Friday, October 27, 2017
Is an International Mission Trip for You?
Monday, October 2, 2017
When the Students Teach. . .
- Lesson 1: The researchers asked a simple question, "How many members do you have in your church?" Jose responded by giving the testimony of his members one by one. After listening to a couple of testimonies, the researchers stopped him and asked again. "No. Thank you for stories. They are very interesting, but we just need a number for our report." Jose again started telling the testimonies of those he had reached and baptized. I could see that the researchers were smiling, but anxious to get off the mountain before dark, so I said to Jose, "Jose, they have this little box to fill in with just the number of people that are members of your church. Can you just estimate the number of how many people you have reached and are worshipping in your churches?" I could see the wheels turning in Jose's mind, and after a little while he said, "Why is that important?" I said, "Yes, you're right numbers are not important, and I turned to the researchers and said, let's listen to a few more stories and then we'll just guess."
- Lesson 2: The researchers continued with their questions, and again I was a little too prideful, because Jose was repeating everything I had taught word for word. Then they asked this question, "What are the requirements of being a member of this church?" Jose responded quickly, "I won't let anyone come who isn't willing and doesn't share their testimony with others." Wow, where did that come from? It certainly didn't come from me. As they continued with their questions, I was wracking my brain trying to figure out where that thought came from, because it certainly must not have come from me. I began thinking, "How do I fix that?" "Where do I even begin?" Then it dawned on me. I remembered back to when Jose and I were drinking coffee and eating a cracker with butter on it and just chatting. I thought my teaching time was over, so I was just spouting random thoughts. We talked about soccer. We talked about dengue fever, and which mountain produced the best coffee beans. Then I remembered mentioning right off the top of my head as a stray thought passed through the following, "I wonder what a church would look like if every member shared with everyone else what Jesus has done for them." I smiled inwardly, you see I decided I wasn't going to fix Jose's thinking. He had it right.
- Lesson 3: Most of you know that I am no longer an IMB church planting missionary. I serve Christ as a discipler with the IMFC - International Missionaries for Christ. Discipling others is what we do. We do nothing without sharing our testimony and tying it together with the story of Nicodemus. Our mission agency is not about starting churches, it's purpose is to facilitate and encourage a disciple making movement, and disciples we make. A disciple is someone who has been changed by Jesus and is actively encouraging others to follow Jesus also. As I was walking the streets with our guys and some of their guys in Kampala, I asked a man named Josef - I think it was his name, "Do you ever wish to see walls and roof around and over those that you meet with regularly?" He asked me to clarify, so I asked, "Do you ever want to build a church building?" Josef said, "Why would I want to limit what God can do?"
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
It's Not About Me!
I read an article the other day, that said 82% of millennials don't attend church (Relevant Magazine). I kind of figured it would be higher, because I don't see 18 percent of them in the chairs or standing around in the halls, and I'm in a lot of different churches. I have also read maybe a hundred articles about why many don't attend. To me, it really boils down to just a couple or three reasons. In no particular order those reasons are:
1) They are disgusted with church.
2) They have no idea what Jesus through His church has to offer.
3) They just don't want to!
I get that. I understand that. 1. Honestly, I too am often disgusted with church. No not really the church so much, it's the people in the church that bother me. You see in my position I often see how "good" people treat each other, and my heart breaks for all involved. That's not Jesus; it's never Jesus; it's just selfishness couched in righteousness. 2. Even though I do have a great idea of what Jesus offers through His church, it still often surprises me as to what extent and length that the church does for good in the world. Just look at the church's response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas and now as it is getting geared up to tackle the consequences of Irma and the next one coming in called Maria. This response is nothing short of amazing. In my position I am privileged to hear the stories of actual people giving up their comforts and sometimes their lives so that others may live and find Jesus. This is just incredible. But if you don't happen to be in the KNOW about what Jesus accomplishes through His church, it's incredibly hard to find out, so people - especially millennials don't know, and they are steamrolled with tons of information, disinformation, false information or just the lack of it. 3. Don't get me wrong here, because I love the church; I serve Jesus through the church, but sometimes I just don't feel like going to church - my warm cozy king sized bed and a cup of coffee is something hard to get away from on a brisk fall morning. And if a church goer is reading this and gets upset with me for saying this truth, you can't lie to me, because I know that sometimes you too feel this way. It's normal. We're human.
So with all that said, what is the church going to do about "attracting" millennials to itself - to fill those empty spaces with smiling young faces? My recommendation is - stop trying. Instead of trying to attract millennials to something they don't deem important - invite them to Jesus. In the church business we've been trying to sell an address for a very long time, when we are supposed to be giving away a person - Jesus. Once someone understands that Jesus is the only thing that fills that void in their souls then the church may very well become important to them, but even if that bridge isn't quickly crossed then JESUS is important to them. Instead of asking a millennial to come hear our band or see our show, invite them with you as you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and love the unloveable. Because it's about HIM. It's about them; it's about me, and how all three interact. You see what's really important are the real people with warm red blood and not brick and mortar or galvanized steel and glass.
