My Daddy is a very wise man. As we were walking thru the exhibits at the Missionary Convention a few days ago, he took the opportunity to ask me how I was doing with certain situations that he knows are going on in my life. I told him that I just don't like the politics of life... I don't like the politics in business, in the government and most of all in the church. (The latter is the one that really bugs me... and mostly what we were talking about.) He told me that it is all just about perception, and how we view situations in life. He said that politics is really just about bringing your opinion to the table. Politics is listening to the opinion of others, and also bringing your opinion and point of view to the table for conversation as well. You see, I've always looked at politics as simply sucking up to the "powers that be"... something I am NOT about to do, and cringe/laugh at when I see others trying so desperately to do it. But as my oh-so-wise Daddy told me, if I just look at the politics of life as sucking up, of course I'm going to be put off. Instead, I should view it more as a sharing of information on both sides... a growing experience. Even more so, if I don't participate in the politics of a particular institution I am really just saying that I only care about my opinion and my own point of view. When I engage in the 'political games' of a given institution, I am involving myself in the process, not just standing idly in the background, judging and disliking all that is going on. Well put, daddy. :-) I always knew you knew it all. :-)
Some of the most telling conversations happen in the womens' restroom at church. Like the one I walked into this evening at our thanksgiving dinner. For sake of the conversation, I will call our church Tulsa Christian Church. Here's how the conversation goes:
Me: (Walking into open stall number one.)
Stall 2: (Woman in stall 2 is reading the Women's Gathering Flyer posted in pink paper on the back of the stall 2 door.) Hm, let's see what going on in the women's ministry (unzip)... hmmmm.... (shuffle shuffle) What's this? A Women's Gathering?
Stall 3: Yeah, I wonder what that is?
Stall 2: (Still reading said pink flyer) December Women's Gathering held at Church at Battle Creek. Why are they having it Battle Creek? Is it some kind of inter-church type thing?
Stall 3: I don't know... where is that anyways?
Stall 2: Its over on Garnett... that's weird... why would they have our women's gathering at a different church? Is it like they're trying to get us to work together? I'm not going to go to it. (flush *swoosh* zip)
Stalle 3: Yeah, I don't know. I wonder why they'd want to do that. Well, I'm not going to go either. (zip *swoosh*)
Hmmmm. Churches working together. Now THERE is a novel idea.
What if our church marketed like Starbucks? Or, as this video shows, what if Starbucks marketed like our churches do? Check this out... it is seriously hillarious. The dialogue surrounding "first time visitors" in this video is practically word for word what takes place at our church every Sunday. Seriously. Word. For. Word.
BAM stands for a rising trend in missions known as Business As Missions. I hesitate to use the word 'trend' when describing this, so please translate that loosely. Maybe it is better described as a strategy that is becoming more and more prevalent in the modern world. I have to catch myself in saying its a "new" thing, because it definitely is not. Afterall, Paul was a tentmaker, so we have examples as old as history will take us. I guess another word for BAM was tentmaking.
BAM is something that Sean and I have always thought about, even before we had heard much about it. There are opportunities for Christians to get into closed and hostile countries are often far more practical for those going in with a specific skill set, and they are given access where as traditional missionaries might not get such access. It really is exciting to think about the endless possibilities that business as missions holds.
One guy at the convention (I don't remember his name) is living in LA (that's Los Angeles, not Louisiana). He's not a pastor or in full time ministry right now but he is about to be. He and his wife realized that buying property in Germany is a lot cheaper than buying property in LA. So, he and his wife are buying property in Germany... but not just any property... they're buying an entire hotel. They will move there and live as keepers of the hotel. They are also planning to run a coffee shop out of their hotel and they are also going to have a Christian resource library in the hotel! How creative/cool/exciting/awesome is that?
Another lady I met this weekend, an old friend of my moms from when we lived in Mississippi knows a guy who live in CA and travels frequently to a very wealthy country in the middle east with a couple of music groups, running their sound and media. Apparently several of the princes of this Mid East county are fond of these bands, so this CA guy is able to travel with the band, ministering to them, as well as to the people he meets in the ME. How awesome is that?!
