Emotional, spiritual and physical refreshment

One of the greatest gifts I ever received came ten years ago when my friend, Grant, took me fly fishing on the Gallatin River in Montana. This is the river where the wonderful film “A River Runs Through it” was filmed. Since that time we have vacationed every year in Big Sky where I am now.

All year I look forward to Montana. I want to walk the Gallatin and the streams looking for that special trout. As satisfying as outfoxing the rainbow is the fresh air, mountains, running water, wildlife and the wonderful exhaustion that comes at the end of a full day. Two to four weeks in Montana can bring a level of refreshment that almost nothing else can.

A key component of healthy living is ensuring that we get the rest, refreshment and refueling we need. Not to the exclusion of other priorities but as one of our key priorities. Why? We cannot run on empty forever. When we do something suffers – physically, joy, spiritual perspective, or emotional health.

I was talking to a friend about a well known Christian leader last year and my friend said, “He says he is running on fumes.” Within weeks word hit the national news that his personal life was a mess and he lost his ministry. Our bodies and minds were not made to run on fumes. It is the red zone on our personal tachometer that if you do it for too long, engine damage will occur. Yet that is often the pace at which we live.

When we run too fast, we easily lose perspective. When we are lazy we give up spiritual influence. The trick is to live with intentionality, pay attention to the important things – the big rocks and build in opportunities for refreshment.

The book of Ecclesiastes is a fascinating read. You can read it and conclude that Solomon was a huge pessimist – “Meaningless! Meaningless! Says the Teacher, Utterly Meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). Sounds pretty pessimistic to me.

But you need to read on. Solomon’s point is that all the work, success or money in this world will not fulfill us if we have not integrated an eternal purpose into our lives. That is why many of the most successful people in our world are unhappy people. They have everything but the one thing they crave, satisfaction and purpose, is missing. That only comes when we embrace our eternal purpose.

Solomon also says that all the pleasures of the world – and he had a lot of experience in those was equally meaningless, again, unless it was infused with God’s pleasure. That is why the toys of life and the experiences of life pursued by so many are equally frustrating because the guy with the most toys does not win after all. In themselves, they do not have the ability to bring satisfaction or meaning in life.

But, if we live our lives with purpose, understanding that it is about relationship with God and work for God, then both our work and our fun, our work and our relaxation are infused with God’s purpose, joy and satisfaction.

Thus Solomon’s words “A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him who can eat and find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26).”

Both work and refreshment are blessed by God when we understand the purpose of our lives – to live in relationship with him and carry out His unique role for our lives.

Those whose lives are most fruitful are also those who take the time to think, reflect, dialogue with key friends, and be quiet long enough that God can pop things in our minds that we actually hear. Being more productive in life does not necessarily mean working harder, it means working smarter – and taking the time to decompress and let our minds be available for bigger things.

All of us can find places of refreshment, even in our busy days. I think the genius of Starbucks, for instance is that one can get away, have a good brew, enjoy a quiet environment with a book or laptop and have a mini oasis in a busy day.

Because I travel regularly, I have used my airplane time to think, read, journal and meditate – rather than “work.” Hotel rooms can be a place of refuge in the evening – if the television is not turned on – a habit I have developed. I even have a recliner in my office where I can shut the door and be alone during a busy day.

Key to regular refreshment is finding those practices that bring refreshment to you. Every one of us is wired differently. I find it hard not to be doing something. Whether it is fly fishing, cutting trees, writing, reading or walking, I do my best thinking when I am doing activities that fill my tank. One of the main reasons I write, whether books or this blog is that in writing, I am able to crystallize my thoughts and I do my best thinking by putting it in words. The activity of writing helps me think deeply and clarify issues that have been ruminating in my mind.

I have other friends who use the 18 holes of golf to do some of their best thinking. Some do it with one or two other people over coffee and sharing their lives transparently with trusted friends. Our friend Barb loves to walk and does her best thinking and praying on her daily hike. Carol loves to garden and does a lot of thinking as she pulls weeds and pinches old buds. Mark loves to do it on his boat as he searches for the big fish in the Florida Keys. Bill does his best thinking reading a great book. For some it is knitting or some sort of handwork – like hand tying flies for fly fishing.

We live in a performance oriented society. But here is something to consider: who we are and who we become is more important that what we do and what we accomplish

The healthier we are emotionally, spiritually and physically, the more productive we will be. But there is no way to micro-wave health. And, it is easy to ignore and not easy to quantify. Others don’t necessarily see our emotional or spiritual health until the deficit of taking care of them cause problems in our lives.

