Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson has died, & it is the biggest story in the world. It's the biggest story here in Peru, on Page 1 of all the newspapers here, & the lead story on all the national Peruvian TV news, & I know it's also the lead story wherever in the world that you are doing church or ministry. It will be for weeks & months on end.

I know nothing about Michael Jackson's spiritual walk, but I do know this: He now is standing before God & giving an account of himself & his life.

We will all do this one day.

Romans 14:12 (NIV) - "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God."

Michael Jackson's death gives us a golden opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ w/ those all around us. I'm sure that 99% - if not 100% - of the conversations that you've had in the last 24 hours have included talk about Michael Jackson's death. It'll continue to be this way for weeks & months on end. Take advantage of this opportunity to leverage these conversations with the gospel message.

Carpe Diem

I recently read a devotional that was written by Bishop T. D. Jakes of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas. In the devotional, Bishop Jakes writes about how to have a passion for living. Bishop Jakes writes:

"What good is life without living? Taste it, live it - even at the risk of occasional failure and adversity! Have you a passion to triumph? ... Wake up and play! ... God has much for you to do! Arise and breahte deeply of this moment. There will never be another moment in your life like this one!"

Bishop Jakes' words remind me of the wonderful Robin Williams film from 1989 called "The Dead Poet's Society." In the film, Williams plays a contemporary professor at a not-so-contemporary boys' boarding school in the late 1950s. He frequently says to his young male students, "Carpe Diem." This is Latin for "Seize the Day."

Carpe Diem.

Seize the day.

Taste it.

Live it.

Have a passion to triumph.

Wake up and play!

Arise.

Breathe deeply of this moment.

There will never be another moment in your life like this one.

Bishop Jakes and Robin Williams both had it right.

Carpe Diem.

Seize the day!

Seize today!

Innovention

"Innovention."

It's a word that I recently heard used @ an FRC staff meeting.

Innovention = Innovation + Invention.

I posted a blog last week about how "necessity is the mother of invention", & I gave an example from our Spanish services here in Lima. This whole idea of "innovention" is an extension of the idea.

How do you need to be more innovative in your church or ministry in order to make it grow, in order to make it be more fruitful, & in order to impact more people in this world? What do you need to invent in order to do so?

Get innovative & get inventive ASAP.

Innovention = Greater Fruitfulness & Growth & Impact (John 15:1-16).

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

There is an old saying:

"Necessity is the mother of invention."

It's very true, & by adhering to this phrase you can build & improve your church or ministry.

By way of example, when we first decided to start a Spanish service @ FRC-Lima, after having had only an English service for a long period of time, we began to receive teaching DVDs in Spanish to feature in the new Spanish service. We began to do so. Big problem: the teaching DVDs we were receivng had been translated by a Guatemalan man, & he was using Guatemalan slang & phrases in his translation.

In effect, he was using "Guatemalan Spanish."

This did not go over well in Lima, Peru.

After an initial burst of excitement, people stopped coming to the Spanish service. Their main complaint was that they did not like the "Guatemalan Spanish" translation. They didn't understand the Guatemalan slang and phrases used. So they stopped coming to the service.

Spanish, we quickly learned, is different from country to country in Latin America, just as "USA English" will different a bit from "British English" or "Australian English" - in various words, phrases, & slang.

What to do?

We remembered that necessity is the mother of invention.

Thus, we "invented" our very own translation team, & we took over all of the English-to-Spanish translation - in "Peruvian Spanish" - and we also took over the translation and captioning of all on-screen Bible verses, titles, graphics, announcements, song lyrics, etc. We even added little touches of "Peruvian flavor" to our translation, such as inserting the names of well-known Lima stores & restaurants, when & where appropriate.

Result: people started coming back to the Spanish service.

We had been faced w/ a challenging situation when people @ FRC-Lima spoke w/ their feet & left the Spanish service b/c they didn't like "Guatemalan Spanish."

We fixed the problem by embracing the fact that necessity is the mother of invention.

We became inventive. We had to. It was a necessity.

What necessity exists right now in your church or ministry?

What can you & your team invent to make it better?

Bloody Jungle Battles In Peru

Peru has been on high alert in recent weeks as native tribespeople in the jungle have been fighting with the police over the issue of drilling for oil on native community lands. These battles have left close to 40 people dead (both natives & police have been killed), and hundreds more injured. The conflict has come close to toppling the current Peruvian government, and at a minimum we will probably see the resignations of some top government officials who have been blamed for allowing the situation to careen wildly out of control.