There are a ton of websites on the subject, but the whole movement towards this kind of ministry is really exciting. I kept hearing this over and over from very well respected people (Doug Lucas, Mark Moore, to name a few) and am just so excited about what the future of missions holds. Here's some info:
Don't Go To Seminary Article (read this!!!!)
How to Get Involved in BAM (VERY Practical for all business people!!)
I could go on and on, but I'll just let you google "Business As Missions" and see where the web takes you. This is so exciting... I can only imagine and anticipate with great prayer where this shift in missions will take us in the coming years. Sure, there may be some new strategy for missions 10 years from now, but for today, 2008 and beyond, this is an exciting thing to see happening. Gone are the days of the "spiritual elite" (I say this tongue-in-cheek... and mean the idea/falsehood that preachers and seminary students are the only ones with the task to preach and share the gospel) being the only ones who minister to their neighbor. I think and pray we will see very powerful business men brought to their knees in repentance and prayer. I pray we will see an increase in giving globally, and that the places and people who are making money in high power jobs will give their lives to Christ and in turn, give more than they ever imagined. I pray and hope we will see business men and women of all professions joining together to get their hands dirty... to get out of their highrise buildings and visit the poor in the slums... the hungry in the villages... and that they will be moved to do something about it. Yes, its very exciting. :-)
This has been an amazing weekend at the NMC. I never knew it was possible to feel so completely refreshed and utterly exhausted at the same time. I've taken loads of notes and have about a millions things going on in my mind, but am in need of some serious chill time (aka: mindless watching of CSI). That being said, I'm just going to make a list of things I want to write about, and will expound upon at a later time.
This is Mom & Dad Reed... my dorm parents all four years of college. I love these two so much! Like they were my own parents! They will always be Mom and Dad to me. Mom Reeds talks of me like a proud mother talks of her own daughter... I got to talk to them about a recent life changing trip they took to Thailand, and hear about their new life off of Ozark's campus. They made my years at college so wonderful, and I am a better person, a stronger woman, because of their counsel and time they invested in me. Love you guys!
We had a great day yesterday. Sean and I were invited to a Missions' Ministers' Round Table, hosted by Doug Lucas of Team Expansion. It was just a group of about 20 or so missions ministers from churches all over the country. The meeting was from 9 am to 9 pm, so it was a long day, but it was full of great information, brainstorming, problem solving and networking. It was really exciting!
The missionary convention officially starts tonight, so I am excited for that too! Mom and Dad are already downtown working the registration, but Sean and I are just chilling at the house for now this morning. Sean's at the park running now and I am just hanging out watching the View. :-) Something I haven't gotten to do since, well... since we lived in NC really!
While we were at the round table yesterday, a couple of really cool websites were recommended by some people, so I thought I'd share them here. The first is called Brigada.org... it is a huge resource for everything missions....are cell phones safe, whats the latest technology, secure emails, fundraising, Business As Missions, the possibilities and resources are ENDLESS! Its like a blog in that you can comment and search by topic. So if you've ever had a question, or just want to stay abreast of the latest, its a great site to bookmark.
Another great site that was mentioned was stmstandards.org.... this is a great resource for planning short term mission trips and ensuring the quality and purpose of them (something that is definitely lacking in some places!).
So those are just a couple of really cool resources I got out of yesterday. There is so much to be done, but it is exciting to think about what God is going to do in the next 3 years, as far as our missions department goes.
In other news.... 13 hours until Twilight premieres in Tulsa!!! But i'm not gonna be one of the crazies out at midnight! I'll wait until the rest of the kids are in school so I don't have to watch it with a bunch of swooning teenagers. But, if you are still holding out on the Twilight series, just get over it and give in. You won't regret it, and you'll never be the same. :-) (Ok, that might be a bit drastic, but I am definitely glad I read it!)
I've only been home a few days but I am loving it! And Sean is having a great time in Joplin... Here's some pics....
Flying over Mountains on our way to TTown....
I've only been home a few days but am loving it so far! Here's what I've been up to...
Mom and I went to Woodward Park and took Daisy... we crunched thru the leaves while Daisy chased the squirrels....
Will's Birthday Party last night... Chad made a DELISH peanut butter cake
