Daniel Brown's Travel Journal

Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland June 2009 Days 7 & 8

2009-06-18T22:00:00.000-07:00

DAY 7
June 17

In order to stay sane on these trips, I have to build in some catch-up time when I can concentrate on getting some of the piled-up work done. Or, sometimes I just take it easy. This was one of those mornings. After a 7:00am breakfast, I went on a short walk and ended up sitting on a bench in the main park in Stara Zagora. I read for about an hour then went back to my room to do some emails, etc. Later Mitko and Vania took me to lunch, and we had a great time just talking about ministry, church our lives, etc. Such times with good friends are invaluable to keep us all going in ministry.

After lunch Mitko drove me the 2½ hours to Sofia where I got a hotel near the airport. I had originally made a reservation for another hotel nearer to the city-center, but we both thought it would be better to stay by the airport since my flight was leaving at 6:10am the next morning. He knew of a hotel, so I went there. They had no more regular rooms available, so I got an Executive Room for the price of a regular room—nice!

I took a short nap then met Angel and Mary, Foursquare pastors in Sophia and the ones responsible for the final editing and printing of Enjoying Your Journey with God in Bulgarian. They are fun, happy people, so it’s a treat to be with them. I sometimes forget that I’m much older than several pastors I know (they’re in their mid-30’s), and I’m always taken aback when they make comments about me being something more than them. It’s sincere, I know, but odd when they thank me for taking the time to visit with them.

But I’m older, I’ve published a book in Bulgarian, I do seminars for pastors, etc, so they presume that I’m a “big name” (as Angel said). It didn’t take long to dispel those silly ideas that make one minister more significant than another, and I thanked them for taking the time to visit me on such short notice. I guess as long as it were fighting over which one has done the other a greater honor, we’re in a good place. Rank, status, privilege, etc. have no place in the kingdom—except as we desire to honor one another in love. Too many ministers end up expecting to be treated with honor, instead of concentrating on giving honor to others.

The restaurant where we ate used utensils as the decorating motif, and I inadvertently captured it in this photo. It looks like I shrunk the pastors! About 9:00pm I bid Angel and Mary “good night” and returned to my room to sleep.

DAY 8
Thursday, June 18

Thanks to my jetlag, I was awake before my alarm went off at 4:15am, alerting me to the need to get ready to go to the airport. Apparently, Sofia has no noise restriction ordinances like in San Jose where planes are prohibited from taking off or landing too early or late in the day. My flight to Milano was only one of several leaving very early (6:10am). Unfortunately, I didn’t have any Bulgarian leva (money), so I couldn’t get food before the plane left. The Malev airlines (Hungarian carrier) flight went first to Budapest, where I caught the second flight to Milano (Milan). I had even fewer Hungarian monies, so no food there either. Fortunately, they served us tiny corn muffins on the flights, so I didn’t starve…

Since the Milano airport is situated some distance from the city itself, I had to figure out how to get a bus into town. Even though it was easy to buy a ticket at the kiosk, where to catch the bus—and which of the many to take—was NOT. I did manage to get on the right bus after asking the wrong driver, and it took me to the central train station that was, according to the bus ticket agent, close to my hotel. Why didn’t I take a train to the station, you ask? Good question—only too late in the asking.

Once I arrived and the bus spilled us out on the sidewalk in a mad scramble for our luggage from its underbelly, I still had to locate my hotel. I scanned the horizon for it and decided to get a taxi. Oops! The driver turned out to be unscrupulous. He told me 10-15 Euros. Ok? I thought he was being kind to give me an estimate, but after we drove less than 10 minutes, we reached the hotel and he demanded 15 Euros. Realizing we had just gone in a big loop to a place to which I could have walked in 5 minutes, I said “Here’s 10 Euros for such a short trip!”

I really hate being cheated like that! No matter how experienced I am as a traveler, I still get “taken for a ride” now and then. It really grates on me, though. I find that the frustration and embarrassment of being swindled lingers with me for several days. I’m not overly prone to self-recrimination and blame (i.e. “I’m so stupid!”; “I’ll never get it right!”), but being cheated leaves me feeling very helpless and stupid. It could be pride or some other wrongness in my soul that makes me feel like this, but perhaps it’s just a good reminder that most people end up feeling like life is a bit too much for them to navigate alone. Life is discouraging much of the time…

The good news was that I could check into my hotel earlier than normal, so I took a brief nap before heading out on an extended walk through the streets of Milano. My impressions of the city from a brief visit years ago were confirmed; Milano is a fairly modern city with very little Italian charm or quaintness (is there such a word?). It’s a mixture of old—but not old enough to be interesting (except for its cathedral, if you like that sort of thing) and modern—in a 1970’s way. With regrets to the city leaders, I have to say I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit here. It’s not a must-see on any tour through Italy. Here are a couple random shots of Milano:

I did find another bench in a park (Am I sounding more and more like an old man who sits on park benches?) near a fountain. And I did have dinner at a side-street restaurant.

At least I had a good day of walking after several days of sitting for meals, planes and seminars! I was struck, again, with thoughts about how one-dimensional my life is; though it seems to others like all the international travel is exotic, I rarely DO anything in these far-off places except walk around, eat and (try to) sleep. Most of my time is spent in my hotel room, but perhaps as I continue to get older I’ll find myself preferring park benches to hotel rooms! Ah, something to look forward to?

Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland June 2009 Day 6

2009-06-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

DAY 6
June 16

What a beautifully warm morning—bright, sunny and not too humid! I watched the dawn come and go, so by the time we ate breakfast, I once again felt like I was eating lunch. Only this time, we had giant crepes, one filled with some sort of cream cheese and the other filled with jam. I like few things in the world more than pancakes, so when one of our friends didn’t show up for breakfast (he had to leave early for his job), I took a third of each of his pancakes and piled them together on my plate only long enough to cut them into bite-sized pieces that I quickly consumed.

The morning session took another of those timely turns as I was talking about Acts 6 when complaints arose on the part of the widows who weren’t getting their fair allotment of food. I made the obvious observation that leaders get complaints; if no one has complained about your leadership, you probably aren’t doing much leading. Growth leads to clear indications that we must keep adjusting our administration/leadership to meet the new situations.

But that conversation quickly led to another: What is a true leader? In the text we see that new leaders are raised up to take care of elements of church life, so that the other leaders can stay focused on their assignments. Every leader will eventually encounter what I call the rule of limits. There is a finite number of things that anyone can do; even the more “gifted” (not a term I like, but one that Christians use) will eventually max out. Let’s say the number of things a leader can do is ten. If that leader tries to do eleven things, one of the original ten gets neglected in order for the leader to do the eleventh.

Churches invariably need more things done. As they develop, needs/issues multiply. Consequently, the leadership will need to increase the number of things it handles. That’s why it is so essential to multiply leaders. One leader can do ten things, but five leaders can do fifty things! If the things-that-need-doing don’t get done in a church or a denomination, that organization will lose its growth momentum and stall.

That’s why I define a true leader as someone who is handling (assuming full responsibility for) some aspect of a church that the senior leader no longer needs to do—or think about. This definition is helpful for the people who have been called leaders to determine if, indeed, they are really acting as leaders. What are you doing that releases the senior leader from needing to attend to that doing?

But the definition is also telling to senior leaders who might mistakenly imagine they have raised up “leaders” when, in fact, they have simply collected “groupies” or assistants. If a leader has not off-loaded a responsibility to someone else, that leader has not raised up another leader. Having a staff is not the same as having leaders under us. The rule of limits still applies no matter how many people a leader has working on the ten things; if he or she has not relinquished any of those ten things entirely, the organization is still stymied by the lack of true delegation.

And that leads to a second element of my definition of a leader. Not only must they be taking responsibility for doing things that free the other leader from what he or she has been doing, a true leader is raising up future leaders to whom that leader will eventually off-load some of the things the leader is currently doing (to relieve another leader). Those thoughts—more thoroughly explored during our two-hour discussion—may have had the most impact on the group. I could almost see the implications dawning on Mitko and Vania’s leaders.

Afterwards, we went to lunch and back to Stara Zagora where Niki and James and I had a nice long talk about life and ministry. It’s their story to tell, but I’m glad to have such a place in their lives that they seek my council not just about happy things, but also about hard things in their lives…

Later that afternoon, and again after dinner with Mitko and Vania, I fell into those deep jetlag naps from which it is almost impossible to climb out. That meant, of course, that I slept very little during the night.

Here are some random pictures of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria:

Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland June 2009 Day 5

2009-06-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

DAY 5
June 15

The prompt sleep-going from the previous night led, inevitably, to a prompt awakening at 4:00am, at which point I knew it was useless to struggle against being awake. Might as well go with the flow…So, I read more and got ready for the day. Breakfast wasn’t until 8:30am. I confess I downed the bread, cheese, salami and hard-boiled egg rather quickly—so fast, in fact, that one of the Bulgarian pastors commented on my food’s disappearance as though it was a cosmic mystery. I tried to explain that it felt like lunch, but my explanation was lost in translation.

The seminar arrangement at this hot springs spa would have been especially perfect if I had remembered to bring my swimming trunks. As it is, I must enjoy the warm, spring-fed pool with my eyes only. Probably just as well that I don’t have the opportunity. I’ve enjoyed napping extensively in the afternoons.

The sessions themselves are rather free-flowing, as far as content. I’m simply going from one topic/text to another according to whatever comes to my mind. I’d like to believe it’s revelation that’s guiding me—and several people have commented on the timeliness of the things I’m sharing—but as is usually the case in such prophetic-style ministry when I do not rely on notes or structured sequence in teaching, I have to proceed in faith.

The discussions in the morning centered around discipleship (surprise) and just how easy it is to do the one thing Jesus wants us to do—share with others what He first shares with us. I had the leaders do an exercise where they each shared a verse that had struck them, that morning in their devotions, with a new best-friend. The friend, in turn, shared the essence of that verse passed on to them with yet another new friend, who once more passed it along to someone else. At the end of the exercise, I asked how many people had really been touched by the Lord with the 3rd generation sharing of a verse someone else had read that morning. Almost everyone raised their hands to say, this really answered something in my life.

Many questions and subjects came up the rest of the morning—and again that evening after dinner. At dinner I asked Vania if she had any suggestions for subjects that I should talk about with the leaders, and she said that the Lord had been leading me quite exactly. The things I had been sharing were perfect for the people who were at the seminar.

To me, the most significant revelation from the day was just how much people long for revival—in the sense of God doing something that will make church and the whole atmosphere around believers become more vibrant. What we realized together is that what they remember about the revival that happened in the early 1990’s, as the Communists were swept from power, was that everyone was eager to share what God had been doing and teaching in their lives; they had all things in common; and they all served alongside one another doing whatever needed doing!

Hmmm. Sounds like the very things we’re encouraged to do—each one supplying his or her part; sharing with others what Jesus shares with us; serving one another. When we pray for revival, we ask God to do something different like He has done in the past. I wonder if we would experience more of what we call revival if we would do things differently like we did years ago…

Here are some pictures of my friends in Bulgaria:

Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland June 2009 Day 4

2009-06-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

DAY 4
June 14

I didn’t awaken until 3:30am, so felt good about the jetlag progress. I read for a few hours, got dressed, did my morning routine and headed off to breakfast that was, mercifully, open at 6:45am. I definitely like to eat early in the morning because I wake up feeling hungry most days. At first I was all alone in the large breakfast room, so I had my pick of the “breakfast bar” that was laden with meats, cheeses (including Bulgarian Shafska cheese, sausages, tomatoes, cucumbers, breads/rolls, yogurts, etc. I had a couple hard-boiled eggs, several slices of cheese, some yogurt mixed with cornflakes, blueberry juice (delicious) and several cappuccinos.

Before long, the room began to fill with some of the many people from Sofia who are at the hotel for a conference of some sort. I enjoyed the noise of many people talking and laughing at breakfast—even though I couldn’t take part in the conversations. After breakfast, I packed and waited for Mitko to pick me up. Actually, Ivo, his son, came to get me to go to church. They are remodeling the inside of the sanctuary, and it will eventually have air conditioning! Wow. Although many of the people who normally attend were at a wedding of one of the gals in the church, we still had a nice time in service. I spoke about Jesus’ desire to use us as His tools of choice—despite our present condition.

After service, Mitko usually asks people to testify about how God has blessed them. One woman spoke about what a blessing my newly translated book was to her—and doctors where she works (at a hospital or university). That made me so happy! I never would have imagined, when I wrote that book several years ago, that it would find its way into the hands of non-believing doctors who would comment on how much it impressed/interested them. God is amazing!

After service, several youths and several older ladies wanted to talk with me—and have me autograph the book. It was so cute and heart-warming, as these pictures indicate. One of the young men told me that “all the youth really liked” what I said. They are “very enthusiastic” about my teaching. That always assures me that I have been used—when young people relate to what I’ve said.

Afterwards Mitko, Vania, James, Niki, Eva and Alex took me to lunch. It was delicious—and lots of fun to have time with my extended family in Bulgaria. Little Eva has grow lots since I saw her last year, and little Alex is such a good baby, we hardly even hear a peep from him. Both Vania and Mitko love being grand-parents, and I know exactly what they’re feeling.

Here is a picture of Niki, one of our former interns, and her little family:

Then we went to the retreat site and rested for the remainder of the afternoon. At 6:00 we met for dinner ad the start of this retreat for the leaders in Mitko’s church, as well as a couple of other pastors from other Foursquare churches. I asked Mitko his vision for the gathering—since I was unclear, exactly, I was supposed to do. He wanted me just to share from my experiences anything that might be helpful. Thanks, Mitko, for the concise and clear direction!!

Surprise. Surprise. I had no trouble filling 90 minutes with thoughts, scriptures and exercises for everyone. I truly do love the conversational format. We all sat around a big table, and I spoke, took questions, asked questions, etc. on the topic of leadership. I pointed out, first of all, that leaders mostly solve problems, and the only problems God cares much about are the ones that afflict people. Stage-ministry is ok, and I’m glad we give preachers a platform to preach, and worship bands a stage to play. But real ministry—the kind that develops our leadership skills (discipleship) only really happens as we’re working with people on a more individual basis.

“Fortunately,” I said, “Churches are full of people with problems. So go find some and help solve them with God’s word!” Of course I had lots of other thoughts about leadership, and many of them must have struck resonating chords in people’s hearts because several of the leaders came to me afterwards and thanked me—in great detail—for talking about what I spoke on tonight. It was exactly what they had been dealing with. It made them feel like they really were doing what they were supposed to be doing!

And on that happy, thank-You-Jesus note I retired to my room where I promptly fell asleep.

Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland June 2009 Day 3

2009-06-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

DAY 3
June 13

I awoke—for the last time—at 3:00am, and proceeded with my morning routine: 50 pushups, a shower and morning devotions. These days I’m combining several Psalms with a few chapters in John to form the base of my time with God. Since I’m in London, I decided to make myself a cup of tea to enjoy while reading and praying. That’s one nice thing about hotel rooms. They usually have a teapot or coffee maker right in the room. Very convenient. Especially for guys like me who don’t easily go out of our way to make a meal. I had my cup of tea in a few minutes without even going into a kitchen!

