Where Is The Glory In Africa? Loving Rural Africans is the Glory

It was a bit of a surprise to see just how sparse, grey, & brown the Malian landscape looked under the wings of the Air Senegal plane. I landed in Bamako three days earlier than expected so the room bookings were of no use to me. I tried to find another room for the night, finally settled on the idea of taking the nine hour bus ride west to Kadiolo instead.
I waited at the Bus depot for hours. Extremely hungry, I began to peruse the street cooks and bought several tasteless things boiled in oil, but they would hold me over. As I ate I nodded “no” to the hundredth sales person carrying various items on their head, trying to scrounge a living.
Muslim prayer time came, so down on the mats for prayer first, and then loading began. I was positioned in the second last seat of the bus; on top of the sizzling hot motor, with all the sickening fumes. Though I desperately needed sleep, I could not sleep because every time my leg touched the steel wall of the bus it would get badly burned on the hot mettle, and my feet were cooking on the floor so I had to keep lifting them up to cool them down. It was as close to hell as I want to get. After eight hours of this I could not take any more, so I got out 100 km before Kadiolo, in the town of Sikasso.

It was 2:30 am in the morning. I spent the next hour trying to locate a man named Pierre Diara I was given his name on a piece of paper as a good information contact. No one seemed to know Mr Diara. I was about ready to give up and sleep on a table right there in the market. Around 3:30am I checked with another lady- no Luck. I thanked her and she turned back and asked in French; “Could that be Pierre JAR-A?”. I was so tired that I had forgotten that they pronounce D as JA. Forgive me for not remembering the intricacies of Bambara language. “Yes!” I said, “Peirre Jar-A (Diara)”

I knocked on his gate at 3:42 AM and this man, whom I never met, let me in and took me to a room and gave me a bucket of water to get cleaned up with. I thanked him, washed, and then just stood in the bucket of water to cool my baked feet. I fell exhausted into bed after a 26 hour sleepless journey from Agni to Banka Territory. But I was relieved to finally be in the region of the Banka people.

I fell into bed making a mental note that Bambara language was essential as French would not do here. I drifted off to sleep, thankful for the room - this is exactly the Africa I know and love. I had only four hours to sleep, and I would have to be up and going again. The Work was just beginning.

There are a few exciting adventures, and then there is the exhausting reality of daily living and working in Africa, and that is not very glorious. When you meet these rural people at the daily level in which they function, you will find no glory. No one ever sees what you do-some don't even care about what you do "out there". Others don't understand why you do it, and few understand how much it takes to be in these obscure places.

Sometimes my work means sleeping on a bug infested bamboo bed, sleeping on the ground, burning your legs on a hot motor, miscommunication. Other times it's laughter & joy.

However, my life is always allowing indigenous people to lead me to understand their life experiences, hopes and dreams, so that we can share authentically.

Life is not always about telling; it’s very much about listening. Took me some time to figure that out. Indeed, there is no glory in listening and sharing with people in unknown places and I am OK with that. These people are worth much love; worth infinitely more love than I alone can give. Still, we receive so much love in return, and that alone is quite enough - Far more precious than vain glory.

Who Likes Jesus?

"The world likes Jesus; they just don't like the church.But increasingly, the church likes the church,yet it doesn't like Jesus."

Jesus Manifesto" pg xvi Len Sweet Frank Viola

Is Busy Costing Relationships & Mission Effectiveness?

".... the busier I get, the less I care about others. It is a flaw that I think many of us share." Neil Cole Organic Church. pg 145

Missional Versus Attractional

"Misssional at its essence means sent. It's the antithesis of trying to attract them to us, our programs, our buildings.."

Hugh Halter in Tangible Kingdom

Some Thoughts

"Christians have made the gospel about so many things - things other than Jesus."

Jesus manifesto pg xv Len Sweet & Frank Viola

"What is it that you intentionally do NOT do that fuels your success?"
Bob Buford of leadership Network.

Really Missing Africa Today!

"Every foreign land is to them as their native country.." Diognetus, speaking of Christians (tutor of Marcus Aurelius)

No Time for You!

"Hey, mister would you stop being a minister long enough to give us a hand?"

Little kid with bike problems said this to a Priest. Forward for Organic Church (Neil Cole) written by Leonard Sweet.

Not sure the Church is smart enough to let most ministers have time to connect and be helpful with lost or needy people. They are kept far too busy managing the stuff, unfortunately.

My life and ministry are now centered more on connecting/relating where Kingdom normally is not found. That is why I bother a lot of church people lately.

"For whatever reason, the church at large has theologized the idea of personal holiness to exclude normal interaction with the world"
Hugh Halter in Tangible Kingdom


"Consumerism holds some aspect of entitlement ('This church should provide....; this leader should provide....')" Hugh Halter Tangible Kingdom

"Consumerism is based on the belief that I can't help others until I help myself, that my own wants & needs trump the needs of others." Hugh Halter Tangible Kingdom

A new wine skin is needed for ministry in this place!

"I've learned that if I stay in my office to study, nothing happens" Tangible Kingdom Hugh Halter

Novel!

"You Christians look after a document containing dynamite to blow all civilization to pieces, turn the world upside down, and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of good literature."

Mohandas Gandhi


"The gospel says go but our church buildings say stay. The gospel says seek the lost but our churches say let the lost seek the church." Neil Cole in Organic Church

The Goods!

"The gospel shows a God far more holy than the legalist can bear, yet far more merciful than a humanist can conceive"
Tim Keller

Gadget Church

I have been promoting simple, economical, easily repeated church gatherings. "Simply Sustained" would be a good phrase to use also possibly. Some one approached me and asked, "So you think you found the latest method have you?" No I have not found a "new method".
Far too many of us are moving down the "gotta do more" pipeline in the "Attractional" church model. However, I am finding that the things we are saying we "Gotta Do" are not where it's at, for the people around me. I wish it was as easy as a new praise band singing swanky new songs, and some slicker programs. The Research is out, and conclusive. Most of the churches we know that are growing is by transfer growth, or people who have recently exited the church, but are now looking to re-enter somewhere.

Most conversations about church today center around "METHODS" or the widgets and gadgets (Programs) we use for the big event Sunday or mid week. Speaking of Church as an "event" is just bad theology, and an improper use of the biblical word. We talk far to much about church than we do about Jesus at our Leaders meetings. It seems to be more about our stuff, than his stuff, all the while we are assuming our stuff is his stuff.

