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It’s been a little over a year since the Lord allowed me to start holding Bible clubs for children on a missionary couples front porch, and after outgrowing that began meeting at the Church every afternoon.  The Lord used that ministry to touch many lives, and it was always a joy to hear children excitedly ask if I would be having Bible club that day.

Since the school year started a few months ago however children haven’t been attending Bible club the way they used to.  That by itself doesn’t bother me since I would rather have a few that really wanted to learn, the truly frustrating thing is a lot of the children who used to come faithfully have now become discipline problems. This doesn’t usually involve direct rebellion but an attempt to attract attention and make themselves look cool (run in and then out constantly, try to get me to chase them, shout at children from outside ect.)

Last Monday I stood in the Church and watched as large groups of children walked by (some who used to always attend) and in my heart knew it was time to make a change with Bible Club.

Now I understand that’s a very controversial statement so let me clarify what it doesn’t mean.

1. It DOESN’T mean I am quitting the Bible club ministry
2. It DOESN’T mean I’m going to ignore the children who do attend
3. It DOESN’T mean I don’t believe God can change the hearts of Barrouallies children through Bible club
4. It DOES mean Bible club will no longer be my main evangelistic ministry towards children

One of the biggest changes I’ve noticed since Bible club started again was the amount of energy focused on things that I like to call “crowd control” (reminding of rules, rewarding good behavior, calling down those who aren’t obeying, removing some who refuse to obey) and how that takes away from the work of teaching.

It felt like at least 60% of my attention was on “keeping the kids under control” while 40% was on teaching the Gospel.  And as more time was invested in crowd control instead of teaching my frustration level continued to grow, thankfully it never resulted in violence towards the kids, but admittedly they saw Mr. John get mad on more than one occasion.

Standing in the Church that afternoon watching the children walk by I had an important question to answer:

• Will I continue trying to reach the children primarily through Bible club?
• Or will I look for another ministry opportunity that makes teaching a focus instead administration?

Though it was hard in that moment I decided that Bible club would become a discipleship ministry for those who “truly wanted to learn” instead of an evangelistic outreach to the children who didn’t know Christ.

With the Lord’s help I’ve taken a more relaxed approach to evangelism by sharing a Bible story with children in the community using a flip-chart version of the tract “God’s Bridge to Eternal Life.”  It takes a lot less time than Bible club and doesn’t always run smoothly (children have short attention spans) but allows me to focus on the Gospel instead of keeping everybody under control.

The truth is I miss focusing on Bible club (used to run two each day) and pray God will help it become an outreach again.  But at the same time every ministry must be held with an “open hand” that allows God to change plans, and when doors of effectiveness temporarily close find the ones that He has opened.

A few Sundays ago the Lord allowed me to speak at a Church about “The God who Provides” from Matthew 6:25-34.  The most convicting part of that passage for me was 6:31-32.

Matt. 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Matt. 6:32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek: for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (emphasis added)

Jesus explains here to His disciples that when they are overly anxious about the secondary needs of life like food (6:25-26) or luxuries like beautiful clothing (6:28-30) their actions are the same as unsaved people.

Those who don’t know Christ focus on filling own needs by any means necessary because He doesn’t exist (notice how the religious leaders use others to meet their needs in 6:1-8).  Though Believers know God does exist, it’s easy for us to become overwhelmed by anxiety, and live as if He doesn’t.

This idea of anxieties affect on our testimony became very clear (and convicting) to me over the last three weeks.

About a month ago I noticed one of the tires on my car was developing a slow leak, this is a pretty common problem since some roads in Saint Vincent are hard on your tires (filled with potholes).  Because I was speaking at a Church that Sunday I decided to change the tire early that morning and not take any chances, but was confused when the spare tire wouldn’t go on properly. Turns out the holes on the bottom of the tire rim were less than inch too close together so I needed a new rim.

The leaking tire was fixed Monday but no tire-shops in the area had rims to fit my Nissan since most vehicles in SVG are Toyota’s.  I started visiting stores that sold rims but after realizing how much new ones cost decided to keep looking.  After a few days a local mechanic promised that he could find a rim to fit the car.  Over the last two weeks I went there three times to try tire rims but none fit so was starting to wonder if a Nissan rim could be found.  But on Friday I finally got one that fits, and a working spare.

