Year: 2023 Page 1 of 4
Solitude is one of those spiritual disciplines that is quite challenging for me. But more and more, I am convinced of its significant value in my life. What I commonly experience is a flood of thoughts and distractions the very moment I pursue quiet and solitude before the Lord. I am like the disciples, attempting to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus. Tiredness can also wash over me as I seek to slow my mind and body and listen to the Lord’s voice.
Jesus’ example of solitude
When reading the Gospels, you can’t miss the fact that Jesus spent time in solitary places.1 See Matthew 14:13, 23; 17:1; Mark 1:35, 45; 6:31-32, 45-46 and Luke 4:42; 5:16; 6:12; 9:10. Often times, these “escapes” into solitude were early in the morning or withdrawing from the crowds of people vying for His time and attention. What this shows me is… Read the whole post
Like many of you, I read a lot of books each year. Last year, I finished 63 and I should be pretty close to that number by the end of 2023. But reading a lot of books is not the same as being “well-read”. According to Collins Dictionary, “a well-read person has read a lot of books and has learned a lot from them.” How much have I learned – and how much of the learning can I recall?
I frequently find myself trying to recall a book I have read on the topic we are currently discussing. Maybe someone is asking me for a book I would recommend. Or I am trying to find additional information about a topic that I am teaching. Or maybe I am just trying to support a position that I am arguing for, and I remember an idea from a book that I read… Read the whole post
Sometimes a small amount of effort can yield much information and fruit. In making decisions, and especially when we are making decisions about large amounts of money, we want to have accurate and up-to-date information. When we are dealing with a huge international crisis impacting tens of millions of people, it is hard to know where to look for information that we can trust. A survey of those whom we already know and trust is a great place to start. Mission organizations often do not recognize how simple it really can be to conduct such a survey.
When the current phase of the war in Ukraine started in February 2022, SEND created a Help Ukraine Fund and assembled a Eurasia Emergency Response Team. The team quickly put structures in place that would effectively and efficiently distribute donated funds. Our goal was to have maximum impact for the Kingdom by working… Read the whole post
A legitimate question
When I first began leading our Member Orientation Program more than 10 years ago, I seldom, if ever, had to defend its legitimacy. All new missionaries assumed that they would need to go through the pre-field training program before leaving for their place of assignment. In fact, one of our greatest struggles was to convince new missionaries and their coaches that they should wait to enroll in Member Orientation until they had raised more of their support. The primary question was “When?”. When do I get to go to MOP? As we began conducting the training in the Philippines as well as in Michigan, a secondary question then became “Where?”. Where will I complete this training?
But in more recent years, the questions have been different. Now we are dealing with the question of “Why?”. Why do I need to go through this particular pre-field training program? It is a legitimate question.
A desire for customization
On the one hand, it reflects a desire for greater flexibility and customization of the pre-field training process. We live in a world where we can customize our sandwich and coffee. Amazon allows us to choose not only the type but the color of our earbuds. People naturally resist the assumption that one size fits all. Why do I need to travel to Michigan (or the Philippines) when my church or another organization I know also offers training for missionaries? Do I need to go through the entire pre-field training program? Could you allow me to choose the modules I think are most important for me. Maybe I don’t even need to go through a pre-field training program. Maybe I could just learn what I need to know along the way, from other missionaries, and online through Google searches.
A desire to avoid duplication
On the other hand, the “Why?” question reflects the desire to avoid duplication of previous training. Some of our new missionaries have earned academic degrees or at least credits in missiological studies. Others have had extensive experience in various types of short-term or long-term cross-cultural ministry. Those who are coming to our mission organization from one of our partner mission agencies have often gone through a significant period of training with the partner mission prior to joining SEND. Why do these people still need additional training from SEND?
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
I have recently finished listening to Tyler Staton’s book on prayer – Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer. I listened to Tyler Staton preach on the topic of the Lord’s Prayer at a leadership retreat a few months ago. Both his passion for and his experience in prayer impressed me.1 You can listen to these same sermons on the Bridgetown Church’s website. I did not expect this in such a young pastor. In his book, I was further intrigued by his emphasis on the importance of daily set times of prayer. He pointed out that both Jesus and the early church practiced regular times of prayer each day.
Jesus and his prayer life
Over the years, I have noticed that the Gospels (and particularly Luke) often note that Jesus gave himself to prayer. At this baptism, before he begins a busy day of ministry, and before he chooses the 12 apostles, Jesus is praying.2 See Luke 3:21, 5:15-16, 6:12-13. After a full day of teaching and then feeding a massive crowd of 5000, he climbs a mountain to pray rather than getting some sleep (Mark 5:44-46). What we often miss is that the Transfiguration happened when Jesus took his 3 closest disciples on a prayer retreat (see Luke 9:28-29). In fact, this prayer retreat was only about a week after another prayer retreat with his disciples (Luke 9:18-20).
A couple of chapters later, Jesus is again praying, and this time, the disciples ask him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). His example in prayer is so striking that the disciples want to learn to pray like that. By the time we get to Gethsemane, we are not surprised that Jesus insisted on praying until the very moment of his arrest (Luke 22:39-46).
Clearly, Jesus was a man of prayer. Major events in his life were framed by his times in prayer. He prepared for major decisions, important questions and the crowning crisis and triumph of his life on Golgotha through extended times of prayer. As Paul Miller observes, Jesus demonstrates his dependence on the Father in a remarkable way through his regular times of prayer.
When Jesus tells us to become like little children, he isn’t telling us to do anything he isn’t already doing. Jesus is, without question, the most dependent human being who ever lived. Because he can’t do life on his own, he prays. And he prays. And he prays. Luke tells us that Jesus “would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (5:16).
Paul E. Miller. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World, loc. 653.
Three times a day
In “Praying Like Monks”, Staton says that godly Jews would pray three times a day – in the morning, at noon and in the evening. The Psalmist references this pattern in Ps 55:17. This was Daniel’s practice, even in exile in Babylon (Dan. 6:10). Staton believes that Jesus observed a similar daily prayer rhythm, and that the early believers copied this practice. Tyler Staton points out that the book of Acts mentions times of prayers at certain times of the day. Look at these examples: