India and Vermont

I had the incredible opportunity to go to India this month with two good friends and my dad to encourage and equip seminary students and pastors from all over the country. The stories of the faithfulness of God in their personal testimonies and in His working through their ministries were both encouraging and faith-building.

I've heard that a few people who know of God's call on our lives to Vermont have asked, "Why India? How does this fit into the larger calling to Vermont?"

Those are really great questions. To answer these and other possible questions, I've created and answered the "Potentially Asked Questions" below. I hope they help explain our heart and vision for making disciples in Vermont and among the nations. If you have a question that I've not addressed here, please let me know!

Why India?
If we’ve ever shared our story with you, you know that God has given Kayla and I a desire to proclaim Christ and make disciples where people are unreached with the gospel. You’ve also heard us say that we believe in partnering with and training indigenous missionaries to reach their own people where indigenous believers exist.

Consider the following:

• There are over 1.2 billion people in India, comprised of 2,600 people/ethnic groups, almost 2,400 of which are unreached with the gospel (2% or less evangelical and less that 5% Christian adherents)
• 1,795 of these people groups (over 279 million people) in India are completely UNENGAGED with the gospel (no church planting movement planned, no missionary, no commitment to working in their language or culture)
• 27,000 Indians die every single day, the vast majority of which do not know Jesus Christ, and He shed His blood so that they might worship Him.

For these reasons, the Lord has laid India on our hearts for many years now. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to train and encourage indigenous pastors and students to challenge and encourage them as they hold their ground on the front lines of the battle for souls among the unreached of India.

How does this fit into the larger calling to Vermont?
While God has made clear that, in this season, He is calling us to the unreached of Vermont and New England, any ministry that I’m given the privilege to lead will have a heart for making disciples of ALL nations because God’s heart is for all people.

My desire is to establish longterm international partnerships for the church in Brattleboro that will serve one of two functions:

• Disciple those who are THERE: Provide opportunity for leaders and teachers in our church plant in Vermont to go to other countries train, encourage, and equip indigenous peoples to reach their nations with the gospel of Christ
• Disciple those who GO: provide opportunity for lay people within the Vermont church plant to serve in a foreign context, helping them to acquire God’s heart for all peoples as they serve alongside ministries that are making disciples of peoples from other nations.

Though this trip accomplished the function of training indigenous missionaries, it also served as a foundational vision trip for developing relationships that I believe could be used of the Lord to accomplish both desired functions of our international partnerships in the future.

My dream has long been for those who are currently far from God in Vermont to be so gripped by Jesus that they go with me to take His gospel to the ends of the earth. This is one of the first steps to realizing that vision.

Were any funds that were raised specifically for Vermont used for the India trip?
No. God graciously provided for the trip to India apart from funds previously given to provide for our family and for the church plant in Brattleboro.

I get the need in India. Why include details of the India trip in your VERMONT partnership update?
Aside from it giving me the opportunity to explain that the church in Vermont will have a passion for reaching the nations, the Lord has given us a prayer team that now consists of over 150 people. We desperately needed people praying for us and the pastors and students there so that the week we spent in India would have drastic implications for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in India for years to come. We view you as our partners in ministry, not just for Vermont, but for whatever Jesus calls us to, so we wanted to have you praying for us and with us as we went!

I praise God for what He’s doing in India, I’m grateful for the opportunity to play a very small part, and I look forward, Lord-willing, to the church in Brattleboro partnering with believers there for years to come!

8 Simple Ways to Be Missional (from Verge Network)

Here is a really simple yet challenging post from the Verge Network on living intentionally in the places where God has you for the sake of the gospel. The Lord has been working this into the hearts of the people of City Church in Kennesaw, and viewing all of life as mission and as opportunity for discipleship will be part of the fabric of the church in Brattleboro. Take a minute to read this practical post, and let it serve you in equipping you to be a better missionary servant in your community.

http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/06/08/8-easy-ways-to-easily-be-missional/ 

Everyday Opportunities for Discipleship

A book I'm reading right now just posed this question:

    "What little things do you do all the time that can become missional?"

One of the goals of the CityGroup that Kayla and I help lead is to challenge each other to live as a family of missionary servants. Our goal is not to add activities to our schedules, but to see us take the things we already do and let them serve our mission of making disciples in the places God has placed us.

Right before Kayla and I made dinner tonight, I got a call from our neighbor, Nick, who wanted to check in on us and see what we were doing.  I told him we were about to make dinner and then I was going to try to catch some of my brother-in-law's football game.  He said "Okay, have a good night," and I hung up.  When I told Kayla about our conversation, she said "Why don't you invite him to come eat with us?"

So simple.  Here was a perfect opportunity to take everyday life and use it for the sake of the gospel.  The ugly truth was that I didn't want to.  I wanted to enjoy a dinner with my family.  By myself.  We had already started to make dinner.  I had shared with Nick before, and didn't seem to get anywhere.  The excuses (lies from the enemy) were rushing through my head. But the more Kayla and I talked, I knew it was of the Lord.  I called Nick and asked him to come, and he was at our door almost immediately.

