First week back from Asia! Thoughts on Mission and Evangelism

There are many points of reflection for me as I spend my first week back after traveling overseas. My journey took me (and our team) to several cities in the southern Philippines, to a large Asian nation north and to Hawaii. Of course, the last destination was a time to recharge and celebrate with friends at a wedding. But that locale too brought in some data points that I wish to talk about in this blog. While I don’t expect many to read this, I do hope to collect some of my thinking and use it to govern future decisions on ministry and life.

I want to reflect on evangelistic ministry or mission overseas. It is true that Jesus has all of us on mission. We are participating in his mission to “make disciples of all nations.” Every facet of my life I want focused on some aspect of mission. I want to be a missional believer. That seems sort of redundant but in the west we’ve made allowances for all kinds believers in the church. Of course, I believe that all believers should be missional. Certainly the early church was missional in every way; in life at home, in occupation and in the worshiping community. They lived and died the good news – there was no compartmentalization of life separating sacred and secular. They were holistic beings, touched by Jesus and commissioned to go. In response, they governed their entire life on God’s mission to reconcile humanity with God.

So mission in Mindanao had many components that had both direct and indirect sharing of good news. And what moved my heart more were words coupled with tangible action. As a team we tried to express God’s love through ways that ministered to very practical needs of humanity – health care, food and clothing. Evangelism occurred in large group contexts like arena based preaching – I got to participate in this – where the good news was declared and a call to respond was made. Many hands were raised in a large venue of several thousand. The only hope was that local believers could make the connections as they saw the hundreds of hands raised. No effort was made by our team to make those connections happen. It had to occur within the context of our team partnership with local believers. Trusting God’s Spirit to work in those who sincerely responded.

We evangelized in the high school and university contexts putting on a program of dance, drama, sharing and music with a call to meet this God we were proclaiming. For some kids – mostly between 12 and 20 – they genuinely sought out prayer from the team. Others felt compelled to receive prayer at the prompting of their peers. This connection was a bit more personal between our team and the school kids but follow-up was again left to our local student ministry partners. Where student leadership is strong, these kids receive follow-up and are fostered into a healthy discipleship community.

We also evangelized in medical clinics. In this context, people would pass through a counseling station before receiving their medicines. In a way they were captivated to at least hear the good news. For many, they made decisions to follow Jesus as Lord. Some were healed in the process of healing prayer. All were interacted with at a life level from caring bible college students, local pastors and volunteers. Some of our team participated in this process. We saw about 1200 people during 5 days of medical mission.

In contrast to ministry in Mindanao was ministry in the greater Asian north. I want to write more thoughts on this but realize the sensitive nature of what I can share and what I should keep in my private journal.

While evangelism opportunities are abundant in the Philippine context, Jesus called us to make disciples. Hmm. Is there a problem here? More to come on discipleship.

Teaching and Thankful

Finishing up an eventful week in Davao City where I had the privilege to teach 25 really great students. What makes them great? Well let's see. I piled on written assignments daily as well as required two books to be read and reflected upon in writing. And I gave them a couple quizzes. And they sat on hard seats for 20 hours during the week from 8am till noon. And to top that off many of them took a second class on leadership in the afternoon with Dr. Frank Markow. And to top that a few took a science class in the evening with Mame Linda Nortarte. And to top that, they were very engaging during the class time. I got to read their stories, their calling from God and life mission as they understand it today. Many of their stories are compelling as they've committed themselves to preparation for life-long ministry with the Jesus they love. I was humbled to say the least.

Why would God use me in this context? That's always a nagging question. But for Dr. Frank and I, we had the opportunity to share what we know, apply our academic skills and our knowledge of God's Word and ways to hungry students. Any teacher would jump at that opportunity. I continually seek after God about my part in education for my remaining 50 years of life.

I've taught two bible college level courses now - both overseas at Halls of LIfe Bible College. On this particular trip a more lasting connection may have been established between the school and the US based bible college in San Dimas. That's a prayer matter as this would open up new doors of opportunity for further education. And it begs the question for me on whether I should pursue future studies that some how leverage the cross-cultural work going on now both locally among our community of faith and the work in Mindanao. James 1:5 says that God will "gladly" fill me in on his plans for my life, so I'm asking!

