Cross cultural sensitivity

We've been thrilled by the warm reception given to Teddi's educational video that was released  last week. Click here if you missed it.

Due to popular demand, Teddi has been working hard this weekend to release a second video in the series. This one is about cross cultural sensitivity - an invaluable skill for world missionaries and any other international travellers. It's once again dedicated to Musche and Minusch in Bangkok. We hope you enjoy it.

Have you read my book?

A friend of mine once had a dream. In the dream, he arrived in heaven and began to meet some of the people who had got there before him. One man introduced himself by saying, "Hallo, I'm Habbakuk. You probably read my book in the Bible." To my friend's embarrassment, he had to confess that, even though he had been a believer for many years, he had never read that small book written by Habbakuk.

That was back in the 1970s, but it stuck in my memory because it made me think how sad it would be for us to have received the Bible, the written Word of God, and then limit ourselves to reading only a few parts of it. Ever since then, I've tried to read the whole Bible from cover to cover within every two years or so. (The reason I choose to read the Bible over two years instead of just one, is because you need to read a lot of chapters per day to finish the Bible in a year, and I prefer to read a smaller amount and have enough time to meditate on it and write down the things that God speaks to me. Also, there may be some parts that I read more than once in the year.)

I'd hate to think that the next generation, when they get to heaven one day, would be embarrassed to meet Habbakuk or Joel or Malachi.... And so, this month's booklet for Challenge 2013 (even though it's being used mainly by 10 - 16 year olds) includes readings from the so-called "minor prophets" of the Old Testament. Download it here: www.biblechallenge2013.blogspot.com

Skills for travelling cats...

Two friends of mine work with the Leadership Development Course in Thailand. They live in Bangkok, but they will need to drive all the way to the north of the country when the LDC begins in Chiang Rai in just a few weeks' time. Finding cat sitters can be a challenge because one of their cats has kidney failure and needs daily medication..... and so Musche and Minusch will also be making the long journey from the south to the north of Thailand. Especially in their honour, Teddi has prepared this short educational video, demonstrating useful skills for cats who are going on long journeys or having to spend long days in guest accommodation away from home. Hope you enjoy it!

The sheep and the goats

I happened to see both the shepherd and the goatherd as I drove home from the retreat centre recently. I love hearing the clanging of the bells and seeing those animals grazing lazily in the fields. It's a side of Spain that is not often seen by the tourists who come to the seaside resorts.

Jesus spoke (for example in Matthew 25 vs 32 - 33) about God separating people into two groups, just like a shepherd would separate the sheep from the goats. Here in Spain, where the sheep are often a brownish colour, it's easy to understand how the sheep and goats could get mixed up and all look kind of similar - at least to an outsider. But the shepherd has no difficulty distinguishing and separating them.

It's sad, in some ways, that Christians in the 21st Century are not always particularly different from the non-believers that live around them. Sometimes they blend in so much that they're not really being the "salt and light" that Jesus called us to be in our society. And sometimes there are even people who call themselves Christians, but in reality they've never made that radical decision to commit their whole lives to living for Jesus.

Yes, church folk and non church folk might look much the same to an outsider. But the Good Shepherd knows who's who, and He's calling us to be those whose lives make an impact and leave a legacy on the world around us. That can be a challenge at times, but it's also a wonderful privilege.

Ending the week with fun and friendship...

You can click to enlarge the photo

Our September leadership retreat officially came to an end with breakfast this morning, but the Scottish group, who were only flying back to Edinburgh in the evening, pulled out all the stops to be a huge blessing to everyone on the last day. Two of the men were working on Anja's motorbike to repair it, while several of the women were spring cleaning the house (Villa Eden) and washing multiple loads of bedding so that we, the retreat centre staff, won't need to do a lot of cleaning and laundry tomorrow in preparation for the arrival of our next group. What a blessing!!

They also organised a big barbecue - buying chicken, hamburgers, sausages and salads, and inviting the whole seminar group to join them in a relaxed time and a delicious meal by the pool. Then it was time for a final dip in the pool before heading back to the colder climate of Scotland. What a lot of fun and laughter there was as around a dozen people (mostly in their fifties and sixties) played volleyball together, before launching into a vigorous session of aqua-aerobics.

