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(Editor's Note) - The importance
of understanding the worldview of the people you want to reach
in order to reclaim the music/art/media of that culture (or your
own) cannot be over-emphasized. It is a necessary part of helping
us to carry out the privilege we have been given of DISCIPLING
THE NATIONS (Matt.28).
p 22 "…"What does
our worldview or story have to do with development…" {or
in our case reclaiming the arts}? "Everything. Here's what
two secular development writers said about the matter: p. 23 "Too often the church,
being motivated by Christ to help the poor, has bowed to secular
analyses and strategies of poverty and relief. Many within the
Christian relief and development community have simply followed
the latest trends in the poverty industry."… {and in our
case, in the music and art industry}. Other Christians, being more
gnostic in their thinking, have concerned themselves only with
'spiritual things'' and have abandoned their heritage of compassion.
Both, in different ways, have forgotten the Great Commission is
to 'disciple nations", teaching them to obey ALL that Christ
has commanded…. …Man-centered and ethno-centric
approaches will bring us up short or lead us off the path. We
must take a theocentric approach. God must be the source, the
means, and the end for all we do with and for the poor. P 24…True charity distinguishes
between, but never separates, heart and mind, method and content,
style and substance….style deals with HOW we say and do things.
Substance deals with WHAT we say and do; it is about content,
ideas, and truth. Substance is far from an academic pursuit around
an ivory tower….Ideas have consequences. Therefore, to make sure
they are the right ideas, we must examine the assumptions behind
them. We must evaluate the attitudes and behavior, policies and
practice that flow from them. And we must critique them closely,
always asking the question, ARE THEY TRUE? Substance will lead
us to discover something I call the development ethnic… …True charity will consider
people's stories. We must examine a people's attitudes, a culture's
values, to determine where they support development or poverty.
Then we must articulate the universal principles that provide
fertile soil for development. The material in this book…is a call
to return to first principles, to restore our heritage, to revive
the Reformation. P 32 …All people and cultures
have a particular model of the universe, or worldview. Their worldview
does more to shape their development, their prosperity or poverty,
{or their musical, artistic and media expressions in our case}
than does their physical environment or other circumstances. We
will concern ourselves with three worldview archetypes: biblical
theism, secularism and animism. Each worldview creates different
cultural stories and produces different values. Ideas produce
behaviours and lifestyles that affect people, cultures, nations
and history. In contrast, secularism sees
reality as ultimately physical. Be definition, this model denies
the existence of a spiritual or transcendent reality. If animism and secularism were
absolutely self-consistent internally, they would have nothing
in common and would not touch theism at any point. Yet no person
or culture can live consistently within either of these two philosophies.
All people live in the reality God has created. The more closely
we conform to reality as it is, and not to the way we imagine
it, the closer we are to life and prosperity. The more closely
we adhere to a non-theistic worldview, the farther we are from
objective reality, and the closer we are to death and destruction.
THOSE SEEKING TO LIVE AND IMPACT
SOCIETY ACROSS CULTURES MUST EXAMINE WORLDVIEW IN THREE CRITICAL
AREAS. First, they must know their personal worldview, which usually
is derived from their nation's dominant culture or their own minority's
subculture. Second, they must study the worldview of the people
with whom they are living and working. Third, Christians must
become CONSCIOUSLY CHRISTIAN, repenting of their false views of
reality and embracing God's reality. P 35…EVERY AREA OF HUMAN LIFE
IS TO BE UNDER CHRIST'S LORDSHIP, and EVERY ASPECT OF CULTURE
IS TO BE REDEEMED FOR GOD'S GLORY, the ADVANCEMENT OF HIS KINGDOM,
and THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONS. P 36…A worldview is a set of
assumptions held consciously or unconsciously in faith about the
basic makeup of the world and how the world works. P 38…Worldviews spread horizontally.
