Kingdom Come!

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I keep wondering why the short-term missions thing just gets under my skin and gives me a rash.

Finally, here's an answer that answers... My Seabeck buddy Brad writes:

What makes "mission" and "missional" different? "Mission" requires “incursion” – people commute into the community, and then return to their home turf when they are finished; "Missional" requires “incarnation” – people root into the community, because that is their home and they never finish.

And the problem is that we get confused...  we can't tell the difference in our head.  We figue an "incursion" is somehow as effective as being "incarnational."  And that's because we are confused about our goal - what we wish to acccomplish on the "incursion."  Incursions cannot incarnate the Gospel or Jesus or show off "church" as God intends it to be. 

Incursions are costly, but incarnation cost us our lives.  So I'm in trouble now.  But remember Brad started it!

Well here it is early Sunday morning.  I'm up around 5AM (as per usual).  i spent time this week writing and re-writing and reworking the book.  It's harder doing this than some might guess.  I'm familiar with the material - I've taught it from Ust Barguzine to Casablanca to Mobile - so it's not that I don't know the stuff.  But getting it together and having my mind engage it at the depth I want is sometimes lacking.  And after several hours, I'm pretty much spent.  And my brain just turns to mush.  As if it wasn't already. 

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So on the side I'm reading The Shack. I've almost finished and am intrigued by the whole thing!  I can understand why the Religion Police have been upset.  I used to be one, so I understand why they don't get it!  Paul Young's premise is it's all about relationships!  Sound familiar?  Remind you of anyone?  It's all about a relationship with God the Trinity and with everyone else!  Really!  A true fulfilling relationship with God brings healing, hope, freedom and restoration.  We say we know this, but most people - Christians - are so damaged and ego-centric that we can't get past the whole it's-all-about-me syndrome.  How can we fulfill God's purpose if we can't get healed enough to step out in faith and actually accomplish something of eternal significance?  And when I say "eternal significance" I don't necessarily mean a CPM in Borneo or Mecca.  It could be an act of charity and kindness to a neighbor.  It could be a kind word of encouragement at just the right time.  Because I'll probably go to church today, I won't get much writing done so I hope to finish The Shack.  And I have several other books I want to look at.

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On Thursday morning very early I fly to San Jose, Costa Rica.  Zach is meeting me there.  He's flying from  Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale to San Jose.  I'm flying from Pensacola to Atlanta to San Jose. Our planes are supposed to arrive within 1/2 hour of each other.  We will see.  Zach and I will just hang out together while I'm there to meet DeLynn Hoover and talk a little about missions.  It should be a lot of fun.  DeLynn and I've chatted on the phone and he sounds like a lot of fun and he seems to have a lot of visions and pizazz for missions and training the next generation.

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Phyllis is still in Lakeland, Florida with Jeff, her brother getting him settled in his new home.  I miss her a lot, but it is really quiet around here and good for writing.  It's funny how after all these years you grow so close.  But then it's all about relationships.  It really is.

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Okay!  Here we go... check this out!  The First Annual Globe Change the World Golf Tournament!  Look here and then come on down!  Pensacola is a great place to lose a golf ball for World Missions!  I'm serious! 

Yep, I'm reading William Paul Young's The Shack.  Finally.

I bought a copy and Phyllis took it (immediately) promising to give it to me when she finished.  And then we went to Scotland and she read it slowly.  Slowly.  Savoring it and dog-earing pages and writing in it.  Finally she said to me, "Get you own copy." 

And then Rosemary in the Globe Office says to me, "When are you going to read The Shack?  So since it was almost payday (!) I went to Wal-Mart and bought a copy.  And I read half of it last night.

My Seabeck friend Rick over at The Blind Begger has an audio interview with Paul Young here that gives the background of what The Shack's all about.

I hope to finish the book tonight.  Frankly, I don't care what the theology police say, I find it fasinating.  In the interview, Young says this whole success thing is God's joke on Paul Young who wrote the story for his kids.  He also says we all have a "shack" where you get stuck - hurt and damaged by other people's choices or your own.  "It's the place where you have all your pain stored."

So listen and then chat with me...

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."                                                                     — Mark Twain

This article in the WASHINGTON POST is worth reading regarding SHORT TERM MISSIONS...

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We really need to rethink what missions is all about... my concern is in a "it's-all-about-me world" missions become just that - about me and not about God's Mission or the people we are going to give our lives to and for! After reading the POST article, I'd suggest you read this article from Leadership Journal call the The African Planter by an acquaintance of mine Oscar Muriu who has more vision for his world than most and a way of reaching and discipling thousands in Africa. I wrote something about this earlier here.

And Heath Goodson took me to task. And I can understand what he's saying and I almost disagreed with myself (which is more common that you might suppose...).

But nonetheless, missions - real honest to God missions - cannot be divorced from God's Mission - missio dei - sacrifice and call. Somewhere, somehow this is not about us but about the people to whom we go. And we go not in some paternalistic way of "here I am! I have the answers! I know it all!", but with cultural sensitivity and a sense of life-laid-down! So here I am all worked up again. And Heath - I do agree with you too. Somehow.