Under His Wings

In His Grip

2022-09-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision for a seminar title. Having seen it as a popular salutation in letters from friends, I thought it might perfectly fit the theme of the leadership seminar we were being asked to prepare for two different venues in Africa: In His Grip—Leadership Strength in an Insecure World.

It all began with a request by my friend, Austen Ukachi, Senior Pastor of He’s Alive Chapel in Lagos, Nigeria to return after seven years and conduct a second strategic planning review with his leadership team. He explained that the first review in 2016 had resulted in a new vision and mission along with inspiration that fueled planting daughter churches in Benin, Togo, Ukraine, England, Canada, and even Dallas, Texas, not to mention fifty other locations around Nigeria! But with COVID and other significant world trends, it was time to regroup and consider what the next seven years should bring. Knowing the executive consulting experience of my friend, Todd Ostlind, I asked if he might like to come along and help me out and was delighted when he accepted. Not wanting to waste a trip all the way to Africa, I also talked him into extending a second week so that we both could provide a leadership seminar for other Nigerian church leaders as well. That is how In His Grip was created.

The two of us took off from Spokane on August 30^th bound for United Airlines’ new non-stop flight from Washington DC direct to Lagos, Nigeria. We never made the connection! Severe thunderstorms along the way resulted in a two-day delay. So, our strategic planning retreat had to begin with an all-day Zoom meeting conducted from our hotel rooms in DC followed by two more days of live presence once our eventual overnight flight got us there in-person. Surprisingly, the interruption was minimal, and the team seemed thrilled with the final three-day results of strategic review, SWOT analysis, and new goal creation. I can’t wait to see what these energetic, mission-minded folks will produce now in the next seven years!

After a lively Sunday at He’s Alive Chapel’s main campus, where both Todd and I were pressed into preaching roles plus attending a colorful, hour-long graduation of 100 young people who had completed their six-month discipleship course, it was time for our first of two In His Grip seminars—one in Lagos and one in Abuja, an hour’s flight north.

The motivation for creating the new seminar came from a sense that so much has changed in the world during the past three years that many in leadership positions simply may not know how to adjust adequately to the new normal that now defines the world. As our promotional flyer stated: Moral Relativism, Gender Identity, Radical Political Movements, Technological Tsunami—how should leaders navigate this time of global culture transition? We organized the two-day seminar around several plenary presentations by Todd on global trends and me on missional trends interspersed with small group discussions on local impact and application. We wrapped it all up with “Six keys for standing firm as God’s leaders in today’s world.”

We didn’t really know what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t the overwhelming affirmation received in both venues!

Averaging 125 participants each time, Todd and I were amazed at the passionate responses from young and old alike claiming they had been blown away both by the seminar content and our delivery style, which featured highly interactive PowerPoint presentations along with audience participation. “We normally go to seminars and simply listen to lectures,” several told us. “Having a chance to be so engaged in the subject matter is quite new for us. We truly have been challenged to consider how our leadership needs to change in order to remain relevant.”

Needless to say, we now have plenty of invitations for follow-up from this trip including continued consulting with Austen’s church, interaction with several church mission pastors, and dialogue with those who participated via WhatsApp social media. One thing is for sure, knowing how to respond with appropriate effort and wisdom is certainly going to require firmly remaining. . . In His Grip!

A Personal New Normal

2022-08-29T06:10:00.001-07:00

With the world becoming more and more a post-pandemic place, some surprising ministry opportunities have emerged for me. The bottom line is that the “semi” in semi-retired is becoming increasingly true! A short list of some really neat ministry involvements from the past few months should prove my point.

Last June, I returned to Africa for the first time in two years (the longest hiatus of international travel for me since 1982). After a great two-day planning retreat with the OC Africa team outside of Johannesburg, I flew on to Harare, Zimbabwe, where I had been invited to give a three-day seminar on steward leadership. Thanks to some great groundwork by Dr. Lovejoy Chabata, we had 62 participants who were all national-level church leaders, professors of theology, and presidents of theological institutions. The response was quite astounding. Many of the concepts I covered on becoming a faithful steward leader dovetailed with what these leaders call integral mission, a topic of keen interest for those wanting practical applications of African theology. This interest has now blossomed into more invitations for me to be involved with online training of teaching facilitators, followed by a possible second trip next year to participate in a national conference on the subject.

As some of you may remember, I spent much of the past two years putting my steward leader seminar into a downloadable form with both video lessons and printable workbooks.
Now, finally, I am starting to see the fruit of that labor. Last month, a young couple in Burkina Faso (who I have never met personally) got a hold of the course and decided to offer it to local pastors and leaders. Thirty-five participated, using the video series I had recorded in French. I jumped in only at the very end with a Zoom appearance to congratulate them on completing the course. Once again, I was quite amazed at their testimonies of personal impact. I understand one elderly lady was in tears as she explained how much the section on identity in Christ meant to her. Being single and therefore childless had brought her lifelong ridicule and condemnation from the African community that identifies successful womanhood only with being a wife and mother. Clearly, God was using the basic theology lessons of this course as important reminders to help many grow and mature in their understanding of God’s truth. Already the young couple there has been approached by seven other churches who want the course to be taught again.

On August 30, I am heading out on a second trip to Africa, this time to Nigeria and DR Congo. The first part of the trip will consist of three leadership events led in partnership with a good friend of mine, Todd Ostlind. We’ll be offering a strategic planning retreat for a large church denomination in Lagos followed by two-day seminars called In His Grip—Leadership Strength in an Insecure World in Lagos and Abuja. Then, I fly on alone to Kinshasa, DR Congo, where I will once again offer my steward leader seminar in an event hosted by Pastor Nubako Selenga of ReachAfrica. I look forward to being able to write another report on all that happens during these next busy weeks of travel.

I am definitely not interested in returning to the intense travel and teaching schedule I maintained for the past decade, but it certainly has been wonderful to be able to respond to these very rewarding opportunities for ministry. So, for now, I will accept that being semi-retired is the new normal for this current season of life!

Lessons from an old Easter Hymn

2022-04-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV)

As this Easter Day draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on this powerful verse. Certainly, it is the central theme of this Passion season—that as a result of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection, the price for mankind’s redemption from sin and death has been fully paid. However, it is the word “healed” that fascinates me. What exactly was Isaiah referring to? Was it the healing of our souls? Or perhaps the healing of our broken relationship with God Himself?

I believe I found some answers to this question in the lyrics of an old folk hymn. It was one we used two nights ago to open our Good Friday service. I actually had the privilege of participating in a small sixteen-voice ensemble that presented it as the opening number for our time of contemplation and reflection. O Dearest Lord, Thy Sacred Head, is a simple, but moving number arranged by David Johnson from a melody taken from the Supplement of Kentucky Harmony, a 19^th century collection of shape-note folk hymns. The lyrics were written by Father Andrew (also known as Ernest Hardy) in 1930. They are as follows:

O dearest Lord, thy sacred head

With thorns was pierced for me;

O pour thy blessing on my head

That I may think for thee.

O dearest Lord, thy sacred hands

With nails were pierced for me;

O shed thy blessing on my hands,

That they may work for thee.

O dearest Lord, thy sacred feet

With nails were pierced for me;

O pour thy blessing on my feet

That they may follow thee.

O dearest Lord, thy sacred heart

With spear was pierced for me;

O pour they Spirit in my heart

That I may live for thee.

What strikes me about these words is how they create a link between the wounds of Christ and specific healing I can experience. Far from being a broad, generalization, they help me understand how four fundamental aspects of my identity are forever transformed when I accept the gracious gift of Christ’s atonement.

The first healing transformation is with my thinking. As Christ pours his blessing on my head, I find that my entire thought paradigm is changed. Instead of being trapped in self-defeating patterns of anxiety or unbalanced self-esteem (too high or too low), I am instead freed to think in new and noble ways as a steward of the Master of the Universe.

The second healing transformation is focused on the work of my hands. Here, the change is not so much the activity my hands actually do (i.e. the particular type of career I’m in) but it is the reason for which that work is done that changes. The song says, “That they (my hands) may work for thee.” When I am conscious that what I am doing, mundane as it might be, is ultimately something that can bring glory to God, it changes everything.

The third healing transformation is about my feet which symbolizes the trajectory of my life. Following the Master, wherever He may lead, can very often change the direction of my professional pursuits, as has happened multiple times during my own career. Those sorts of major shifts can be daunting and even debilitating, if done strictly within the context of our own perspective. But when I know the “bend in the road” has been prescribed by the One who told me to follow him, I need not be alarmed. I need simply trust and obey and look with anticipation what new thing He has in store around the corner.

The final healing transformation is about my heart and the ultimate essence of my life-purpose. To “live for thee,” is to let my identity as a Christ-follower take precedence over all other demands and callings. I must never forget, as Steven Curtis Chapman’s song lyrics so aptly state, “God is God, and I am not.” However, I am God’s child, His servant, and His steward and within these phenomenal relationships, I can find true and lasting life-purpose.

