For the 2020 Mobilizing and Mobilizer Christmas Lists, I want to give you a couple of ideas in a variety of cost ranges. These are gifts that will either help people grow in their partnership with God’s global purpose or bless those who are helping people do that.

Stocking Stuffers

• Geography cards. “It’s wonderful world out there. Learn to name it!”
• Globe stress balls. “If you can’t visit the world, at least you can give it a little squeeze!”
• Cell phone charging stuff. “Just like that, I’m making your life better!”

Smallish Gifts

• Amazon gift card of whatever amount you determine. “Read something good for you! Neither N.T. Wright nor Jeannie Marie would be terrible!”
• Netflix access. “Be sure to watch some good documentaries, oh, and The Great British Baking Show!”
• Chess set: “Your strategic thinking could be improved. It’s going to take more of us thinking well to finish off our shadow king enemy!”

Big-Time Presents

• Coupon for passport application or renewal. “You fill out the paperwork. I’ll cover the cost!”
• Workout equipment or a gym membership. “I love you, but I think ‘less of you’ might be a good idea!”
• Favorite food from far-flung places. “While the pandemic prevents you going in person to Fatima’s Falooda shop in Faroffistan, the snacks will come to you!”

Wow! Seriously?

• A reliable car. “Stay off planes. Drive places. Buy pastors coffee. Renew their hope a little bit.”
• Zoom like a boss. “Since you can’t really avoid it, I want to make your Zoom life as clear, comfortable, and trouble-free as possible. Order the stuff and send me the bill.”
• We fly. I buy. “Here’s the deal: I want you to take me to the edge. Post-vaccine, let’s visit the most unengaged situation we can get access to. You work out the details and I’ll foot the bill. We’ll ask God to strike the ‘un’ from unengaged in the following 18 months.”

Reasons to Be Happy & Startling Invitations

By Shane Bennett

What a world we live in. What a time we inhabit. I feel sad for fiction writers: They’re going to struggle to come up with fantastic story lines in the future! Even so, I hope your passion for the Great Commission and your conviction in God’s coming kingdom have grown stronger and even burn brighter through these crazy days.

In this edition of Practical Mobilization, I want to give you two things to be happy about, two invitations, and one cheeky gift. (You can jump to the bottom for the gift, but I hope you won’t!) Just a warning, this edition gets a bit political. Not to take sides, but we don’t want to let opportunities pass without consideration, either.

1. The Holidays Are Coming

Neither election, pandemic, nor squirrelly school schedule can alter the calendar facts: November 26 (American Thanksgiving this year) and December 25 will happen.

Now what happens on those and other special days may not look like it normally does. I’m praying for you as I write this that God will meet you where you are this Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have no idea the stress, trauma, relief, or joy you may be feeling. God’s grace, peace, and hope to you. May you abound with thanks and resonate with hope in this holiday season.

What is pretty sure is this: Isolating in their homes in your neighborhood or passing six feet away from you as you move through life are people who are holding on by a thread.

Our neighbor on one side passed away from COVID this past week. The pain and fear our neighbor on the other side felt as he added this death to the list of others he’s recently faced was plain and palpable. Whatever foundation he’s built for his life is currently taking blows like he’s never experienced before. He doesn’t know if that foundation will prove to be sand or stone.

He’s not alone.

As I think about what our church will do for Advent and Christmas this year, I wonder how many windows of how many souls are cracked open a bit this year? How many in my community who’ve stood firm against the advances of well-meaning Christians and Jesus himself might be ready to hear someone say, “Come to my church. You might like it.”

Of course, COVID continues to confound the best-laid plans. But let’s not despair. The God who made the platypus is the one who grants us creativity. The one who conceived the survive-anything cockroach will see the Church through these present days.

2. More Refuge for Refugees

It seems likely that a Biden White House means more refugees. Heaven forbid this doesn’t mean more refugees created but instead more people who are already refugees finding new life in places like the US.

Mr. Biden has written that he will “set the annual global refugee admissions cap to 125,000 and seek to raise it over time commensurate with our responsibility, our values, and the unprecedented global need.” Whether he can or will keep that promise remains to be seen, of course.

Believing that more refugees allowed to come to the US is biblical, moral, and good for the country, I’m happy about this possibility.