Yes, the conversations are usually about "church"; it's about methods, forms, and structure. Which gadgets will we use, how we will apply this gadget to our church, how big, how small, how often, who will widget the widget, how much, how new, how old.

The conversation is usually always about how to "reshuffle", "re-organize" the "Stuff". Managing "the stuff" is overshadowing the central heart. A lot of people are chocked to death busy, but not feeling any more connected. Ask them!

People, it's time to stop playing with the stuff! The stuff does not matter. Lets talk about engagement. Who is engaging people? Where are people being engaged, Are people being transformed? Ask them ! Hand out a one question church survey. I know what the answer will be, because I've been asking it for 5 years now. The stuff we are killing oursleves managing is not making one hoot of difference for them they are saying.

Read Neil Coles book "Church 3.0"

"Missional activist Alan Hirsch points out what being missional is not.’ First, the missional church is not synonymous with the emergent church , which is primarily a renewal movement to contextualize Christianity for a postmodern generation. Missional is nto the same as evangelesitc or seeker-sensitive, terms that generally apply to a more attractional church. Missional is not a term from Church growth; it has a bigger agenda. Finally, missional is not just social justice. We should engage the needs of the world, which is part of the mission but certainly not the whole of it.
Hirsch goes on to say: “A missional theology is not content with mission being a church-based work. Rather, it applies to the whole of life of every believer. Every disciple is to be an agent of the kingdom of God, and every disciple is to carry the mission of God into every sphere of life. We are all missionaries sent into a non-Christian culture.”..............

When we teach about organic church, it is not the kind of church (organic, seeker sensitive, purpose-driven, whatever) that is attractive to lost people; it is Christ, and Christ alone. When we make it about church- what kind of church. what is done at church, how it is done, who the preacher or singer is - we miss the point. Unless we realize that it is Christ in us what makes church anything better than the Kiwanis Club, we miss the plot. Lost people do not spend their hours trying to figure out how to get to church, or what kind of church they would like. The typical lost person sees only two things that church is good for: marrying and burying, and most are trying to avoid both.
Lost people are curious about Christ. It is not accidental that three of the best-selling books in recent years are about Jesus Christ:.....Jesus is on people’s minds and in their curiosity. They want to be part of something that is significant. They also want to be a part of a close-knit family that cares for one another. I believe that an organic, relational, and missional expression of church offers a better opportunity for people to experience those things. Being another spectator on Sunday morning is not enough for most people who have not yet found Christ, and it shouldn’t be enough for those who have found Him." (Neil Cole, Church 3.0 2010, pg 47,49)

Miniskirts, Mothers & Muslims

"Miniskirts, Mothers & Muslims" is a great book. I highly recommended it. It is not simply for women, even though it is geared for the woman living in Islamic cultures. However, there is ample considerations and advise about men interacting in Islamic contexts also. If you truly want to make Islamic friends, and love our neighbor, lets find out how to bridge the huge gap.

This book is one of the most practical reads on taking down real "living barriers" we erect, so we can open up relationships with Islamic people. There is so much about the way we live that absolutely, deeply, repels many Muslims from interacting with us. Most of us are clueless how we offend there sensibilities. We needed a book like this to remind us how deeply our unquestioned daily life and routines slam doors shut tightly. Simple things we think are normal, are too forward. Often it takes more than a smile. Are we willing to make some adjustments to our lives, to bridge the gap? Unfortunately many expect Muslims to do all the walking to span that great chasm. I for one have decided I will meet them more than half way. I want to truly love all my neighbors, not merely the ones like me. Diversity is refreshing, relationships across cultures rewarding. Whether we agree with each other or not.

"Follow Christ’s example and live with your friends, joining with them in all the affairs of daily life under their conditions. People do not only need the Book in their hand with instructions how to live. They need your hand in theirs, sharing their lives along with the Book. This is the heart of the Christian message. God did not rely on a book of instructions. Christ came and lived with us. As I journey with Muslims, exploring faith, at times I am the host bringing something new and precious to them, in the hopes they will accept it; and at other times, I am the guest receiving something precious from them. We do not pretend that there are no differences between our faiths, but we do not need to denounce each other’s beliefs either. We share a common desire, a common longing, to return to the Father’s house."

(Miniskirts, Mothers & Muslims. Christine A. Mallouhi, MOnarch Books, 2005 pg149)

Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Methods Fail

The most encouraging read on community development/poverty reduction in years.

Refreshing is not often a word I use for such books. But this Book is REFRESHING!

Finally a voice offering some practical solutions, instead of only analyzing what poverty is etc.

It seems like we "DEFINE" poverty more than we "DESTROY" poverty these days.

For profit, poverty reduction to the bottom billion- Ingenious!

Why is hundreds of billions doing little for the bottom billion on the planet? Why, despite hundreds of billions are there 140 million MORE poor in West Africa?

A MUST READ!


Comments specific to Polak's - Drip Irrigation for 1/4 acre or less plots.

What other technology can one offer to help a family for up to 5 years on a $6 to $15 investment? We discovered drip irrigation three years ago and have set up test sites in three West African countries. I almost cried when I stumbled on the concept, it was so simple, economical; the best way to help poor people period. We felt alone in drip projects, as very few heard of small drip irrigation, and even less seemed interested. But we know it works amazingly. Now that we discovered Paul's book, we don't feel so alone, and have been encouraged.
We need Local suppliers in every country of West Africa willing to market, as Polak writes, to the $1 a day or less people, realizing volume sales will come quickly. We cannot continue to order and ship supplies as individual NGO's or organizations, for our own purposes. It's wasting time, money, and resources.

Every backpacker, tourist and visitor to Africa & Asia should take a small drip kit in their back pack, to install for a local families they know. 2 hours up and running, and it fits in your hands.
A must read.


Indigo Link
Amazon.ca

God Complex & Poverty. Serving FROM a Place of Brokenness, Not only IN a place of Brokenness.

When involved in community development among the poor, one encounters the colossal unaddressed need surrounding the people we love. It is easy to slip into the mentality that we are the only people offering a solution. Eventually we can begin to feel that the future of these people rests on my shoulders, with the success or failure of this single program. That is an immense burden we are met meant to support.

