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Category: Foreign Missions (Page 4 of 7)

Missions Sunday

October 26, 2013 / / 0 Comments

We’ve spent our Sunday mornings in October following Jesus on his last missionary journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. We’ve carefully observed Jesus as he makes his way from where his ministry began, through the unfriendly territories of Samaria, to the place of his ministry’s ultimate fulfillment. We’ve watched him interact with the marginalized and helpless, we’ve listened to him teach about the Kingdom of God, we’ve seen him heal the sick, and we’ve heard him tell inspirational stories about the salvation invitation that’s extended to all.

As we’ve watched Jesus interact with people and handle circumstances and explain things on this trip, we’re learning how to think and behave on our own evangelistic travels in the mission fields of Amarillo and Brazil, here in the panhandle and in Africa and India.

The goal this Sunday — tomorrow!!! —  is $250,000 to fund and expand current and brand new foreign missions efforts, for the sake of the world. We’re going to consider together the last parable Jesus tells before he enters Jerusalem, the story of the king’s money and his servants in Luke 19:11:27. We’re going to sing songs of praise, we’re going to eat and drink together around our Lord’s Table, we’re going to applaud our little children as they give what they’ve saved up all month, and we’re going to congratulate our teenagers for the enthusiastic and creative ways they’ve engaged the mission. Then, we’re going to participate together — all of us, in the presence of God, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the power of his Holy Spirit — in blowing this Missions Sunday goal right out of the water!

As a church family we’ve studied and preached, prayed and sung about it. We’ve done the math. We’ve read brochures and pamphlets, purchased cookies and bracelets, and studied pledge cards. We’ve heard from Great Cities Missions, Christian Relief Fund, and Key to the Kingdom. We’ve watched videos and learned new songs. We’ve been inspired by our missionaries and challenged by our elders.

And now, for the sake of the world, it’s time to give.

Peace,

Allan

An Intergenerational Twist on Missions Month

October 22, 2013 / / 4 Comments

We’re into the final week of our annual Missions Month here at Central, a month in which we focus all of our collective energies and efforts toward our many foreign missions endeavors. The month culminates with a special offering this coming Sunday — our goal, to raise $250,000 to fund and expand current and brand new missions programs. I’m really proud of our whole church family for the way they’ve embraced the idea. Our people are having garage sales, selling homemade quilts and hot sauce, sacrificing massages and manicures, giving up coffees and restaurants in order to meet the mark. The enthusiasm has been tremendous, the excitement level has been high all month, and I think we’re ready to give.

Perhaps most impressive has been the way our teenagers here have really jumped in to the whole raising-money thing. We challenged the kids to use their own talents and gifts to raise their own money to give on the 27th. And they have. My goodness, they have. Our middle school and high school students are making and selling bracelets and bookmarks, they’re baking and selling cookies and cakes. Some of the more creative ones are pooling their imaginations and abilities and working together to raise all kinds of money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We gave the kids a thirty minute opportunity between our Bible classes and worship assembly this past Sunday to display and sell their wares, and it was a giant hit! The concourse around our worship center was jam packed with hundreds of folks crowding around tables and booths to buy the goodies and encourage the young people. There were typical brownies and pies, donuts and Chex mixes. But there were also a few unorthodox offerings. One of the Huddle groups was taking dollar bills as “votes” to determine who gets to throw a pie into the face of which minister at next week’s Fall Festival. I was only a little surprised when I rounded the corner to find Carrie-Anne and all three of our daughters stuffing my “ballot box” with their entries. Good grief, I think they had each asked me for dollar bills before the morning began and here they were helping set me up for whipped cream in my face and cherry pie filling in my ears! Josh Dowell volunteered to be soaked (and frozen!) with water guns and wet sponges for a dollar a pop (I barely missed him on all three of my throws). And one of the Muddle groups raised over a thousand dollars raffling off a really nice Bible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a lot of fun. There was much laughter and fellowship, most everybody was hopped up on sugar by the time our worship assembly began, and our youth groups raised over two thousand dollars for Missions Sunday. But way more important than that, I believe our teens were encouraged and affirmed in critical and formational ways by our church family.

