First From Tasmania

25 June 2010
Inspiration Source: Cross-cultural Servanthood by Duane Elmer

Do Not Judge, Lest Ye be a Counselor

It takes the average person less than 5 seconds to decide whether they want to have a relationship with someone. By then, they have already stuffed that individual into a schema; one of millions of little boxes we form in our mind into which we place everything we know. There's a red pen box (which itself can be related to many other boxes; the school box, the teaching box, the anger or failure box, etc.), and that is inside the pen box, which is inside the writing utensil box, which is inside the writing box, and on it goes. There are certain things we know about the items in our boxes. If something comes up that doesn't fit, we have two options; make a new box, or change the one we have.

But most people choose a third box: they just pretend the difference was never there. This way, they can keep their boxes just the way they are. And thus stereotypes are born.

One thing needs to be understood here; everyone has schemas. Even the tribal man who has never heard of anything even relatively what we would consider modern. And they serve us well. Don't hate the schemas. Hate the tendency to ignore what doesn't fit. There's a flip side to that, as well; don't hate people who stereotype you; it's all they know (they've only got their boxes to work with). And some people stereotype you incorrectly simply because they have not encountered something different. Once you show them, they'll change their schemas.

Even once you know someone intimately, personally, and uniquely though, they will still have their schemas. Mom has her own little box, with many other boxes interconnected. And here's what I'm wanting to get at: successful professional counselors are those who are exceptionally good at figuring out what box a person fits into. They have a grand repertoire of schemas available to them, and they have a keen sense of hints at which ones a person belongs to. We pay them to stereotype us.

Disclaimer: this is not an argument against counselors. I personally greatly appreciate the work good counselors do (although I consider good counselors to be on the endangered species list). It is simply a thought, with the conclusions up to you.

And you know, I might add that this box issue is the same stumbling block for every religion and denomination; we ignore the things that break our arguments; those things that don't fit in with what we believe. God help us.

Unity

“Accept one another...just as Christ accepted you...so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy...[and] hope in Him.” Romans 15:7, 9, 12

A few points to note: (1) being accepting of one another within the church and of those who don't believe or behave as we suppose they ought brings glory to God. (2) It causes the nonbelievers to come to glorify Him for His mercy. If they have to glorify God for His mercy that we can accept one another and get along, it means that a.) we can only be unified by an act of God and b.) we must accept one another as Christ accepts us; in ways that we don't deserve. We don't deserve acceptance. That is why accepting one another is a demonstration of His mercy. (3) If others see that God is so merciful, and so powerful as to help us do such a thing, they will be willing to place their hope in Him.

Humanity

“Is that a prostitute?” “No. That's not a prostitute. That's a person, in prostitution.”

I read a story in this book of a man who gave his life to try to save a group of horrid epileptics—the kind who, at that time, had no real kind of life. To add to some of the conversation of my last post, let me ask you this: would you give your life for an invalid to live? What if they wouldn't get better? What if they didn't even ever become saved?

Would Jesus give His life for an invalid?





How about another question: Would Jesus give His life for a cripple so marred they hardly resemble their Father anymore?

Get the picture?

~While we were still sinners, He endured the shame; how can I ever be ashamed?

-Colton J. Stollenmaier, M.I.A.

Destiny

15 June 2010

Destiny

I’ve been thinking about that word a bit. I’m not doing any word study to see where we get it from, although I can guess: “Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? What is the meaning of life?” the great universals. Obviously somebody wanted an answer, and destiny brings direction, meaning and purpose to life. So do I believe in destiny? I believe God has a plan. I believe Moses could have said no in the desert even after all his excuses had run dry.

Is there a destiny for me? You bet there is. Can I make my own destiny? Absolutely.

The topic floods me with passion, courage, a feeling of meaning and greatness. Every boy hopes for it. Few make it a reality. The heroes of old really were heroes. We’re just afraid to believe it’s true, so we live vicariously through the actors on the screens. But why not?

I can’t think of greatness anymore without thinking of servanthood. We know that all heroes pursue the task before them with reckless abandon, at any cost. So how far are you willing to go for one soul?

I’ll put it this way: Jesus was ready to give everything for just one soul to even have the option of salvation. Jesus. God with us. And we talk big game about ready to give our lives, but do we mean it? I mean, if your life chalked up to giving some serial rapist & killer a second chance at life—which he might not take—would you be ok with that? Would that be a purpose filled life? Are you alright with that destiny?

A missionary goes to a village. He preaches an evangelistic series, during which he does visitation and helps with the needs of the community. The normal scenario says that if, out of that village of 150, 15 people are saved, it is a great success. He praises God, performs the baptisms or sets up the Bible studies, and goes home, to accolades of success. His new flock has been established, the church is grown.

But say that missionary is Jesus. 149 get to hear the gospel. The last one? He’s a shepherd, and he was away driving his herd to market, over the mountains. Jesus? He follows. All the way. The people try to warn Him of the robbers and murderers along the pass, but He goes anyway. He gets robbed, beaten, and His leg is broken along the way. Still He chases after that man until He finds Him, just to offer to share the sweet sweet story with him. The man denies. But Jesus leaves an extra Bible with the village for Him anyway.