We are not the only solution, but merely a small part. This place, these people are suffering from the affects of brokenness. Broken political, religious, social & economic structures & worldviews that impede family access to resources, or from seeing the opportunities before them.

My son Ted found this out while in Africa this past year. One day we were walking back from our 4th meeting with a poor family and he said on the way, "Dad, it should not be this difficult to help people". This was after four visits with an impoverished man & his family, each discussion consisted of the head of the family giving reasons why the irrigation would never work for them, even though it was free for the trying. What? Yep, broken systems not only prevent access to resources, but also prevent people from seeing, and seizing potential opportunities for advancement. We deal with both in Africa all the time.

We often come serving with the attitude that we are not broken and come from a place of “Fixed-ness”. This is the God complex that, in the end harms the people, and frustrates the aide or development servant, as well as the local people. It subtly communicates to the locals that they are incapable, debilitated, have little to offer themselves. With us, we also subtlety begin to think "They are lucky to have me! Where would they be without me?" Locals begin to believe that the only solutions are from outside – from those "fixed" people, from those “fixed” places.

We have truly lost sight of our place AMONG the people, and permitted them to place us OVER the people. The greatest resource is always the local people, first. Within and among we must work.

It is of critical importance that we remember that we too come to serve as a broken people. Our countries of origin are broken also. Places like Haiti & numerous African or Asian nations are indeed broken, but we Canadians & Americans are not broken….. right?

Haiti has voodoo, we have ramped materialism. The richest people on earth, with the greatest resources, yet, with the greatest debt to. We spend most of our money on things, entertainment junk, and sacrifice little for others in the world. We will not, no refuse to live simply. We deserve, demand, and expect our comfortable things, and in the end we give little to others. But our Canadian or American brokenness is, well……………………. less broken,……….. right? Isn’t it?

In Haiti, there has been some emphasis in Christian media about how the people of Haiti are steeped in Voodoo. I hear them speak of how their government officials, long ago, at some time, made a pact with the devil for their nation. Yes, that is it, they suffer because they are more broken. We don't because we are not. Do you see the problem with such Christian statements? Yes Haiti has problems, it is suffering from brokenness. But so are we. So is our Country. We DO serve from the same platform of brokenness, it is simply manifested differently in a different place, is all.

Hopefully, we are not trying to make these people and places into little (“broken”) Canada’s or little (broken) “America’s”. Oh, my, no! We are together (The local people & ourselves) seeking to manifest a higher ideal; a true manifestation of the kingdom of God. We can’t plant that, because we don’t have it or own that seed, only God can implant the kingdom. We are simply seeking him for it, in one small village, by letting God work on us together, as we love each other, and Him too!

(Note:.... Remember we are NOT writing about “emergency disaster relief”. That supply is needed immediately, by any and every method possible. Rather, we are writing to address the process of development that assists a community in such a way that we are out of a job in the future.)

It's More than a Tomato! The Real Goal of Community Development!

I was a participant in a Community Development "Webinar" yesterday (2 more to go). We were discussing the dynamics of Community Development, and analyzing what poverty really is. And of course the issues of Haiti came up.

The Session yesterday was called "When Helping Hurts" - Haiti was known world wide as the "NGO State". It had such a disproportionate number of NGO's Operating that the NGO's were actually providing most of the government services, inadvertently propping up corruption and use of resources for personal gain within government. The Government did not have to share anything with the people. - or so they think.

As a result, there was little cohesion developing in the country of Haiti. Not working through local method's & resources generally leads people to thinking we can't help ourselves in any manner, and we lack the resources to help ourselves. This is the Lie that most are not aware of. The Root Cause of Poverty is rarely, if ever, rooted in a lack of country resources. It's the brokenness of humanity manifested in broken Economic, Social, Political, and religious systems that block others from access to those resources.

These were some various ideas that came floating out of the Webinar for Development workers.

William Hickox who works for World Vision Canada comments;

"And people say to us, "Why do you want to work with the government? They're corrupt!" ... vicious circle. We try to avoid providing what we feel it's the government's responsibility to provide. Maybe we'll build a school and give the kids supplies, but the government has to pay the teachers."



Redeeming the fallen structures is part of developments long term focus. Often we simply "react" to the immediate need, which is good, but without the former you are there forever, and ever, and ever. At least World Vision focuses on "future Extraction", even though that may be elusive, and changing.

A Good Balance is the key. I have two more Sessions to go.

Our Development work is not simply irrigation. It is more than a "tomato". The resources that that "tomato" creates touches many aspects of life. That tomato's increased income represents better access to health (Money for drugs), better access to education (Money for school fees), more income for Africans to invest in the needs of their extended family (They can help family members with similar crises), more freedom to be involved in and contribute to community needs. That simple tomato affects a lot.

Anyway, most think we are "Putting in Garden Irrigation", but have no idea of the thought that is involved as to why we chose this technology, or how we see it fitting into the larger picture of changing whole communities. The end goal is our real ministry. The irrigation is just a small start to what really needs to happen, in our view. We have to work at all levels of a community to help them see the need to redeem the brokenness in patterns of thinking, action, or decision that have isolated and impoverished people.

Simple Ways to Show Love to Muslims!

"Show sympathy in times of illness or bereavement. Perform little acts of service. Invite them to your house and accept invitations to theirs. Be scrupulously honest in all business dealings. Show that you are a Christian in the smallest details of life. If a Muslim shopkeeper has given you the wrong change, be sure to point this out to him or her. Be respectful and show honor where honor is due. Demonstrate that you love Muslims by trying to understand their point of view. Be a good listener."

("Sharing Our Faith With Muslims. Charles R. Marsh. Chapter 8 in "Encountering The World of Islam" Authenic books Atlanta 2005)

Tears Of Lady Christian Missionary Converted A Muslim!