Over the last two or three weeks not having a spare tire was obviously a point of concern so I drove as little as possible, and as carefully as your ninety-year old grandmother.  However that legitimate concern became something I thought about too much.

• Every time I left the house I would painstakingly check each tire of the car to make sure they weren’t leaking
• kick each one to make sure they hadn’t gotten soft
• Make sure to check each one again as I walked back to the house
• And sometimes made trips outside JUST TO CHECK ON THE TIRES!

 

I’m pretty sure the Vincentians didn’t notice how many times a day I checked my tires, but if they did what would it make them think about me as a person?

More importantly what it make them think about God?

My anxiety would send a very clear message to them; “the God of the Universe is able through Christ to deliver me from the penalty of sin, but don’t ask Him to keep a tire from blowing.”

Of course there is a need to have common-sense along with faith….for me to continue driving without a spare tire and think “God will take care of me” is incredibly irresponsible.  So there’s a calling on my part to keep looking for a tire rim that fits-but part of it also believing God will provide one that fits.

The last part of 6:32 “for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things”   was a comfort as I drove the mechanics to see if the latest rim fit (which it did).  Sometimes it seems to me as if the daily drama of life isn’t important enough for God to worry about, after all there are much more important things going on than my tire rim.  But He cares even about the simplest need.

I found myself praying Friday afternoon “Lord you know whether this rim needs to fit because I’m traveling to a Church on the north of the island on Sunday.  But if it doesn’t help me know it was part of your plan for me to drive there without a spare.”

There is no harm in checking the tires when the trouble of life arises.  But when we walk around the car and kick them for the sixth time that day we send the wrong message about God.

 

A little over a year ago a boy who attended Church came by the house for a drink of water.  As I went to get a glass he stepped inside and noticed my iPad sitting on the kitchen table.  “Is that your tablet?” he asked, and within a week I was one of the most popular people in Barrouallie.

I started playing off of the children’s fascination with technology and games by offering “tablet time” to those who were best behaved during Bible club (you would be amazed how well children would behave for two-lives in a game).  Eventually rewards for good behavior began to include koolaid, candy, and stickers but given a choice children would still choose tablet.

While there’s nothing wrong with rewarding positive behavior I need to keep in mind these rewards bring obedience not respect.  And there is a HUGE difference.

Continue reading “Rewards that bring Obedience but not Respect” →

Monday night the Lord allowed me to experience a spiritual high, and low in less than thirty minutes that illustrated clearly the challenge of missions.  At around 6:30 a boy I had been sharing with prayed to accept Jesus (I have doubts about his decision but trust God to continue working in his heart) then about twenty minutes later a group of boys came to my porch with an item that another one had stolen from my house earlier that day.

Because this was an expensive item I decided to send a message and walked him over to the police station.  It actually became a big deal because lots of children were playing nearby and by the time I got to the station there were ten kids with me (thought he would run away and hide the next day)!

Sitting there in the station looking at an eleven year-old boy who according to the police was well known for stealing things one thought went through my mind….how did he get this way?    

While there isn’t a clearly defined right or wrong answer, one of the greatest influences is the lack of structure or authority for the children of Barrouallie.

This doesn’t mean parents just let their children run wild.  Instead in countries like Saint Vincent were jobs are hard to find its common for both parents and other family members to work all day doing something like fishing, or selling produce.  

Obviously not being there means they CAN’T make sure their children do the right thing, or discipline them.  So kids spend most of the day idle (spending time with friends) and come home around 7:00 or 8:00 at night.   As you can imagine spending time with friends instead of family members affects how they define right or wrong.

 Just to clarify this doesn’t mean all the children steal, the one who had stolen from me was being “physically restrained” by two or three others, and a group brought the item back to me.

The truly sad part of the situation Monday night was the boys mother who had just gotten home after working all day, only to be picked up by the police and brought to the station.  My heart broke as she explained to her eleven year old son someday his “thiefing” (stealing) would lead to his death.

