The hard work of life together

Other, Other

Ian and I met as idealistic young adult Christians in an inner-city church located near a community of people living in a high-rise area of Melbourne. Despite living in close proximity, people struggled with isolation, discrimination and issues of broken trust. Our understanding of what it means to walk alongside people who fear violence and injustice in their immediate neighbourhood grew as we shared with troubled teens and their families.

Then, like many baby boomers during the 1970s, we travelled and studied overseas before settling to work in children’s homes in southern England. The team of care givers and their own children lived and shared their lives with 20 children from different cultural backgrounds including Africa, West Indies as well as UK, who were in long-term residential care. I remember scornful onlookers when pushing a well-sprung English pram containing a nine-month-old Nigerian baby, accompanied by two pre-schoolers from Nigeria and the West Indies when I was in my 38th week of pregnancy! What a contrast to the 20 wonder-filled faces of children who had experienced traumatic personal family lives when I brought my newborn home. Crucial to our ministry was the ordinariness of giving time and self to establish trust before we could effectively share our message of hope and reconciliation.

We later spent three years living in Christian community at theological college on the outskirts of Morpeth, New South Wales. This experience equipped us both pastorally and spiritually for parish ministry. As a community we shared gifts from God’s people on numerous occasions. Living by faith, we had just enough materially and so often a food parcel provided what we needed just in the nick of time. I learnt about grace in giving and dignity in receiving. However, issues of unrealistic expectations of fellow Christians and lack of clarity about the role of sending churches proved painful.

Community is defined in the Macquarie Dictionary as “a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government and have a cultural and historic heritage”. The church is a body – a community – not a business. The model in Acts 2:42–47, the life of Barnabas, the ’one another’ verses of the Epistles, and the relationships reflected in the book of Acts and the apostles’ writings give us basic insight into the task before us. The same love requirement is incumbent upon the church of the 21st century with our own complex and ever-changing challenges. But what is the cost of striving to live in Christian community?

It seems that in Christian ministry and overseas mission work the biggest pain reported by members is in connection with Christian community living. Our experiences parallel similar issues for Interserve partners as they prepare to serve cross-culturally in places far from family and friend supports. From the experience of Paul (check out his listing in 2 Corinthians 6:4–10) we see that anyone practising true, biblical community life will experience much pain. We all fall short and fail each other. When we love deeply we also hurt deeply. We could choose to protect ourselves from much of this pain by staying at a safe distance from others and not committing ourselves too deeply to them. Alternatively, we could lower our standards and expectations to avoid much of the pain. However, Paul reminds us that Christianity is lived out in community. Attitudes and behaviours such as we read in Acts 2:42–46 and 3:32 must have been difficult to achieve and perhaps that is why Paul urges the believers in Philippi to work hard at achieving community (Phil 2:2; 4:2–3).

The Great Commandment to “love each other as I have loved you” is the essence of what we are to teach, how we are to disciple, and the way to develop Christian community. In many ways, though, it is when we share our vulnerability that Jesus opens doors for the community to minister with us.

Since Ian’s ordination for the Anglican Church in 1983 we have lived and served in several Australian towns: Bendigo, Kerang, Yackandandah and Heathcote as well as the Mornington Peninsular south of Melbourne. Our ministry and work has indeed been a family affair. Ian’s pastoral and teaching role, children at school, and community nursing assisted us to relate to locals in practical ways. Over time, opportunities arose to share God’s power for healing and translating the message of the gospel to reach people who had felt estranged from the church. The message of Jesus needed to be heard in new ways. The church congregations were often tiny and isolated from village culture but God’s people began to explain their faith and adjust worship styles and ministries to assist new members to understand the gospel message. The Great Commission is not complete until we have made disciples, ”teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”.

Both of our daughters, together with their husbands and families, live their lives as incarnational ministers of the gospel. Ruth, David, Abby and Josh serve Jesus in South East Asia. Our second daughter Naomi and son-in-law Chris lived in South East Asia last year on a short-term assignment and are looking to serve cross-culturally in future. Ruth was ministered to by her local Christian community last year when she was very ill. David was away and she had sole responsibility for the children. The people in their slum neighbourhood rallied at her bedside in prayer. Children were fed and cared for by trusted church friends.

Currently we are transitioning from pastoral parish ministry to serve with a new community of believers through Interserve and related missionary organisations. As this unfolds we are honoured to partner with others who have the courage and conviction to serve Jesus in His global village in the community of faith.

From our experience, it would seem that the way we interact with the issue of suffering and pain in most churches and the way we ‘sell’ missions today do not always adequately prepare missionaries for life on the mission field. So often we highlight the excitement at the expense of the reality. Churches in the West may teach people how to respond to suffering but often fail to teach them about the indispensability of suffering – a doctrine clearly taught in the New Testament. If missionaries are truly going to identify with and become servants to those they serve, they will face severe frustrations, along with what initially looks like failure and fruitlessness.