This is not a sweeping endorsement of Mr. Biden, nor a wholesale dismissal of President Trump. It is a glimmer of hope for a 100 thousand people. I think of the Syrian widow sitting with her two little kids in a soon-to-be freezing tent on the fringes of a refugee camp in eastern Turkey. Maybe God is answering her prayers.

Combining an anticipated increase of refugees and decrease of COVID, I’m on the hunt for a handful of youth groups who’d like to engage refugees in the US next summer. Do you lead one? Know of one? Let’s talk.

If celebrating anything about a Biden administration feels ill-advised or maybe stupid to you, please read a few more of my thoughts on the refugee situation here.

Also check out the invitation in the next paragraph!

Invitation #1: Offer Life to a Child

If you’re mourning these days, if you’re crushed as it looks like the pro-life effort will be set back, I hear you. You voted, prayed, and maybe advocated, but now you fear more babies will be aborted.

Can I offer this invitation? Adopt a child who’s waiting for a family. If that’s impossible, consider foster care. There are over 400 thousand kids in the US foster system alone. I can imagine situations in which that can’t work either. What about giving some money to people who are trying to adopt. My niece is bringing over a precious girl from China. My friends Nick and Amber are adopting in the US and likely raising their child among the unreached.

And pray for hope and help for poor women, the only demographic among whom abortion has not diminished in recent years.

Invitation #2: Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing

I imagine many of our readers, both in and out of the US, look at the pandemic and the election and say, “You’re not gonna stop my global outreach efforts!” I love the spirit, innovation, and plain hard work that rises up in many of you as adversity increases. Good on you. May the rest of us see and heed your example. Methods may need to change. Timetables may need adjusting. But may God’s work go forward.

If these days have refined your focus and you’re ready for new challenges, here you go: Experts believe there are around 500 Muslim people groups among whom no one is on the ground, speaking local languages, working in a way they hope will result in multiplying disciples.

I’m more and more convinced that God is asking me to do two things in response to this: One, work to see 20 of those groups engaged myself. That is, find people or churches or groups who will receive grace from God to go and be the first on the ground. Two, find 24 others who will do that with me. No matter the amount of prayer, texting, cajoling, or bribing it takes. (Well, maybe not bribing!) I want to see those groups engaged. Sound like you? Let’s talk.

Subversive Mobilization: The Promised Cheeky Gift

In any election, there are some constituents who declare, “If that other guy gets elected, I’m leaving the country.” I don’t know if anyone ever actually does this, but Redfin says 16% of survey respondents last month said they’d consider it. That’s up from 9% in 2016.

The mobilizer in me can’t help but go, “Hey! A new recruiting pool!” If you’re like me (though I don’t wish that on you), here you go: A ready-to-customize brochure for post-election emigres/mission candidates! You can thank me later.

Networking Principles & Practical Tips

Back in the old days you posted a cool thing on Facebook thinking it might cheer or inform your friends. You might also scroll along a bit and find things to encourage, amuse, or inform you. Now if you go to Facebook, you’re more likely to be hammered by the reality of people who don’t think like you and seem hell-bent on destroying all you hold dear! Oh, and right now you’ll also find pumpkin-spice recipes. That being true, maybe we should revive an old school idea whose time has come again.

No, I’m not suggesting you go visit someone! (What, so now you want to infect everyone and their dear old Aunt Lou with COVID?)

I’m also not going to say outright that you should call someone on the phone. Some 30% of you would stop reading right then, and say, “Is there no burden you won’t lay on our shoulders? Not even Jesus Himself called anyone on the phone.”

I’m talking classic networking. Not so much this Harvard Business Review definition: “the unpleasant task of trading favors with strangers,” or the smarmy caricature of glad-handing everyone you know in a one-sided effort to advance yourself.

Rather, I’m thinking there are pairs or triplets of you all I’d give about anything to sit down with over a coffee. A couple minutes of small talk, a bit more background, and then amazing stuff could happen.

There are people reading this article right now who know the very person who knows how to solve problem number three on your list.

And you, yeah, I mean you: You know the answer to the very question that’s absolutely vexing someone else who reads Missions Catalyst! We matter to each other.

We can make a difference. We can help and be helped by each other in ways that nurture and advance God’s purposes.

Here are four networking principles, four practical tips, some consolation for introverts, and a bold pitch hearkening back to last month’s topic which may relate to this one.