At 5:00am I walked back to Paddington Station and took the Express Train to Heathrow Terminal 5, the very nice, new terminal for all British Airways’ flights. Though I didn’t have a 1st Class ticket to Sofia, I am the highest level of Frequent Flier (“Sapphire”) which meant I could access the 1st Class Lounge—and its full complement of breakfast foods, snacks and drinks! That meant I enjoyed eggs, mushrooms, toast and marmalade along with more than one cup of coffee. You’d think I had been starving for the last few days the way I put all those goodies away.

I read the paper, did lots of email work and ended up having to depart the lounge in a hurry so I wouldn’t miss my plane because I became so absorbed in my work. The flight to Sofia was uneventful except I ended up in a row in front of the emergency exit row, and that meant my seat wouldn’t recline. Good thing I was almost too tired to notice the inconvenience. Since Bulgaria is two hours ahead of London, I didn’t arrive in Sofia until 1:30pm. That plus the three-hour drive from Sofia to Stara Zagora meant I wasn’t in my hotel until 5:00pm.

Khalin drove me from the airport to Stara Zagora, and just before we left Sofia, he suggested that we get lunch. Here we are eating at a famous Bulgarian restaurant! We talked on the way. I napped a couple of times—at least one of those times was unconscious!

Whenever I feel a bit exhausted by the long travel to get to my friends, I try to remember how Nehemiah traveled such a great distance, across many provinces, to reach Jerusalem. I certainly don’t class myself with him, or with Paul who traveled about strengthening and encouraging the churches, but I do see the pattern for ministry in their lives. It often takes a lot of traveling (translate that inconvenience) to get to where people live. At this season in my life, most of that distance is physical. But throughout my life in the Lord, I’ve felt such a calling to “get to” where people really live.

I think it’s an important lesson for new/young ministers to learn—the onus is on us to “go the distance” and get beyond the barriers that people put up as defenses against (more) disappointment. Even with the coffee and the naps, I usually feel a bit disoriented on these trips and, like Nehemiah, I suffer the perpetual battles with ‘nay-sayers’ in my mind and heart. They challenge the very basis upon which I choose to travel; they question the worth and efficacy of what I’m here to do.

“It’s not much, granted. But it is the loaves and fish I offer to Jesus for His use and distribution. If what I have only feeds one other person (i.e., with no miracle of multiplication) then, at least, I’ve shared my meal with a hungry person who would have otherwise gone hungry another day. So, I console myself with this simple truth: whether Jesus multiplies what I bring for the sake of many, or whether He simply allows me to share what I have with one other person, that’s His call—not mine. Either way, I’ll open my sack lunch and travel as far as I have to travel to do just that. Share.

At 7:00 Mitko picked me up and we went to his house to have dinner with Vania, Niki, James and their kids. It was so comfortable to be with good friends, talking and laughing. We discussed the recent Foursquare Convention, the difficulties we’re all encountering telling unchurched people about Jesus, etc.

By 9:00pm, however, I was finished and ready to go to bed. Mitko walked me back to my hotel, and I turned in for the night!

Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland June 2009 Days 1 & 2

2009-06-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

DAY 1
June 11

Even though I wasn’t being picked up by Isaac until 5:45am, I awoke just after 3:00am and decided that I might as well start acclimating to European time by getting up! Call me crazy, but I find it easier to get up at such an hour than to stay up to such an hour. I remembered, while laying there, that I hadn’t packed a belt or my flip-flops—important last minute details—so I got up, got them and placed them in my suitcase before I forgot again.

Isaac kindly brought me a cup of coffee for our ride to San Francisco. He said he could have brought me breakfast at such a late hour because he is used to going to work about an hour earlier. We laughed over that one, but not many other people would likely find much humor in calling 5:45am late in the morning. We enjoyed a spirited conversation about the recent Foursquare Convention; Isaac and Patrice, as well as a dozen other people, went with me to help with the CTW booth, but more importantly, to offer prayer to anyone who wanted it. Many pastors and leaders took us up on our offer of prayer—many saying that they had not been prayed for in years!

Following Convention, we invited several international guests, including the National Leader of Thailand and one of their pastoral couples, Dton and Goy from the main church in Bangkok. We had such fun, and they got to visit with so many of the people in our church. I believe we have established a deep and lasting connection with the Thailand Foursquare Church. In fact, Goy gave her testimony at MD1 (our monthly leadership meeting) and thanked everyone for providing her with a family she could open herself to in trust. Her husband, Dton, as well as Pastor John (the National Leader), expressed a condition that I find is true almost everywhere I travel: our pastors and leaders yearn for more genuine and rich relationship—especially with mentors and “older brothers.”

I suppose I’m thinking about our dear international friends as I begin this trip because they are the whole point of my travels. I am reminded of Paul’s 2nd missionary journey. Whereas the 1st trip began with fasting, prophecy and laying on of hands, the 2nd journey started with a simple concern for the friends he had met on the 1st trip. Love and affection drew him away from the comforts of his home base. All he did on those trips was encourage the believers and teach them more of what he had come to understand about God’s Kingdom.
In a way, that’s really all we’re called to do in our daily life—pass along lessons-learned to people with whom we have established relationship. Love for them is the motivation. That’s why Paul speaks about love in the midst of his discourse on ministry gifts and spiritual enablements. Love motivates. Love compels. Love guides us. Otherwise, it’s just a sham!

My flight to Dallas got cancelled due to inclement weather there, so AA routed me through Chicago and on to London. That meant I didn’t end up with the most desirable seats—like the ones I had selected when I purchased my ticket months earlier—but I took it all in stride and remained grateful for seats of any kind when I might easily have simply been forced to delay my trip. In Chicago I barely had time to grab a quick fist-full of carrots and celery from the Lounge, call home, call Lorrel and get back on a plane.

I arrived in London eighteen hours after leaving the house—at 11:30pm PST (7:30am GMT). Since I’ve been at Heathrow many times, I know the drill: pass customs, pass through baggage reclaim (I didn’t check my bag) and head for AA’s “Arrivals Lounge.” It’s great to take a shower, get some light breakfast and read a paper before heading off on the Paddington Express train into London. Once at Paddington station, I walked about half a mile to my hotel. I paid an extra twenty pounds to check in early, so I could sleep a few hours.

Sounds exciting, huh? Early morning, long flight(s), jetlag, a brisk walk with roller board suitcase in-tow, a hotel room with no internet cable and no wireless access… Hmmm. Not so spiritual-sounding. But it’s just the beginning of the trip.

DAY 2
June 12

My day in London (en route to Bulgaria) was an uneventful, but delightful day. I took a nap for several minutes in the hotel, and rested for about two hours before heading off on an all-day walk. Except for brief excursions, I stayed on main roads (Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly, etc.), so I could easily find my way back without a map. I walked about two hours before lunch, and for the first time in all my years of traveling to and through London, I took a bus. It was one of those red, double-deckers.

I was a man-on-a-mission—and have been for the last month. The band of my black Swatch watch has been breaking for several weeks, tearing a little more each day. Knowing it is only a matter of days before it falls off my skinny wrist, I’ve been thinking about replacing the band. But that’s all I’ve done—think about it! I’m not sure what I’ve been waiting for—the magic moment—but deep down I’ve lived with the ridiculous notion that a Swatch watch opportunity would present itself to me without me needing to make any special arrangements (called an errand).

Low and behold, there it was! A Swatch store right along my path! Congratulating myself on my patient endurance, and feeling marvelously confirmed in my procrastination these last weeks, I marched in and inquired about a new band. “I’m sure we have replacements,” said the smiling young lady. However, when she looked for them, she didn’t have any of the ones I needed. “But,” she enjoined, “I know our store in Victoria Station has them.”

The blank look in my touristic eyes compelled her to continue. “Take #8 or #73 bus, right over there,” she explained, pointing to the bus stop right outside the shop. So, I did. I clambered up to the top deck of the #8 to Victoria Station, and enjoyed 20 minutes of sightseeing in London! Plus, I got a replacement band for my black Swatch watch at the end of the trip.

Hungry from my errand-exertions, I bought lunch in a health-food type grocery store. I got a little bag of carrots, some Bing cherries and a small Greek salad. I took the Underground (Circle Line) directly from Victoria Station to Edgeware Road, the nearest stop to my hotel. I ate my salad while sitting in the large lobby of the Hilton where I’m staying (I had already munched my bag of carrots while on the Underground). I zipped back up to my room to get a sweater, to eat half my cherries (saving the other half for dessert that evening) and to ready myself for the second walk of the day.

I wanted to see the new movie “Red Cliff” that just opened. It is a remake of a classic Chinese epic—all about loyalty, love, devotion and battle. It’s an “old West” style movie with very clear heroes and villains who fight simple right/wrong wars. OK, it is very battle-focused, and it has more bloody sword cuts, spear throws and body crunches than anyone should want to see… But, I wanted to see it. The hotel concierge found where it was playing, so I headed off on another cross-city jaunt, arriving in plenty of time for the 3:00pm showing. There were five of us in a theater that holds 400 people! Oh well, perhaps the movie WILL become another classic in the future.

It was after 7:00pm by the time I walked back near my hotel, and the last mile or so, I kept my eye out for a likely-seeming place for dinner. I almost never eat in a restaurant located on a main street (except in Paris where it’s generally ok) because they rely on location (to attract tourists), rather than good food (to attract loyal locals). I usually look a block or two down the side streets in order to find good restaurants. Nothing struck my fancy before I neared my hotel, so I diverted my course to a parallel street two blocks down from the busy road. I did a mental wish list: sidewalk table, Indian (with Nann bread) or Italian food, smallish establishment, locals eating, posted menu, quiet street.

After checking out a few likely looking places, I found a restaurant with a name and look I couldn’t categorize quickly. I spotted (heard) locals eating at small tables on the sidewalk. When I checked the menu, I read Shish Kabob and Nann bread, but I didn’t see lots of other dishes I identified with India. I decided this was the best place I’d seen, so I sat and waited for the full menu. The food was fabulous! I think the cuisine was a combo of Indian and Persian. I had a mixed grill Kabob with salad on Nann bread. The appetizer was like salsa made of cucumbers, dill, onions, garlic, tomatoes and who knows what else. I heaped gobs of it on more Nann bread…

Good thing the restaurant was just a five-minute walk from the hotel because it was all I could do to walk home before I was ready for bed with a full stomach, exercised legs and jetlag! Yes, I did finish off my cherries just before I went to bed at 9:00pm.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Days 17 &18

2009-04-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

April 3-4

FRIDAY
David Massiani’s father, George the taxi driver who met us at the airport when we arrived, was our ride back to the airport. About 20 minutes before we were to eat our last breakfast in the apartment, Dave and Dick zipped out for a few minutes to one of the local stores to buy fresh bread. On the way back, they spotted George sitting in his taxi (because he didn’t want to risk being late to pick us up). For a taxi guy, time waiting is fares lost. The guys invited George to have breakfast with us, and I think he was so surprised and honored that he didn’t know how to refuse them. We had a delightful breakfast—even though George hardly ate anything. He was too nervous and too excited.

On the way to the airport, he explained how he loved to serve God and his church; taking us to the airport was one way of doing that. We all agreed and predicted that he would have a good day of fares, and when he dropped us off, a lady was waiting for a cab—in the wrong location right there where George pulled over! That was such a blessing to witness the faithfulness of God.

I sometimes feel like a character in an international spy novel. Think of it: one day we’re in Greece eating Baklava, and the next we’re dining in London. We flew to London Gatwick (LGW), took a cab to our hotel, got settled in about 15 minutes and headed into town for an evening in London. Dave suggested a theater performance, so we got tickets to see “Jersey Boys,” a musical about the career of Frankie Valli. We had fabulous seats. That was Dave’s era in school, so he knew all the songs—and the whole story. Dick and I, who are much younger, only recognized the last several songs in the musical rendition. What a blast, though, to be in London at a premier show with two friends. After that, just as the town was cranking into high gear, we got a taxi back to the hotel.

SATURDAY
Throughout the course of the last several days, I have been waging a losing battle with emails. Each of the more than 70 notes deal with fairly significant issues—at least in the lives of my many friends all over the world. It kills me not to be able to respond to each one within a few days, but the Internet provider/protocol wars in Greece messed up my internet connection, so I’ve gotten way behind in my correspondence. Hence, it seems like every waking moment I’ve been doing email with my thumbs on my iPhone. Finally getting connected in London was a relief—but also a torture. I finally begged the guys to drag me away from my computer to do a day in London.

To Dave, that translated into shopping at Harrod’s! I wouldn’t class myself with either Dave or Dick when it comes to shopping, but I consider myself an above-average guy shopper (they are premier league). Consequently, I was up for the challenge of braving the store. Besides, I had no plans to buy anything. Since I had not had as much opportunity to walk as they have had to move about and exercise this last week, I suggested a power-walk to Harrod’s. After breakfast, we headed across town—and I mean across town! The walk took over 2 hours (sorry guys).

Once there, we decided it was time for lunch. After all, in Greece where we “left” our hearts and our stomachs, it was almost 2:00pm. Dave’s shopping plan and strategy was for us to split up, so each could find their own way through the maze. Did I say maze? Make that jungle. After two hours we met for snacks; they had chocolate really-good-cheesecake-lik

e-cake plus cappuccinos, and I had scones with cream and jam plus tea. That pushed even seasoned culinary veterans like us to the breaking point. They continually refused my offer to share some scones with them (they had not offered any cake to me) until I put small pieces on their now-empty plates. Gone in a second! I knew they secretly envied my choice of morsels.

Whew! Uggh! Ohhh! Clah! Uuuu! We made all sorts of involuntary noises as we hoisted ourselves up from the chairs where we would have willingly spent the rest of the day. Once we actually got some momentum in our walk, we managed to make it down the escalator and onto the streets.

Next we walked to Piccadilly Circus because Dick knew where it was—and we needed a destination. Along the way I began to feel a bit tired, not from the exercise, but from all the days of this trip. It has been fabulous—perhaps one of the more significant in the last couple of years in terms of confirmation, direction and impact—but the crazy schedule of full days takes its toll. I have watched many ministers who never pull back, never rest. The guys are always so helpful to ask me about my workload, and if I should cut back on my “work” with pastors. I appreciate their constant checking. But as we talked on the sidewalks of London, I became even more settled in my heart that I am investing my days in the right thing and with the right balance.