Our kids were truly engaged in something the whole church was doing, and they were enthusiastically supported in cheerful and tangible ways. I think every teenager sold out of everything he or she had brought to sell. And they were all hugged and patted on the back and encouraged the whole morning. That’s important, right? It’s everything! Figuring out ways to mix and mingle our older people with our younger people, being intentional about making our teens an important part of our church family, expressing our belief in them and our gratitude for their efforts — it all plays an invaluable role in passing on the Christian faith.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, more than ever, it is paramount that we don’t do anything in our churches without planning ways to get our young people in the middle of it. It’s not going to happen naturally. It’s not anybody’s default. And it’s not easy. It takes hard work and determination to pull this stuff off. But the benefits to the entire congregation in relationship and trust are incalculable.

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Whitney has reminded me on several occasions that I have not yet posted a picture of her with her new car. Yes, she scrimped and saved her grocery-sacking money and purchased a 2006 Monte Carlo a couple of weeks ago. Seven years old, only 44,000 miles, and clean as a whistle. Sun roof and automatic everything. It’s a pretty sweet ride; I’m not sure she’s cool enough to be driving this thing.

Peace,

Allan

God Bless Junior and Patricia

July 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Our church family at Central has been so blessed to spend this month with our beloved missionaries in Brasilia, Junior and Patricia Lira. The Liras are on a working sabbatical (oxymoron, I know) here in the States and have used three weeks of it here in Amarillo with us before heading up to Tulsa this weekend. I think they’ve eaten Tex-Mex at least once a day since they arrived here. And they’ve received approximately 11,700 hugs and twice that many well wishes and kind words of encouragement.

The entire missions committee and our families gathered at Stanglin Manor on Monday for grilled fajitas and an extended time of prayer for Junior and Patricia, for the Kingdom work in Brazil, and for our relationship together in Christ. After sharing a massive meal, we listened intently as these two co-workers with God talked with us about their triumphs and their defeats, about their good times and bad in Brasilia. Church work is hard; I believe foreign missions work is exponentially harder. And our hearts became one with theirs as they discussed some of those struggles.

I found myself reminding them that, for ministers, at the end of every single day there’s always several more things you could have done. Congregational ministry never stops. When 5:00 rolls around, you’ve never done enough. No matter how efficient or productive your day has been, there’s always one more phone call you could have made, one more card you could have written, one more thing you could have read, another meeting you could have attended, one more something somewhere that would have strengthened or encouraged or otherwise blessed somebody. There’s always something else. Always. So, I told Junior, just go home! Patricia said, “Yes! Early!”

They both work so hard. And they inspire us. They are both so energetic, so enthusiastic, so visibly full of God’s Holy Spirit, and want nothing more than to be used by God for his eternal purposes. They challenge us with their lives of service to our Father’s Kingdom.

The highlight of the evening was getting Junior and Patricia in the middle of our living room and then surrounding them, on our knees before our holy God, laying hands on them and thanking the Lord and asking him to pour out his richest blessings on them. To listen and participate with these great men and women as they opened up their hearts to God and to one another was really the highlight of my week.

Until we got together for a dinner with the praise team last night at Michael and Connie’s and sang for more than an hour with Junior and Patricia. I’m not sure how Carrie-Anne and I got invited, but we’re so grateful. Singing songs of praise to our God in English and in Portuguese was an undeniable testimony to the power of his Spirit and the vitality of his Church. We laughed together as Dick and Lisa traded friendly barbs, we worked hard together to harmonize with Prentis, we sniffed tears of joy away as we sang It Is Well, and we stood together to sing The Lord Bless You and Keep You. After all seven “amens” we hugged and began all over again expressing our great admiration for and best wishes to Junior and Patricia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s been a marvelous three weeks with these two great servants of our Lord. May our God bless them with strength and endurance, with energy and confidence, as they serve his Kingdom in South America. And may our God bless his people at Central to sacrifice and serve here in Amarillo in the selfless and joyful manner of Junior and Patricia.

