Do you have a Jesus fish on your car?
Should you?
A couple of days ago, Dorcas and I were driving back home from an appointment. We were stopped at a red light just a few blocks from where we live. There is always a physically-challenged young Peruvian man at that intersection. When the light is red, he limps over to the waiting cars, rag in hand, hoping for the opportunity to clean your windshield in return for a tip. This is a common site at almost every intersection in Lima. It's kind of like the folks who want to clean your windshield in NYC.
We know the young man. Juan Carlos is his name. He hobbled over to us, smiled and waved, and swept his rag across our windshield. We greeted Juan Carlos and gave him a tip. Next to us was another car, a small Toyota sedan, with two men in the front and one woman in the back. They were all well-dressed. I also noticed that they had a big, red Jesus fish hanging from the rear-view mirror, complete with a Bible verse in Spanish.
Juan Carlos hobbled over to their car. He waved his rag in the air, trying to get their attention and approval. They kept staring straight ahead, and ignored him the entire time. They didn't even acknowledge Juan Carlos for 1/1,000 of a second! As soon as the light changed from red to green, the folks in their Toyota roared off, leaving Juan Carlos to suck on their exhaust fumes.
But they had their Jesus fish!
Great testimony, folks!
Maybe those people thought that the big, red Jesus fish was going to give them some sort of divine protection on the streets of Lima (which is frequently needed!), or at least better gas mileage. I don't know. But I do know that the big, red Jesus fish stood for absolutely nothing when they ignored Juan Carlos and covered him with exhaust fumes. Maybe Matthew 25:40 (about helping out the least of the brothers) had been torn out of their Bibles.
If you're going to advertise the fact that you're a Christ follower, then act like one.
Do you have a Jesus fish on your car?
Should you?
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Politics
I'll always remember the first time I ever preached in a church in Havana, Cuba. Prior to speaking, I was handed a document by the pastor of the church. He asked me to please read it and agree to its contents. His hands were trembling as he passed it to me. On the piece of paper was a list of "Dos & Don'ts" for anyone speaking at that church. Actually, it was almost all "Don'ts." At the top of the list, in all capital letters, and underlined and highlighted in yellow marker, were the words, "Do not discuss politics or the government!" Yes, there was an exclamation point at the end of that sentence!
The Cuban pastor begged me to adhere to the document. I smiled at him and said, "Of course." He was greatly relieved.
After the service that muggy August evening in Havana, he told me how there were government spies in the crowd taking notes on my message. Apparently, in the past, visiting foreign pastors would use their messages to tweak the government of that island, in a misguided attempt to show solidarity with the church there, but all it did was get Cuban pastors in some very hot water.
The Cuban pastor told me how his father had spent several years in prison on the island because of his faith, and my pastor friend also told me how frequently he would be summoned to police headquarters on Sundays after services in order to explain some of his messages. For example, one time the police asked him who he was referring to when he was talking about the devil in his message. They thought he was referring to the leader of that country.
You can understand his concern over the words of visiting pastors.
Politics and the proximity to political power, both nationally and internationally, can be intoxicating to many pastors. I've seen pastors who thought they could singlehandedly change US-Cuban relations with their words, and all they did was cause big problems for Cuban pastors. I've seen mission groups get involved with worker strikes in Peru, and it caused them to get thrown out of the country. I've seen Peruvian pastors who traded their place in the pulpit for a place on the election ballot, and they fell out of God's favor.
As pastors and Christian leaders we need to remember that we are serving a power that is greater than any human government. For some reason, though, many of us forget this as soon as we shake the hand of a political leader. We want their power, instead of what God has granted to us.
Avoid political entanglements in your international ministry. It will limit your capacity for success, and it will alienate you from a large percentage of the local population. It's perfectly fine to minister to local political leaders, and in fact it's important to do so. But also remember, as Tony Campolo once noted, that Jesus was neither a Republican or a Democrat.
We are here on Earth to serve God, not human governments, and we are here on Earth to win souls, not votes.
The Cuban pastor begged me to adhere to the document. I smiled at him and said, "Of course." He was greatly relieved.
After the service that muggy August evening in Havana, he told me how there were government spies in the crowd taking notes on my message. Apparently, in the past, visiting foreign pastors would use their messages to tweak the government of that island, in a misguided attempt to show solidarity with the church there, but all it did was get Cuban pastors in some very hot water.
