In This Issue: Shane Asks, ‘How Did I End Up Here?’
- How Did I End Up Here?
- New on the Missions Catalyst Calendar
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
Practical Mobilization by Shane Bennett is published once a month.
Dear Readers,
A warm welcome to 60 new subscribers who have joined us so far in February. We’re glad to have you along! Please visit our web site let us know if there’s anything we can do for you. The “quick links” on the bottom of this email may help.
Thanks also to the ministry that sent us a $1000 check to help with our expenses. We’re blessed and amazed!
Marti Smith
Managing editor
How Did I End Up Here?
Source: Shane Bennett
I’ve had more than my fair share of moments of pure delight. Some are too personal to share; others take too long to explain. But let me mention two. I was walking along the canals and bridges of Amsterdam, drinking in the beauty of ancient architecture and a bright, cold day, enjoying the faces of cultures from all points of the globe. I distinctly remember the thought loping through my endorphin-addled mind, “I am so lucky to live here.”
A year or two later we moved across the Channel to central England and dropped ourselves in the middle of a near-completely Asian neighborhood. The very air in the street was thick with the warm scent of curry. This (in contrast to the fertilized fields of my Indiana youth) became the backdrop scent of our day-to-day lives in England. Can you sense the delight?
These moments (along with many others characterized not by delight, but by fear and perplexity) sometime make me wonder, “How in the world did I get to this place in the world?”
On one hand, we are where we are because God has put us here. On the other hand, we look back and see how God has guided us using various people, experiences, and events. If that’s the case, can we as mobilizers aim to be like those people, and arrange similar experiences and events (without being guilty of playing God)?
Learning from Our Own Lives
As I think back on my life, two people, a series of events and experiences, and one amazing fact shine as key catalysts for my involvement in the world.
1. Beth, who interceded for me:
Beth was a pesky mission mobilizer when she was young. The words “You should think about being a missionary,” were never far from her lips. But while the things she said to people might not have accomplished as much as she wished, it is my sense that the words she said to God (on my behalf and for others) were powerful in their effect. I suspect I know only a bit of the way my life was shaped through her prayers.
2. Summer Bible Camp Guy, who showed me the way:
Summer Bible Camp Guy (whose name I forgot long ago) dropped a couple of verses into my mind that detonated a desire to be used by God that was entirely new to me. I signed up for his workshop mostly because I thought good Christian teens shouldn’t just pick sailing, drama, and kickball. He was a 20-something who was actually involved in taking the gospel into another culture. His example, along with his brief exposition on Philippians 4:13 and 19 made a permanent dent in my mind.
3. InterVarsity, which shaped my vision:
A few years down the road I went to university and linked up with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As this new tribe began to enfold me, I discovered in them a real bent toward taking the gospel to the whole world. Through Bible studies, book studies (Anyone remember In the Gap?), conferences, and personal influence, InterVarsity shaped my vision for the world.
One key part of that development occurred mid-way through my second year of school when I was dragged along to an Urbana conference. This event, akin to trying to get a sip of water from Old Faithful, brought 20,000 wild-eyed college students together to listen to hundred of speakers.
4. And then and there, one startling reality:
There at Urbana (although numb-bummed from hours of sitting on the bleachers) one specific fact pierced my mind and my heart: “Half the world lives in a situation in which there is no church in their midst.” They’re not being little rebels sleeping in on Sunday morning. There’s simply no one like them, near them, who is following Jesus.
As that reality began to permeate my thinking and my life, I was reshaped and redirected. My life began to revolve around joining Jesus in changing that situation. I don’t know who crunched the research that developed that statistic. Nor do I know who typed up the overhead and put it on the projector, or who spoke the words. But those people were used by God to profoundly affect my life. Thanks.
Ideas for Today’s Mobilizer
Now, shifting from being mobilized to mobilizing others, I wonder how I can use my time and resources in a way that has similar impact on others’ lives.
Recognizing significant development in my world vision happened during my high school and college days, I wonder if I should invest more of my time in mobilizing among those ages.
Recalling Beth’s prayer for me makes me think I should be investing more prayer in potential missionaries in my church.
Given the power of that single statistic to focus my call, I’m asking, “What one or two bits of data might have that power today?” I’ve been trying out two lately.
One comes from researcher extraordinaire, Dr. Todd Johnson. He says that eight or nine out of every ten Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists do not even know somebody who is a follower of Jesus (read more here). If that’s so, we at least need to find ways to for a lot more of us to “be known.”
The second is from my new tribe, Frontiers. Along with several other agencies, we’ve identified 247 Muslim people groups, each over 100,000 in population, among whom nobody is sharing the gospel in an ongoing way. We call them unengaged. Frontiers is scouring the planet for leaders who can pull together a group of friends to go be the first among the fifty groups we’re focusing on.
What’s Your Story?
What has God done for you (or maybe to you) to point you to the nations? As you look back over your life, can you identify pivotal people, events, or experiences that significantly shaped you? Would you be willing to share with the rest of us some of these things that moved you to your current involvement in the world?
If you want to take it to the next level, ask yourself how you can become one of those people, and arrange experiences and events like those that shaped you so. Email me your thoughts. I’ll crunch them together and present a report in next month’s column.
New on the Missions Catalyst Calendar
Source: Marti Smith, managing editor
247 to Go Events: Dialog with folks from Frontiers about the un-begun task of bringing the hope of Jesus to [247!] unengaged Muslim peoples. (Editor’s note: As Shane says, they’re especially seeking future team leaders. Did our January 14 edition stir your heart?) Call 1.800.462.8436 or send them an email for more information.
Louisville, KY (February 6-7)
San Jose, CA (February 20-21)
Spring City, PA (March 20-21)
Houston, TX (March 27-28)
Denver, CO (April 17-18)
Chicago, IL (April 24-25)
Rogers, AR (May 8-9)
Portland, OR (May 15-16)
Aiken, SC (May 15-16)
Tempe, AZ (May 29-30)
And here are a few events put together by our friends at Operation Mobilization:
Near East Initiative Church Forum: Explore how your church can make a difference in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. There are short-term ministry opportunities as well. Sponsored by the Near East Initiative and the Church Mobilization Team of OM USA. Two times and places:
Portland, OR (March 17)
Atlanta, GA (March 26)
India Sister Church Initiative: OM India has been instrumental in seeing more than 2500 Good Shepherd Community Churches (GSCC) started among the Dalits and tribal peoples of India. Come learn how your church can partner with these young churches! Hosted by OM India and the Church Mobilization Team of OM USA.
Atlanta, GA (April 28)
Find more events – not just in the US – on the Missions Catalyst events calendar.
Questions, comments, submissions? Contact us.