Laborers for the Harvest
My spirit is pressed within me as I think of the task that still lies before us. Oh that we may serve and reach our generation by the will of God with all that is within us. Some things that I am thinking about:
* 266 world entities according to CIA Factbook
*Approximately 6.5 to 7 Billion People on the earth
*Over 3.5 billion have never heard a clear presentation of the Gospel
*900,000+ die every week without Christ
*7,358 Languages in the world
*Top 66 Languages in the world represent 5.2 billion people, 80% of the world
*More than 6.2 billion people have the Bible in their own language, 95% of the world
*350 million people do not have the Bible in their own language, this is more than the population of the United States.
I want to pack my bags and just head off!! Yet the answer is not in one man but the training and equipping of many men. We must ever be on the lookout for those whose hearts God has touched to serve Him. We must raise up “recruits” while it is day for the night cometh when no man can work. Can I encourage you to ask God to raise up laborers who would not only go with you to your field but to the world. Jesus said that the field is the world. Ask God to help you be instrumental in raising up missionaries and preachers. When you go into church, build a rapport with the young men and encourage them in the Lord. Burn with a fire that would draw those who God is touching.
May you and I be consumed with getting the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the world.
Let me know how I can help.
Lead on Softly
Genesis 33:14 shares with us a great truth. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.
What a phrase, “…I will lead on softly…” . As Jacob has dealt with Esau and found favor, he tells Esau that he and his family can not travel as fast as Esau and his men. Just a few things to think about:
1. Jacob realized that leading his family meant being considerate of his family. May I encourage you to love your family and be sensitive to their needs. I know it can be frustrating as you want to go 500 mph but you must learn to lead on softly.
2. Jacob showed wisdom of knowing what was too much for those that were under his care. Is your wife stressed, your children dead, your family zapped. There is only so much they can endure. Each person will be different. Work like a madman for three months on deputation then schedule a week of “down time” to let everyone recharge. Once you get your wife and family past the breaking point you may find that you have just lost your ministry.
3. Jacob realized there was a grave difference in traveling with a family and animals and 400 soldiers. We are not comparing apples with apples here. You have a family with children, teens, special needs, etc. your family is not going to be exactly like another families. Stop comparing your wife to another. It is not right nor is it fair. Others may go at a different speed than you. It does not make them right and another wrong.
You must go forward. There is a destination to reach. It is for the benefit of everyone you reach the city. Some men will reach the city dragging their half dead family with them. Some will reach the city only to find they are alone and some will not reach the city at all.
How would your family describe your leadership. Do you know what they can endure? Will you commit to the God of heaven today that you will lead on softly?
praying for you.
I feel like I am leaving something??
Do you ever get the feeling as you are walking out the door that you may be leaving something behind? Keys, wallet, Bible, notebook, calendar, KIDS!! I must be the world’s worst at this. If it is not in the place I left it as I go through my “routine” I will walk out the door without it.
As you are preparing for the field it is quite a consuming and exciting thing. Scheduling meetings, preaching, traveling, eating, passports, visas, housing, set up, support….well the list can go on and on and on! All of these things are of the utmost importance yet that which is most important may not consciously make it to our list, our wives.
Are we “walking out the door”, so to speak, without them? Are they a part of our ministry, schedules, lives? Do we understand their fears as we take them to another city, state or country? Do we know what those fears are? Do we care? Do they need to just “get over it”? Do they need to “toughen up”?
What is your attitude toward your wife? Are you leaving her behind. Do you have this uneasy feeling in your stomach that your are forgetting something….could it be your wife?
Just something to get the mental juices going. I will write more tomorrow.
Love you and praying for you.
Mistakes in Support Raising
I try to let you know where I get different material and who wrote it…..I have no idea on this one! Though it is obvious his support raising is not exactly yours, there are still some good parallels to what he says. May God bless you as you minister for His glory today.
1. I prayed too lightly
WHY oh why do I not pray more?! When I pray…I see God work. When I don’t pray…it seems like His blessings dry up. So, why do I not pray more? I guess I am just a fool. To think I can plan my work and work my plan without bathing “the before, during, and after” in prayer is the height of arrogance and pride and shows precisely where my security is-in myself, instead of God. If I choose to sacrifice time in the prayer closet because I am supposedly too busy, I am literally shooting myself in the foot!