The Cuban pastor told me how his father had spent several years in prison on the island because of his faith, and my pastor friend also told me how frequently he would be summoned to police headquarters on Sundays after services in order to explain some of his messages. For example, one time the police asked him who he was referring to when he was talking about the devil in his message. They thought he was referring to the leader of that country.
You can understand his concern over the words of visiting pastors.
Politics and the proximity to political power, both nationally and internationally, can be intoxicating to many pastors. I've seen pastors who thought they could singlehandedly change US-Cuban relations with their words, and all they did was cause big problems for Cuban pastors. I've seen mission groups get involved with worker strikes in Peru, and it caused them to get thrown out of the country. I've seen Peruvian pastors who traded their place in the pulpit for a place on the election ballot, and they fell out of God's favor.
As pastors and Christian leaders we need to remember that we are serving a power that is greater than any human government. For some reason, though, many of us forget this as soon as we shake the hand of a political leader. We want their power, instead of what God has granted to us.
Avoid political entanglements in your international ministry. It will limit your capacity for success, and it will alienate you from a large percentage of the local population. It's perfectly fine to minister to local political leaders, and in fact it's important to do so. But also remember, as Tony Campolo once noted, that Jesus was neither a Republican or a Democrat.
We are here on Earth to serve God, not human governments, and we are here on Earth to win souls, not votes.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Distractions
I've been to Cuba a few times. Once I was there to speak at a church in Havana, and to deliver a few suitcases worth of Bibles to them as well.
After I finished my final teaching at the church in Havana, the pastor thanked me profusely for all of the Bibles that had been delivered. The church did not have any more Bibles - not even one! - to distribute to new believers, and finding Bibles in Cuba, as you might imagine, can be a real challenge.
The pastor told me how his church had been blessed by the donation of the Bibles, but I told him that I had been even more blessed by the unforgettable time of fellowship and fraternity that I had shared with him and his precious church. It was awesome for me to see how the gospel of Christ was aflame in Cuba, in spite of decades of persecution and suffering and extreme poverty.
"Do you know what the difference is between Christians in your country and Christians in my country?" the Cuban pastor asked me.
"What is it?" I responded.
"In Cuba, we do not have the distractions that you have in your country," he continued.
Boy, was he ever on target with that one!
Distractions.
I understood exactly what he meant. Distractions. Things that turn our focus away from God. It could be the new iPhone, or a Blackberry, or checking e-mails every two minutes, or text messaging, or a Facebook account, or a MySpace account, or voting for the next American Idol.
They don't have any of that in Cuba. Because Cubans have so little around them, their focus is mainly upward.
I've seen the same thing in Peru. I've seen foreign mission groups come here and become so focused on replicating their creature comforts and conveniences from back home that they totally lose their effectiveness. I've seen foreign missionaries and pastors go absolutely apoplectic in Lima (and even worse in the jungle) if they can't get their iPhone or Blackberry to work properly.
Listen, we have been able to leverage modern technology to bring more people to the feet of Jesus Christ, but it's important to remember that we need to have dominion over technology, and not vice versa.
Be careful not to get distracted by your desires for comfort, convenience, and technology, particularly if you are going from the first world to the third world. It's easy to get ensnared in that trap. God has your back and He'll meet your needs, whatever they may be and wherever they may be. Don't let the enemy use distractions to throw you off of your A-game!
After I finished my final teaching at the church in Havana, the pastor thanked me profusely for all of the Bibles that had been delivered. The church did not have any more Bibles - not even one! - to distribute to new believers, and finding Bibles in Cuba, as you might imagine, can be a real challenge.
The pastor told me how his church had been blessed by the donation of the Bibles, but I told him that I had been even more blessed by the unforgettable time of fellowship and fraternity that I had shared with him and his precious church. It was awesome for me to see how the gospel of Christ was aflame in Cuba, in spite of decades of persecution and suffering and extreme poverty.
"Do you know what the difference is between Christians in your country and Christians in my country?" the Cuban pastor asked me.
"What is it?" I responded.
"In Cuba, we do not have the distractions that you have in your country," he continued.
Boy, was he ever on target with that one!
Distractions.