Four Principles of Networking

1. Be brave.

If you can ask the Creator of the universe for whatever you need (Hebrews 4:16), you can ask any missions person! I’ll never forget screwing up my courage and approaching Don Richardson with a question. (Back in my day, there was no bigger missions dude!) Turns out he was a reasonable person and quite willing to engage my sophomoric questions.

If you knew they’d be nice to you, who would you like to ask for advice?

2. Start early.

In an article about networking in the age of COVID-19, Gary Burnison, the CEO of Korn Ferry (A consulting firm, not a local bluegrass band. I know, that’s what I thought, too!), stresses, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you want to be successful at networking, you must keep in mind that it really isn’t about you. It’s about building relationships—and relationships aren’t one-way streets.” The sooner we begin to build relationships, the readier they will be should we find ourselves needing help or input.

Reach out now before you need a rescue.

3. Kingdom first.

I love the collaboration and interdependence expressed when workers from various agencies who reside in the same foreign city refer to themselves as “God’s team.”  In classic networking, your efforts might result in you getting the job and the other guy walking. Ideally, our networking will be competition-free. For example, If you beat me to one of the remaining 500 or so unreached, unengaged Muslim people groups, I’m going to give you a high five, not the stink eye!

Full disclosure: I have met people who were so sharp that my efforts to recruit them may have included implying that your mission agency was a little soft on inerrancy or some other such nonsense! I apologize.

4. Be accessible.

Bob Goff set a high bar for this by including his cell number in the back of his books! As a fledgling writer, my oldest daughter called him and left a message sharing how he’d helped her. A few days later he called back and encouraged the bejeebers out of her!

Everyone’s situation is different. But let me ask, are your hands open with the good things God has given you? Would increasing your accessibility advance the kingdom? At the risk of “I’m accessible, but apparently no one cares!” here’s my mobile number: 719.251.1403. I’d be happy to add whatever little bit I can to the accomplishment of your godly plans and the realizations of your kingdom dreams.

Uh, but just text, don’t call. You know, phones!

Four Practical Tips for Networking

1. Send handwritten thank you notes.

I’m preaching to myself here! Well, actually Dr. Ben Hardy is. In this video he shares the power of a simple, handwritten thank you note. If we raise support, obviously we should thank donors. Who else would be blessed by your gratitude?

2. Write encouragement texts.

See something? Say something. Encourage the encouragers. Point out a high point. “Kudos.” “You were brilliant.” “Atta boy/girl!”

3. Ask easily answerable questions.

I’ve preached it: The best questions can’t be answered with “yes,” “no,” or a list. This is true. But I know I’m much more apt to respond to an inquiry if I can do so in 30 seconds. Questions requiring minute(s)-long answers tend to languish for days.

4. Ask again.

I tend to assume other people are more disciplined and organized than I am since that would be setting the bar super low! So, when they don’t respond, I assume they don’t want to. In reality, most people are scrambling. People for whom you wouldn’t even think it could be true have dogs who throw up on the carpet and as a result they forget to respond to your message! Wait a bit and humbly try again.

“Hold on a second, I’m an introvert!”

Some of this “help and get help” networking might be a factor of personality. I’m not inclined to launch into anything significant on my own. As a mobilizer, I might be the one to start waving the flag for a particular vision, but I’m looking for close comrades right out of the gate. If you’re wired up in a more independent way, maybe you’ll happily spend more time on the giving end of networking, rather than the receiving end.

And if it feels like part of you will die if you ask someone to consider helping you, I wouldn’t blame you for saying “Bye, Felicia” to this whole idea. Please don’t, though. You have so much to offer the movement. Find the low key, safe ways to ask and share. We want you and need you.

Fitness Pitch

Last month I asked you to think of your body and consider making some changes to keep it alive longer. The recent passing of two dear and faithful missions all-stars (Lee Purgason and Doug Schaible) remind us it’s clear our days are not entirely in our hands. Even so, I want to steward this temple well. I suspect you do too. In fact, this could be problem number one or two on your list.

If so, please check out what my friends Anthony and Denea Widener are doing with Crash Fitness. They want to help missionaries and missions people by “empowering them in Christ to move with passion and purpose through fitness and healthy living.”

I’d like you and your whole network to join me in their free Seven-Day Challenge. What do you have to lose? (Me? About a stone. Maybe two!)

