Well, I wanted to share with you some thoughts on some truths God has recently taught me! The subject: the waits in life. We are on this process termed “deputation,” where we are seeking ministry partnerships to reach remote Alaska with the Gospel. Notice I called it a process. We praise God for our current 40% level of needed support raised in this past year and we are grateful for that amount in a struggling economy! We recognize that many missionaries are on the deputation trail for 3 to even 5 years these days. Being totally honest, I often struggle with the whole deputation process period. It sometimes is difficult for me to see this model as valid, when compared to the apostles of the early church and other great faith infused missionaries of the past like Hudson Taylor. I don’t see these great missionaries spending 3 to 5 years traveling from church to church soliciting support. I also recognize that we live in a more complex society today. I also recognize that just because we don’t see these previous missionaries doing what we call “deputation,” doesn’t mean that this process is wrong. I see great validity and necessity in the church’s support role in missionary endeavors. I also see the life Christ calls His followers to live through faith in the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. I think of Paul’s faith in his various missionary journeys. He did receive financial support, but he also cared deeply to not burden financially struggling churches (1 Thessalonians 2:9). It is very apparent to me today that America’s current churches are financially struggling. On the flip-side Paul also believed that those who lived for the ministry of the Gospel were worthy to be supported by God’s people (1 Corinthians 9:14).

You may be asking at this point, What is my point? Well, I am not saying that the current model of raising missionary support is wrong. I also believe the apostle Paul’s “tentmaking” approach can be a valid support basis. I do, however believe that we may need to look at some of the deeper motivations and intentions at the core level of our support raising efforts. What is our motive for raising support? What is our intent for raising support? These questions must be answered in terms of God’s calling on our lives and the faith we are to hold as we endeavor to fulfill that calling. I have learned that it is so easy to lose one’s focus in deputation. It can quickly turn into being all about meeting our budget or providing money for our needs. Obviously, the meeting of our financial needs is kind-of important! But, we must retain our perspective to the calling of God on our lives to live for the Gospel! What is missions all about? Christ commissioned us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and disciple believers into local assemblies of Christ’s body, the church. Missions is all about the proclamation of the Gospel and it’s outworking for the church. We are called by God to stand in the gap for these Gospel purposes throughout remote Alaska. This is our God-given calling. Now, we are presented with bridging the reality gap between life at home to life on the field. There are obviously certain financial realities that must be met to make this transition possible. This brings us back to the options of “tentmaking” (working a trade on the side to meet financial needs) or “deputation” (raising a monthly committed budget to meet financial needs). Both can be valid, but both must be undergirded with the proper perspective and faith. Our perspective must remain on our calling to proclaim the Gospel and our faith must be rooted in God’s provision to fulfill that calling. We must work in ways that God provides to meet the reality of our financial needs, while also being sensitive to His faithfulness to provide. It cannot be all about what we have to do to meet our budget. What other side job can I take? What else can I do to make some extra cash? What else can I do to get more church meetings? What can I do to get pastors and missions committees to support us? You see what I mean? If we are not careful, our support raising efforts can easily drift from seeking God’s support through faith in His provision to seeking support any possible way that we can acquire it. So as we continue this transition journey to full-time Gospel service in Alaska, please continue to pray for us to retain this proper perspective and faith!

I also really believe these truths that God recently taught us can apply to you as well! Often God takes us down roads in life that require us to find our complete refuge in His limitless resources. You don’t have to be raising financial support amidst a struggling economy to learn about faith in God’s provisions. In our past and partially in our present, we are learning to trust God regarding finances, jobs, housing, family issues, contacts, ministry opportunities, timing, and general leading throughout life. I am sure that you too can track ways that God is teaching you to trust and wait on His provision. Life often involves a series of waits, whereby we must learn patience to acquire the desired result. I recently read through a small-group study booklet on the subject of life’s waits. Through the study, the author develops the premise that God often takes us through periods of waiting for His master purifying purposes. You see, the Gospel is far more than just a prayer we pray. The Gospel is far more than just fire insurance and a home in heaven. The Gospel gives us freedom, a joyful life, an abundant life in Christ now! While faith in Christ (the Gospel of salvation) brings us eternal life in heaven, it enters us into a lifelong journey for God’s full redemptive purposes. God is working with you and me to develop us into the restored image of God, the very image of Jesus. Therefore, everything in the believer’s life occurs for our sovereign Lord’s redemptive purposes. Romans 8:28 and the surrounding context speak to this sanctifying purpose. Hebrews 12:5-11 also speak to this sanctifying purpose of God in the lives of the redeemed. When we come to the subject of waiting in life, we must view these periods through the lens of God’s sanctifying redemptive purposes. The study booklet I read pointed to the faith-exemplified waiting examples of Joseph, David, and even Jesus. Joseph endured a lengthy process of waiting for that which he did not know. As he was faithful to God and rested in His purposes, he became the redeemer of all Egypt and his own family (the very family that would birth the nation of Israel)! David, likewise endured much waiting. He was promised a kingdom. God called him to this crucial purpose. David knew his calling and yet he patiently waited for God’s timing in making this calling a reality. In fact, he waited for 17 years before God promoted him to king of Israel. David learned what it meant to find a refuge in God throughout life’s waiting periods! Even Jesus endured a 30 year wait for the mission to which He was born. Jesus, being God and man, willingly subjected Himself to the Father’s timetable and means of fulfilling His purpose. Satan even gave Jesus an opportunity to short-circuit this wait, but Jesus faithfully waited on the Father’s timing in the Father’s way. In the Old Testament Isaiah beautifully writes to the exiled Israelites regarding God’s faithfulness through their wait. Isaiah 40 exalts God in all of His majesty and glory. The chapter then ends by pointing Israel toward a full reliance on God’s faithful hand of guidance, protection, and provision amidst their wait.