"Si Mebarek was a young Qur’anic student who taught the boys in the mosque to recite their holy book. For many years he had attended Sunday school classes, but the teaching had left no impression on him. He hardened his heart to the gospel and mocked his teachers. When he was eighteen and very proud of his knowledge of Islam, he went to the home of a woman missionary and asked for a gospel in Arabic, saying he would very much like to read it again. The servant of God was thrilled. Here was an answer to her prayers: a young man seeking the Lord. Si Mebarek took the gospel in his hand, glanced at it, and then, with a look of defiance, tore it to shreds and threw it on the ground, trampling on the pieces. He quite expected to receive a sharp reproof for having treated the Word of God thus. Instead he saw tears come into the eyes of the servant of God. With a look of inexpressible sadness, but of genuine love, she turned away without a word, going into the house to pray for him.

Si Mebarek headed for home, but that expression of the patient love of Christ, of his meekness and gentleness, really reached his heart. Within an hour, he was back again, now a convicted sinner seeking salvation. That simple expression of the love of the One who wept over Jerusalem achieved what the years of teaching had failed to accomplish."

("Sharing Our Faith With Muslims. Charles R. Marsh. Chapter 8 in "Encountering The World of Islam" Authenic books Atlanta 2005)

Relationships Over Mission Programs - Relationships as our Program!

"....Westerners struggle with relationships. They may get so involved in programs, technical projects, and social ministries that they have little time for friends and neighbors. Our western culture is often relationship- deficient, and the western Christian can take this deficiency with him to the field.

Once the Christian worker begins his ministry he usually thinks in terms of weekly studies, weekly discipleship meetings, and weekly teaching sessions. The thought of meeting daily or twice day with a new contact or convert does not usually enter his mind. If he is to take on the role of a religious teacher, he must remember that the Muslim students he has want to develop relationship with him as a religious teacher, and not simply sit in on a series of lectures. Students may sit quietly for a couple of lessons, but if no relationship is forthcoming, they will seldom want to continue."

("Contextualization and Community. Roland Muller. in Encounter the World OF Islam, Lesson 7 extra Readings online to text.)

Contextualizing Your T Shirt , Sandals, Short Skirts & Bare Arms in Muslim Contexts

"The most important part of contextualization is to present ourselves in such away that our lifestyles demonstrate, and even enhance, the message we want to communicate. If a single woman says she has been set free from sin but dresses and acts as would a prostitute in the target culture, no one will believe her message. If a man says he is a teacher but dresses in shorts, t-shirt, and sandals as if he were a useless young man on the streets, no one will believe he holds such an honored position."

("Contextualization and Community. Roland Muller. in Encounter the World OF Islam, Lesson 7 extra Readings online to text.)

Developing Community is the Most Crucial Muslim Contextualization Issue?

"Christian workers frequently want to make the transition to Christianity easier for converts from a Muslim background. They try to strip all the external, unnecessary trap from Christianity and flt it into the Muslim setting. They dress as Muslims, develop Jesus mosques, and place a Muslim façade on Christianity in an attempt to make it less offensive. But they seldom develop community.Theologically, the new convert is able to see and understand the gospel; he can exercise faith and experience gifts, and is able to enter into ministry. What he struggles with most is the idea of leaving his community..... I have discovered that in I have discovered that in most settings where large numbers of Muslims have turned to Christ, the common attraction is not contextualization but rather the presence of community."

("Contextualization and Community. Roland Muller. in Encounter the World OF Islam, Lesson 7 extra Readings online to text.)

Going Native, Only Goes So Far With Natives!

"There are those who try to live a totally Muslim-style life in order to reach Muslims within their own culture. Years ago I heard about a western missionary who tried something similar in India. He dressed as an Indian, ate Indian food, and lived in an Indian house. However, he was “sahib” (teacher). So he moved to a very poor part of town and identified with the poor. He got a job on a road construction crew, and people still called him “sahib.”

He asked the men around him why they used that name for him. They thought for a minute and then told him that it was because he used a toothbrush. He got rid of the toothbrush and used a stick to clean his teeth. And people still called him "sahib". One day, in desperation, he asked a wise man why he was not considered an Indian. The main replied, `It is because your mother was white.' No matter how hard we try, we can never completely identify with our Muslim friends, not because of outward cultural issues, but because of Sociological issues."

("Contextualization and Community. Roland Muller. In "Encounter the World Of Islam", Lesson 7 extra Readings online to text)

Feeling a Bit Down Today

Just a heavy heart about a lot of things.

Hoping my Son can soon land a full-time job in Toronto. He's having a hard time to connect with a job.

Hoping my other sons Conditional acceptance to the Aircraft Turbine Repair course pulls through.

Wishing our development agency had the cash to order about 100 Irrigation kits for this Fall to install in West Africa.


Lot's of dreams and hopes in these few words.

Real Theological Issues of Muslim Contextualization: Avoiding Reductionism of the Issue!

"At the other end of the spectrum, missiologists sometimes advance theories as facts and simply assert that God is doing a new thing...... A prime case in point is the debate in recent years that has gone on about contextualization in Muslim contexts. Some have asserted or implied that watershed differences exist over cultural issues, when in fact those differences are primarily theological in nature.

The reality is that pretty much everyone agrees that a Muslim who becomes a follower of Christ shouldn’t have to cease being a good cultural Algerian, Nigerian, or Indonesian of whatever ethnicity into which he or she was born. The person does not have to be “extracted” from his or her roots or claim the title “Christian” in the cultural sense in which the term is often equated with perverted Western lifestyles. The individual can continue to honor his or her family and heritage, and do the things that members of his or her society do, up to a point. And that point is reached when doing something communicates falsehood about who Jesus is and what faith in him means.

Falsehood is hyped when the issue is treated as if there are only two choices—extraction or remaining a good Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist, The fact is that the issue is a complex one. While there is an almost universal commitment to avoiding extraction and keeping new believers functioning in their home societies, there is a continuum of understanding as to where lines must be drawn in order to maintain faithfulness to Christ and the gospel. To paint the issue otherwise is to engage in a misleading reductionism, an effort that has the appearance of being intentionally confusing in order to gain acceptability for one’s views."

(A Second Look: The Audacity of Hype and Humility. Gary Corwin Editor EMQ. EMQ January 2009 Vol 45, No 1 pp 7)

How Open & Honest is Your Missionary Journey?

(If You are Familiar with EMQ You Must realize Gary is not bashing Missionaries and Agencies.) But Gary is asking a valid Question. How honest are we about the challenges of mission, not just the successes?