Geographically, they begin with an individual and spread to his
disciples, who take the message to the community, to the nation,
and ultimately, to the world. ###P 40…Ideas also penetrate vertically into every sphere of life, shaping the values, social structures, and institutions of a culture. Ideas usually develop as religious doctrine, philosophical abstractions, or scientific theories and then are transmitted downward via music and the arts. (It has been said that if you want to know how members of the next generation will order their lives, listen to contemporary music and go to a museum of modern art.). The ideas then become institutionalized in a society's laws, politics, and social and economic structures, before flowing to pop culture and affecting and affecting the behavior and lifestyle of the average citizen…" "…Ideas begin with the intellectuals and spread to the educated or professional classes: teachers, lawyers, pastors, journalists, writers, entertainers, and politicians. They then become life's context for the common man….
p. 68…So what did Christ mean
when He told us to 'disciple all nations'? …Our answer to this
question shows how well we know our God. He has been working at
this same project since He covenanted with Abraham to make him
a blessing to ALL NATIONS. In Christ we have become Abraham's
spiritual offspring. The responsibility to be a blessing is now
ours. Jesus commanded His followers to "…make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey EVERYTHING
I have commanded you." P69…full-orbed biblical approach
that I call THEISTIC-TRANSFORMATION. For much of the twentieth
century, an intellectual war has raged within Christendom between
those who would give priority to either evangelism or social action.
Both side are right, and both are wrong. Transformation means
nothing less than radical change, in all spheres of life, as when
a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. It is not merely a change
in religious sentiments but a radical reorientation of a person's
life. The one so transformed can then go from being softheaded
and susceptible to believing the world's lies to a tough-minded
pursuer of truth. He goes from having a hard heart to a warm heart,
unrighteous behaviour to righteousness, and death to life. This
transformation begins on the inside, at the level of beliefs and
values, and moves outward to embrace behaviour and its consequences.
The gospel is so much more than evangelism. Many Christian have
accepted a diluted, pietistic version of Christ's command to disciple
all nations; but the gospel is God's total response to man's total
need. The Bible declares, "The
earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters
cover the sea." This is God's will, and it does not end with
evangelism. We are to bring the life and wisdom of God to bear
in ALL of life, not just…in a privatized "religious' sphere.
This means our goal must be nothing short of transformational
development, which impacts both man's spirit and body. God intends
for cultures to be redeemed. DISCIPLING NATIONS means 'laying'
kingdom principles and a biblical worldview as the founding order
or ethos of a people. This is our historic Christian heritage,
and the subject of this book. P 70 …Societies change as individuals
change. Nations are discipled one person at a time….God intends
that whole cultures be reformed to reflect His goodness and glory.
To get there, individual Christians must begin thinking about
worldviews and laying a kingdom foundation for cultures. P 208…According to Augustine,
culture is not a reflection of a people's race, ethnicity, folklore,
language, or heritage. Rather, it is an outworking of a people's
creed. In other words, culture is the temporal manifestation of
a people's faith. If a culture begins to change, it is not because
of fads, fashions, or the passing of time; it is because of a
shift in worldview - it is because of a change of faith. Thus,
race, ethnicity, folklore, politics, language, and heritage are
simply expressions of a deeper paradigm rooted in the covenantal
and spiritual matrix of a community's church and the integrity
of its witnesses. The reason he spent so much
of his life and ministry critiquing the pagan philosophies of
the world and exposing the aberrant theologies of the church was
that Augustine understood only too well that those things matter
not only in the realm of eternity determining the spiritual destiny
of masses of humanity, but in the realm of the here and now determining
the temporal destiny of whole civilizations. P227…Do Christians who work
in the development field look at 'development' {or music and the
arts/media} the same way their secular counterparts do? Is their
approach to development also rooted in the secularism of the French
Enlightenment? Do they tend to "Christianize" their
work only by saying that they are motivated by Christ? Or does
their work flow from a comprehensively biblical worldview? P 228..We are not only to win
souls but also to grow in every area of life: morally, physically,
intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Thus, the history between
Genesis 2 and Revelation 21 is the story of 'oikodome', the story
of development. Development, understood as
stewardship, maintains a dynamic tension between conserving and
progressing. The biblical development worker, then, is best described
as a progressive conservative (or a conservative progressive).
