Category: Practical Mobilization

In This Issue: One practice that may catch fish but kill the pond

• FEATURE ARTICLE: Catch a Fish, but Kill the Pond
• SUBVERSIVE MOBILIZATION: Failure of Imagination 

By Shane Bennett

Introduction

Sometimes I make people mad. Now if I were saying this from a pulpit somewhere, I might claim it happens because I take tough stances on controversial issues or because I get all John the Baptist-y on people and point out their sin. Since it’s just us, I can be honest and say that usually when I make people mad it’s because I do dumb stuff. Spend money I haven’t earned yet. Commit to things I haven’t the time or skill to do. Lose track of one of my own kids. You know, stuff we all do, right? So a life goal of mine is to do less dumb stuff with increasing frequency.

This also applies to my efforts to encourage people to give their best for those currently without access to the gospel. Here’s a quick look at some events from my mobilization hall of shame:

• I told one of my staff she had to use her sick leave to go care for her dying father.
• I took a couple of men who had hardly been out of their state to four Asian countries in nine days, dragging them through some of the toughest neighborhoods on the planet, asking them to eat food they hadn’t even seen on the Travel Channel.
• I promised a friend I’d research the Afghans of his city in too little time and with too few people. It was a dismal failure.

In an effort to be less dumb, I’ve been wondering lately about how I motivate people to give their valuable time, energy, and money to the unreached and unengaged. And not just how I do this, but how we do this or things like it.

Inviting People to Join God’s Purposes

Think for a moment about what motivations you appeal to when you invite people to join you in God’s purposes. Do you ask people to respond to great need with great compassion? Certainly a valid motivation. What about guilt? You know, “How many Bibles do you have gathering dust on a shelf, when [name the people group] have none?” It’s hard to argue with that logic. But the guilt fails to carry the water when home is a long way from the well.

The particular motivation I want to think about with you today is summed up nicely in the inspiring but perhaps problematic call of Francis Xavier to “tell the students to give up their small ambitions and come eastward to preach the gospel of Christ.” It’s the “what I’m doing is more important than what you’re doing” motivation. And I think it may be pretty dangerous.

Catching One Kind and Killing the Others

When we, with genuine hearts, call a group of people to join in what we believe God is doing, establishing his name among all nations, we may inadvertently imply that what they’re currently doing is somehow subpar. In fact, we sometimes explicitly declare this! God knows, perhaps what people are doing is subpar, but it’s arrogant on our part to say so.

It’s one thing to communicate this to my daughter, son, or pastor. I know them. We can discuss it. But to say such to a group of people or broadcast it by print or web is risky. It will certainly appeal to some. I wonder though, if we get our few at the cost of alienating most. Because most will be dishonored by the implication that their jobs, vocations, and visions are not really what God is up to. Some will respond with slight aggression. Most will simply ignore us. It’s like fishing with a type of bait that catches one species, but kills the rest in the process!

Did Jesus Do This?

Now it seems that Jesus may have used this precise motivation when he called some of his guys to leave their fishing nets and follow him, saying he’d make them fishers of men. Was our wise Father Francis simply paraphrasing Christ? I don’t think so. Jesus knew these guys. He was addressing novice disciples and calling them to the next step in a rabbinical process they were privileged to participate in.

Conclusion

Feel free to push back on this with comments and corrections (below). As I said, I’m wondering about these things. We need hundreds of thousands of laborers thrust out into the harvest field. Particularly given that the nations have moved in to our neighborhoods in the past few years! It won’t do to celebrate a few dozen (even a few hundred) missionaries if in the process of calling them, we offend everyone else to the degree they don’t participate at all.

» Related articles from our archives explore top ten myths about missions and four ways we motivate people to engage the world. Be sure to check out the insightful reader comments, too!

» Know someone who would be interested in this article? Forward this email to them.

Today we soberly commemorate the twelfth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks which destroyed the World Trade Centers, killed 2,996 people and led to devastating wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early this week a friend recalled hearing the attacks attributed to a failure of imagination. That phrase landed on me like a ton of bricks. Most of us didn’t even dream this could happen.

Twelve years on, I wonder in what ways my imagination may be failing today. What is ahead that I don’t see? What does God have in mind that I’m not even remotely hoping for? How about you? How big is your dream for God’s kingdom in your life, in your city, or maybe even among Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists?

My prayer for me and you is that God would give us grace to imagine not every bad thing that might happen, but rather the fullness of his coming kingdom, his unobstructed, winsome, complete rule in our lives and throughout his creation.

In This Issue: Change the world, one small blessing at a time

• FEATURE ARTICLE: Your Chance to Change the World, One Small Blessing at a Time
• EVENTS: Traction Conference and the Simply Jesus Gathering

Find many more of Shane’s Practical Mobilization articles on our website.

By Shane Bennett

Know that feeling of futility that often accompanies tough problems and large-scale trouble? Really, what can you or I do about train crashes in Europe, young fathers dying of cancer, or the apparently growing divide of angst and animosity between Muslims and Christians?

Well, actually there is something you can do about that third one. Let me ask you this: If with little effort on your part you could contribute just a bit to growing peace between these two camps, how likely is it you’d do so? If you’re thinking “less than a 20 percent chance,” you can skip the rest of this brief article. It will waste your time. More than 20 percent, though, read on. What I have to suggest may help you write a few notes in the great symphony of peace God is bringing about as he extends his kingdom throughout the earth.