As member care workers we want to encourage you to bear in mind constantly that suffering is an indispensable feature of discipleship and hence community life. Hopefully, then, when it comes we will not be so surprised and we can respond to it in a Christ-like manner. May your community life be enriched by the love of God as you grow in the ways of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

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Seeking community: the church and the refugee

Hospitality, Other

“I’m not in a good situation right now.”

Daryush stares at the floor of the church hall with glazed eyes, cup in hand (two teabags, four sugars). The words slowly spill out in broken English. He had just spent the last of that fortnight’s money on antibiotics when his caseworker called. “They move me again. I have to be ready tomorrow morning. He not explain why.” Moving means leaving his only near-culture friend and finding his way in yet another neighbourhood – his fourth since arriving in Australia three years ago. Then came an email from his family in his home country. Daryush’s parents, who are strict in their faith, know he has become a believer and want nothing more to do with him. He blinks back tears. I ask what he will do now. The cup quivers. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

*

We still haven’t become used to the weight of stories like these, a common part of our work with asylum seekers, refugees and new migrants in Sydney’s northwest. Of course, there are the stories of cruelty and oppression we expect for asylum seekers – of torture, arrest, police brutality, religious hatred. There is the constant heartache of those who have left everything and everyone to make that perilous journey to seek safety in Australia. We expect to hear that much. What we weren’t prepared for were the ways these stories continue within our own borders.

It wasn’t so long ago that our Prime Minister launched his policy of deterrence of so-called ‘illegal’ attempts at asylum with these words: “This is our country. We determine who comes here, and the circumstances in which they come.” Since then, we’ve learned what that word ‘we’ – that tiny, yet powerful word – can mean for asylum seekers, and what it betrays about Australia’s sentiments. ‘We’ decides who comes here. ‘We’ are not obliged to assess ‘you’, accommodate ‘you’, or tolerate ‘you’. When asylum seekers, refugees and others from across the seas are so framed, the gap between settled Aussies and these unsettled others begins to widen.

For friends of ours like Daryush, that gap is only getting wider. After years in a detention centre, he was released and given permission to live ‘in community’; two years later, though, I remain his only Australian friend. When I express my surprise at this, he tells me story after story of trying to strike up conversations on trains, at the shops, or waiting for the bus. “Nobody talks to me.” He laughs. “Maybe because I’m brown. Maybe they think I’m a terrorist.” For Daryush, and for thousands more, this is the distressing irony of life ‘in community’. Surrounded by Australians, there is no-one to welcome him home, no-one to talk to over a cup of chai, no-one to show him the best picnic spots, no-one to listen. Instead, unable to meaningfully structure his days, he spends most of his time alone, thinking of a family far away and waiting, perhaps, for the phone to ring.

The church of God stands ready to resist this gap between ‘we’ and ‘you’. We ourselves live in a community carved out by the unrelenting beat of God’s heart for the unworthy; while “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), God saw fit to pursue us and to give us new life at the cost of His dear Son. ‘We’, like the refugee, could contribute little, but stood to gain so much through that love and the love of His people. And, so loved and transformed, we are now able to love and include others in the same way – not plagued by anxiety about our resources or our national security or even our awkward post-church morning-tea conversations. Instead, we are to be haunted by the stories of our spiritual ancestors (themselves a displaced people – Deut 10:18–19), by our Lord’s words of welcome for all who bear His image (Matt 25:35–40).

In our corner of this city, we’re having a crack at being this kind of welcoming church community for the asylum seekers and new migrants among us. At times, it means providing bags of groceries, mobile phone credit and other essentials, but we’ve been most surprised and encouraged by what happens when we gather around the dinner table. In this, the ministry of the roast chook and prefab pavlova, the refugee and the student can mingle with locals, and friendship and trust begins. We’ve laughed, we’ve shared, we’ve learnt new things. Occasionally, we’ve cried. Almost always, we’ve planned to meet again. And through these meals, we’ve seen people from far-off lands draw closer to the One who Himself became a refugee, if only for a little time (Matt 2:13–14).

It’s not always easy, and we are never far away from rehearsing those same tired divisions between ‘we’ and ‘you.’ But we are convinced that our commitment to both ‘word’ and ‘deed’ cannot be delegated to an NGO or a faraway mission agency. Our church – and yours – has a rich opportunity to invite refugees and new migrants into our community. Why not have a go?

*

Steam fogs the windows as we open the crockpots and serve up. Daryush, along with four other asylum seekers and two international students, has joined us to mark Persian New Year. There is red wine, kebabs, and even our feeble attempt at Persian rice. Many hours of comparing cultures and faiths follows. Daryush is quiet – this is meant to be a time when the pain of the old year is forgotten, though there is little chance of that when no-one knows what might happen to him tomorrow, or the day after. But, as he leaves that evening (leftovers in hand), he smiles and embraces me. “Thank-you”, he whispers. “Thanks, God, for you, my family.”

