Category: John Wilburn Missionary to Melbourne

In my fathers day card to dad this year I thanked him for putting up with such as spaz of a son (me). This may sound quite demeaning to myself, but the truth is God did create me as a spaz.

It will probably help to define what I mean by spaz since it means different things to different people.

My definition of it is someone who enjoys working hard (physical labor in particular) but hates the planning stages of said work. In other words I don’t think a lot about a job before getting started.

My dad on the other hand is someone who loves the planning portion of a job, and is quite meticulous about it [1]. As you can imagine this created some challenges on Saturday mornings as teenager [2].

If you will allow me to take this analogy one step farther I’m a workhorse (someone who enjoys attacking a job) and my dad’s a surgeon (someone who enjoys being slow and methodical instead of diving in).

Actually there is a need for both kinds of people in the world. There obviously isn’t enough time in the world to be a surgeon about everything. And of course my beloved “don’t think just do” approach will result in lots of jobs that aren’t done very well.

So it isn’t necessary to become a “surgeon” all the time because God hasn’t created me that way [3] but I do need to know when it’s time to become one.

Teaching theology classes in Bangladesh was a very interesting experience because it put me (a workhorse) into a situation where I had to be a surgeon.

1. Because I was dealing with men who spoke a different language
2. Because I was teaching foundational truths of Scripture
3. Because much of what they were learning was entirely new to them
4. Because the students had many questions

More than once in a first days of class the Lord reminded me it wasn’t time to be a workhorse.

1. It was time to speak slowly and make sure everyone understood
2. It was time to spend hours creating forty power-point presentations and lesson plans
3. It was time to carefully answer each of their questions
4. It was time to be a surgeon

Yesterday I helped clear my parents patio of furniture, plants, and tables so we could paint it. About a half-hour was spent carrying things down the steps and coming back up in 90 degree heat…and I couldn’t have been happier being in my workhorse element.

But at the same time it’s good to know God occasionally calls a workhorse to become a surgeon (or a surgeon a workhorse) and in those moments He gives us the Grace to do it.

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1. I’ll be the first person to admit this is a much better way to approach work  ↩
2. I kept trying to walk away and do the job while dad was on step three of his preparation process 🙂  ↩
3. and workhorses fill a great need in society  ↩

As a Junior in Bible College I took my first class in Koine Greek [1] and was first introduced to The Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar by William Mounce. Over the next twelve months that textbook along with it’s exercises, vocabulary cards, and lexicon [2] helped me survive Greek I and Greek II.

To be perfectly honest after graduating from College and finishing my last Greek exam in Greek IV most of those books weren’t used at all…instead they just looked impressive sitting on my shelf.

But tomorrow that changes because according to Amazon at 1:00 in the afternoon a brand new copy of Basics of Biblical Greek and it’s accompanying workbook will be delivered to my front door. These along with a Greek vocabulary app on my phone [3] will be used to start learning Greek all over again [4].

At this point some of you may be asking the same question I asked myself while ordering the Greek books last night. “why am I doing this?”

The answer actually has to do with a discussion over breakfast in Chittagong Bangladesh where I was teaching students.  Since the Colleges president, as well as myself and the other visiting professor were all Missionaries, most of our conversations had to do with reaching others with the Gospel of Christ.

That particular morning over french toast the visiting professor explained that a huge reason why Churches aren’t growing and people aren’t being reached is Missionaries are no longer scholars. His point being we (Missionaries) are great students of practical ministry methods, but not theology or Doctrine.  

Oh we have the right Doctrinal position and understand what we believe….but when dealing with contemporary challenges to Theology many Missionaries (myself included) struggle greatly.

The more I thought about his point that few Missionaries are true theologians (or Greek students) the more it convicted me.

You see the Lord has blessed me with an ability to connect with others through speaking or teaching, or share truths in a way that can be directly applied to their lives. This is an awesome thing because of course Scripture SHOULD be applied to life!

However when I can do a four-hour workshop on “adapting to a foreign culture” and explain in detail the latest books on Church growth but don’t have a clear understanding of how our culture creates a false view of God there is a problem.

It isn’t enough to be a student of practical ministry.

Each of us as Christians must become students of Theology and the deeper truths of Scripture.

For this is the only way that we can truly wrestle with the challenges of a non-christian worldview.

Does this mean I will come to Church with my Greek New Testament and have long discussions on which of the eighteen uses of the word “and” is in a certain verse? No. But in order to truly explain the deeper truths of Scripture I must become a student of them myself.

Last week I taught four groups of children (preschool to fifth grade) for five nights at VBS. Obviously controlling four groups of children with different ages is incredibly difficult…which is why I had to upgrade my treasure box.

Last January when one-on-one tutoring in the schools system became an outreach opportunity I invested in a five-dollar treasure box, and filled it with prizes from the dollar tree. The results amazed me. You would be very surprised how hard a child will work for an Incredible Hulk sticker!

