Fighting Injustice Isn't Free

With only two weeks of lectures to go, the focus of our Justice DTS is beginning to shift forward to outreach. We are sending one team to Japan and another to Cambodia and Nepal, where they will present the Good News of Jesus and combat poverty, human trafficking, and other injustices. As they get ready to go out, there are so many things they have to do to prepare, from team building to getting vaccinations. The biggest need, however, is for the finances to come together. It turns out that flying to these places and fighting for justice isn't free; in fact, it requires a lot of resources. Because of this, many of the students and staff are still lacking funds for their outreach fees - the Japan team needs about NZ$8000, while the Cambodia/Nepal team needs NZ$33,000! Please watch the videos below to find out more about what they will be doing, and consider giving and/or praying. As you may know, I will not be joining this DTS on outreach because there is so much preparation needed to launch the Pilgrimage DTS in October; however, I'm still really invested in this DTS and want to see them successfully go on outreach! Thank you for your interest and support!

Cambodia & Nepal Team:

Japan Team:

Blessed Are the Busy...?

This post is a reflection that I included in my monthly email update for June. You can read that entire update here. And if you'd like to receive my email updates each month, just click here and enter your name and email address!

Blessed are the busy,
for they will please God with their many activities.

If only Jesus had said these words in the beatitudes, along with the other values of the kingdom of God! If he had, most people in the Western church would be incredibly blessed, most of all DTS leaders. But the reality is that God has said nothing of the sort. Instead, he says things like:

Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God. (Psalm 146:5)
...Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him. (Jeremiah 17:7)

He even says silly things like "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10) which we hardly know what to do with, especially when our schedules get extra busy.

I have especially been wrestling with this as I have rediscovered just how frenetic the pace of a YWAM DTS can be. Between morning lectures, worship, intercession (prayer), staff meetings, justice class, bible studies, small groups, emails, exercise time, one-on-ones, and frequent special events and trips, it is a pretty full schedule. However, I've discovered that we can respond to busyness in two ways. First, we can face it in our own strength, deciding that our many tasks take precedence over relationship with God and letting them crowd Him out of our lives. The alternative is that we make God our help and our hope, understanding that in busy times our need for God is actually that much greater.

A couple weeks ago, we had a busy week to top all busy weeks, and I reverted my old habit of independence, trying to navigate it in my own strength without really going to God for help. By God's grace it turned out OK, but by the end I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Fortunately, though, as the dust settled I came to the Father and He began lovingly teaching me, speaking about how in Him there is a rest that doesn't depend on schedules and free time, and telling me how I was made to walk hand in hand with Him, leaning on Him and consulting Him even concerning the smallest matters of life. Amazingly, when we choose the second option - running to God instead of relying on self - busyness actually drives us closer to God rather than away! Despite the continued rapid pace of DTS, I find that I am spending time with Him, listening to Him, asking Him questions, and receiving revelation and comfort from Him more than ever! So kick independence in the tail and run to the Father in your need - He is gracious and compassionate, [extremely] slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love!

"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs." (Matt. 5:3)

Dan

Life-Giving Discomfort

[If you receive the Vine of the Mountain's weekly email newsletter, "Think on These Things," this blog post will look very familiar. But if you don't go to the Vine, read on!]

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." - Mark 8:34-35

Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. - Romans 8:17

At my church (The Vine of the Mountains) this past Sunday, our pastor Owen Fulghum talked about how familiarity brings us comfort. And while it might feel nice at times, this comfortable familiarity can blind and numb us to the overwhelming wonder and the always-fresh power of the gospel. This got me thinking, and I realized this relatively simple concept has major significance for the life of our church community, and the lives of many other Christians living in the United States and around the world.

The truth is that we live in a culture that values comfort to the extreme, not only physical comfort, but also the social and spiritual versions as well. It's not much of a stretch to say that comfort tends to be an idol of ours. This has become especially apparent to me since I returned from New Zealand, where I had been embedded in a YWAM culture with very different values. In fact, our American culture of comfort actually felt oppressive to me, and I struggled against the lulling, numbing comfort of distractions and possessions which was opposing the vibrant, passionate life I had gained in the Spirit.