Why we must be honest- if all people here is glowing success and none of the challenges they begin to question every missionary about their apparent lack of success. Certainly, in rare cases an odd missionary is simply not working hard, or refuse to look at some wise strategy change that might possibly help them. However, what about people working in limited access countries, where it takes years to build a church? Churches measure Pioneer missionaries against the success of regular missionaries who are working with a high percentage of Christian people with many existing churches of all stripes to work with and through.

Just a personal note. My experience with a "Rayner Rambler" private email that went to the over one hundred of the keenest of interested people within churches was a smashing success. Discussing ups, downs, discouragements, church struggles, raw form the village each week.
Those ramblers were the most commented on news, far out stripping glossy newsletters and printed materials. The 20-35 group is looking for real heart and life news about what is involved in the "Journey", not only wanting to hear about the end result, after the fact.

"I almost cringe when I hear of groups launching new marketing plans, expanding public relations departments, or engaging in “branding” exercises, While each of these may have its place, these and similar activities are also breeding grounds for the professionalization of falsehood. Whatever happened to just being ourselves and being faithful to our values?.....IF that is all the Lord requires of us, why is the massaging and packaging of truth necessary for others?

But these are not the only places where shaded truth emerges in the mission enterprise. It exists all the way from rank-and-file missionary prayer letters to the most articulately argued missiology. It’s too discouraging to our donors, we surmise, to burden them with the real struggles we may be facing. Things like loneliness, uncertainty about what to do next, and feelings of depression are not the stuff of missionary heroes, Besides, our partners support us in order to see certain things accomplished, and they want to hear how that’s happening, not the hindrances we’re dealing with. This is particularly so, we conclude, when those hindrances may reflect personal or professional inadequacy on our part. But in doing so, are we not declaring how unimportant we really think prayer is?

(A Second Look: The Audacity of Hype and Humility. Gary Corwin Editor EMQ. EMQ January 2009 Vol 45, No 1 pp6-7)

Middle Eastern Culture Is Challange for Westerners To Understand

"It is not uncommon for Middle Easterners to talk as though they know something when they don’t have any idea. They do not do this to deceive, but out of a desire for a good relationship. More than once I have asked a Middle Eastern policeman for directions, only to discover that he does not have a clue! I have learned to observe closely the non-verbal communication (the confused pause before the confident statement) through which the Middle Easterner communicates that he or she does not know.

Middle Easterners will rarely admit verbally that they are wrong. Preserving honor—both one’s own and that of significant others—is very important in the Middle East, and Middle Easterners will often communicate acknowledgment of wrongdoing through a kind act rather than an apology..... pg 18

Middle Eastern society is overwhelmingly tribal and there is a great concern to look after one’s own and trust only one’s own. Consequently, in general one could expect that Middle Easterners who join Western agencies will see no obligation to seek tenders or shop around for the best deal. They will probably go to someone they know—preferably a member of their extended family—even if the family member asks two to three times the price and/or is incompetent.... pg19

(Westerner and Middle Easterners Serving Together: Potential Sources of Misunderstanding. Perry W. H. Shaw. EMQ January 2010 Vol 46, No 1, pp 18-19)

Innovators Or Opportunists????

Missionaries have instructed to remember that fact that the first people to present themselves to you as a missionary, often are not the people we will build ministries on. They tend to be Opportunistic. Is this always true?
Innovators are also the ones most open to a foreigners presence and input. This is a great reminder.

"Remember that innovators will be first responders. As argued, innovators will be greater media consumers than the population at large, and will be more open to new ideas. They will be attracted to the foreign missionary since the innovator thinks in broader categories than the average person. The innovator can be confused as the “person of peace” since he or she obviously gets it.” Yet many missionaries know well the heartache that comes as these innovators quickly grow spiritually and then lose focus because they lack roots (Matt. 13:1-23). But innovators can be a gateway into a network of a “bunch of guys.” Spending time with them can be strategic, but mainly for seeing them as a link to the opinion leader.

Teach them as a group. As noted earlier, the aberrant group finds their restlessness in the fact that the majority religion does not satisfy their soul. These groups are looking for someone to help them make sense of their restless soul. Helping the group as a group keeps the bonds tight and the vision alive. They are more often able to handle persecution as a group and also use their gifts in a natural way to expand the work. The missionary should concentrate on the “group leader,” who will then teach others (2 Tim. 2:2).

(2 1/2 Percent: Church Planting Movements from the Periphery to the Center. Dwight McGuire. EMQ January 2010 Vol 46, No 1, pp 29-30)

Peaceful Change of National Power Unknown to Many

"In the summer of 1984, I had an unforgettable conversation with one of my Congolese friends. I had been in the Congo for only six months at the time, and my Swahili could only handle simple conversations. My friend had been listening to shortwave radio broadcasts describing the political events in America. He heard a news report about the presidential re-election campaign of Ronald Reagan and wanted me to clarify something for him. He calmly asked me in Swahili, “If Walter Mondale goes on to win the election and defeat Reagan, who would then kill Reagan?”

At first I thought I had heard him wrong and it was just my poor Swahili. He then repeated his question slowly, “Nani ataua Reagan?” Who will kill Reagan? I suddenly realized I was in a place that did not understand peaceful transfer of power. President Mobutu ruled the Congo as an iron-fisted dictator for thirty-two years (1965 to 1997). He had no intentions of having a peaceful transfer of power or grooming a younger person to take over. The only thing he could see in a young, potential successor was “threat” with a capital “T.”

(Spiritual Adoption & Africa Potential for Changing a Land Scape. Mike Nichols & Tresor Yenyi. EMQ January 2010 Vol 46, No 1, pp49-50)

Avoid Default Living! Fishing and Preparation for Africa

Well, I recently discovered that Transport Canada has determined we require three more courses to be Captain of an inshore fishing vessel under 65 Tonnes.

So, my Bambara language study is slipping through my fingers, as some other pressing matters jump up before me, and now I have to spend several weeks in class for this training. Had to cancel a speaking engagement as a result. A bit frustrating since I had just spent two full days preparing what I was going to say.

I can't wait to get back to Africa. Some exciting changes coming in the near future as we prepare for a new Community Development Project to help with Poverty among the people we work among.

Mali, West Africa, will be our new home for the majority of time until 2012, as we learn language, and culture, customs etc. But we should have the development project is full swing by the end of 2012 and then more decisions to be made.