We had a great time eating and hanging out, and ultimately God opened the door for us to talk through the Creation narrative and read about the Fall of man into sin in Genesis 3.  We got to talk about God sending Jesus to bear the sins of the world so that we might be saved through Him.  He said that he had heard of Jesus coming to die for us, but he had never heard the story of Creation or the story of Adam and Eve.

Nick didn't respond to the gospel tonight, but seeds were planted.  Seeds were planted that would have never been planted if Kayla didn't think to take a little thing and turn it into an opportunity for mission. It wasn't the easiest or most comfortable option.  It didn't seem convenient. But it ended up being for our joy, and Lord-willing, will lead to Nick finding life and hope in Jesus. Please join us in praying for Nick, and join us in praying that God would open all of our eyes to using the little, normal parts of our days into opportunities to make disciples of Jesus.

     "What little things do you do all the time that can become missional?" What keeps you from turning those things into opportunities to make disciples?

May 17th

Approaching May 17^th each year feels a little bit like walking out of the mall after shopping only to find that it is absolutely pouring outside. You have no umbrella - your only choice is to dash to your car and embrace the inevitable drenching of you and all your belongings. You are safe once you get to your car, but the process is always a little messy.

This day feels the same to me – there’s no way to avoid the tears, the remembering, and the revisiting of scars that many times go unnoticed. It’s not fun. I will get wet, but on the other side, usually the morning of May 18^th, I feel cleansed and at peace after tasting of His faithfulness once again.

12 years without my daddy.

Has it really been that long? In some ways it feels just like yesterday that mom came downstairs and told us through tears that we had a new daddy. On that day we joined the privileged group of people that are particularly protected and cared for by God – a Father of the Fatherless and defender of the widow is God in His holy dwelling… “Do not move the ancient boundary or go into the fields of the fatherless. For their Redeemer is strong; He will plead their case against you.” (proverbs 23:10-11.) I never would have chosen to make the trade between a natural daddy and having God only as my Father – but I’m so thankful that God decided for me.

Every year the loss is felt in a new way. Last year it was the pain of not having him here to know my husband; this year it hurts that he isn’t here to rejoice in this pregnancy, and I know next year I will long for him to be able to know and love my son.

The thing that hurts the most is that he chose to leave. He took his own life – no one but the enemy influenced his death. He didn’t have to do it. Yes even in this, my soul is at rest because of what I know of my God:

1) He is sovereign. Nothing can happen to me outside of His concsent and all-wise plan.

2) He can do me no wrong. Only because of the cross am I experiencing such grace in this life. Even the most severe trial is a taste of mercy because the pain doesn’t even to compete to the wrath I deserve but will not experience because Jesus drank it all for me.

3) Knowing Jesus better because of this is totally worth it. If this is the way God has chosen to introduce me more deeply to Christ, if this is His preferred method of making me more like Him, and if there are lessons and treasures that can be gleaned from this trial that can be obtained in no easier way…then I am grateful. So. Very. Grateful.

4)

Knowing Jesus even just a little bit better is infinitely worth any amount of pain I must experience in the process. He is just so good.

I will definitely cry a lot today…I always do. But even in the pain I know that I do not grieve like someone who has no hope. I will see my daddy again. My pain can only go so far – and no farther, because Jesus is coming back and I will see my Savior’s face and He will wipe the tears from my eyes…and then I will always be with the Lord.

"Bless our God, O peoples, and sound His praise abroad,

who keeps us in life and does not allow our feet to slip.

For You have tried us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.

You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.

You made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water,

Yet you brought us out into a place of abundance.

Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul."

Psalm 66:8-12, 16.

Engaged - Brittany & Patrick

Getting to take the engagement pictures for this beautiful couple was quite a privilege. Getting to see this girl and this guy enjoy being engaged is even more amazing. Brittany and I have been talking about our husbands and planning out our marriages since middle school, but last year at this time, it seemed that Brittany's man was nowhere in sight. We prayed together for this unknown man often - and she waited patiently. Then all of the sudden, out of absolutely nowhere, Brittany's prince charming arrived on the scene and slowly swept her off their feet. I'm so excited about being apart of their wedding day in July!

The Chase, Pt. 3

In yesterday’s post, we talked about the fact that we make what we think will satisfy us most our primary pursuit.

If we mistakenly pursued a wife thinking that marriage would ultimately satisfy us, it left us wanting like pursuits for ultimate satisfaction in things that aren’t God always do. The ultimate need of every man is to pursue fullness of joy and satisfaction in daily communion with Jesus Christ and then to let his other pursuits grow out of that one pursuit that will always satisfy him.

But you may have also misunderstood the goal in your pursuit of your wife, which is the topic of this post.