The key, for me, is responding to the signals my body sends me. When I feel this tiredness, I know it’s time to stop. So, I did. I caught a taxi back to the hotel while the guys continued their conquest over exhaustion in London. I came back to my room, changed into my sweats, took a 5-minute nap and watched a soccer match (I didn’t even turn on my computer). That evening, we walked to a nearby Indian restaurant and gorged ourselves one more time “for the road”! A great ending to a great trip…

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 16

2009-04-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

April 2

We managed to drag ourselves out of bed—and to the breakfast table—by 9:00am, and we felt like that was a victory. Going to bed so late each night, and consuming gargantuan portions of food just prior to sleeping definitely takes its toll. I have really missed my power-walks. Other than those few times in Switzerland, I have been so busy and pressed for time on this trip that I have had to abandon one of the meaningful components of my day. I’m not complaining, except to lament the results of that neglect on how I feel. My energy level is definitely reduced from normal, but the excitement of ministry, as well as eating, has compensated admirably…

I did get out for a few hours with Dick and Dave. For lack of a better destination, we returned to the Plaka and Acropolis areas where we walked around as vigorously as we could in the midst of so many people. We encountered a protest march sponsored by the labor unions and leftist political parties. The banners, shouts and parade of marchers reminded me of my campus days at UCLA in the early 70’s. We didn’t stay long watching the protestors. We moved on to the open-air fish and meat markets. Interesting cuts of interesting animals is all I’ll say about it.

We wound our way past dozens and dozens of stores where true shoppers would have turned in; we zipped by tourist shops barely acknowledging hopeful greetings called out by vendors; we scaled up the backside of the road that generally leads down from the Acropolis. Everyone was going the opposite direction from us, and I suppose less hearty travelers might have wondered if the way we were heading was the wrong way. It wasn’t. It simply wasn’t the way most people take.

Below the Acropolis sits Mars Hill, the famous location where Paul addressed the Athenians and spoke to them about the “Unknown God” to whom they were offering what they knew to offer. Paul told them God didn’t live in temples (like the ones up the hill), and He was the giver of life to all people. His nature cannot be captured in any likeness of gold or stone (like the ones all around the city), and He has proven His power by raising Jesus from the dead.

The “hill” is more like a large rock outcropping, as you can see in these photos. It was the place to go if you wanted to hear the latest philosophy, discuss politics or listen to debates between various schools of thought. Speakers found a perch somewhere on the hill and addressed any/all who would listen. Paul wasn’t afraid to step right into the midst of all that intellectual and spiritual tangle to clearly announce the plan of God.

LUNCH
Late in the afternoon we went to “lunch” with Jenny and Dimitrius and their daughter Irini. I first met them in 1994, and we have been friends since then. They have a great burden for young people, and their nightly ministry is to provide a safe place where kids can come—and learn about the love of God by tasting Dimitrius’ love for them. He has been discipling several new believers, and he is considering who else to add to his fledgling congregation.

They took us to a truly “local” place—as original and authentic as one could ever hope for in Greece. We ate it all! And we felt like Dimitrius in this photo. He is a special man, and I am proud to be his friend.

CHURCH
Our final service at the church was very full despite the transportation strike that shut down the metro. It was apparent that we had won many friends in our few days here. I had asked the Lord for the opportunity to give prophetic words to the congregation—sharing words of wisdom according to His prompting. He gave me six distinct “impressions” tied to scriptures. I took my time to explain what words of wisdom are and how they might know if the words were for them. Rather than give quick words, I elaborated on the scriptures that had prompted me, and combined six short teachings with the specific points of revelation.

At the end of the evening, I asked who had felt God speak directly to them through one of the words, and more than 80% raised their hand. That was very encouraging!

Of course, we topped off the evening with another late-night gyros with George, Margarita and their youngest daughter, Vasilia-Luz. We laughed, we gorged, we laughed and gorged some more, and before we knew it the time had slipped past 11:00pm! How great to have true family all over the globe.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 15

2009-04-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

April 1

Our apartment in Athens provides us with opportunities impossible at a hotel: we eat breakfast together at a little table perched in the modest kitchen where we can pull all sorts of food from the refrigerator (more baklava, for instance); and, we share the day’s stories with one another late at night—and I mean late at night! It was shortly after 1:00am when the guys returned to the apartment a short while after I came back from the late dinner after the seminar. Here I am eating with George, Margarita, Gladys and Nick (the Spanish church pastors), their daughter Victoria (who was baptized in water and the Spirit at our first Coastlands Intermix in 1994), and Panos our ever-ready driver, servant and host. Iffy, one of our beloved Greek interns is snapping the photo, and you can see her in the mirror!

But back to our late-night rendezvous. At my urging, instead of sitting in the seminar listening to me, Dick and Dave went to visit our friend, Dimitri, who has an incredible outreach among teen-agers near the port of Piraeus. He’s been doing this for almost three years. Apparently, along the way, they got lost because one of them—and I won’t say which one—lost the detailed directions (maps, hand-drawn pictures, etc.) given to them by Jenny, Dimitri’s wife. These guys will soon be ready to act as official Athens City Guides because they have seen more of Athens in the last two days than the residents see in a life-time. Eventually (3 hrs. later) they got close enough to their destination that Dmitri was able to go get them. They had a great time talking with and observing the people touched by Dimitri’s selflessness.

We spent most of the day driving to and from Sunion, a famous set of ruins on the southern-most tip of Attica (the northern landmass of Greece). This was the spot where, according to legend, King Aegeaus threw himself from the cliff when he mistakenly thought his son had been killed by Minotaur, the bull-god of Crete. The son had agreed to hoist a white flag (or unfurl white sails) on his ship to announce his victory when returning to Greece, but in his excitement, he forgot the signal. His father, seeing the returning ships without the white standard, hurled himself into the sea. Ever since, it has been known as the Aegean Sea.

Panos, seen here with Dave and Dick, drove one car, and I rode with George and Margarita in the other. We continued to talk about many, many church-related issues. It was informative and stimulating to talk with leaders like them about what God has shown them in Greece. George’s influence among all the pastors in Greece—regardless of denomination—is quite remarkable. Even conservative, non-Pentecostal leaders look to George as a model of ministry values and style. Though his dream has been to plant Foursquare churches throughout Greece—and that’s why he has asked me to commit to training leaders 2x’s per year for the next few years—I believe he has “planted” churches with the Foursquare mentality, not necessarily its name.

BIBLE STUDY INTENSIVE
The Bible Study Intensive went very, very well. Despite the fact that it lasted three hours (7-10pm), people were alert and happy. Several times our fun together made it impossible for Angela, my translator, to speak. Rather than rush through the syllabus, I elected to take our time and give lots of examples/exercises. Lord willing, I’ll be back later this year to continue the seminar as part of the leadership training we’ll do in Greece. This is Angela’s family.

The Spanish church pastors, Nick and Gladys, told me that they have listened to all of my CD series about discipleship, etc. as they drive all over Greece, encouraging and establishing many Spanish-speaking house-churches. They were overjoyed to receive a complete set of those teachings, and they are ordering as many Spanish translations of Enjoying Your Journey with God as they can afford (we only ask them to pay shipping, and we’ll believe God for the actual cost of the printed books).

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Days 13 & 14

2009-03-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

March 30

You might need to look on a Google map to appreciate the travel we did, beginning with an early morning (5:10am) pick-up at my hotel. The owner of the small hotel near Volker’s house had insisted that I square the bill when I checked in because “no one will be awake” when I had to leave. Ha! One of the men from Volker’s church brought me to the campus where we picked up Dave Mann and Dick, in order to catch the flight from Basel to London Gatwick (LGW), and ultimately on to Athens. Dave had arrived last Friday and, like Dick, had spent the days with various of our Swiss friends. People kept asking me, “Where is Dick? Have you seen Dave?” The simple answer we have all given to anyone asking us of one another’s whereabouts or well-being: “I have no idea. I haven’t seen him…”

It makes the point—that we didn’t travel to Europe to spend time with one another, but with our hosts. But the larger signal is just how much I honor and respect my dear friends. I have full confidence that where they go, they will share what the Lord has for those they meet. Too much of the time, we leaders presume that we’re the only—or at least, the main—ones who can/should minister. But in many situations, a go-for-it layperson (urgh, I don’t like that term) is far more effective than a designated pastor. Both Dick and Dave have had incredible opportunities to share from their perspective, in a way that translated perfectly for other businessmen, husbands, etc.

So, even though we have spotted one another across the room at some venues these last days, when we arrived at the airport was the first real time we’ve had to debrief about their experiences. OK, it was early, and after our first cup of coffee from a small concession stand near our departure gate, we weren’t actually sure we had had a coffee. We ordered a second round of coffees, and they guys continued to tell their stories. Among the many episodes, for example, Dick had spoken to a group of businessmen about how to bring Kingdom values to the marketplace. Dave spoke to a church about the power of simple obedience: four years earlier their pastor was still contemplating the call, and now he is leading this congregation. Each of us doing our small part can make a huge difference!

Once we arrived at LGW, we had several hours to kill. We got more coffee (plus more pastries), and I began my lengthy debrief about the Pastors’ conference in Locarno, FMA breakthroughs and gains, and the big meeting between the European leaders and our friend who is the missionary to Europe. Whew! It was tiring, in one way, to rehearse all the events, but it also gave perspective and theme to what has happened. I realized this trip has already been a watershed. So many things have been confirmed about God’s plan for me and CTW.

We’re good traveling companions because we offer one another support, but we can also take care of ourselves: while I banged away on the computer, they shopped, read papers and books, scouted out likely lunch spots, etc. Late that afternoon we took the long flight to Athens on Easyjet, a no-frills, the-seats-don’t-even-go-back airline. David’s father, George, met us at the airport with his taxi! He was so happy to see us and to learn how his son was doing. We told him what a blessing David is to our church. George was so overwhelmed to have us in his taxi, he stopped to pray for us in the middle of the crowded traffic!

We went to the church apartment where we met up with Pastor George and another man in the church named Panos. They, in turn, took us to a great Greek restaurant for dinner—at 10:15pm!! Back in our place an hour later, we got settled like three college room-mates. Oh, am I happy to be rooming with such good friends!

March 31

This apartment arrangement is working out perfectly! Dick took on the cooking chores for the morning, making coffee, laying out a spread of breads, cheeses, jams, etc. along with the Fage yogurt I had told George, in passing, was my favorite. It is profoundly humbling to be served so completely and so eagerly—anything we even allude to or reference becomes an almost instant gift to us. For instance, I joked with Pastor George about how to pronounce baklava (the correct pronunciation places the accent on the last syllable bah-klah-VA). “You like?” George inquired. “I get for you. Panos goes to special bakery.”

After the seminar, we all went to Panos’ sandwich shop for one of the most interesting (and delicious) sandwiches I’ve ever had: a sourdough roll swabbed in mayonnaise (one side) and cheesy yogurt (on other side); a skewer of grilled chicken (or beef, sausage); tomato slices; cheese slices, salami slices; plus a handful of French fries; sprinkled with olive oil and salt; and who knows what else because his hands moved so fast I thought he was a magician practicing tricks! We gorged on those giants. There is no other word to describe how we managed to get those monsters into our mouths…much less our stomachs.

As Panos dropped us off at the apartment, he hauled out a massive box of baklava! As Dave put it, “I’m going to bust, but I’m still going to taste this!”

Oh really, Dave? I walked in the other room for the briefest of moments, and when I came back, not only had the honeyed morsels been unwrapped, Dave’s “taste” had been consumed by a slavering, grinning sticky pair of lips belonging to the aforementioned gentleman! I wasted no time in grabbing my fork, shoving him aside and making sure I could, in good conscience, thank Panos for the “good” baklava. In short, I ate my whole portion almost as quickly as Dave could finish his off. Dick kept laughing, but he, too, managed to down his desert.

While the guys walked around the Acropolis and Plaka (marketplace below the famed Acropolis), George and I sat for hours, drinking coffee and eating lunch. We chatted about all things Foursquare—from the district changes to what pastors are in what churches, etc. Since he has a long history with and great affection for Foursquare, he loves to catch up on all that’s happening Stateside. I love talking with him because he has “stood alone” and built this work relying on the Holy Spirit to provide his needs. I’m not implying that scenario is different elsewhere, but with George, we have a living embodiment of a “lifetime of service.” The Greece church has stood the test of time, and George is one of the very few European leaders who has been around since the 70’s.

He has seen missions change strategies, personnel and priorities. He has welcomed and declined the offer of missionaries. He contributes to the larger European Foursquare work, but he remains apart from it—in terms of coming under others’ structures or strategies. In this regard, he is a neutral and steady voice, able to speak to both Americans and Europeans. His vision for Foursquare ministry in Europe is based mostly on National churches acting as apostolic fountainheads within the continent. In other words, rather than combine Europe into a whole ministry entity, concentrate more on the individual nations, building and supporting them in their ministry outreach.

BIBLE STUDY INTENSIVE
The reason we’re in Greece is that Pastor George wants me to offer a condensed version of my BSI. So, at 7:00pm, a group of 70-80 leaders from his church—and the five language-specific sub-congregations (Spanish, Polish, Bulgarian, etc.)—joined me for three hours of training. Since I’ve been here several times, I know quite a few of the leaders. I can’t necessarily talk with many because of the language issue, but it’s fair to say they know me as a speaker. I have lots of fun acting out my points, and one of the leaders approached me at the break to tell me he really liked my “different” style. He’s an actor, and he has a burden for communicating Kingdom truth to normal people.

“I’m an actor, too,” I told him. “I’m a preacher!” He thought that was so funny. Several times my translator, Angela, couldn’t translate because she was laughing so hard! (That is one of my secret, personal markers of success when I speak abroad). All in all, the three hours sped by as I combined teaching with exercises they had to do actually reading and interpreting Bible passages. I can’t wait for the second half of the seminar Wednesday night.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 11 & 12

2009-03-29T10:41:00.000-07:00

March 28

Even though real ministry usually takes place within a mostly discouraging and futile-seeming atmosphere, there are those times when everything we have been doing finally bears tangible fruit. We sow in faith, having heard God’s promises—like Noah built an ark. We plant seeds like good farmers, but little evidence of our labors shows up immediately. We must wait for the plant to break ground, grow and—only later—produce harvest-able grain.

I do relish the conversations and prayers with people that seem to have an immediate impact. It would be hard to keep going in ministry if we didn’t have such spiritual “suddenlies” occur somewhat frequently. But the real thrill for me is to see what has developed over time, especially in Switzerland where I have invested so much time and love.

I saw the evidence this morning! After another too-short night’s sleep, Matthias and Franzi picked me up for the short drive from my hotel to the building they have rented for the last several years. We were going to the monthly “Leaders’ Investment” meeting. All the Swiss churches send a group of next-level leaders to these meetings each year. The pastors, and other guests like myself, share the yearly teaching load, so the future leaders in each congregation get exposed to the leadership of various leaders.

The topics range from practical theology to ministry tooling. Last month, the future leaders heard a systematic presentation about the Bible’s take on servanthood: Why is serving and volunteering so important, etc.? Next month they will hear about how a normal person can be used in prophetic ministry. I hope that Volker will send me a copy of the subjects they have covered in the last few years; it could be a very effective curriculum for other nations, as well.