Our daily lives involve planning the the future. At times It seems like most of our friends wake up wondering what they will eat for breakfast, and then maybe supper, with a few events jotted on the calender, and then wonder what the will do with their weekend.

At some point in every day, seven days a week, we are discussing & planning things 2 to 5 years in advance. But we enjoy it and have weaved that mentality into our beings.

What we have discovered is that we all have a default manner of living. If one fails to intentionally plan to assist the poor in body and spirit; well, we end up living the default of our individualistic culture. Drifting in a life and making plans about "ME" and our future, with little time considering how we can improve the future of others. I don't want to live our cultural default.

Excited and a bit overwhelmed at the same time. Much to do, and yet to be done.
I can't put into words

No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets - William Borden

William Whiting Borden - missionary to the Muslims of China, but died of spinal meningitis in Egypt during his training there at the age of 25. Samuel Zwemer conducted his funeral.

"In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. As heir to the Borden family fortune, he was already wealthy. For his high school graduation present, his parents gave 16-year-old Borden a trip around the world. As the young man traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he felt a growing burden for the world's hurting people. Finally, Bill Borden wrote home about his "desire to be a missionary."

One friend expressed disbelief that Bill was "throwing himself away as a missionary."In response, Borden wrote two words in the back of his Bible: "No reserves."

Yale University in 1905 One of them wrote: "He came to college far ahead, spiritually, of any of us. He had already given his heart in full surrender to Christ and had really done it. We who were his classmates learned to lean on him and find in him a strength that was solid as a rock, just because of this settled purpose and consecration.

During his college years, Bill Borden made an entry in his personal journal that defined what his classmates were seeing in him. That entry said simply: "Say 'no' to self and 'yes' to Jesus every time."

Borden's first disappointment at Yale came when the university president spoke in a convocation about the students' need of "having a fixed purpose." After that speech, Borden wrote: "He neglected to say what our purpose should be, and where we should get the ability to persevere and the strength to resist temptations."4 Surveying the Yale faculty and much of the student body, Borden lamented what he saw as the end result of an empty, humanistic philosophy: moral weakness and sin-ruined lives.

During his first semester at Yale, Borden started A scripture & Prayer meeting with himself and one other, it grew to three. By the end of his first year, 150 freshman were meeting weekly for Bible study and prayer. By the time Bill Borden was a senior, one thousand of Yale's 1,300 students were meeting in such groups. Borden's outreach ministry was not confined to the Yale campus. He cared about widows and orphans and the disabled. He rescued drunks from the streets of New Haven.

Borden's missionary call narrowed to the Muslim Kansu people in China. Once he fixed his eyes on that goal, Borden never wavered.

Upon graduation from Yale, Borden turned down some high-paying job offers. In his Bible, he wrote two more words: "No retreats."

William Borden went on to do graduate work at Princeton Seminary in New Jersey. When he finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. Because he was hoping to work with Muslims, he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead.

Was Borden's untimely death a waste? Not in God's perspective. Prior to his death, Borden had written two more words in his Bible. Underneath the words "No reserves" and "No retreats," he had written: "No regrets."

Link: http://home.snu.edu/~HCULBERT/regret.htm

Porn at the World Congress of Families

Check these words given by Robert Knight on a Speech to the World Congress of Families in 2007

"When I was first getting into the business of defending family values on the think tank level, I saw Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family at a political conference. We were on a panel discussing threats in the culture. I presented a study about America’s National Endowment for the Arts and its bias towards avant-garde, anti-religious and shocking ‘art’ that was designed to offend people and to violate standards of decency. Dr. Dobson gave a talk on the effects of pornography, particularly on families. Afterward, I asked him why, given all the well-documented evidence of the harmful effects of pornography, can’t we win this part of the Culture War?" He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “Because in many men’s closets, or in their dressers, there is a stack of Playboys or some other so-called ‘soft’ pornography. When they hear us attacking obscenity, it’s like hearing distant cannons. They know that hard-core porn is bad, but they also know they have no business pointing a finger at anyone else, given their own private stash.” The political and cultural Left have a deep interest in promoting pornography. Millions of men who might have championed the moral high ground in the public square feel that they don’t have the right to take up any moral causes, given their own moral failures. One of the Devil’s best tricks is to persuade us that we are not good enough ourselves to favor good over evil, lest we be found out as hypocrites. Whatever you do, don’t talk about grace and redemption.

Link To Speach By Robert Knight at the World Congress of Families

China Town (Toronto) And Longing for Africa!

My wife and I had the opportunity to spend some time with #1 son in Toronto. It was a working trip for the Community Development Organization we work for, but we had some time over the weekend to enjoy Toronto's diversity. #1 Son took us out for a Bubble Tea (Photo 1- In the cup) in China Town. Interesting Ice tea, with small tapioca balls in it.

We agreed to eat only things NOT available on PEI. Authentic Chinese, Japanese, Ethiopian Etc. Wise choice I think for we thoroughly enjoyed each meal so much. The smaller mom & pop Japanese, Chinese, & Vietnamese shops have great variety, great prices, and barely a word of English spoken by most around you. Refreshing!

S-I-L & B-I-L took us out for Ethiopian. The Ethiopian was a highlight with Beef Tartar (Hot spiced raw beef), with a dozen other things on a huge tray - It was simply awesome. We could do that once a week for a "Fix" of Africa. It particularly made me miss the spices of Africa so much.

We absolutely loved the the variety of Toronto. The culture & food diversity (Smoked Squid included, Photo #2, right) reminded us of how bi- cultural we really have become. We are simply at home in places like China Town. China town was like pouring water on a dry soul. I want an apartment there.
It all served to remind us how mono-cultural rural PEI is, and how stiffing it is for people like us at times.

We could live in Toronto. We walked all over China town, with the street sales and everything out on the street. Had a street "Patty" for the first time, B-I-L introduced me to that. Spicy and good. China town reminded us so much of the atmosphere of the African cities like Abidjan, Bamako, or Ouagadougou. Reminded me of the five street food vendors that used to be right in front of our house in Abengourou, Cote D'Ivoire.

The experience served to reminded us, once again, how PEI will never be our true home. Our hearts are truly for, and among, the diverse nations.

