When Less is More - Gideon and The Church

When it comes to investing in the mission of Jesus to bring the Gospel to people, the "church" is often tempted to think in the following ways:

"It would be nice to plant a church, but we don't have the financial resources."

"We could do outreach to that community, but our people are busy enough just keeping our local church going."

Satan loves to tempt followers of Jesus to function from a mindset of scarcity rather than a confidence in God's abundance.

Gideon, when told that he was chosen by God to defeat the Midianites operated from a mindset of scarcity.    His response was 

Judges 6:15 

"But Lord, " Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

God's answer was

Judges 6:14 - 16

The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you? . . . I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." 

With God's promise Gideon gathers an army of 32,000 men.  God twice reduced Gideon's army because He knew Gideon was seeking to operate out of his own human strength.

Judges 7:2-3 

The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, {3} announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

Gideon obeyed but once again God reduced his army

Judges 7:4-7 

But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." {5} So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." {6} Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. {7} The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."

When by all human calculations, it looked like Gideon should lose, he was nevertheless obedient.  God gave victory.  No mindset of scarcity here - just a confidence in God's abundance.  Truly Less was More!

It is absolutely true that God provide all that is needed to accomplish His mission in the world.  It will be done regardless of whether we take action or not.  But, I for one don't want to miss out on the exciting Kingdom adventure God has in store for me as I have the privilege of being part of that adventure.  That is what Jesus wants for every believer and every church.  While we might be tempted to think there is not enough to be in mission, God takes what may appear to be little and shows us that it is enough.  He did it with Gideon and He will do it with you and your church.

 

 

 

How Is The Money We Give for Missions Used?

• Does the money your congregation give for missions go to prop up a tired institution?
• Is most of the money used for administration and staff salaries?
• Is the Texas District LCMS a good steward of the financial resources contributed by my congregation?
• Should we continue to provide funds to the Texas District?

I believe the Texas District is a faithful and prudent partner of its congregations and missions, using the provided resources for maximum Kingdom impact.

Look at the pie chart below.  It tells the story of what I believe to be mission focused resource use.

Total annual budget for 2013: $7,120,000

• Percentage allocated for missions and church planting: 73.8%
• Percentage allocated for helping congregations with the call process, school ministry and other ministry needs: 17.8%
• Percentage allocated for administration and finance: 8.4% 

Mission Facts

• Mission funds given as ministry grants (non-returnable) $3.5 million (49% of district budget)
• Mission funds (returnable dollars) loaned at 0% interest: $840,000 (11.8% of district budget)
• Mission consultation and church planter assessment $877,449 (12.3% of district budget)

•  Texas District Missions fund and facilitate nearly 50 missions with over 100 missionaries reaching nearly 9,000 people weekly with the Gospel.

•  Additionally, the Texas District sends $1,745,000 to the LCMS for Missions, Seminaries, Universities, Human Care and others (2nd to only the Michigan District who has double our baptized membership.

Your gifts to the Texas District are needed and carefully stewarded for maximum mission impact.  Thank You!

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Open Your Eyes to Harvest in Unexpected Places - My Recent Experience

One out of five non-Christians in North America doesn't know any Christians.  A just completed study found that 20% of non-believers in North America really do not "personally know" any Christ-followers.  That's 13,447,000 people—about the population of metropolitan Los Angeles or Istanbul. (Christianity Today, Abby Stocker, 08.19.13)

One of the reasons for this reality is that disciples of Jesus don't always believe the words of Jesus to His disciples in John 4:35 "I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest."  The context for these words of Jesus was the woman at the well of Sychar in Samaria.  The disciples had gone into town to buy bread while Jesus gently led this Samaritan woman to faith. Verse 27 tells us that "his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman."  They start a conversation about physical bread and he says "Don't you have a saying, 'It's still four months until harvest'? I tell you open your eyes and look at the fields!  they are ripe for harvest."

While Jesus sat at the well, tired from traveling, whom did the disciples pass on the road to the Samaritan village to buy bread?  In all likelihood they passed the woman coming to the well.  They missed her while Jesus found her.  They saw the same person as Jesus but they assumed there was no possibility of a Spiritual harvest with a woman from a Samaritan town.  Jesus tells them to open their eyes.  Don't say that the harvest is four months away...it is all around you right now.

Too often, I have assumed the people I meet in everyday life are not "harvestable" by the Holy Spirit, passing them by, believing that they couldn't possibly be interested. That is probably why so many non-believers don't even know one believer!  I am thankful that I get occasional wake-up calls from the Holy Spirit that challenge my assumptions.

