Teamwork

“…the Holy Spirit said, “Dedicate Barnabas and Saul for the special work I have for them...” Acts 13:2&3

Canada geese fly in a 'V formation' when migrating. The lead bird takes the brunt of the headwind. The trailing bird benefits from up to 65% less air resistance because of the wake(air turbulence) of the bird ahead of him. This preserves energy and greatly increases the range of the birds. Each bird takes his turn as leader. Honking encourages each other on. When one of their own is wounded and has to drop out of the flight formation, another will accompany him and stay by his side until the wounded bird recovers or dies. Then the healthy one will fly to rejoin his flock and on to the destination.

Isn’t this a great picture of teamwork? Can we apply this to ‘Missions’? Paul was sent out. Wherever he went, Paul surrounded himself with a team—his ‘V formation’. Tychicus is mentioned several times as the one who takes reports back to churches. At the end of Colossians, Paul lists many such individuals on his team. Of particular interest to me is the story of Acquilla and Priscilla, a husband and wife team. They fled Rome and settled in Corinth where they met Paul. They were an effective team and Paul’s esteemed co-workers. They were ordinary people who loved the Lord deeply and cared for Paul’s well-being.

In recent years, Joy and I have been a ‘husband and wife’ team in ministry. Its wonderful to share this part of our journey together. Our day starts out with an extended prayer time which includes praying for our Muslim contacts and for new believers. When I meet Muslim women at places where I volunteer, I link them up with Joy if they are interested.  Our focus is increasingly on family units and the best way to reach them is for both of us to be involved. When we extend hospitality, we often sit together for the first while and then Joy takes the woman and children to our family room in the basement. I stay upstairs with the guy and can focus on his needs. In the meantime, this gives Joy an opportunity to talk to the woman about their particular interests and to seek for openings to share spiritually.

I’ve written about All Nations Sports Club earlier. My then co-leader and volunteers served as a team from the start to the finish. We started our evening off with prayer and then at half-time, one of us shares a ‘God-talk’. If another team member was sharing, I prayed for the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of the boys while he presented.

My wife and I are privileged to have a great team of prayer and financial partners. Instead of a 'Tychicus', we use e-mail to connect us almost instantly with our prayer partners. We send out SOS prayers or mini-reports of what God is doing in our ministry. These special brothers and sisters are part of our ‘V formation’. We could say, they do the 'honking'--keep going, keep going!

An African proverb says “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Lord God, we are awed that you have chosen us to be part of your ministry team on earth. Amen.

     

Born to Fight?

"...we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies...but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world...mighty powers in this dark world...evil spirits in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6.

Jamal from North Africa told us his story. You could tell he is a fighter. Just for fun his friends would wrestle on the beaches back home. He smiled with satisfaction as he described the fights he had won. No wonder Jamal is bored here! I have another friend like him from Palestine. He too is a survivor and drives taxi now. He defends his turf here in Canada. Several times when his fare didn't pay up, he took matters into his own hands. One time a brawl broke out with a drunken passenger. He pushed him into a snowbank, took the money from the guy's wallet, and called the police! These young men grew up in rough and tough situations. They're young and looking for excitement and an adrenalin rush.

In Pakistan we lived next to some of the fiercest fighters in the world--the Pashtun people. Guns are shot into the air when a son is born. They need the strength of men to survive. They've had to defend their turf numerous times. Alexander the Great, when confronted with Pashtun fighters observed that "My mother gave birth to only one Alexander but all the Pashtuns are Alexanders"!! They fought off super powers of the day including Britain and Russia. From Pakistan I remember buses passing through our village overloaded with 'Mujahedeen' fighters shouting slogans from on top of the bus "Down with the Kafirs(Russians), Allah Akhbar". Yet, beautifully woven into their culture is a deep sense of loyalty to their own but also a commitment to protect non-Pashtun friends like us in their midst. Great qualities.

My roots are the 'Mennonite' community. They prefer to be viewed as activists for 'peace' rather than simply 'pacifists'. They're often present where there is poverty or physical need. In a more quiet way, they encourage negotiation and seeking peaceful solutions. They would have been comfortable with Jesus in the garden after Peter pulled out his sword and slashed off a soldier's ear. Jesus said, "Put your sword away". See also "Should We Fight?"(Joy Loewen)

There are many causes worth fighting for. Our kids and grand-kids are living in a culture where Christian values and faith are assaulted. Joy and I are committed to fighting in prayer for them. Our grand-kids come face to face with issues we never dreamed of. The 'world' is trying to squeeze them into a mold and embrace values that ultimately are destructive for their spiritual well-being and for society.

We are also 'standing in the gap' for Muslims. They are the victims of a great deception and intense community pressure. Mohamed fought hard for monotheism and brought in a new world order by force. In the West the vast majority of the Muslims are peaceful but they need a Savior from sin. In their worldview God's judgement is based on scales. They hope that their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds. Sadly, most will die without peace from knowing that they are made right with God through Jesus. This is worth fighting for on their behalf.

Heavenly Father, thank-you for the privilege of partnering with you--battling for and spreading your Good News. Amen. 

Men with Men

"Men with men, women with women" is the standard announcement to form small groups at a prayer meeting we sometimes attend. Albeit archaic, it is a practical request. A mixed group of unrelated males and females may limit the openness of sharing prayer requests.

Most Muslims are brought up in a honor/shame based worldview. The women carry most of the responsibility in making sure that the family is not dishonored by inappropriate relationships between males and females. In conservative Muslim circles men and women don't even maintain eye contact. So, gender segregation is the norm in ministry to Muslims. This is what we wrote in 'Your Muslim Friend': "Due to cultural values it is wisest for Christian women to befriend Muslim women and Christian men to befriend Muslim men. Some of these cautions become less important as we become grandparents or our hair turns grey." See also: http://joyloewen.blogspot.ca/2015/09/segregation.html

Christian women have access to the 'inner house'. Men are normally limited to the living room or sitting room, especially overseas. The women are ushered into the 'women's area' almost right away but men will only be invited in if they are 'part of the family'. As my friendship deepens with a conservative Muslim man, he may say something like "You are welcome to come to my house anytime, even when I'm not home." It means he trusts me.

Muslim men have high regard for their moms and grandmothers. Recently I asked an English class who had influenced them most? Without hesitating, the men responded, "My mother." One of my acquaintances even wrote a poem about his mom. We asked "Did you ever write a poem about your wife?" He chuckled and said, "NO!" Frequently my wife returns home from a visit to a family and mentions her conversations with her friend's husband. She is considered at a 'safe age' to relate even to men. They confide in her much quicker than to me. My wife sometimes paves the way for me to have deeper and ongoing conversations with the man. Contrary to our western culture, as an older man I'm still viewed relevant by much younger Muslim men. Go figure...

Over the years, I've figured out many avenues of connecting with Muslim men. Besides English help, my friends enjoy going out for coffee so we can get to know each other. Others have enjoyed being invited to my home or family events like weddings. Some of my friends have appreciated help with assembling furniture or learning new skills like painting or auto-mechanics. Many of my younger friends love playing soccer or basketball. Recently I took a Muslim friend fishing. Occasionally I meet Muslim men who want to visit church out of curiosity or even to nurture a spiritual quest. As a starter, I've invited individual Muslim friends to a Christmas Eve service.

Several Muslim men God has directed me to lately show a spiritual capacity. One was deeply touched by the concept of God's love as he read from 1 John 3. The other has explored the background to the Bible and is attracted to the teachings of Jesus. The last time we met he said, "I love Jesus very much."

Lord Jesus, it is a privilege to connect with my Muslim friend. Help me to know how to share spiritually with him. Amen.