One final image this song offers comes from the words pierced and poured. It is from Christ’s wounds experienced through piercing that blessing and transformational power is poured out on someone like me. It makes me think of the anointing that took place in the Old Testament, such as this one recorded in 1 Samuel 16:13 - So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.

That’s why I like the imagery of this historic hymn. It helps me envision Christ as God’s “horn” or vessel full of unquenchable resource that had to be pierced in order that the oil of blessing could be poured out on me—on my head, my hands, my feet, and my heart.

May the hope of this blessing and potential renewal encourage you and me alike as we move ahead into the rest of this year remembering these lessons from an old Easter Hymn.

Let's Steal Christmas Back from the Grinch

2021-12-23T05:18:00.000-08:00

I have a theory that the Grinch who stole Christmas is back again! He's back not to steal Christmas like he did the last time, but to steal from us the real reason for the season.

If you remember from Dr. Suess's famous children's book, or maybe the Broadway musical, the last we heard of the Grinch is that he got reformed. When he realized that taking away everyone's presents and holiday treats didn't stop Christmas from happening, he changed his mind and went back to Whoville to give everything back and join in the celebration with them. As Dr. Suess puts it:

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And he brought back the toys and the food for the feast

And he. . . he himself. . . the Grinch carved the roast beast.

But today, my sense is that the Grinch is more subtle. He's learned that he doesn't need to steal Christmas the way he did last time by taking away all the presents, food, and things people used to celebrate the holiday. Instead, all he has to do is divert people's attention from why Christmas was established in the first place. And if I'm correct, then I would say the Grinch has done a masterful job of it this particular year. First we have the supply chain issues that creates anxiety about being able to adequately shop for those Christmas gifts. On top of that, there is the global COVID pandemic along with national mandates plus anxiety about deep systemic problems in our societies. Is it any wonder that our "Silent Night, Holy Night" has been shattered with terror, trauma and tears?

So--I believe it's time to steal Christmas back from the Grinch. And in the spirit of Dr. Suess, here's my idea of how we should do it:

Let's Steal Christmas Back From The Grinch
by Jon Lewis
The Grinch has come back with some new Grinch-like zeal
And now knows that instead of a thing he must steal,
All he must do is change the main reason
That people like Christmas during this winter season.
Today Grinch thinks Christmas could maybe be stopped
When folks forget Jesus with stuff they have shopped,
That tinsel and lights and toys to be awed
Will make us all think that there’s really no God.
Or if that doesn’t work to bring a pandemic,
Or cause us to worry about problems systemic.

But the Grinch doesn’t know that God is no stranger
To those who believe Christ came in the manger.
So, this year let’s show Grinch that Christmas IS more
Then expensive gifts we buy at the store
Or then trying to make the whole world happy
With man-made ideals that are often quite sappy,
And focus instead on the Bethlehem story
Where shepherds and angels gave God all the glory,
For the coming of him of whom prophets did tell,

Christ, God Incarnate, our Emmanuel!

May God give you some fresh, new reasons to truly have a. . .

Merry Christmas!

Why Christmas Is Important

2021-12-16T13:13:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was asked by my church to teach a couple of adult Sunday School lessons on the topic of Why Christmas Is Important. As usual, the process of thinking through this subject was more beneficial for me personally than probably for anyone else who sat in my class. It also brought new meaning to the Advent readings my wife and I have been doing this year. It has reaffirmed for me that despite of the commercialization that takes place around this holiday season, especially in our American culture, the core of Christmas is still a powerful testimony of Missio Dei, God’s great mission to reclaim a fallen world and reestablish relationship with all mankind.

With that in mind, here are nine reasons to consider why Christmas is important, divided up (a bit like Dickens’ three ghosts) into Christmas Past, Present, and Future:

From Christmas Past

The Fulfillment of God’s Promises – It reminds us that Christ’s birth and subsequent life among men, is the fulfillment of hundreds of prophesies found throughout the Old Testament.
The Incarnation: God becoming Man—It is the single most important event since the beginning of the universe, the moment when the Creator Himself chose to become part of His own creation.
The Means of Redemption—The Christmas event of Incarnation was the only means by which God could bring about His act of redemption and reconciliation for the entire human race.

From Christmas Present

A Celebration of Joy—In a world full of despair and discouragement, it stands out as a celebration of joy! Regardless of cultural tradition or even secular application, it stands out as one event with a primary purpose of bringing gladness and joy to as many people as possible.
Global Missional Impact—In a world divided and fragmented, the “good tidings of great joy” of Christmas is a message directed at ALL people everywhere in the world. It therefore is the most global “missions” event of the entire year as God’s values of hope, peace, joy, and love are passed around and shared worldwide.
Original Model of Gift-Giving—In a world obsessed with self-centeredness, it declares and models God’s generosity to Mankind through the gift of his own Son and thus becomes the ultimate model of selfless gift-giving with a focus on people other than ourlselves.

From Christmas Future

Renews our Expectations—It reminds us that Jesus not only came to be with us 2000 years ago but has promised to come again.
Restores Hope for Eternity—It further helps us remember that Jesus will not only come again to establish His Kingdom, but now, as part of his family, we have the prospect of spending Eternity in God’s presence.
Refreshes our Commitment to being Prepared—As we wait for His second advent, it helps us focus on Christ’s mandate to be prepared for his return no matter when it might be. This, in turn, demands that we need to stay committed to unity, faithfulness, and being blameless and holy, as Paul so aptly states in Ephesians 1:4 and Colossians 1:22.

All of these reasons certainly give new meaning to the messages embedded in Christmas Carols whether sung in church sanctuaries or a Home Depot plumbing aisle or a Beijing MacDonald's. Those messages are still powerful and clear and worth singing again and again, such as: Joy to the world! The Savior reigns! or Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today, or Oh tidings of comfort and joy. . . because Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day.

All good reasons to reaffirm why Christmas is important.

And all good reasons, even this year, to truly have a . . .

Merry Christmas!

Stewarding a Fallen Planet

2021-10-20T11:35:00.003-07:00

Enroute during a road trip from California to our home in Spokane, Washington, my wife and I passed through areas of the Shasta and Klamath national forests that had been devastated by wildfires just a few months before. It was shocking and so sad to see the extent of the total annihilation of all plant life in some of the most verdant forests of America. Even Mt. Shasta looked somber, its pristine white glaciers covered with the dark gray soot from those same fires. At one place along our route, however, I was impressed to see workmen spraying wide borders on both sides of the road with what appeared to be mulch and grass seed. “Wow,” I commented to my wife, “they must be attempting to reseed the burned area to get something growing again as quickly as possible.”

That got me thinking about the question: how should we steward a world that is fallen? It’s one thing to preach Creation Care where there is blatant human abuse of the environment, such as water pollution, toxic emissions, or oil spills. But what does it mean to be a steward of our world when Creation itself appears to cause the devastation, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and lightning strikes that spark forest fires?

When God gave Adam the mandate in Genesis 1:28 to subdue and rule over all He had created, He certainly knew that soon it would become a fallen world, one that would also produce thorns, thistles, and tsunamis. After Adam and Eve’s tragic decision to disobey their Creator, God restates the responsibility of caring for the earth, except now He adds the stark reality that working the ground will mean “painful toil” and “by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food . . .” (Gen 3:17-19). This indicates that just because we live in post-fall planet, that doesn't change God's expectation that we are supposed to tend and care for it.

So again, I ask, how should we approach our stewarding of a fallen world, especially when it means responding to devastation that wasn’t really our fault? Let me suggest three responses:

1. With a sense of obedience. We should be committed to Creation Care, not because our efforts are going to make or keep our world perfect, but simply because God told us, His chosen stewards of this planet, to do so. It’s easy to think that there is little point in working hard at something over which we don’t have ultimate control. But isn’t this also true of our responsibility in stewarding relationships with other people, such as our spouse or our children? Our stewarding efforts of encouragement and guidance will never make them perfect, but that doesn’t mean we should cease our responsibility to be the partner or mentor they may need. So also with the environment. We need to do our best to fulfill our Creation Care mandate regardless of the ultimate outcome—simply out of obedience to our Master.

2. With a readiness to endure hardship. Living in a fallen world, by definition, means facing pain and trial. The New Testament is full of reminders about this, but also matches them with ready exhortations to endure through them as a means of learning, building character, and becoming strong. If it works for building character and spiritual maturity, it should also work for building greater understanding and wisdom in how better to provide Creation Care. We should steward our fallen planet despite how challenging that task might be.

3. With a commitment to renewal. If there is one quality of God that repeatedly is illustrated in Scripture, it is His heart for renewal. Israel’s history of rebellion and betrayal is constantly matched by God’s readiness to restore and renew those who are repentant. Without question, our Master is a God of second chances. As His stewards, we therefore need to imitate this same commitment to renewal in our stewarding of our environment. Just as sure as our own personal loyalty to God will falter from time to time, this fallen world will surely demonstrate its tendency toward self-destruction. As planet caretakers, we need to simply accept this and follow our Master’s example with a commitment to restore and renew—again and again.

