Money Matters- Avoiding Paternalism & Dependency Part 3

In this third and final article, we will continue to discuss the dangers of dependency and paternalism.

We will especially focus on the giving and receiving of large financial gifts; of big things like land, property, vehicles, etc.  We will also talk about how dependency harms our ability to hear God’s voice and direction.

Whether we are raising money for someone, whenever a large amount of money is involved, we must be even more careful to avoid dependency and paternalism. The larger the gift we give, the more careful we must be in making sure that we are not controlling, paternalistic or manipulative.  We need to "close the door" in those areas so the enemy cannot come in and cause either the donor or those receiving the gift to sin. How do we "close the door" or set up barriers so that we don't fall into paternalism or controlling people we have given large gifts to? 

First of all let me suggest that if there are any expectations or strings attached to those gifts or grants, it should be very clear and in writing.  The person receiving needs to know this up front before accepting the gift.  For example, if you are giving a large donation to someone to use for a particular purpose and your expectation is to receive regular reports about that, it should be communicated to them that those are the conditions related to the gift.  If, however, you are making a donation to them that is personal, that should also be very clear and in writing.  If you are giving them money to use for the purchase of a house, or car, or for their child's college, then make it clear that this is their money to use as they wish, no strings attached to you or to the organization.  Personally, I do not recommend that you make those kinds of gifts directly.  It is very hard for them not to feel "indebted" to you. These are situations where an anonymous gift through someone else would be much better.

This is also a case where the setting up of a foundation or trust that they apply to for help removes the "control" factor that leads to dependency and paternalism.  If you feel called to help people in these kinds of situations, maybe it's better to think of setting up a filter or a way that you can give but that the decisions about exactly who that money goes to are made by a board or committee and there are certain requirements, application forms or policies.  This goes a very long way in removing the temptation to later use your past gift to over influence these people, or to demand loyalty to you and your way of thinking in an issue because they are "indebted" to you.  We must avoid that at all costs! This is devastating to our relationships within the mission community or family.

Let me close this series of articles by sharing why I believe dependency is especially dangerous in YWAM and why I believe it threatens one of our most important values- Hearing God's Voice.  Faith and Finances are very directly linked to our ability to hear God's voice.  Salary systems mean that we have a boss and we must do what the boss says.  When we have a job, we don't really have the option of hearing from God for ourselves. If we don't do what our boss says, then they can fire us and we know that.  So we do what they say, even if we don't prefer to do so. 

YWAM has been built on a foundation of Hearing God's Voice.  In my DTS this was the thing that really attracted me to work with this mission.  I could see that the leaders truly had freedom to hear from God and that they valued the word of the Lord enough to trust even DTS students to hear from God themselves.  The leaders didn't only hear from God and tell us what to do, but they wanted us to hear God ourselves and obey Him.  I'm so very grateful that our mission has operated from this principle for so many years and that it has been one of our most central values.

That is why I believe dependency, paternalism, and centralized fund raising is so dangerous. This is why macro business that provides regular support to a group of YWAM nationals is also very dangerous.  Let me explain this in a bit more depth.  When a foreigner (or South Asian who is good in business or has a lot of financial connections) raises money and then creates a centralized fund to support many workers, that fund has the danger of becoming like a salary system.  Not only does that national YWAMer  loose the amazing experience of seeing God do miracles to provide for them which builds their trust in God.  It also can potentially rob them of their ability to hear from God for themselves. 

Think back to my examples in the earlier article.  If they are in Frontier Missions for example, and receiving regular support from the FM fund which is provided by a particular macro business and they are getting 5,000 rupees a month from that fund, how much freedom do you think they will feel to listen to God speaking to them about a pioneering a children's home ministry in another area?  When we are dependent, we are much less free to listen to God's voice and direction.  We also can stop believing God for the impossible, because we are not regularly experiencing His answers to our prayers as we walk by faith.  We receive our same support each month, it is guaranteed by the "big leader" (be they Korean, American, or Indian).  In order to get that "monthly support" we need to do our jobs, turn up at meetings, etc. 