Good day,
Steve
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Africa or Bust
Years ago - about 40 years really - I said, “Yes Lord, I’ll follow you.” About 20 years after making that commitment, I began trying to figure out what it actually meant for me and my family. So I began a serious search to put a real meaning into that five word commitment. I wanted to know what "Yes, Lord" means for the DuValls. I knew "Yes, Lord" couldn't possibly mean sit in the pew; I wanted to put teeth to the phrase and make sense of my commitment. So after several months of deep Bible study, prayer and thought, I wrote this simple purpose statement: “I will bring the world closer to Christ beginning with my family.”. This purpose has guided my family through many decisions both big and small for all these years since. This statement was written well before we felt called to overseas missions. I didn't even consider the international portion of that statement when I wrote it; I just didn't feel like personally limiting what God might want to do with us. The interesting thing is that when we finally felt that call to foriegn missions it made our decision to take our very young daughter and move to a place we had never seen so much easier. For us it wasn't a leap into the unknown, but rather it was just a new turn in the adventure called “Following Jesus.” That statement kept us overseas when it was rough being there. There were times the language acquisition was extremely difficult and quite frustrating. There were times when we felt terribly alone, but we stayed because that was the purpose of our lives. We never questioned our decision. That statement even brought us back to Georgia to care for aging parents when we really didn't want to come back to the states. You see, Costa Rica was our home by then. Our purpose has led us to places we never could have imagined nor dreamed possible.
Recently that statement helped us make another decision. As most of you know, both of my parents and Deb’s father have passed away. It's been a long five years of mostly constant care, and as you might have guessed it has been a very hard few years for all of us both physically, mentally and spiritually, but it was worth every minute, not only because we loved our folks, but also because we were fulfilling that part of our lives’ purpose. Right now we are getting our batteries recharged on the thirteenth floor in a condo in Panama city. We are getting ready for the next adventure.
A couple of months ago I was approached by Jimmy Barry, who is the president/CEO of International Missionaries for Christ. Apparently, a mutual friend Mike Faulkner recommended me to serve alongside Jimmy with his mission agency. I had never heard of this mission, nor did I know Jimmy Barry. In fact, I wasn't looking to return overseas. It was a shock when he called. Honestly, I had figured in my mind that since the IMB was no longer looking to return us older guys back overseas, that my international adventures would be limited to leading the occasional mission trip, helping to plant ethnic churches here in the US and maybe influencing young men and women to consider a lifetime of service overseas. I didn't even dare to hope that I would be able to again call myself a real live missionary. Then out of the blue, Jimmy called and offered to buy my lunch. We were scheduled to meet for an hour or so, but when we finally called it a meeting almost five hours had passed. He asked me to consider working with him, and I said I would talk to Debbie and pray about it. He asked for references and left our waitress a really big tip. The next week I did my research on him and his mission agency and came away very impressed. At the same time he was contacting my references. I think they exaggerated too much - probably just to get rid of me - so they made me seem like a reasonable, well-intentioned adult, but whatever they said didn't scare him away.
A week or so later he asked me to travel to Africa with him to see the work. At first I hesitated partly because of family issues and partly to continue searching my heart and partly because it is 20 hours in the air. My first thoughts were: “Why me God? It's Africa. What do I know about Africa? I speak Spanish.”. I did pray about it, but I found no peace. I did find the thought exciting though, and it was nice for the old ego to be considered for the position. When Barry called again, I suggested that there were better candidates. In fact, I recommended a certain friend of mine. I told Barry that my friend was fitter, faster, younger, and smarter. Barry mostly ignored my recommendation and asked to meet face to face one more time. He said, “I want you. You were IMB trained. This mission has continued IMB ministries that were abandoned. I want you because you can work across the cultures. I want you because you have been there and done that. I want your contacts and your spirit.”. (Actually, that's a pretty good paraphrase of what he said.). After he said those nice things, I thought for a few moments, and my life’s purpose statement came flooding back into my mind, and I said, “Well then I guess I’m going to Africa. I don't need to see the work, it's what I’m supposed to do.”.
This past Sunday I stood in front of people I love with a letter of resignation in my pocket. I decided not to read it, but rather share from my heart its contents while looking them in the eye. You see, I love them too much to read a simple letter. I’ll be with Macland Baptist Church until July 14 or so, and then I’m on a plane July 16 bound for Entebbe, Uganda, Africa. I’ll work on two continents. My missionary call and the purpose of our lives wil require me to be both in Africa and here in the US. I'll let you know more as I know more, but thank you for taking the time to read this note. Thank you for praying for us. I'll even ask that you consider joining our efforts in East Central Africa. I would love to host you - my friends - in your adventure of "FOLLOWING JESUS" overseas in Africa. Come with me to Kenya or Uganda. For us - it's Africa or bust.