Catching the wind

Alex Araujo of Partners International gives us two metaphors for leadership and other aspects of life: powerboat or sailboat.  See how he compares the two types of watercraft…

Metaphor	Power	Characteristics	Concern of Operator
Powerboat	Internal	Can move regardless of the wind’s direction. Efficiently and predictably moves people from one place to another.	Internal processes – wind may affect a powerboat, but on normal days is not a decisive factor in powerboating.
Sailboat	External	Boat must be structured and positioned to catch wind.	External processes – need to pay attention to the wind and work with it.

Mr. Araujo challenges us to consider what metaphor best represents our ways of doing ministry, of mission, even of walking with God.  Our culture encourages us to be “powerboaters,” wanting much control over our destiny.  Perhaps a more biblical model to leadership and life is the sailboat.  Yes, we still have some control, but we keep a closer watch on the weather, testing the winds of the Holy Spirit and seeking His direction and His power.  There is also a contentment with staying put for a while when the wind seems all but gone.  The journey and the time it takes are just as valuable for the sailboater as the destination, likely more so than for the powerboater.

Reflecting on Mr. Araujo’s work, Al Karsten of Christian Reformed World Missions (to whom I’m indebted for my reflections here on the subject) writes in a newsletter to pastors:

…Someone who knows nothing of sailing might conclude that it suggests passivity:  Just sit back and let the wind take you.  Not so.  Sailors need a boat and gear designed and built with great care, an able crew, and great skill in navigating and catching the wind.  If any of these are lacking, they may be unable to manoeuvre to catch the wind properly, get themselves into serious danger, or simply not reach their destination.  Powerboaters need these same things, but I think in less measure than sailors.  Many [people] confess to having been powerboaters throughout their careers [and lives.  But] they express a longing to sail.

Did you know that in both Hebrew and Greek, the same words are used for spirit and wind?  Do you sense the wind of the Holy Spirit blowing in a certain direction?  Perhaps you’ve never given it much thought or prayer.  Or perhaps you’re in powerboat mode, going your own way and completely oblivious to the wind.  Stop, test the winds, and invite God to help you adjust your course as He leads.

References:
A written summary of Alex Araujo’s speech entitled “To Catch the Wind: A New Metaphor for Cross-Cultural Mission Partnerships” is here.  The sailboat picture above comes from here.

Savoury relationships

You’ve probably heard the expression “unsavoury relationship.”  I read a while back a testimony of a young woman who admitted to being involved in some unsavoury relationships before committing her life to Jesus, inviting Him to define healthy dating.

So we have unsavoury relationship as an expression…  Why don’t we say savoury relationship just as often?

As an adjective, savoury is defined as “morally wholesome or acceptable,” as in a person receiving a savoury recommendation.  Admittedly, I don’t hear or use the word that way very often.  Savoury is more commonly defined as something that is pleasing to the senses, as in being enticed by a savoury meal.  As a husband, I’d like to ask not only “What am I doing to prevent Monica from thinking she’s in an unsavoury relationship?” but also “What am I doing to convince Monica that she is in fact in a savoury relationship?”

We are delighted to come into the home of someone preparing a delicious meal.  We breathe in the aroma, our mouths water, we hang around the kitchen begging to help set the table or something.  How are Monica’s senses triggered when I come home after a day at the office?  Does a smile come to her face while her shoulders relax?  Does she put down for a moment what she’s doing to say ‘hi?’  Or, does she frown and tense up?  Does she remain focused on what she’s doing in the hopes that interaction with me will be kept to a minimum?  If you’re married, how does your spouse respond when you come through the door?  (Are you sure of your answer?)

I pray that with God’s help, I do things that enable Monica to say that she’s in a savoury relationship – a relationship she can savour, that she in general enjoys and delights in.  So I can ask myself questions like, “What am I doing that affirms Monica and shows that I know her and appreciate her?  How can I do (and be) those sorts of things more?”

Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage and speaker at an upcoming retreat in the Bulkley Valley, asks a more pointed, even startling question:

Does [my wife] feel like she’s married to Jesus? 
…I am told over and over in Scripture that my duty as a Christian is to become more and more like Jesus Christ.  Over time, my wife should start to feel like there’s at least a family resemblance.  (p. 64)

Resembling Jesus in one’s marriage…  That sounds savoury to me.
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Revival

We hear and long for it often, the desire for revival, be it in places in our world where Christians are persecuted, or in the halls of parliament in Ottawa, or in the lives of our family and friends right here in Telkwa.  This is a good desire, a good prayer request.

In his latest newsletter especially for pastors, Jack Stulp from Christian Reformed Home Missions reminds me how revival begins not “out there” somewhere, but right in our own lives…

Scripture consistently speaks about revival for me, for us.  Revival means a fresh focus on the basic things of the faith, on repentance, on asking forgiveness, on living with Jesus as Lord/Master, loving the Lord as God, prayer life, digging in the Word.  Revival should be for ourselves first, and then we should go on to pray it for a people, for a nation.
 

Sex

Maclean's: "Are We Blushing Yet?"

Now that I’ve got your attention, I’d like to talk about… well, sex.  But only because Maclean’s started it.

Their Canada Day somewhat thin double issue’s special report boasts how Canada is “The Best Place on Earth.”  Apparently “we are wealthier than the Americans, live longer than the Swedes, and eat better than the French.  We even have more lovers than the Italians.”  I think Maclean’s is implying that these are good things.

The fact that needing to make comparisons against others to make one feel good is rather juvenile notwithstanding, the unquestioned pursuit of health, wealth and sex (it looks like “sex” has replaced or is simply equated with “happiness”) is all rather anti-Kingdom of God.

I struggle with wealth; I idolize money as well as the next guy.  And then I hear Jesus say, “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.”  I trust in God.  “…But just in case He fails, I’d like to have a decent stockpile of cash nearby, please,” I’m tempted to think to myself.

In regards to health, I can thank the abundance of good (not necessarily always nutritious) food I constantly have within arm’s reach.  In fact, I have so much that I either end up throwing it out, or I eat more than I should.  Poor self-restraint.  I can hear Jesus saying a thing or two about that, as well.

But it’s the sub-article about sex that really gets my blood pumping.  “Not only do we have more partners than the French, Spanish or Italians, we’re more sexually adventurous, too.”  As I said, I think Maclean’s implies that these are good things.  (I admit that the next line made me laugh: “During those long, cold winters, we have to do something to keep warm.”)

Wanna hear the numbers that back up Maclean’s claims?  Canada beats both Italy and France when it comes to the average number of sexual partners one has in a lifetime: Canadian men have an average of 23 partners and Canadian women have an average of 10.  It’s in addition to these stats that Canadians are more adventurous, too.  How much more “adventurous” can one be?!  And did I mention that Maclean’s implies that all this is a good thing?

So disloyalty and infidelity, disposable relationships and broken lives are all the rage in Canada these days.  These are celebrated as the characteristics of an advanced civilization.  I cannot help but ask how much more advanced – truly advanced – we’d be if we took Hebrews 13:4 seriously:  “Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”  In light of the other criteria Maclean’s uses to rank Canada so highly, consider also the verses the follow:  “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’  So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can human beings do to me?’”

We have lots of wealth, health and sex.  Ironically, as far as I can tell, the articles in Maclean’s say nothing about how content Canadians are.  Perhaps we’re too busy pursuing wealth, health and sex instead of pursuing the Kingdom of God with His help and strength to realize how pathetic so many of us truly are.