Matthias introduced me as the grandpa of Foursquare Switzerland, so I felt complete freedom to take some pictures of my grandchildren. This group, from all over Switzerland, numbered over one hundred! Imagine, from seven churches (two of which are pioneer works) that many people being tooled and prepped for leadership in the days ahead. I do NOT know of any other nation except Sri Lanka, where there is such an investment in the future. Let me be clear: these leaders are not the current or the most visible leaders in their churches; rather, these are the 3rd or 4th generation of leader.

In other words, the current leaders have already attended these meetings in previous years. Unlike the American model where graduates of one leadership training course are promoted into another “level” of leadership course, in Switzerland prepped leaders go forth to lead, and another generation of lay-leaders is trained. Over time, you can just imagine the degree of ministry tooling and development Foursquare Switzerland gives its members. The big thrill for me—other than getting to do some intense Bible study in Philippians—was seeing a room full of Swiss believers eagerly awaiting the training.

I only knew the names of 15%; I recognized the faces of another 35%; that means 50% of these leaders were strangers to me—even if I wasn’t a stranger to them! From all my travels around the world, I would say this is the biggest lack in Foursquare churches. Most local and national churches do NOT make a concerted effort to identify, train and mobilize future cohorts of leaders.

There is such a scramble by current leaders to get their non-human work done, that they do not have the time (or vision) to spot leaders-of-the-future. The consequence of this one-generation, immediate scramble? A perpetually widening gap between leaders and non-leaders, a shrinking pool of potential leaders and, therefore, a model of church designed to “work” with as few leaders as possible. It becomes a self-filling prescription of failure: instead of producing an increasing number of leaders, our churches accommodate themselves to their leaders’ failure.

SATURDAY AT DELTA
Matthias and Franzi and I went to lunch and then to their home. I had not seen their new home, so it was fun for me to be there. We reminisced about my first visit to their old apartment 15 years earlier. Amazing to think of all the history we have together!

I had the joy of speaking at their church that evening. It was their last service in the Anglican church they have rented for the last decade. So many good friends and memories. I know there will be many more of both in the years to come!

March 29

How’s this for injustice? Daylight Savings and its accompanying time change is a nightmare in the Spring when we all lose an hours’ sleep. We love it, of course, in the Fall when we gain back an hour. “Spring ahead; Fall back!” We know the mantra. We know the drill. We suffer through the sleep deprivation in the Spring because we look forward to the sleep surplus in the Fall.

What about two Spring Ahead’s? That’s at least one too many. But that was my lot in life this year. In the US, we celebrated—or at least acknowledged—Daylight Savings three weeks ago. In Europe they marked its passing last night. So, I’ve had two hours of sleep stolen from me in less than a month. That may explain how wretched I feel…

Two long-time Swiss friends of mine picked me up to go to Quelle church. They are both named Daniel, so we had three Daniel’s in the van—not a regular occurrence. They insisted that I must sit in the front seat, and as soon as I sat down, I knew why! In my honor, they had placed a small US flag on the dashboard. They both acknowledged that such a US-support gesture would have been very difficult without the election of a new president. The shaken confidence nations have in the US is just beginning to be restored.

I had lots of fun speaking at church, and I was again struck by how many people we know—and what deep, personal history we have with them. After church, I went to Kevin and Camille Kammermann’s new apartment for lunch. It was great to see them in their home—and to think of all the courage it has taken Camille to leave her family/country to support her new husband. It was so pleasant, so comfortable and so rewarding to see these “kids” grown, married and doing ministry. Here they are leading worship in the service:

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 10

2009-03-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

March 27

As you might imagine, I have few opportunities to catch up on all the work that still must be done—all the correspondence, planning, writing, scheduling that CTW needs to keep functioning. My staff back in Santa Cruz handle the bulk of such work, but some things require my attention. If I don’t get to them, they can’t get to the staff. No one crowds or demands things from me, but I cannot just concentrate on ministry-at-hand on my travels. Friday was going to be one of those sit-at-a-desk and crank out work days.

However, the FEFC Board (the leaders of the five European regions) was to hold some very sensitive and high-level meetings about the shape and nature of US/European ministry in the years to come. Each of the Europeans asked me privately if I could attend as a guest; they felt that I might be able to express their thoughts and feelings to the American missionary in a way that would help everyone stay on the same page. I was honored to help, but I did not want to butt-in on meetings where I had no legitimate reason for attending. I then checked with the US missions representative to be sure he was ok with me attending.

In many ways, the challenges facing Foursquare in Europe are very much like what happens when the kids grow up in a family. For several years, parenting is mostly an initiated activity—mom and dad lovingly consider all the things the kids need to live and prosper. They establish boundaries, buy food and do all the stuff for the household. The kids do little to care for themselves, and they hardly even realize how much is being done for them.

But when the kids grow up and reach the age when they begin establishing their own sense of identity, the kids also start the process of establishing their own household. This is usually when the kids move out on their own. Even though it was the goal—all along—of the parents to develop responsible, self-sufficient children (called adults), the transition in the home and in the way parents/children relate to one another is still difficult.

As each of my children came to that stage in their development, I struggled with profound and deep emotions: I was so proud of the people they had become, and I could even see direct results of my parenting in their lives; I adored them as much as ever; but, I didn’t want to let go of the place I had had during all the previous years. I didn’t want to control them, and I certainly never felt like I would lose them. The change did mean, however, that I was not needed by them in the same way.

In each of their lives for nearly two decades, love had instructed and compelled me to serve them in ways they could never grasp. Love took care of them and watched out for them. Love planned for their schooling and their dentist appointments. Love bought their clothes and tied their shoes. Love fought with school principals when things weren’t right on the playground or in the classroom. Love taught and spanked and fed and tickled. Love gave nick-names and advice about friends. Love oversaw like a shepherd and battled wolves dressed as peers, self-doubt or pride.

But love had to change if it was still to be love. Grown kids cannot be parented like toddlers or teens…

INTERN PARTY
After those all-day meetings, I caught a train to Bern (I slept the entire way) where I checked into my hotel just in time to catch a ride with Christine Humm to her home. Her husband, Martin was an Intern at Coastlands 15 years ago! Neither of us can believe it has been so long since those days. He had arranged for a small dinner party with any of the Interns he could find still living near Bern. What a night we had—laughing, telling stories and reveling in the deep, deep affection that only comes when people have served and bared their lives to one another.

Several of the interns commented that the evening was just like the Friday morning classes I had with them in the Fireside Room—except those meetings were at the ungodly morning hour… I was pleasantly surprised to find that my heart filled, almost instantly, with “thoughts” and scriptures for each of them. I could feel the gift of “Word of Wisdom” begin to click in gear. That meant a lot to me because I rarely function in that gift any longer among the people at Coastlands. Since I turned over the church to Todd and Hilary, it has been God’s plan that my insight into people’s lives diminished. But it was so pleasing to my heart to share the words with each of them.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 09

2009-03-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

March 26

Helmuth, Tom, Jan, Gaby, Pierre-yves, Eddy…just a few of the new friends I made these days. Niki, Angel, Mitko, Martijn, Matthias, Volker… other friends I’ve grown to love and trust more—all of these guys serving the purposes of God by serving the people of God in so many unique local situations. The collective wisdom in the room was awesome—and as the hours progressed, their familiarity with one another led to more and more joking, laughter and fun! But all the while, we were processing practical challenges in pastoring.

The format seemed to work very, very well. Several commented to me about how much they liked the short teachings and points of instruction followed by either exercises they did alone or with a small group of “new, best friends.” Part of my strategy—that developed into a methodology—was to keep them guessing about where the lessons were leading. Pastors are quick-studies, meaning they want to get to the end/bottom of issues so they can make decisions. I had to frustrate their jump-to-conclusions mindset by asking seemingly random questions, then assembling the questions/answers into a whole presentation at the end of the sessions.

Each of the pastors had a favorite exercise. My goal, in all the exercises, was to stretch their thinking about how to approach problems in a way that finds spiritual solutions; I don’t mean ethereal, spooky or strange solutions. I mean spiritual ones. Solutions that line up with God’s calling on their lives and the assignment of their congregation. Solutions that are informed by scripture. Solutions that go beyond what business books can offer.

Most problems, I told them, Provide us with an opportunity to ask ourselves, “What else; what other (more) can we do?”

Late in the afternoon, we took a group photo, and Tom, one of the pastors from Germany, did a little photo-shop work to include a sheep in the shot. We had done some extensive Bible study about the job description of a shepherd. I think he couldn’t resist reminding us of our duty—and our claim to fame.

After all, can’t we really determine the quality of a shepherd’s work by the condition of his/her sheep?

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 08

2009-03-25T09:49:00.000-07:00

March 25

FIELD MINISTRY ACADEMY
By lunch-time, when I was eating and laughing with some new German friends (each of whom acts as a supervisor over several Foursquare churches), I knew my dreams had come true for FMA. The buzz in the room, the body language, etc. all told me these men had begun bonding. In both the morning and afternoon sessions, we got into issues and subjects that brought lots of revelation to the pastors—especially the notion that we can/should be aware of a “current word” from the Lord to inform our decisions as leaders.

Not only do churches receive themes and key verses from the Lord that act as the foundation of their ministry assignment, but they also get lots of “seasonal” direction along the way. As an exercise, I asked them to identify the word God has been speaking to them about their churches—and we used those words to address what they considered to be their most pressing problems. The lights went on!

As I said, “Problems are not really problems; they hint about the next steps we’re supposed to take in obedience to and alignment with what God has been saying to us.” I then asked about the greatest strength/bounty in their churches—and went through the same exercise of trying to “solve” their problems with their strengths.

My favorite topper to the afternoon was simply hinting at how problems might be addressed by combining the “current word” with the greatest strength and in conjunction to their personal assignment (determined from a previous exercise) “to find ways of doing ____ more.”

The evening session was my favorite so far. We spoke about the things that we must change if we want our churches to break through to the next (size) level. I wasn’t suggesting that churches need to be large to be healthy—or that their churches should necessarily become bigger. I was explaining that a few simple-to-understand but difficult-to-implement concepts would help them break beyond where they are stuck.

Although the guys were expecting/hoping I would deliver a tight little formula into their hands, they quickly realized I was “messing with their minds” (as one pastor put it to me afterwards). I drew Biblical concepts from things as simple as getting more people to accept an assignment in church—one that they could, in turn, ask someone to help them do. The guys tried all the “we’re different in our country” lines I usually get, but I was cheerfully relentless in bringing all their objections and frustrations—with what I was telling them—back to Scripture.

But I felt them really, really rethink long-held and unconscious assumptions about the nature of church and of their assignment as church leaders. Afterwards, I had a delightful and engaging conversation with Jan, the national leader of Germany; at 11:00pm it was time for bed…

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 07

2009-03-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

March 24

Of all things I might have forgotten to bring, soap probably wasn’t the best choice! Most of the time, I bring along a small tube of soap/shampoo. I get plenty of those in all the hotels where I stay, and I have a small stash of them in my drawer at home. Lately, I’ve grown lax in that habit because most hotels provide those bodily cleaning supplies—besides, the airline security requirements make “liquids and gels” troublesome.

Please don’t hasten to the conclusion that I have gone a week without a shower! The modest hotels where I have been have provided “body wash” and non-soap soaps. But I like good old soap. This stuff makes me feel like I’m washing in industrial solvent. And what’s with no suds!?!

Field Ministry Academy
We began FMA today with lunch at a retreat site near Basel, Switzerland. Fifteen pastors from Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, France and Spain have gathered at my invitation to share their lives and their perspectives on Kingdom matters with one another. FMA is what you might call an un-conference: there are no designated speakers delivering sermons; we don’t have an agenda or a time-schedule (except for meal times); there are significant chunks of free-time for conversation or for work-related business. My goal is to increase the relational connections between these men, so that they will come to trust and share with one another more and more in the future.

Pastors face common issues, regardless of where they pastor. The challenges in one nation are essentially the same as those in another—even though almost all pastors will claim that their people or their country-culture make them unique. We see identical growth-barriers or plateaus, where congregations get stuck at set sizes (40, 60, 90, 120, 200…). We find that most pastors are caught in the bind between being loving/accepting everyone as they are, and yet leading/shaping people to be different than they are. We’re pressed with the weekly demand for a message that relates to the whole church, while some people ask for more “meat” or more relevance or more Bible.

What does a local pastor do with prophetic words announced to the whole Body of Christ? What public stance should be taken about politics, social issues, etc.? How do we develop leaders and get more people to volunteer? What is our job? What is church supposed to look like—and do?

These and a myriad of other questions eventually confront men and women who accept the assignment of pastor. The catch is that most of those wonderful men and women had no idea what they were signing up for! They loved ministry and really wanted to make a difference in others’ lives. They never quite understood that churches are organizations that need running and congregations that need collective vision… So, FMA is my little effort to tap the collective wealth of knowledge/experience in Europe—and promote deeper fellowship among some of our leaders.

Having said all of that, I’ll admit it’s a bit awkward, not because anyone is resisting the vision, but simply because none of us have ever done anything like this before. I’m really desperate for the Lord to give me specific leading and prompting. Ah, the internal agonies when we’re trying to respond to revelation, instead of just doing what’s always been done.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 06

2009-03-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

March 23

Travel Danger

I never thought I would end up as a statistic!

I suppose everyone thinks that, but dangerous travel-related things have to happen to someone who thinks it will never happen to them; otherwise, it would never happen, and no one would think it would never happen to them. Like I said, I never thought it would happen to me.

But it did. I was totally unprepared.

I know travel can be dangerous. I move about carefully and thoughtfully—always aware of “possibilities” developing. At train stations and airports, I stand away from the main flow of traffic. I scope the lay of the land, and my eyes scan crowds for unusual activity. I’m not saying I’m like a trained agent, but I’m not an airhead, loud-talking tourist. I’m careful and circumspect.

I didn’t expect the unexpected. My guard was down after a long day and several nights of little sleep. The restaurant was a “local” establishment (the best places to find good food)—no English menu, no English-speaking waitresses. I was alone because Ruth and Volker were at a birthday party somewhere. I told Volker I would be fine: “Not to worry. I feel very comfortable in Basel. I’ll be fine.”

But things took a very wrong turn not long after I arrived in the restaurant. I did notice several people looking at me, assessing my clothing, my haircut, my manner. I think they pegged me. I wasn’t from these parts.

The waitress brought the menu, and I had already decided to play it safe and order a pizza. I did. Carefully. Smiling, I pointed to the one I wanted…and even tried saying it aloud. I’m sure I butchered the pronunciation, and maybe that’s why it happened. I knew that words in German are not the same as in English. Years ago, on my second trip to Switzerland, I ordered a pepperoni pizza, and ended up with bell peppers (pepperoni means bell pepper).

“Salami” is what I’ve learned to say, “Salami.” But there is a spicy salami that I prefer. Volker always orders it for me, and I tried to remember what it’s called. [BTW, my friends who marvel at my inability to learn languages, please take note that I cannot even remember what kind of pizza I like.]

“Picante.” There it was. I recognized the word Volker says when we order. “Picante pizza,” I said aloud.