Here’s the deal: Ramadan 2013 ends today. Today, that is, if you’re reading this article on the day it dropped into your mailbox. Thank you, by the way, we appreciate it. The Muslim month of fasting is followed promptly by Eid al Fitr, an Islamic celebration about as significant for many Muslims as Christmas is for Christians.

Eid Greetings

So, just as you might get a “Merry Christmas” from the cashier at Hobby Lobby, it would be totally cool for you to wish your Muslim friends a happy Eid. An easy way to do this is by saying, “Eid Mubarak!” (EED Moo BAR ehk: eid sounds like “need” without the “n,” and for mubarak, just remember the former Egyptian president!) Eid Mubarak means, believe it or not, pretty much, “happy Eid.” If you’re short on Muslim friends, you have my permission to say this to Muslims who are complete strangers to you! Even if it turns out they’re not Muslim, they’re more likely to be confused than angry.

If you have some Muslim friends for whom you’d like to do a little more, here are three fairly easy ideas:

1. Gifts

I asked my friend Ali in Saudi Arabia, who used to be an international student in my town, “If you were still a student in the U.S., what would you recommend as a good gift for a Muslim friend after Ramadan?” Ali kindly responded, “The gift will be very simple: perfume and candy or wristwatch and candy.” So there you go, perfume, watch, chocolate. Bazinga! When we lived in Holland and England, I gave boxed chocolates for Eid gifts. Even sans watches and perfume, they seemed to be appreciated.

2. Cards or emails

I’ve put up a poster at checkthis.com that wishes a happy Eid and quotes Jesus talking about coming so that we (which presumably includes Muslims!) might have abundant life. I’d like to invite you to forward this to your Muslim friends today or tomorrow. (Really, even a few days late would be fine!)

You might also forward it to your non-Muslim friends to send to their Muslim friends.

3. Friendship

You may also want to give a gift of relationship. Say “Eid Mubarak,” then invite your friend to coffee or dinner. Ask questions about Ramadan, God, and what may actually bring peace to troubled lands and souls. Open the conversation.

Conclusion

Are any of these ideas the silver bullet for peace between Muslims and Christian? No, sadly there is no silver bullet. Will these ideas cause your Muslims friends to instantly surrender their lives to Jesus? No more than saying Merry Christmas to your atheist friends will do that for them. But in doing this you extend grace. You bless. You help your heart feel about people they way Jesus does. And you will, for real, chip away at the dividing wall of hostility that presently separates many of us from most Muslims. Give it a try.

» Let me know how it goes (or comment on this article, below).

A couple of events are coming up that I want you to know about:

Traction Conference for Men

One is called Traction and is hosted by a Missions Catalyst reader, Dan. He says:

“If you’re a guy who serves internationally (or you know someone who is!), please keep reading. A very special gathering called Traction is coming together near Interlaken, Switzerland, September 21-27, 2013, and men who serve internationally are being invited.

“Imagine six days in the Alps surrounded by a community of men who really understand. Imagine taking time to restore your soul, refuel your passion, and refresh your body.”

» Learn more or register for Traction.

Simply Jesus Gathering 

The second event is called Simply Jesus and is being pulled together by my bud Carl Medearis. I’m psyched to go because Carl’s a great guy, but also because N.T. Wright is going to be there! (And my strong hope is that I can get him to play and sing some Dylan. If that happens, you don’t want to miss it.)

The event, to be held November 7-9 in Denver, Colorado, is focused on the person, life, and teaching of Jesus, and it’s for anyone who wants to understand more about Jesus. In the interest of full disclosure, if ten of you sign up for Simply Jesus and tell them you heard about it from me, my wife and I get to go free! I’d love to see you there.

» Learn more or register for the Simply Jesus Gathering.

» For more events, see the Missions Catalyst events calendar.

In This Issue: Seven Steps to an Excellent Mission Trip Report

• Think about it.
• You need less time than you think.
• Center on God.
• Connect with personal stories.
• Provide tangible takeaways.
• Make the tech excellent.
• Allay fear at the outset.
• Three bonus steps
• Conclusion

In This Issue: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Some Seth Godin

• Introduction
• Something Old
• Something Seth
• Something New #1: Short Term Mission Toolbox
• Something New #2: Frontiers Connect
• Something New #3: DELVE
• Something Borrowed

By Shane Bennett

June is high wedding season in the U.S. The title and framework for this month’s Practical Mobilization pay homage to the time-honored tradition of brides wearing something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Since I prefer Seth Godin to the color blue, we’ll settle for three out of four, and I’m warning you now, they won’t be in order.

May the following words encourage you, like a bride stepping down the aisle – or if you are more like me, a father escorting one of his many daughters down that aisle – moving forward to build your tribe and engage your world for the sake of God’s work among the nations.

Ready?

My historical mentor G.K. Chesterton wrote prodigiously and well. Here’s his encouragement to us to get going.

“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.” Illustrated London News, April 29, 1922

“If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” London Daily News, October 18, 1901

“His head was always most valuable when he had lost it. In such moments he put two and two together and made four million.” The Innocence of Father Brown, 1911

There you have it: Escape fate by action. Don’t worry that you might not be a master at your chosen action. The key thing is to begin. And finally, sometimes magic happens and your ideas go crazy!

And that brings to mind…