I doubt those workmen beside the road were being motivated by a biblical mandate for their reseeding project; but nonetheless, they were demonstrating the work of an intentional gardener. I thank God for their reminder to me that, despite the devastations we will surely see across our fallen planet, there are always good reasons for God’s faithful stewards to care for His Creation.

Soot-covered glaciers on Mt. Shasta, burned forests, and green reseeding effort

A Birthday Blog

2021-03-23T01:00:00.004-07:00

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NIV 1984)

Today, March 23, 2021, is a perfect day to reflect on this verse. Why? Because today is my 70^th birthday! On such a life milestone as this, I can’t help but review with gratitude the phenomenal opportunities God has packed into my life until now and then ponder what He might still have in mind for me in the years ahead. Whatever the case, today is a good time to consider just what it means to “number our days aright” and be a good steward of time.

I have enjoyed teaching about the stewardship of time in my Africa Steward Leader seminars during the past decade, and I have often used the analogy of looking at the squares on a calendar as a series of empty cardboard boxes. God gives every single person the same-sized box each day of our lives—a twenty-four-hour-sized box. No favoritism here! It doesn’t matter if you are wealthy or poor, healthy or weak, from the Global North or Global South—we all get the same size box every day of our lives. But even though God is involved in determining the size of our box, He allows us to decide much of what goes in it. There are times, of course, when He will direct us through circumstances He brings our way, but for the most part, how we choose to invest those twenty-four hours each day is up to us. Making those choices is where good time stewardship fits in.

I have never found a more useful tool for making wise, daily stewardship choices than the “Time Management Matrix” presented in Steven Covey’s classic book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The simplicity of breaking down what we do into four quadrants defined by Important, Not Important and Urgent, Not Urgent is what makes it so powerful. Anyone glancing at the matrix can immediately see the wisdom of not allowing the less important things of Quadrants 3 and 4 to crowd out the urgent things of Quadrant 1 or the most important parts of our life in Quadrant 2. However, as much as I have taught this tool for daily decision-making, I admit that the discipline of actually applying it on a daily basis is not easy. Nevertheless, my own challenge (and my challenge to you) is to make this discipline as much a part of daily practice as possible. In my mind, it is definitely one way to “number our days aright.”

How to fill up each daily box is one level of time stewardship—call it the micro level of seconds, minutes, hours, and days. But the verse says, “Teach us to number our days” (plural), which also calls for a macro level of time stewardship that deals with weeks, months, years, and possibly even seasons of life. In this case, I have found another extremely valuable tool that has helped my own assessment of where I am in life and what my focus should be. It comes from Dr. Robert (Bobby) Clinton’s “Leadership Emergence Theory” first described in his book The Making of a Leader. Not only does Clinton propose six distinct life phases that most godly leaders experience, but he also says that the most effective leaders are those who perceive their lives with increasing perspective of how God is leading and guiding them. At least twice in my life, I experienced a sudden and somewhat traumatic career change. Being able to overlay Clinton’s life-phase map over my own timeline was a huge help at those transition moments and helped me gain the perspective I needed to embrace the new phase with purposeful intention and, most importantly, personal peace. Looking back, I can’t help but think it was exactly what I needed to “number my days aright”—to develop appreciation for the new season of life God had led me to, to be better and not bitter. To this day, I am grateful for Bobby Clinton’s wisdom in providing such a useful tool as well as his own personal words of counsel.

So now, I feel like I am standing at the threshold of another important life phase. What exactly the future will hold for a 70-year-old guy like me, I can’t be sure. There’s nothing like this past year of COVID-19 to teach me that life will always have unexpected surprises. However, I am actually excited about this next season of life, regardless of the unknowns. What I am sure about is that this is no time to stop “numbering my days aright,” both at the micro (daily) level as well as the macro (life-season) level because I know this is how God will keep transforming my heart with His truth, His love, and His wisdom.

Stewarding our Daily Bread

2021-03-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

(This blog was originally written for the Christian Leadership Alliance's Higher Thinking blog site.)

Gives us this day our daily bread, Matthew 6:11

This tiny verse tucked into the very middle of the Lord’s Prayer has been a great text passage for sermons on God’s faithful providence. But have you ever stopped to think how much this verse also teaches us about being a faithful steward?

During this past year, my wife and I have set out to learn what we can about the craft of bread-baking. Even though we’ve been making bread off and on during our forty-four years of marriage, I am amazed how much more there was to learn about what goes into to baking a really great loaf of bread. On top of that, I’ve also been impressed how much making and eating bread has taught me about two key stewardship principles: sufficiency and renewal.

The principle of sufficiency has to do with knowing when enough is enough. It speaks directly to how a faithful steward must make wise use of the master’s resources, of not being wasteful, of learning how contentment and satisfaction must mitigate our natural tendencies toward selfish greed. Nowhere in Scripture is this principle illustrated better than when God provided mana in the desert for the Children of Israel (Exodus 16.) He provided a food source for them in adequate abundance but then instructed to only gather what was sufficient for each day. Anything gathered beyond what was needed for that day would spoil.

Bread baking also illustrates this well. Although there are a lot of extra ingredients you can add to bread dough, a basic loaf of bread only needs four things: flour, water, yeast, and salt. But these ingredients must be measured out in sufficient quantities. Our contemporary cultural thinking that “more is better” certainly does not apply here because adding too much of any one of these four things will ruin the loaf of bread. This is especially true of yeast. One might think that the more yeast one uses, the more the bread dough will rise. Not true! Too much yeast will produce, among other things, too much ethanol by-product during the proofing process causing the bread to taste “yeasty” and somewhat sour. But in the proper sufficient quantity, yeast will produce just the right amount of carbon dioxide gas to cause the dough to rise, and just enough of ethanol (which boils off during baking) to give the bread a great flavor.

The Lord’s Prayer request in Matthew is not just for bread, but for daily bread. This means the plea to our Father is for a renewal of his provision on a daily basis. If He gives us just what is sufficient for yesterday, that means we will need it resupplied again today. Once again, God’s provision of mana in the desert illustrated this as the Israelites discovered a fresh allowance of their food need every morning of each new day. Similarly, with our bread-baking, my wife and I find that a home-made loaf is great for two, three, maybe four days max. But the freshness of bread, which is at its peak when you take it out of the oven, will begin to decrease from that moment on. The inside will lose its moisture and become stiff and chewy while the crust will lose its crunchiness absorbing some of that moisture. The result is bread starting to taste stale. That is why we now make a small loaf that is sufficient for two or three days and then renew the process with another fresh loaf after that.

It doesn’t take much effort to think of how these two stewardship principles have all sorts of applications in our daily lives. Disciplining ourselves in accepting what is sufficient can apply to the temptation of overbuying at a Costco sale and turning down that unnecessary fourth piece of pizza as well as rejecting the super-sized french-fry offer at MacDonald’s. And a commitment to renewal can relate to everything from regular oil changes for our car or lawnmower blade reconditioning as it can to refreshing relationships by spending more quality time spent with our spouse, kids, or neighbors. How about a little discussion tonight around the dinner table to brainstorm other applications you could be more intentional about with your family?

If nothing else, I hope from now on every time you bite into a slice of bread, it will be a great reminder of how you can be an ever more faithful steward by practicing the principles of sufficiency and renewal.

(Note: In case you’re curious about how to make the super-simple, no-knead home-made bread described and pictured above, feel free to contact me at jonlewis23@gmail.com. – Jon.)

Sign Language

2020-10-18T13:55:00.048-07:00

The other day I was biking through my neighborhood and noticed a number of signs people had in their front yards highlighting statements that proclaimed the essential things they believed in. Most signs had a clear political message. Nothing wrong with that – especially during these weeks leading up to a major national election.

As I continued my bike ride, however, I kept thinking to myself if I were to post such a sign, what messages it would contain. I certainly agreed with many of the statements on the signs I had seen, but they also did not capture all the essential truths I had committed myself to as a Christ Follower and Steward of God. So, completing my ride and spending a few minutes in my office with Microsoft Word, this is what I came up with:

As I contemplated what people might think about seeing such a sign in my yard, I also considered adding a statement at the bottom that might say: So who in the world am I supposed to vote for???

All of this has made me reflect on the story in Matthew Chapter 22 when the Pharisees tried to get Jesus to proclaim his political allegiance and trap him into a no-win confrontation. “Teacher,” they said, “what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” If he said “Yes,” then it would be an admission of support for the pagan state of Rome with its incredibly decadent emperor, Tiberius Caesar, as well as a slap in the face of Jewish temple leaders, the self-proclaimed guardians of the God-fearing Jewish faith. But if he said “No,” it might endear him to the priests and surrounding crowds but could very likely put him in mortal danger of reprisal by Roman authorities.

Maybe it’s because of this current season of election fervor in America, but never before have I seen the context of Matthew 22 in such a political light. It was as if Jesus was being pressured by two tremendously powerful and influential political parties. On one hand, the Roman state represented big government, big taxes, social services that were intended to provide equality for all ethic groups (sort of,) and an “open-minded” morality that did not condemn anyone’s sexual preferences. On the other hand, the formalized Jewish religion of the day, guided by the temple high priests, represented local government with freedom and liberty for the Jewish people (at least from Rome,) clear mandated moral principles supposedly based on the God-given Torah, and law and order imposed by temple guards built on long-standing Jewish traditions (like stoning someone caught in the act of adultery.)