 

Leaving tomorrow for a week of VBS in Kentucky, I think I’m ready #mrjohnstreasurechest

A photo posted by wilburninmelbourne (@wilburninmelbourne) on Jun 5, 2015 at 9:30am PDT

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.jsSince the groups at VBS were much larger I traded in my treasure box for a small wooden crate filled with toys, stickers, and the occasional water gun.  

Gave my treasure box an upgrade! A photo posted by wilburninmelbourne (@wilburninmelbourne) on Jun 8, 2015 at 1:50pm PDT

//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js

Thankfully the sessions went well [1] and I was able to share the Gospel with all the children including their parents on the last night while they carefully followed Mr. Wilburn’s rules [2]

Most people would view the treasure box as my secret to controlling children but it actually isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. Kids will definitely obey you if a candy bar or sticker is given as a reward. But over the years I’ve learned there is a huge difference between obedience and respect.

1. Obedience is listening to Mr. Wilburn because he will reward me with something from his treasure box
2. Respect is listening to Mr. Wilburn because you like him (he is your friend)

My point is this. All the stickers and candy in the world can’t gain the respect of children. You have to earn it.

And that’s why I showed up thirty minutes early

In the time leading up to VBS every night I did my best to be there early and interact with kids in silly ways

1. Like racing them across the parking lot running in the funniest way imaginable
2. Threatening to throw them in a nearby creek
3. Chasing them with my dreaded tickle monster (my hand folded so it resembles a mouth) [3]
4. Give out princess or dinosaur stickers
5. Call children by the wrong name on purpose
6. Give everyone a high-five. Telling them very firmly “don’t you give me a hard high-five!” which of course made them do just that, and I respond as if my hand was going to fall off
7. And doing exercises like jumping jacks or high jumps

By the time it came for the Bible lesson (and I was usually dripping with sweat) the kids obeyed me not because of the box in my hand, but because I connected with them.

• That’s the guy who gives me a high-five every night
• Races me across the parking lot
• And acts like he is going to throw me in the creek when I call him a silly name

Is this kind of work exhausting? You better believe it! Is it necessary? Absolutely!

In the end rewards are meant to be PHYSICAL REMINDERS of the rules that can be used when things get out of control instead of truly enforcing them [4]. The true influence comes from connecting with them in a way that’s meaningful.

As someone who works with children a lot I realize it’s more difficult than ever bringing structure into their lives (give clear rules they can understand and obey). But trust me when I say the answer isn’t bigger toys…it’s taking the time to earn their respect.

 

It’s been impossible this week to go on the internet (social media especially) without encountering reactions or thoughts on the recent Vanity Fair article and cover photo of Caitlyn Jenner.

Continue reading “Why Caitlyn’s Bruce Needed to Go” →

Every morning a cell-phone alarm wakes me up at about 6:00. The first action after turning it off (or hitting snooze depending on my mood) is to check my emails. And with sleep-filled eyes I quickly scan each one to see if there are any updates about my return to Australia.

Most days there aren’t so over my first cup of coffee I ask the Lord to bring me back in His time. But in the same moment there is a little voice in the back of my head that I hate. It whispers “wow I sure am glad they didn’t email me!”

I hate that voice because it’s pessimistic, or always expects the worst thing to happen. However it has grown due to the fact that my journey back to Melbourne has taken much longer than expected, and involved more than one setback.

Becoming pessimistic about a situation where things don’t seem to work out right is actually normal [1] so I know that little voice will be part of my life. The important thing is making sure that whispering voice doesn’t keep me from doing God’s Will.

A few weeks ago I was exchanging emails with a ministry partner who has taken on the responsibility of communicating with Immigration on my behalf. In one of the last ones I encouraged him to send a “strongly-worded” email since it would have a better chance of getting a response.

Almost immediately I heard the voice of pessimism

Oh you’ve done it now! All this is going to do is make them send you that bad news sooner, you better email him back and say just wait another week!

I didn’t and later that afternoon while mowing the grass he copied me into the email that was sent to Immigration.

And the voice of pessimism started screaming

What is your problem! Don’t you know that they will get mad when someone sends them emails like this! Get off this mower RIGHT NOW and send an apology to the Immigration department before they read it!!

To be honest a big part of me wanted to get off the mower…but the Lord helped me remember the voice of pessimism is over-reacting 95% of the time. It takes the absolute worst scenario that could possibly take place and makes you believe that is the ONLY thing that could POSSIBLY happen.

So I stopped and asked the Lord to give me faith even as my heart was filled with doubt.

That evening a response from my Immigration lawyer came up on the phone [2].

He apologized for not responding sooner
And gave encouraging news!

Unfortunately things don’t always work out that way. There are even times when the 5% worst-case scenario actually becomes reality. But you know what’s funny? Even when that happens it isn’t as bad as I imagined it to be..because God gives Grace.

So now as I roll out of bed and reach for the phone I expect the voice of pessimism. And instead of running from it I embrace it, reminding myself that the worst-case scenario of God’s plan is still God’s plan.