Looking to stake the tent tighter
I do believe that we are but pilgrims and strangers on this earth. We are on a journey, hopefully along The WAY, and therefore our stay here is but temporary. But part of that journey is learning to serve God by serving others and it behooves us to do the best we can where God places us or where He leads us.
We know that God lead us to our current place of residence and ministry. We sought His face and His wisdom and His guidance – and He brought us here and has kept us here in the face of many trials and problems. We also know that our enemy does not wish for us to be here.
Over the years my ideas on missions and new churches and older churches have changed. When I was in college the idea of “getting in and out in three years, five years max” was all the rage. We were told “If the Apostle Paul could establish a church in a matter of months then surely we can do as well in a matter of a couple years.”
It is undeniable that the Apostle Paul started churches quickly and quickly moved on. The question is – with whom did he start them? He was not starting churches with folks fresh from the idol temples. The foundation for the churches he started was always found in the synagogues and amongst jewish people. The reason being – they ALREADY knew the One True and Living God and were waiting for the advent of the Messiah. Most of what he had to do was show them that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah they had been looking for all these generations and then point them down The Way.
So, with whom do we work today? At least in Latin America, we are NOT working with people who have been taught the basics of Judeo Christian principles. We are working with people who have been taught a distorted world view in which “if you sin and pray you tie” (quien peca y reza empata). They have been brought up in a world where Mom is never wrong and is of greater value than God Almighty Himself and “men” can do whatever to whomever they please. Lying, cheating, bribing, fornicating and adultery are a way of life and the only way to get to God is through Mary and the “Saints”.
The first order of business is often to teach people to trust in the Bible as God’s Word and to put its teaching into practice. Besides the cultural bias against the Bible there is also the educational bias that has grown tremendously around the world – “post modernism”. The idea that there is no absolute truth is deeply set in people’s minds. The idea that “all roads lead to the same result” is also all pervasive. So first we must win people to the idea that there IS truth in the world and that Jesus is the ONLY path to God. This takes time and a great investment in personal relationships. Yes, I see people “starting churches” in a matter of weeks or months and then sending glowing reports about all the wonders God has wrought through their ministry. And I’ve seen the leaders that are set up become petty tyrants and the churches become religiously distorted mirrors of the society around them. It is no surprise that so many scandals break forth – God’s House has been turned over to the two year olds and they have no idea on how to care for themselves, much less how to lead others to a healthy relationship with Jesus the Christ.
And so we are digging in for the long haul. Taking the idea of the church as being made up of individual “living stones” that are also God’s children, we are working to help those who come to Christ to grow strong and healthy through a balanced diet of His Word. We are helping them to draw near to Christ and to allow Him to renew their minds so that they no longer conform themselves to the world around them but are transformed through the renewing of their minds. And this takes time. Our hope is not just in the current generation, but rather in helping them to pass the torch, as it were, to the generation that follows them – their own children and other youth. Again, this takes time.
And so we find ourselves looking for more permanent arrangements. We believe that it will take us at least another 15 to 20 years to help the church to grow up and become the strong, vibrant, self sustaining, self propagating Body that Christ envisioned. We’re looking around and asking the Lord’s direction. We know that He has “just the place” for us to live. We also trust that He will provide more permanent quarters for His Church here in Pereira. We don’t know the details, but we do know He will provide in His time.
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