Sometime later, the waitress returned with my pizza. It didn’t look like what Volker orders for me. But I smiled and nodded (like I do all over the world when I don’t understand what people say or do).

When she left, I took a good look at my meal. “Oh, no,” I exclaimed inwardly, not wanting to draw attention to myself in this locals-only restaurant.

Anchovies! Anchovies on my pizza! Pizza-ruining, dried-up, taste-killing anchovies! And they were all over my pizza.

Some people are the get-struck-twice-by-lightning type. Unlucky. Don’t stand too close to them. I never saw myself as one of that company of people, but there was no denying the evidence in front of me.

I ordered the wrong pizza for the second time! Despite all my care and caution. It happened to me unexpectedly. O woeful linguist that I am. O man of many words, but unfortunately often the wrong words. Language butcher. Heedless pronouncer with Teflon-memory. I misspoke and now I had to eat my words…

“Anchovies” by any other name are still salty, fishy anchovies!

The Day

After another delightful breakfast of good rolls, cheese, butter and jam (plus coffee, of course), I spent all morning catching up on all the stuff I must keep doing even when I travel: emails, calendar scheduling, bills, etc. Amazing how it all builds up so quickly…

I met Martijn and Ellen (pastors in Poland) for lunch here at my hotel. They are Dutch missionaries whose parents were part of the Rafael churches in Holland when I first visited years ago. So, I have some history with their history; how fun that we’re making a new history these days. Picture the scene at lunch—we try to order something from the special lunch menu, but it’s only in German! Two Polish-speaking Dutch people and one English-only Californian trying to make sense out of the specials at a Swiss-German restaurant with a German-German menu. We finally gave up and ordered something with Pomme-frites (French-fries), figuring anything with fries will work! I ended up with a huge pork-chop and fries…

We had a great talk. Like all pastors, they had questions about direction for their church, upcoming decisions, people-with-issues, and a host of other matters. I was so impressed with them (and always have been since we first met on a deep level many years ago) and their concern/passion for their church—even though they, like most good pastors, feel like the church would be better-served by pastors who know what they’re doing. Ha! Good leaders usually feel like they’re failing because the endless and multi-faceted nature of church leadership means there will always be more to do/learn.

I did more boring work after lunch. My trips are crazy-exciting some of the time, and dreadfully mundane much of the time. No complaints. Just a good reality-check for anyone who would “love to travel” like I do. Yes the world is an interesting venue, but mostly it is the same wherever I travel—people here are like people there (just different costumes and languages). But can I tell you? It’s worth any/all drudgery to get a couple hours, as I did with Martijn and Ellen.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 05

2009-03-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

March 22

If it’s possible to get even less sleep than “almost no sleep” without “getting no sleep at all,” I got it last night. Fortunately, I knew exactly where the coffee machine was located—and how to work it—so without spending much time in bed hoping to fall back asleep (after awaking at 2:00am), I put on my “comfort clothes” (an old pair of sweats and a sweatshirt), got coffee, read, etc. until the rest of the world awoke.

I had another series of meaningful conversations with friends before and during breakfast. I loved being in the cafeteria with everyone because we have this small hotel entirely to ourselves. Hence, every table and every seat holds the possibility of meaningful conversation—or just plain fun like we had around our family table when the kids were growing up. Such safety, such laughter. Like a good parent, my main job is to assure everyone of their value: to notice them, to engage them, to touch them, to affirm them.

Is that an easy job, or what? I’m like a collector of rare pieces of art who gets to view these valuable and highly-prized masterpieces. I don’t mean to imply that I have “collected” these friends—or that they are merely objects who sit on shelves awaiting my periodic visits. I feel more like an art expert who has been invited to a private viewing at a museum; if I could, I would sit for hours appreciating each stunning piece.

I love, as well, how the atmosphere always changes at events like this. In the beginning while people are just arriving, they tend to be more stationary. They stand or sit in one location (after they do the rounds and greet others in turn). They are not yet a part of the whole. They come as individuals with their own insecurities and with many other things on their mind. But as the days progress and they exchange parts of themselves with others, the atmosphere changes. We become a “company of people”: we are linked together more than we are kept apart.

That’s what the Scriptures mean when the early church was together—and had all things in common. Sure, it meant that people sold big ticket items to contribute large chunks of money for everyone’s welfare, but more than that, people simply saw their resources (time, conversation, experience, money, etc.) not as theirs, but ours. When believers “get together” they instinctively “fill in” for one another. We do for and give to one another as naturally as we normally do for or keep for ourselves—and we see it as a privilege!

Laughter increases. Safety expands. Conversations become more animated. People start to come out of themselves. That is true fellowship…

The morning session was brief because several of our Italian friends had to begin their journey home to Sicily, etc. But I was able to summarize all my points from the weekend, as well as make a final point in less than 20 minutes (ok, so it was a miracle!). This was my review of the weekend:

1. Most Christian leaders feel at a loss for what to do and how to be. Couple that reality with the insatiable appetite “church” has for logistics, administration, programs, etc., and you can understand why most leaders neglect their primary assignment in favor of more obvious and more pressing duties (leading events and running the business).

2. Spiritual leaders are supposed to be shepherds to their flock like God is to His (read Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34; Matthew 9:35-38; 1 Peter 5:1-4). We are supposed to feed, lead, shelter and minister to the needs of our sheep. Spiritual leaders have a very clear job description. If we’re not doing those things—even if we’re doing other “good” things, we aren’t really acting like true leaders.

3. But just as God appoints shepherds after His own heart—leaders who can deal with sheep in closer proximity—so spiritual leaders are supposed to appoint shepherds with their heart for the flock. In fact, a leader isn’t really being a biblical leader if he or she does not raise up additional shepherds.

4. Bottom line, spiritual leaders gather a flock, and then train those sheep to be shepherds. That’s what Jesus said: Make disciples and teach them how to make disciples!

We concluded with lots of personal ministry—people praying for and prophesying over one another. Matthias made sure, of course, that no one prayed in a group of people from the same church. That made the ministry even more exciting!

I arrived back in Basel in time to take a power walk to and through the woods where I have gone dozens of times on previous visits in Switzerland. There is a bench there, deep in the woods, that I visit on almost every trip. I don’t go there to sit (I’ve only sat on the bench once many years ago when we brought a worship team from Coastlands) or to view the scenery (There isn’t anything to see except woods). But like another bench on which I have sat many times in Bern, overlooking the river, this one is literally a bench-mark.

Since it doesn’t change much (although it has been painted since my last visit), it offers me a quick inventory of what has changed in my life/heart. Presidents give “State of the Union” speeches; I walk/run by a bench. In the moments it takes to pass by this fixed point in Basel, Switzerland, I am able to review and assess all the important aspects of my life. Some things are better; some are worse. Some new things have come to pass; some old have disappeared. Hopes and wishes for the future; regrets from the past; simple realities; promising possibilities; same-old-same-olds. All in a flash as I walk past, wondering what will be different the next time I pass by…

Switzerland and Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 03

2009-03-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

March 20

Not a good night even though it was not totally unexpected. How’s that for a negative-laden sentence to start off the day? After “conking out” (Isn’t that a great slang expression for falling asleep?) about 11:00pm, I managed to sleep only until 2:00am! The good news was that I had picked up an historical fiction novel (about 1400’s in England/France), so rather than bemoan my sleeplessness, I simply read until I finished the book just before 6:00am. Knowing my alarm was set for just an hour later, I fell hard asleep.
Breakfast was, Dick and I agreed, perfect! We had good rolls with butter, jam and cheese—plus several cups of coffee. The weather has turned decidedly colder, but it was fun to look outside at the beautiful colors and mountains while sitting inside in a warm place with coffee cups in our hands. After breakfast, we walked to the church (about 15 minutes away) where we met up with many volunteers/staff. Friday is a big people day at the church—many ladies bring their children for the Swiss version of Koast Kids; today, the decorating team was doing their business to make the halls and classrooms spectacular. “Coffee Time” gathered about 15 adults in one of the rooms, and I had marvelous talks with several former interns (Sabina, Maryann, Marcus) plus others in the church.
Afterwards, Dick disappeared, as he frequently manages to do, into conversations/activities with people while I chatted with Volker about things related to the upcoming retreat and FMA next week. That’s when I discovered that Volker was counting on me to do most of the teaching for the retreat; he claims he told me months ago, but I didn’t remember that. At least I haven’t had any anxiety about the teaching in the weeks leading up to this!
Later that morning Dick and I walked back to the hotel for some sleep before we met Volker and Ruth at the train station in Basel. We all got some sandwiches to eat on the train (salami and cheese on a great baguette). I was so happy to see Ruth since it’s been almost a year from the last time I saw her. So we had an extra, extra-long hug in the freezing train station. It was good to do a little catching up—hearing about the family, etc. After we talked awhile, it was time for another nap.
Other than these shots of the Alps, I don’t remember much of the 3-hr trip to Locarno. We traveled from Basel almost due south to the southern-most part of Switzerland—where Italy and Switzerland share a border. This area, around Lake Locarno, is one of the prettiest in Switzerland. But to get here, one must travel through the Alps. The train follows several valleys, goes through several tunnels and eventually emerges on the south-facing slopes of the Alps. The scenery is breath-taking—especially this time of year.
While I was sleeping, Volker took a picture of me “practicing my sermon” with my mouth hanging open. I have conveniently NOT included that shot in my photos. I managed to get a nice shot of Volker; I tried with Ruth but she always managed to get a paper in front of her face before I could snap the shot!
I had so much fun once we arrived at the hotel, greeting such dear friends from all over Switzerland, Italy, Poland and Germany. The torture, of course, is that I want to have hours-long conversations with everyone, but there’s no time for such luxuries. I managed to collect many hugs and greetings from my friends before dinner and afterwards. How amazing and wonderful to have such a long and deep history with so many incredible people. At dinner, several of us agreed the feeling was like being a member of a winning sports team. I look around the room and see men and women who have literally changed the lives of many people in these nations.
After dinner, we had a short session. I felt led to instruct a bit in how to receive a prophecy for others. We talked our way through a few of the scriptures on people’s heart, and saw how God was weaving together a very encouraging theme: He who rewards those who bring a cup of cool water to a prophet, will He not also give such a cup to His servants? After we have “endured” for a season, He will, Himself, strengthen, confirm and establish us.
I followed all that with an encouragement to these leaders to consider several aspects of a “mature” believer’s life. For the most part, leaders focus on people’s personal obedience and their character. We define a “good Christian” as someone who has stopped slashing people’s tires; we try to help people with their problems and with their issues. That’s fantastic, of course, but there is so much more we and they can do. In addition to teaching, modeling and challenging them to grow personally in God, we can also instruct them in
1. Kingdom understandings—so they learn the ways of God (i.e., last shall be first, little seeds lead to huge developments, God gives grace to the humble, God leads and we follow);
2. Ministry skills—so they know better how to impact others (i.e., laying hands on sick, delivering word of wisdom, discerning spirits, confronting unruly); and,
3. Raising followers/disciples—so they will intentionally and willingly nurture spiritual offspring to maturity (i.e., influencing others to such a degree that they want to imitate our ways). This is such a neglected aspect of maturity. Just as Abraham was told to leave his ancestors in order to create descendents, so we are supposed to concentrate less and less on our mentors, in order to develop people we mentor.

Switzerland & Greece March 18-April 5, 2009 Day 01 & 02

2009-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

March 18-19

Despite the many times I’ve traveled to Europe (3-4 x’s per year since 1982), I still can’t quite decide on a clean way to view the two days that become one when flying east. Dave Mann drove Dick and me to SFO Wednesday morning. We boarded our flight after picking up some books to read; a few hours later we arrived at DFW where we made phone calls and did email in the Admiral’s Lounge for an hour or so; less than two hours after we landed, we took off for London and arrived about 8:00am (GMT)—the next day! Midnight in CA is a morning already well underway in London.

Since we had an entire day to spend in London before our evening flight to Basel on EasyJet, Dick and I elected to visit the “Arrivals Lounge” at Heathrow, where passengers like us can take a shower to wash away the jetlag. It was great! The shower was like a waterfall, and even barely turned on thundered down on my head. What relief to get a hot shower after a long flight. We then had a traditional English breakfast in the restaurant downstairs: two fried eggs, baked beans, sausage, bacon, potatoes, baked tomato and toast—with tea.

I checked online to see if we could leave our luggage at the train station in London. We could. So we hopped the express train from Heathrow to Paddington Station in London proper, took the Circle Line to Victoria station where we checked our bags at “Left Luggage.” Without our suitcases and packs, we were free to walk the streets of London, unencumbered. Arbitrarily electing to turn left outside the train station, we ended up, a mile or so later, right in front of Buckingham Palace just before the changing of the guard.

Dick and I gave up on the tourist thing rather quickly, and resumed our power walk. We walked along the Mall (a garden walkway) just north of the palace, eventually taking a break on some canvas lawn chairs sitting on the grass. The weather was nice enough (54°) to sit facing the sun. A few moments later a girl asked us to sit naturally because German TV was about to film something next to us. I don’t think we made the cut, but any of our German friends might get a good laugh if they see us someday.

From there we aimlessly and unintentionally made our way to Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street and a host of off-the-track side streets. London is a fascinating city, and it’s fun just to walk it. Eventually we decided to find a fish-n-chips place for lunch—even though neither of us was that hungry. I used my Google map on my iPhone to identify several near-by prospects. Unfortunately, the Google info was out of date, and the three different places we checked out were either non-existent or not that appealing. All in all, we walked about two hours before settling on a pub where we ordered fish-n-chips and diet cokes.

We took a taxi back to Victoria Station, caught the train to Gatwick airport—and stood in line for quite awhile to get boarding passes. The 90-minute flight to Basel went fast. Both Dick and I slept several times…

Volker met us after we cleared customs, and he drove us to our hotel. He told us a bit about his recent trip to Sri Lanka—and all the church there has been doing with the tools and resources the Swiss Church has shared over the last few years. The Church there is one of the strongest and most spiritually alert in all Foursquare, yet they retain such a humble spirit and such gratefulness for any/all help they receive.

I feel very, very happy and excited to be back in Switzerland—and I have an interesting sense of anticipation/excitement about the next 10 days. Dick and I prayed tonight in my room before calling it a night, and we both sensed that there’s a whole new chapter to write.

Capital District March 4-10, 2009 Final Day

2009-03-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Final Day

I enjoyed an invigorating walk in the brisk morning air on my way to Whole Foods for a scone and a large cup of coffee. The walk takes just over 15 minutes each way, so I plotted my journey at just the right time to get me back to the hotel to drive an hour north to York, PA, where we had our last divisional leaders’ meeting. I had a pleasant breakfast reading the paper and listening to the sounds of a market getting ready for a day of commerce.

