Tag Archives: people

Answering To The Call

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***This photo is of Kevin & Kristi Kneeshaw of Campus Crusade for Christ and their family.

This morning I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting and devotional time with the President of HCJB Global, Wayne Peterson.  I’ve been hearing a lot obout this worldwide ministry lately seeing as after reading the book Radical by David Platt, my boss at the radio station, the Executive Director, decided to lay down his role here at K-LIFE FM to move to Colorado Springs to work for HCJB.  So I will be getting a new person to report to and my boss and his wife will be helping plant Gospel-preaching Christian radio stations all around the world, specifically in places where less than 2% of the populatoin is Christian.     

This morning at the meeting, Wayne shared a few stories about what’s happening around the world in places like Nepal, Indonesia, Central Asia, Northern Africa and the like.  I was captivated by what he was saying as he explained the present condition of specific locations, but also the fact that the Church is growing below the radar in many areas.

Then I got to work, sat down at my desk and heard my phone chime over and over as thirteen new Twitter update texts poured in from Paul Washer, who is currently overseas preaching the Gospel. (If you would like to get Paul’s tweets sent to your phone you can choose to follow him on Twitter and then click the little phone icon just to the right of the “Follow” button.)   Paul happens to be in one of the places I heard about this morning and his updates did a funny thing to my heart that I’m still trying to decipher. 

I don’t know about you, but doesn’t the mission of Jesus to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10) and to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark16:15) twist your heart up so tight that you can barely breathe?  Doesn’t that call make you sick to your stomach as you plan your next trip to Disneyland?  Doesn’t it cause your life to flash before your eyes as you imagine yourself actually considering your life worth nothing, heading out into the wilderness and climbing to the heighest heights with God for His glory?

Jon and I had a tearful conversation a couple weeks ago.  It was a Saturday morning before we headed out for Adopt-A-Block and I was reading a chapter in Radical in the big chair in our living room while Jon was skimming the paper.  And it hit me.  I was reading about how this one retired couple decided to use their retirement to feed hungry people in Africa versus moving into a gated community and playing golf every afternoon.  And like I said, it hit me.  Because it was cool that that specific couple had decided to sacrifice their comfort in retirement to serve others, but the thought that struck me was:

I hope it doesn’t take me until I’m retired to sacrifice everything to serve Him.

That’s a scary thought, right?  That maybe forty years from now I will finally detach myself enough from my stuff, my ambitions, my life-securing, life-building tactics in order to answer to the call, so to speak.

I keep wrestling with this topic lately, if you couldn’t tell, because I’m excited about what God is doing in my life in the here and now and I can feel Him growing me in deep, meaningful ways.  Yet in my heart of hearts I’m seeking to know, really know, whether I am truly living out the call of Jesus in my life as fully as God would have me to.  It’s scary.  Because contrary to popular new-age belief, we only get one life to use to make much of Him.  That’s it.  And when it’s all said and done we will stand before the King of all Kings to give him a report about our lives.  What did we do with all that he gave us?  (Matthew 25) 

Anyhow, I’m not sure how and where God will direct my steps in the coming days and years.  I’m not sure if I will continue to serve Him here in the US, somewhere else, or both.  But I am praying today that He would do whatever necessary to help me to embrace his Word, build my life upon it and make me ready to respond at any moment to his call; whether it be reaching out in friendship to my neighbor a few doors down or whether it means buying a one-way ticket to Nepal or a similarly remote place that I cant locate on a map.

Below are Paul Washer’s tweets from this morning.  I hope you like them.  Or better yet, I hope the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart through them like He did to mine.         

“I was in Lucknow India last week and in Nepal this week.  Right now I am in Pokhara, Nepal.  Tomorrow we head to Kathmadu. 

The conference in Lucknow was a blessing.  I preached eleven times to many hungry missionaries.  God seemed to help and I was filled with joy. 

God has given me a heart for India & Nepal.  I am also burdened for Tibet, China and Mongolia.  We must reach these peoples with the Gospel. 

After Lucknow, we met with our new missionaries in Nepal  What a joy!  Some are mountain men.  They remind me of my beloved Peruvians. 

I preached 12 times in Nepal and the men were very receptive. More explanation and illustration was needed, but God was faithful in helping.

In both places, I preached on the Gospel, true conversion, biblical assurance, and the minister’s family. 

Yesterday, Matt and I went looking for tigers on an elephant.  It was an adventure.  I am both disappointed and glad that we found no tigers.

I witnessed to a Sikh this evening.  I had no idea how he would respond, but he listened until another came into the room.

I wish I was 20 years old and could throw my life away in these mountains.  I pray that God might raise up young preachers to go forth. 

Why do so many young men spend time blogging about theological nuances while the world dies without the Gospel?  Why?

The kingdom needs men who rely upon only a few simple weapons: Bold preaching of the Gospel, intercessory prayer, and sacrificial love.