We look forward to getting back to West Africa this year.
We love her people, and will do our best with our Poverty reduction community Development projects. Toronto helped us over a hump!

Free For New Expressions?

Can we give freedom, without criticism, for new expressions of ministry to emerge? Within the parameters of biblical faithfulness of course.

In Africa we gather simply under the shade of mango trees, in courtyards of the people. All that we do in church here, is done there. But it just looks, feels, and is done differently. No fuss!
Ministry was more about conversation with people over Jesus, than spinning the plates of complicated, extremely time demanding, programs. Oh, there is some structure, there has to be. However, here it's very different. Why is it viewed so negatively when we try to do something more simplified here in the west? The criticism is from within the ranks too, not the world.

It concerns me deeply for this reaction will mean some will draw lines in the sand, when it need not be so. Let's give these young guys some freedom to serve with new expressions. Can we give permission, better yet, not make these courageous pioneers feel like they need to get permission, before they run in service?

Here's what people on this missional journey are experiencing.

"We’ve become disturbingly aware through personal experience and observation that those who advocate such a thoroughgoing recalibration of the church will not always be met with open arms by the prevailing church leadership. And yet we feel compelled to lovingly challenge the church to dismantle many of the arcane institutional structures it is now beholden to and to bravely face the future with imagination and courage." (The Shape Of Things To Come. Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch. Hendrickson, 2003. pg ix)

I have to say I've been feeling it too. The more I introduce and live these ideas of missional ministry and simple gatherings of believers, the more alone I have become. Not many ministry colleagues will even spark a conversation any more. It's a "Hi" with a walk on by. It's hard. I truly respect men who lead churches in a paid position. I did it for many years, Doing so now for free, so I know they have a hard job, and a valuable one too. But I can't serve that way myself. Accepting the paycheck, in most churches, would mean I have to cow-tow to a few expected approaches to ministry that I can't accept as I feel they are not effective. It's not for me, it kills me. If I had to do that full-time, I would be one of those people who boost the burnout, dropout, leadership statistics .

I know to the depth of my being, that what I am walking is not biblically unsound, it's just not the norm is all.

Anyway, the last 4 years have been the most exciting, interesting, but yet - lonely, years of my life. I desperately need a co-worker in crime (Will you pray about that for me). But I can't turn back from this path I'm walking on, just to gain that. It will kill my journey, my calling, and the vision of which I am following. It would kill the serving me. Can I have permission?

I'm ready to go back to Africa and work at more church planting, I think. Oh I've been ready a long time, but I think it might be Gods plan to live out this simple church planting mission there, as opposed to here, for here I'm just not doing so well with my peers. Planting a new simple, low-budget, self supported church here, has unfortunately put me in the cross hairs, and I don't know why!

All I'm doing is the very same thing I live, breath, and do to plant churches in rural Africa.

"We've become increasingly convinced that what the church needs to find it's way out of the situation it's in at the beginning of the twenty-first century is not more faddish theories about how to grow the church without fundamentally reforming its structures. " (The Shape Of Things To Come. Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch. Hendrickson, 2003. pg 6)

How Cell Phones Help Africa

When it Hurts to Come Home!

It’s extremely difficult for settlers to understanding Reverse Culture Shock. However, I will try to explain.

The shock we receive upon returning home from places like Africa, is more complex and difficult than the culture shock we first experienced moving to Africa. Yep, it’s harder to come home than go. It has taken me six years to crawl out from under my reverse culture shock.

The more deeply we bond and identify with the people of another culture, the more difficult it is for us when we get home. Why is that? Well our culture, our view of the world, has been inextricably and forever altered. We no longer think or view the world like the “folks at home”.

As a result we often feel like an alien in our own home town. I have never experienced a greater sensation of “alienness” than when I returned to Prince Edward Island. We have become what is referred to as bi-cultural, meaning comfortable and at ease in more than one culture. In fact, liking some things about other cultures better than our own.

I have been returning to Africa each winter for the last 3 years to work with my old villages and friends. When I arrive in Ivory Coast, within 3 or 4 short hours, a tremendous sense of peace settles, and it feels like I have never left. There isn't any disorientation or need to slowly get my feet under me. However, when I return to Canada, that is quite a different story.

After returning from 6.5 weeks of village work, Lynn referred to me as a basket case.
I could not follow complete sentences well, because my mind was on information overload trying to process a wealth of African experiences & conversations & trying to make them fit with the excessive life we live here.

Lynn has since made the policy that I’m not permitted to be around people for at least 2 weeks after my return. We have found it takes one month before I can even begin to process what happened while overseas. People anxiously ask questions, but I find it almost impossible to say much as my mind is overloaded with images, impressions, feelings and thoughts that are to hard to explain. I feel my words are inadequate to vividly explain what “really” happened, my words seem like a watered down version of “real life” and it frustrates me terribly to write or speak about it early on.

One year I was in the village with Prosper (See phote). As we ate, talked, and slept together in the village, over 4 weeks I lost 20 lbs, as we just did not eat much. Times were hard economically for the village people in Ivory Coast because of the coup and the rebel situation. Anyway, I did not see much volume, nor variety of food that whole month.

My second evening back home, my Lynn had to rescue me. I guess Lynn heard me saying, “Wow!” over and over again in the kitchen. She was concerned at the sound of my voice and she could hear me pacing around so she came out to see if I was Ok. Lynn peaked around the corner and watched.

Apparently, I had been looking for a snack to eat. I opened the fridge and was so thoroughly overwhelmed by the shear volume of food in there, that I was stunned and saying; “wow!” I shut the fridge door and went to the cupboard and the same overwhelming experience happened again, then off to the pantry- same thing. I was on my 3rd round of three destinations, overwhelmed, and I did not even realize I was doing it . Lynn realized what was happening and she grabbed me by the hand saying; “Come with me”, and she led me like a little child to the bedroom and tucked me in bed like a kid. I closed my eyes.

Wise Use of Money!

"Western money must be used wisely in world missions in order not to create damaging dependency. The assumption that the West is the banker for world missions comes from the period when Western Christians became the paymasters for missions. This went along with a condescending attitude toward non-Western Christians, which spread the disease of dependency. Dependency caused non-Western Christians to assume wrongly that they had nothing worthwhile to contribute to world missions. The apostle Paul knew that money must be used carefully for it to be a help and not a hindrance to God’s mission (1 Corinthians 9:14-16). Consequently, he created no dependency either on himself or on funds he could raise."