This is not the DNA of YWAM.  Our DNA is that we listen to God.  He asks us to do crazy, impossible things that are way beyond our own abilities.  We step out in faith and obedience. He shows up and does miracles to provide for us and the ministries he has asked us to lead.  This is a key reason why we have seen such growth in the past 50 years.  It is because this was our value.

What kind of YWAMers do we make when we raise all their finances for them and just supply it to them each month?  Are we allowing them the opportunity to learn the same lessons that we had to learn as we stepped out in faith and saw God do miracles?  Maybe we don't want them to suffer...even though our suffering led to our own character development and ability to trust God.  Maybe we don't believe God can and will provide for them, so we feel we have to do so.  This is called a God complex.  A God complex is when we step into the role of God in their lives.  It shows our lack of faith.  I admit it.  It's harder to watch others you love struggle in walking by faith then it is to do so ourselves.  But we must!  Or our "spiritual children" will never grow up to maturity.

I appeal to you, whether you are a foreigner or a national working among your own people.  Please consider these issues carefully.  Money matters.  It matters to God.  It matters in His Kingdom.  How we handle money can lead to weak and handicapped disciples, or strong and mature leaders who hear God's voice and obey Him with courageous faith.  This issue requires patience and much discernment.  We have to ask questions and think before we act.  We have to pray and listen to God, not just do what seems to be right or helpful but may not be helpful in the end.

I'm still learning, thinking, praying and listening...every day.  These situations will not go away but will continue to confront me regularly.  Though I have little hope I can completely avoid mistakes in this area, I pray that I will make fewer of them than I used to.

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Questions to Discuss:

1)   How does dependency affect our ability to hear God’s voice?

2)   What are the dangers of raising money for others in a centralized system?

3)   With larger gifts or more personal gifts, how could setting up an application system that has a board, help us avoid the dangers of too much financial influence or control over others?

 

Money Matters- Avoiding Paternalism and Dependency- Part 2

In the previous article, we were discussing two important words…dependency and paternalism. Dependency again is when we develop an unhealthy relationship with a donor where we start to look to them as the supplier of our needs rather than to God.  Paternalism is when we take the role of a parent and treat the staff we are raising money for or helping financially as if they are children.  Instead of trusting them, allowing them to mature, learn and grow in how to interact with donors, we don’t train them and we keep all the control in our hands.  For many years we keep them in the same place of dependency upon our maturity and skills rather than developing their own abilities.

To further illustrate some of the dangers of dependency and paternalism let me share a few situations I faced in the last month.  I share them not as examples of doing everything right, but to help all of us think about what questions we need to be asking when faced with these kinds of situations.

1. Widow needing money for housing.  There is a widow in our city that we regularly support.  Her husband was a pastor and church planter and passed away a few years ago.  We had a relationship with him and when he died we decided to help this widow with a regular financial gift.  This widow has a son who is in his late teens.  He is not very healthy and has not been able to continue in school because of his poor health.  He does not work.  Recently they came to us and told us that they needed more money for a better house.  They were being persecuted where they lived.  They didn't have freedom to sing songs to Jesus without making the neighbors angry. They wanted us to help them with money to move to a more expensive place where they could freely sing and worship God.

It sounds reasonable right?  So what questions do we need to ask here to avoid dependency and paternalism?  Well, the first question is: are they looking to us or to God to find a solution to their problem?  Are we pointing them back to God?  Is there a way that they could pray and love and do something to make peace with their neighbors?  Another question is whether or not our giving will actually help or hurt them.  It might be possible that by giving them this money we are teaching them to run from their problems rather than solving them.  Maybe they are being rude to their neighbors by singing loudly in the early morning, or maybe they are not working to build bridges of friendship with those who are of different faiths.  Lastly, we need to ask ourselves, what are long term solutions for this widow and her son? How can I truly help them where one day they will not need my support?  Maybe I need to fast and pray for the sick son and then help him to get a job or training in job skills.  Maybe I need to do a bible study with this widow and her son on God's faithfulness and on God as their provider, and then see what God will do for them if I do nothing to help them financially. 