If you would like to know more about how you and your church can connect with asylum seekers, refugees or new migrants in your area, contact CultureConnect via cultureconnect.isa@gmail.com

The authors are Interserve Partners, serving in Australia with CultureConnect.

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The fruit and joy of gospel mission: the church

Theology / Church, Other

Stuart Coulton is the Principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC). He was key-note speaker at the Interserve Encounters Conference in New South Wales in July 2014. This is an extract of his address.

Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica reveals both the fruit of gospel mission – the community of God’s people, the Church; and also the joy of gospel mission – the community of God’s people, the Church!

In 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Paul picks up a common theme: faith, love and hope. “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” John Calvin called this “a brief definition of true Christianity”.

Firstly, the Thessalonians had faith which produced work. It was by God’s grace that they were saved – through faith. But genuine faith produces genuine good works that adorn the gospel.

Secondly, they had love which produced labour. The difference between work and labour is more rhetorical than substantial; however, labour here carries with it the idea of weariness, an exhaustion that flows from hard and unceasing labour. That is helpful; the labour produced by love wears itself out for others.

We don’t know what that actually looked like in the Thessalonian context but there was something conspicuous about their love because news of it spread throughout the region. Whether it was forgiving those who wronged them; treating women with respect in a society that generally did not; caring for the poor; making themselves servants of others; replacing anger with gentleness, malice with kindness and greed with generosity – the opportunities for love were everywhere.

Thirdly, they had hope. Every chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church draws to a close with Paul speaking of the return of Jesus (1:10, 2:19, 3:13, 4:17, 5:23). Our Christian hope is not incidental to our faith. Our hope produces endurance that endures hardship and persecution for the sake of an eternal crown.

How did this all happen?

The gospel was preached to them (1:5). It is the gospel that motivates and shapes all Christian behaviour. Our future pastors and church planters, church workers and cross-cultural missionaries, those we send out to overseas mission field and we ourselves must be men and women who are Christ centred, gospel centred.

The Holy Spirit came with power (1:5). John Stott said:
We must never divorce what God has married.
The Word of God is the Spirit’s sword.
The Spirit without the Word is weaponless;
The Word without the Spirit is powerless.

FRUIT: the result of Spirit-anointed gospel ministry

The Thessalonian community turned from their worship of idols to serve the living true God! (1:9). A fundamental reorientation occurred that changed forever the direction and character of their lives.

They became imitators of Christ (1:6). What a stunning evidence of faith in Jesus! Love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, self-control, goodness, kindness, faithfulness. People who had led self-centred lives, lives that ignored even rebelled against God, were now living lives that yielded the fruit of the Spirit.

They became a model to others (1:7–8). Like the sound of a trumpet or the roll of thunder that reverberates through the mountains in an echo, so the model of faith set by the Thessalonians as they imitated (mimicked) the Lord Jesus reverberated everywhere!

When the north-African city of Alexandria was stricken with plague in the middle of the 3rd century, Dionysius a Christian bishop wrote that:
Most of our brother-Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of the danger, they took charge of the sick…drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbours and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their stead … The best of our brothers lost their lives in this manner … The heathen behaved in the very opposite way. At the first onset of the disease they pushed the sufferers away and fled … treating unburied corpses as dirt, hoping thereby to avert the spread and contagion of the fatal disease… (HE 7; 22:10)

Even the 4th century non-Christian Roman Emperor Julian complained that Christians cared not only for their own poor but for the unbelieving poor also: a community of God’s people, born out of gospel preaching by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

JOY: Paul rejoices in the church

It is this community of God’s people, the church, which is the source and focus of Paul’s joy. In the New Testament the Church is spoken of as the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, sheep for whom the shepherd lays down his life, God’s own family, His adoptive sons and daughters. God’s affection for His people, His love for the church is everywhere in the Scriptures. And Paul shares something of that affection. Notice the language he uses:

In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul uses the imagery of both mother (vs 7) and father (vs 11–12) to speak of his relationship with the believers in Thessalonica. He writes that, “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us” (2:8).

Later in chapter 2 Paul speaks of being torn away and of his intense longing (2:17) for the community of believers, and describes the church as “our hope, our joy … the crown in which we will glory …” (2:19).

It is the language of love! And it is the church that Paul is speaking of. Is that how you feel about the community of God’s people, formed out of the preaching of the gospel and by the power of the Spirit?

So what is the reason for Paul’s joy? Paul sees the church not from a human point of view but from God’s point of view. His perspective is an eternal, heavenly one rather than a temporary and earthly view.

PRAYER: the fruit of joy

Finally, what is the fruit of joy? In 2:17–3:8 Paul has been describing the deep-hearted affection he has for the church, his fears for their well-being when persecution forced him and his companions to leave at short notice, and his perspective on the church as a work that will last into eternity.

