writing a letter to your church today as he wrote to the churches in Revelation, what do we believe He would say to you? Write it down and consider sharing it with the congregation. What would He commend you for? What would He call you to? What would He candidly talk to you about?

Congregations are the local expression of the Bride of Christ. We have areas of strength and obedience where we do well. We have areas of weakness and even disobedience where we do poorly. An honest look at both could change the trajectory of your ministry - in the eyes of God.

It would make for a great discussion, some celebration and perhaps some adjustments.

Seven Habits that kill a great staff even in a good church

This is a great article for those of you who have staff. Short, to the point and right on. Even good churches can disempower their staff. Written by Artie Davis at artieDavis.com
http://artiedavis.com/2012/07/17/7-habits-that-kill-a-great-staff/

Is your primary focus on your church or community - and what it says about your Kingdom perspective

How large is your vision for what God could do and wants to do in your city and community? 


When you think about it, that is a very different question than "What do we want God to do in our church?" The first is outward focused and a Great Commission question while the second is an inward self focused question. 


In many places, one can grow a church with little impact on the community of which that church is a part. Most often that is through transfer growth from other churches. And it makes us feel successful. But is that truly success? What impact does Jesus want our congregations to have on the community at large of which we are a part?


Last evening I met with a small group of believers who are praying for Berlin, Germany. Their prayer is for a result like what happened in the planting of the church in Ephesus where the text says that "the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor" and "in this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power (Acts 19:18-20)." Bear in mind that this was a totally pagan context, like Berlin today.


Can this happen in a place like Berlin? Can it happen in a place like yours? I believe the answer is yes - but with certain qualifications.


It will not happen if we all focus on our own church. It will not happen if we don't work together for the sake of the Gospel in our communities and cities. It will not happen if we are unwilling to work together across denominational lines. Most fundamentally, it will not happen if we are building our own kingdom (our church) rather than Christ's Kingdom (impacting our whole community). It will not happen until we lose our pride about doing our own thing and humble ourselves to work with others to do God's thing. And it will not happen without the very real power of  God behind this God sized effort.


Fortunately in Berlin and in a number of places globally including the US, there are churches who are starting to think differently. They are placing the Bride of Christ over their particular Brand. They are thinking in Kingdom terms rather than provincially about their church only. They are focused outwardly rather than inwardly with a coalition of the willing to bring the Gospel to their community and city and make the name of Jesus well known and His reputation great.


Where does this start? With pastors and church leaders who will see their communities through the eyes of Jesus and who realize that a God sized vision is not a vision for their church but for their community and their city. I don't find very many of those kinds of leaders but when I do I celebrate them. What about you and your leaders? Are you thinking about Gospel penetration of your community or simply yourselves. If the former what are you doing in practical terms to make it a reality?


Are you church centric or Gospel centric?

There is always more: don't settle

Is this all there is? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Realizing that life is different than you expected and maybe you are on the other side of fifty? Perhaps life as we dreamt it would be and life as we know it to be brings a certain dissapointment and restlessness of the soul. Is this all there is?


Jesus says NO! There is always more: don't settle. He says, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full (John 10:10)." He wants us to have a life that is fully lived, fully realized, fully filled up and full of Him. He is the giver, the source and the goal of the "more" that we long for.


As long as we have life, there are six areas of life where we can always experience more. 


Dreams to pursue. Who is the giver of our deepest longings if not God? I knew as a young child that I would write but it took over fifty years to get the first book out and now there are four and several on the way. He is the giver of dreams so don't settle. Our world is made better every day by those who pursue God given dreams.


Relationships to develop. God gave us the capacity for close, meaningful relationships but they take time and nurturing to grow and flourish. Relationships with fellow pilgrims are what bring some of the greatest richness to life. Each one changes us in some way. That is why the loss of a friend through death is so traumatic. We are enriched when we invest in those relationships.


People to love. Being Jesus to others through our love, help, assistance, encouragement, and kindness brings joy to the heart and richness of life. We find life as we give it away in a Jesus sense. Life is not found in what we get as much as in what we give. There is no shortage of people to love and to be Jesus to. In fact there are now 7 billion to choose from so enrich your life daily by being Jesus to someone.