Sometimes, in our busyness it is actually easier to give.  But it is not always the most helpful thing.  It is sometimes easier because then we also don't have to trust God with them to provide...we don't need to exercise our faith, we can just bail them out, help them and the problem goes away.  But be assured. It will return again if you have created dependency.

In my mind, this is a classic case where my giving, though done in love and generosity, may actually weaken rather than strengthen them. 

2. National church planter who keeps making strategic mistakes and doesn't seem to listen to my input. There is a brother that I've been working with for the past five or six years.  He is a very gifted evangelist and quite fruitful.  But he also is a bit scattered and not very focused.  I see a lot of potential in him and when we have given him church planting input and he has applied it there have been amazing results!  But lately, we have been frustrated because he seems to want encouragement more than input.  And he has been making some mistakes that will slow down the growth of his church movement.  He doesn't seem to listen when we point these things out to him. Or he listens and says "yes, yes" but then he does something else and goes back to his traditional ways. 

I asked someone for advice who had been his coach and mentor before.  That person told me that I would get better results with this man, if I would regularly provide some finances to him to run trainings for his people or do other things to help him financially. 

Though I suspect that this is true, and though it may actually lead to the movement growing, I believe this is wrong and unethical.  If I raised money for this man and used money to get him to obey and listen to me, I would be paternalistic and manipulative.  The end does not justify the means. 

Instead, I have to commit myself to something much harder and slower.  I have to build a deep friendship and relationship that is NOT based on money, a relationship of trust.  Then I have to give him the freedom to make his own mistakes and learn from them, even if it means this movement that I so much want to see happen, will slow down and become less fruitful.  In the end, if he only makes good choices because he has no true choice in the matter, I am not developing him into a quality leader.  He is a “slave” still, and will always act like one. And when I leave, he will go back to his old ways.

Again, this is another case where I could easily fall into creating dependency or paternalism.  In this case the paternalism would be for me to think that he is not smart enough to truly understand the strategic issues and make wise choices about these things.  I know better than he does, so I will just decide for him by using financial influence to get him to obey me.

3. A national church planter telling me about their need for food.  A few days ago I made a phone call to one of the church planters I've been regularly trying to encourage.  She and her husband are good people and work hard in the field.  They have very little financial support but they are seeing good fruit in their ministry and people are coming to Christ.  The wife got on the phone and shared with me about the ministry, and then at the end she asked me to pray because they didn't have any food in the house.  I was faced with a problem.  What would I do? 

What questions must I ask to be careful not to create dependency or move into paternalism?  The first question I needed to ask is whether or not this was a situation where relief was needed or a chronic financial problem that needed a long term solution.  Then I need to ask what would happen if I did give?  How would that affect our relationship?  Would they then start looking at me as a source of finance (though perhaps they already do as I'm a foreigner) instead of as a friend and mentor alone?  Was there a way I could help that would NOT create dependency but would actually lead toward a long term solution?  Or should I just pray for them and maybe God would do a miracle that would cause them to look to Him and see His power, glory and love, instead of looking at me as a good person? 

In this case I didn't have good answers so I decided not to give anything yet.  I did pray that God would provide.  And I have been asking him if there is anything He wants me to do.  But I didn't let my natural compassion and pity lead me to give immediately.  I want to be led by God, not my emotions.  I want to be compassionate, but in a way that truly loves them, not just in a way that takes away my guilty feeling of having more than they do.   

I do trust God.  I believe His word is as true for them as it is for me.  His word says that he cares about the sparrows, and the flowers in the field.  I know He is able to provide for them today and that He can miraculously turn their one piece of roti (bread) into enough to feed their family.  He is the God who fed the 5,000.  He is the God who multiplied the widow’s oil.  He is that God for them today, just like He is that God for me.  So, I've decided to trust Him to be that God and to listen to His voice and only give or act when He tells me to do so, not simply because there is a need in front of me that looks desperate.