Beating Back the Quarantine 15:
Motives for Getting Fit

Hey, Missions Catalyst tribe, can you do something for me? If you’re sitting down as you read this, lean forward a little bit. Now, reach down and grab your belly. Are you happy with what’s in your hand? Are you thinking like me, “I wish I were holding onto a little less right now!”? (If you didn’t even do the assignment because you knew the shame and self-loathing that would result, I’m sorry. My purpose is not to drag up that pain.)

I was recently listening to an episode of a podcast called Dad Tired that asked the question, “Does God care if I exercise or not?” As host Jerrad Lopes laid out his response, I thought, “Wow, this matters for mission mobilizers!”

Of course, it matters to most Christians. All of us should steward well all the resources God has given us, including our bodies. The human body (even yours!) is a work of art capable of amazing work. And at least so far, it’s the only tool we have with which to interact with other humans and the rest of God’s good creation. Taking care of it is smart.

Fit for the Mission

But here are four reasons I think this is a particularly important deal for you and me:

1. Almost every day at 10:02am I pray Luke 10:2, “Father, send laborers into your plentiful harvest.” God says we need more laborers. You can’t go if you’re dead! And as hard as cross-cultural work is, it’s harder if you’re out of shape and not healthy.
2. I want us to set a good example. I want people to say no to my global invitation because it’s not for them (or they think it’s not for them), not because I apparently lack the discipline to leave even a single Twinkie in the box!
3. It’s possible I’m writing this now because I’m in week seven of a nine-week Couch to 5K program and am in better shape than I’ve been in, maybe ever (that’s not saying much!). I’m also mostly eating veg, per the example and request of my smart-as-a-whip wife.
4. I have a hunch that many of us wrestle with some level of depression and a greater number of us feel the weight of a great task, a cause that can feel infinite, and the pain of people living in tough situations and Jesus-less despair.Add to that cocktail the reality that we’re not an easy bunch to open up to. We think if we’re sharing this Jesus message with others, we should probably have already figured out life for ourselves.While I’d never be so trite as to say, “exercise your blues away,” solid data indicates exercise can fight depression in some cases.

Three Wise Cautions

I suspect you agree with those reasons, but the trick is to find the right balance and appropriate action. Lopes shares some wise caution regarding getting our bodies into shape. He urges us to watch out for:

1. Idolatry. Remembering from Sunday School that idolatry is valuing anything in your life ahead of God, you may think, “I’m not likely to put this body above God!” The pain of running also makes me think I’m never going to make an idol of it. But people do, and you and I are people. It’s possible. Lopes tells us to be careful to keep priorities straight. He got it from Paul who told us a long time ago, “physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
2. Proper motivation. What motivates you to stay in shape or might inspire you to get there? I remember telling a nutrition coach a few years ago that my main reason for wanting to buy and consume her crazy-expensive protein shakes was so I wouldn’t look fat when I was teaching Perspectives classes! Yep, subpar motivation and one which, as you’d guess, didn’t last!These days I want to be pushed forward by a desire to take care of God’s gift of my body. I want to be able to run with the kiddos and qualify for decent life-insurance rates. I don’t want to end up in the hospital or disqualified from an amazing opportunity because of stupid lifestyle choices.
3. Misplaced security. Lopes reminds us that our hope and life are in God. We can’t diet or lift ourselves to immortality. No amount of mileage will shift our ultimate security from God’s hands to ours. Even though I want to work hard to extend its expiration date, the timing of my temporary shift out of this body is more up to God than me!

What Makes Me Run

Two visions compel me to run these days. Actually three.

Since my inner 14-year-old is still always showing off for girls, I run to impress my wife.

But I also run away from this scene in the movie WALL*E: On the life pod orbiting a used up and garbage-filled Earth, the fat and jowly residents spend their lives riding around in lounge chairs, screens in front of their faces, big sugary sodas in cup holders at their side.

I really don’t want to be like that!

The other vision is my hero George Verwer, the wiry, mouthy octogenarian who launched Operation Mobilization as well as the missionary careers of a gazillion people. He was already in full stride 35 years ago when he first impacted my life and he continues to generate helpful content today.

That’s what I want to be like!

How About You?

From the bewilderingly complex work of your cells to the cool color of your hair, God has giving you a great body. Are you taking care of it? Would you like to do better?

If you would, please join me and your Mission Catalyst compadres by setting a health goal for September. Here’s mine: By the time the next Practical Mobilization article hits your email box, I’m going to weigh less than 200 pounds. I don’t have a terribly long way to go, but I’ve hit a plateau and need to log more mileage and consume less food.