What people see of us is a small portion of who we really are. Our thoughts, motives, intentions, intimacy with Christ, or lack of it, the habits that we practice, or don’t, the practices we cultivate in our hidden lives are the powerful but hidden core of who we are and they form the character that flows out of us.

Why do we find this so difficult when we know it is so important? Because it is hidden! Others do not see what is in our hearts, and the demands of life and work are so pressing. But we ignore our hearts to our peril. The public ‘us’ is only an extension of the private ‘us.’ Character is what we are when no one is looking – and character is formed in the dark, before we need to exhibit it.

Jesus regularly withdrew to “a private place to pray” and spend time with the Father. How often do we follow his example? Is there room in our busy lives to do ‘soul work,’ allowing Him to mold our thinking, priorities, passions and innermost hearts?

Building times of refreshment into our lives is key to ensuring that we give ourselves and the Spirit opportunity to keep our hidden self healthy so that “who we are” informs “what we do.”

Everywhere I go, people tell me, life is too busy. For most of us it is and the cost is emotional, spiritual and physical. As our spirits become eroded over time, our effectiveness wanes and the joy and satisfaction that Solomon refers to is diminished.

It will mean using the “amazing power of no” so that we have time for our own refreshment. It means that we will be proactive in planning or finding ways for refreshment during our busy days, weeks and months. It will pay off with greater joy and satisfaction as God does his thing in our hearts and as we allow our batteries to be recharged. It will allow us to live and minister out of greater personal health because we have taken the time to stay healthy spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Seven Practices that keep us growing

Do you have a plan for continuing to grow spiritually, emotionally, relationally and to continue to develop the strengths God has given you? Each of us has a way of learning and growth that works for us. I want to suggest that there are seven disciplines that directly relate to maximizing our growth, potential, and therefore legacy.

The people we know

If you surround yourself with people who are wiser than you – some of their wisdom will rub off. The most influential people I know are deeply intentional about their relationships. They purposefully pursue relationships with individuals they respect and that they know they can learn from.

God has blessed Mary Ann and me with some of the most outstanding friends one could ever have. Each of them has influenced us in a very specific way including our faith, obedience, marriage, leadership, emotional intelligence – and the list could go on. This rich mosaic of quality friends as left an indelible mark on our lives.

We have a saying called “friends for life.” We intentionally pursue relationships with people who want to share the journey with us and then we are intentional in keeping the relationship close.

Relationships are an investment. If you invest in healthy relationships with people who are passionate about living out their lives for maximum impact you will be deeply influenced by their lives. The advice most of us got as kids is true: you become like the friends you keep. We have many acquaintances but we nurture our key relationships – more precious than all the gold in the world.

It is these key relationships that can speak into our lives, tell us truth but with the knowledge that we can trust them explicitly. There is also huge accountability built into such relationships because there is a transparency about one another and the issues we face. I know that if I were to start walking down a dangerous path exactly who would show up at my door and get my attention. I also know who will encourage us, help us and share our joys and burdens.

All of us have friends – but not all of us cultivate key friendships that have the power to help us grow, develop and become all that God made us to be. One of the young people I have mentored is moving from Minnesota to Los Angeles. He asked for any parting advice I might have. I said, “find a good church and then find the most mature, gifted, passionate individual or couple and pursue that relationship.” I said, “don’t worry about age differences, economic or educational differences, be intentional about the relationship.”

Our key friendships matter if we are going to keep growing and stay on the cutting edge of life and ministry. Choose them carefully and then nurture them regularly. Each of my friends is a faithful mentor in some area of life. Not formally but informally. I am better for every one of them.

The books we read

Books, really good ones, are like relationships. They mold us and cause us to think deeply. The issue is not how many books we read but the quality of the books we read. C.S. Lewis is a close friend of mine – as I have enjoyed his company having spent a great deal of time with his books. As are many others including my hero Winston Churchill with whom I have spent many hours, sans cigar!

As I get older I spend less time with books of business and strategy and far more time with books of the heart. Not that I ignore the former (especially don’t ignore the ones I have written) but the reality is that to finish well, my heart has to be in the right place so it has become a priority.