I understood exactly what he meant. Distractions. Things that turn our focus away from God. It could be the new iPhone, or a Blackberry, or checking e-mails every two minutes, or text messaging, or a Facebook account, or a MySpace account, or voting for the next American Idol.
They don't have any of that in Cuba. Because Cubans have so little around them, their focus is mainly upward.
I've seen the same thing in Peru. I've seen foreign mission groups come here and become so focused on replicating their creature comforts and conveniences from back home that they totally lose their effectiveness. I've seen foreign missionaries and pastors go absolutely apoplectic in Lima (and even worse in the jungle) if they can't get their iPhone or Blackberry to work properly.
Listen, we have been able to leverage modern technology to bring more people to the feet of Jesus Christ, but it's important to remember that we need to have dominion over technology, and not vice versa.
Be careful not to get distracted by your desires for comfort, convenience, and technology, particularly if you are going from the first world to the third world. It's easy to get ensnared in that trap. God has your back and He'll meet your needs, whatever they may be and wherever they may be. Don't let the enemy use distractions to throw you off of your A-game!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Take Me Down To The Water
You already know that we have Flamingo Road Church in Lima in a cinema complex, so that presents a challenge for us every time we want to have a baptism. It's not too common to find a baptistry in a cinema complex, and ours is no exception.
So what do we do here in Peru? We adapt. We get creative. We use the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon River for our baptisms.
Lima is located right on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, so when it's summertime here (January-April), we go to Playa Santa Maria ("St. Mary Beach") and we have our baptisms there. Peru features some of the biggest waves in the world, which is awesome for surfers, but a little bit dicey for baptisms, so we have to make sure to time each Pacific Ocean baptism perfectly, in between the crashing waves. The last time we were at Playa Santa Maria, we even baptized an 8-month-pregnant woman! (Hmm ... does that one count as a double?)
We've also gone into the jungle and had a baptism right in the Amazon River. Last March we were in a native community called Puerto Florido, in the heart of the Peruvian jungle, and we baptized 13 people, including 11 members of a native tribe called the Yaguas. Yes, the Amazon River is filled with anacondas, crocodiles, and piranhas, but I'm still here to blog about it. It was one of the most God-saturated days of my entire life.
You can watch videos of our Pacific Ocean and Amazon River baptisms by going to www.youtube.com and searching for "Flamingo Road Church."
Be creative with your baptisms. Don't be limited by the lack of a baptistry. Find a nearby lake, river, ocean, or other body of water. That's how Jesus did it 2,000 years ago, and it's worked out well for us here in Peru, too.
So what do we do here in Peru? We adapt. We get creative. We use the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon River for our baptisms.
Lima is located right on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, so when it's summertime here (January-April), we go to Playa Santa Maria ("St. Mary Beach") and we have our baptisms there. Peru features some of the biggest waves in the world, which is awesome for surfers, but a little bit dicey for baptisms, so we have to make sure to time each Pacific Ocean baptism perfectly, in between the crashing waves. The last time we were at Playa Santa Maria, we even baptized an 8-month-pregnant woman! (Hmm ... does that one count as a double?)
We've also gone into the jungle and had a baptism right in the Amazon River. Last March we were in a native community called Puerto Florido, in the heart of the Peruvian jungle, and we baptized 13 people, including 11 members of a native tribe called the Yaguas. Yes, the Amazon River is filled with anacondas, crocodiles, and piranhas, but I'm still here to blog about it. It was one of the most God-saturated days of my entire life.
You can watch videos of our Pacific Ocean and Amazon River baptisms by going to www.youtube.com and searching for "Flamingo Road Church."
Be creative with your baptisms. Don't be limited by the lack of a baptistry. Find a nearby lake, river, ocean, or other body of water. That's how Jesus did it 2,000 years ago, and it's worked out well for us here in Peru, too.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ronald & The Colonel
I come here today in praise of fast food.
You already know how we partnered with McDonald's in Lima, Peru, to stage our pre-school and children's ministry in Mickey D's on Sunday when we could not do so in the cinema complex because of a film festival. The staff at McDonald's was friendly, helpful, and in all ways made the experience a happy one for the kids (and the Campus Pastor) of FRC-Lima.