We mentioned that many men feel like the pursuit of a woman is over once they have "caught" her and married her. Marriage was the goal, and they arrived at that goal; therefore, the pursuit is over. Mission accomplished. But their desire to pursue is not satisfied, so they go looking for adventure in other pursuits. But what was the goal of your pursuit? A marriage? Or a wife?

The choices may seem similar, but they are infinitely different. While no man would say that all he was after was a marriage, when he stops pursuing his wife, the message that he sends to her is that he has conquered her and is now moving on to pursue other adventures.

It doesn't have to be this way - nor should it be.

The call of God on every husband is for him to love his wife “like Christ loves the church” (Eph. 5:25). That is the goal - to love her like Jesus loves His bride. That means all the time. That means when she doesn't deserve it. That means that in any and every season, in any and every circumstance, you lovingly treasure her, explore her, and pursue her until the day one of you dies.

If that seems impossible, it is because it is.

That is, it is impossible apart from Jesus being that kind of husband in you. Jesus is the only one capable of being a good husband in you - capable of serving, loving, and wooing her when you're tired, when it's inconvenient, or when you're busy. You must throw yourself in dependence on Him, pursuing Him through His Word and seeking Him in prayer so that you might decrease and He might increase (John 3:30).

Do you see how the solutions to the problems fit together? You will never be infinitely satisfied by pursuits that aren't Jesus, but your pursuit of Him will enable the second greatest pursuit that He gives you to enjoy - your pursuit of your wife.

When you believe that you will find ultimate satisfaction in God alone, you will make Him your primary pursuit. When He becomes your primary pursuit and you stop looking to your wife to meet your desire for ultimate satisfaction, your marriage will become less about you and more about her and "us". You will be free pursue her in loving obedience to your greatest desire - Christ Jesus - and He will enable to you pursue her like He pursues us. In the first pursuit, you get Jesus. In the second pursuit, you get to show your wife what He's like - helping her to fall more in love with Him (and you) in the process.

For the glory of Christ in our marriages and all who look on them as parables of His great love,

Ben

The Chase, Pt. 2

In the previous post, we said that we are consumed with the pursuit of what we think will satisfy us. When we catch the thing we are pursuing, often times we find that the pursuit and the thrill of the catch was more exciting and enjoyable than the possessing of the object of our pursuit.

The post concluded by saying that this is often a problem for men in relationship with their wives / future wives, and that there are two underlying problems if you are one of these men:

1. Your pursuit of your wife was/is the primary pursuit of your life

2. You misunderstood the goal of your pursuit of a wife

The first problem is rooted in the fact that no object of our pursuit, no matter how moral, noble, or virtuous it may seem, can satisfy the ultimate desire of our hearts to be satisfied in God alone. Our hearts’ desire for satisfaction is unquenchable outside of Him who is infinitely satisfying. Psalm 16:11 says of God, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever” (emphasis added). That is to say that, in God, joy is not left wanting or lacking, and in Him alone dwells satisfaction that is not fleeting. When we do not believe that, we pursue satisfaction outside of Him.

Just as we pursue what we think will satisfy us, we make what we think will satisfy us most our primary pursuit. So, if as a single man you thought that marriage was the end-goal and marriage would solve the longings of your heart, you made getting married your primary pursuit. The pursuit distracted you from your deeper need to be satisfied in God, and once you got married and you realized that everlasting, full joy could not be found in your wife, you place above her another pursuit that you think will satisfy you.

That your wife could not meet your deepest need or satisfy the longings of your heart is normal – she was never meant to.

God is the only one that can bear up under the weight of our unquenchable desire for satisfaction and joy. God alone can satisfy the deepest longing of our souls and yet do so in a way that leaves us thirsting for more of Him. Ultimately, pursuing Him is the only pursuit that will not leave us disappointed or with joy that is fleeting, and yet because of the infinite nature of the joy found in His presence, our satisfaction in Him does not remove our desire to pursue – it warrants further pursuit!

Also, when our souls are satisfied in Him who is infinitely satisfying, it frees us to pursue the things that He gives us to pursue for His sake. The pursuits that God gives will, as a way of life, enhance our pursuit of Him and will satisfy us to the extent that they keep Him as the ultimate reason for the pursuit. When searches for satisfaction have anything else besides Him as their ultimate object (i.e. pursuing a wife ultimately for your sake and not His), the result is idolatry that is ironically unsatisfying.

So many men feel a temporary joy from pursuing a woman and beating out every other guy that was vying for her affections, but after they win her hand in marriage, the excitement dissipates. If that’s your story, rest assured that your primary problem is that you were (and may still be) looking to her to satisfy your desire for love and joy that can only be satisfied in Him who IS love and in whose presence there is fullness of joy (1 Jn. 4:8; Ps. 16:11).

But you may have also misunderstood the goal in your pursuit of your wife, which is what we’ll talk about in the next post ...