Take it Abroad and Across the Street

Jesus left one very prominent command when he departed from earth after his resurrection. He commanded his followers to “make disciples.” For some it meant literally to “go” from where they were to deliver good news and establish Jesus’ kingdom. For others, they were to remain and work for the transformation of their community. Either option was fraught with challenges, whether coming up against hyper-zealous religionists or invading the domain of humanistic institutions with little tolerance for proselytism. Jesus didn’t qualify this command with “out” clauses, rather he promised to send his Spirit to partner in the process of making disciples wherever their feet would land.

Two years ago I became the pastor of a small community of believers in the east bay. The prior pastor infused in our community a DNA that reoriented our view of church. That was the beginning of a long process. For years we had maintained all the usual programs that churches do. In fact, we were very engaged as a church in overseas ministry, partnering in the Philippines with local churches to bring medical care, training and the proclamation of the good news. But something was lacking in church. We were weak in local outreach. When our feet were on this side of the Pacific we became busy in our jobs, school, our families and the busyness of church. We had missional eyes but we were far-sighted.

Why was it that we could openly proclaim the good news to young and old, rich and poor over there but we were clammed up here, unable to even approach familiar strangers at the local coffee shops or on our campuses or at work? My frustration mounted each year as I observed the let down that occurred following mission. Team members would be caught up in the cares of this life, struggling in their walks with Jesus. Our discipleship process had taken us overseas but we missed our “Jerusalem.”

For me personally, the Lord spoke and called me back to himself, to daily, personal devotion and a lifestyle of prayer. As pastor I was trying to fill someone else’s shoes and meet people’s expectations rather than be who I was created to be. My place was to dwell daily in the presence of Jesus, hearing from him and being refocused on my calling and gifting. That same calling came to several others in our community. Almost simultaneously there was a resurgence of personal devotions with Jesus and gatherings of believers one on one for mutual care and accountability.

What sprang from this organic faith was a reorientation to the mission field across the street. As we rooted ourselves in God’s word and daily time listening to him, we began to be emboldened to take action in the local marketplace, in the community where people like us live. One of our members met up with some local homeless people and determined where they lived. He purchased a large pizza and walked into their homeless encampment near the freeway. You’d be amazed at who lives in the bushes and trees! He went in boldly, with the conviction that Jesus wanted to reach these people who had either been discarded by their families and society or had chosen to live a hidden life. Our team member went in among paroles, alcoholics and dealers and reached out. Soon he was bringing others from our community into these camps to bring blankets, food and an encouraging word. Some came to our church building when we were serving meals. Of course they were there for the food but they also came to hear God. As a result of reaching across the street we are finding that serving people in this way becomes much more complicated when we try to take on meeting their needs ourselves. We are forced to partner with our fellow brothers and sisters who have established services to the homeless and urban poor. This is a good thing and opens up more doors for ministry.

But what really struck me in this process of reaching out is the impact it has on those who are not homeless or poor. Since the homeless at times hang out at my local coffee shop, the workers behind the counter see compassion at work. They can tell when you buy a cup of coffee and a bagel for a homeless woman. They see it when you sit next to them and engage in conversation. They can’t help being impacted by this kind of love. Their preference is that these people would go away. They create messes and take advantage of the services of that establishment. But they know that these folks need help too. So an act of kindness to the homeless leads to the next step in reaching people in the marketplace. It’s sort of trickle up evangelism. It opens doors for conversation and eventual presentation of the good news, first observed in action and then explained in words. It’s the process of making disciples across the street in the marketplace.

As a community of faith we have a long way to go to become a transformative influence in our city. For me, it feels like I’m starting all over again being Jesus’ disciple. I’m learning to hear his voice again like the day I received him into my heart thirty years ago. I'm learning that Jesus has people in our city who need to meet him. These people live across the street from our homes and our churches and across the aisle from our desk space. Jesus calls me to serve him abroad and I still will be obedient to that calling. But he’s calling me to reach out locally and to lead my community of faith in that same direction.

It's a change of the heart, stupid!