Please pray about Asia, the Middle East, and the 10/40 Window.  They present an opportunity to live and die for something eternal.” 

I beg you to pray about going to the places where there is no Gospel witness, but only if you have a Gospel witness.”

 Side note: I’m not opposed to Disney Land.  I don’t think it’s bad.  I just think God is trying to get through to me lately about certain things.  Please enjoy fun times at Disney Land as you see fit.  :)

The Awkwardness of Airports

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Sitting in airports makes me completely uncomfortable.   There are few places in the world where so many people, from so many different walks of life are all gathered in a single place with nothing to do.  Everybody is bored, or reading, or nowadays they’re likely on a laptop or texting.  One third of people are physically here but by the look on their faces mentally they are somewhere far, far away.  Everyone is coming and going and caught in the middle of unfolding stories of life that they’re trying to figure out while purposfully avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the vicinity.  And I’m writing because I’m not sure what to do in situations like this.

This morning Jon and I are on a trek up to Washington to spend a week with my family.  We drove from San Luis Obispo to Oakland last night where we stayed in a Sleep, Park ‘N Ride hotel and we awoke this morning to billows of marijuana smoke coming in through our window because our neighbor on the floor below us was enjoying his 6am fix.  We ate a quick breakfast of dried out toast and Fruit Loops at the hotel’s continental breakfast and then we caught our shuttle to the Oakland airport.

And now at the airport, waiting for our flight I’m uncomfortable.  Because in moments like this I can’t decide how I should live out my Christianity.  And suddenly simply believing in God doesn’t seem to cut it.  It doesn’t seem to be changing the world unless I let the Lord Jesus live through me in moments like this.  But my coffee is still kicking in and I fear that by the time I wake up and decide what I should do I will already be on the plane on my way to somewhere else.

Sometimes I wonder if I complicate what God is really asking me to do.  Yet at the same time I am afraid to simply soothe myself, saying that just to go through my day with a positive attitude is enough.  As if me just breathing is enough to fulfill the Great Commission.  I have a reoccuring daydream at airports.  They usually consist of me stepping up on top of a chair and beginning to speak out all kinds of riveting things about God.  Telling the people that there is something worthwhile to hope in.  Soon a crowd is gathering to hear the good news and even the security guards who should be taking action against me can’t help but pull up a chair and listen to the dramatic illustration of  the greatest love story of all time.  However, as I imagine these epic scenarios my legs grow vines that wrap around the base of my chair and pretty soon I have roots that go twenty feet deep into the floor.

And I get really uncomfortable.  Stuck in between what I long to do and what I’m really willing to carry out at this moment.  However, all my thoughts and prayers about wanting to do something worthwhile with my day of travel didn’t go to waste.  After sitting around thinking about things for a while it was time to board our plane.  And after taking my sweet time to get my things together we were the second to last people boarding the aircraft.  Not a big deal until we realized that this was an open seating flight and because of my slowness Jon and I were likely going to be sitting on opposite ends of the plane.  Awesome.

Luckily, when we walked onto the plane it was not a full flight but almost every middle seat was open.  Again, really awkward.   Airports are awkward but it might be even more uncomfortable trying to choose which middle seat to take because you know that no matter who you sit next to they will be highly annoyed that someone ruined their opportunity for a spacious flight.  So we headed for the back of the plane hoping to find a few seats still open for us.  Near the back there were a few rows left with only one person seated so I carefully scanned each person, sizing them up, trying to determine their level of awkwardness so that i could choose who would be the least awkward person to sit next to.  There was a younger guy reading a book with headphones on that looked strangely angry and a middle age businessman that seemed to have some allergy symptoms going on so i took the middle seat next to a friendly looking 60-ish year-old Indian woman who was quietly playing with her phone.  She looked safe and i figured she may not even speak English, therefore making her a promising candidate for my flight company.

She didn’t say much at first and eventually we made a little bit of small talk, exchanging our names and such.  I pulled out my pillow to prepare to sleep through the next one hour and forty-one minutes of air time, but instead the thought crossed my mind that maybe a second best option to dramatic airport preaching, was to explore a little with my neighbor.  Besides, Jesus not only preached to crowds but he made time for a bunch of people along the way.

I’m glad I made that decision because I spent the next hour and thirty minutes listening intently to this woman tell me all about her experiences in India and in America, about her two college-aged sons, about the changing social and family trends in the US, and about the heartbreak surrounding her husband running off with his secretary last year. She told me how she loved the independence and freedom that America had given her because as a 5’6″ woman who prefered pants over lavish dresses that reached the floor, in India she was often mocked for her giant-like height and tom-boy appearance.  But she said the price she paid for her independance was the slow but steady breakdown of her family and the independant spirit that had caused her boys to move far away from home and that lead her husband to cheat on her for over three years in her own home.  She also told me about how she was a Muslim and how her husband was a Hindu, but that in India everyone is either Muslim, Hindu or Catholic and that religion is all just ways of teaching your children family values anyway so it was easy for them to coexist together in different religions.