You see, the YWAM experience has shown me that we just don't grow when we're comfortable - growth requires tension. The exciting and passionate "life abundant" that Jesus offers requires that we are stretched and challenged. My experience of being led by the Spirit has always involved walking on the edge of discomfort. When everything is familiar, we feel quite capable of doing life on our own. But as we walk into the unknown and unfamiliar, our self-reliance gets shaky. The newness produces tension in our lives as we are pushed to place our dependence on God and trust Him. We usually don't like it while it's happening, but  as we get to the other side we realize we have experienced his faithfulness and changed for the better.

Despite our continual search for comfort (or perhaps because of it), most of us feel like there is already quite enough discomfort in our daily lives without inviting it. So we sometimes (or often) go to church just wanting comfort - a reprieve from our daily stresses. I myself have done this plenty of times. I arrive at church still tired from a busy week, just hoping to blend in and receive a comfortable dose of familiar songs, an inspirational message, and friendly faces. But the reality is that if we really want to the know the Living God, that kind of mentality won't get us very far. The gospel of Christ and the ministry to which he has called us are much bigger and much more unsettling than that.

Because the prevailing current of our culture pushes us to seek this numbing, desensitizing sort of comfort, avoiding it will require nothing less than challenging actions which will stretch you past the familiar - your comfort zone. It will probably require you to be vulnerable, take risks, obey God when his commands seem over the top, and step out in faith when worldly wisdom advises against it (2 Corinthians 5:7). Becoming fearless will require that you face your fears, especially the fear of what other people think of you. What an uncomfortable prospect!

I think that to press deeper into who God really is (and the story he has for us), we have to decide as churches and individual Christians that we will follow Jesus and to come to church not with the primary intention of finding comfort, but of encountering God. Certainly, in the Presence of God there is comfort, but there is also so much more: stunning revelation, unnerving freedom, staggering power, overwhelming love, a distressing (sometimes offensive) amount of grace, and profound healing. The comfort our Father offers is not what the world offers - it is not a life of shallow pleasantry that dulls and numbs, but a sanctuary in the midst of a vibrant life of great hardship and adventure, a bastion of joy and peace in the midst of a battle.

If God truly can accomplish more than we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20), then the reality must be that what we are familiar with, no matter how good, is not the full picture of God's goodness and power. Further on, in the uncomfortable newness, there is much more. And He is inviting us into it… together.

Grace for the Journey,

Dan

[I myself will be stepping back out of the familiar as I depart for New Zealand today! As I help staff a Justice DTS and then work to launch our first-ever Pilgrimage DTS in October, I'll be walking further into the unfamiliar and further away from comfort. But I know from previous experience that God will meet me and walk with me, giving me life and comfort as I trust in the One who is Faithful and True (Rev. 19:11).]

Mysterious, Cosmic Humility

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." ~ Philippians 2:5-7

So, here I am, back in Waynesville, NC. For the third time, I have left the YWAM bubble in New Zealand in order to return home. The difference is that this time I get to spend more than 3 months at home (instead of just one month) before I plan to return to YWAM Marine Reach in New Zealand to do some more new and exciting things. First I will be staffing the lecture phase (first three months) of the Justice-focused Discipleship Training School (DTS) that begins in April 2014. After that, I will be working with my friend Micah Mitlyng to fulfill his vision of a new Backpacking-focused DTS, called the Pilgrimage DTS, which will begin in October 2014. Launching a new DTS, particularly one that involves lots of outdoor activities, comes with a plethora of challenges to confront and details to figure out, so even now, 10 months in advance, Micah and I will working long distance, along with the base leadership in New Zealand, to begin preparing for next October.