What a contrast with secularism, which progresses without conserving,
or animism, which conserves without progressing…" For more reading on the
subject… ======================================================================== If so, what types of characteristics and qualifications are you looking for as you prayerfully select your candidates? Following are some initial ideas for you to consider in that regard..(not in any particular order below) Obviously everyone is in PROCESS
and no one is perfect, but what you will want to see is where
is their heart... How long have they been a believer? Do they hold themselves accountable to godly people? Do they have a track record of fairly consister spiritual growth? Is their lifestyle as a believer
something which expresses the Presence of Jesus in their lives
and something which would draw others to Him? What are their natural gifts/skills/experience? What are their spiritual gifts? Do they have previous ministry
experience and if so, in what areas? and with whom, etc.? What are the desires that God has put on their hearts re the Great Commission - locally or overseas, re a particular people group or people groups, the use of music and the arts/media in relation to the Great Commission, etc.? What is their vision? Do they take initiative? Is prayer important to them? Have they experienced God's provision in their lives in such a way that they are willing to take steps of faith regarding His provisions, step by step directions, working through various obstacles that come up, etc.? Are they familiar with spiritual warfare and to what extent are they comfortable with moving in these directions? What is their biblical worldview? Are they critical? grace oriented? forgiving? someone who holds grudges? What are their long-term goals? What level of Bible training do they have? - formal or informal? What level of missions training
do they have? - formal or informal? How do they deal with conflict or different ways of thinking which may not agree with their own? Is this summer trip/short term
or internships part of a larger objective? Do they have an understanding of doing all things for the glory of God, however insignificant or mundane it may seem? Are they faithful in the small things? Do they have a humble heart? (are they seeking to grow in humility?) Do they have a servant heart
and do they understand that God is looking for servant leaders
and if we wish to be great, we need to learn to be the servant
of all? Do they have a heart of worship which is expressed not only through music/art but through every aspect of their lives (or a desire to move in that direction)? Do they love
the Lord? Do they have a genuine growing relationship with the Lord? Do they have friends, family,
local godly leaders and a local Christian fellowship that endorse
them in the directions they are heading? Why or why not? Are they a team player? Are they constantly seeking for praise and recognition or do they have a growing understanding of their identity in Christ and in who HE is in them? What is their level of maturity? Do they have cross cultural
experience? If so, where, what and when? Are they considering the utilization of ethnic music as a long term option? Have they dad some training
re ethnomusicology? Do they have a heart for the
lost? a heart for missions? - Do they have a call to missions? Do they understand the principle of mutual accountability? Are they fairly emotionally
stable? What are their expectations? What are your expectations? Do they seem to have interpersonal/communication skills? Do they have evangelism/disciple-making experience? Do they have an affinity for
making friends in other cultures? Do they have a track record
of walking with God and a heart of obedience to Him? How do they make decisions?
Are they being led by the Holy Spirit? Is their evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives? Are they old enough to handle the situation you potentially envision them participating in? Other... &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& A Biblical Perspective on Networking / What are some of the gifts or skills that a potential networker may have or could benefit in developing? / International Networking / Local Networking / Confidentiality Issues Do you see a need to network local music/arts/media ministries in your region, or indeed in your nation or internationally, but need some encouragement in how to move forward with this? Hopefully the following will assist you in these directions... A BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON NETWORKING ------------- Firstly, if you do not currently have a biblical perspective on the role of networking, you may wish to read some of the articles here to help you with this. This can help to give you confidence that this is a much-needed role in this crucial time in history - not only in order to move forward more quickly with the things on God's heart regarding the Great Commission in terms of quantity or tasks, but also in quality - HOW we as a Church move forward to seeing the nations discipled. Ministry develops out of RELATIONSHIPS. RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING in Networking is KEY! Networking should be a servant-led role, seeking to work TOGETHER towards the common vision - as in the book of Nehemiah (an excellent biblical model of networking!). Also, the picture of the Body needing all of the parts to FUNCTION TOGETHER (in Corinthians) is very helpful, as is John 17 - Jesus' prayer for unity. If we are indeed working TOGETHER, and seeking