So often the dependency we create and the financial control we have over others in unintentional.  But that doesn't make it less dangerous.  Our hearts are good.  We truly want to help people who have less than we do.  But the enemy can so easily use this good thing for evil. Our giving may rob them of the more important thing they need-  Faith in God and the freedom and ability to listen to His voice and leading.

Questions to Discuss:

1)   Have you ever faced similar difficult situations where you are unsure about whether to give or not?  Describe them.

2)   What questions did you ask in that situation to make a wise decision?

Money Matters- Avoiding Paternalism and Dependency- Part 1

Money is a very powerful thing.  Having money or access to money gives a certain power.  The lack of adequate financial resources can make one feel helpless.  Some Christian leaders are willing to give up a great deal in order to obtain the finances needed to live well, provide for their families, ministry, or have basic needs met. At times there is a compromising of values, strategies and ideals in order to obtain income. The lack of money can make one feel so desperate.

The way in which we think about and use money is very, very important.

Jesus said we could not serve both God and mammon (money). He also said to be on our guard against all kinds of greed.  He told us not to worry about material things; food, clothing, etc.  He told us that the Father knew what we needed and would be faithful to give these things to us.  But sometimes we compromise to gain finances.  And sometimes once we have enough money, even in our generosity we use that money inappropriately.

In my leadership role in South Asia, I've been talking a lot about two words related to money and missions.  One is the word dependency, the other is paternalism.  In this article, let’s talk a bit more about these two words.  Dependency is when we develop an unhealthy relationship with a donor where we start to look to them as the supplier of our needs rather than to God.  Who is responsible for the problem of dependency?  Is it the donor, or the person receiving the money?  I believe both are responsible for allowing dependency, though the greater responsibility is on the donor. 

Many times dependency happens without our realizing it.  We give out of the goodness of our hearts, wanting to help.  We give without thinking through the long term consequences.  We don't ask the right questions of the situation.  We don't ask whether or not our giving truly helps the person receiving the money to grow in dignity, faith, and to be what God has called them to be. Sometimes our giving makes them weaker and puts them in a place where they need you, the donor, in order to survive. 

Giving and receiving is biblical.  It’s right.  But giving when it causes someone to look to you instead of God takes them away from Him, rather than pushing them toward Him.  This doesn't help them, it hurts them. 

As a missionary serving in Asia for the past 20 years I've faced many, many situations where I was presented with a need where my giving could either help or hurt.  I've made a lot of mistakes. Sometimes I've given and caused dependency, where those I gave to started to look to me as their source of help instead of God.  Sometimes I've given and then used the power over them which my giving created, to make them do what I wanted them to do.  It was never obvious or out in the open that I was doing that. Usually I was hardly conscious of it. Using financial power over people to influence them is a very subtle, but dangerous form of control. 

Let me describe a hypothetical situation to make it clearer.  Let's say I’m teaching about church planting movements (cpm) and that is my passion.  I really want everyone to be as excited about CPMs as I am and to embrace that strategy. I really believe in this strategy and think it is the most effective way to reach the unreached.  So I meet an Indian DTS student and we become friends.  I can see they have potential.  I decide to help them do an SOFM so I finance their DTS fees.  They later want to get married, so I help provide a lot of the money for the wedding. They see me as their older sister.  They love and appreciate me. But God is calling them to work with Kings Kids (Children's ministry), not to be involved in CPMs.  They share their vision with me, but I'm not excited about that vision.  I had a lot of hope that they would work in church planting and do SOFM. 

I'm faced with a choice.  Will I use my financial power to manipulate them and cause them to stay in church planting where I want them?  Or will I release them to follow God's plans?  It's very tempting here.  I know that because I've helped them so much financially, they will listen to me and probably do what I tell them to do, especially if I offer to finance them as they do it.  If I offer to support them as they join a cp team, that is probably what they will do, even though it’s not what they are called to do or their vision.  But we really need church planters!  And it’s not wrong for them to church plant.  But it IS wrong to use money and financial influence to control people.