Just two weeks ago, a doctor whom I have been visiting for three years told me "I have something exciting to tell you.''  He said it with a big smile.  For background, this man is brilliant and educated.  He has an MD a PhD and an MBA.  He comes from a non-Christian background and an ethnic group different from mine.  We have had ongoing conversations about Jesus, church, Christians, etc. for 3 years.  I would not have thought he would be interested in a conversation about Jesus, but each visit over the last three years turned to Spiritual matters.  Each visit found me thinking "Oh, if I had only said this...or only said that."  I guessed I had made no difference.  Now for his announcement!  "I have something exciting to tell you...in April the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that everything I had been hearing about Jesus was true."  He told me he knew some might think him crazy, but he had no doubt at all who was speaking to him.  He has since been baptized and gone through instruction in the Christian faith.

He even told me that I was one of only two people he had ever discussed faith matters with and thanked me.  I cried when I got into my car, overwhelmed that Jesus could use me in even a small way to walk with him on the path to faith in Jesus.

So, for me, the phrase "Open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvests." has new and richer meaning.  I am asking God to open my eyes and help me to make no assumptions that neighbors, ethnically different, generationally different or socio-economically different people are uninterested in Jesus.  I am praying that everyone I meet will hear and experience Jesus from their interactions with me.  I don't want anyone around me being able to say "I don't even know a Christian."  It is a big prayer but we have a big Savior who wants all to be included in His harvest.

Blue Ocean or Red Ocean - Where Are You Fishing?

The Issues Around Cultural Distance and the Churched Culture

If you look at the population of North America on a continuum and number it from 1 to 4, it has been observed that each # between the Christendom Paradigm and the unchurched world is a significant barrier to communicating the Gospel.  The farther from the Christendom or churched world one moves, the more challenging it is to communicate the Gospel.

 

The  Christendom paradigm works fairly well in reaching between 0 to 1

But - the farther you get from 1 in cultural distance, the less the Christendom paradigm connects or communicates the faith because we struggle to explain our church vocabulary and the cultural trappings that often accompany our communication of Gospel truth. 

Attractional Church models reaches from 0 to 2 at best

If we do succeed in bringing in a 3 or 4 we often socialize them out of their current relationships to get them to the Christendom relational world.  Since the Gospel moves best along relational lines, this is counterproductive in creating a missional environment.  It extracts people from their natural relational networks!  In order to reach 3's and 4's we need to share who Jesus is and what he has done for us minus the "churched culture" stuff.  That is harder for many of us so we tend to fish in the Red Ocean.

 

In the Christendom or Attractional Church model we most often fish in the 40% Red Ocean.  That is the churched and "looking for a church" world. The 60% Blue Ocean is the Dechurched, Unchurched and Never Churched world which makes up at least 60% of the population.  That Blue Ocean world is at best indifferent to the churched world "message" and often "hostile to it." 

The 60% Blue Ocean will never respond to the old models.  Thus we have more and more churches taking the easy path and fishing in the same 40% Red Ocean while those who are lost in the 60% ocean are left to drown in their sin.  Everybody is competing for the same 40% (perhaps this % is even generous) instead of the 60% Blue Ocean where real fishing needs to be done.

The Attractional church model seeking to fish in the Red Ocean generally has a centrifugal model of church, drawing people from the Red Ocean into their vortex.  They indeed reach some people with the Gospel.  They do good and Godly work.

The Missional church model seeks to fish in the Blue Ocean and looks to operate a centripetal model sending people out into the community.  It sends people out as missionaries into the Blue Ocean reaching populations which are often ignored in the churched world.  When folks wade into that Blue Ocean they often find that while people there are hostile to the "churched world", they may be open to learn about Jesus, forgiveness, salvation and changed lives.

The truth is that people need Jesus in whichever ocean they are swimming.  Our natural tendency, regardless of worship style and ministry style is to fish in the Red Ocean because it feels more natural and seems easier.  I believe we need to fish in both.  After all, Jesus told the disciples to throw their nets on the other side.

Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson, in their book On the Verge, (Exponential Series, 2011) say "Christendom has been around as a culture for 17+ centuries and we have inoculated the culture against it."  Sadly this is true in many ways.  So - while the low hanging fruit may be in the Red Ocean, what could your church do to equip fisherman who go out in the name of Jesus to the Blue Ocean?