to see our gifts, resources and experience complement each other as we build relationships with those that God connects us with (and don't just seek the relationship for the sake of the task - ie. using the person), it can be a wonderful and joyful experience for all involved and help to bring increasing reconciliation between ministries, people and even cities/nations as the Body of Christ is increasingly united, Christ is honored and sought above all, and His Presence is reflected through the people/ministries and methods of partnership involved. Thankfully, over the past decade there has been a growing trend, in missions and in various aspects of the Church, in the directions of networking and partnership development. + + + What are some of the qualities, characteristics, gifts or skills that a potential networker may have or could benefit in developing? ---- + loving the Lord + loving the Body + loving the lost + led by the Spirit + increasing fruit of the Spirit manifested in their life + prayer / intercessory gift / spiritual warfare + gift of encouragement / exhortation + servant heart + humble and teachable spirit + alert to potential contacts and opportunities + interpersonal skills + communication skills + visionary and able to pass on vision + administrative - being able to organize your networks and contacts so that you can easily retrieve the info you need + resource person + able to deal with a lot of people in one's life without getting too stressed + growing in the gift of faith + being able to help those you're connecting with feel valued as a person and for their gifts + being willing to wait for God's timing to connect with you HIS choice of contacts - pray about these 'divine appointments' far ahead of possibly meeting them... + expressions of hospitality are increasingly developing in their lives Hospitality links http://disciplethenations.org/index78.html#HOSPITALITY http://disciplethenations.org/index23.html#hospitality http://familylife.com/fltoday/flthisweek.asp?id=5681 http://www.familylife.com/1-800-358-6329/detail.asp?id=7684 + + + -------------- Depending on where you're at in terms of your ability to spend time on developing your networking/mobilization capabilities via the internet, and depending on what you already have in place, here are some ideas to help get you started... You can pick and choose the ideas you might find helpful... MAILING LIST/DATABASE: Things you may wish to include: last name, first name, church or organization, mailing address - street, city, state, zip/postal code, country -, other address if needed, phone, fax, email address, web site address, date entry added or changed, comment section - so you can make notes on the situation and keep it updated. You may also want to include a section about a person's particular gift regarding music/arts/media ministry, resources or training they have available, topics they speak on, their level of interest in networking or partnering together, etc., just so you have that on file in order to help you network folks with others as the need arises. You could do this on the Microsoft Office EXCEL program or something like that. Better than that would be to use a DATABASE program like Microsoft Office ACCESS, because you can manipulate the information easier. 2) YOUR WEB SITE: Do you have a web site? If not, that would be a good thing to get set up. HERE are some resources to assist you with that. Some web sites are very reasonable/inexpensive and fairly basic to set up/maintain. SEARCH ENGINES: An important part in networking through your web site is to make sure you have your web site listed on as many related search engines and directories as you can. This can be quite time consuming if you do it yourself but will be worth it. Another option is to have some professionals post your site on many search engines but then you will need to pay the appropriate fees for their services. Many search engines cost money, so you have to watch the fine print -- there are plenty of free ones available. How do you do this? It doesn't take long to do each one. You can go to your internet browser and do a search on "Search engines, music, arts, missions, christian" (or whatever you want) and then go through the list and find out which ones you want to be listed on, and then each Search Engine web site will usually include a small ADD URL or ADD SITE button or tab or something. Click on it and it will give you the directions on how to submit your web site to their search engine. Again, check the fine print for potential costs. Here is a list of SEARCH ENGINES you may wish to start with. KEYWORDS/DESCRIPTIONS: SITE CONTENT Usually you will want to include something about who you are, your vision, contact information, how you can serve those who come to your site, networking opportunities, resources you may have available, related links, etc. You may wish to include articles, related events, your itinerary, needs, opportunities, etc. The more information you have available on your site, hopefully the less time you will need to spend in responding to some of the people's most frequently asked questions, and you can use the additional time to develop the relationships instead. If they have questions, you can point them to the appropriate page on your web site and go on to the next question without having to answer each question from square one. CONNECTING WITH OTHER WEB SITES: Some helpful resource web site and e-mail mailing lists to network through: Brigada
- this is a major missions resource email mailing list which is