In 3:9–13, Paul prays! The fruit of our joy in the community of God’s people is prayer (3:9). Notice the substance of his prayers:
• the opportunity to visit and supply what is lacking in their faith (vs 10–11)
• increased love for one another such that it breaks the banks and overflows to deluge everyone (vs 12)
• strength to be holy and blameless as they wait for the return of Jesus (vs 13).

These are big pastoral prayers that will have an eternal impact. Paul’s prayer is a reminder that it is our work as Christian men and women to pray.

JI Packer says, “… prayer is the measure of the man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is, so that how we pray is as important a question as we can ever face”.

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An MK perspective on community

Other, Other

GO asked two missionary kids to reflect on what community means to them – the strengths and highlights of growing up on the field, their experience of community as they transitioned to living in Australia, and how the Christian community in Australia can support MKs.

Sophie

We lived at a boarding school for missionary kids in the north of Pakistan, where my parents were teachers, and it was incredible experience doing church and community with such a range of nationalities and church backgrounds. It was great to learn from each other and see Jesus as such an important commonality. It was a blessing to be part of a close-knit Christian community, all living onsite or close and sharing so much of our lives with each other. We called everyone who wasn't a teacher auntie and uncle. I really missed this coming back to Australia where we have very individualistic tendencies, not really knowing our neighbours or inviting people into our homes as much.

Transitioning to living in Australia was a little bit of a shock. It felt hard to connect with people, even as a teenager, and now with hindsight I can attribute feelings of isolation to this less-involved community life, even in our churches. I think we need to work harder to be culturally different here. The MK network was my closest and most-at-home-feeling community for a number of years when we got back, and it's hard to explain why, other than that we have shared experiences and it’s easier to just ‘get’ each other.

What is helpful for one family or individual might not be helpful for the next, but in general the Christian community can support and encourage MKs by keeping in communication and taking an interest in those who are on the field in a two-way capacity; don't just ask them questions but let them get to know you too. Don't treat them as a phenomenon when they return, but give them room to be who they are and feel as ‘mk’ as the want to feel, while exploring who they are in other capacities, most importantly as a child of God hopefully.

Alison

I spent nine years in Nepal as an MK with my parents. Nepali people tend to be quite community oriented and there were kind people from our church, from the hospital where my Dad worked and people who worked for our family who welcomed us into their lives. The missionary community was also a highlight. With on average seven kids in the small school, the one teacher was more like an auntie than just a teacher.

I also attended a Christian boarding school for a couple of years while my parents were on the field. Though I found it hard to be away from my family at times, being at boarding school was great fun. With about 350 kids, it was also a helpful transition between my small village school and my school in Australia with 1000 students. Starting at the Australian school was overwhelming; a couple of the students tried deliberately to shock me in my first few days, but it was generally a fairly accepting place, which contributed to me settling in.

I found some great support in my church youth group and a girls’ Bible study group. It was in this group that I grew a lot in my faith and understanding of God. Another great source of community for me was the Missionary Kids Network. My brother, sister and I caught up with MK friends at annual camps and Interserve weekends. From our common experiences we could share about leaving ‘home’ to come back to our parents’ ‘home’ that was not really home for us at all. I often did not feel very Aussie … in fact my feelings and reactions often seemed to be much more Nepali.

My family was also a great source of community for me, and we helped each other when it was tough. During the time we’d been in Nepal our extended families had been great at keeping in touch with us, so when we came back our cousins were already our good friends. Church friends or people in the mission agency can play a significant role during home assignment, which is a busy time for parents. Taking MKs out to do special, fun things with them is helpful. On one home assignment I remember a wonderful lady from Interserve taking us out ice-skating with her children.

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Risk Suffering

Administration, Other

See attached PDF

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Grounded in Prayer

Theology / Church, Other

I’m convinced prayer is the key to the health and vitality of our relationship with God –for the individual, church, community and nation. Prayer is our way of connecting with and trusting in the living God – it is his design and therefore God answers and honours prayer.

Jesus clearly modelled the significance and power of personal prayer as recorded in the gospels. Jesus often withdrew to quiet places to spend time praying with his Father. Notably, he did this prior to choosing the twelve disciples and prior to commencing his public ministry, when for forty days he prayed and fasted in the desert while being tempted by Satan (Mk 3:13-14; 1:12-13). Jesus would retreat in prayer to be alone with God to discern his will and replenish his strength for what lay ahead of him. We see the culmination of this in the garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest, when he agonised over the prospect of the cross. In a deeply moving scene, Jesus collapses at the feet of his Father and in honest desperation asks if it’s possible for the ‘cup to be taken away’ (Mt 26:37-41). However, he gained clear resolve to go to the cross in knowing God’s will, through honest and anguished prayer (if only the disciples had stayed awake to keep watch and pray, as he had asked!).