See any parallels to some political viewpoints we have today?

With this new contextual insight, it is all the more remarkable how Jesus answered this trick question. He said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” He sided with neither of the political party choices being presented to him but instead marked a “third way” alternative that set a completely different course based on spiritual insight that seemed to have escaped everyone else. In other words, Jesus did not succumb to a simple binary political choice. He drew his perspective instead from his identity as God’s Son and the ultimate “Citizen of Heaven” (Philippians 3:20) where knowledge and understanding flowed directly from God’s Truth, not man’s biased perspective of reality. In essence, he said to give respect to the governmental authorities that are currently in place regardless of their righteousness. Even Tiberius Cesar, as personally immoral as he might be, presided over a state that had to be credited for a significant measure of social structure and stability. But simultaneous, do not let that respect eclipse a man's obligation to acknowledge and revere his Creator or the divine laws and values He has given mankind. What an amazing synthesis of understanding leading to a clear "third way" of behavior totally beyond the capacity of either political party of the day to contemplate.

So back to my yard sign. Even though I have not actually created and staked such a sign in my front lawn—yet, it does challenge me to think carefully about the binary choices I am being offered this election season. More importantly, it makes me wonder how my “heavenly citizenship” is guiding me to determine what set of essentials I should be embracing, regardless of whether or not they fit neatly within one or the other of today’s popular political platforms. Moreover, in the spirit of Jesus’s remarkable reply to the taxation question, what “third way” alternatives does God want me to champion and promote today in the same way his followers championed and promoted his teachings creating the greatest and most powerful movement in human history—totally superseding both Rome and the Jewish temple culture?

I’m not exactly sure what the right answers are to all these questions. But just maybe, I should start with a yard sign.

By the way—what’s on your sign?

Stewarding the End of Christendom . . . Again

2020-10-12T14:32:00.033-07:00

(Note: This is a copy of a blog originally written for the Christian Leadership Alliance "Higher Thinking" blog site. It and other blogs I've written for that site can be found at https://christianleadershipalliance.org/blog/ -- JL)

Christendom, as my mission history textbook explains, was a part of history and a part of the world where nations pushed their political objectives simultaneously with the goal of Christian religious domination. Peaking during the 15^th to 17^th centuries when European colonial powers were advancing their cause around the world, the Christendom era developed a dubious reputation of “percolating a wicked brew of ‘gold, glory, and the gospel.’”[1]

Fortunately, history records the official end of that era occurred three hundred years ago, but I can’t help wondering if we have not seen the rise of a new type of contemporary Christendom with the politically charged partisanship that has marked the last few years in our country. It would be easy to blame the media for labeling evangelical Christians as a biased voting bloc, creating the false assumption that all evangelicals think and behave similarly. The reality is, however, that we Christians have far too often done little to demonstrate that our biblical values demand that we be identified independently from the politics of nationalistic patriotism.

In fact, we actually tend to embrace this identification ourselves when we ring our hands with every new poll and statistic that signals the decline of religious influence in society, the rise of the Nones (those with no religious affiliation), and the acceleration of church closures. Couple all that with the impact of COVID-19 that leads many to question whether regular church attendance will ever recover from its online alternatives, and is it any wonder that many express a corporate depression about the future of Christianity in our country?

Malcolm Muggeridge

I would like to propose, however, that much of this bad news should be associated with the decline of contemporary Christendom, not with Christianity itself. The late Malcolm Muggeridge brilliantly made this delineation in 1972 during a series of lectures presented at the University of Waterloo in Ontario,
Canada. “Previous civilizations have been overthrown from without by the incursion of barbarian hordes,” he claimed. “Christendom has dreamed up its own dissolution in the minds of its own intellectual elite . . . The whole social structure is now tumbling down, dethroning its God, undermining all its certainties. Christendom is the institutional edifice on which Western civilization rests. It’s dying, but it’s not Christianity.”[2]

So, as God’s agents living today in the middle of whirlpools of political debate, racial tension, and pandemic trauma, how are we to steward this moment of Christendom’s new decline? Here are three suggestions:

First, remember that we are God’s stewards, not stewards of Christendom. Our mandate is to cultivate what belongs to our Master—His Gospel, His Truth, His people, His image embedded in us, and even His creation. Let us not confuse those things with the promotion of a Christ-centered state, as wonderful as some think that might be.
Second, if indeed we are seeing historical Christian institutions (churches, colleges, missions, etc.) falling in the flames of cultural upheaval, let us not lose heart, but instead focus on rebuilding communities that God has truly "refined by fire" that are prepared to show the world what faith, hope, and love really look like.

Third, instead of always embracing whatever political platform has the most bullet points we can agree with, let us clearly define what a biblical platform of social values should be regardless of political bias and begin to articulate them with unity and power. Just maybe, we might begin influencing the traditional ideology on both sides of the political aisle.

Here is Muggeridge again with a great final exhortation:

We should rejoice when empires fall to pieces, when all is confusion and conflict. For it is precisely when every earthly hope has been explored and found wanting, when every possibility of help from earthly sources has been sought and is not forthcoming . . . when in the shivering cold the last stick has been thrown on the fire and . . . every glimmer of light has finally flickered out, it’s then that Christ’s hand reaches out sure and firm. Then Christ’s words bring their inexpressible comfort, then His light shines brightest, abolishing the darkness forever.[3]

Christendom may rise and fall. To be a faithful steward of Christ’s light is our responsibility, regardless.

[1]S. Moreau, G. Corwin, G. B. McGee, Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey, Second Edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015), 110.

[2] Shayne Looper, Shayne Looper: The Prophet of the Fall of Christendom, https://www.timesreporter.com/article/20140130/NEWS/140139920/10704/OPINION

[3] https://worldandeverything.org/2020/10/les-sillars-the-end-of-christendom/

The Good Lament

2020-04-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

Of all the days of Holy Week—between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday—Good Friday (today) is the darkest. So why is it called “Good?” According to etymologists, it comes from the obsolete sense of using that word to mean “pious” or “holy,” such as calling the Holy Bible, the “Good Book.”

But the actual events of that day, experienced by Christ and his followers were anything but good. The horrific sequence of Jesus’ betrayal, fake trial, mocking, torture, and crucifixion, so graphically portrayed in Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of Christ, help us today get a glimpse of just how opposite of “good” that day was.

The moment of that Friday, two thousand years ago that interests me, however, is when it was all over—when Jesus was still hanging on the cross, now just a dead human corpse and the farthest possible thing from the conquering king the crowds of Palm Sunday had imagined. Scripture doesn’t dwell very much on that moment. Matthew and Mark simply let us know that there were some women still watching from afar. John moves right on to assure readers all he had recorded up to that point was true. Only Luke gives us a hint about the emotion felt by some of the people at the crucifixion event: all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts (Lk 23:48.) My study Bible notes tell me that’s another way of saying they were experiencing anguish and grief.

It is anguish and grief that are exactly what interest me this particular Good Friday. As I write this, (on April 10, 2020) the United States is just about to reach a peak death rate statistic thanks to the devastating impact of the coronavirus. Personally, I don’t have the capacity to grasp the anguish of some 2000 families in my country who this very day will experience the loss of a loved one—let alone the other 3000 who will experience the same thing around the world. Then there is the grief associated with loss of jobs, diminished savings accounts, missed graduation experiences, or of depressing isolation. How are we to grapple with the immensity of such incredible global pandemic impact such as this?

One of the things that strikes me about the events of Holy Week, is that for some reason, God decided that the resurrection should not occur until the Sunday after Good Friday. How come? Why not the very next morning? What was the point of having to go through all of Saturday and Saturday night carrying all that anguish, grief, and hopelessness when the whole point was to “conquer death” anyway?

I think the answer to that question has something to do with the importance of lament. This is a word that I have never really understood before. Of course, I’ve been aware that many of the Psalms are expressions of lament and that the Old Testament has the entire book of Lamentations. But why does the biblical account feature this aspect of lament so much and what does it have to say to us today?

Example of Kintsugi art piece

This past week, I heard an online discussion on the Veritas Forum (http://www.veritas.org/) that helped me learn for the first time why lament might be so important—why lament might actually be GOOD. During the forum, the well-known artist, Mako Fujimura used the Japanese art form called Kintsugi to illustrate how people might need to process what we are currently experiencing with COVID19. Kintsugi is the art form of taking a broken piece of pottery and reassembling it using gold or silver lacquer in the cracks to cement the pieces back together. The result is actually something that can be more beautiful and valuable than the original unbroken piece. But the key, says Mako, is to differentiate between simply fixing something as opposed to crafting and transforming it with new beauty and purpose. In the Kintsugi tradition, in order to make something new that is truly a new work of art, you literally must hold on to the broken pieces for a significant amount of time to study them and get to know their shapes well before proceeding. Making the link with real life, Mako went on to suggest that is exactly what lament is—a period of time to embrace and fully grasp the brokenness that exists.