So what is the right thing to do here?  Well, first is that they shouldn't be dependent on me. My generosity could lead toward their looking to me instead of God.  Maybe I need to stop giving to them, and instead look for a donor they can connect with directly rather than through me.  Or maybe I need to help them start an income generation project where they can make money and then have control over it for themselves.  This frees them to listen to God for personally and do what He is saying, not feel they have to do what I am saying as their rich and generous friend or elder “sister/didi”. 

What is the wrong thing to do here?  The wrong thing to do is to offer them a financial incentive to do what I want them to do.  If for example, I suggest that they join a church planting team and tell them that I will help pay for their housing and food on that team, but that I'm sorry I can't help them if they want to join Kings Kids. As long as they listen to me, do what I think is best, and as long as they are loyal to me, they will receive financial help from me.  But if they start to have other visions and feel God is leading them elsewhere then I will remove my help.  This is unhealthy dependency and using financial control to manipulate people.

It is sometimes a fine line.  Financial manipulation is not always intentional.  But make no mistake, it is still very dangerous.  I'm not saying that money that is given for one particular thing should be used for other things.  If, for example, there are resources given for Church planters in South Asia, we can't give those to people who are working with Kings Kids or DTS.  It's not wrong to designate gifts for a particular ministry.  But it is wrong when you don't give people freedom to make decisions on their own. It’s wrong when you cause them to have to do what you want (consciously or unconsciously) because of your financial power over them.

It is also dangerous to raise money for people and have the money always come through you and to never connect those people to the donors directly.  Sometimes we do this because of language issues.  We are Swedish and we have a Bangladeshi staff who can't speak Swedish.  We ask a church back home to support them and so we have to be the person to communicate with them because of language.  This is not necessarily wrong (though it would be better if you helped a Bangladeshi church you have relationship with to support them if possible).  But it can become wrong if you take the full responsibility for all communications and if you do not allow them access to the church directly.  Then you have control.  This is true even if you never touch that money and it all goes through your office staff, etc.

In these kinds of situations, we as missionaries and leaders have made many, many mistakes.  We give them the money from the church, we write the reports back to the church, and the local missionary never learns how to interact appropriately with donors. We are making them handicapped, not truly helping them except with their immediate need.  This is dependency.  If we leave, or if we get angry with them or our relationship with them somehow is damaged, then they lose their support. 

Instead, we need to connect them directly and let that church truly become their supporter.  We must teach them how to relate to the church in a good way.  We can teach them how to write newsletters in Bangla and then translate them for them into English or Swedish.  But the responsibility to write is theirs.  If they don't write, then no report goes.  If no report goes, they may lose their support.  But then they learn that communication with donors is important if you want to keep donors- an important lesson that actually empowers them. 

Never do something for them that they can do themselves. If they don't know how to do something, teach them.  Don't assume that they can't learn or take responsibility. Don't treat them like a child who is incapable of doing anything.  This is paternalism- when we take the role of a parent with an adult and treat them as a child. We take care of them and do things for them that they are actually capable of doing themselves.  This does not help and in the long run it could make them weak and handicapped.

Whether you are a foreigner or an Indian, Nepali or Bangladeshi, we all need to be very careful about how we both receive money, how we give it and  out and how we raise it for others.  It is very easy to create dependency and hurt those we are actually trying to help.

Some questions to discuss:

1) Have you seen examples of dependency or paternalism around you?

2) How can we avoid becoming dependent or creating dependency in others we give to?

3) What is paternalism?

Is it Biblical to Count Fruit and Report Numbers?

Is it Biblical to Count Fruit and Report Numbers?