The drive to York was uneventful. When I arrived, I greeted Plummer who had, himself, just arrived moments before me. We shared pleasantries with the pastor, and with two ladies from his church. To some people, it may seem odd—and almost unspiritual—when I describe my delight at seeing the amazing spread of food the ladies had prepared for us. But there’s a history I must tell you. (Histories are what mark CHANGES, and changes mark progress—unless the change is for the worse).

Good Doctrine; Good Food
Early in my tenure as supervisor, I spotted traces of a poverty mentality among the churches and their leaders. It manifested in spare, bare-minimum, last-minute, the-usual refreshments. No one said it aloud, but the meager snacks, lousy coffee and uninspired foodstuffs conveyed a message: “We don’t have enough money to treat anyone as special” or even worse, “You are not a high value to us.” Slowly but surely, by example and by carefully chosen (and voiced) challenges and compliments, I have convinced our pastors/leaders to view hospitality (and food) as a statement: “You are special, so we have taken thought, and spent money, to offer you delightful and hearty refreshment.”

Hence, as I approached the two gals who had laid out the spread, I made a big deal of the variety, quantity and quality of the “light snacks” on the table. Wanting to faithfully carry out her assignment to “have the refreshments ready,” one of the gals asked me what the program was for the morning. She meant when the breaks would be, etc.

Jokingly, I replied, “Oh don’t you know? I was going to take my cue from you. After all, food is mucho importanto!”

They laughed politely. I continued, “Wow, this is out of control. You know there are only 8 of us coming? You have prepared enough for an army of humans. What did they tell you about the size of our appetites? Are you trying to ruin us?”

Embarrassed in a pleased sort-of-way, one said to me, “We don’t really know what we’re doing. Usually, we just do what the other ladies tell us to do. This is the first time we’ve been on our own!”

Half-and-Half
“Oh, and by the way,” they said with their heads nodding in delight, “We remembered that you like half-and-half for your coffee—not just the creamer stuff. We got it for you.” Then one of the ladies walked over to the basket of creamers to show me some of the individual creamers were, indeed, real half-and-half. I felt so special—to be remembered, to be taken care of in such detail…

If I needed any encouragement that my season as supervisor has made a difference, I got it at that instant. The new supervisor, and several others who have connected with my pastors/leaders, have been very, very kind and complimentary about what they’ve observed in our district. I cherish those kind words even though I have had a small part in things. But these ladies, likely not even aware of how profoundly they were encouraging me, became so animated as they told me they were serving at our district convention months ago.

“We know you,” they giggled, “We heard you at convention, but you didn’t see us. We were back in the kitchen most of the time.” “Oh, in the important place, huh? Behind the scenes where the real ministry goes on? And now look at you, you’re leaders!”

The pleasantries soon turned to other matters, and off they went to the kitchen. I uttered a quiet, “Thanks for that, Lord,” under my breath. Two women who had been raised up and put in charge of something meaningful. And they had laid out a fantastic assortment of food to bless the divisional leaders who, soon after arriving, approached the food-laden table with obvious delight. The pastors became so engrossed in conversation and gulps of fruit, pastries, coffee, omelette, breads-and-spreads, that I had to exert a great deal of my authority to begin our meeting!

Stuff of True Ministry
Yes, we had a meeting. We did business. I had lots (and lots) of thoughts for them, as well as exercises they might use to train their pastors. We looked at the budget, spoke about all sorts of practical matters. It was a fantastic final meeting. But what too many spiritual leaders miss in their church settings is the simple reality that the hugest part of our meeting had already happened before I called the gathering to order. Two women had been vitally engaged in active ministry—leaving them feeling more useful and connected to their church, to their pastor who beamed in joy over their efforts, to the prior leader-ladies who had commissioned them for the task, to their supervisor (the man they heard at convention) and to each other.

What a waste it would have been for the pastor to have a staff person “take care of refreshments” like it was a job or a task that could be done equally well by staff who tick off one more item on a busy day’s list, as by two volunteers who probably talked their way through the preparations (laughing a good portion of the time)—and who probably gave each other a high-five about the half-and-half!

What delight, what connection, what value and partnership do we steal away from blood-bought saints who have as much part in Jesus’ Kingdom as we who get paid. I know it is always an uphill battle for staff/leaders to think things through soon enough to welcome and engage volunteers, but when only paid people do the work of ministry, those professionals miss the real point of all we’re supposed to do: equip and train others “for the work of the ministry.”

When leadership has affected basic mentalities, when we have altered the paradigm within which other leaders lead, then we have accomplished our mission. Thank you, Lynn (my administrator) for modeling and verbally encouraging our leaders to go the extra mile like these ladies did. Thank you, Chuck (the York pastor), and my other friends, for inspiring your leaders to inspire leaders to inspire and recruit new leaders “for the work of the ministry.”

Young Katee’s License Interview
On that high note, we ended our meeting—just as Katee and Bradley Wangia arrived for Katee’s ministerial licensing interview with a few of our pastors. Young Katee, who used to play dress-up with Lorrel in our home decades ago, will soon be a licensed Foursquare minister. After her interview, there are a few administrative details the district and the ARC must complete. I am unabashedly proud of the fact that I have thrown my weight around, called in every favor I’ve earned with powerful people, and insisted, in a decidedly authoritarian manner, that I want Katee’s license on my desk for my signature before I leave office!

Capital District March 4-10, 2009 Day 5

2009-03-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

DAY 5: A Church-Launch

Spring Daylight Savings, when we push the hour forward and, thereby, lose an hour of sleep, was especially brutal on me this year. I’ve been back east for five days, and I’m trying to stay on west coast time. The curtains in my room are very good; they block out almost all the morning light. It’s an advantage when staying at a very nice hotel like this one. My morning problem (sunlight) is taken care of; that leaves only the problem of staying awake until midnight each night. I’ve done well, so far. But I awoke early and with the time-change, I did not get enough sleep.

But none of that mattered because I had a rare privilege—transitioning a new pastor into one of our district churches while, at the same time, launching a church planting team! For a supervisor, it doesn’t get much better.Specifically, Pastors Plummer and Lorraine Bailor have ended their tenure at the Brentwood Foursquare church, and they are starting a new church in Upper Marlborough, about 15 minutes away. Pastor Basil, and his wife Abigail, will be assuming the senior pastor position. They have been on our district, pastoring earlier in Nigeria and Hong Kong, for a couple of years. Their pioneer congregation will merge with the Brentwood congregation.

Plummer had asked me to preach “his” last sermon—a statement from him to me of great honor. That meant the world to me. In my message, I reminded both congregations of Jesus’ intent to involve them more and more in His work. The thrill they knew in the “old days” when most ministry was done for them and to them would eventually lose its punch. Jesus wants us to experience the real thrill in the kingdom—ministry through us and for others.

Both pastoral couples have taken steps to go for it in new ways and new settings. Their congregations can, individually, do no less if they want to catch this marvelous moment in the Kingdom. Now that I think about it, their supervisor is doing that, too. How fitting that this Sunday is the last church-related act of my tenure in the Capital district.

Here are some pictures:

Pastors Plummer and Loraine

Pastors Basil and Abigail

The new church-plant team

Capital District March 4-10, 2009 Day 4

2009-03-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

Day 4: More about Evangelists

An extra long walk (almost 90 minutes), much of it spent talking to one of my pastors about the interpersonal difficulties that inevitably arise as churches grow, enabled me to treat myself to a hearty dinner at P.F. Chang’s. I had Kung Pao Shrimp and brown rice. Yum! On the walk back to the hotel, I stopped by and got a piece of cheesecake to go from the Cheesecake Factory. Ah, such indulgence.

As you can guess, that was the highlight of my day. The rest of it—after my usual breakfast at Whole Foods Market—was spent in my room banging away at the Gift-Mix book. I seemed to make little progress, so I was a bit more discouraged than the day before. But that’s how writing is for me! Not every attempt yields results.

I am, however, pleased with what I did write. It’s still a rough draft, but it’s helping me frame the pattern for the remaining chapters. Half the book is an extended Bible study supporting my thoughts about Gift-Mixes. That half is done. This half—the half most people will want to read first—outlines one Gift-Mix per chapter. I will open each chapter with two brief portraits of people whom I have known, who are good examples of each Gift-Mix. Then I’ll add some definition of the word before actually describing its characteristics. It’s not much yet, but here are the first few pages about Evangelists:

Click on this link to download the PDF version, or just continue reading below: Evangelists: The Good News Bringers

Evangelists: The Good News Bringers

Stewart

Stewart certainly didn’t come from the South, though he grew up in Southern California. He had no accent and no wild clothes. Always conciliatory and perpetually smiling, Stewart was happy in anyone’s company. He had a way of sidling up next to people, usually beginning conversations with a question. People found themselves wanting to talk with Stewart.

Think Beach Volleyball, and you can picture him in your mind. He wasn’t tall, but he was athletic in every sense of the word. Stewart could run a mile, do 100 pushups (or pull-ups) without breaking a sweat. That outer stamina matched his inner endurance. Stewart was what I’d call a long-distance Evangelist. Unfazed by the seeming distance between people and their salvation, Stewart moved forward with them relentlessly.

The social signals people sent him, of boredom or disinterest, seemed lost on Stewart. Either he didn’t notice that people were brushing him off, or he was able to draw on deep reserves of spiritual staying power! I always pictured him as a marine slowly crawling forward in the face of enemy fire; regardless of how severely wounded, he just kept pressing ahead.

Not that there was anything the least militant about his demeanor. Quite the contrary. For such a hard body, Stewart had one of the kindest, softest personalities I have ever known. He simply didn’t give up on people. Nothing made him happier than leading someone to the Lord.
Kayla

A century ago and with a far different accent, Kayla might easily have passed as a southern belle, but I’m sure her ancestors came from Scandinavia. I can’t recall a time when she wasn’t smiling. Her blonde hair and blue eyes made a definite statement wherever she went, and her energetic joy was like an electric current sparking everything around her.

Effervescent. No other word quite captures Kayla. Far sweeter, of course, than an Alka-Seltzer tablet, if Kayla dropped into a conversation or a gathering of people, she bubbled so expansively that she soon infected everyone nearby. She was almost naive to evil, not because she was a sheltered air-head, but because her love for people was like a delete key that rapidly eliminated others’ mistakes and wrongs from her computer screen.

Kayla could talk… and talk. The pitch and volume of her voice opened ears. Not too loud, but strong enough to carry, her conversations with anyone about anything automatically drew others in. She fascinated attention. People looked up when she entered or passed through a room. Oh yes, she was pretty, and attracted her share of looks. But the utter lack of guile or subterfuge in her being quickly deflected everyone’s interest in her into a feeling of total acceptance by her.

Kayla was utterly blind—not physically, but interpersonally. Never mind that you are the most crotchety old man, or a teen-age terror, or a fussy, teething baby. Kayla made you smile. A man or woman? Black, brown or white? Rich, richer or dirt-poor? No matter to Kayla. To her everyone was a stray who needed adoption into Jesus’ family.Definition

In some ways, Stewart and Kayla fit with aspects of our stereotype about Evangelists. I have purposefully removed them from the revival meeting or up-front on the church stage because Evangelists rarely have such a ready-made platform for their ministry. We associate Evangelists with staged events and other sorts of arranged meetings. Such venues do often feature Evangelists, but we’ll miss much about this marvelous Gift-Mix if we don’t examine it in the normal particulars of life.

Not many of you will be platformed in meetings or on TV. But many of you are Evangelists! So, let’s try to define this Gift-Mix in light of its original meaning, long before it became such a popular (or even religious) image.

The term evangelist was not originally a Christian term. The early church just borrowed it. [It always makes me think of the dear people who never celebrate Christmas because the tree is a pagan symbol; well the whole language of the New Testament is basically pagan language that we pirated to explain things in a way that made sense to normal people.]

Evangelist is a compound word (Ev [Good] + Angelos [Messenger]) In classical Greek, Evangelist simply meant a messenger with good news—especially news of a (military) victory. Before the days of CNN, battles were won/lost long before the folks back home learned the outcome. When a runner returned to one of the Greek city-states with news of victory, he was called an Evangelist. On the other hand, if he brought word of a defeat, he was no Evangelist.

During New Testament times, the Roman world was accustomed to hearing about numerous religions and philosophies—from regional mystery cults and Greco/Roman deities to Stoics and Epicureans. Followers of different gods and philosophies sought to spread their faith to others by proclaiming the benefits and promises of their ideology. Those who actively announced such “good news” were known as Evangelists.

A good example of such a proclamation comes from the Imperial Cult—the belief that Emperors of Rome, and other rulers like Herod,[1] were gods. A common theme of these Imperial evangels was a new world-order that would fix all problems. Listen to the language of a proclamation made in 9 BC by Paulus Fabius Maximus about the birthday of Augustus:

“Providence which has ordered the whole of our life… has ordained …a savior for us…to make war cease, to create order everywhere…”

The birthday of the god [Augustus] was the beginning for the world of glad tidings [evangel]…

The Jews were looking for Messiah, the Savior, who would defeat the kingdoms of the earth and usher in a new era of shalom (well-being, peace, prosperity). Because they had misinterpreted the evangel to be (only) about physical, political realities, many missed the promises and glad tidings.

Characteristics of Evangelists

The intent of this book is NOT to provide a Christianized personality profile or, even worse, predictions about your life or your ministry. I’m not interested in pigeonholing people. But a great deal of our makeup as individuals comes from what God intended us to be. We are what we are according to His intentional design and His unending grace.[2]

Just as Stewart and Kayla look and act far differently from one another, so, too, will your personality and the specifics of your life be different from others whose Gift-Mix is an Evangelist. Just as one color differs from another, so one Gift-Mix differs from another. For every attribute I’ll mention about Evangelists, there are scores of nuances, subtleties and exceptions. How many custom shades of green are available in a paint store?

But you will also share some aspects of being with other Evangelists—that might not be as pronounced among other Gift-Mixes. The point is that Evangelists tend to function with a slightly different orientation than Exhorters or Givers or Prophets, etc.

As I mentioned earlier in the book, my basic approach is to begin with the root word (evangel) the Bible uses as the Gift-Mix name. By definition, Evangelists ought to share many qualities inherent in their name-sake. What is true of the term evangel, should provide clues about the very make-up of Evangelists. Make sense? Additionally, Bible verses utilizing the root word of the Gift-Mix frequently reveal traits of that Gift-Mix.

Using definitions and verses, I arrive at something of a systematic theology of the different Gift-Mixes—Evangelists, Showers of Mercy, Teachers, etc.

Evangelists are not condemning. If Evangelists announce the outcome of an already-fought battle, and declare an event that has already taken place as reason for rejoicing, then it makes no sense to think of an Evangelist as a blame-bringer. Citizens of the city-state who listened to the Evangelist’s report had no hand, whatsoever, in the now-finished battle. They did not and could not affect its outcome. Blame would never have entered the announcement.

We have not evangelized our neighbor or the world if we have merely told them the things they are not supposed to do. Contrary to our ingrained image of a fire-breathing, finger-wagging, condemnation-bringing preacher, an Evangelist wants to get on with good news. People’s need for forgiveness and for a better future is self-apparent to the Evangelist.