I trust that by now (if you’re still reading at this point) you can see the relevancy and applicability of this waiting thing to our everyday lives! All of us have just finished waiting for something, are currently waiting for something, or will soon enter into a waiting period in life. I mutually encourage you to view your waiting period through God’s purifying perspective and the Gospel’s full redemptive outworking in your life! God is on a mission to conform you to the image of Jesus. He loves you so much that He providentially orchestrates all of life to your greatest Christ-like benefit. As we wrap our minds around this glorious truth, we gain great confidence and unshakeable faith regardless of the surrounding circumstances!

Thanks for reading! I trust God will use this in your life!

Embrace the wait!
Derek

Additionally, I was given the opportunity to preach at our home church recently. Since God has been working on my own heart regarding my waits, this study was a natural pick for me. I pray God can use His awesome Word in your life as well. If it can be of any use, I have included links to 2 file types of the recent Keynote Presentation entitled, “Embracing the Waits in Life.” One file type is a movie file of the slides with transitions. The other file type is a .pdf with the slides and full sermon notes.
Blessings!

Embrace the Waits Video File

Embrace the Waits PDF with Notes

For several weeks now, I have been pondering a particular passage and subject regarding missions. God has shown me much from Romans 8 and I am very excited about sharing it with others. Romans 8 contains some familiar verses, but I think we would all greatly benefit a fresh study of the entire passage. I believe a proper appreciation for the context and message of Romans 8 is absolutely critical to the subject of missions…even the subject of any ministry or just plain life!

I would like to consider what really is the core content of missions. In such consideration, several passages come to mind (Isaiah’s here am I passage, the other great commission texts, etc.). Let’s come at it from a little different angle. In fact, let’s come to the subject of missions by looking at it’s core content. What is missions all about? What is ministry in general all about? What really is life all about?

Now, we could say that the answer to all of these questions could be the glory of God, just Jesus Himself, or the worship of our God. While all of these answers really would adequately answer our questions, allow your mind to focus on the core content behind these things. Thought in this way, the core content of missions, ministry, and life really is the Gospel. The text of Romans 8 brings us front and center to a glorious exposition and proclamation of this glorious Gospel!

Paul writes to the Roman church familiarizing himself, his ministry, and his calling to these scattered house churches. He lays the foundation for this precious Gospel by using the first few chapters to explain mankind’s desperate condition in sin…hopeless on our own! He then begins in chapter 5 to introduce the Gospel as God’s plan for salvation through faith for all humanity; past, present, and future. Even Abraham and the OT generations were saved through faith in Jehovah. Paul also compares the all-encompassing work of Adam (to sin) to that of Christ (to redemption). Chapter 6 further builds on the Gospel’s call to freedom over sin’s enslaving power. Chapter 7 relates to the continuing struggle over the flesh and sin even after salvation, but directs the reader toward great hope in the freeing power of the Gospel!

We then come to Romans 8, an incredible passage upholding and declaring the sufficiency of the Gospel of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ!

The truths of Romans 8 boldly declare the sufficiency of the Gospel and should be our motive for living and ministry! It is for these reasons that I believe the sufficient Gospel (as expounded in Romans 8 as well as other texts) is the core content of missions. Now that may sound like a “duh!” statement, but hear me out. I’m not just saying that missions is about the Gospel. I’m trying to get us to go deeper here; deeper into the glorious truths of the Gospel. A proper understanding and fresh appreciation of the glorious sufficient Gospel must be the core motive for life, ministry, and missions. Do you get yet? I trust you will as you read on and study the awesome truths of Romans 8!

Let’s dive in and catch a glimpse of the Gospel’s sufficiency through four glorious truths!

1. The sufficiency of the Gospel viewed in comparison to the OT law and any form of legalism. (8:1-13)
This truth is awesome! Our salvation depends completely on God’s work, not us! Paul explains that human efforts to live completely holy lives end in utter failure. The law stood as a neon sign pointing to this depravity. In fact, any sort of law or legalistic set of rules cannot make us holy because we will inevitably continue failing. This is one of the glorious truths of the Gospel; that it is a work that has totally been complete by God Himself! Our sovereign God calls and we respond-glorious! The Gospel is glorious and should propel our desire to love our God through life, ministry, and missions!