I have to admit this idea is very foreign to me. I’m a fixer. I like to repair things in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Just ask my wife about the countless times in our 43 years of marriage when she shared a hurt or an emotional wound and instead of identifying with her and trying to feel her pain, all I wanted to do was fix the situation as quickly as possible. That’s why the idea of taking time for lament is not natural for me. Nor do I think it is natural for our modern society in general. Most of what I hear in response to this pandemic (besides who to blame for it) is how to “fix” things as quickly as possible so as to get back to “normal” again.

However, just like at the first Good Friday, there may not ever again be a “normal” the same way we thought there should be. And maybe the “new normal” that will result is going to force a totally new way of thinking about ourselves and our world in order to carry on.

It’s easy for us with our historical hindsight to quickly pass over the anguish, grief, and lament that Jesus’ followers experienced during the hours that immediately followed the crucifixion. We love to shout out that phrase, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” because we love to focus on the glorious image of Easter morning with the empty tomb and the victory over death it represents. After all, why wallow in despair and darkness when we know the joy and brightness of the “end of the story?”

But is it possible that experiencing a season of true lament is actually needed in order to more fully appreciate and embrace whatever “new normal” the future may hold? Just like the longer a Kintsugi artist holds the broken pieces of his pottery, the more beautiful he or she will be able to transform it into new work of art, so should we fully grasp the brokenness of this coronavirus moment in order to consider how we could emerge more sensitive, caring, and more fully human than ever before.

So, if there is anything that the story of Good Friday has to say to us on this particular April 10, 2020, it’s that lament can be GOOD after all!

Palm Sunday, Crowns, and the Coronavirus

2020-04-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today, on this Palm Sunday, I have been asking myself this question: Why did Jesus plan and go through the triumphal entry experience commemorated by this day? Was it because he wanted people to have an opportunity in recognizing him for who he really was – the Messiah, the King, their Lord? Or was it because he wanted to do something that would finally tip the scales with the religious authorities and trigger the ultimate events of Holy Week?

Perhaps these are both correct. But, might there be an even deeper significance to this day that God wanted to use in order to contrast two very different perspectives that resulted from Palm Sunday versus Easter Sunday?

Consider the following:

· The people welcoming Jesus on Palm Sunday were doing so because they saw him as the Messiah—a savior and a solution to their political bondage and frustrations. They were ready to offer him a crown of a ruler in the way they understood the concept of kingdom. It was to be a kingdom where they (as common people, Jewish citizens, etc.) had everything to gain and nothing to lose. In a sense, they wanted to offer Jesus a crown while keeping the crowns of their own private, personal kingdoms. No wonder they were excited: It would have been all gain with no pain!
· In contrast, God unfolds his Eternal plan of salvation through circumstances very different from those expectations. His Son is betrayed, maligned, rejected, and ultimately crucified. The sign nailed on the cross "King of the Jews" is put there not in honor, but in derision. Instead of the type of crown the people were ready to give Jesus on Palm Sunday, he now wears a crown of thorns--a symbol of the price paid for experiencing the horrific rejection of both mankind and also, for a time, of God the Father.
· On Easter Sunday, however, exactly one week later, Jesus rises from dead as the true King, not only of the Jews, but King of Kings. In stark contrast to the hope and expectations people had a week before, now to acknowledge his Kingship, as well as his being Messiah and Savior, there is a cost involved. Another way to say it is in order to crown Jesus with the crown he deserves as King of Kings, one must first experience the costly acknowledgement of personal sin, repent of that sin, and humbly accept the forgiveness, redemption, and restitution he offers. In other words, one does indeed have much to gain, but only first by experiencing the pain of losing his or her own personal crown.
· Therefore, a Palm Sunday "Messiah" seems to represent a two-kingdom solution to what was a temporary, local dilemma, whereas Easter Sunday’s "King of Kings" represents a one-kingdom solution to mankind's ultimate dilemma of sin and eternal salvation.

Relating this to the Coronavirus

Wikipedia offers this following definition: The name coronavirus is derived from the Latin corona, meaning "crown" or "halo.” This is due to the crown-type appearance of the virus when viewed under an electron microscope.

It is interesting that in the midst of this current pandemic, the coronavirus has indeed taken on the symbolic crown of a "king" that has totally dominated the world and ruthlessly exerted its power of life and death over all mankind. As we witness how most people view these events, it seems evident that most would simply like this situation to go away quickly so that all can go back to normal again. It’s easy to see how people don't like how the coronavirus has exerted a one-kingdom domination forcing them to give up their own personal "crowns" and kingdoms of comfort and self-reliance in order to be subservient to laws of isolation, containment, and survival.

The displeasure of being de-throwned from their personal kingdoms is further illustrated by the popular tendency to 1) try to find who to blame (Chinese, Trump, federal government incompetence, etc.) and 2) wanting to get back to "normal" as quickly as possible. All of this is evidence of desperately wanting to maintain a two-kingdom world. In other words, God or the coronavirus can do whatever they like, as long as it doesn't overly impact my own personal kingdom.

In 2 Chronicles 7:13-14 God says to his people: When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, IF my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Is it possible God has sent this world-wide plague in the context of 2 Chronicles 7? Is it possible He wants to get the attention of people who are so caught up in their two-kingdom worlds that they can't possibly conceive of the fact that God created the universe to run as a one-kingdom system? Like C.S. Lewis says in his book, The Problem of Pain, is it possible God is using the pain of this coronavirus pandemic as his “megaphone to a deaf world?”

I have to admit that during most Palm Sundays, I have focused primarily on the joyful image of Jesus riding on a donkey, prophetically portrayed as our future King and highlighted by children marching into church waving palm branches and singing “hosanna” songs. I have not ever thought about it as a possible object lesson God might have planned to contrast my preferred gain-with-no-pain, two-kingdom world with his gain-through-personal-repentance, one-kingdom world of Easter Sunday.

And since this particular Palm Sunday occurs smack in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, what additional lesson does God want me to learn from the way He could be using the coronavirus as a personal call back to a 2 Chronicles 7 response of humility, prayer, and confession?

I guess I definitely have no excuse about having enough time to think about answers to these questions!

Advent Adventure

2019-12-02T12:33:00.001-08:00

Last Sunday, Anita and I had the privilege of initiating the Advent season at our church by lighting the first candle of the Advent Wreath with the special help of all four of our grandchildren. Before the official candle-lighting, I had the chance to review with our congregation some of the history and meaning of this tradition.

Most remember that the roots of today's Advent tradition go back to the early days of the Reformation when Martin Luther and other church fathers sought practical ways to make the Gospel message clear and meaningful, especially to children. Along with the Christmas Tree, the Advent Wreath was a great way to teach such things as the circular wreath being a symbol of Eternal Life as well as a royal crown for King Jesus, the prickly holly a symbol of His crown of thorns, the pine cones of rebirth and new life, the candles of God's Word lighting the darkness, etc., etc.

But as I reviewed what to share at church, there was a new aspect that I had not thought about before. It had to do with the Latin word from which we get the English advent.The word is adventus which means arrival or coming. What I learned, however, is that the etymology of adventus shows it is actually made up of advenio (arrival) and tus (a suffix that turns it into an action noun.) This means that the concept of advent is not a ho-hum type waiting, like waiting for the school bus to arrive. It is a much more active involvement, like sitting on the edge of your seat with great expectation. Think of the word adventure, which is also derived from the same Latin root. You embark on an adventure with great expectation that something exciting, unexpected, and remarkable might lie ahead.

Another great way to capture this concept of active waiting is to think of the five candles on the Advent Wreath as similar to a NASA countdown toward a rocket launch: 5-4-3-2-1. . . Every second ticked away brings you closer to the exciting climax of a BLASTOFF! In the case of the wreath, the five candles count off the weeks toward the celebration of the most remarkable event in all of human history--the arrival of the Christ Child, Emmanuel, God-with-us! And just like NASA uses countdowns to remember critical action steps in a rocket launch sequence, so too, the five candles provide important reminders of what Christ's coming means to us. The first candle is the Prophesy Candle with a focus on the Hope the prophets told us about. The second is the Bethlehem Candle with a focus on God's Love demonstrated by the incarnation. The third is the Shepherd's Candle with a focus on Joy, since they were the ones who heard the "tidings of great joy." The fourth is the Angel's Candle with a focus on Peace, from the announcement of "peace on earth, goodwill toward men." Finally, the last one is Christ's Candle, lit on Christmas Eve when we celebrate His coming as God's Light to a dark world.

Just like the Advent Wreath is a great exercise in waiting expectantly for the celebration of Christmas, it is also a wonderful reminder that we all still live in the tension of waiting for Christ's Second Coming which is still in the future. May all of our waiting for that ultimate event be an active adventus-type waiting with readiness and great expectation--since without doubt, God definitely has more ADVENTURE waiting for all of us ahead!

