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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
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