2. The sufficiency of the Gospel viewed through the glorious truths of adoption and inheritance. (8:14-17)
Adoption in our world is such a great thing, because it points to the glorious truth of salvific adoption! How awesome is this truth! Think about it. Our Creator God is holy and Ruler of all things. We, on the other hand are rebels, alienated from our Creator in sin. God in His great grace and mercy, freely extends His way of salvation to us. Christ substitutes His righteous life, death, and conquering resurrection to our account. Our Creator God adopts us into His family. He credits Christ’s righteousness to our account! Furthermore, Paul writes about the great inheritance we have in Christ. As adopted children of God, we now are joint heirs with Christ for a glorious eternity in heaven! The Gospel is glorious and should propel our desire to love our God through life, ministry, and missions!

3. The sufficiency of the Gospel viewed through it’s purifying affect in the lives of the redeemed. (8:18-30)
This third truth is really cool as well! You may recognize verse 28 where Paul says that all things work together for good in the lives of God’s own. Well, verse 28 is beautiful set in its proper context! Notice in the preceding verses (26-27), Paul refers to God’s will and the Spirit’s work of interceding for believers. You see, our great God is so sovereign that He has a perfect plan that implements all things for His good intentions in our lives. As believers, we share in the Gospel’s saving power, in it’s adoption, and in it’s inheritance. But, we also share in the Gospel’s glorious intentions and fruit in live after our salvation. God’s intent is to make us more like Christ, eventually fully glorifying us in heaven with Him. In this light, you can understand Paul’s statements regarding the creation’s eager longing for this full redemption. This life-long redemption (or sanctification) is wrought through God’s gracious, refining work on our lives. When viewed properly, every single thing that happens in life, occurs for God’s gracious sanctifying intent on our lives. Our God loves us so much! He is worthy of our praise! The Gospel is glorious and should propel our desire to love our God through life, ministry, and missions!

4. The sufficiency of the Gospel viewed through the passionate response of the redeemed. (8:31-39)
Well, if you’ve been really following the progression of Romans 8 at this point, the remaining verses don’t need much commenting! Can you see the glorious truths of the Gospel? We are totally deprave, alienated from our God. Nothing we can do can repair our sin’s gap of separation. God in His infinite grace adopted us and gave us a glorious inheritance. It is now throughout our life that our God continues His gracious refining purposes as He works all things for our good. The Gospel is sufficient! The Gospel is glorious! At this point in Romans 8, Paul can do nothing but respond in passionate worship of our awesome God! Read 31-39 and relish along with Paul in God’s glorious Gospel! Oh, do you see it? The Gospel is glorious and should propel our desire to love our God through life, ministry, and missions!

Wrapping up:
You see, it is as we relish in our great God and the awesome Gospel that we really understand the glorious redemption we share! This glorious understanding will then be the best and really only appropriate motive to life, ministry, and missions! I trust this has made sense. It is my prayer that God would wet your appetite for a fresh study of His Word relating to the Gospel. Spend some time working through Romans 8 or the entire book. Ask God to give you a fresh understanding and appreciation for this awesome Gospel that, I pray, we all share! Allow your appreciation of the Gospel to evidence in your life (as Paul evidenced through the glorious praise of 31-39) through worship, submission, and service. As we personally continue our preparation for missions service in Alaska, it is my conviction that the best motive and core content of missions is a Romans 8 understanding, appreciation, and passionate response to the Gospel.

In His Grace and all for His Glory,
Derek

Acts 1:8 is often understood as part of the Great Commission directly applying to all believers in Christ Jesus. However, a closer look at the passage reveals a more time specific meaning. While it is true that we as believers are entrusted with the humbling responsibility of being ambassadors for Christ, this text describes a one time occurrence. The particular word of interest is “power” in verse 8, referring to a miracle working ability. A comparison of

Words cannot fully express the tragedy that occurred in recent days in Haiti! As most of us probably have, I have sat in shock as the video and photos stream across the tv and computer screens. There are so many questions that come to mind during such a traumatic event. While there will always be those who are quick to assert causation to Divine wrath, may we be deeply moved to pray for Haiti. Let us pray for the church in Haiti, for the believers to find their rock in Christ. Let us pray for those who

When we take a honest look at today’s current deputation process and the new missionaries (and even returning ones on furlough), one can plainly see that there is a growing struggle to raise support. The possible reasons for this are numerous, but I definitely think it warrants our attention and ingenuity. The link I am providing in this post is another blog of a new missionary’s thoughts regarding these issues. Although his posts may take a while to sift through, the content is well developed and worth considering. Some of his thoughts are bit more obvious solutions to today’s support problems, but a few of his ideas are very intriguing. So, take some time and browse through his entries. I think it will challenge our thinking in this area of mission support (at least enough to start thinking personally how we can possibly be more Biblical and innovative in today’s economy).

http://www.debtortoall.blogspot.com/

Derek

Well, I would just like to share some thoughts today with everyone. I was thinking the other day about how ministry is to be conducted in a cross-cultural setting (in our case the Alaskan Eskimo villages). I was listening to a podcast the other day that looked at how the apostle Paul’s writings explain his approach in cross-cultural ministry. In Acts 17 Paul reaches the postmodern idolatrous city of Athens. By the way, it is interesting that our whole postmodern society today is not something brand new, but has existed in our history past.