Peace,

Allan

God’s Always in Front of Us

June 24, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Just another couple of posts to recap our trip to South America and reflect on the things we experienced together. This one on the super quick twenty-four hours we spent with the brand new Great Cities Missions team in La Paz, Bolivia.

Luis and Damira, Brad and Katie, Rick and Julie and their kids have only been in La Paz for five months. They are a brand new missionary team with lofty dreams, tremendous courage, and a thrilling anticipation of what our God is going to do with them and through them in this capitol city. At the same time, this is a brand new missionary team that hasn’t yet mastered the native language, is still really learning how to work with one another in this foreign setting, and is understandably anxious about this thing God’s put in front of them. They’re still learning the culture, still trying to figure out the customs, still going through the ups and downs of adjusting to this brand new life. And, like every missionary team, they’re in need of some real hard-core encouragement and support at about the five and six months mark.

We knew this going in. We knew the main part of our job during this leg of our trip was to encourage these three young couples to stay the course, to strengthen their faith in the One who called them there and promises to always provide, to bless them with our words and our prayers, to lift them up in loyal support. We knew all this going in. We were prepared to hear some tough stories, to share some tears, and to pray for a more visible sign of God’s presence in their lives and in their work. We were ready.

What a surprise to realize once we got there that God was way ahead of us.

When we met them late that first night for some sandwiches and coffee, they were all still giddy from the three baptisms they had participated in the week before. Three people had submitted to the lordship of our Christ. Three people had given their lives to Jesus. God’s power was evident in these conversions and acted to lift the spirits and renew the enthusiasm of the missionaries. Not only that, but six days earlier they had signed a lease agreement on what will be their new church building on a main street there in La Paz. It’s a beautifully refurbished space with wood floors, lots of windows, and tons of potential. They couldn’t wait to show it to us the next morning, and we couldn’t wait to see it. God had provided the building. God had opened the hearts of the three new converts. God was encouraging these missionaries with his richest blessings of hope and peace when they absolutely needed it most.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought we had been sent to do it. But God was way out in front of us on this. Like always.

Of course, we did our best to encourage this young team. Kelley assured them that we were Aaron and Hur to their Moses, holding their arms up in prayer and support when they grew weary. We sang together in the Brooks’ apartment, in English and in Spanish, praising God and declaring our complete submission to his will. We spread out all over that new church building and prayed in biblical terms, trying to call things that are not as though they were, praying for the people of La Paz, thanking God for the praises that would soon be flowing out of that building and for the men and women and children who would come to know our King in that place.

But it seemed to me they didn’t need nearly as much encouragement as I had been led to believe. God was strengthening them. God was already showing them the vision. He was already revealing himself to them in powerful ways. He was already assuring them that, just as he had faithfully provided for them in the past, he was providing for them now.

God’s always way ahead of us on stuff like this.

Praise his name!

Allan

 

The Called Out

June 16, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Happy Sunday from Santiago, Chile! This is the weekly anniversary of the day our God’s Holy Spirit brought out crucified King out of the tomb and made him Lord over all forever and ever. This is the day God’s ekklesia, his Church, his “called out” people assemble in joyful celebration of that great victory. We sing songs of loudest praise; we raise our voices and our hearts in grateful prayers of thanksgiving and adoration; we come together around a common table to share a common meal in the name and in the manner of our Savior who has reconciled us to our God and to one another forever.

We do it in Amarillo, in Santiago, and in Kharkov, Ukraine. We do it in Fort Worth, in Kilgore, and in La Paz, Bolivia. God’s people do this every Sunday in Austin and Oklahoma City, Sao Paulo and Sydney, Tokyo and Bangkok. For two thousand years now, ever since our Christ walked out of that garden tomb and ate dinner with his disciples, God’s children have come together every Sunday to celebrate that great victory over sin and death.