But soon it was time to load the suitcases in the van and to start heading for the airport...... but not without first stopping at their favourite ice cream parlour in Alhaurin, which is not far from the street where I live. Even as I write this, their plane is probably taking off and starting to head northwards. It was fun to have a visit from church friends, and they all said that they enjoyed the retreat and found it beneficial too.

The week ahead will involve more coaching for me and more computer based work (teaching preparation and curriculum writing) before the next group of people arrives on Saturday, this time for our Western Europe leadership team meetings. Thanks for your prayers.

Scots come to Spain

You can click on the photo to enlarge it

We're busy this week with a different kind of retreat.... with a group that is different from our typical clientele at the retreat centre. We usually have a leadership development seminar every October and missionaries come from all over Europe to be part of that week. Perhaps it was because of changing the date to September that our applications this year were not mainly from missionary leaders, but rather from local church folks - including ten people from a house group in my home church in Scotland. And so we've structured the week rather differently from usual: having times of teaching and group activities in the mornings, followed by outings or more relaxed time by the swimming pool in the afternoons. The picture above shows us visiting the old town centre of Alhaurin, before having an ice cream and then heading to my house for coffee.

This week's teaching has given the participants an opportunity to consider their own personality and giftings, so that they can begin to identify their best contribution to the Kingdom of God. We've also looked at how to understand others and to resolve the conflicts or misunderstandings that can arise with people who are very different from ourselves. Tomorrow we're moving on to consider how to strengthen the spiritual side of our lives and our capacity to hear from God in different situations. Thanks for your prayers.

Getting on my soapbox...

One week after arriving back in Europe, I'm starting to feel much better again. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my pneumonia to clear up quickly. All I need now is for the deep chesty cough to stop once and for all. This morning, though, I'm climbing out of my bed and onto my soapbox to write about a subject that is very dear to my heart...

Among the kind words and emails of encouragement I received from people who were praying for my healing, two or three of them included a strange little thought that went something like this: "Maybe this illness is God's way of getting you to slow down and rest."  Am I over-reacting if I say that I find this philosophy a little disturbing?!

First of all, I believe with all my heart that the God I love and serve is the source of all good things (see James 1: 17.) He is not the source of sin or evil, sickness, pain or death. In fact, the Bible tells us that God's ultimate aim is to do away with these things forever.

Secondly, God doesn't need to send sickness as a way of reminding people that their bodies need rest. He already spelled that out clearly and unambiguously in the very first book of the Bible (see Genesis 2: 2 - 3) when He told us that even He Himself took time to rest after six days of creating the earth. And in case there could ever be any doubt about it, hundreds of years later, when He gave us the ten commandments (see Exodus 20: 8 - 11 or Deuteronomy 5: 12 - 15) God re-emphasised that the principle of Sabbath rest is one of the ways that we show our respect for God and for the physical body that He has given us to live in.

Sabbath! The word itself sounds sort of quaint and old fashioned to some people. We associate it with an old and restrictive religiosity, and think that we've moved beyond this type of belief in our modern world where supermarkets are open 24 hours and some businesses proudly boast that they are "here for you 365 days of the year."

But if the God who created the universe thought it was important to set time aside for rest, what on earth would make us imagine that we frail human beings no longer need to understand and live out the principle of sabbath rest? Sabbath isn't about making life difficult for us; it's about giving us quality of life and making a statement about the fact that our dependence is on God and not on our own efforts and self-reliance. That's why Jesus said very clearly (see Mark 2: 27) that the sabbath was made for man's good.

I feel deeply saddened when I meet Christians who feel that it is admirable or "spiritual" to be workaholics who are too busy all the time... as if their unceasing work is somehow an indicator of their devotion to God. I feel sad when I hear yet another story of a missionary who has had to go home from the mission field because he is in "burnout" and no longer physically or mentally well enough to serve in the place that God had called him to. My friends, this is NOT honouring to God; it's not an accurate testimony to a good and gracious God who calls us His friends and gives us the principle of sabbath rest so that we can continue to enjoy life and serve God with energy and enthusiasm.

In Deuteronomy 5: 15, we discover that sabbath rest is also one of God's ways of reminding His people that He has brought them out of slavery. Jesus said (in John 15: 15 - 16) that He doesn't call us His slaves; instead He calls us His friends, and He has chosen us to bear lots of good fruit for the kingdom of God. If we push our bodies or minds to breaking point, we are no longer able to continue bearing good fruit; we are putting ourselves into slavery (to our work) and the testimony of our lives suggests that God is a slave driver, instead of demonstrating to people that God is our friend and that He can be trusted to care and provide for us.

