Skip to main content

100 not out ... #3

More thoughts in the series ... this time from a friend in Central Asia. 

Monday tomorrow – back to the office. Sometimes, it seems like a drag. Teaching, translating, trouble-shooting, personnel problems. I dream of being a ski instructor (not that I can ski!) or of 'full-time' ministry. But then I remember why I am here: 19 years ago God called me – suddenly, unexpectedly – to this 'closed' country (but no country is really closed, just takes more creativity to enter) that I had only heard of in passing, and his commission: “I am building by Church there – you go and be a co-builder with me”. And then 6 years later (when I was already on-site) “I will lead you in ways you have not known”, as he directed me to start a business.


Most people think the business is a 'platform' – that's insider language for a way to get a visa. It isn't - ok, maybe I got a visa for 2 or 3 of the 13 years we've been in business, but it is much more than that. It is a business with a purpose! And one of the purposes is to change the spiritual atmosphere, by doing what everyone is convinced is impossible – ethical business. In practise that means we pay our taxes and we don't pay bribes. 13 years later, by God's grace, we are still alive to tell the tale.


And then what about the Church-building? It's all about relationships, isn't it? The good news is shared via relationships, people are discipled and encouraged through relationships, barriers between Churches are broken down … once again, when people spend time together. All of that happens in our office where 20+ people, believers, and not-yet-believers from 5 of the 7 fledgling Churches in the city spend a good part of their waking hours. And that's not to mention the people who pop in wanting to talk, the events that get planned, the things that get printed, the ideas that spring up …. all in the office.

When I remember all that, I'm glad it's Monday tomorrow! And I don't need to look for people to visit, talk to, invite – I just need to go to the office.


(If you think you have what it takes to go to the office on a Monday morning, come and join me. If you can teach English, or even Chinese, so much the better.)

If you would like some more information then get in touch directly with me through this blog, or via Twitter @johnbagg
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to add comments or ask questions:

Popular posts from this blog

Labels

Who are you? I have never been a great fan of labels when it comes to describing members of the body of Christ. eg. he is anglican, she is Baptist, they are Charismatic, etc. etc. I remember once causing a man to become increasingly hot under the collar when he asked me who I was? To which I replied I was a disciple (follower) of Jesus. He was meaning which Church did I attend (presumably so he could classify me and decide whether I was bona fide or not) and my answer did not bring him peace, but I refused to go any further.  Why? Because, as I said, I am not a great fan of labels, but also because for me there is a very important distinction between primarily identifying myself with Jesus and identifying myself with Church. Of course, I recognise that by becoming a follower of Jesus I become part of the body of Christ, but that can be very distinct from being a member of a Church. To me this is the crucial difference between vibrant faith and dusty religion.  ...
1 comment
Read more

Homes I have lived in #3

This year I am celebrating my silver wedding anniversary ... Just for something to do I have begun to sketch all the houses we have lived in during that time. So here is house number #3 On our return to the UK we were faced with the question that faces all people in transition, what next? For us, we were encouraged by our friends to investigate further training and opted to spend a year with Kerygma ministries. We joined with a group of some 20 other people from various different cultures and backgrounds to join the ministry led by Dr Bob Gordon, based at Drayton Hall near Norwich. We spent one year here, between September 1993 and July 1994.   Significant events that took place here included: Suffered reverse culture shock, as I grappled with the transition from life in a mudhut in Africa to life in the UK in a Manor House! (Struggled with the amount of money being spent on a sign that was being placed outside ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Does God really lead us?

  Often as evangelical believers we talk about the concept of ‘calling’ explaining it along the lines of God speaking to his people, sometimes this is narrowed even to the experience of a special, select ‘few’ and limited in scope to those who are engaging in full-time Christian ministry. The following are some notes I prepared for a talk: Firstly, I would like to say that most Christians would believe that God communicates with his people, and that this may happen in many different ways. What is of utmost importance is that it does happen. We are in relationship with a Living God, who we call Father, and who communicates with us His creation and covenant people.   God communicates in a number of ways and one special way in which He leads and guides his people might be termed a vocation or calling and it’s this particular aspect of His communication I want to focus on.   So what is the calling? Who is called? And what are we called to? The whole i...
Post a Comment
Read more