We also have staged Extreme Week (some of you might call it Vacation Bible School) in Kentucky Fried Chicken. It also was a huge success. At KFC in Lima they say, "We do Extreme Week right!"
(BTW, Kentucky Fried Chicken is the most popular multinational fast food restaurant in Lima, beating out McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and others that entered Peru. Peruvians prefer chicken to beef or pizza, so KFC rules here.)
Why do we use McDonald's and KFC here in Lima, Peru, for ministry purposes? Because both of them feature bright, colorful, clean, safe, large, inviting, two-story restaurants with huge play areas. That in turn becomes a huge attraction for children. The kids invite their friends, they come to KFC or McDonald's together, and they play, learn, sing, dance, eat, and have a ball. The parents and other curious adults come to check it out, and the kids tell them what a blast they had. And then the kids and their parents become integrated into Flamingo Road Church in Lima.
Ronald & The Colonel have treated us well.
I've said before that one should embrace local culture as much as possible as a means of becoming successful in international ministry, but that doesn't mean that you have to exclude foreign culture in its totality. Peruvians know and love McDonald's and KFC here in Lima no different than in LA, Miami, NYC, or anywhere else in the world, and so here at FRC-Lima we have leveraged that internationality to reach others - in this case especially kids and their parents - with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Here at FRC-Lima, we're doing church in a cinema. And in McDonald's. And in KFC. And it works!
You already know how we partnered with McDonald's in Lima, Peru, to stage our pre-school and children's ministry in Mickey D's on Sunday when we could not do so in the cinema complex because of a film festival. The staff at McDonald's was friendly, helpful, and in all ways made the experience a happy one for the kids (and the Campus Pastor) of FRC-Lima.
We also have staged Extreme Week (some of you might call it Vacation Bible School) in Kentucky Fried Chicken. It also was a huge success. At KFC in Lima they say, "We do Extreme Week right!"
(BTW, Kentucky Fried Chicken is the most popular multinational fast food restaurant in Lima, beating out McDonald's, Burger King, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John's, and others that entered Peru. Peruvians prefer chicken to beef or pizza, so KFC rules here.)
Why do we use McDonald's and KFC here in Lima, Peru, for ministry purposes? Because both of them feature bright, colorful, clean, safe, large, inviting, two-story restaurants with huge play areas. That in turn becomes a huge attraction for children. The kids invite their friends, they come to KFC or McDonald's together, and they play, learn, sing, dance, eat, and have a ball. The parents and other curious adults come to check it out, and the kids tell them what a blast they had. And then the kids and their parents become integrated into Flamingo Road Church in Lima.
Ronald & The Colonel have treated us well.
I've said before that one should embrace local culture as much as possible as a means of becoming successful in international ministry, but that doesn't mean that you have to exclude foreign culture in its totality. Peruvians know and love McDonald's and KFC here in Lima no different than in LA, Miami, NYC, or anywhere else in the world, and so here at FRC-Lima we have leveraged that internationality to reach others - in this case especially kids and their parents - with the good news of Jesus Christ.
Here at FRC-Lima, we're doing church in a cinema. And in McDonald's. And in KFC. And it works!
Monday, September 15, 2008
I'm Lovin' It!
On Friday I told you about the challenges that would be facing us on Sunday at Flamingo Road Church in Lima, such as how there was going to be a film festival in the cinema complex where we hold services, and how we would be prohibited from having any lobby presence (where we usually have our Information Table, Small Groups Table, Youth Service Table, plus other promotional banners and materials), and how we also would not have use of the cinema where we always have our pre-school and children's ministry on Sunday mornings.
I was talking to another pastor in Lima on Saturday about all this. He said, "I'd just cancel the services for the weekend!"
I didn't take his advice.
Instead, as a team we rose to the challenge. We placed a smaller-scale version of our Information Table inside the passageway which leads into the cinema where we hold our worship service. It was smaller than what we usually have on Sundays, and did not feature as many items as usual, but did include all of the essential items, such as bulletins, promotional cards, and sign-up sheets for newcomers and for those wishing to be part of our baptism in two weeks. It worked.
And then there were the children.
Ah, the children.
An angel in the form of a red-wigged clown came up to me and said, "Steve, you deserve a break today!"
And so we rented out the 2nd floor play area of the McDonald's next to the cinema complex, and turned it into our pre-school and children's ministry home on Sunday! Happy Meals and all!
