October 2009

Where are the "Subs"?

 
In September, I participated as a guest speaker at a Leadership Summit in Kampala, Uganda. The local host of the summit, Bishop Alex Mitala, in his session, used a very familiar scripture found in Matthew 9:37-38, where Jesus puts out a prayer request. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest , therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Bishop Mitala then suggested that when Jesus spoke those words, He was the only worker in the harvest field. However, that is no longer the case. The prayer has been answered. There are now an estimated one billion Christians in the world - a massive labor force by any standard.
The idea that Christ’s prayer for workers had been answered was a new one for me, and I have pondered it often since. With one billion workers, one would think the fulfillment of the Great Commission should be a snap. But that is not what has happened. The reality - certainly in America - is, that too many of those workers are not engaged in the harvest. We faithfully pray the prayer, but don’t often consider that we too are the answer to the prayer.
In one of His parables about the vineyard, Jesus talks about workers lounging in the marketplace. (Matthew 20) The owner of the vineyard asks them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?" Their response is telling. "Because no one has hired us." In other words, there was no one who pointed them in a direction and gave them something to do.
I’m convinced that the greatest need in the Western church is not for more teaching. Rather it is for godly leaders who have the capacity to release God’s people into meaningful ministry. I think there are many in the church who would gladly serve, if they could only discover where their gifts intersect with their faith. May the Lord grant us more "sub-contractors" who know what needs to be done and can put millions of God’s willing people to work.
Pastor Bo Melin

Thank You God for Books!

I spent a few days last week speaking to about sixty pastors in the countryside of Haiti. Following a session in which I spoke to them about personal devotions and sermon preparation, I asked them what resources they had, besides the Bible, to use in their sermon preparation and personal reading. To a man they responded, "None." Incredulously, I asked, "Nothing?" Again, they responded, "Nothing at all."
Now, I’ve been to Haiti many times. I’ve been in some of their country churches. I knew they didn’t have much. But to find they had no other literary material besides their Bibles, was a shock to me.
It’s just another indicator of how rich we are. I have two studies. One at home and one at the church. Both of them are overflowing with books. The laptop computer I’m using to write this blog, has a program containing literally hundreds of reference works, along with numerous versions of the Bible. In addition, when I study, I regularly access the internet, plus every week, magazines fill my inbox. Reading is a huge part of my growth as an individual, as a Christ-follower, and as a preacher.
There is no more important book than the Bible. If I could only have one book, that is, without question, what it would be. But how my life is enriched and enlarged by reading the ideas and discoveries of other men and women. I’m plan to make a modest response to my Haitian brothers by beginning to translate some sermon outlines into Creole. It will be a small seed indeed. But then, seeds do grow.
Pastor Bo

Staying Aloft

My Dad was a carpenter, with very little formal education, but possessing a philosophical bent that could sometimes produce some pretty profound ponderings. We were standing on the beach in Florida one day watching a boy fly a kite. "You know how flying a kite is like life?" he asked me, his preacher son. I was interested. "As long as the kite is connected to the ground by the string, it will fly. Break the string and the kite will fall. As long as our lives stay connected to the Word of God, we will fly. Break the connection to the Word, and we will fall."
 
How many of us try to soar in life without due diligence in our adherence to God's Word? The Psalmist said it well. "Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end." (Ps 119:111-112)