George Verwer
2000, George Verwer
Pamela passed me this book as a Christmas gift. So nice of her. I remembered having had this book before, but not sure where it is now. However, I felt that this time the book leaves a more lasting impact.
Chapter 2: We are His Witnesses
Pg 43
Counting the cost
To put your life, future and career on the altar for the Lord of Glory is no small affair. .. There are four warnings I often give to people who are considering missionary work:
- Firstly, you heart will be broken many times and you will face many disappointments
- Secondly, you will face financial pressures, battles and problems and also a wide range of differences of opinion on lifestyle and how money should be spent.
- Thirdly, you will discover that it is sometimes relatively easy to get started on a project but unbelievably hard to keep it going and at that same time keep the loyalty of the people with whom you are working.
- Fourthly, you will discover that roots of bitterness can very easily come into Christian work which, sometimes, due to Satanic opposition, can be more difficult and complex than in secular work, especially when money and other motivating forces are absent
Chapter 3: Taking the Lead
Pg 54
Loyalty normally involves some form of submission and must work both ways. IN an age when obedience to parents has been weakened, another difficulty in building loyalty in the task of world evangelism, is that many find taking orders of any kind from a leader very difficult.
There is a need to learn submission without becoming cultic or manipulative. There is also a need to learn how to work with a team of people.
They will have to accept the harsh reality of suffering in the world without minimising it or disguising it with simplistic cliches.
Pg 55
Leaders must also have the courage to face up the complexities and divisions within the church and on the mission field. The church is divided and this situation isn't going to change very much.
Pg 57
As leaders we must be acutely aware of the grustrations that come from the limitations of our own weaknesses and humanness, as well as those of the people with whom we are working.
As someone who believes in the importance of relationships and the empowering of other people, I have to recognise that I may not be able to go at the speed I want to as a leader. People of passion and purpose have to accept that their own and other people's vulnerability needs to be recognised and taken into account. There may be times when leaders need to move quickly, to be strong and firm with people. But there are other times when we must slow down, pull back and wait upon the lOrd and often His people as well. Without this, even at a slow pace, we may end up on the wrong road or off the road in a ditch!
Pg 60
A W Tozer said: "In our constant struggle to believe we are likely to overlook the simple fact that a bit of healthy disbelief is sometimes as needful as faith to the welfare of our souls. I go further and say that we would do well to cultivate a reverent skepticism. It will keep us out of a thousand bogs and quagmires where others who lack it sometimes find themselves. It is no sin to doubt something but it may be fatal to believe everything
Chapter 5: Future Missionaries-From where?
Pg 97
We need to face up to the reality that a high percentage of young peoplemake their decision about location on very subjective evidence, often basing it on the missionaries they have been in touch with. Since there are not many missionaries returning from the more unreached people groups, there is a lack of influence on young people to get interested in those areas and so a continuing lack of staff.
We still have a large no of westerners wanting to go to countries where missionaries are not really needed. The people themselves are desperately needed, but not necessarily in the place where they are expecting to go.
Chapter 6: Finance for the Work
Pg 111
"...But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that thos who preach the gospel should receive their living from the Gospel."
The truth of this psassage is that the person who is led into overseas mission has been accepted into the work of the kingdom, and because of this, should expect to receive pay, either as a salary in the normal sense, or through the giving of concerned fellow Christians. If you are in God's work you not have to feel guilty about receiving this pay. You do not even have to fell guilty if people make sacrifices for you to get this pay. You do not need to be obsessed about having a simple lifestyle. As a worker you deserve your wages (Luke 10:7). You are the ox referred to in the passage from 1 Corinthians and, as Paul points out, God says this for our benefit.
Pg 114
Part of having a healthy attitude toward the provision of resources for the individiual, is the cultivation of a balance between prayer, taking action, and through it all, trusting God.
Pg 119
There may be appropriate training that you could do to enhance the value of any money given by Christians for your support. For a young person, two years on a short-term programme may not be enough. Would it be possible to re-schedule your time, or make changes to your style of living, so that more could be put into working for funding and increasing the ultimate value of that funding?
Paul Borthwick, in "How to be a world class Christian?", says: "We can choose to live more simply that others may simply live. There is enough to go around, but sharing our abundance with others will call us to cut back somewhere, to limit ourselves voluntarily, to live a lifestyle that reflects our knowledges on the condition of people in our world"
No comments:
Post a Comment