In an incident when the disciples couldn’t deliver a boy from demon possession, Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith and in private told them “this kind can only come out by prayer”. With the coming of the Kingdom of God, the disciples were engaged in spiritual warfare, but they had neglected to robustly pray and exercise the faith that would make them effective in healing the boy (Mk 9:14-29). Furthermore, when the devil asked to sift Peter ‘as wheat’, Jesus responded by saying that he had ‘prayed for him’, that his faith would not fail after his denial and go on to strengthen his brothers (Lk 22:31,32). Indeed Jesus’ prayers were effective, as Peter became ‘rock like’ in his faith and a bold leader of the early church. Likewise, Jesus also prays and intercedes for us, and like Peter when we have our struggles with sin and temptation, he prays that we come through the testing – purified and stronger in our faith. Jesus also commended bold and persistent prayer. He taught the parable of the persistent widow who sought justice from a dodgy judge, and the parable of the pushy nocturnal friend who needed bread for his unexpected guests (Lk18:1-8; 11:5-10). Likewise there is a mystery and timing to prayer, and we are to trust in the goodness and purpose of God and persist in praying. Prayer is transformative. It helps us to grow closer to the Lord, it fortifies and strengthens our faith and enables us to listen to God and discern his will for our lives. Through prayer we abandon self-reliance, and bring our concerns to the Lordship of Christ and exercise our dependence on him.

Prayer is also the lynchpin to renewal and revival. In the national revival lead by one of Israel’s few good kings, King Hezekiah is an inspiring example of the power of prayer. After years of spiritual and moral decline in Israel, Hezekiah lead the nation back to God and revival followed. As soon as he was in power, Hezekiah consecrated the temple, reinstituted the law and the sacrificial system, and publically led the people in passionate prayer and worship. On one occasion whilst preparing for the Passover, many Levites had not consecrated themselves, so Hezekiah prayed that the Lord would pardon them and instead see their hearts – to which the Lord answered his prayer and blessed the nation (2 Chron 29-30). When the Assyrians invaded Judah and King Sennacherib threatened to lay siege of Jerusalem, Hezekiah didn’t cower, rather he and the prophet Isaiah took to prayer. God heard their prayers and sent an angel to annihilate the Assyrian army leaving Sennacherib to withdraw in defeated disgrace (2 Chron 32:16-21). Towards the end of his life, Hezekiah was stricken with a terminal illness and in desperation turned to God in tearful prayers. As Isaiah records, the Lord heard his prayer, provided a miraculous sign (by casting the sunlight back ten steps) and in mercy added fifteen years to Hezekiah’s life (Isa 38:1-8).

What do we learn about prayer in the beginnings of the early church? The early church was born on Pentecost when the Spirit descended upon the apostles during a time of devoted prayer and worship (Acts 2:1-4). Further on in Acts we read that after fasting and praying, the Lord revealed to the leaders of the Antioch church, to set apart Barnabas and Paul for their first missionary endeavour (Acts 13:2-3). Prayer preceded the formation of the church and its first missionary journey.

Dr A.T. Pierson has been noted for saying “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer”. Behind every spiritual renewal – both personal and corporate – the common denominator is prayer. Preceding the reformation Martin Luther locked himself away in a monastery room to pray and study the word. The Methodist revival in England was birthed by the likes of John and Charles Wesley and George Whitfield who reportedly spent hours in fervent prayer and fasting. Perhaps prayer gave them the courage to boldly preach the gospel to the masses. Historians have suggested that Methodism was so transformative on English culture (particularly among the destitute and working poor), it prevented England from following France into violent revolution during the 1790s. Similarly it was a movement of prayer that sparked the Welsh revival in 1904, spreading onto other nations. In the Welsh revival, hundreds of thousands of people were converted to Christ, alcoholism was halved and violent crime was reduced to the level where police officers were made redundant, leaving the police department to justify their existence. The Welsh revival swept Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Australasia, the Americas and parts of Africa, forever changing history – all ignited by prayer.

At a personal level there have been perplexing and difficult times in my life where prayer has sustained me, and God in his grace has answered. Over the years I have encountered times of intense anxiety, sleep disturbance, immense work pressures, urgent resource needs, and desperation for his direction and guidance. During these troubling times I’ve always found the resolve and peace that God graciously gives through prayer. So I’d like to encourage you to continue to persevere in honest prayer to God, for he hears and answers according to his good purpose and timing.

The Interserve staff meets each morning to pray for our Partners and short termers across the globe, because we believe in the power and purpose of prayer. Interserve also has prayer groups that pray for our workers and the wider Interserve fellowship. Have you considered joining one of these prayer groups or receiving our prayer newsletter so you can pray more effectively for the work of Interserve? Let’s continue to pray for God to touch and transform not only our lives, but families, communities, churches, mission work, people groups and nations – for his good glory.

Matt Walton is Interserve’s State Director for Victoria.

References:
J. Edwin. Orr – Article on Prayer and Revival.
David Yonggi Cho – Prayer that brings revival 1998.

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Dear Supporters

Other, Other

This magazine has a great name; GO. Three years ago, we went. But for many of you, you have not gone; you have stayed to be used by God in Australia. For you who have stayed – but still care about us who have gone – it is to you who I dedicate this letter!

When we were asked to write an article for Go, I was excited. I like to write. When I was told it was on prayer….that made me think twice. That’s because, well…. I’m really not such a great pray-er. As many Mums of young children might identify, I sit down to pray and within a few minutes of quiet I’m either fast asleep or back on my feet dealing with the latest toddler emergency.

I’m really a little embarrassed to admit it of course, because aren’t most “Missionaries” (except me and my husband) pretty perfect? Hmmm. Anyhow, here’s where you come in. Though I strive for a better prayer life, and hope for a great intercessory future, right now, I am a better dish-wiper than intercessor. Yet, we are blessed to have a God who knows our weaknesses and I am eternally grateful for those of you who are faithful intercessors on our behalf.

I know that God hears your prayers for us. I hope you have also seen the evidence of this, and been encouraged, as you read our newsletters, and hear the stories which prove His, and your, faithfulness.

A perfect example was when we needed $10,000 to save the School (for the poor) that we serve at: we asked and you prayed. Two years in a row, at the last minute, we saw God answer these prayers in miraculous ways. Like some of our mission heroes, we now have evidence of God’s providence when we were handed a $10,000 check from an individual we didn’t know, just days before the cut-off. This has not just happened once, but several times. So in the last few years, not only has our ministry been able to continue, but our faith has also grown, through these (character building) waits for God’s answers!

Similarly, when the nation we serve in had some violent and unsettled months, we had to make some tough decisions. Should we stay? Should we go? Would we be safe here? What was God’s will for us at that time? Through those especially scary months, we needed your prayers more than ever. And even when the internet was out for a long while, we knew that you were watching the news and praying for our family. And when it came time to make decisions, God clearly led us into deciding to stay in that nation, despite the uncertainty. But if I had not known that back in Australia there were people committed to praying for us, and upholding us daily, I’m not sure that we would have made the same decision.

There are the simpler things you have prayed for – that don’t make such exciting stories – but are just as important. When you asked on our behalf, for a home for us on home assignment, God answered your prayer. Sometimes I wish God would not wait until it is down to the wire for things, but by now, we are getting much better at trusting in God’s provision! We also saw the provision of a car from a stranger, who happened to email the State Office at the right time, with the right car, and a generous heart – after you prayed. Thanks!
Similarly, we have been aware and humbled that people have been praying for us continually in everyday things, like our walks with God, for our kids settling in a foreign country, and especially for our health and safety. We are happy to share we have not got many exciting stories in that area – a divine answer again.

Individually, some may say these things could be lucky coincidences. They just happened to work out in our favour. But when we look back, over three years, and see the continuous blessing, provision and protection of God on our lives and ministry, we hope you see this cannot be true. There have been countless examples of our family being protected – through death threats at work, in the traffic, and in day-to-day life of emotional strain. As you uphold us in consistent prayer these potentially critical situations have been diffused.

In one situation we were aware that a gang of armed youths were active in our city, and had threatened to come and visit the school. They had attacked churches and other schools, damaging property extensively and slashing and attacking a number of young people indiscriminately, sending six seriously injured youths to hospital. We asked you to pray protection over each child, teacher and the premises. A prayer team from the UK specifically prayer walked the area two weeks before the time of the incident.

The gang did come to the school just before students were released one evening. When they came, my husband came out to confront them, dressed in a suit and dress shoes, and without a weapon of any kind. Yet, when they saw him, the entire gang ran from him, so he chased them into the next suburb, where they dispersed into the market. The school students were able to be dismissed safely, and the gang hasn’t returned yet. Why would the gang not do the same thing here as they had done throughout the city in the weeks previous? Why would they fear a slightly crazy foreigner chasing them? My only credible explanation is that some faithful pray-ers were covering him and the school that day. I don’t know why God chose to protect here and not the other places. But we are very thankful that hundreds of kids were kept safe.

I wish I could understand the mystery of prayer. I wish I could be a great intercessor. The hard times have pushed me into praying more passionately but I still have a long way to go! What I am most grateful for is that you have been there praying for us, and your prayers have been answered time and time again.

It is not only our own supporters for whom this letter is written. Every Partner serving cross-culturally could share of God’s faithfulness and answers to your prayers, just like us. On behalf of them all, to each one of you, our faithful prayer partners: thanks!

Love S.T.

The author is an Interserve Partner

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
Isaiah 65:24 (KJV)

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Extending Gods Kingdom

Administration, Other

Interserve is pleased to announce a new On Track initiative, Consultants in Mission (CiM).

It is designed to bring together the professional skills of the consultant with the missional goals of Interserve. A small number of consultants have already served through Interserve’s short-term programme, but CiM On Track will allow Interserve to channel consultants in a more focused way.

The process is simple. Once approved for CiM On Track, the consultant’s name, area of expertise and availability will be posted on Interserve’s secure website. Field based teams can then look through the list of possible consultants, select any that fit their needs, and approach them for help.

It is a brilliant opportunity for those people who, although they want to serve God in mission, are unable to move lock, stock and barrel to the mission field. This way they can still contribute their skills and experience while being based primarily at home.

My consultancy work in South East Asia and the Middle East provides amazing opportunities to share about God. I operate on the pattern that the Apostle Paul modelled – one’s job is one’s ministry, and one’s ministry is one’s job – and every morning when I wake up I pray, “Who will You connect me with today, Lord? Provide me with conversations where I can mirror something of the gospel truth.”

I recently spent three weeks in a country that is officially closed to the Gospel. My purpose for being there was purely professional – I had a task to complete – but the connections I made with local people, and their willingness to engage in conversations over food night after night, made the whole assignment exciting.

One such conversation began with a comment about an aspect of God’s creation, and His skill in making it. This simple comment opened the door for a longer exchange that allowed sharing of ideas about New Zealand, the host country, politics, sports, education and employment… and how Jesus fits into the jigsaw.

This scenario repeated itself several times: different people, different places, but the same pattern of conversation, and the same openness to engage and listen. The most memorable was one that broke all the cultural protocols: a women and her daughter (both fully covered, I could only see their eyes) invited me to join them at their table. We began by discussing countries, universities, jobs and politics but in the end the conversation came back to Jesus: who He is, and how an understanding of Him adds to one’s understanding of, and relationship to, God.

As I boarded the plane to leave that nation, I prayed for the Holy Spirit to keep moving in the hearts of every person that I had talked with. Consultancy in Mission is real and effective, and the opportunities are endless. To learn more about extending God’s kingdom through CiM, and how you can become involved, please contact the Interserve office.

The author has a long track record in consulting, the educational business sector and missions.

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From the Director

Other, Other

We had planned for this GO to be published in December, but were delayed by building our Interserve NZ website, and then the holiday period. So while we will normally publish two GO magazines a year – plus our new, bi-monthly GO NEWS – there will be three GO magazines in 2010.

A while back now we decided on the topic of ‘Islam’ for this issue. It seems that while the felt impact of the topic gets debated quite widely, and it comes up frequently in the news media, there is still a dismal lack of real engagement. Positive, hope-filled and gracious responses to Muslims are too often drowned out by a cacophony of fearinspiring, divisive and polarising voices. As one of our writers puts it, trying to navigate a truly Christ-like response can feel like standing in no man’s land.

It is a difficult topic, and as we read the thoughtful reflections and stories of our Partners, that comes through loud and clear. Living and working amongst Islamic communities very quickly does away with any romantic notions, and no-one can accuse our writers of naïve or superficial responses. As I write, churches in Malaysia are being firebombed simply because Christians use the word ‘Allah’, as they have done for centuries across the Muslim world. In Iran followers of Christ are incarcerated and threatened, and in Egypt Coptic Christians mourn those shot dead in a mad, communal rampage by their Muslim neighbours. Yes, these situations are real, as they have been through centuries past, and naïveté or political correctness has no place in the face of such tragedy and human suffering.

Yet if we genuinely believe that Jesus Christ is the great reconciler, the only one who saves, the true hope of all ages, the Messiah of God, then we cannot simply continue doing what we have done for far too long, with such poor results. We have avoided real relationship and engagement with our Muslim neighbours, while stereotyping and lumping all Muslims into an easily identifiable, threatening and unwelcome bundle that needs anti-terrorism treatment before we can truly make any effort to share the love of Christ.

Two images come to mind. My home town in Germany, once a staunch bastion of the reformation and evangelicalism, is now home to a growing Islamic community – streets with halal butcheries, Turkish travel agencies, mid-Eastern restaurants and mosques. Forty-odd years after importing the first generation of men as cheap labour to fuel our post-war economic revival, we now have second and third generations who count Germany as home, yet live in a world radically different from their German neighbours just a few houses away. The German church has largely ignored these people, and the command of Christ to go, love, serve, and make disciples, and has, in turn, missed out on the opportunity and the joy of seeing them embrace the love of Christ. Now we wrestle with radicalisation, violence, crime, and an increasingly polarised society that many feel extremely threatened by.

The other image is just a few weeks old, a Christmas celebration at our home here in Auckland. Every December we invite a range of friends, many of them immigrants and international students, to join us for a BBQ and evening to sing, share the Christmas story, and play the ‘gift game’ – a fun event where everyone contributes. We were singing some of the deeply meaningful carols when my eye fell on a dear Muslim friend and her daughter. Earlier we had forgotten to provide halal sausages, so had to pick through the food offerings to ensure there would be no pork on her plate. But here she was, joining in wholeheartedly: “Joy to the world, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King!”

It actually doesn’t have to be all that difficult, does it? Lord, open our eyes to re-learn the Jesus way.

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Welcome to Australia

Education, Other

It was a big gamble, but it got their attention. Fifteen hundred pairs of Muslim eyes focused on me as I walked up to the speaker at the podium, kissed him on both cheeks in the Arab style and said, “Welcome to Australia.”