Do you really get what it means for Jesus to go after the one lost sheep? This is what it looks like for the missionary with the heart of the Lion of the tribe of Judah: the church people of the village are being harassed for their faith. The persecution is hard, and has even cost lives. Our model says “how horrible” and prays for them, for God to perform a miracle. But this missionary heard God when He said “You are my miracle.” He goes to protect his family; the people God put under his care. He’ll die before harm comes to them.

How far will you go to tell one person that they are loved, and that they have been forgiven? A you ready for epic hero-level stuff?

-Colton J. Stollenmaier, M.I.A

~While we were still sinners, He endured the shame; how can I ever be ashamed?

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Humble Pie--My Favorite

15 June 2010

Bridge Builder?

The tone of the blog below on building relationships makes me wonder if I actually know even the first thing about relationships. It goes something like this: the great missionary—that is, the one who excels and receives the world’s praise—tells the people they come to “this is how you need me to help you” while the humble servant of Christ—that is, the man or woman of true greatness—asks “how can I help you?” Good luck me.

Pre-departure post 1: The Bridge

3 June 2010


I’m a sucker for organization. It makes me happy. But when it comes to journaling, it’s hard to differentiate (this will be my personal journal, this will be my plans for the ministry I’m working with, this will be my public blog, etc.). So, I’m just going to write whatever whenever—then cut and paste when I want to share stuff. Chances are, most of the things will be of some use one way or another—whether it’s anecdotal, relational identification, or ministry enlightenment. So, it may well be that I share the majority, if not all, of my inspirational and not-so-inspirational thoughts. Take what you will, leave other bits, and laugh at the rest—I won’t be offended, I promise.

In any case, today I need to write about some thoughts related to one of my main responsibilities at Hilliard (the Christian school in Tasmania for which I will be working as chaplain for 12 months-ish). In addition to caring for the spiritual life of the church, they want me to create a bridge between the school and the church. I’ve been thinking about that a lot in the past day or so.

13 June 2010

See this is why being home is so bad for me! No proper schedule, too many other people not following schedules, and nothing gets done. So much I was supposed to do by way of writing and reading has not yet been accomplished! Anyway, the bridge:

The fundamental problem with bridge-building is people don’t realize that if they want a bridge, I’m going to need supplies. The usual response is “Well, we don’t have money, but we can try to take a monthly offering for the ministry project.” The problem is, money is not the mortar we need for this bridge. Love is.

The thing is, the bridge they’re wanting me to build, if they want it to be functional, uses the members of the church as the material and relationships as the bond, or glue, or nails, or rope, or whatever the bridge may look like in your imagination. It’s going to cost a whole lot more than money.

The real question I face is not “can it be done?” or “am I able?” It is “are the ready? Do they really want this; are they truly willing? Do they know the cost?” And it will cost. Love. Time. Heartache. Their lives. You cannot convince a youth of their value if you don’t value them. “Value them how much?” you might ask. How much do you have? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s96UBETEFcc Will an “I’ll take it” be drawn from your lips?

Chuck Bomar’s Seven (7) Points for Building Those Bridges, from College Ministry 101

1. Redefine church: I’m about to make a simple statement that all of us know to be true: the church is not the building; it’s the relationships. It’s not the programs, it’s the people. It’s not an institution, it’s a movement. Yeah, yeah, I know. But that’s the problem. You know it like a cliché. The underlying, ingrained understanding of church is still pervasive in us all.

How would you define your church? Most of the time we don’t talk about the people. We talk about the service, the music, the sermons. Brothers and sisters, I could be the greatest evangelist since Paul—even better—and my church would be a rotting waste pit if this is how my church was viewed.

The reason this is so important is that it defines what it means to bring the youth back into the church. In the old model (and many of our broken psyches) it means to get them to attend a weekly service or a youth group. In the new model, it means creating meaningful and positive relationships with them—relationships that take time and effort from those in the church who love them. And that definition makes every difference.

2. Ignore numbers: This is a tough one. It means not determining success by how many people show up for events. Is one saved? That was more than enough for our Savior.

3. Lead through service: Is your goal to be the greatest or to be great? Are you ready to be a servant for the ones you want to win? Do you want to be a soul-winner or one who seeks and saves the lost—in the dirt and filth, on your hands and knees?

4. Foster unity: especially cross-generationally, and with no motives. No relationship with reasons other than “I love you.” This unity, regardless of productivity, is what makes relationships authentic and teams strong. It is then that they will be successful.

5. Cultivate mentorships: They are the bridge itself. Make them happen.

6. Focus on the new members: A warning for the natural process of continuing to strengthen relationships with those who came in early and stayed with it. Problem is, they’ll graduate; they’ll leave and move on. And if you haven’t been creating relationships with the beginning end, there won’t be a graduating end for very long.

7. Believe in the ministry: Believe in what God has called you to. Have great faith and great expectations. Believe in them and believe in what you are doing. Most of all, believe in the power of God and His total control. The youth can tell ;)

-Colton J. Stollenmaier, M.I.A.

~While we were still sinners, He endured the shame; how can I ever be ashamed?