I'm hesitant to write in my blog this morning though it has been since summer since anything was posted. But I was drawn to consider how I should respond to the present election process here in the United States. I received so many emails and links to various pro this or anti that and I was getting pretty put off by it. I was also part of several blog sites/facebooks discussing the propositions and the candidates; their virtues and failings. But what I liked most about the past 6-12 months (though it has been going on for 2 years) was that I had to think and pray through a bunch of things. I had to consider who I was as a believer, how I was to wade through all the information and responsively respond as a believer who has been touch by God. Yes, I voted. And no, I won't tell you how!

I was drawn to the first part of an old book and reminded of the stories of a nation who were called out by God. This nation went through a lot and we have a lot to learn from them. They went through times of peace and prosperity, they dominated their region for a season and they went through times of severe depression or persecution. They had good leaders and bad leaders. They had strong revivals and utter moral and religious failure. God spoke to these people over and over and many times they returned to God with all their hearts.

But what caught me about this story was that even though they had an occasional righteous leader who did great things for the nation - removing idolatry, restoring justice, refocusing the people on  the worship of the one God - they quickly fell back into injustice, unrighteousness, and the worship of created things once the leader passed. A leader would help for a while but eventually it all returned to self-worship. 

I am thinking about this a lot right now because I feel like it's deja vu all over again with this election and the one in 1992. Certainly, in the past an unrighteous leader - and America has had many - opened doors, removed obstacles for a further moral slide. I remember the repeated mantra, "it's the economy stupid!" when it came to why this person or that was elected. Then we had this conservative guy take office in 2000 who we thought would stem the tide of moral decline and lead us into an era of peace. He would be a take-action kind of president. Well, he did some good things up front, responding to terror and taking the battle to the source, but he lost support in our land. People had little tolerance for a protracted battle against terror. It became the economy again and our need for stuff and leisure. We lost our way again in the midst of his leadership. And there were enough people who hated this guy to make it really hard. And of course he fell from favor with most. In fact, most of our government lost favor with the people.

So here we are again, with a new election and new leadership. There are many forecasting doom for America. Judgment will come through this man and his administration. But let's get real church. It isn't about electing a righteous president and congress and judges that will bring peace to our nation. It is about turning the hearts of the people back to God. I believe that too often, we as Christians rely too heavily on the election and proposition process to bring righteousness when Jesus told us to go and "make disciples of all nations." He said that we are, "to love the Lord our God" and "love our neighbor as ourselves."

Israel's failure in the past was not having their hearts converted. Kings would make righteous changes, but the heart of the people would only be changed for a moment. It wouldn't persist to the next generation. But the day was going to come when the heart would change and soften. 

An encounter with Jesus will change your heart. Righteousness can be learned and it can be taught, but if it is not linked back to the Source it will only remain as long as the will engages or the constraints are in place. But God calls us to relationship with him. And out of relationship comes response to change that will influence a family, a neighborhood, a community and hopefully a nation. The church's business is to share good news and make disciples. In that process, people encounter God and they are changed.  

While many are saying, "it's the economy stupid!" or "it's borders and security!" I say, "it's a change in the heart, stupid!"  Jesus is calling the church to wake up, pray for the nation's leaders, be good citizens, but most of all, be a true ambassador of the Good News, living and proclaiming it daily. Let's get back to our calling and our purpose and watch a nation revive! 

(I have other thoughts on the matter - like a return to the study of american church history and the revivals that struck our land in the 18th and 19th and early 20th centuries ... truly a time when hearts were changed! Let's pray for another revival in the early 21st century.)

Back from Mindanao

Wow - it is good to be back. I was very much anticipating the landing at SFO. Being away for over two weeks really made me appreciate what we have, our families and friends. But at the same time I've grown more aware of needs, more conscience of our world and the people who make it up and more thoughtful about how to optimize my part in advancing the good news of the Kingdom.

Returning back I had an email in my queue from Pastor Tom Johnston talking about a trip next year to San Narciso. Others are already making plans for next year while we were still in route from Manila. We have a world opened up to us and for the most part the resources to participate in those places in the world.