                There are some people in our organization who have resisted the idea of counting and reporting of numbers.  I think I understand their hearts.  Sometimes when we count the number of believers and churches we have started, pride can come into our lives.  Or, if our numbers are low, we can feel discouraged.  I remember Youth Pastors meetings in my early ministry life where I felt so discouraged that the number of youth in my youth group was small. I hated being asked by someone how many youth I had at my church!  Pride, insecurity, and a spirit of competition are certainly important things to guard our hearts against.  We should also be careful not to become business minded or to look at our numbers for confidence instead of looking to God.  This was actually the problem that God was trying to correct in David’s life when he told him at one time after he was very successful, not to count the army (2 Sam 24).

                Sadly, some who have had bad experiences in this area base their entire understanding of this on this one time where God prohibited counting in David’s life.  Instead, we need to look at the entire Bible and see what it says about counting, numbers, and the importance of reporting.  Indeed, I believe that counting and accurate reporting of what God is doing through our ministry is very, very important to God and that it greatly pleases Him. 

                First of all, if God didn’t care about numbers, he wouldn’t have named an entire book of the Bible “Numbers”!  The Old Testament is full of numbers!  For one example, check out all the numbers listed in 1 Chronicles Ch 5-9.  In the New Testament, in Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a good shepherd who counts His sheep.  The shepherd carefully keeps track and counts to see if any sheep are missing.  When he finds that one is gone, he goes in search of it.  Jesus uses this parable to describe His heart for the Lost.  I believe this story also speaks to us about how important every individual person is to him.  Sometimes, as church planters, we are not very good shepherds.  We are not careful to count and to check what is actually happening to those who are coming to faith.  Have we gained or lost sheep this year?  Counting helps us to keep track, to evaluate and make necessary changes. It helps us to see if we are losing or gaining precious souls in God’s kingdom.  We count and report because we want to be careful and good shepherds who love their sheep, just like Jesus!

                Another example that I’ve been talking about lately is the parable of the Minas found in Luke 19.  In this story, the nobleman calls for a report of what was done with what had been given.  Each year, when we count and report, we are able to see clearly and accurately what God is doing.  If reporting wasn’t important to God, I don’t think this parable would be in the Bible.  Will we be willing to be truly accountable for increasing what God has given us, both to God and to one another?

                Lastly and perhaps most importantly, reporting helps us to give glory to God for what He has done.  If numbers go up, God gets the glory.  We celebrate and praise Him! How will we know if supernatural increase is happening if we don’t count? If numbers go down or stay the same, we don’t need to feel bad or beat ourselves up.  In that case, we pray and evaluate where we need to make changes and determine in our hearts to pray and work to see something different happening in the future.

                We would never want anyone to feel pressured to produce reports of greater fruit then what they have.  As mentioned above, we MUST NOT enter into pride or competition and we need to guard our hearts against insecurity too.  If someone else reports great increase, we celebrate together what God has done!  If someone reports lower numbers, we stand together in prayer and think together how to help bring about change and greater fruit in that place or among that people group.  We must be honest and use great integrity in the reports we give.  God cares about accuracy and giving a complete and honest report of the truth (See Acts 5 for just how important honesty is to God!) And, we must be careful about releasing names and numbers to the wrong people or in a way that compromises our long term security and ministry. This however, should not keep us from reporting.

From the above examples, I’m sure we can all see that counting and reporting is definitely Biblical. Counting and reporting will greatly help us to glorify God, be good stewards and shepherds, to move forward in greater faith, and to correct ourselves in areas where we need to change in order to see increased fruitfulness in the future.  Let’s fill out our reports with a pure heart to please the Master and to be faithful to Him!

Focused but not Narrow

Focused but not Narrow

Recently I was in a meeting with a ywam leader.  He said to me “FM is very narrow.”  As we talked, I found that what he really meant was that we as FM are very focused.  We are called for one very specific task…to see CPMs among the unreached.  But his statement has had me thinking about this a lot these past few days.