Please pray for the natives, & for the police, & for the government leaders, that cooler & wiser & more discerning heads will prevail very soon, & that peace will be agreed to by all sides before another drop of blood is spilled in the Peruvian jungle.

Worms @ No Extra Charge

Last week we went to a restaurant in Lima to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday.

No jokes, please!

The restaurant in question, which shall remain nameless in order to protect the guilty party, is a 5-star restaurant with a fine reputation in the city. We've eaten there before, many times in fact, & have always enjoyed the experience.

But not last week.

As my brother-in-law, Christian, dug into a salad that he had ordered as an appetizer, he suddenly noticed that part of the salad was moving.

That's never a good sign.

It turns out there were worms in his salad. Little worms, no longer than an eyelash. But worms nonetheless, & he sure hadn't ordered them as a side dish.

Since we didn't want to cause a big commotion, nor did we want to cause a whole lot of problems or embarrassment for the restaurant, we discretely called the waiter over and silently pointed out the worms in the salad.

Needless to say, he looked very surprised, apologized, & then quickly took the plate away.

We then took turns guessing what we'd receive in restitution for the worms in the salad. Normally in Peru, free plates & big discounts are almost unheard of. If we'd been in the USA, I bet the entire meal - for the entire table! - would've been free.

But not in Peru.

The waiter returned a few minutes later, still looking very embarrassed.

"Mil disculpas (1,000 pardons)," he said to us. "I've talked to the manager, & of course she will not charge you for that plate."

Well, isn't that big of her!

But he wasn't done yet.

"As well," he continued, as another waiter handed him a tray, "the restaurant also wants to give you this at no extra charge."

And then he handed us each a glass of water.

So, in return for a salad full of worms, we got the price of the salad discounted & free water!

Yahoo!

I could only laugh uproariously @ the absurdity of it all. As I said before, in the USA the worms in the salad probably would've meant free meals for everyone @ the table. But in Peru ... free water!

I'm surprised the restaurant didn't charge us extra for the worms!

Kneeling

One of the most impactful moments we've ever had @ FRC-Lima occurred on Sunday when the entire congregation, in both the Spanish & English services, was asked to kneel before Jesus Christ, as Savior, as the King of Kings, as the Lord of Lords, as the Alpha & Omega, as the Lion of Judah, & as the Lamb of God. It was precious to see every single person in the Spanish service, as well as almost every single person in the English service, on their knees in worship. What impact in Lima! If you've never featured kneeling in your worship service, wherever you are in the world, then try it next Sunday.

Museums & Hospitals & Saints & Sinners

Recently, I was teaching on Luke 18:9-14. In this passage, a Pharisee in the temple prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week & give a tenth of all I get."

The tax collector stood at a distance from the Pharisee. The tax collector, beating his breast & w/ his head bowed, prayed, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Jesus commented that the tax collector, rather than the Pharisee, went home justified before God. Jesus added that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, & he who humbles himself will be exalted."

It is w/ this passage in mind that I pass along to you a wonderful phrase that I have heard on various occasions in ministry. I do not know who originally said it, but here it is:

"A church is not a museum for saints. It is a hospital for sinners."

Is your church full of self-proclaimed saints, like the Pharisee, or is your church full of head-bowed, breast-beating sinners, like the tax collector?

Is your church a museum, or is it a hospital?

The fruitfulness of your church will be determined by your answer.

Religious Liberty & Equality

This is Religious Liberty & Equality Week in Peru. We have participated in conferences about these issues @ the Peruvian Congress, we have met individually w/ members of the Peruvian Congress to discuss these matters, & today there is a large march in Lima to press for the passing of laws which will guarantee religious liberty & equality throughout Peru.

Does religious liberty & equality exist wherever you are doing international ministry? What is the state of religious liberty & equality in your country? What can you do to improve the situation there? Many have fought & died for religious liberty & equality throughout the world. While that may not necessarily be your destiny, nonetheless it is important to see what you can do to bring about greater religious liberty & equality wherever in the world that you are doing international ministry.