Growth in Jesus to experience. He is the source and goal of the "more" we long for. Learning to live in His presence, focusing on allowing Him to transform us, letting His Word marinate in our minds and walking in His Spirit is an ongoing, never ending process of growth. It costs nothing and is the most rewarding life giving and soul satisfying thing we could do.


Things to learn. Who created us with the capacity to learn and to grow if not our Creator? Those billions of neurons in our brain were designed by a creative God for His creative people. As part of the Image He endowed us with, He created us to create and to learn and to stretch our minds because the more we do, the more we appreciate the One who gave the gift. It is never too late to learn and grow.


Creation to enjoy. Why are we drawn to the shore, or to mountains, or to the streams to fly fish? Why are we awed by the sky on a clear dark night? Why does the sea fascinate us? Why is my 16 month old grandchild smitten by the funny looking creatures he sees at the zoo looking back at him? He made all this for us and as we consider it and play in it we experience the Creator in a new way. And, His majesty is greater than the sum of it. 


There is always more so don't settle. And in the end, the MORE with Him in His presence will be so much more that it will take a new and heavenly body to experience it - replacing this present one that starts of fail us. Don't settle!

Mission Agencies: Choose wisely

One of the things mission supporters pay too little attention to is the agency that a missionary is or intends to serve under. Mission agencies vary widely in the due diligence they use in vetting potential staff, clarity of direction, quality of strategy, level of empowerment or control, and personnel health. Not all agencies are equally healthy, effective or empowering.

Because of the investment we make in missionaries, it is critical that we evaluate both those we support carefully as well as the organization with which they serve. If either are substandard, the investment is problematic and should be reconsidered.


The most important thing to consider is whether they have made the shift from the Black and White to the Color World - as described in The Nine Shifts. This will tell you much about whether they are leveraged for significant influence in today's world. 

Here are some other markers of good mission organizations:

·  They vet potential staff with great care and are ready and willing to say no or not yet if there are issues with spiritual, emotional, relational or skill health.

·  They deal proactively with health issues of their staff in a redemptive way.

·  They have clarity of direction that is understandable and makes sense.

·  They place people on healthy teams for maximum health and synergy.

·  They stress ongoing learning and education for all their staff.

·  All staff operate with an annual ministry plan and have monthly coaching meetings with their supervisor.

·  They operate with healthy, empowering and strategic leaders.

·  They mandate that their staff raise enough support to ensure that they have a decent standard of living, have adequate health care and are putting aside money for retirement (for long term staff).

·  They want to work closely with the local church when there are personnel issues.

·  They love to work with local churches to help them achieve their mission vision with good missiological practices.

·  They are committed to strategies of multiplication and are developing, empowering and releasing healthy national leaders wherever they work.

·  They are deeply committed to personal, team and leader health.

·   They are innovative, entrepreneurial and empowering of staff.

The Nine Critical Shifts that must take place in missions today

Many mission agencies are still living in the old, pre-globalized world paradigms. The world has changed around them, but they have not changed. I believe that there are nine critical shifts that mission agencies and churches engaged in missions need to make to minister effectively in today's world context. They are also the nine shifts ReachGlobal has made over the past eight years.

Shift One: Moving from being primarily doers to being primarily equippers of national workers. It is no longer about what we, as missionaries, can do ourselves but what we can help others do in their context. Increasingly, we must stand behind and alongside national workers as equippers, coaches, and encouragers rather than in front of them.

This is reflective of what Jesus intended for the church. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11-12 that “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Often, we hire pastors to do the work of ministry for us when, in reality, their job is primarily to equip all of God’s people to be involved in ministry in line with their gifting and wiring.

The application of this in missions is that missionaries are often trainers and equippers of others to help them do what they can do better than us in their context. Thus, in many cases, missionaries are no longer primarily church planters and evangelists but are equippers and trainers of nationals in theology, church planting, holistic ministries, and those ministries that contribute to the growth of the church.

This leads naturally to Shift Two: Moving from being in charge to equal partnerships with nationals where neither party is subsumed under the other and where each retains their autonomy. The day of colonial and paternalistic missions is over. It is a remnant of the black-and-white world. Equal partnerships are the coinage of the color world where each party, missions, and nationals brings different skills and abilities to the table for mutual cooperation.