(Robert Reese. "Best Mission practices for the 21 century" Christian Standard, November 29,2009. pg844-45)

Economical Church Planting Is Possible! Abandoning Western Church Planting Ideas!

"Mission methods must be cheaply reproducible for maximum effectiveness. Americans have developed expensive methods that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. In fact, we have come to rely so heavily on borrowed money that many churches are seeing declining contributions to missions because of needing to repay loans for expensive buildings. Such luxuries did not characterize the early church, which had no buildings for the first couple of centuries. For Christianity to spread rapidly throughout the world, missions need to return to sustainable methods that do not require huge sums of money for success."

(Robert Reese. "Best Mission practices for the 21 century" Christian Standard, November 29,2009. pg844-45)

Reachable! Bible Translation & Language Learning Pays

The Taliabo Story!

Why Complicate Church Planting? Just tell the story!

".... the oldest man in the room, about 70 years old, spoke up: `We planted 40 churches this past year.'
That blew me away! I crossed the room and sat at his feet. ~Brother, I need to learn from you. Teach me about church planting.'
He looked puzzled an replied, `It's not hard. Every morning my great niece reads to me from the bible for one hour - I can't read so she reads for me. Then I think about what she read until lunch. I think about what it means and what God wants our family to do. When everyone comes in from the field for lunch, I tell them what God said through His Word to our family. Then I tell them to tell everyone they know what God said to out family that day. And they do. That's all.'" (Bhojpuri man from North India)

(" A Movement of God Among the Bhojpuro" David L Watson & Paul Watson. Perspectives on the World christian Movement. William Carey library, Ralph D winter, 2009, pg 699)

How Repeatable is our Strategy for Poor Nationals?

“The churches that the apostles and Paul planted were, for the most part, light and lean `House churches’ without a great deal of institutional trappings… The most effective missionaries are multiplying churches which are very simplified.”

Stephen Hawthorne (Perspectives On the World Christian Movement Study Guide, William Carey, 2009, pg 50)

Principles our mission measures every strategy by. Every Plan must be;

1) Simple: Any plan must be easily remembers and orally repeated on no more than five fingers, without writing it down. If a 500 page church planting manual is required it's to complicated for a country with an adult literacy rate of 13%.

2) Economical/Cost Effective: Local Christian's often can't afford cars, and motor bikes, amps and speakers, or projectors. On a strategy "wagon wheel" we westerners are only one spoke(of 5 or 6) supporting no more than any other spoke, of the required participation to make a plan happen. If it requires more than the spokes can offer, the plan is scrapped for one that is economical enough. We are not willing to drain all the resources on one church plant. It must be economical enough that we can be planting many at the same time.

3) Easily Repeated: By this we mean a plan for church planting should be the plan for the whole body. Not just church leaders. Literate or not, young or old, the plan must work for ordinary church members too. We practice the "Priesthood of All Believers" Every plan must be simple and economical enough that church members look at what we are doing and say. "Hey, I can do that!" "Hey, I have something to offer here!" A can do spirit is developed within the whole body. Sharing the gospel and gathering people into churches is not merely the task of "leaders" or "Elite Professional", the commission is for all.

How Should Missionaries Choose Their Standard of Living?

"Adapting oneself to a new culture and worldview is never easy, and it does not happen automatically. Due to globalization, in many large cities of the world missionaries have the option of living in a quasi-Western bubble. They shop in Western-styled grocery stores, wear up-to-date Western fashions, maybe even take their kids to McDonalds on a regular basis.
The unpleasant truth is missionaries who uncritically follow this kind of lifestyle are unlikely to become bi-cultural.
However, rather than picking on the obvious extreme cases, this should serve as a reminder to all of us that we need to stop letting transnational corporations dictate our behavior. A missionary’s choice of lifestyle is just that—a choice—and one that we should be much more deliberate about since it sets the tone for much of what goes on in the rest of our ministry. I am not asserting it is morally wrong for missionaries to live a thoroughly Western lifestyle in the Majority World—this is not my call to make. But I am saying that such a choice can be massively harmful to the cause of Christ because it distorts the meaning of the gospel."

("Decoupling Missionary Advance From Western Culture",Gene Daniels, EMQ OCT 2009, pg422)

How Missionaries Dress is a Critical Choice!

I have been there as a former minister. You get to the mission field and are so delighted to be free from wear a suit and tie. However, there are often the equivalents in new cultures. More than that, there categories of deficiency we need to learn in the host culture. Like it or not we must adapt. Here is a great illustration

"I know a hard-working missionary who had some success in winning young college men to Christ in a small Muslim city. He is well aware of the need to apply biblical insight and sound theology to his goal of developing local leadership for the church he is planting. However, he seems completely unaware of the strange spectacle he makes of himself as he bicycles around this same town in a helmet and bright-colored spandex bike-wear. Furthermore, the sight of his mountain bike and culturally inappropriate clothing is just one facet of his lifestyle that screams of contemporary Western culture. Despite several years on the field, he seems completely unaware that his behavior is providing his Muslim neighbors with irrefutable evidence that the gospel and “offensive Western culture’ are one and the same. The real problem is not his choice of attire, but that he is unintentionally confirming the warning repeated in mosques across Central Asia that Christianity represents a horrible clash of cultures and must be avoided at all costs."
("Decoupling Missionary Advance From Western Culture",Gene Daniels, EMQ OCT 2009, pg422)

Testimony Steve Saint End of The Spear

Testimony Steve Saint End of The Spear (Get some tissue!)

Avoiding Dependancy Good Example!

Avoiding Dependency (Example of Waodani - Beyond The Gates of Splendor)

Reasons for Global Mission Celebration...... Yet!

"As we come to the present day we have to be stunned by the magnitude of the movement to Christ. Never  before have so many people followed Christ. Never before has Christ been named in so many languages and obeyed faithfully in such a myriad of cultural styles. Never before has Christ been so viciously hated or His servants so widely persecuted. Yet never before has Christ been so openly worshiped."

(Perspectives on The World Christain Movement: Study Guide, Steven Hawthorne. William Carey Library, 2009, pg93)