Merry Christmas
Jon Lewis

Strengthening the Foundation

2019-05-30T10:52:00.001-07:00

One of the most amazing stories of impressive church growth has been documented in the book by Jerry Trousdale called Miraculous Movements. Utilizing a methodology called Disciple Making Movements (DMM) that results in planting small house churches even in tough, resistant communities, the book tells about explosive church multiplication in various countries of Africa and Asia. I have actually been using this book as one of my required texts for the class I teach at Whitworth University on The Global Christian Movement.

I recently sat down for coffee in Addis Ababa with an Ethiopian friend, who shared some insights about how this strategy is faring now years later. As former director of a church planting organisation intimately involved with DMM, he and his staff have used it to plant literally thousands of small, house churches during the past ten years. According to him, it was some of these very "miraculous movements" that Jerry used as powerful illustrations in his book.

He explained that most of those church plants are doing just fine, but that there were some, as might be expected, that have not stood the test of time. "What do you think those that have not lasted were missing?" I asked. "I can't give you a definitive answer yet," he told me, "but I believe it involves five key elements that were not present or emphasized enough. Today, as we continue to plant churches especially in larger urban areas, we are making sure that those five things become an integral part of the life of those churches with the hope it will help them be sustained indefinitely."

Anxious to hear more, I ordered another round of coffee macchiatos, pulled out my notebook, and said "OK, tell me what those five key elements are." Here was his reply:

People need to truly be in love with Jesus. This means a sincere desire to get to know Christ and imitate Him in their daily walk.
People need to learn how to study Scripture with real depth. This has to be more than just reading a passage and sharing what you think it means. It means really digging in to learn the full truth God wants to reveal in His Word. He also added that just listening to a preacher, no matter how gifted or popular, is also no substitute for committed personal Bible study.
People need to worship through singing that truly comes from the heart. It is not enough to sing songs other people think are neat. Singing from the heart, even composing personal worship songs, is a critical measure of someone's passion for God.
People need to develop a consistent habit of pray. It is not good enough to just go through the motions of prayer. They need to enter into a prayer experience that helps them connect personally and intimately with God.
People need to understand what true fellowship of the Body of Christ is all about. This cannot be for just an hour on Sunday morning, but a commitment to community that causes them to care for each other throughout the week.

As I jotted all of these down, I was struck with the fact that nothing here seemed to be earth-shaking or radical. But in every case, my friend kept emphasizing words like "truly" and "sincere." So, it appears that consistent discipleship that encourages these five habits just may be the bottom line "secret" to house church communities that are able to stand that test of time.

I will be very interested to stay in tune with my friend and hear what reports he might have down the road about lasting impact of these efforts. In the meantime, it seems to me that all of us as Christians around the world could benefit from following the insights being learned and modeled by our brothers and sisters in Addis Ababa and the house churches they are planting.

(Note: This blog post has been rewritten from its original version and re-posted here on March 13, 2020. This is due to my misrepresenting what I had understood my friend had shared with me as well as lacking to request his permission for sharing his name and picture. For this I apologize to him and to all who read my original posting. Unfortunately, I also must delete some of the comments in order to preserve my friends anonymity. I trust that this new edited version is now both more accurate and continues to honor my friend and his amazing work in advancing God's Kingdom through church planting.)

The Wisdom of Solomons

2019-05-13T15:26:00.000-07:00

It’s not often that you get to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. But it is even more rare to benefit from the collective wisdom of two Solomons at the same time! Yet that is exactly what I got to do on May 4 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when I was able to introduce two friends from my past life as manager with MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship.)

Solomon Gizau was assigned to my region in the early 1990s as the first Ethiopian national to qualify as an MAF pilot. At that time, he and his family lived in Uganda, but even then, I knew his heart was set on some day returning to fly in his home country. That is exactly what he did, eventually starting the Abyssinian Air Service business with one leased Caravan aircraft and over the years, expanding it to seven Caravans, a helicopter and ten training aircraft used for his flight school. Today AAS is second only to Ethiopian Airlines as a national aviation company that trains and hires all local staff to accomplish its mission.

About that same time back in the 90s, I first met Souleymane Kouyate when I was searching for someone to recruit for helping to open up a new program. A handsome, six-foot-plus, West Africa, Solo, as we called him, brought along two things he had picked up along the way in France—a degree in electrical engineering and a five-foot-two, blond-haired, blue-eyed wife! It’s been a pleasure watching him grow in experience and capability over the years to the point where today he serves in the same position I used to have—MAF Regional Director for Africa.

Never having met each other, I felt it would be mutually beneficial to getting these two Solomons together to see what collaboration just might arise from their collective wisdom. Finally, this last May 4^th it worked out and for half a day, along with MAF VP of Operations, Dan Whitehead

we shared experiences, lessons learned, stories, and also some outstanding enjera wat Ethiopian food. As I expected, the insights gained were many. Here are just some of the topics we covered:

The state of aviation regulation in Africa and how it impacts a small business start-up.
The future use of light aviation by the church and mission community.
The challenges of maintaining a safety-conscious aviation culture in an African context.
The margin of profitability for a small, commercial aviation organization in Africa.
The importance of not submitting to expected bribes by government aviation officials.
The possibility of giving Western MAF pilots an introductory internship with AAS before beginning their ministry assignment.

If there is anything I came away with from our time together, it was the satisfaction of knowing that despite the challenges, Africa’s future is in good hands if outstanding national leaders such as these two Solomons are at the helms of their organizations. And, they might even have some pretty good wisdom to pass on to the rest of us non-Africans as well.

Flying High at the MAFI Global Forum

2018-09-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

MAFI CEO, Dave Fyock, opens the Global Forum meeting

You may know all about the historic ministry work of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). But you may not be aware that today there are some fifteen MAFs around the world. Besides the MAF organizations in the United States and Canada, all the rest have organized themselves as spokes around the hub of a single flight operations group called MAFI (International) with headquarters in Ashford, UK. Every year, representatives of all these groups gather for a global forum to praise God for what is happening and discuss the challenges of future ministry service.

Challenging everyone with what the future of MAF might be

I was privileged this year to be the keynote speaker for the Forum plus spend a couple of extra days facilitating strategic planning discussions. Altogether, I come away with a new appreciation for this great, committed group of organizations and impressed with the way they are grappling with the challenges of future relevancy.

Here are a few of my observations from the past four days:

· New MAF resource groups are emerging from countries that have not been traditional “players” in the mission aviation world. Gathered with us were members of MAF Italy, France, India, Singapore, and Philippines.

MAFI leadership team grappling with a SWOT exercise
· Although MAF-UK has been the dominate resource entity for MAFI for both funds and technical staff, MAF Switzerland is now supplying as many new pilots for field operations as anyone. This is partly due to great marketing efforts by Hans Leutwyler, MAFS CEO, and partly to a Swiss government policy that offers to pay for half of a future pilot’s flight training.
· There is a strong effort to recruit pilots for MAFI from developing countries of the Global South. A pilot training center in Australia is focusing on this right now and

Board members of MAF UK, Switzerland, Italy, and Norway
enjoy some Rhone valley red Beaujolais before dinner.

there is even the possibility that young pilots might have a chance to build experience by being employed short term as flight instructors in Singapore Airlines' basic flight school.

Although everyone believes it is still a long ways off, a joint Technology Task Force headed by MAF Canada CEO, Brad Bell, is already studying future mission applications of such things as drones and electric-powered sky taxis.

I was delighted that all these initiatives of MAFI validated the key conclusions I had prepared for my plenary talk—namely that the next season of mission aviation will demand thinking in new and creative ways in order to continue “crossing barriers” and advancing God’s Kingdom around the world.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be invited back to another MAFI Global Forum, but if they ever decide to hold it again in Lyon, France, the capital of French gastronomic cuisine, (well-proved by the chefs at our hotel!) I won’t hesitate to accept!

Insights into African Leadership

2018-03-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

If there is any cry that I have heard loud and clear from the continent of Africa, it is the need for leadership development. And it seems that despite the plethora of courses, curricula, and consultants pouring into the African continent from the US and other nations, it never seems to quench the thirst for more help in training and preparing Christians leaders. That is why the results of the recent African Leadership Study (ALS) sponsored by the Tyndale House Foundation is such a timely resource for getting a better grasp on the dynamics of African Christian leaders.

Recently, I was sent an advanced copy of the study results packaged in the book, African Christian Leadership and its accompanying pamphlet 17 Insights into Leadership in Africa. Right away, I got a sense of the significant effort that was expended over several years to accomplish this research—a clear tribute to academic rigor. I also loved how the leadership team for the project involved 32 experienced participants, a majority of which were African themselves.

The study involved gathering input from 8000 Africans in three countries via a 93-question survey to inquire about the types of leaders and leadership qualities that have the greatest impact in the African context. Most significant to me was that the planners choose their target countries so that they represented all three major language groups of Africa: English, French, and Portuguese. Since my experience is that Anglophone regions of Africa always get the predominance of attention from the West, it was very encouraging to see this attention to better balance.

