To recap a little from the week before last...
Very appropriate for a DTS, we focused on missions for a week! My goal was to remain open and impressionable to whatever God wanted to teach me, and teach me He did.
The Great Commission is all about relationships and connecting to people! Missions is not merely a task; if it were, we would be de-valuing people and their worth as individuals with eternity in their hearts. "The saving of a soul is the making of a person into the fullness of what they're meant to be." We are not sanctified and set free by hanging out with religious people, but rather we must view the people we are called to minister to as the ones who will bring us closer to God. We have to remain humble and learn from whomever we are with.
Where are the “hot spots" for missions today? Where should missionaries be going? Cities are the neediest locations today: we need to break the image of a missionary whacking a machete in a jungle. A huge percentage of the world's population lives in the over-populated urban jungle.
Preparation is crucial: burnout is usually accredited to failing to establish boundaries and inadequate preparation for the inevitable sacrifice and cultural immersion. Identity crises may emerge and can often lead to Christians refusing to break away from their comfortable and protected work within a building, a safe distance from the intimidating culture passing by on the sidewalk. So many missionaries and those in Christian organizations look like clones: they live in the Christian sub-culture and refuse to fully immerse themselves in the people, language and traditions of the city. To break stereotypes we need a spirit of adventure and we have to be ourselves.
We shouldn't compartmentalize our lives into "normal life" and "ministry." The sacred-secular division needs erased and the two should be blended into one. Every part of our life--whether babysitting or sharing coffee with a new friend-- ought to reflect our mission to love God and love others. The message that we bring is a gospel that affects every area of our life and is full of power!
We ended with a brief run-down of how to start a non-profit, particularly an anti-trafficking organization. I wish we could have spent more time on that, but I know that more learning opportunities abound.
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