True, they spot “wrong” things in people’s lives, but not for the purpose of bringing condemnation. Evangelists are like a handyman friend of mine, Jerry, who makes personal calls to homeowners whose contractor-warranties are about to end. Contractors’ liability for faulty workmanship concludes after a few years, and Jerry, who used to work for a nationwide builder, knows that. So, he asks the homeowners how their house is holding up. After alerting them to legal provisions for repairs, he points out stress fractures and other problems his trained eye picks out.

He’s not blaming the owners for shoddy living! He’s offering to fix the very problems he highlights. But Jerry’s repair skills work even on issues that the owners may have caused themselves. The point is the possible repair, not the probable cause. Evangelists don’t condemn buildings; they repair them!

I personally believe that the church gets crippled because of its preoccupation with trying to be moral policeman of society, trying to make people feel bad about what they have done, instead of telling them whatever they’re done in the past doesn’t matter with the offer of a new future.

Evangelists are indiscriminate. Perhaps a better way to say this is that Evangelists have no prejudice. They announce the good news to everyone—not just to a select few. Though he made his announcement to the few shepherds, he made it clear that the message was for “all people.” Obviously, not everyone heeds the invitation to salvation, but God—the love-filled Evangelist—extends it to all.[3] He wants everyone to be saved.[4] In fact, Jesus describes God’s indiscriminate blessings as one of the key marks of His perfection:[5]

“He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Rarely do Evangelists consider which person or people to speak with. They generally speak to anyone and everyone—one exactly the same terms. They do not treat people differently; like Kayla, they are blind to distinctions that set one people apart from others. Remember, they know that Jesus is the one answer to every person’s life, and since Evangelists view all of life from that equalizer, existing differences between people mean almost nothing to them.

That’s why Evangelists are so good at connecting with people on their level and in their language. They tend to be oblivious to all the reasons why they have no business trying to talk with individuals or groups. An older, blue-collar Evangelist from Minnesota wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to start conversation with a young, female émigré from Mali who is nursing her infant on a plane. A few rows further up on that same plane, another Evangelist—this one middle-age, matronly and African-American—would find a way to conversationally intercept a teenager wearing earphones to his iPod. And in 1st Class, the portly and balding frequent-flyer pharmaceutical salesman (Evangelist) sitting next to a very bored-but-you-don’t-dare-talk-to-me socialite would miss all the put-off hints from her. His relentless string of questions would eventually penetrate her defenses.

Evangelists tend to have many acquaintances. I’ll put it plainly: if you do not consider yourself a “people-person,” you’re not an Evangelist. I think of Evangelists as bus drivers for airport rental car companies. Their route is fairly short—not at all like that of trans-continental bus drivers who ferry people from Atlanta to Portland. Evangelists have a simple route, back and forth from Arrivals to the rental lot. Spiritually speaking, of course, that straightforward route intends to drop people at the foot of the Cross.

Once people are well on their way, enjoying their journey with God, Evangelists tend to lose interest. They have other passengers waiting. Like the initial stage of a rocket, an Evangelist wants to get people beyond earth’s atmosphere, into the spiritual dimension with Christ.
Evangelists are patient, too. They are like good fishermen who don’t mind fishing all day, if they have to, to make a catch. Since the people in their lives are at various stages of progress toward the Cross, Evangelists stay connected to many, many people.

Evangelists have more short-term friendships than long-term, exclusive relationships. Does that make sense? Anything that smacks of exclusivity or an insider’s club violates an Evangelist’s being. They want everyone to be friends with everyone in the world. Deep, time-consuming friendships drive Evangelists crazy, and at a party, they would gravitate more toward a new acquaintance than an old friend.

They are like Philip (“the Evangelist”), one of the newly selected leaders of the burgeoning early church in Jerusalem.[6] Though he was a Jew, he preached “the good news about the kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ,” in lots of places to lots of different people: to Samaritans, to an occultist magician and to a high-level government official—who happened to be an African eunuch. At the end of the brief snapshot the Bible gives us about Philip’s normal life,

“The Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.”[7]

Evangelists are optimistic and kind. In direct contrast to the angry caricature most people have of Evangelists crying out, “Turn or Burn,” we see a different picture in the Bible. Scripture tells us that God is rich in “kindness and tolerance and patience,” and it is “the kindness of God that leads” people to repentance.[8] Evangelists bring word of a better future. Certainly, their main message is about God’s offer to save people from the clutches of sin, but in a broader sense, salvation is rescue/deliverance from anything that endangers people’s God-intended future.

Evangelists simply believe God wants to do people good—all the days of their lives. That’s why they’re optimistic. They simply do not concede that the existing situation is the end of the story. And, as mentioned earlier, neither do they spend much time trying to affix blame. Think of it this way: Evangelists are like messengers who bring word of presidential pardon to a prison; with the pardon in hand, they have no need to rehearse the crimes that led to someone’s imprisonment. That’s old news—and not that interesting to Evangelists.

God’s kindness, one of the chief characteristics of true Evangelists, is not fully understood by English-speakers. We tend to define kindness exclusively in terms of sympathy, compassion and other feelings. But God’s kindness is more like our word benevolence. It is a feeling; but it translates into helpfulness. God is moved to do things for us. So, too, are Evangelists. They really enjoy doing things for other people as a simple expression of how God treats them.

How tragic that this extraordinary Gift-Mix has been mixed up in so many people’s thinking with an angry, judgmental and aloof (not-so-friendly-seeming) man, shaking his fist at, and enumerating the evils of, a crowd of people.

[1] Acts 12:22
[2] 1 Corinthians 15:12
[3] See Matthew 22:9; 1 Timothy 4:10
[4] 1 Timothy 2:4
[5] Matthew 5:43-48
[6] Acts 6:1-7
[7] Acts 8:40
[8] Romans 2:4

Capital District March 4-10, 2009 Day 3

2009-03-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

Day 3: It happened right in front of me.

It happened. Right in front of me—to the guy wearing the athlete outfit. He was coming my way as I clipped toward him, power-walking at 4.6 mph. I’m not saying he was an athlete, but he was wearing the right clothes. Now that I look back on the incident, I guess he probably wasn’t an athlete, at least, not an in-shape one. Maybe a “Time-to-get-back-in-shape” athlete. Or a wanna-be. Perhaps a used-to-be or a “Been-a-long-cold-winter” athlete.

But he was wearing the right clothes—jogging pants, warm-up jacket (black with small red stripes) and running shoes. Not that he was running in them. Mostly, he was just moving forward—a bit. If you were moving as fast as I was, coming up on him as I did, you’d have thought he was an athlete, too. Until you got closer. OK, so even from a distance you might have noticed that his gait was more like an amble than a jog, and everything about his bearing was too soft/rounded and filled out. No lean-machine this guy. He could have been an athlete.

But it happened to him. Out of the rarified marine air that clung to the Inner Harbor, the way a child—who’s been told to share his toy—clutches at his toy, it happened. The dread of coastal athletes around the world. The game-changer we fear. The curse, the bane. Everyone has their story—the time it happened to them. No one wants a repeat!

Like the unannounced strike of a drone missile, out of the air without warning, preamble or remorse, it struck him. Right shoulder, the one furthest from me as I passed. I saw it happen. He was wearing the right clothes. Maybe he was; maybe he wasn’t an athlete. I suppose, in the end, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Chance played the largest part in it all. Who knows what fickle currents of air, what atmospheric buffetings drove and changed its course before, splat! On his shoulder. The right shoulder of his warm-up jacket with red stripes. To the far left of me as I was passing.

The long-forgotten meal—probably anchovies—of a seagull, without so much as a “howdy-do,” released itself into a freefall. Down it came, heedless of its destination until it punctuated the bird’s indifference to our lowly human condition, by colliding with the athlete’s wear!

A glob of (mostly) white goo. A gobbet of gunk. A splotch of slime. The mark of feathery malice. A smear of stain. A torpedo of tarnish. A rain of ruin. On the shoulder is better than bird-do in the hair-do, but that’s a small consolation, indeed!

I kept walking. I didn’t offer a hand or a comment. I spared not even a second look. I power-walked on my way, leaving him to his. I practiced the Golden Rule to him as I would have wanted him to do to me—left him alone in his disbelief (“What are the odds?”) and in his remorse for getting in shape today, of all days.

I acted as if nothing had happened. He tried to make-believe, as well. But he was no poker player; no bluffer in this one. In those brief moments, when we were abreast of one another—me going my way and he no longer moving—he pretended that nothing had happened. But his eyes gave up the charade. He kept staring at the spot-that-didn’t-match, the outer wound from the direct, aviary hit. Despite the pretense, his and mine, we couldn’t deny it.

It happened. Right in front of me—to the guy wearing the athlete clothes. Not to me—the other guy wearing almost the same (except with grey stripes).

Dinner with Lorrel

Not long after my eventful power-walk, Lorrel called me to arrange our dinner plans. She wanted to try a new, highly recommended place out near where she lives, so we set a time to meet. The establishment served very interesting, old-world fare—very central-European. It reminded me of Czech food: lots of heavy meats, serious soups, potatoes, etc. We enjoyed a flatbread with feta cheese, jalapeño peppers, and artichoke hearts baked in a wood-fire oven like a pizza. We decided to split two items (the ones she remarked about when we studied the menu—stuffed ham and pork tenderloin).

Neither of us were knocked out by the ham. It had an odd spice to it. But the pork was fantastico. For dessert, she settled on a goat-cheese cheesecake (sounded sick to me), and I opted for the no-brainer—malt ice cream. Oh my…

Let’s just say that after one taste of my selection (I refused the offer of a bite of hers), Lorrel soon gave up any pretense that it was MINE. Finally conceding that I was her father, I dutifully pushed the remaining dollop of creamy, tangy ice cream to her side of the table and put down my spoon. I would have fought anyone but my kids for that malt ice cream!

Ah, but what a sweet taste, to be sitting with Lorrel in Baltimore just a few short hours after her Fellowship interview at Johns Hopkins. As I thought back on this last week, I recounted the fabulous conversations I had with Hilary/Todd about church; Collin about his college group and things God has placed on his heart; and, Evan about his young adult group in LA. My dreams come true—preachers, moms, dramatists, scientists, dads, entrepreneurs and physicians for the next generation!

Capital District March 4-10, 2009 Day 2

2009-03-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

Day 2: More on Gift-Mixes

Favorite Breakfast in Baltimore

Wow! I wrote a lot yesterday—and very personal. I hope it wasn’t TMI (too much info) for anyone, but the inner realities, the thoughts/emotions that swirl around behind-the-scenes in ministry are as significant to the whole story as any event or itinerary. Traveling as much as I do gives ample opportunity for me to think about things (sometimes a dangerous occupation). How we appear to others may not always be the whole story. Since I am someone who regularly “sends” and says “good-bye” to lots of people, I can be viewed as a guy who doesn’t really form deep connections. Like moving-on is no big deal…

But it’s gut-wrenching every time! I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it many more times, “Heaven will be great because, unlike on earth where we have little time and lots of ‘stuff’, in heaven we’ll have lots of time and no ‘stuff’. And there will be no good-byes!”

I’m staying in a hotel on the far southwestern edge of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor—an older but once-plush hotel called the Intercontinental. It was another Priceline.com steal ($90 per night) for a 4-Star hotel. The only drawback to this place is that it is as far away from my breakfast spot as you can get, and still be in the Inner Harbor. I walk at a fast clip (4-4.6 mph), and it took almost 15 minutes to reach the Whole Foods market where I had a blueberry scone and an extra large half-caff coffee. Mmmm.

I read the newspaper as I devoured (slowly) my scone. I wanted to get another bakery item, but decided to be “good” since I was going to be eating at the Cheesecake Factory that evening with Jay and Lynn Brooks. I contented myself with a few blueberries and a couple Californian mandarin oranges.

Good Day of Writing

I filled the rest of the day with writing, and I’m happy with the results. I continue to plug away at my Gift-Mix book, God Wants You to Be You. The section I completed may very well be the first few pages of the book. Here it is for you…

Click on this link to read the PDF version, or keep reading below: Gift Mixes and the Tourist

GIFT-MIXES AND THE TOURIST

Let me offer a verbal video-clip as a way to briefly introduce various GIFT-MIXES to you. A hapless (and lost) tourist stands alone and dejected, several blocks off Broadway amidst the noisy confusion of New York City. He has become separated from his group of friends “taking in the City” during an all-day flight layover between San Francisco and Zurich. Because the tall buildings block his view of the sun, he has no idea of direction, and the expressions “up-town” and “down-town” offer him no hint of which way to go—even if he could discern north from south.

Good news for the tourist, not far from where he stands is the store-front meeting place for a church being planted by a small group of believers. Several of those go-for-it saints are passing through the area on their way back from lunch, doing last-minute errands, hurrying back to their jobs or taking power-walks. Consequently, our tourist-friend is about to meet these believers, one-at-a-time.

Evangelist

Not surprisingly, the EVANGELIST is first on the scene, not through any intentional planning, but just because of the way the day worked out (EVANGELISTS are somewhat oblivious to details of the day, but they do capitalize on whatever the day offers).

“I see you’re lost,” says the EVANGELIST to the tourist.

“Yes, I am,” he responds.

Suddenly animated by opportunity, the EVANGELIST inquires, “But do you know how truly lost you are?” Without waiting for an answer, he uses Broadway Blvd. to open conversation about the broad way that leads to destruction, and about the Way (Jesus) who can take us to God.

Prophet

As that conversation ends, our tourist has much more to think about, but he’s still at the same corner, as physically lost as before. Soon thereafter, a PROPHET happens along and because her mind is on other things, she almost bumps into the tourist (PROPHETS tend to be overly focused on a few things and unaware of others).

“You’re LOST, aren’t you,” exclaims the PROPHET. “I don’t normally take this street to the cleaners, but I just had the sense—a few blocks back—that I should turn down this street… And, praise the Lord, here you are!”

Feeling somewhat useful to the PROPHET, but not quite sure how or why being in need is so exciting to the spontaneously-guided PROPHET, the tourist doesn’t really know what to say or ask. Apparently, the PROPHET has found reason and confirmation for the changed walking route. Feeling glad to be needed, at least the tourist feels a personal bond with someone in the big city.

Teacher

As they stand there together, a TEACHER approaches them with purposeful strides, crossing over from the other side of the street. Without any preliminaries, he quizzes the tourist, “Are you lost? Yes, of course you are. Happens all the time around here. Is that a map in your hand? Let’s just take a look at it, shall we?” (TEACHERS almost always find lessons-to-be-learned in others’ circumstances)

Instinctively adopting a pupil’s willingness to be instructed, the tourist nods and holds up the rumpled map he has been clutching absentmindedly. When asked the name of the street he’s on, the tourist looks at the nearby street sign and, with the TEACHER’s urging, finds himself repeating the name aloud.

“Now let’s look for that name on the back of the map where they list street names and coordinates,” the TEACHER continues. Before long the TEACHER has become absorbed in the map and explanations about how the city was laid out last century.