It is in partnership with national movements that are orthodox in their theology and missional in their activity, bringing the most significant leverage and synergy. This is a natural outcome of the first shift: We are present to help the church grow, and that is done in equal partnerships where each party brings something of value to the ministry table.

Shift three is a natural outcome of the first two. Moving from owning and controlling to a philosophy of “we own nothing, control nothing, and count nothing as ours.” This is a servant mentality that says we are here to serve you in helping you plant churches, develop holistic ministries, and evangelize your people. We will serve you, not control you. Those agencies that serve with an open hand are magnets for indigenous believers to partner with.

Living out a non-controlling ministry philosophy is a prerequisite for partnerships today. It also models the ministry model of Christ and the Apostle Paul and the spirit of humility that Paul speaks of in Philippians 2:5-11. This is sometimes a challenge for Western missions, who are used to being “in control” rather than at a table of equal partners.

Shift four. Embracing the reality that missions are moving from Western Missionaries to Global missionaries. The future is all people reaching all people. Increasingly, missionaries will be coming from the majority world, and our willingness to invite them to the table on our teams and within our structures or to partner with them becomes a test of a servant philosophy.

This also means that we must work to encourage and equip our national partners to become sending entities rather than simply receiving entities. When national movements become engaged in the Great Commission, amazing things happen, and they participate in the joy of seeing new areas reached for Christ.

Shift Five: Moving from dependencies to self-sufficiency wherever possible. Helping indigenous partners grow out of their dependencies on the West by realizing what they bring to the table and by assisting them to fund their efforts from their context wherever possible lifts them up, gives them dignity, and allows us to partner as equals rather than dependents. Dependent partners cannot be equal partners.

This often means helping national partners find ways to finance their ministries more independently and partnering together in places where that is not fully possible.

Shift Six, Moving from addition to multiplication. This is consistent with shift one, from doers to equippers. It is not about what we can do but what we can help others do. While we must often start with addition, basic evangelism, and discipleship, our mindset should always be to move as quickly as possible toward multiplication strategies that allow us to leverage our efforts for the Gospel.

Shift seven, Moving from competition to cooperation, gets more personal for many of us. We are used to doing our thing. We have taught our national partners to do their thing. In the process, we have created ministry silos and denominational entities that work alone in relative weakness rather than figuring out how to work together to propagate the Gospel. We are better together than alone.

This is a time in history when we have a unique opportunity to work together rather than separately for the sake of the Gospel. The world's needs are too high to tackle alone, and we need one another. It is possible if we look at what we have in common instead of concentrating on those things we don't.

This leads me to Shift eight. Moving from an emphasis on my brand to His brand. Jesus did not die for my brand of the church, the EFCA. He died for His bride, the church. That is why we no longer plant EFC churches but seek to plant healthy, indigenous, self-supporting, reproducing, and interdependent churches. The brand is not as important as the spread of the Gospel. At the end of the day, Jesus is not concerned about brand names. He is, however, concerned about His Bride and the spread of the Gospel.

Shift nine. Moving from agency-based missions to church/agency synergy. The vision for missions belongs first to the local church, not to mission agencies. Missions that thrive in the future will be those that serve the mission vision of the local church, domestically and internationally. We are servant organizations. In the globalized world, we no longer have a monopoly on the great commission, and local churches will increasingly go their own way if we do not serve them well.

Let me illustrate these shifts with a real-life example. Six years ago, I met a young couple in Manila from a closed country in South East Asia. They had just finished their degrees and were heading back to work in the complex context of a brutal regime in a profoundly Buddhist context. I knew this individual had leadership stuff in him, and we developed a relationship over the next several years.

Sometime later, a cyclone hit this fragile country. I received an email saying that he had spent all his money providing rice and water to those affected who were without food and homes. He asked if there was any way we could help. 

Over the next several years, we helped my friend develop a ministry team that has rebuilt bamboo homes and lives, done evangelism and church planting where there are few believers, trained pastors, and developed leaders. He is one of the few leaders in this country that works across denominational lines. We helped him develop three businesses, providing funds for his team to fund his efforts. Regularly, we coach, mentor, and train him and his team. They have formed a ministry to train leaders and plant churches nationwide regardless of their brand.