Choose books with care. As it says on the t-shirt book lovers wear, “too many books, too little time.” Read books that will challenge your thinking rather than simply confirm what you already know. Read deeply, allowing the writer to ruminate in your thoughts. Shallow thinking is one of the sins of our time. Read ancient as well as new – all wisdom does not reside in the present. Some of the deepest thinkers are long gone but you can meet them in their writing.

The experiences we choose

Experiences can change our lives, our perspectives and our understanding. I remember asking Jot and Marietta to travel to China with a small group I was leading. Jot later told me, “I thought why would I want to go to China?” They came and have had a many other trips back, have led ministry teams and have been active in China ministry. Experiences change us.

While we all love good experiences, the trick is to choose some that will stretch us and take us out of our comfort zone. Whenever I travel internationally, I ask to be brought to the poorest area of town. I know that 54% of our world lives on $3.00 a day or less. I want to get a reality check and see the needs as well as what God is doing in amazingly tough circumstances. You cannot make too many of those trips and come away unchanged and more deeply committed to ministries that help the hopeless as well as give them eternal hope.

I remember a ministry trip our church took to train teachers in rural Yunnan province in China. When we arrived at the college, people saw the dorms (horsehair mattresses), the toilets (holes in the floor), the food (hmm, pretty bad), the bugs (really big), the air-conditioning (open windows) and several were ready to turn around and go right back home. Yet, at the end of the ten day training period, no one wanted to leave.

Stretching ourselves with experiences that are out of our comfort zone can be game changers for us. Our cautious living may keep us in the safe zone but not in the growth zone.

The ministry we undertake

Using our gifts in ministry will always help us grow and stay fresh. But it can be scary and intimidating as well. Ministry changes us because we are joining God in His work. And when we join Him in His work, nothing stays the same.

Earlier this year, Mary Ann got a call from one of her former students at the high school whom she had helped when she became pregnant in ninth grade.

Now graduated, she was living with her boyfriend who was abusing her, had a four year old daughter and her dad had come to live with them to try to protect her. None of the three were employed. Talk about a messy situation.

She rounded up some help, called the police to meet her at the apartment, found a place for the dad to live and another place for the gal to live then networked around to find the dad a job. The gal she rescued was too used to a life of chaos to live in the order she found herself in and she went back to the abusive boyfriend several months later. The dad has remained employed and is growing in his faith.

I am always amazed when I watch Mary Ann pull something like this off. But she is in her sweet spot and ministry is often messy. But in the mess we watch God work, change lives, become whole – and learn to trust Him when things don’t go as planned – as they often do not. While Rebecca has gone back to her old ways, other members of her family are exploring faith.

You cannot stay engaged in real ministry with real people in real situations and not grow and change. Every time we take a step of faith in joining God in what He is doing, we deepen our own faith and are willing to take an even greater step of faith in the future.

The risks we take

On a regular basis, God calls us like he called Peter, to step out of our comfortable boats and to follow Him in some endeavor that requires us to trust Him and take a giant step of faith.

My friend Mark was a successful stockbroker and investment advisor when God called him to start a church that would reach the unchurched young professionals in Rockford, Il. Mark had no seminary degree, already had a well paying job but he had a passion for those who didn't know the Good News. Nothing in his resume, however, indicated that he was going to be successful in church planting – except that he was passionate.

They held their first services in Mark’s living room using videos for the preaching from Willowcreek Community Church. That risk paid off. Today, ten years later the church runs about 7,500 per weekend and they baptize in excess of 500 new believers every year. Mark sold his brokerage business so that he could lead the church full time.

It is always worth taking the risk when it is clear that God is in it. Risk forces us to trust God in ways we have not had to trust before. The comfort zone is a dangerous place for growth and development. It is in the red zone where we see the most growth but we must be willing to take the risk – to grow. My experience is that God is often calling us to risk something for Him. Those who respond, grow. Those who do not, don’t.

The questions we ask

We grow when we choose to be inquisitive. I love spending time with my friend Ken. He asks tons of questions – about everything. It does not matter if he is meeting with a twenty-something or someone like himself who runs a large corporation. He is always asking, listening, learning.

Some people don’t ask many questions because they think that it is a sign of weakness. I had lunch with the senior executive of a ministry that serves other ministries including the one I work for. In the two hour lunch, he asked one question, at the end. Otherwise it was all about him. I told a friend on the way out, this individual is not a good leader and he is not a learner.