And yet, it is vital that we pause and spend time with God and seek his face on our part. For me I'm seriously asking God about us - the living hope community - and our role here in the Bay Area. This trip increasingly bothers me about our ineffectiveness - my ineffectiveness in reaching "our" world here in the bay. Too easily we can travel and reap a harvest and yet we leave our work for others to tend - disciple and bring to maturity. Jesus asked us to "go and make disciples." That "go" is about our life right here ... as we "go" about our business in life, we are to make disciples. I know we can care for each other and we do - mutual accountability, prayer support, partnerships in ministry - but I want so much more of the Lord in my everyday life - at work, home, community - that draws people to him.

So I'm praying. Join me as well in these coming months. There will be pressure to "commit" to next year soon. Davao, Cagayan, San Narciso, all points in between. But let's draw even closer to the Lord so we hear him better. Let's naturally express our love for him in care for those around us here in the Bay Area.

Not sure what to say about heaven on earth ...

There was a strangely beautiful sound emanating from the room. I thought to myself that this hotel was nice, but the sound system was excellent. Then I noticed the live music coming from the lounge.  Now this is five star!  

Spent a couple days here to relax and recharge. Yes, the contrast with Mindanao was noticeable and I couldn't help thinking about the disparity between the rich and poor. But at the same time I was thankful for the opportunity to rest in a very nice location - Makati. 

Angels Carry M-16s!

We had security from Cagayan de Oro through Iligan City and across the water to Ozamiz. But that was it. No more beyond Ozamiz. The next time I saw an M-16 was at the Dipolog airport. 

I first encountered having armed guards on a mission trip four years ago when we conducted a medical mission in Bunawan, near Davao City. It was a strange site to have medical personnel and all those people coming for care in a Christian context and seeing guards all around. The local believers - especially those who work in civic employment understand the nature of community and surrounding regions and felt it was important that we have physical protection in these exposed areas.

In Iligan City we had armed guards in our jeepneys and buses. They were always present. And they listened in during our services, ministry to kids, basketball evangelism, everything. It was sad to see them leave when we crossed the straights to Ozamiz where we picked up a new crew for our visit there and in Oroquieta. 

But we were always aware that the Lord was watching over us as well. It made me think about angels and their role and their choice of weapons to weld in the heavenlies. Do they really use swords or is that biblical imagery that resonated with the biblical writers. Were they actually seeing something more powerful than a sword? Were the angels welding light sabres? Or could we see angels today carrying the latest in weaponry such as the new lighter weight military rifles? Our guards had M-16s. But do angels weld super duper weapons to keep the enemy at bay? If our enemies - in the flesh - observed our actions and notices "extra" support teams - who were really angels manifested - would swords scare them off or superior firepower!  

Whatever the weapon of choice for angels unawares, we were glad to be supported by these really nice armed guards. We don't trust in natural protection but we do exercise wisdom. 

We paused for one last photograph before flying back to Manila. An example of one of our guardian angels possibly?

I Want a Laker Jersey Too!

Now why is my brother Jun hanging out in that strange bamboo structure? Well you can guess. But what I really want to comment on is Jun Canoy's wardrobe. On every mission trip to the Philippines he's worn that Laker jersey. It is so old Kobe Bryant was still number 8 (now he's 24). Or was Kobe 8 year's old? 

Now I have to have a laker jersey too for next time. So in Manila I found one for cheap at Greenhills Mall!  Yes, I have a Laker Jersey too. But wait a minute. Did I say next time?  Desiree, don't read this.

Thinking about the Process ...

Because I’m journaling on my blog I can write what I want to write. I have some questions regarding the documentation process that was required for this trip in order to report back to the  Foursquare Foundation our results. I am very grateful for their support as we were able to purchase medicines, fund the medical team that traveled with us and conduct a fair amount of ministry in partnership with local doctors, nurses, youth leaders and pastors. Our ministry reach went pretty far with the resources afforded us. 

In the photo that's Joams and Nicki!  They were a huge help to our team - such servants!

Some observations about the process which really tie into other thoughts I have about our purpose overseas and the role we can effectively play in Kingdom advancing in Mindanao. I believe Rich eluded to this transformation that should take place over time where we do a more “lasting” work here in Mindanao. A few of us have talked about what we can do - briefly - but nothing definitive yet. We hope to meet in early September and talk more.