What would you like to see happen with you and your body? Jot it down on the Practical Mob “Your Body Is a Temple” Wall of Wonder. Of course, you’re welcome to just take a peek at what others are doing. You might get inspired!

May God give us grace, courage, and grit to properly but relentlessly care for the amazing bodies he’s given us. And as a result, may he give us more days to mobilize others and more months and years to invest in his great kingdom purposes.

by Shane Bennett

I love Advent. It’s one of my favorite times of the year. It seems healthy for my stream of the Church—which sometimes assumes it’s the whole river—to connect with the broader body of Christ geographically and historically. The hymns are rich. The objective is focusing. But since I hate waiting, how about an entire liturgical season focused on it!

But then, there’s a lot of waiting going on these days, right?

Waiting for a vaccine.
Waiting for test results.
Waiting to hear the diagnosis or the treatment plan.
Waiting for kids to get back to school.
Waiting for an appropriate time to push ahead with fundraising.
Waiting for things to get back to normal.
Waiting for a proper funeral for a departed loved one.
Waiting to get back to your ministry assignment.
Waiting for new episodes of The Great British Bake Off / Baking Show.
Waiting for a Savior to get here.
Waiting for the Savior to get back here!

If all the waiting is weighing on you, I get it. I feel that way, too.

But expectation, hoping for, looking forward to what’s not here yet, it’s part and parcel of our faith, isn’t it? We come from a long line of wait-ers, at least back to Abraham, who Hebrews says, “did not receive the things promised; [he] only saw them and welcomed them from a distance…”

In the meantime, there’s the trite aphorism: Bloom where you’re planted. Its 2020 COVID corollary could be: Sprout where you’re stuck.

Can COVID Catapult Us Forward?

If we’re able to climb on top of our current troubles, get our feet under us and our heads on straight, what opportunities might we see? Could we say to our enemy, “I see your COVID and I raise you one resurrected Jesus and the poured-out Holy Spirit”? If we throw off the COVID covers, what possibilities might dawn in these days? What windows are open? What opportunities now look worthwhile? How can we move forward even as we’re tempted to hunker down?

Maybe we could crowdsource this. Could you take a minute and share on this google doc what fresh possibilities you’re seeing in this season? What new activities does COVID require for you? What opportunities are opened up? Are there specific ministries you’re mourning as you let them go? Others that make more sense now than ever?

Let’s move forward together by sharing our COVID Catapults with each other. Here are two ideas I’m hoping to implement:

1. Develop new mobilization content.

As more churches improve their online delivery efforts, I wonder if there’s a little window open for mobilizer people to supply video content. I’m thinking low-tech, smiling face, single idea or nugget of good news, and maybe one next step (like pray, read, or move to Pakistan). Could you do something like this? You have a smartphone and an internet connection, right? Also, you’ve been told no before, so if your Oscar-worthy short video gets rejected, it won’t be the first time.

2. Read inspiring books—together.

I’m also wondering about gathering some diverse friends to read a book with me. My 11-year-old daughter is gobbling up Greg Livingstone’s You’ve Got Libya. As an act of solidarity, I’m going to read it with her. If you’d like to join us, let me know. You’re welcome on the journey. Got another book you’d like to read with some other smart people? Reach out and make it happen. Feel free to invite me. I’ll serve as the non-smart group member!

What About You?

Maybe your COVID Catapult is a little more radical than a video or a group read. I was inspired recently by erstwhile U.S. presidential candidate Andrew Yang’s move with his family to Atlanta, GA to rally voters for the upcoming Senate run-off election. I’m not hoping his efforts prevail, tending personally to prefer governmental gridlock. But I do appreciate his “throw everything into it” mentality. Makes me wonder what it would take for me to move the whole crew to a new zoo. How high would the stakes have to be? How timely the opportunity?

Perhaps COVID’s provided you a chance to consider some new options, to reconsider some ossifying assumptions. As Grandpa Henry assured us, “God is always at work.” These crazy days are not the first exception to the rule!

I hope we look back on this time and see, though maybe through tears, that God has launched a whole new season of purposeful effort toward the completion of his purposes.

Share your COVID Catapult ideas and read contributions from others.