2. I planned too carelessly
WHY do I just assume everything will fall into place? Why do I just kick back and hope that somehow my support will magically come together? There have been times I’ve been lazy, sloppy, and haphazard in my planning. I’ve not been willing to pay the price-in advance-to properly download and utilize my support raising software, to think broadly, to gather hundreds of new names, and to keep immaculate records on who, what, when, how, and for how much I was going to approach each person. At times, I’ve been a “grace abuser,” just believing that if I “let go and let God,” He would act on my behalf. Not understanding what is God’s part and what is my part can be a death knell in support raising.
3. I asked too timidly
WHY was I so fearful? What or who was I afraid of? And why do I let fear of rejection paralyze me? Instead of praying, planning, and then walking toward my fears, I have, at times, rationalized and backed out. Either I wasn’t able to ask the “golden question” (i.e. inviting them to come onto our monthly support team) then let them respond, OR I chose the less personal (and less intimidating) route of utilizing Facebook, email, or pledge cards to do my asking for me. When I get to heaven, I don’t want God to say: “WHY did you ask me-and others-for so little?” I really don’t want to have that conversation!
4. I closed too vaguely
WHY do I sometimes leave the appointment without a very specific, clear-cut follow-up plan as to what the next steps are? Just last month, I was able to do a face-to-face ask with a man, inviting him onto our monthly support team, even suggesting a range of amounts, but I did not communicate and agree with him exactly when and how I would follow up on his decision. (Yes, I like to use the word “decision.”). So, if there is anything that is nebulous, any untied loose end, I cannot blame anyone but myself.
5. I communicated too selfishly
WHY can I not get outside of my little world, my little bubble? Why can I not consider others as more important than myself? In my appointments, I talk about myself and my plans so much more than asking that other person about their life, their plans, their family, their needs, etc…And then once they come on my team, I take them for granted way too often. Just this past week, we may have lost a long-time supporter. Why? I haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet, but my feel is-by our lack of interest in them-that they may not think we care about them anymore. OUCH! And the scary thing? They might be right! DOUBLE OUCH!!
Bible Thief
I enjoy receiving the reports from the guys on deputation. It helps me to know how to better pray for them and help them. Sometimes I receive experiences that are too funny. Under one category, Advice you would like to share with others on deputation, I received the following. I have omitted the name but thought you would like this:
Advice you would like to share with others on Deputation:
Always bring your wife with you if you’re as scatterbrained as I am. Last night I drove by myself to a revival meeting a couple hours away. Afterwards the pastor told me to call later to schedule a meeting. I then accidentally stole his Bible and didn’t realize until I arrived home hours later. (My wife) laughed her head off. Hopefully the pastor will have a forgiving spirit.
I guess stealing the pastor’s bible is one way to have a good reason to call him back, get a conversation started and book a meeting! God bless you as you minister and serve today!
Bro. Tony
Cochabamba Bolivia
What a joy and honor it has been to be with Bro. Kevin White and his dear wife, Beth. God is truly doing a great work through their ministry here. Please keep them in prayer as they will be going on furlough in about four weeks. If you would like to have him come by your church, please call 336-499-2585. He and his dear family will be a great blessing to your people.
Keep them in prayer as well as they seek to get some land and building. God has given him and the church a great vision for Cochabamba and the world. Please get behind this great work. I am very proud of them!
How To Stay Focused On The Right Ministry
There is so much ministry that we can do; we must decide what we should do. Very few missionaries go around not having anything to do. The problem is working long hours every day and not seeming to accomplish anything. What is it that God desires to accomplish through you on the field? Will what you are doing make that a reality? We all have the same amount of hours in a day/week/year. We must redeem the time and use it as wisely as possible.
Below are some helps on how to stay focused on the right ministry.
1. Align yourself each morning to the Word of God. Seeking God and getting your mind and heart in line with His is a must. Let Him speak to you and reaffirm the direction He has given you. Knowing about God and knowing God are two drastically different things. Learn to listen to God.