It is good to be focused.  We must be focused.  We must not lose our focus!  Sometimes we talk about the need for a laser sharp focus.  We have to keep the goal and end vision of a CPM among the unreached constantly at the forefront of everything we do.  If what we are doing isn’t leading us toward that, then we need to ask ourselves whether or not we should be doing those things.  We have to be careful to avoid distractions.  So many things pull us away from this goal!  One quality I’ve seen in every person who is truly seeing fruit and success in starting CPMs is that they maintain a very sharp focus on CPM work. 

It is NOT good, however, to be narrow.  Especially if that means we are narrow-minded.  It is NOT good for us to think starting CPMs is the only thing that is important in the Kingdom of God.  It is NOT good when we stop listening and learning from other ministries that are not CPM focused.  It is NOT good when we isolate ourselves from others who have different callings and anointings then we do, or when we cut ourselves off from fellowship and friendship with them. 

I am a very focused person.  When I am working on something, I don’t hear anyone, see anyone or even notice other things going on around me.  There have been times when I was working on something on my computer, writing an article, or thinking through an issue and my husband or my kids wanted to ask me a question.  There have been times when they wanted to say something to me, or even just get a hug from me.  When Im really working hard and very focused on something, I don’t like to be disturbed.  Sometimes I can react to people who disturb me.  Sometimes my reaction is less than loving.  Sometimes I am rude even.  I’ve hurt my husband and kids sometimes in my reactions..because I am so focused on my task.

I’ve had to learn how to manage this part of my personality.  I’ve had to learn that my FOCUS can sometimes WOUND others.  I’ve had to learn to let go of my intense focus for a few minutes, to listen, to look, to engage with others around me, to show them love and care.  Then I can return to my focus, task and goal.  I’m learning and my family understands me, loves me and has forgiven me many times.

I think it’s a little like that with us in FM.  We can become so FOCUSed that we aren’t always loving toward those around us, toward other ministries in YWAM.  We are too focused, too busy, to take a moment to acknowledge them, to show we care about them and what they are doing.  Sometimes we may be so intensely focused that we are even rude. 

We need to learn how to manage our focus well and with love and maturity.  We need to be willing to be interrupted in our focus, for a moment or two, to stop and listen and love and care for others who are not engaged in the same focused task as us.  That might mean we attend a YWAM gathering that doesn’t really have anything to do with CPMs, or what we are wanting to see happen. It might be providing hospitality or help to a short term team for a day or two.  That doesn’t mean we lose our focus.  Im not saying we should just throw out our focus or even leave it for very long.  In fact we need to be careful that these kinds of things don’t start to dominate our schedules to where we have little time for what we are truly called to do.  We must maintain our focus.

But lets not be narrow people.  Lets love, learn from, welcome and engage with the rest of our wonderful YWAM family.  We have much to gain by our relationship with this family.  We also have much to give.  Lets be focused in our task, but have broad hearts of love that are not narrow, but that embrace all that God is doing in the world.  Lets honor, champion, encourage, respect, and engage with others who have different callings, perspectives, and goals then we do.

Lord, give us wisdom and maturity.  Help us to stay intensely focused on seeing CPMs among the unreached.  Please help us not to be distracted from this very, very important calling you’ve given us.  We can so easily get off track.  But please also help us to be open people.  Open minded.  Open hearted.  Willing to be disturbed from our focus, for brief moments, as we love the people around us.  We need you Lord.  Thank you for helping us grow more like you.  Amen. 

 

August 2014- Where do you receive affirmation & encouragement?

A Note from the FM South Asia Leader’s Desk:

Today as I write this note to you, I find myself with a curious question.  Where do you receive affirmation and encouragement?  Where do our FM leaders, staff, and church planters in the field get the affirmation and encouragement to keep going?  Church planting among unreached peoples is not easy work to do.  Sometimes we face great challenges, setbacks, and spiritual warfare.  Sometimes, even in times of victory, we can feel we have few people to even rejoice with us in or understand how significant the breakthrough we experienced was for us. God designed us as human beings to need encouragement and affirmation.  Without it, there is a gap or a hole inside of us that longs to be filled. 