Asking questions is an art that can be learned. The simple question, “What do you think about….” can open great conversation, give you a glimpse of a different perspective and learn something new.

The obedience we pursue

Nothing will cause us to grow, develop and stretch like a commitment to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. Many of us have a “negotiated followership.” We follow when it is easy and convenient, but where followership is inconvenient we fudge. That is why studies show that there is very little difference in lifestyle between those who claim to be evangelicals and the rest of society.

Non-negotiated followership is the commitment to align our lives with Jesus and Scripture through the empowerment of His Spirit. Every time we take a new step of obedience, we change and we grow – closer to what God wants us to be.

The New Testament is explicit that there are things that we are to “take off” and other things that we are to “put on.” Our life is a journey of taking off those things that are part of our sinful nature and putting on those things that are from the Spirit of God. Nothing will bring more personal growth than a commitment to continuously align our lives with His.

Our commitment to keep growing, stay engaged and join God in His work takes intentionality and a set of disciplines that is designed to keep us on the growing edge.

Legacy

What if you could actually shape the legacy you leave? Rancy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon had that opportunity when he discovered that he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Millions have been impacted by "The Last Lecture he gave on lessons he had learned in his life.

The courage and grace with which Randy and his wife Jai faced his early death riveted and inspired many. His book has caused many to think about the power of legacy and what they will leave behind.

All of our lives have a finish line. The question is, when we reach that line, what have we left behind? What legacy will we leave?

Fast forward to the day of your funeral. Your family is there, your kids, your spouse - if you are married - and your closest friends. If you could listen in on their conversation what would you want to hear? What will your kids say about you?

When I consult with organizations on issues like their preferred future, we never start with the present. Rather we ask the question, what do you want to look like in ten years? What kind of organization do you want to be and what kind of impact do you want to have? You look first at the end and then you design a plan that will make it possible for the organization to reach its target.

Here is an interesting concept. We often live life without much of a target - driven by the moment, our jobs, the expectations of others and the overwhelming busyness of life - hoping we get it right. But too many get to the finish line with a long list of regrets.

They realize that they didn't invest enough time in their children or marriage. They regret that they did not have more time for deep relationships. They wish that there had been more time for reflection and thinking but now there is too little time for those things that suddenly are more important than the salary they pulled down or the ladder they climbed.

It is possible to minimize the number of regrets we have a the finish line by determining now what we want our legacy to be. And then to use the legacy we want to leave as the blueprint for how we choose to live our lives. In other words we need to start with the end result we want and then design our lives in a way that is most likely to get us there.

God did not design live to be randomly or carelessly lived. He created each of us uniquely first for relationship with Him and then for work for Him. There is purpose to our lives - an eternal purpose that will outlive our days on this earth.

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25), the master calls his three servants and tells them that he is going on a long journey. He divides his wealth and tells them to invest it well so that there is a return when he comes back.

Upon his return, two of the servants had doubled the money given to them to manage. To these two, Jesus said, "Well done, good and faithful servants. You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness (Matthew 25:21).

The third servant was preoccupied with his own life issues and frankly didn't have time for his master's investments so he merely buried it and offered a lame excuse for why he had not invested them on his master's behalf. Jesus' words for the third servant were harsh. He had not paid attention to his master's business but only to his own.

There is both a message of blessing and a warning in this parable. Of course, the master is Christ, his servants are us. The talents (money) he handed out are the gifts and opportunities he has given to us to use on his behalf for the unique work he prepared for each of us to accomplish on his behalf. Our choice is whether we will faithfully steward what He has entrusted or whether we will live a life of self preoccupation and selfishness.

Using the gifts God has entrusted to us is one of the greatest blessings any of could experience because these investments have eternal value. Those of us who take our opportunity seriously will be with many individuals in heaven who our lives touched - many whom we never met - because we used the gifts God gave us to attain a lasting, eternal legacy.

Take a few moments and jot down what you want your legacy to be and then ask whether you are living out the priorities that will get you where you want to be when you reach the finish line. It makes all the difference in this world - and the next.

The mentor/coach model of supervision

What does it mean to be a supervisor? For many the word 'manager' comes to mind. But think about that. Do you like to be managed? For many, that word spells control and it is not a cool or empowering word. What it says is that my manager does not trust me to do the job I have been hired to do or that two people need to have a hand in doing my job - my manager and me.

One of the most frustrating issues good people face is the sense that they have too little freedom to use their gifting, skills and creativity to accomplish the work they have been hired to do.