By Shane Bennett

Are you hanging in there? Barely surviving, or actually thriving? If you’re like me, it may depend on the day. And these are days like we’ve not seen before. I sincerely hope you’re doing okay.

If you live in a land that’s celebrating summer, you may be scrambling to get things done before a vacation. I appreciate you taking some valuable minutes to read this month’s abbreviated Practical Mobilization column.

To remind us we are all in this together, here are seven things I’m a little worried about right now. I know, I know: Worry inversely correlates to faith. It’s like a rocking chair.* And it’s bad for my tummy. I’m not celebrating my worries, just being honest here, and sometimes these things stress me out. I’m also going to tell you ten things I’m really thankful for. (That list is longer, so you won’t think I’m too unspiritual!)

Seven Things I Worry About

1. Local Churches

I worry that churches, and the people who attend them, will increasingly only focus on getting by. They’ll feel the need to bunker up and conservatively plan for the worst. The offerings at my church have recently taken a bigger hit than can be attributed to the normal summer slump. What if people are doing their best to give but will need to stop soon in order to just pay for food and housing? Will churches have to make hard decisions to cut staff and curtail ministry?

2. Support Levels

What does the income hit many are experiencing mean for workers on support? For me? Will donations begin to dry up? Have they for you?

3. Missed Opportunities

I worry that I, that we, will miss some of the unique opportunities that come with these weird days. What bold and intrepid actions am I leaving undone because I’m simply trying to figure out how to make the home situation work and wondering what else might go wrong?

4. Mobilization

I fear we’ll lose global outreach momentum. That workers in waiting will get delayed, then distracted, and finally disinterested. That others will return to their passport culture and never go back.

5. Vulnerable Places

What’s going to happen with India? Both in terms of health and then economic health in the aftermath of the COVID?

6. Kids and Schools

In addition to my five adult children, I’m dad to three young ones now. To be honest, I’m a little worried they won’t go back to school in August! I love them and am learning all kinds of patience through these months. It’s just that they miss their friends and teachers. Yeah, that’s what it is. They really miss school.

7. Lessons Unlearned

I’m a little worried that people will ask, “What did God teach you during the lockdown?” and I’ll say, “Hmm, good question. I learned there are a lot of mean people on Facebook and the snarkiness of Shane doesn’t accomplish the righteousness of God.”

Ten Things I’m Thankful For

1. This Chance to Connect

I’m thankful part of my job is to write for people like you. It’s really not fair that once a month I get to wrack my brain, put down a few goofy but heartfelt words and dear saints like yourself take valuable time to read it.

2. Free, Virtual Events

I’m thankful for the thoughtful people who’ve taken their conferences virtual and made them free! Here are two where I’ll be presenting and one more I am registered to attend:

• New Wilmington Missions Conference, July 17-19
• RESOLVE Virtual Missions Training, July 20-21
• NAAMC 2020, Missions Reimagined, July 9-11

3. Cool Input

I have access to all kinds of cool and helpful books and tools. I still wonder with a little fear what William Carey may have accomplished with the iPad I use primarily to watch Jack Ryan, Season Two. (Regarding that by the way… the language and violence may not be your taste, but get this: Muslims aren’t the bad guys! That merits some support in my book. Apologies to Venezuelans!)

4. Fast Internet

One of the specific tools for which I’m thankful is fast internet. And not just so I can watch Jack Ryan. So many things are easier than they might be. So much information is closer than it used to be. And I can chat with new Muslim friends in far-off places.

5. Cross-Cultural Servants Ready to Deploy

I’m thankful for the intrepid people whose hearts had already moved to an unreached people, but whose bodies have been held up by COVID. I spoke to a fully funded friend this morning who’s riding out the virus while dreaming of her new home-to-be in South Asia.

6. Brave Friend-Raisers

I’m also thankful for those wild women and men who are raising support during these wacky days. More power to you! May God be honored (even if He’s also amused) by your audacity and bring in those Pesos pronto!

7. Health and Healthcare

I’m thankful I’m not sick. And if I contract COVID, I can reasonably hope for access to quality treatment. And if that treatment should prove insufficient to address the issues, there will be morphine to ease my transition to life beyond.

8. A God Who’s With Us

I’m grateful God is not surprised by the events facing each of our countries right now. The things our churches and families are dealing with and even the climate of our own souls are not unknown to the God who loves us.