But just some thoughts that come up to the top - that “bubble up.” First, how can we do a more effective job of participating in either the discipling process or doing more to equip the young leaders we are partnered with so they can effectively follow-up? I say this on the heals of seeing over 600 folks come to Christ. There were about 11 kids I prayed for at the first campus - who received Jesus as Savior and Lord but we had no time to follow-up in that conversation and prayer. And I didn’t have the means of hooking up those leaders - those youth leaders with those specific kids. Shoot, I’d want to spend a lot of follow-up time with all eleven and lead them into a closer encounter with Jesus. This troubled me. We prayed for our youth leaders and co-laborers that God would direct them with wisdom and the ability to hook up with all those kids who received Christ. 

At the clinics, it seemed to work, having a process that included a decision card and a photograph. However, we asked ourselves repeatedly, is the photo necessary? The reason we asked is the processing time to print the photos. We were good at taking the photo and following a process to link the card with the photo - but the 1+ minute print time kept a couple people really busy when we were able to print. The first clinic had no power and that meant printing back at the hotel - when we were able - it went into the early morning to finish the 220 plus photos. Even with two printers humming along. At the second clinic we had power and most of the printing was completed before we left - but we still had work to do late at night. Do we need the photo? Can we hunt down the 10 second color printer? I know lasers work that fast but now we are talking expense, weight - but compared to the cost of the printer ink...laser may just be cheaper!  Something to consider next year - can you print direct from a camera to a printer?  We’ll explore next time.

The process - was good for us this year. Do read my blog entry on the salvation ratios. 

And When Do we Recharge?

There are times when you have nothing more physically to give. And then there are times when you are just plan grouchy and you have to work at being civil.  The weeks and months leading up to the trip really supercharged me to have a lot of endurance for the long flight from SFO to Manila, through to Cagayan and the long day leading to our first evening in Iligan City. We hammered for four straight days from Thursday (Campus Ministry, Basketball Evening), Friday (Campus Ministry, Basketball preaching), Saturday (Marriage Seminar, Youth Rally) and Sunday (Preaching in CDO, Youth Rally and Basketball Game). We were burnt but so glad to serve!

On Monday we took the day off and enjoyed Cristiana Falls and a major swimming hole (65 feet deep) with wonderful water falls gracing the landscape. But we didn’t fully recharge. The next day we were back in the saddle traveling to Oroquieta with an evening of ministry in Ozamiz. The next couple days were just as busy and fruitful from a ministry standpoint, but I was wearing down. I didn’t have the rest I really needed. My times of quiet were hard to find. We were getting to bed later and later caring for needs. I was beat.

I had a bad day. It was the day we traveled from Oroquieta to Dipolog. I was woken up an hour earlier than planned after getting to bed after midnight. It’s a story I’m hoping to forget because I was really wanting that last hour of sleep. I was awaken at 4ish. I grumbled at the perpetrators but moved on. Then that morning I had to do the hotel sweep to make sure nothing was left behind. I found something I had to report in to one of the leaders. At that point I was concerned that I was now viewed - not so much as a snitch but as one who caused a problem for three of our team. The reality was that nothing happened. My fatigue led to my paranoia. Crazy. But that wasn’t enough. When we arrived in Dipolog, we had to travel to the Dakak resort. It was a nice place but the road there was under major construction. Under normal circumstances it was border line unsafe. And we had a hard time imagining what it would be like to travel that road at night with rain. And that’s what happened the first night. But we made it.  

That first afternoon at lunch, after we drove to the resort, dropped off our luggage and then drove the hour back to Dipolog. Of course, the coordinator had a full schedule planned for us (campus ministry, motorcade, visit the governor and mayor). At lunch we grouped the leaders and discussed what to do with the location of the resort and the road condition. We all discussed and prayed about our options. We wanted to return before dark and pressed for canceling the motorcade. We also wanted to move into town rather than stay at the resort if we could swing it. Where was our faith?  

As we drove back to the resort in the dark, it rained, on a very iffy road. But we made it!  God got us there (using our very brave drivers! I had a bad day but God came through.