This country is a classic example of the result of propagating our brands over the years. I have been up to the northern mountain village where missionaries in years past liked to live. I won’t forget that town. We landed on an airstrip with animals wandering on it. The only hotel we could stay in as foreigners charged us twenty dollars a night for lousy food, no mosquito netting, and about one hour of electricity daily. I was particularly enamored by the airport security when we left. The airport had no electricity, but we still had to walk through the non-functioning security machine.

Here is the wild thing. You will find every denomination known to mankind in this town and many denominations not yet known to mankind as the original denominations split and formed new groups. It is a hoot to drive through this town in this Buddhist country. All the streets have biblical names, and you pass building after building of different denominations. Here in a country that desperately needs the Gospel, you find an amazing number of small, weak denominations that don’t work together. We trained them well, and they followed our example.

But think about this: In equipping my friend, we have lived out shift one, moving from being primarily doers to primarily equippers. In partnering with him, we live out shift two, from being in charge to equal partnerships. In helping him develop his ministry, we live out shift three, that we own nothing, control nothing, or count nothing as ours. In helping him build his own team, we live out shift four of raising up indigenous missionaries.

We live out shift five by helping him become self-sufficient rather than dependent. In empowering his team, we live out shift six of multiplication. In mentoring him to work with multiple Bible-based denominations, we live out shift seven of cooperation rather than competition and shift eight that it is not about our brand but the Gospel.

In connecting my friend to churches in the States and Asia interested in reaching this nation, we live out shift nine of agency/church synergy. In every way, it is a win for him, us, the Gospel, and his nation. Start multiplying that one example globally, and you see the amazing potential for the Gospel.

Helpful and wise words from a veteran missionary to the US Church

I have been asking our staff for feedback on what they wish their supporting churches understood about missions today. One of these was posted on July 5 and was read by a huge number of people. This response also comes from a younger generation of missionaries who are grappling with the changing context of missions globally as well as in the church in the United States. His insights are helpful.

The reason I share these insights is that unless we get the dance right between local churches, missionaries they support and those they are serving internationally we create complications for the mission endeavor. Dialogue and careful thought about how we do what we do in missions is deeply needed today. Here are his thoughts.

"Their sincere generosity (money, short-term teams, etc.) can actually do unintended harm by creating dependency and undermining local sustainability (as addressed very well in Toxic Charity and When Helping Hurts). Not all financial gifts or short-term teams are helpful to local ministry, and they should not be expected to direct or dictate the ministry of a long-term missionary.

"Different regions of the world have different challenges that need to be addressed differently. One size really doesn’t fit all.

"Being involved in regional multiplication as a facilitator, trainer, coach can actually be a MORE EFFECTIVE way to church plant, even if the missionary isn’t involved in one specific church plant as a leader.

"Short-term teams simply do not have the same impact as on-the-ground missionaries or local partners and such short-term teams often do not adequately understand the long-term needs of a given people

"Mission committees have a tendency to shift directions depending on current leadership and members’ interests; the result is that long-term missionaries can be left with unstable partnerships with U.S. churches.

"Local church accountability needs to happen in the context of a caring, committed relationship that believes the best, not just as an administrative task to make sure missionaries don’t screw up.

"Because of the potential for missionary mobility in the modern world, I would encourage church’s to focus more on supporting gifted missionaries instead of supporting people based on their specific location.

"Not everything that looks green is healthy or sustainable (much of Latin America’s evangelical growth).

"Places with little spiritual fruit need missionaries and patience (Western Europe and the Islamic World). There is no harvest if there is no sowing.

"Good ministries and teams require supported missionaries in leadership. This is not just an administrative waste.

"Most missionaries are not low-level “interns” but highly trained and experienced professionals who are a tremendous resource to the America church as partners.

"Let us know what gifts and unique skills/resources you have available within your congregation. Then we can better know ways to partner that will really matter."

See also
Sticker shock in missions
We will not support you as a missionary because...
Missionary support team building: very tough work
Holistic missions: Cautions and opportunities