- Remember that doing your devotions is not sermon preparation though a sermon may come from your devotions.
- Be open and teachable so that God can mold you to be more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
- Spend enough time with God to “fill you” so that He can pour you out through the day in ministry.
- Be sensitive to the Spirit. He will lead and guide you as your serve and seek Him.
- Seek to genuinely understand what God is saying rather than reading into Scripture what you would want it to say.
2. Have clearly defined objectives. There is a difference in “doing ministry” and doing the ministry God has for you. God has a specific plan for you in His work and in this world.
- Are your objectives in line with God’s Word?
- Is what you are doing going to fulfill the objectives?
- Are “new” ministries going to add to or take away from the objectives?
- What unique contribution does God want you to make to His work in this world?
- Do you have any specific strengths, abilities, opportunities, or desires that you could use to glorify God?
- Will your ministry reproduce itself through disciples?
- Are you following the II Timothy 2:2 model?
3. Evaluate your ministry regularly. As time progresses, ii is easy to fill your life with “busy work” but not the right work. Some questions to help you evaluate what you are doing in light of your objectives would be:
- How much of your time, energy and resources are invested in your objective?
- Is what you are doing now yielding the fruits necessary for your objective to be reached?
- Are there “good things” that need to be done away with because they are crowding out the best things? (this one is difficult to do!)
- Would a friend agree with your assessment or would he say you are being blinded by your conclusions. The need for honesty in evaluation is paramount.
- Do you have a mentor in your life that you can get honest feedback from in evaluating your ministry. This is so vital for healthy growth and direction.
Find more helpful articles at bcwe.org
Focus in Ministry
Over the last few days, missionary Travis Snode and I, have been discussing ministry once one gets to the field. If you get the right training, right strategy and all the “how to’s” down, does it guarantee that once on the field you will do what you supposed to? It is one thing to talk about it and maybe even criticize others, and quite another to implement what has been learned.
One of the greatest things that must be remembered is focus. What is it that God has placed upon your heart to do on the field and is what you are doing right now going to accomplish that? It is so easy to get in the rut of the same few members, the same problems and mounting frustration. If you are not careful, everyone will tell you what ministry you are to have, and what you are to do. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What did God put in your heart?
- Is the energy being exerted going to help that dream become a reality?
- Where is the majority of your time being spent?
- Is it where the majority of your times should be spent?
To accomplish what God desires for our lives and ministry demands focus. It demands staying in tune on a daily basis with what God has put into our hearts to accomplish. One book said that good is the enemy of great. The Bible states that we are to approve those things which are excellent.
- Has your vision become blurred?
- It is hard to see clearly the direction God wants?
- Have you got so caught up in “church as usual” that you have lost your vision of training men, raising up preachers and starting churches?
Focus. Focus. Focus. Today you may need to realign your ministry, focus, time and energy. God gave you a dream. Do not let it die in the land of mediocrity. Let it burn once again. Let it burn so brightly that it burns away all the little foxes that have stolen your dream and vision. Let it burn so that those around can not help but be affected by it.
We get so busy doing many so called “good” things that we lose sight of “this one thing I do.”
I love you and pray that our ministries today would be more focused than ever.
Find more helpful articles at bcwe.org.
Londonderry Ireland!
Stacey and I arrived in Belfast Tuesday morning, traveled to Londonderry and I started preaching Tuesday night! We have had three great meetings and look forward to preaching again tonight. I will preach tonight, tomorrow, six times on Sunday, Mon- Wednesday and fly home Thursday and crash! Please pray that God would do a great work during our time here.
We are honored to be with Missionary Travis Snode and his wife Teri. They are doing a wonderful job working in two different churches. Their lives are very full and busy and they need your prayer. They now have three children. Grant (4), Darci (2) and Cali (8 mos)! The Snode’s will have been in Ireland six years this June 4th. He is one of the finest men of God I know, with a wonderful wife and family. They are truly deserving of your partnership as they try to reach this country. Pray for wisdom and power as he lead these churches and raises up an army to take the gospel to the World.
Please be in prayer Saturday for a youth meeting that God would touch some young people to yield their lives to the Lord. It has been an exciting time with more to come!
Thanks for praying.
Bro. Tony