The speaker, a big bushy-bearded Texan and well-known convert to Islam, had been pillorying Christianity for several hours in these widely-publicised lectures for Muslims at Melbourne University. At the end of his talk he asked for questions, but specified that they could be written only – no verbal questions were allowed. However, when he received the questions – most of them written by us, the small handful of Christians occupying the front row – the Texan simply shuffled the papers and ignored their contents.

Exasperated, we in the front row held up sheets of paper with big letters: Please answer our questions! He took the hint, began to read some of them, then laughed and said, “Funny, these are all in the same handwriting, but I can’t understand them.”

The audience laughed too. That’s when I seized the opportunity, walked up to him and kissed him. “Welcome to Australia. I wrote these questions. Let me help you read them.”

The audience laughed nervously as the big Texan took the initiative back. He leaned over and whispered to me, “If you don’t sit down right now, I’ll have you escorted out.”

Seeing his minders ready to pounce, I announced to the audience: “Well, I tried to help him, didn’t I?”

Some clapped. The Texan turned to his cameras: “Can you make sure that is erased from the final take?” Disappointed, I sat back down. The Texan continued to drone on, ignoring us and our questions. It seemed the gamble had not paid off.

As we filed out of the lecture theatre, a young Muslim man was waiting for me. “Are you a Christian?” he asked. I nodded. “I want to learn about Christianity. Could you teach me?”

Javed hadn’t been in Australia for very long, having recently entered on a student visa. Over the next few months we met regularly, and he began studying the Bible seriously. He seemed very grateful for my time, and didn’t raise any objections to what I was teaching him. But then one day I received a text message from him: “I’m in big trouble. I must see you soon.”

We met at the university and Javed showed me a court order: he’d been in a fight with a flatmate, and was being charged with causing grievous bodily harm. I helped him find a solicitor and a barrister, and at the court case several months later I was a character witness for him.

When Javed pleaded guilty and received a four-month prison sentence, I committed to visiting him regularly. He was grateful.

“I’m reading the Bible every day,” he told me, but then added, “and I’m finding it agrees completely with the Qur’an.”

He became involved with the prison Islamic group, praying regularly with them and even preaching at their weekly services. He had decided that Jesus was just a messenger, like all the other messengers of God – it looked as if he was going nowhere spiritually.

At the completion of his prison sentence, the Department of Immigration decided to deport Javed for not fulfilling the requirements of his student visa.

“I’m too tired to appeal,” he told me when I went to visit him, thinking it might be for the last time. “I’m returning to India soon. You have been a great friend and a teacher. Is there anything you would like to say to me?”

“Yes, there is.” I replied. “Yesterday I was at a mosque in Maidstone, and the speaker was criticising Christianity. Afterwards I went to the front and asked if I could have the chance to respond to his criticisms, and this time they let me. I was there for about four hours, and it became very apparent that Muslims and Christians believe quite different things. Muslims say that Jesus was just a messenger; Christians believe that He is the Son of God. Muslims believe that Jesus did not die; Christians believe that He died for the sins of the whole world. Muslims believe that they will enter paradise by their good works; Christians believe that it is only by the grace of God. Javed, it seems that you think that you can be both a Muslim and a Christian at the same time. But I think that you have to choose between them.”

He went quiet, then he said, “Today I am choosing to follow Jesus and to become a Christian.” I was overjoyed. “But,” he said. “There is the problem of my family. They are strict Muslims. What will I say to them?”

I told him that his faith was a matter between himself and God, and that the right time would come for him to tell them. I told him the stories of other Muslims I knew who had made the same journey, and eventually their families were accepting of their decision, and some members had even joined the Kingdom of God themselves.

The next day, when we met to do some discipleship studies, Javed gave me two bits of news. He had decided to appeal his deportation order, since his prison sentence had prevented him from completing the studies required by his visa. He had also told his parents that he had become a Christian, and was heartbroken by their response.

“We will have nothing to do with you!” were his father’s angry words. “Do not ever come back home again!”

As I write this, Javed is still waiting in the Immigration Detention Centre for the outcome of his appeal. I visit him almost daily and he is growing in his faith in Christ. I am praying that he might become an ardent evangelist for Christ, just as he once preached Islam with passion and conviction.

Paul stated his long-standing ambition as “to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand’” (Romans 15:20-21).

In past times, such a plan involved a long physical journey by boat or plane. Today, with 100,000 Muslims in Melbourne, and 23% of Australia’s population born overseas, it simply involves a walk across the street or a ride across the town. This is all part of the sovereign work of God who “from one man made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live” (Acts 17:26). The Lord of the entire world is bringing people from all over the world to Australia, so they can hear the good news. May we always cooperate with Him in His work.

Bernie works with CultureConnect, an IS ministry to people of non-English speaking backgrounds in Australia, and is the guest speaker at our NZ Interserve Day on Saturday, 22 May 2010.

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