Often, when feeling the lack of affirmation, we can start to blame others.  It’s easy to say, “My leader doesn’t visit or call me enough.” Or we can wonder why YWAM doesn’t have better member care.  Or why our parents and friends forget to write to us, or don’t understand our work and calling.  Sometimes we want more affirmation from our team members, closest friends or spouse.  This need in our life can cause loneliness and make us handicapped or crippled from effective, fruitful ministry in the harvest field.  This is not God’s plan or desire!  He wants us to have full access 24 hours a day, to abundant affirmation, love, acceptance and encouragement!  He wants us to be full and overflowing with this, so we can give it away to others.

So, let me come back to the question again: where do you receive affirmation and encouragement?  Pause a moment and answer this for yourself.  Then, ask yourself, where do you wish you received it but don’t?  Acknowledging our need before the Lord is the right place to start.  We don’t have to pretend we are strong and don’t need this.  We can admit that we really long for someone to notice how much we have worked or suffered or to tell us “Good job!  Keep going.  You’re doing well.”  But we can’t stop there.  Father God, our Papa, is longing to speak those words to us if we will slow down, quiet our hearts and listen.  He designed us with that gap, so we would turn to Him (not others, leaders, team members or those who never can truly fill this hole in us!)  He is an abundant source of encouragement and longs to speak to you, even now, “Well done, my faithful son or daughter.  I am well pleased with you.”  Romans 8:31-37 tells us that if Papa God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Nothing can separate us from his love.  Except maybe our own inability to listen or receive from Him. When we close our ears and are too busy to listen to the love, affirmation and encouragement He is waiting to give us. 

My prayer for you today (and for myself too) is this: May your heart be quiet enough to hear His still small voice whisper-“ I love you.  You are mine.  I am proud of you.”  May the voices of shame, loneliness, failure, or rejection be silenced enough that your Papa God’s voice can be heard.  “You did well my child.  I love you unconditionally.  Keep going. I am with you.  I am using you and doing more through you then you can see.”  Let’s pray this for one another this month.  As He brings greater revelation to us, we will be strengthened in Him and have an abundant supply of love to give away to the unreached and lost around us.

July 2014- Supernatural Strength for Increase

A Note from the FM South Asia Leader’s Desk:

Good morning!  My prayer for you today is that God would give you his grace and strength in supernatural abundance.  It’s the hot and humid season now, but the monsoon rains have started.  It can be a time when we get easily frustrated.  Or, at least, I do, when Im hot and sticky and uncomfortable. 

This last few months I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, praying and learning about the issue of strength.  Where do we get the kind of supernatural strength we need for the race God has called us to be running?  To see supernatural increase, to bring in a supernatural harvest, we need supernatural strength and energy.  We also need to learn to be excellent managers/stewards of the strength God gives, rather than waste it or use it up in ways that leave us empty with nothing left inside. 

This morning in my quiet time I was reading from Psalm 84.  Verse 5 says “What joy for those whose strength comes from the LORD, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs.  The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.  They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.”  The Jewish practice of going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem was vital to their faith.  The Hebrew word for pilgrimage means “going on foot”.  Even kings would get off their horses and go up to Jerusalem on foot as a sign of humility.

One of the keys to receiving joy and strength from the Lord, that supernatural strength we need for what we do, is to become a people who “set our minds on pilgrimage.”  We need to set aside the time, money, energy and effort to regularly go to His Presence for renewal.  Jerusalem represented the place where God’s Presence was most felt, where He dwelt.  This month, let’s pray for ourselves, and for each other, that in the midst of working so hard to bring in the harvest, we will carefully guard our energy source- and realize our strength comes from Him.  We will press in and make necessary sacrifices to get away with God, so that even our places of sorrow can become refreshing springs (vs 6).  When we are full of Him, His joy, His strength, and His love, bringing in the harvest will become easy and fun, not exhausting!