Do you really want to 'manage' others? Most ministry leaders and supervisors I know find the traditional job of 'managing' others frustrating and time consuming. And it should be because good people were not made to be managed. They were made to be empowered, set free and then coached and mentored. If people on your team cannot be set free, empowered and then coached, you have the wrong people on the team.

A mentor coaching model is dependent on your staff having a clear plan and a clear understanding of what spells success. Thus the importance of Key Result Areas (KRAs) and Annual Ministry Plans (AMPs). If you need more information on KRAs and AMPs you will find a clear paradigm in the book, Leading From the Sandbox.

I am going to make a distinction between mentoring and coaching. They are different sides of the same coin, each with its own focuses. A good team leader needs to practice both, depending on the circumstances.

The Practices of Coaches

Coaches want to release the gifting and potential in others
Coaching is not about helping others become like us! Or having them do things the way we would do them. Coaching is about releasing the gifting and potential in others and helping them become as successful and impactful as they possible can be.

'Release' is a key word for a coach. Good people have been gifted by God with unique skills and particular ways of approaching problems and situations. Coaches want to tap this potential and these gifts, pulling them out so that the gifting and potential are released in increasingly productive and effective ways.

Coaches don't tell, they ask
Releasing the potential in others means that our challenge is not to tell people how we would do things if it were us, but to help those we coach figure out how to solve problems and meet challenges themselves. Coaches ask questions, lots of questions, questions that make others think and come to good conclusions.

Coaches care about the whole person
Many leaders and organizations simply use people. While good organizations, teams and leaders are deeply missional, coaches understand that there are many factors in a person's life that affect their work, their emotional health, and their makeup. Caring about the whole person is one of the keys to unlocking potential.

Coaches are exegetes of those they coach
People are different and need to be approached differently. People cannot be treated alike in a cookie-cutter way. Individuals are just that - individuals, and our approach, whether mentoring or coaching, needs to fit who they are and the wiring they have.

Coaches hold people with an open hand
The ultimate test of whether we want the best for those who work with us and for us is: Do we hold them with an open hand? Are we willing to develop them for their sake even if it means that we end up developing them out of the organization?

Holding people with an open hand and wanting the best for them engenders huge loyalty and appreciation. The message we give is that we ultimately care about them, and what God wants for their lives, not what we want for their lives or what we can get out of them. When we try to control others we are violating them and may be violating God's best for them.

Coaches always try to keep their people engaged
People, especially highly motivated people, are not static. They grow, they change, they get bored, and they periodically need new challenges. My philosophy is that I want to find the very best people I can find and then keep them highly motivated by changing their responsibilities when I need to.

The Practices of Mentors

Mentors give honest feedback
Constructive feedback is often missing in ministry organizations where the culture is supposed to be 'nice.' The lack of honest feedback hurts the individual and the organization. It does no one any favors and can eventually result in people actually being let go for behaviors that might have been modified if someone had been courageous enough to be honest.

Mentors get people individual training when necessary
Good mentors not only provide honest feedback but also, where necessary, insist that an employee or team member receive help that will allow them to be more effective. This often means help from a psychologist or a good mentor, especially when someone is dealing with behaviors that negatively impact their own lives, the lives of others or those on their team.

Mentors care about their people but they also want a winning team
Leaders build teams that can win. Healthy leaders are committed to results, insist that the team play well together, that players are playing to their strengths, and that the results re consistent with the mission of the organization.

This means that if changing the responsibilities or team members to better organize the team for effective ministry is necessary, they will do it. It also means that there are times when they need to let someone go because they cannot play at the level needed in their ministry role, or the person is not effective in their job even after intensive mentoring. Good leaders do not allow the mission of the organization to be compromised by keeping people who are not effective.

Being a mentor/coach with those you supervise takes more time but it also brings out the best of those who work with us, engenders huge loyalty and yields huge ministry dividends. It is worth the investment.

The changing face of world missions

Missions is changing. Not in terms of the ultimate goal of bringing the Good News to every corner of the globe - but in many of the paradigms about how it is happening. Here are some of the poitive trends that are taking place today.

An emphasis on healthy personnel
Many mission agencies have historically measured their success by how many mission personnel they have. Because numbers was the measuring stick, the spiritual, relational, emotional and skill health of it's personnel was not always a high priority. This is changing dramatically today as agencies realize that "numbers" is not the measurement but "health." Only healthy personnel can train healthy national leaders and result in healthy churches.