Today is that day.

While we miss our friends and family at Central, we take great joy in knowing that we are communing with them in spirit and in truth around our Lord’s table this morning.

Happy Sunday!

Allan

Seeing Christ in Cusco

June 9, 2013 / / 1 Comment

At the tail end of a long and glorious day in Cusco, watching Toy Story in Spanish on the hotel room TV (it’s either that or one of 94 different soccer games or replays of soccer games or descriptions and analysis of soccer games), looking at the dozens of pictures I’ve taken today, and reflecting on what our Lord has shown me in the traditional capitol of Peru.

I love worshiping our God in a Christian congregation planted by missionaries in a different part of the world. I love it because it reminds me every time that we serve and belong to a powerful God who truly reigns over this entire planet. I’m reminded up close that our God is praised every day in every language that exists. I’m reminded that our God is saving people, redeeming people, restoring people every single day in every country and culture there is. Our Lord is truly King. I’m reminded of that when I’m blessed to join other Christian disciples in celebrating that salvation, declaring him Lord over all, and worshiping him. What a blessing to belong to this God. What a joy to be the recipients of his matchless love and limitless grace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, in a converted theater on one of the main strips in downtown Cusco that has no heat and barely any insulation, I felt the warmth of our God’s love and mercy. I experienced his grace and his hospitality. I exchanged greetings and hugs and laughs with people who have nothing in common with me except the truth that we have all been saved by a merciful God. And it’s so spectacular. I imagine the patience these Christians showed to me today is a reflection of our God’s patience with me every minute of every day. I know their hospitality is a reflection of the God who invites all peoples to his heavenly  banquet table piled high with the best of meats and the finest of wines. I understand their love for me and my gringo brothers and sisters from Amarillo was put in their hearts by our God who lives there.

And the music. Man, the music. I don’t know Spanish. But I can sort of read it. And when we sing “How Great Thou Art” and “Firm Foundation” and “Sweet Hour of Prayer” together, in four part harmony, in Spanish, in a foreign country below the equator, it’s just plain powerful. It’s powerful. It’s the one people around the Lord’s one table. No barriers of language or culture, national borders or gender or age. It’s unity and harmony. It’s a foretaste, a divine glimpse, of what our God is doing in the world. We got to see it today. We got to experience it. God revealed himself and his plan to us today. He showed us. Again. Wow, what a blessing.

I saw Christ in Cusco today. He was present in every greeting and hug and pat on the back. He was there at the Meal. His Spirit was there in our songs. Christ is in Cusco. And he is being glorified and praised.

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After lunch with the missionaries, our group of seven took in a downtown market and then spent an hour or so touring the ancient Incan Temple ruins upon which the Spanish built their cathedral in the 15th century. The Incan Dynasty began right here in the valley of Cusco and the perfectly chiseled and positioned 600 and 700 year old stones can still be found stacked ten or twelve high in many places. The Spanish cathedral here, which includes a rather large monostary and hosts regular mass and worship services every day, was built on top of the ruins of the original Incan structure and its system of arches and canals. It’s quite impressive. And beautiful. Just beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I didn’t see one lick of the Spurs game tonight. Looks like I didn’t miss much. Yuk.

We went back to Barton and Allison’s house for pizza and Incan Kola tonight and stayed later than we intended. Probably a little later than they would have liked. But we can’t help it. We’re inspired by their commitment to the Kingdom of our Lord. We’re encouraged by their selfless sacrifice for Christ and his Church. And we’re drawn to their infectious personalities and adorable little boys. They’re a joy to be with, an absolute joy. We ended the night by getting Barton and super-pregnant Allison, Gary and Jennifer, Lacee and Corinne in the middle of the living room and putting our hands on them and lifting them up to our Father. God is moving powerfully in Cusco through these wonderful young people. And this first leg of our trip has been a tremendous blessing.

Peace,

Allan

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