We ended up staying at the resort as we had committed to the price. We couldn’t afford to leave. For those three days, we managed to endure the long commute to our ministry locations. We had a great resort to stay at after a long day of ministry. And we hung out on the sand for “church” on our final Sunday in the philippines. We had a very meaningful gathering time before breakfast!  We rested that day!  We started to refresh!  

Medicines for the Body ...

I’m thankful for Pure Works and the ability to secure medicines for the many people (over 1000) who needed care. There was nothing too major on the medical side but a lot of folks have needs - especially in the more rural areas and among the poor. They just don’t get medical care and were grateful for medical care coming to them. Having a dental group made it even more exciting - reality tooth pulling TV! Ouch. 

But medicines are for the body and I thank God for medical science. You know what I’ll say next. But this is where I wrestle with scripture, with history and with some evidence of God’s supernatural move in the lives of some people who are miraculously healed. It happens and it is clear that God is in the middle of it - it is a work of God and can only be attributed to him. But on this trip I didn’t see that. Miracles didn’t accompany the ministry of the Kingdom on this trip. We put in a lot of good hard work and human effort in place but somehow I’m still thinking about the Kingdom being very evident through a direct encounter with God. It will come! Stay tuned!

Those Coconuts Make me go ... coconuts!

These Coconuts are, well, a laxative if taken as a liquid from the young nut!  I was a nut to go along with drinking the liquid. Others did the same but the impact on my digestive track was rapid and more urgent. But I did get to visit the AG church plant out there in the rural land near our medical clinic. And I got to meet some nice folks and use the upstairs bathroom - and there was a seat and a bucket of water. So it was good. Just not going to go there again so I don't have to "go" there again!

Why Such a High Salvation Ratio?

This is one subject that I’m still "noodling." I’m not so sure how to think about this and it may be that a doctoral study is in the works for the future to explore and understand this element of cross-cultural ministry and the dynamics of evangelism in the third world, in a Catholic Christian culture. Why did so many come to Christ at the medical clinics? Didn’t they already believe? Didn’t they already have a saving faith in Jesus Christ? Weren’t many of them already in attendance at various churches? I’m puzzled. 

A dataset to consider. At the third and fourth medical clinics we saw over 250 people at each venue. of those 250, about 220 decision cards were gathered up. Every person, family group that comes through the clinic is pre-screened by medical personnel and then passed on to the counselors. The counselors both hear their medical need but also inquire into their spiritual need. For the third clinic we had local bible institute students. At the fourth clinic we had local pastors from various churches - different affiliations. 

With the bible students counseling, 83% of the folks made a decision to follow Christ. These weren’t rededication's (5%) as this was explicitly asked on the decision cards. That’s a lot of folks coming to Christ! Praise God. But it seems high to this analytic skeptic. At the next clinic (the final clinic) we had roughly 56% coming to Christ. Many more rededicated their life to Christ through counseling (21%). Different cities, different counselors, same process. Did it have anything to do with the bible students versus the pastors? Not sure. The statistical analysis doesn’t yield enough data to make that determination. Does this particular set of ministry teams believe in multiple “events” of coming to Christ in the life of a person? Do we have different definitions for things on our decision cards that need to be sorted out? 

All of this calls out for more preparation work with the ministry teams and maybe this can be coupled with a more thorough analytic study that can be published to benefit other short-term missions teams working in developing world contexts. I might sign up for that someday!

This Team Can Preach!

It may be selective memory loss on my part but I can’t remember a missions trip which included more preachers than this group. Of course there were the expected preachers in Pastor's Brian Goodell, Nelson Dizon, Dominic Contreras and Jun Canoy. It’s expected because they’re pastors and have training and experience. But there was another level of preaching that occurred.

Paul preached up a storm at a youth rally. He was nervous in preparation, taking seriously the responsibility placed upon him. He preached and brought the Word forward to the young people.  Justin preached at another youth rally - even one where a lot of kids on the periphery were talking and chatting and texting. But when he made the appeal to decide for Jesus, many responded in sincerity. 

Henry preached both at an evening celebration and at a Basketball game. Mark Palazzolo preached at a Church and at a high school campus and at a basketball game. Coach Carl seriously declared the word of God at many basketball games as well as encouraged the team on many occasions. And Renee preached from her heart a message given her by the Lord. 