Leader-Champion

Another member of the new church, who is obviously a close friend of the TEACHER, happens on the scene with another take on matters: “I, for one, am not surprised that you’re lost. You are lost, aren’t you? I thought so. Figures. When will the city learn?”

The tourist has some difficulty following the rest of the conversation because the LEADER-CHAMPION seems to be alluding to a bigger problem—of all tourists in New York and what the City ought to do to make itself more tourist-friendly. The LEADER-CHAMPION is clearly an organized sort of get-it-done man who multi-tasks with ease. His zeal is contagious.

The tourist almost expects the LEADER-CHAMPION to pull out a petition. “I’ll sign,” he finds himself thinking. Though he doesn’t even live in New York, he feels compelled to join the cause
“Save the tourists!” (LEADER-CHAMPIONS have an uncanny ability to mobilize recruits for a big cause or event.)

Exhorter

It isn’t long before an EXHORTER, conversing with someone she met two blocks earlier, calls out with a warm greeting to the tourist and his friends. Seeming to continue the previous conversation with her latest, new best friend, the EXHORTER keeps talking as though everyone has been listening to her for hours. (EXHORTERS can talk and talk and talk—but no one minds when they do).

Suddenly making discovery of a fresh, not-yet discussed subject, she exclaims, “Oh, you’re lost?!”

Simultaneously with the tourist’s affirmative reply, the EXHORTER continues aloud, “It reminds me of the time I was lost in Paris—or was it Naples? Anyway, I was so lost, I mean, really lost. I met these folks who have a little place in upstate New York. What are the chances of that? We got talking about our experiences in the snow…”

Apostle-Pioneer

Somewhat dazed, but strangely comforted by knowing someone else has survived being lost in a big city, the tourist turns his attention to another man who has just joined the group. He has an air of unconventionality about him—as though he doesn’t care much about the way things have been done before. He, too, makes the tourist feel comforted—not with stories of past survival, but with thoughts about a different future. (APOSTLE-PIONEERS seem to go their own way, following the beat of a very different drummer.)

“Who says you’re lost?” asks the Apostle. “The way I see it, you’re only lost if the people looking for you can’t find you. Just start walking. That’s the way to see a city. Don’t bother with following a map—especially not those guided tour maps. Tell you what, I’ll be your tour guide. We’ll make up our own tour of the city.”

Pastor

Fortunately, the tourist doesn’t have to decide whether or not to follow the APOSTLE-PIONEER because several other believers join the now-growing group standing around on the sidewalk. The woman who seems to be leading these newcomers reminds the tourist of a mother hen keeping a watchful eye on all her friends. It would be too strong to say she is herding her flock down the street, but she keeps the group together by speaking and paying attention to each of them alternately. And by reminding them of their eventual destination.

The PASTOR, for such she is, greets her newfound flock (including the tourist) warmly and reassuringly. Turning her attention to the tourist, who instantly feels known and covered, she voices her concern, “Oh my, you’re lost. Whatever shall we do?” (PASTORS want everyone to have and to feel things in common—“One for all and all for one.”)

Turning back to address the assembled group, she exhorts them to come in a little closer and gather around the tourist. “Let’s hold hands and sing Kumbaya. Remember, Jesus told us to do to others as we’d like them to do to us.”

Giver

The tourist, who doesn’t know the words to the song and isn’t quite sure what he thinks about holding hands with strangers, is relieved by a series of practical questions coming from one of the other new members of the sidewalk congregation.

“Is anybody hungry? Do you need a new map? Can I buy you a Day-Pass? It’s good on the subway and all city buses!” The GIVER, a man who doesn’t necessarily look wealthy, is reaching for his wallet while asking the questions. The string of questions is secondary to his main interest: giving money. (GIVERS like to play spiritual Jeopardy. The answer to the Daily Double is always Give).

The tourist is somewhat embarrassed by this generous eagerness to supply his needs, especially when he can tell that the GIVER is offering impulsively. Feeling almost selfish by contrast, the tourist would have calculated the money in his wallet and compared it to upcoming needs before making an offer of that sort. At ease with all his new friends, the tourist almost replies in jest, “I could use a new overcoat,” but believes this friend would somehow get one for him.

Server-Helper

The tourist’s attention quickly shifts away from himself and his needs to one of the others who joined the group along with the PASTOR and the GIVER. Funny how he didn’t see her before. She just seems to blend in with her surroundings, even though, now as the tourist really looks at her, he can see she is quite attractive in a quiet sort of way.

The tourist watches for a few minutes as the SERVER-HELPER arranges things—straightening a nearby group of trash cans, righting a toppled bike that has been chained to a light pole, and assisting various members of the group with an assortment of needs. She does things that the tourist would never think to do. It’s as though she is being coached, by some unseen overseer, to know exactly what little things will make a big difference for others. (SERVER-HELPERS know and do what needs doing to maximize benefit for others.)

She reminds the tourist of an old movie whose main character can do things in warp speed without others noticing, almost as though everyone else stands still in time. Attending to things without most of the group being aware that she is even there, The SERVER-HELPER lives almost in her own world, and she obviously derives deep satisfaction out of the limelight, going about her business.

Mercy-Shower

After another moment or two of watching her, the tourist becomes aware that another of the newcomers is focused intently on him—not with scrutinizing curiosity, and certainly not in judgment. Quite the opposite! Though he could not explain why he feels this way, the tourist feels totally accepted and embraced by the man’s eyes. The MERCY-SHOWER, an obviously gentle and kind man, approaches and holds out his hand to shake with the tourist.His grip conveys warmth—but definite strength. “I’ll bet it takes a lot to make this man angry,” thinks the tourist, “But if he did get mad, I wouldn’t want him mad at me!” The tourist feels understood, instantly, when the MERCY-SHOWER whispers, “You must be feeling a bit overwhelmed—and a trifle dazed in such a big city with so many people.”

Whereas the EXHORTER used the tourist’s experience as a launch-point for her own story, the MERCY-SHOWER remains silent, inviting the tourist to tell him everything about what has happened. (MERCY-SHOWERS are great listeners, but while they listen, they help others process their experiences.)

Though he is still on the same corner in New York City, not exactly sure what to do next, the tourist no longer feels uncomfortable or out of place.

GOOD-BYES

Realizing the lateness of the hour and knowing he must rendezvous his tour group from California, the tourist declines an offer from the PASTOR to join them for an impromptu meeting in their new church building. It’s time to say good-bye.

What friends he has made! Being found by such a group of people is almost worth getting lost. He shakes hands with the GIVER and feels a $20 bill being pressed into his hand while they shake. The wink tells him to remain quiet and not protest, so he simply says, “Thanks for everything.”
The SERVANT-HELPER has somehow managed to neatly refold the tourist’s map and place it in the backpack he helps adjust on the tourist’s back. “Wow. That feels much lighter,” states the tourist, “What did you do, fiddle with the straps? Thanks.”

Already half a block down the street, the EVANGELIST cries out, “Remember, once you were lost, but now you’ve been found!” The tourist smiles as he witnesses the EVANGELIST turn quickly to an unsuspecting bystander, as if to answer the question, “Lost?” that may—or may not—have been on the bystander’s mind. An animated conversation ensues.

The EXHORTER, speaking to anyone who might be listening, continues his string of stories, “All this reminds me of a chance meeting several of my college buddies and I had…” The tourist is sorry to miss the EXHORTER’S story that already sounds interesting.

But he’s also anxious to get back to his own buddies and the flight to Switzerland. Continuing the good-byes, the tourist hugs the PROPHET, who whispers in his ear, “Remember, God knows right where you are at all times.” The APOSTLE-PIONEER, still seeming a bit distracted by thoughts no one else is likely thinking, asks a farewell question that isn’t really a question: “Isn’t this exciting? I love it when life throws us a curve!”

The TEACHER and LEADER-CHAMPION do wave, but they are absorbed in a discussion about today’s incident—and its meaning. The LEADER-CHAMPION wants to know, “What can we do about this? The TEACHER asks, “What can we learn from this?” The tourist chuckles to himself, thinking how great it would be to have both on his planning team back at the office.

The MERCY-SHOWER and the PASTOR are the last two to turn away with the group. It’s as though the MERCY-SHOWER wants to lend his assuring presence for as long as possible, until it’s clear the tourist is ready to go for it on his own. And the poor PASTOR seems torn, almost tormented as her flock divides. She wants to keep everyone together on their way, fussing over and singling each one out for special attention. And she wants to linger with her newest charge until the tourist is clearly out of danger.

Capital District March 4-10, 2009 Day 1

2009-03-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

Day 1: Final Trip as Supervisor

Off to Baltimore

What a delightful early morning conversation I enjoyed with Isaac, who dutifully picked me up at the house at 4:30am. Isaac always makes me chuckle. Neither of us can speak more than a couple sentences at a time without punctuating our words with some laugh, hoot, whoop or “Yes!
Ha. Ha.” I’m not quite sure why. Perhaps we both just enjoy life and its ironies…

So absorbed we became in our conversation, I think we were both surprised at the record time (short) our trip took to the airport. Although, now as I think about it, I did notice he was driving at a fair clip beyond the posted speed limit down the hill from our house and through the (sleepy/asleep) little town of Soquel. I remember thinking it would be quite ironic if Sam, a good friend of ours who is a Highway Patrol officer, was on duty in our neighborhood.

While en route to the airport, I checked my email for an alert from American Airlines. Usually, I get notified about an upgrade three days before my flights. The segment from Dallas to Baltimore was already upgraded, but I had heard nothing about this segment—from San Jose to Dallas. Long ago, I settled with the Lord a contentment and gratitude for whatever seating/flying arrangements He provided. It probably sounds pious to claim, but I know the calm acceptance in my own heart: I love it when God arranges very nice seats on planes and special rooms in nice hotels; but I move ahead just as gratefully for hotel dives and lousy middle seats near the rear of aircrafts. If the same Hand provides them, shouldn’t I have the same response to them? (P.S. I got an upgrade to 1st Class, after all.)

End of an Era

This is, as far as I know, my final trip as a Foursquare official to Baltimore, Washington, DC and the other towns in the Capital District. I had planned one last trip at the end of April to coincide with the actual transition to the new Supervisor’s tenure (May 1), but the funds I have available for such a trip were drastically limited when the NCO froze two of our three accounts. I do not begrudge their action—since they are trying to provide the new supervisors with every possible advantage—but because I am very intentional with my budget, I felt other needs in the district (which I planned to fund out of the now-frozen accounts) took precedence over a last, nostalgic trip.

This marks an end of an era (for me). I have good friends in the East. People I have loved as deeply and as thoroughly as I know how. People about whom I care in details large or small. Friends whom I love to champion and spur on to new heights. Years ago, I heard a good explanation of the difference between the kinds of places we can have in someone else’s life. It’s a simple measure: Am I trying to give to the person, or am I trying to get from him/her?

Love offers itself. Fear withholds itself. Power takes for itself. Indifference fends for itself. Humility subordinates itself. So, I continually do a self-analysis, asking which is my first thought, my primarily intentional action? Offering or withholding myself? Taking from or giving to others? Etc.

Uneven Endings

Even though I know they are inevitable in life, I have never liked uneven endings. Take this transition from my district. It’s not that I want/expect a “Farewell Party” or special fanfare in the District. Even though I’m as happy as the next guy to hear that my life has been meaningful for others, that isn’t what I mean by avoiding uneven endings. Actually, I mean almost the opposite. I’m not talking about “getting” something from my pastor friends; I’m talking about giving to and enjoying something. Let me explain (if I can).

Leadership is mostly about building credibility with others—convincing people, over a long period of time, that we love them and put their “best” above our own. The more that our touch in their lives has proven helpful, and the more they believe we will lead them to a better future than what they might have hoped for by themselves, the greater their willingness to follow us into that future. Perhaps another way to put it is that good leadership progressively makes a larger/deeper place for us in others’ lives; they “let us in” to vulnerable places, telling us things they may not have told others, sharing openly who and what they are.

Leaders who have been granted those access-points in people’s lives, must steward them carefully. That place we occupy eventually becomes settled, comfortable and enduring—as though it was there all along. (Newer leaders sometimes try to speed that development along, and grow exasperated when they do not yet enjoy full trust/access/”welcome in” from their friends. It simply takes time and patience and sensitivity to people’s condition, their past, etc.). When things are as they should be, leaders relish the place they have been granted as much as the people delight in having someone fill that place.

Once that deep dialog has been established, once the invited/welcomed openness has developed, it is profoundly unsettling when the “rules of engagement” change. When I stepped aside from pastoring the Coastlands, to pursue CTW ministry full-time, I experienced that change. I knew it would happen; I made the transition from one season to the next with my eyes open to what the change would mean in terms of the connection I had had with them.My congregation threw me the best farewell party in history. They called it my “22-Year Salute.” Everyone was so nice at my farewell salute; I cried and laughed at their tributes to my pastoral work. I loved it all!

The place I had in my congregation’s lives, I would no longer have.

But the most important part of the whole evening, for me, was the opportunity—one final evening—to intentionally live out and live within the place that had built up between us over the years. It was my good-bye party, but I was saying farewell while still enjoying all the aspects and familiarities that were in the relationship as-it-was. Knowing everything would be different at the end of the evening, in one condensed set of hours, I relived and savored the deep, deep place I had been granted by them. I relished the last taste like a man scraping the last bits of ice cream from a bowl.

I knew my connection with them, as it had been, was ending. But I wanted the ending to be part of the connection as it had been—not part of the changed future that was-to-be. The ice cream bowl will certainly get washed, and the ice cream will all be gone. But a farewell ought to come from the bowl before it is washed, not after. I realize it is a form of pretense, knowingly fooling ourselves as though the relationship will always stay the same.

An uneven ending happens when the ending of a relationship is played out under the new “rules of engagement,” rather than the old ones. It too quickly or suddenly resembles the future (the way things will be from that point on), rather than resembling the “settled” past. Endings should look/feel/taste like the past, not like the future. That’s why I want the final days of my tenure as Supervisor to be like the earlier days.

I know I will have a different relationship with my friends in the East. But I won’t announce the change by changing the “terms of engagement” we have come to know together. It has always been the case for me that ending something well, in full swing, is the best way to move on to the future. It leaves that “settled place” settled (neatly packed away) for years to come.

Church Plant

Once I arrived in Baltimore, I got my rented car and drove to Pastors Plummer and Lorraine’s home for a small Bible study with the team they’re collecting for a church plant. I was so welcomed by everyone, and treated like an old friend. I was reminded, as I shared with them some of my story about planting the Coastlands, of those early years in Santa Cruz. I had a few scriptures and a prophetic word for them.

I was supposed to finish my “thoughts” by 9:00pm, but I had changed my watch in Dallas to Central time and did not recollect, as I glanced at my watch, that Central Time is an hour off from Eastern Time… We did get it all straightened out around 9:15pm (EST). It was a delightful evening.