9. A God Who’s Got This

I don’t think we have any reason to believe God is taking a COVID holiday. His purposes are progressing as he gives grace to new believers, courage to old ones, and kingdom growth in both expected and surprising places. I’m thankful he invites you and me to dream and scheme with him for the new things that will emerge from the cauldron of these days.

10. You, Saints

Finally, I’m thankful for you, happy that we can share this tiny snippet of life. As I write I’m praying God’s blessing on you, your family, and your work. If you’d like to share specifically how I can pray for you, I’d be honored to do so.

* Like a rocking chair: “Keeps you busy, but don’t get you nowhere!”

A Black Sister Kindly Schools This Old White Guy

How are you dealing with things? These are unusual days, aren’t they? My oldest daughter recently said, “When I complained a week ago about only talking about corona, I had no idea we’d only be talking about racism now!”

I suppose if you or someone close to you has COVID-19, that’s still a pretty relevant topic of conversation. Much grace and renewed health to you. And maybe you’re already weary of race talk. Can you bear with me for a few more words?

I’m wondering what God may be saying to you and me, to people like us:

• We are people who love Jesus.
• We are people who believe God created the races, colors, and cultures of the world for his glory.
• We are overwhelmingly White.

If you are not White and read Missions Catalyst, thank you so much. I value your experience and would welcome whatever input you have time and inclination to give on this meager offering.

As for me, I grew up in about as bucolic a Midwest American setting as you could imagine. If my dad had shaved only his mustache, our family could have modeled for the covers of soon-to-come Amish Christian fiction. It was homogeneous, parochial, and safe, if a little boring.

I cut my cross-cultural teeth under the influence of Steve Hawthorne’s missiology which emphasized asking questions and taking the time to listen well. I’ve often challenged others to cultivate curiosity about peoples and cultures and to delay judgement, that is, don’t assume you’ve got things all figured out too early.

Maybe, like me, you feel you haven’t got this whole racial injustice thing figured out. I’d like to share with you some insights from a friend of mine.

Meet Felicia

Meet Felicia Follum. She’s an accomplished artist, helps lead her church’s mission efforts, holds two masters degrees, and was crushed on by more than one African migrant guy when we were on a short-term mission trip to care for Muslim refugees in Sicily a few years ago.

Felicia says, “Blackness isn’t my first identity, but it is an identity.” It deeply shapes who she is.

Leaving his restaurant one night, her biological father was murdered by the KKK. Just to be clear, she’s not 80 years old, recalling events from days long gone. Felicia is in her early thirties.

Sharing some of her personal experience, Felicia recounted a doctor’s visit for a sore tummy. The physician told her, “Given your demographic, statistically, you probably have STDs.” When Felicia insisted she hadn’t been sleeping around, the doctor replied, “It’s probably your husband then.”

Widening the circle, Felicia said, “I can’t think of one person of color who hasn’t been mistreated by police at least once.”

I asked her what White people might miss or not understand about their own situation. She said White privilege doesn’t necessarily mean you get more stuff or that your life is trouble free. “You still have trouble and deal with hard things. What White privilege does mean is that you don’t have blackness to deal with as well.”

What Can We Do?

Knowing how asinine it sounded, I asked, “So what is the solution to all this, Felicia?”

“First off, we’ve got to find a way to address problems starting young. 50% of Black babies are aborted. 70-80% of Black babies who are born begin life in single parent households. 90% of Black kids have more ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) than my White husband, Jim.”

“There are also actions White people can take now. And these would really work, if they’d do them.”

1. Learn

Felicia asks, “Can you name ten African Americans from US history and say one or two things about what they did? They’re there!” (For starters, check out Maggie Walker and the first missionary sent out from the US, former African slave George Liele.)

Why is it that the average American can only name three to seven? I don’t know about you, but I have a lot to learn.

Toward that end, I’ve started reading a couple of books. You can find many lists of books curated by smarter people than me, but here are mine. If you have read these or have already, I’d welcome a chat about them.

• White Awake, An Honest Look at What It Means to Be White, by Daniel Hill (IVP Books, 2017).
• I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown (Convergent Books, 2018; a memoir).

I think it’s also good to ask questions of your Black friends, if you have any. I have one. Of course, this is dicey and will not always work. Some Black people understandably don’t relish the newfound role of enlightening the light-skinned masses. Some, like my friend Felicia, are kind beyond words.