So many examples - who did I miss - declared the Word of God boldly to young and old. Most if not all have no formal bible college training. They turned to God and said, “help me hear from you.” And then they were obedient to what God impressed upon them to deliver!  

We serve an awesome God.

Seriously, do we need an Escort?

Won’t a Toyota Suffice ...?

A little car humor for those who care.  Seriously, we had armed escorts for most of our time in Iligan City, then to Ozamiz and Oroquieta. But then nothing after that. I understand the importance of wisdom and I know God is with us even through the armed escorts. I looked at them as representative images of the real angels doing battle behind the scenes. But people with flesh and blood are actually out there who want to hurt people - especially bus loads of people who are traveling. It wasn’t known by the team but a different bus was held up close to the time and nearby (30 km or so) by bandits. It wasn’t extremists - just thieves preying on people. The armed guards are a great deterrent. And we were thankful. This group of guys hung out with us all the time - even if we wandered off down the street, they would follow - doing their jobs. And from what I understand, they were observing us all the time. The photo in this block is when we waved goodbye to the team that stayed with us for several days in Iligan City. We departed at the boat docks and picked up a new crew at Ozamiz. 

We were safe. In more ways than one.  God is good!

Hanging with the Volunteer Team from Cagayan de Oro

Again, we were blessed to be partnered with a ministry team from Cagayan de Oro. The CDO team was composed of a dance and worship team and a medical team made up of those skilled in nursing and pharmacy. And of course Pastor Elpie was with us translating, overseeing his team from CDO and being a major example of servanthood. It was very evident in his team as well. They were always there for us making it so much more easier to acclimate. But these servants were really showing how “soft” we were. They roughed it and served us daily with no complaining. Several of us noticed and we want to change that for next time - did I say next time? We want to lodge where they lodge, eat as they eat and compete with them on service! Because we should!

A New Way to Do Ministry

We've never traveled with a basketball team before. Ministry was new for us collectively. Even for the players, I don't think they ever traveled with a mission team before. So when we partnered up with Coach Carl and Coach Lawrence we weren't quite sure what to expect. But God called us to this mission and we were willing to learn. 

In the picture above, we played before a packed house in Oroquieta. It was seriously packed with people standing on the baseline. It was to be our fifth game with challenges introduced at each venue. At this particularly one we were cautioned not to blow out the local team or the crowd would leave early. But that wasn't to be. An older gentleman was kneeling by my chair during the entire game laughing and enjoying every minute of the play. Certainly, we won and ran away with the game early but the fans love the game of basketball. 

At this particular game we introduced the idea of throwing out tee-shirts during the quarter breaks. That was quite a hit.  We also had a "pre-game" program that seemed to be working. Considering we were always waiting for the sound system to arrive or be set up, we managed to start each night with worship. Mark would jam with the band an instrumental version of "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" or some other familiar tune. Then he'd break into worship with Nicole and other singers. Renee would occasionally dance. The Cagayan de Oro team would also do their hip-hop numbers on the basketball court - "Listen People."  Go Willy!

By this time Coach Carl would share the word before the game warm-ups began. This was effective because here was a member of the basketball team sharing from the word. The crowd paid attention. Even when Coach Carl was "standing on the word!"

A player would also share a short bit, usually thanking the city for allowing us to play and for accepting us so warmly. It was great to see the transformation in our players as the two weeks progressed. God was working on everybody's heart and bringing us all together as a team! 

One thing that really excited the crowds in Mindanao was the slam dunk. During our third game played in Cagayan, during a violent rain storm in which Daniel McLaughlin's plane was grounded, our players put on a little dunk exhibition at the end of the game. I was able to capture Mike McFadden wrapped around the rim after a powerful dunk. Oh my!  Mo had some powerful slams as well. As you can see, the young men (mostly) ate this up. 

It was a new way to communicate the gospel - the good news to an audience very attracted to the game. Many times we use the arts to "entertain" but we tend to think of them as "sanctified" and "sacred" but in reality the arts are an expression of who we are, how God has gifted us and made us. And in many ways, basketball, played well is an expression of a God-given gift. Our players were learning to worship with all of their being.

Did you know they believe in Sizzling Monogamy?