Unfortunately this is a common problem not only in Barrouallie, but mission fields around the world, and parts of the United States.  The lack of authority figures who WANT to be there but CAN’T creates a generation of children who don’t respect any authority.

So what is the answer?

Spiritual parenting

In my opinion spiritual parenting means an authority figure takes on the role of mentoring or discipleship with a child that teaches them right from wrong.  Is this the job of their parent or family member?  Of course it is!  But what if that person cannot be there to teach the child right from wrong?

Because all children respect and obey “Mr. John” I have a responsibility to not only teach them Scripture, but take on the role of a spiritual parent.  I’m sure I won’t measure up to being a parent, but this helps keep eleven year olds out of the prison station.

Earlier this week I wrote a post about interest in American politics overseas and how it reveals a desire for a savior or deliverer (in this case America).  That post was positive because an understanding all the world is broken (including the US) shows no individual can truly be our savior, and focuses our eyes on the one true Savior Jesus Christ.

At the same time this interest in American politics is a great hindrance to missions, and sharing the Gospel in particular, because they see the chaos that has erupted from the 2016 presidential election.

Now let me just say this isn’t a post attacking either candidate (though like most of you I have serious issues with both of them) but mourning the fact that nightly news programs loudly publish throughout the world “America is no longer a Christian nation.”

Gonna have to send all the kids out of the room before I can turn on the news tonight.

— Trevin Wax (@TrevinWax) October 7, 2016

In a way this isn’t a surprise for Americans because we saw our Country slowly drifting away from God long before same-sex marriage was accepted by the Supreme Court, transgenders use of bathrooms became a hot-topic, and religious freedom was confined to four walls on Sunday.  The presidential election isn’t the source of our brokeness, but puts a spotlight on it for the world to see.

Sadly many people in mission fields were unaware just how bad things had become in America…they know now

and now that they know America’s chaos becomes my identity instead of the Gospel.

When I first came to Barrouallie St. Vincent everybody called me “white man” for about a month till the started learning my name.  Thankfully they all call me John now, but as one of the three white people in town, being American is still a huge part of my identity.  This isn’t too much of a problem since I don’t expect people to look upon me as “Vincentian” and I’ll always be proud to be an American.

Since I’m from the States though people would talk to me about American things like:

1. Where they had been in America
2. Sports in the US
3. American TV shows or movies
4. And things things that were different back home

This week because the discussion of American things included

1. Muslim terrorists
2. Gun control
3. the riots in Charlotte
4. and racial profiling

In the mornings and evenings I always take a walk around the community to develop relationships, and share Christ.  As conversations during those walks turned from small-talk to what they saw on Foxnews or CNN it became more and more difficult to turn them towards their need of Jesus.

Even worse I was no longer identified as “John the missionary who came to share Christ with us” but “John the missionary whose parents lived two-hours from those riots in Charlotte”, or “John the missionary from the Country were racism is rampant”,or “John the missionary from the Country where everyone owns guns.”

These unspoken identifications aren’t true of course (not everyone’s a racist, and not everyone owns a gun) but the point is watching news coverage from the US makes them THINK that’s true, and in the end that’s all that matters.  

Satan hates the Gospel…he would rather people talk about anything except their need of a Savior.  Unfortunately the news gives Vincentians plenty of other things to talk about, and if I’m not careful its incredibly easy to start arguing about “issues” (with someone who cannot vote) instead of clarifying the Gospel.

Unfortunately I don’t have an easy answer to this problem (don’t think there is one) but maybe the first step is remembering the unsaved in mission-fields are watching.

• The see the chaos
• And politicians acting like spoiled children
• news programs that turn into shouting matches
• Division over what people “self identify” as
• Social media websites such as Facebook or Twitter turning into tools that attack other viewpoints
• And a Government that exudes more and more control over Churches

They see our brokenness

They know we have turned from God

so with the Lord’s help may I become known as “John the missionary who owns his Countries brokenness (along with his own) and with every newscast confesses America’s need of a Savior.”