Besides the work on this new DTS, I am looking forward to doing at least a few other things as I stay in western North Carolina. Of course I will be spending time with my family, which I'm really excited about, but I am also stoked about serving at my Church, the Vine of the Mountains, in whatever ways I can. I will also be meeting and communicating with friends, relatives, and supporters - mostly because I love them and have missed them, but also partly because I need regular supporters for at least the next year and a half after I leave in April. Then, most importantly, I want to continue the wonderful growth and transformation that God has been working in me these past months, keeping my eyes on Him, growing in intimacy with Him, and stepping out in faith and obedience whenever He asks. The great thing is that God is just as capable of doing amazing and miraculous things in and through me here as He is while I am in YWAM. As I have begun to understand more than ever on this past DTS, my continued transformation really just depends on remaining intimate with God, continuing to fix my eyes on Jesus, and beholding His glory:

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." ~ 2 Corinthians 3:18

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith..." ~ Heb 12:1-2a

And so this is what I have been trying to do. The wonderful thing is that because of my breakthroughs in gaining intimacy with God during this past school, staying focused on Jesus is easier than it ever has been before. I love God so much more, and my time spent with God gives me so much joy rather than just being a duty that I need to do. I am not as drawn to old distractions - TV, movies, video games; instead, I am more drawn to worship, reading Scripture, and prayer. There are still plenty of distractions and challenges, but I know that each time I make myself available to God, He will meet me, fill me, and lead me. And that is SO good.

Take for example this morning. I began my time with God just opening myself up to the Holy Spirit, submitting and surrendering to God again. If in doubt, that's always a good idea. It was for me, because then as I finished reading a little devotion, Holy Spirit swept me off through Scripture for some revelations about Jesus. I don't remember how exactly, but I ended up in the book of Revelation, reading about Jesus in chapters 1 and 19, which will blow your mind even on a good day:

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two- edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." ~ Rev 1:12-18

See, John definitely got his socks knocked off. Oh, but it gets better; look at Revelation 19:

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." ~ Rev 19:11-16

That's incredible just to try and imagine. THIS is our Jesus; THIS is our king. He's going to judge and make war, but not like any judge or general we've ever seen because it will be in complete righteousness. We don't like judgment and we don't like war; but we've never seen it done righteously. He will also "rule [the nations] with a rod of iron," which sounds harsh, but think about it - who better to rule than Faithful and True, the Word of God, King of Kings, His eyes burning with love for us, and His robe dipped in His own freely spilled blood? Then finally He will "tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty," and no one has more authority to do that than Him. Why? Because He already received and endured that wrath Himself, full in the face, starting in Gethsemane (which means oil press by the way) and going through even to Death and Hades (where He apparently got the Keys - v. 1:18 above). That...is Glory.

So let's connect some dots here, since it's Advent. Let's remember that this same Son of Man we've been talking about is that little baby born in a stable in that one story we've heard so many times it started seeming normal.

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. ~ Luke 2:6-7

King of kings....in a manger? Eyes like fire....crying baby?? "In righteousness He judges and makes war.......an infant who can't even walk??? That's right. This is massive, unthinkable humility. Truly, He "emptied himself" of His glory (Phil 2:7 at the beginning), and this is how we know He is good and He loves us. He is not a power-hungry and blood-thirsty deity. No, He let go of His power, and He would soon spill His own blood. He is mysteriously glorious in His humility, strong in his weakness, rich in his poverty, alive in his death. As a Lamb, He will defeat the dragon and beast (Revelation 5, 12, 17:14, 19-20). Somehow, by letting go of Glory He became even more worthy of it.

Seriously, you just can't make this stuff up.

I mean, I won't fully grasp this while I'm still on this earth, and I can tell you, Satan is utterly confused and frustrated by this.

So that's enough of a revelation for a good while. But there's more, and this part involves me. As it were, I have foolishly (but honestly) asserted that I want to be like this Jesus. And in light of this understanding of Him, that immediately means that I have forfeited any right to cling to anything except my God. He gave up basically everything it was possible to give up (even a home, Matthew 8:20), and all of those things were things He deserved. I don't even deserve any of that, and so I must then be willing to give up whatever I think I have earned or am entitled to in order to serve Him and be "transformed into His likeness." Suddenly this verse has a lot more meaning:

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." ~ Mark 8:34

But praise the Lord - I will do this, not with my own strength but with His strength. After all, He is strong in weakness, He is rich in poverty, and He is glorious in humility...

I love Him,
Dan

Outreach Video

I've posted this on Facebook and on my outreach team's blog, but if you don't look at either of those, here is my outreach video for this school! It pretty much speaks for itself.