Sharing about ALS at a leadership workshop in Senegal

During my last trip to West Africa, I had the chance to share about the ALS with leader friends in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Needless to say, there was immediate enthusiasm and interest in learning more about the study results. And, fortunately, the project is creating an interactive website in all three languages that will provide for that sort of on-going learning and dialog to happen. You can check it out yourself at: http://www.africaleadershipstudy.org/

As you might expect, however, I also heard some healthy criticism as some leaders questioned how broad conclusions about African leaders could be made from just surveying three countries. As one friend put it, “Do you think I would fully understand America if I interviewed a few people only in Maryland, Kansas, and Oregon?” Nevertheless, my sense is that the ALS has produced a valiant effort that certainly opens the door for more discussion and learning. I believe this initiative deserves as much exposure as possible and will be a welcome addition in the continued effort to encourage the healthy development and training of the emerging generation of African Christian leaders.

Repurposing Retired Tires

2018-03-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's not every day you find an indigenous African project that is dedicated to cleaning up the environment. But that's just what I found today here in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Walking across the compound of the church center where I'll be giving a leadership workshop tomorrow, I ran into Iolanda and her youth group project. She has inspired her teenage kids to repaint old tires and, with the help of three metal posts, turn them into recycling receptacles. She showed me how the tires, stacked in the colorful symbol of the national flag, can then support a large plastic bag that can then collect spent water bottles, pop cans, etc. "We've already gotten permission from the city authorities to place them around Bissau," she explained. "And they were so enthusiastic that the regular city trash collectors have agreed to empty them out on a regular basis." Sure enough, on the way to lunch, I spotted several of the eye-catching containers even on the prominent city round-point in front of the main government house.

Trash-free streets is not one of Africa's assets, especially in really poor and developing countries like Guinea-Bissau. Old habits of throwing a banana peel on the ground were fine when most folks lived

in the forest. But today in towns and crowded cities, that has translated into people freely tossing their bottles, cans, and plastic bags anywhere. Piles of trash have become one of Africa's greatest social plights, in some places becoming breeding grounds for disease.

That's why I have been making environmental care one of the key topics the past couple years in my workshops on being a Faithful Steward. It's challenging enough for many African friends to think about applying stewardship theology to their ministries and marriages, but stewardship of the environment is often a concept they have never considered at all. Until now, I haven't have any good illustrations in an African context of what that sort of stewardship could look like. Thanks to Iolanda and her "juventude evangelica" of Guinea-Bissau, I can start showing what can happen when a little creativity connects with a passion to care for the Creation God has given us!

Quiet Giant

2018-01-04T21:32:00.002-08:00

On Wednesday evening, at 7:30 PM, this world said "good bye" to a man who I would like to call a "quiet giant."

Norm Olson was one of the most unobtrusive men in the leadership of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) but also one who probably had more to do with shaping the organizations direction during the 1960s to 1980s as anyone else. Most of all for me, his influence in shaping my own career in MAF and ultimately in the mission world, was huge.

When Anita and I first showed up at MAF's doorsteps in February of 1977, it was Norm Olson who decided right then and there that I should work for him. He proceeded to negotiate with Don Berry, the director of personnel, to alter the rules of becoming an MAF pilot just so that I could join the organization immediately and then later, fly as an MAF pilot. Within a few hours of my first interview, he handed me a piece of paper that had a joint commitment on it that if I worked for his Development Department for four years, and if I completed all my flight ratings, that MAF would accept me as a field pilot - even without an A&P mechanics license. Two weeks later, Anita and I accepted the proposal.

Have you ever had anyone who believed in you that way so quickly that they were ready to make a major commitment to your personal development?

Those four years stretched into five, and during that entire time, Norm mentored me as a young leader. I learned about time management, about strategic planning, and about ministry effectiveness. Few people I knew where as creative as Norm and he ultimately demanded that same creativity in me. More than once, I went to Norm to ask how to do something and he would simply reply, "We've never done that before, so you'll just need to figure out a way to do it yourself."

By the time those five years were up, I was responsible for all aspects of MAF's Development Department except for the direct mail letters. My group included people like Dennis Whitlock for banquets and Bill Rakozy who helped me launch the first Ministry Partnership department. Norm strongly pressured me to take his place as VP of Development in 1982, but I had just qualified for a field pilot role and was ready to head off to Africa. That was the dream that I needed to accomplish, so I turned Norm's offer down.

Nevertheless, Norm, along with his wife, Cathy, remained special friends throughout the rest of our MAF career and even beyond.

As sad as it is to see a quiet giant like Norm pass from our midst, it is also wonderful to pay tribute to a man who lived his life to the fullest possible extent and though never becoming a big name known by all, finished his life well as a faithful servant of others and of His God. I am proud to be a tiny part of his legacy.

Stewarding Stewardship

2017-10-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Increasingly, I’m finding that the theme of being God’s Faithful Steward to be an incredibly powerful foundation for so many other ministry endeavors. Whether it’s helping a mission aviation program manager think about creative ways to steward the resource of flight service or a national church group to steward their own ability in translating God’s Word, framing everything in terms of being a steward that cultivates what God has given them is truly transformational.

Teaching how fundraising itself is also a ministry

On my most recent trip to South Africa, I was asked to give a number of workshops on how to do fundraising for personal or ministry sustainability. Invariably, people came hoping to learn some “secret formula” or “tricks of the trade” that would give them some quick fundraising success. As one African leader put it unashamedly at the beginning of our session, “I hope you’ll tell me where the money is!” What they were not prepared for was to hear that fundraising should be considered a ministry in its own right and that every potential donor is also on a personal journey of learning to steward their resources. One young woman participant said, “Wow—this means I no longer should view my friends and family as ATM machines from which to get money for my ministry, but as fellow stewards God must work through first before partnering with me to build His kingdom.”

Workshop with associates of OC Africa in Johannesburg,
South Africa

Beyond the area of fundraising, I’ve been so impressed how this stewardship message speaks powerfully to so many other areas of life my African friends grapple with. During the past three years of presenting workshops on this theme, I’ve seen the “lights come on” in the eyes of participants as they come to recognize new ways of thinking about marriage relationships, family dynamics, ministry priorities, leadership style, self-identity, and even consciousness about caring for the African environment. To see what I mean, check out this little video where I captured some of that impact after a workshop in Lagos, Nigeria: https://youtu.be/cCowf_xP2v4

Being a board member of The Steward’s Journey ( http://thestewardsjourney.com) and a colleague of Scott Rodin, its founder, has not only been a huge influence in my own journey of becoming God’s faithful steward, but also challenged me with what it means to actually steward stewardship. I’m thrilled with how this critical message, and its subsequent transformational worldview, is impacting, helping, and encouraging so many new friends I’m meeting across the continent of Africa.

Bat in the Belfry

2017-10-11T02:43:00.001-07:00

This week I’ve been participating at the first tri-annual IFES conference for students in southern Africa. The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students is the global umbrella agency for student ministries such as the wellknown InterVarsity ministry in the United States. In South Africa, it is called the SCO—Student Christian Organization, which officially hosted this event held at a camp and retreat facility about an hour east of Johannesburg.

There, I joined some 300 young people from ten African countries for four packed days of plenary and breakout workshop sessions all designed to inspire greater vision for and involvement in missions.

I had been asked to give two workshops on the topics of personal support raising and how to become a faithful steward (each presented twice) along with one evening plenary session on how African young people could invest their time and talent to prepare for mission work.

Averaging about twenty attenders per session, I found the students amazingly interested in my workshops of personal support raising and stewardship. To me, this is so encouraging because it indicates a trend away from African ministry leaders just relying on funds from America but instead exploring creative alternatives for generating support from their own continent.

About a third of the way through my evening plenary presentation, a big bat flew into the auditorium and kept flying around and around obviously trapped and confused on how to get out again. At precisely the same time, the PowerPoint projector screen froze up and wouldn’t budge. There I was, standing on stage having lost the attention of my audience and totally stuck on any way to move forward.

For some reason, I really sensed at that moment we were facing some significant spiritual warfare opposition. So I halted the program, called everyone to stand and pray out loud and reclaim the meeting and meeting hall for Christ. For a minute or so, the room was filled with the sound of 300 students fervently praying. When I opened my eyes, I saw the bat aim for a small open door beside the platform and fly straight out and simultaneously, the projector screen was right back where I needed it. Now I REALLY had the attention of everyone and proceeded to complete my presentation without a hitch.

I can’t tell you the number of times students came up to me during the rest of the conference and remarked about this “bat” incident. I don’t know how much of the content of my talk they’ll ever remember, but it is evident that for many, they will not soon forget their first power encounter experience of spiritual warfare.

Paul's Epistle to the Bayote

2017-03-07T12:28:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 4:12 says: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

One of the most powerful experiences I had during this Bible translation time in Guinea-Bissau was witnessing this verse come to life.