It’s funny because I find that talking to people about Jesus is fairy easy when they don’t have much of a religious background, but I’ve always had a bit of an issue talking about Jesus with people who are already devoted to another religion.  I’m not sure why, but the thought has always made me feel a little bit intimidated and small and I quickly become afraid to offend.  So depsite my fear I decided to be brave and I asked her what she thought about Jesus.  And to be honest it didn’t really go anywhere too deep because she stated simply that he was a prophet just like Muhammad.  However a few minutes later after a solid hour and a half of listening, God gave me an eleven minute window to share my testimony and the truth about what God had done in my life over the past couple years.

I don’t know exactly what that woman, whose name I still find difficult to pronounce, thought about everything I shared.  Our flight ended shortly after I finished my story and after a few kind remarks we parted ways as I headed off to baggage claim.  But you never know what God will do with the tremendous seeds that we plant for His sake.  And for myself personally, it was a great life lesson because I don’t always choose the path of friendliness, of having time to hear someone out, or the one where you choose to get over the awkwardness and start a conversation, but I do know that I seldom regret being that kind of person.

I pray for that sweet woman.  God loves her very much and I pray she comes to realize just how sweet it is to trust in Jesus.

My Heart Screams Evangelism

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 My Heart Screams Evangelism

The most exhilarating thing I ever did in college was to share the gospel. While many people find their excitement in the parties and the thrill of escaping responsibility and reality a few nights a week, I’m happy to say that the most adventurous, thrilling, heart thumping, living on the edge experiences I had during my college career were the times when I swallowed the lump of fear in my throat and dared to share the truth about God with someone around me. This isn’t to say that I never found myself held hostage by sin and wrong choices during those four years of intense identity formation, but those reckless choices proved to be dulling dead ends compared the the elation of being used by God.

I’ve been thinking a lot about student evangelism and the college campus lately. Daydreaming, actually, is a more accurate depiction of what’s really been going on. You see, for the past two years I have been working at a small, local non-profit Christian radio station on the Central Coast. I work with seven other Christians and we hear testimonies all the time from our listeners telling us how much the music we play helps them through their days and in their walks with God. And that’s pretty cool, I must agree. I have my own desk, with my own computer and from there I create all sorts of different newsletters and emails, I answer phone calls and attend meetings, I plan upcoming events and offer new ideas for growth. And I daydream. I sit at my desk and I daydream about the college campus just a couple miles down the road.

During my four years at Washington State University I was involved with an organization called Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU). And they, along with the Lord of course, are the ones to blame for my daydreaming. The things that I learned and experienced and were challenged to adopt into my style of living are as much a part of me still as my left foot is. And over the past couple years since college, God’s plan for my life has moved me from Washington to California, it’s found me a dreamy husband, and it’s introduced me to some incredible people all while my life has continued to transform more and more into the character and life of Christ.

So while by God’s grace my life has continued to progress, there’s still something about being on a college campus that gets me high so to speak.

In an article by Campus Crusade that I read during my freshman year of college I learned that, “Most people who become Christians do so before the age of 22. College students are at a crossroads, and many belief systems are competing for their allegiance. While they’re in this stage of life, we need to make Jesus Christ an option for them.” And in another paragraph of the article I learned that, “As you begin a ministry on campus, evangelism is what will set it apart. It will make the difference between a maintenance ministry and a thriving one like we see in the Book of Acts. It would be tempting to build a ministry solely through the gathering of Christians. While fellowship is vital, it does not encompass everything Jesus cam to do: to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).”

Evangelism does something to a person. It doesn’t matter your default personality setting, whether you’re naturally loud or shy. Whether you like public speaking or hate it. Evangelism, for every Christian, is the key to being unlocked from a boring, middle of the road Christianity, and into an exciting adventure of trusting God and living out His purposes in our lives. I’m convinced of it now more than ever as I sit at my cubicle, with only Christians in the building and with my little bamboo plant as my sole source of company and the object of my preaching. It’s boring.

The opportunities that Christian students have on their campuses is a once-in-a-lifetime golden window. After college, former students may have the opportunity to help lead or support a college ministry, but if you’re fortunate enough to go to college, you only get one shot at influencing other college students with the gospel from that angle, on the ground level, in the thick of a very important time in people’s lives.

Even now, drawing closer to three years since I graduated, the challenge I received as a college freshman is still ringing true to my ears and begging me to rearrange my life:  “Build now, so as to leave a legacy.”

So as of late, in my prayers I’ve begun to ask my Heavenly Father for  new opportunities in evangelism. I want to spend my days at the heart of one of the most influential centers of the world once again, the college campus.

 Romans 1 :16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”