17 June 2009

On the Journey

                            Controlled by a power beyond ourselves—

              Today I finished reading the book of Acts. For weeks now, I have been making my way through this narrative of the early days of the Church. From the ascension of Christ to Paul’s arrival in Rome, I have retraced the first steps of the early church.

              Along the way, I have encountered the personalities that gave life to the early Christian movement. The disciples, who the religious authorities described as ordinary men, were changed radically by their encounters with their Risen Lord and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Peter, who denied Jesus three times on the night of betrayal, offers the first presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ on Pentecost. Paul, the great persecutor, becomes the great communicator of the gospel to the Gentiles. Even the actors with small roles emerge as pivotal personalities like Barnabas and Mark, Silas and Timothy, Ananias and Sapphira, Priscilla and Aquila, Stephen and Lydia, and a host of others.

              As I finished Acts this morning, I became aware of how the lives of all these early leaders of the church appear to be directed by a Power over which they had no control. Chased from one city, they gather at a church in the next city that was not on their itinerary. A ship is blown off course by a storm, and they land in a place they never imagined going. A centurion sends for Peter, tells him to preach, and Gentiles become citizens of the kingdom of God. The Spirit continues to direct the church today in the same way.

              This lack of control and this reality of being taken where you never imagined going seems to describe our partnership with the Baptist believers in Klintsy. We did not choose Klintsy. They did not choose Immanuel. God himself ordained our partnership. When we departed for Klintsy in 1996, we had no idea where we were going. We could not speak Russian, and we did not know the people who would speak Russian for us. Without a doubt, one of the greatest leaps of faith I personally have ever taken occurred that day in May 1996 when our team boarded a bus with strangers for a 10 hour trip to live with people I did not know. Upon arriving in Klintsy, a man and a woman pointed at Rita and me and took us to their home. We ate food prepared in ways we had never seen, and we looked in the faces of strangers whose language we could not speak. Every member of that team had the same experience. We were in places we had never dreamed of going, facing people we never imagined meeting. Then, in the wonder of God’s providence, strangers became friends, and a partnership was formed by two churches residing on different continents.

              I believe again we experience this reality of being directed by a power greater than ourselves when we receive our Klintsy Mission offering each June. We have no real understanding of why we give except we desire to be doing what God is doing. We entrust our gifts to the church in Klintsy to be used for the work of God’s kingdom. Each summer, we see with our own eyes the stewardship of these funds. With our ears, we hear the things the church was able to do because of the faithfulness of Immanuel. Through our gifts, the church in Klintsy is empowered to share the gospel far beyond the city. Our gifts sustain churches and church leaders scattered across the Klintsy region. Using our gifts, the church is able to offer help and hope to countless men, women, and children.  We have no control. We relinquish our control, so God may be glorified through this partnership.

              The folks who travel to Klintsy to represent the body of Christ called Immanuel experience a profound sense that a greater power directs their lives. In their hearts, they know this calling is from Jesus, and they cannot resist it. They know, beyond any doubt, that they are called to go, but they don’t understand why they have been called. Across the years, every team member has learned a valuable spiritual lesson—the reason for your calling is revealed in the journey. You must relinquish control of your life to discover the plan God has for you.

              The body of Christ called Immanuel has been changed by allowing Christ to be in control. It has been our great desire to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. We have learned to walk by faith and not by sight. This is not a lesson we have learned once and for all. In so many ways, it is a lesson we learn each time we face a challenge or choose to respond obediently to Christ. It is in letting go that we discover the power of the Spirit. It is in going that we understand our calling. It is in entrusting our very lives to God that we discover the deepest meanings of life. Yes, as Jesus said, it is in losing our lives that we find it.

              As we prepare to receive our Klintsy Offering on Sunday, please prayerfully consider your gift. Yes, in many ways, you will lose control of that gift. Yet, in the hands of God, your gift will do more than you could have ever imagined.  Our Immanuel/Klintsy Partnership is only one expression of this divine reality.jamie