My team of Djola-Bayote-Aramme speakers were wrapping up their translation of the sixth chapter of Galatians when João Manga stopped and exclaimed: “This is amazing! It’s as if the apostle Paul is speaking directly to our Bayote churches right here today!” When I asked him to explain what he meant, this is what I learned:

Translating Galatians into Djola-Bayote-Aramme

Bayote tribal customs continue to run deep in their local culture. One of those is a major animistic ceremony that happens every few years in which young and old men alike must go through the tribal rites of circumcision. Unlike the Old Testament Jewish case, where God had both spiritual identity and health considerations in mind for circumcision, the Bayote see this strictly as a sign of tribal loyalty and, most likely, a means of appeasing the demons and spirits. As a result, Bayote Christians have resisted participating in the ceremony.

Doing so, however, has brought with it significant persecution. Last year, a mob attacked and totally destroyed a brand-new church claiming it was being built as a place to hide boys in order to keep them from the circumcision rites. So, when my friends read in Galatians, Paul’s strong admonition not to follow those who were trying to promote the old legal Jewish regulations of circumcision, but to find salvation in the cross of Christ alone, they said, “This is exactly what our people need to hear today! Paul says, ‘Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised… they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.’” (from Gal 6:12-14)

Furthermore, they exclaimed that being able to read these words of Paul in their own Bayote language dialect brings not only new relevance to the Bible but will also be a tremendous encouragement to stand up in the face of community opposition.

If you’re interested to hear Joao Manga personally share this story, here's a YouTube link to a short video interview I did with him where he explains just how impactful Galatians will be for his people: https://youtu.be/GNMHxXHOB7Y

Standing at the MAST

2017-03-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

MAST is an acronym for Mobile Assistance Supporting Translation. It’s a revolutionary method of helping bi-lingual speakers translate God’s Word into their native tongue in a relatively short time frame.

The team of national translators I worked with at the MAST event

Up until recently, the traditional approach to Scripture translation involved a professional linguist who would painstakingly learn a target language and then carefully figure out how to put the original Greek and Hebrew words of the Bible into that language. Unfortunately, this process has often mean an average of twenty to thirty years to complete just the New Testament. And when you add up the total costs of that process, it can easily cost over a million dollars. With thousands of languages in the world still without a Bible, you can imagine how long and expensive it would be to rely solely on this approach for translation.

Then, a couple of years ago, Wycliffe Associates, that historically was strictly the volunteer support organization of the professional Bible translation world, began experimenting with a method used to teach English to national translators as a means of also helping them produce translated Scripture. That experiment is what is now called MAST. It’s based on the following assumptions:

· Many people in the world are actually bi-lingual and fluent in both their native tongue and another key trade language, like Arabic, Swahili, French, Portuguese, etc.

· There are roughly fifty of those key languages in the world that provide a gateway to virtually all of the rest of the languages that have never had a Bible.
· If a good quality Bible were to exist in that gateway language, then people should be able to translate it fairly easily directly into their native tongue, eliminating the need to first become a Greek and Hebrew scholar or a professional linguist.
· By bringing clusters of native, bi-lingual speakers together for 10 to 14 days and guiding them in a disciplined eight-step process through a facilitator, a significant amount of Scripture can get translated to a first draft quality. Second and third level translation accuracy can then be achieved by subsequent checking involving more speakers from the language community and ultimately, leaders with theological training.
· By involving enough people and getting them together frequently, it is possible to get an entire New Testament translated in less than a year.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, not everyone is convinced about this methodology. You can easily understand someone who has spent the better part of their ministry life slaving over a particular Bible translation wondering what kind of true quality a one-year New Testament project might have when it has been done by untrained lay-people. Since I’ve been promoting this MAST concept for Wycliffe Associates, I decided I needed to answer that question for myself by actually participating in a MAST event. That is what has taken me to Guinea-Bissau for the past two weeks.

The first chapter of Galatians ever to be printed in the
Djola-Bayote-Aramme language

During this time, I’ve been one of five facilitators for a team of native speakers. My particular team was from the Aramme dialect of Djola-Bayote language group. Together, we learned all about the eight MAST disciplines and then jumped right in tackling the books of Galatians, Titus and Philemon. I’m happy to report that we got all three books done, checked and printed by the last day of our event—the first ever in their language.

What is my opinion of the process? I have to say I’m impressed. Without question, the eight MAST disciplines are critical to keep folks on track with as accurate a translation process as possible – especially the final step of back translating to be sure the new language preserves the same sense as the Bible used as a source text. Does it produce a perfect translation? Certainly not at the first level draft stage. But, with the subsequent second and third level checking process, I’m more confident than ever that an excellent native translation is possible--one that clearly presents the Truth of God’s Word. And, by using low-cost print-on-demand technology, new, corrected copies of Scripture can quickly and inexpensively replace earlier translated versions.

Most important of all for me, however, was coming away with a sense that although a MAST translation may not have the quality of an ESV or NIV Bible, it is definitely not going to produce such inaccuracies that people reading it would fall into some sort of theological heresy. And, most important of all, MAST is very viable way to start getting Bibles into the hands of the thousands of languages that need them in order to support evangelism, church planting and discipleship. If we’re serious about the urgency of completing the Great Commission, than we need to be equally serious about the urgency of getting to the point where all people on earth can hear God’s Word in their heart language.

And after these past two weeks, the Djola-Bayote-Aramme people can do just that!

Return on Investment

2017-03-03T15:43:00.001-08:00

It’s not often that you get to see the return on an investment made in a young African leader. However, during these past two weeks here in Guinea-Bissau, I’ve been able to do just that.

Miguel Idibe was someone I was introduced to three years ago by Bruce Smith, president of Wycliffe Associates. Bruce had met Miguel at a conference on Bible translation and recognized him as a young leader needing some special help by someone who could communicate in Portuguese . That introduction started a three year friendship and mentoring relationship in which I’ve had the privilege of helping Miguel establish a registered non-profit Bible translation organization, recruit a board of directors and find some funding to refurbish administrative facilities. Today, the Instituto de Tradução e Alfabetização (ITA) is the primary national entity in Guinea-Bissau initiating, coordinating and monitoring Bible translation.

Stepping out of my typical coach/mentor shoes, I decided to accept an invitation to be a facilitator at an ITA-sponsored Bible translation event. Coordinated by a Wycliffe Associate’s team of assistants from the US and Brazil, this event, called a MAST (Mobile Assistance Supporting Translation,) has gathered four different language translation teams to tackle a range of New Testament and Old Testament books. Since the MAST methodology is quite new (and not without a certain amount of controversy) I will dedicate another blog post just to that.

But, what was really special for me arriving here was seeing the sparkle in Miguel's eyes as he welcomed us and the forty-some national translators on our first evening and then proudly oriented us to his African bush “campus” refurbished from an old inherited WEC missionary compound. For me, it was a chance to see the dream he presented to me three years ago in a Dakar restaurant now transformed into a living reality.

Like I said above, it’s not always that I get to see the fruit of consulting, emails and actual visits to Africa like I am getting to do this week. Without question, it’s one of those times when it’s clear that that investment has paid off. On top of that, Miguel and ITA are well on their way toward making significant impact in eradicating Bible illiteracy among the twenty-some languages in this tiny but strategic country in West Africa.

A Dinner with Justice

2016-10-30T16:45:00.001-07:00

Victor Tukura sharing his vision with us and his MSL Board

Having served on a number of boards, I’ve learned that you can usually expect a nice dinner at the conclusion of the meetings either in someone’s home or at a nice restaurant. However, never have I experienced a board dinner at the home of a Supreme Court Justice—until last night!

For the past year my Nigerian friend, Victor Tukura, has been sharing with me a vision for a major project that could significantly ramp up Nigerian involvement and support for global missions. As an extension of the Missions Supporters League (MSL), a ministry he and his wife founded, this project would take his mission to a whole new level of outreach and impact. Recognizing that I couldn’t give Victor all the consulting help he needed for this project, I was able to recruit my Spokane colleague, Scott Rodin, to share in that consulting role. As a result, we’ve just spent the last two days here in Nigeria meeting with the MSL board of directors.

Scott Rodin and me showing off our Nigerian caftans along with Justice Clara,
her husband, Paul, and Victor Tukura

It just happens that the chairperson of the MSL board is none other than a thirteen-year veteran of the Nigerian Supreme Court. On top of that, she’s one of the first ever women to be appointed to that prestigious role in her country. As a full day of board meeting discussions came to an end, we were whisked off to the home of Justice Clara, as she likes to be called. However, before departing our hotel, we were also handed a couple of packages and asked to don official Nigerian caftans for the event. Seated around a huge outdoor table, Scott and I definitely felt like we blended in (sort of) with the forty others invited to the sumptuous buffet dinner.

What a privilege it was to not only get to know Justice Clara personally but also her husband, Paul, who is a renown surgeon at one of the main hospitals in the capital. Their humility, exemplary marriage relationship, and love for God was so evident as we sat together at our end of the long table chatting about everything from presidential elections to our two countries’ Supreme Court value systems.

We’re looking forward to seeing MSL bring a successful completion to this important project they are embarking on. But one thing is for sure, a large part of that success will be a result of board members with impressive credentials and a heart for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.