Visa

Last week when Dorcas & I returned to Lima from Miami, I was stopped @ Immigration in the Lima airport. The Immigration officer said that my Peruvian residential visa, which I've had for 5 years, had expired. I politely told him that it had not, & that I had just received a new residential visa a month earlier, & that I'd even already travelled internationally with it, & without any problem when I had returned to Lima before with it. He reluctantly accepted my answer, but then also added that I didn't have the appropriate tax stamps on the back of my visa card. I once again answered him politely, telling him that at the Peru Immigration Ministry they had told me that I did not need any tax stamps on my visa until 2010. Once again he reluctantly accepted my response, implying that they - his bosses - were wrong in what they had told me. He said that I should have them prepare a letter for me, saying that I didn't need any tax stamps until 2010. I asked him why I would need such a letter from them, since they already had told me that in person, & plus I already had travelled internationally and re-entered Peru without any problem.

Sometimes bureaucrats just like to be bureaucrats, & I think that was the case with the Immigration officer @ the Lima airport. At the same time, however, the incident served as a good reminder to anyone doing international ministry to make sure that your residential visa, or work visa, or religious visa, or missionary visa, or national ID card, or whatever ID you are using wherever you are doing ministry in the world, is up-to-date & current. Sometimes you may get hassled at the airport or at the border for no apparent reason, but at the same time it's wise not to give the officer in charge any further reason to delay your passage. International ministry is challenging enough without adding unnecessary immigration burdens to it.

Without Words

Last week I blogged about how Chuck Swindoll blogged about giving & living God's word to others.

Give it & live it.

Along the same line, today I present a quote from St. Francis of Assisi:

"Preach the gospel at all times, & when necessary use words."

Are you able to preach the gospel at all times?

Are you able to preach the gospel without using words?

Is your life testimony powerful enough to do so?

It may be a difficult question to ask, & an even more uncomfortable one to answer, but it may be a good measure of the quality & the quantity of fruit that you are bearing these days.

See how far you can go this week in preaching the gospel without using words.

Give It & Live It

Chuck Swindoll is one of my favorite pastors & teachers & authors. He is the Senior Pastor @ Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, USA, but most of you probably know him best from his "Insight For Living" radio broadcasts &/or from the 70 books that he has authored.

Recently, Chuck posted a blog in which he wrote about how relieved he was the day that God told him that he was not responsible for how others responded to the gospel message.

God also told him, however, that he indeed was responsible for giving the gospel message to others, & that he needed to show the gospel to others by living it out daily.

He was responsible for giving it & living it.

Swindoll continued on in his blog post to say that a godly life is the most effective tool that we have for evangelism.

Sometimes we forget this very basic point, even as we work away diligently in our churches & ministries.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the machinations of church & ministry that we forget how effective a testimony it is to others when we simply live & show a godly life to others.

Give it & live it.

Are you doing it?

Cash

Dorcas & I were back in Florida this week to pick up materials for the new series that we are starting in Lima called "The End: Is It Near?"

While in Florida, we stopped at a couple of malls & some other stores in order to pick up various items that are not available for us to purchase in Lima. The malls & other stores were all fairly crowded, but many mall workers & many store managers told us that most people were only looking, & very few people were actually buying anything. They fear a worsening of the global economic crisis, as more people, both in the USA & worldwide, lose their jobs & cut their personal spending. It's a crisis that feeds on itself. It also fits right in to "The End" series that we are starting in Lima, as people everywhere around the world anguish over the economic crisis, as well as the swine flu pandemic, the rise in terrorism, and the increase in natural disasters, among other things.

Back in the 1980s, the well-known theologian named Paul Hewson made a comment about money & finances & economics that we should all bear in mind as we confront this worldwide economic crisis & try to be as Christ-like as we can be in the midst of it.

Hewson said, "The God I believe in isn't short of cash, mister!"

Amen.

It's very easy for us to worry & fret & anguish over money, or the lack of it, as this economic crisis swirls all around us. It's very easy for us to put more trust & faith in our bank statements than in God during these challenging times.

But the God I believe in isn't short of cash, mister.

By the way, just in case you've never heard of the famous theologian, Paul Hewson, then perhaps you might know him by his other name.

He is Bono, the lead singer for an up-and-coming Irish band by the name of U2. Perhaps you've heard of them. I think they have a really bright future in the music business.

Air France

Please pray for the families of the 228 victims of the Air France flight which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil late Sunday night.

Dorcas & I were travelling from Lima, Peru, to Miami, Florida, at approximately the same time on Sunday night when the Air France plane crashed. Since we, too, were travelling northward from South America, we would have been in the same general area as the Air France flight. We, too, experienced much turbulence & difficult weather conditions all throughout our flight, but obviously nothing to the extent of that which downed the Air France plane.

We are very grateful to God for His hand of protection over us on Sunday night.