2. Listen

At lunch recently a couple of colleagues were discussing the protests, the riots and looting, the “abolish the police” ideas, and the assumed spike in crime that would follow. I kept mostly quiet, not sure what to say and accurately assessing that I lack the intellectual resources to poke a stick in that hornet’s nest.

While on the one hand I agree that people shouldn’t burn someone’s business or trash the car of someone who’s just trying to get home to her family. On the other hand, I can’t help wondering, “What motivates people to do things like that?” What is the “why” behind the action? Or maybe the “why” two or three layers deep behind the behavior?

Is it possible that I’ve only listened to people like me for so long I’ve concluded there is no reasonable motivation? There’s no valid claim for injustice. This is America, after all. Anyone and everyone can make good choices, if they just will.

Or maybe not.

Felicia says she currently has 40 text conversations underway with White people whose minds are being changed, who are seeing sin they hadn’t been aware of, people who feel like they haven’t listened to others. Yay for them and yay for Felicia. (No, I won’t give you her mobile number, because I’m selfishly angling for number 41!)

3. Engage

Felicia encouraged me and you, “Go to protests. You might not feel comfortable carrying some of the common signs nor espousing some of the sentiments. But most Christians would be okay with a sign that says, ‘do justice, love mercy, walk humbly.’ (A brilliant mantra for these days. Thank you, Micah!)

“Go beyond the sign and connect with some people. Ask good questions. For instance, ‘What are your beliefs?’ ‘What caused you to choose that sign?’ Say, ’I’m making a list of people to pray for. How can I pray for you?’ Then do it. Build the habit of asking lots of people how you can pray for them.”

Conclusion

What’s God saying to you about this? I feel mostly like I need to listen and maybe somehow validate other people’s experiences in a new way, perhaps only in my mind.

As far as action goes, I don’t know yet. Jesus set the bar pretty high when he told the synagogue that Isaiah 61:1 had been fulfilled in their midst and proceeded to confirm it by putting his very life on the line.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on all this, particularly what you’re reading, who you’re listening to and what God seems to be saying to you and us. Please respond on our website or social media, or just reply to this email.

In this issue: Practical Mobilization | Shane Bennett

• Sharpening the Saw: Quizzes and Courses
• Swipe This Idea or Take a Seat at the Virtual Table
• The Biggest, Most Important Challenge in 16 Years of Practical Mobilization

Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

I stumbled on a quiz about Ramadan last week. That first quiz led to a second, which led to me signing up for a super-short online course about Islam fielded by Pew Research. The course consists of four brief daily emails followed by a quiz. I’m 25% of the way through!

But it’s got me wondering. Why was I eager to take the quiz? Then why did I sign up for the course? Did I feel like Muslims are my jam and I would probably nail the quiz? Sure did. Was I embarrassed by my 75% score? Yep. Does the currently fettered state of life afford a little more margin to sharpen the saw? Does for me!

In another attempt to learn and grow, yesterday I spent some (virtual) time with one of my favorite people. Doug Lucas has just released a brief set of videos for his full-time global workers with Team Expansion. In the generosity that characterizes him, Doug is allowing us to peek over his shoulder as he challenges his people to frame the current situation by “Getting Back to the Basics,” “Taking Initiative,” “Communicating Actively,” and “Adapting to the Current Context While Staying True to Our Calling.”

These short talks encouraged and challenged me. I took away both calming assurance as well as actionable challenges. I commend them to you.

What about you? Are you sharpening your saw these days? Kevin Kelly says, “A worthy goal for a year is to learn enough about a subject so that you can’t believe how ignorant you were a year earlier.” Are you learning and growing, turning crazy, home-bound days into higher capacity for what lies ahead?

Maybe you’re barely holding it together. Chasing kids, scrambling for food, and just trying to hold on to your job or keep you head above water. Much grace to you. And thanks for reading this in the midst of that! Please receive what God has for you, rather than taking these musings as more “things you have to do.”

If you do have bandwidth to think, though, let me ask you this. Are there things you’d like to learn about mobilization, Muslims, missions in general? Would you find a mobilization or global outreach quiz compelling? Would you consider taking a short email-based course about a relevant missions topic? How long would be optimal? Would video lessons make it more fun or just longer to slog through?

» I’d love to read your thoughts, wishes and references to existing items like this. Please comment on our website, find us on Facebook or Twitter, or just respond to this email.