It was funny, the title for our first marriage seminar held in Iligan City. “Sizzling Monogamy” the brain child of the seminar coordinators. Great host couple, an excellent facility. Too bad not as many attended (as our second event). It could have been due to a date change or possibly a failure of people catching all the advertising that did occur. It could be - and I think this is the reason - the need is developing in this city that had to endure some horrific times just a few decades earlier. This city is on the brink of another revolution but one of heart and one for God. When (and if) we ever get back to Iligan, we should try again to have a marriage seminar. 

For the 60 or 80 who did attend, it was a good day of ministry. Pastor Brian Goodell handled the first two-hour season. It was a good opening. Pastor Nelson went next followed by Pastor Dominic. I subbed for Brian at the next seminar and together, our team of Nelson, Dom and I worked together to improve upon the first seminar. That second seminar occurred in Oroquieta. We had about 300 folks attend. 

This Dancing was less than Magical!

Here's Daniel M and I in a brain wave ... Daniel had never done the skit “The Brain.” I said to him, "Just follow Justin's instructions..." and here we are doing ballet. Look at the form, look at Daniel's right foot - can it do that? 

This was the afternoon school which was a bit out of town in the hills or mountains or somewhere. A lot of kids responded when asked for prayer. Even some of the faculty were open to prayer - one allowed us to pray for her healing. I want to know the stories of what happened after we left. I know God can touch lives and many times we don't see the fruit from the events. 

In this particular city - Iligan City - lives were touched. Reports are coming back of basketball players who were believers but timid regarding their faith, now coming out boldly regarding the Kingdom as a result of our playing a couple games there and openly sharing faith!  Powerful is our God.  

And non-magical is the dancing of Daniel M and Ben H.

The Dancing that Night was Magical!

Words are hard to come by to describe what happened on June 27 in Iligan City at the IT University Arena. It was the second night of a two-game stand for our basketball team. The team was poised to play a formidable opponent from Cebu. They were a team loaded up with a couple Americans to add some needed height to counter our tall and fast team. It was a team composed of a PBA player turned coach and young men who loved Jesus and were willing to share their stories.

But that was the headline. What really was going on is almost indescribable. Mark was leading the band on the stage, playing worship songs. While it was hard to hear the words to the songs, the worship was going out. This was the “pre-game” activities as this evening was prayed for and committed to the Lord.

When Mark concluded worship, worship didn’t end. Renee Wynia bravely took her position on the basketball floor and began a spiritual dance before the Lord to the tune of “We Bow Down.”  Here was a mother and worshiper dancing with all her heart before the Lord in front of possibly 6000-8000 fans who had come to watch a basketball team from America. But they were fixated on the worship that they had likely never seen before. Renee was pouring her heart out before the Lord in dance...

Prior to the dance, prior to the worship music, I was backstage pacing. Jun asked me earlier that day to give the short message, a short exhortation and I was busy praying regarding the message I believed the Lord had put on my heart. I don’t have the words of the message. The one thing I know, it was going to be about Jesus. He was not just a good man or a great prophet like Abraham and Mohammed. Yes, I was going to drop the M word in this crowd, in this city where a few decades earlier, real battles were happening between C’s and M’s over the territory. I felt that strong about proclaiming this Jesus as the one - God himself - coming in human history for you and me. He is not some figure on a cross but God himself desiring relationship with everyone in that stadium that night!

When Renee started her dance, I became emboldened. My faith rose. When she completed her dance, I started my short 8 minutes speech at a fever pitch. I usually don’t start there, I go there. But I got there out of the blocks. It wasn’t a perfect message. I miscommunicated a few things early, but I believe the message of Jesus got through to this crowd, this attentive and captive crowd. Then we prayed for Jesus to come in and to start a relationship with each one there...no place for an altar call that night.  But something powerful was happening in the realm of the Spirit. (That’s not a cop out or cheap rationalization about what happened. For many came up to me later and described the intensity of that opening with powerful declaration in music, then dance and then in words. All we needed next was for someone to be physically healed...next time? If the Lord wills.  God was very present.  

What happened during the game was magical too but certainly, the magic was in the power and presence of God to participate even in the midst of a game played between 10 athletes and a ball and two hoops. It was special indeed!