Think about it: if I choose to work non stop, instead of taking time for sabbath rest, what am I really saying? I'm suggesting that the outcome of my work depends on me, instead of on God. I'm living in a way that suggests it's all up to me, and that God isn't able to provide for me financially or bring good fruit from my work or ministry investment. That's the sin of self-reliance and it sounds just like a "Christianised" version of the rat race to me. (Actually, rats are often wiser than we are; they know how to rest.) Placing a high value on the principle of sabbath rest is not only a basic expression of obedience to God; it's also my way of saying that I am trusting God for the outcome of my life and my work, both now and in the future.

I don't know about you, but I want my life to be a testimony to others that God is good. I want other people to be able to notice in my life that God's presence is with me. Check out Exodus 33: 14. When God promised that His presence would go with Moses and the people of Israel, what did He say would be the proof of that? Rest! He said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." On the other hand, when you read Hebrews chapter 4, some very strong words are written there about the failure and disobedience of God's people. And how did they fail Him so badly? They failed to enter into God's rest.

So how do we do it? In our fast paced world of the twenty first century, how do we live lives that exemplify and benefit from the sabbath rest of God? Probably it's no longer about deciding not to cook on the Lord's day; it no longer takes three hours work for us to prepare lunch, like it did in Bible times (unless perhaps you're in a village in the north of Senegal!!) Probably it's no longer fundamentally about whether shops open their doors every day or not. (Spain is perhaps one of the few nations where shops are still closed on Sundays.) But it's definitely about recognising that God knows best, and about living our lives in a way that demonstrates our dependence on Him and our commitment to prioritise the time that we need for rest, refuelling and restoring - physically, mentally and spiritually.

Valuing the principle of sabbath rest may look different for different people. But it begins with seeing our lives through God's eyes, understanding how He has made us, and choosing to live in a way that honours and trusts in His wisdom. If necessary, it's about allowing Him to renew our minds and change our thinking, so that we no longer believe that it's all up to us, or that it's somehow spiritual to be "busy with the Lord's work" every hour of the day and night. Sabbath rest is about getting enough sleep, getting enough rest from our work, setting time aside for relationship with God and with others. It's about recognising that "slowing down" regularly should be a godly choice, and not something that has to be imposed on us because of sickness or burnout. A lifelong commitment to God's principle of Sabbath rest is about choosing a lifestyle that trusts God and enjoys Him to the maximum. I've made my choice. What about you?

Still under the weather...

Let me begin by thanking those who have been praying for me over the past days. It's been a long time since I felt this bad, and it reminded me of the long bout of whooping cough that originally damaged my lungs twenty years ago.

Yesterday, it was such a relief when I noticed that the throat pain was less, and I began to feel that I was turning the corner. The cough has still been really bad, though, and sometimes I cough so long that I can hardly catch my breath. There's also been some blood in the phlegm, and I know from long years of living in Africa, that this usually means they'll want to do a tuberculosis test - especially if they know that you have been working with poor and vulnerable children and have a cough that doesn't seem to be responding to antibiotics. So, after quite a difficult night of coughing and choking, I went back to the doctor as 6 o'clock this morning to have my chest checked again.

The good news is that he still says it's probably a bad bout of pneumonia with some laryngitis too... but he also said that my antibiotics weren't strong enough. So he's given me a prescription for stronger antibiotics, as well as something to reduce the pain of the incessant cough. If there's no improvement by Tuesday, I've to go back again for the TB testing, but he thinks it's more likely that it's just pneumonia. My lungs are very susceptible to cold fans, to getting caught in the rain, and to air conditioning... and I was exposed to all three of these "hazards" during my last twenty four hours in Senegal.

Despite feeling so awful since coming home, I do look back on the month in West Africa with extreme thankfulness. I was in good health for the whole time in Senegal, and we saw many wonderful answers to prayer as we worked with the "Gather and Go" camp, the "Planting Together" week, and the outreaches with ministries working with vulnerable children.

If you didn't already receive my September newsletter this weekend, you can read more news about the Senegal trip by clicking this link: News from Senegal and Spain, September 2013.