The kids had a ball. In fact, I have a feeling they'd rather have us rent out Mickey D's every Sunday for them!
Our First Impressions team (ushers and greeters), led by Xenia, did a great job handling the crowds at the mini-Information Table, and our Pre-School and Children's Ministry team, led by Mariana, did a 5-star job shuttling kids back and forth between the cinema and McDonald's, and teaching them and feeding them.
It was a big challenge and a lot of extra running around yesterday to pull everything off, but we coached our team about adaptability and flexibility in the days leading up to Sunday, and so when Sunday's curveballs and knuckleballs came floating up to the plate, they whacked them all right out of the park.
Adaptability + Flexibility = Success in International Ministry
I was talking to another pastor in Lima on Saturday about all this. He said, "I'd just cancel the services for the weekend!"
I didn't take his advice.
Instead, as a team we rose to the challenge. We placed a smaller-scale version of our Information Table inside the passageway which leads into the cinema where we hold our worship service. It was smaller than what we usually have on Sundays, and did not feature as many items as usual, but did include all of the essential items, such as bulletins, promotional cards, and sign-up sheets for newcomers and for those wishing to be part of our baptism in two weeks. It worked.
And then there were the children.
Ah, the children.
An angel in the form of a red-wigged clown came up to me and said, "Steve, you deserve a break today!"
And so we rented out the 2nd floor play area of the McDonald's next to the cinema complex, and turned it into our pre-school and children's ministry home on Sunday! Happy Meals and all!
The kids had a ball. In fact, I have a feeling they'd rather have us rent out Mickey D's every Sunday for them!
Our First Impressions team (ushers and greeters), led by Xenia, did a great job handling the crowds at the mini-Information Table, and our Pre-School and Children's Ministry team, led by Mariana, did a 5-star job shuttling kids back and forth between the cinema and McDonald's, and teaching them and feeding them.
It was a big challenge and a lot of extra running around yesterday to pull everything off, but we coached our team about adaptability and flexibility in the days leading up to Sunday, and so when Sunday's curveballs and knuckleballs came floating up to the plate, they whacked them all right out of the park.
Adaptability + Flexibility = Success in International Ministry
Friday, September 12, 2008
Adaptability
As I have mentioned before, Flamingo Road Church in Lima is located in a cinema. There is a film festival this weekend at the cinema complex. Do you know what that means for us this Sunday? It means that we won't be able to have any lobby presence or children's ministry presence in the cinema! Yes, that is what the cinema management told us this week.
Ah, the joys of doing church in a cinema. These film festivals occur once or twice a year, and it always means a reduced presence for us on that Sunday in the cinema, but it also has taught a great lesson to us here at FRC-Lima: that we always must be able to adapt to our circumstances.
Adaptability is one of the greatest strengths that you can have in international ministry. Adaptability is one of the strongest muscles to build in international ministry. You have to assume, prepare for, and be ready for curveballs and knuckleballs being hurled at you as you step up to the plate, along with fastballs that whiz right under your chin and knock you on your seat. That's international ministry. That's what we face this Sunday. But these challenges have forced us here at FRC-Lima to build up our adaptability muscle, and so we're adjusting our helmet and stepping back in to the batter's box.
We have a plan for this Sunday, even given the limitations imposed on us due to the film festival. Next week I'll tell you what we've planned to do, and how it all goes.
Ah, the joys of doing church in a cinema. These film festivals occur once or twice a year, and it always means a reduced presence for us on that Sunday in the cinema, but it also has taught a great lesson to us here at FRC-Lima: that we always must be able to adapt to our circumstances.
Adaptability is one of the greatest strengths that you can have in international ministry. Adaptability is one of the strongest muscles to build in international ministry. You have to assume, prepare for, and be ready for curveballs and knuckleballs being hurled at you as you step up to the plate, along with fastballs that whiz right under your chin and knock you on your seat. That's international ministry. That's what we face this Sunday. But these challenges have forced us here at FRC-Lima to build up our adaptability muscle, and so we're adjusting our helmet and stepping back in to the batter's box.
We have a plan for this Sunday, even given the limitations imposed on us due to the film festival. Next week I'll tell you what we've planned to do, and how it all goes.
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