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Wow! As the summer approaches, I am excited and awed to see how the Lord is working and preparing for the next CPx class. I am not sure what I will be doing with the CPx class. But, I am excited just to be hanging out with them and learning from them.
God woke me early today to commune with Him. Mixed feelings came when I looked at the clock and saw it was 5am...frustration because I was awakened so early and excitement as I anticipated my time with Him. As I began communicating with Him, He shed light on my heart and revealed "a log" in my eye. The log was pride....thinking my way is right, I know how to do that better, let me show you the better way..... I thought back to some times in which I had communicated this pride with my actions/words. In those moments, I thought I was being helpful, but in reality I was putting people down. Most likely they were hurt by my "helpfulness". That reality made me sorrowful...sorrowful that my sin had offended God and others. I dwelt on that for a time, but was able to end my communion with God rejoicing. Rejoicing because my sin has been atoned for by the death of Jesus Christ. Rejoicing because Jesus is my righteousness. Rejoicing because Jesus is humble and He lives in me. Rejoicing because I am being transformed into His likeness overtime.
I praise you Lord for all the times my interactions with others are humble and gentle, for it is Your grace in my life that makes it possible.
I’m living with a lovely woman named Bethel and her daughter Ashley. I have my own room in the corner of the upper level of the split-level house. By day my room is all pink, Pooh, and princess – the style left unchanged since Bethel’s other daughter, Anne, moved out. But by night, after all the lights are out, the room is transformed into a segment of outer space. As I lie on my bed I feel as though I’m floating in a vast sea of stars, some are large and bright while others only specs of light.
I’m reminded that “God made two great lights…and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and the night…and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:16-18
So, every night in my new home in Belton, MO I drift off to sleep wrapped in God’s blanket of space and stars. Amazing what a package of plastic glow in the dark stars can do to a room!
For too long, Christians have taken an adversarial role with Muslims. We believe we must prove them wrong, and expose all the untruth and evil in their religion BEFORE we can share Jesus with them.
But consider Paul’s strategy in yet another city, Ephesus. In Acts 19, we read about how he goes there and raises up a core group of 12 believers. He then preaches in the Synagogues (where the Jews persecuted him and ran him out – 19:9), and then among the Gentiles in the Hall of Tyrannus. For two years, he preaches the Gospel to all the peoples in Ephesus.
And many people believe.
This cramps the style of the silversmiths, who make their entire living on forging and selling little silver statues and idols for worship of Artemis, the main God of Ephesus. Now, I’m not an expert on Artemis, but I have been to Ephesus. I went last summer, and got to see some of the silver idols that they have excavated…most of them connected to fertility. The female versions have about 15 breasts all over their abdomens, and the male versions – well, let’s just say they are very well-endowed! I mean, this stuff is gross! Further, there was quite a bit of sexual immorality connected to the worship of Artemis. One way to connect with her was to see a temple prostitute, for instance. So this whole Artemis cult, which was the main thing going in Ephesus while Paul was there, was way over the top.
And yet, we read in Acts 19:37 that the Town Clerk of Ephesus describes Paul and the other believers as men “who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.” What?
George Patterson, a well-known church planting trainer, challenged me to consider the traditions of men and their affect on indiginous peoples when attempting to plant churches. What structures have we created that are not Biblical? How might we be hindering the work of the Holy Spirit in such structures? What do those structures communicate and how might they be received? I'll be chewing on these types of questions for years to come....and as George says, "mistakes will be made and that is ok". Praise the Lord that His grace abounds and that He will fulfill His promise to reach all nations
Just a couple of days ago the enormity of what we have done hit me like a rock on the head - we've actually upped our family with a young baby from a fairly 'comfortable' life in Wales where we had a definable 'ministry' to join a Church Planting programme in Grandview (where?!) run by a bunch of people we've never met, having found out about the course by the wonderful gift that is Google! WHAT HAVE WE DONE!!!
Thank God (literally!) that we were following the leadings of the Spirit and this is where he wanted us to be! Life in God is so exciting! We get to do crazy things, but they're really not crazy but the most sensible thing we could do - just obeying that little nudge from the Lord and stepping into the unknown. I'm so glad we're here!
Recently we had a new roof put on our All Nations house. I went through the normal routine of finding a bid and trying to figure out who was being honest and wouldn't change the price and would include everything necessary to complete the job. Once satisfied I gave the job to one of the roofing companys and went merrily on my way.
Once the job started the shingles got put on in quick and fine fashion and was looking good. Then the first phone call came, "Mr. Catlett, this is Joe with the roofing company..."
well Joe went on to explain how the chimney was falling apart. When I asked him why he didn't tell me before the job started he said he didn't at that time think it was that bad. "Well Joe what needs to happen to repair it?" Joe told me we needed to have the whole chimney replaced. After me finally climbing on the roof to have a look we decided we could get by for a few years the way it was.
Phone call number two, "Mr. Catlett this is Joe again, you need to replace your downspouts." So I asked Joe why he hadn't noticed they needed replaced when they bid the job. After a very lengthy explanation I ended up with four new downspouts. Now in all fairness Joe and his crew did an excellent job and charged us a fair price. But I did have to be pulled away twice from what I was doing and 'faniggle' with them. Do you know that word faniggle?
Here I am in Grandview, America! Clases have begun and I just came out of an awesome class by Wesley Adams. He spoke for an hour and a half. He has this amazing gift to take the bible and cut it onto small chunks easy to swallow. Just brilliant.
(more to come)
Here we are three days into CPx and all of our wonderful students are sitting next door while I am baby sitting. I have to say that they are a wonderful bunch of folks and seem so mature. I feel so blessed to be allowed to form a community with them and to invest in them. I feel like I am getting as much out of it all as they are - perhaps more.
I was so blessed today when little K's baby stroller finally arrived. It had been expected for more than a week and was becoming quite a burden to Mom and Dad. They really needed a way to transport the baby. I was running around like my usual half-maniacal self when I noticed that the stroller had arrived. I stopped my car and hopped out to tell everyone. Well, I never saw a group of adults who weren't Mom and Dad get so excited about a baby stroller before! I was so happy to see three men pounce on the thing and clamor to put it together and then to see everyone in the front yard admiring it. I knew then that these people had made a decision to love another - to make another's burden their burden.
I knew right then that I had seen community in its most basic and wonderful form. That makes for a pretty good day, I'd say.