Non-paternalistic attitudes
While mission agencies have a long ways to go in shedding paternalistic attitudes and practices, significant progress has been made in many places. Paternalism is the attitude that "we are the experts, we have the money, we have the education and thus we have the upper hand in the relationship with those we come to serve." While unspoken, this attitude has often been the reality and it is complicated by the fact that those who have the money have the power.

There is a growing sensitivity to this issue and its negative implications - and the necessity of a servant leadership model that "partners" with indigenous movements - where both parties come to the ministry table as equals and both have something to bring to the ministry effort. The truth is that missionaries should be there to develop, empower and release healthy national leaders. While an ongoing challenge, the development of healthy partnerships between missionaries and nationals is a growing and God honoring trend.

Multiplication rather than addition.
The move toward doing everything we can to do multiplication rather than addition in missions is directly related to the movement toward non-paternalistic attitudes and relationships. In the paternalistic world, the missionary needs to plant the church and pastor the church. In the non-paternalistic world, the missionary is there to develop, empower and release national workers as quickly as possible and they give ministry away to nationals. This allows mission personnel to multiply themselves and their ministries - an absolute necessity in a world where the world population has grown from 1.9 billion to 6.5 billion in the last 100 years.

Development of international mission movements
Missions today is all people reaching all people and one of the most encouraging trends is the growing commitment of those who have traditionally been on the receiving end of mission ministry becoming sending movements.

Strategic mission agencies encourage those they work with to become sending movements as quickly as possible. Not only does this plant a misssion's DNA from the start but no church movement is mature until it too is taking part in the great commission. This allows the mission agency and the indigenous movement they work with to partner together in the missions endeavor and to raise up large numbers of indigenous missionaries to impact that region of the world. This is huge leverage for missions.

A related development is the development of cross cultural missions teams working together to do cross cultural ministry.
This is a natural outcome of developing non-paternalistic attitudes and encouraging indigenous mission movements. Not only does our organization (ReachGlobal) partner with other western agencies but we partner with non-western mission movements from both the developed and the developing world.

This is resulting in cross cultural mission teams working together to do cross cultural ministry. I am convinced that this is the future picture of missions. While there are challenges for everyone in the process it is a beautiful thing to see people from different cultures working together to accomplish the great commission.

Holistic emphasis
Increasingly, evangelical missions is seeing the need of not only sharing the Good News and planting churches but in showing the love of Christ through holistic ministry - especially in the developing world and among the marginalized in the developed world. This trend is accelerated when we partner with partners in the "majority world" which is a poor world.

Believers in the majority world have always seen the necessity and understood the theology of holistic ministry. Remember that 54% of our world lives on $3.00 or less per day. Holistic ministry not only demonstrates the love of Christ but it opens amazing ministry doors to people who are desperately looking for hope in life.

Missions has become accessible to people with a wide variety of skills. No longer is missions reserved for those who have a theological degree, or are a doctor or teacher. With an emphasis on holistic ministry cutting edge mission agencies are building ministry teams of qualified individuals from many walks of life and with many skill sets. Ministry platforms include compassion, business, micro-development, formal theological training, informal theological training, education, community health, medical, and a variety of other platforms that can all contribute to church planting efforts and the raising up of healthy national leaders.

Informal theological training.
One of the most strategic leverage points in missions today is the training of either lay bi-vocational or full time ministry personnel with non-formal theological training. It does not take formal seminary training to plant or pastor a church. It does take training but it can be delivered through on going education. It is amazing for westerners to watch national workers who do not have the education we have do effective ministry with few resources and see far more spiritual fruit than we typically see in the developed world.

Local church involvement
The local church, around the world is reclaiming its role in the Great Commission. The vision and responsibility for missions was, after all, given to the local church, not to mission agencies. In fact, it is my conviction that the mission agencies that will thrive and survive in the coming years are those who will serve the global vision of the local church and those that do not will not. The globalization of our world has made it much easier for local churches to be involved in global ministry. It will take the involvement of the global church to fulfill the Great Commission.

All of these are positive developments in the changing face of world missions.

Money matters: four categories of giving

A significant issue in helping those in our congregations grow in their spiritual maturity is to help them understand the part that generosity with God plays into their discipleship. It was Martin Luther who said that true conversion is a conversion of the heart, the mind and the pocketbook. In other words, until God has our wallet, he does not have our full follower ship. This is the reason that Christ talked more about money and possessions than almost any other topic in the New Testament.

As we address this issue in the church it is not first about meeting our budgets or funding our ministries. It is first about helping people follow Christ more closely. Those who do not learn to be generous with God miss out on many of the blessings that he shares with those who are. I have often said to my sons, "most people believe that they cannot afford to tithe. I cannot afford not to tithe."

The truth is that only around 2% of those who call themselves Evangelicals tithe. Studies have shown that there is also an inverse relationship between giving and income. The higher the income the lower the percentage that is given to God's work. One study indicated that 20% of those who made $20,000 or less per year tithed while only 2% of those who made more than $100,000 tithed.

I believe that one can categorize giving habits of believers into four categories - which frankly also pretty directly mirror the maturity of the individual. As you talk about giving in your congregation, it can be helpful to talk about these four categories and encourage people to take the next step in their giving commitments by moving from the category they are in to the next one.

Sporadic giving
This is the individual who periodically puts something in the offering. Generally these are immature believers who are also sporadic in their worship attendance. There is no true commitment to giving here except from time to time.

Regular giving
These folks have moved beyond sporadic to regular giving. This is a significant step forward because it indicates a plan and intentionality in their giving. This often reflects those who are more regular in their attendance.

Percentage giving
This is yet another step toward financial maturity because there is a commitment to give a percentage of one's income. Often the goal here is to get to the place where 10% of one's income is being given to ministry.

Generous giving
This reflects the most mature attitude toward giving. As Christ has been incredibly generous with us, so we choose to be very generous with Him, knowing that there are only three things that cross the line from time to eternity: our own maturity; the people we have influenced for the gospel through our lives and those who have found Christ or grown in Christ because of financial investments we have made. You cannot take it with you, but you can send it ahead of you.

If in your teaching about financial stewardship, you talk about these four categories of giving, you will see heads nod in acknowledgement. You then have an opportunity to regularly encourage people to move from one category to the next - as a part of their followership of Christ.

Two great resources:

Crown Ministries - curriculum for small groups.
Money, Possessions and Eternity, by Randy Alcorn. One of the best books ever written on what the Scriptures have to say about money and possessions - and their relationship with eternity.

What missionaries should your church support?

The process for determining who a church will support as a missionary often leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, it is not unusual for a church to support someone that they would never hire themselves!

Here is something to consider: Just because someone is from your church, or feels called by God does not mean they are qualified to serve as a missionary. Or that you need to support them. We need to subject our missions budgets to the same scrutiny as we do the rest of our budgets. We need to subject the health and qualifications of the missionaries we support in the same way we would do with staff members we hire.

Dollars for missions are not unlimited. Just as we would not simply hire someone in our local church ministry who feels "called" we should not do so with our missions dollars. How we invest the limited dollars we have makes a difference.

Who then should we support? First, we need to know that the individual has relational, emotional and spiritual health. There is nothing more problematic in cross cultural ministry than to have unhealthy relational or emotional health. It goes without saying that spiritual health must be present.

Ask yourself the question. If there was a job available in your church, would you hire this person? If not, why not? If not, why would you send them internationally?

Second, we need to know that they possess a skill that will directly contribute to a missions endeavor. It is problematic to send an individual who has no track record in their own country. Ensure that there is a skill that is needed and that they possess the qualifications they need to do the job they are going to do.

Third, we need to know that the missions organization is healthy. Not all mission agencies are created equal. Some are simply support raising umbrellas for any who want to go into missions but they have no discernible strategy for missions, nor do they have a built in accountability structure or require staff to have well worked out plans. The effectiveness of those you send is directly impacted by the quality of the agency they are going with. Don't assume it is a good organization - find out.

Ask about the ministry philosophy and guiding principles of the organization that your prospective missionaries are going out under. Ask about strategy, accountability and intentionality. Find out what kind of support structure there is in place to ensure that your missionaries will be properly supported by the organization.

Fourth, we need to know whether the mission organization does multiplication or addition. Is the mission doing things that nationals could be doing or are they focused on raising up healthy national workers so that they are multiplying themselves.

The cost of missions is high. Once you factor in living expenses, travel, ministry expenses, health care and retirement, it is a significant bill. With limited resources, we need to be stewards of the funds and opportunity we have to reach our world.