also posted on their web site - an excellent place to let people
know about your resources/ministry availability!!! You can contact
Doug Lucas at: Dlucas@teamexpansion.org CMD
Net - CMD Net is very similar - based out of NZ - you may
be familiar with them already....You can contact Bob Hall at:
BobHall@xc.org Nate
Wilson is a major missions mobilizer (who also has a web site
and email newsletter which he sends out to missions mobilizers
everywhere) and if you can let him know how effective this could
be in a house/cell church context, I'm sure he would be happy
to include it! I've been in contact with him for years and have
just sent him our newsletter which includes info on you/your book/ministry,
so hopefully that will help as well if he has a chance to read
it. : ) You can contact him at: Great Commission Worship & Arts Center - Networking Lower Mainland Ethnic Ministries Network Canadian House Church Resource Network International Worship & Arts Network Imago's Vancouver Arts Network Do a search on MUSIC, ARTS, GREAT COMMISSION, MISSIONS and CHRISTIAN, etc. and when you find the web pages/ministries that you would like to have promoting your site, email them with your information and ask them to include your information on their site. They may want you to include their link on one of your pages as well, so you may wish to include a LINKS page on your web site. It would be especially valuable to you to find Christian Music & Arts NETWORKS to promote your information among their networks, because that will provide additional credibility and save you a lot of time and energy! You may wish to also let local or international Christian or missions magazines (Ie. Mission Frontiers, World Christian, etc.) / newspapers know about what you're doing or related topics through which you could potentially gain some more contacts as they find themselves interested in your articles - ie. "Music & the Arts and the Great Commission". Also, are you aware of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement missions course which takes place regularly in many cities around the globe? If so, they might be very interested in connecting some of their musical/artistic students to you and your resources/ministry, articles as well! In talking with them, perhaps you could also ask them whether they would consider having you potentially doing a seminar for them or other Perspectives courses in the future. If they do, that would be a very significant open door for you because all of the students are already interested in evangelism/missions. They also have a web site which probably includes the email addresses of various other regional coordinators that you could contact directly. Missions Conferences: another good place to network - do you have a booth with appropriate resources which you could make available? Could you perhaps do a related seminar/workshop re music/arts and missions? Missionsfests are one place you might wish to consider connecting with as able.. I've found that the KEY to
mobilizing with limited financial resources, limited time and
energy and limited personnel, and limited mobility is to let the
heads of missions, missions educators, heads of related networks,
editors of related magazines and newsletters, coordinators of
missions conferences, heads of mission departments or church planting
missions, etc. know about: Another possible open door would be to do seminars at major missions conferences such as URBANA, Missionsfests, the Southern Baptist one in Texas. And at each event that you go to, I would strongly recommend, if you aren't doing so already, that you have those that are interested fill in a contact information sheet for you afterwards which includes their name, address, phone, fax, email address, and space for comments and any particular reason that they may be connecting with you. NEWSLETTER: I find this has been one of the most helpful ways of helping to serve, network and resource folks plus open more doors of opportunity and meet needs and begin to develop relationships - which often turn into face to face relationships which develop into partnerships of some sort. This newsletter could include your proposed itinerary well in advance so those that want to invite you could connect with others en route so they could plan to have you visit their region as well when you're in their 'neck of the woods'. It could let them know of upcoming events in their region. It could be a wonderful tool to keep you connected and helping them to grow in these ways in the meantime, etc. If you have a web site and a newsletter, although it may take awhile for the momentum to grow, it will grow and over time you will be totally amazed at how many contacts you continue to receive without having to continue to find new places to let them know about you, because it's like a stone being thrown into a lake and the ripples continue. The first year or so will probably mean making a lot of the initial key contacts, but after that, wow....you'll be amazed! I would also contact missions schools such as Fuller School of World Mission and the US Center for World Mission and many other ones, as well as Missionary Training Centers - again, you can find many of these through search engines. INTERNSHIPS: INTERNET BULLETIN BOARDS/CHAT
ROOMS, etc. ICQ (an instant messaging program for the internet/email) is another option for you, though it requires a lot of time and energy. But it is another option. It is really amazing how much can be done for FREE except for your internet and web site costs!!! Although you may not be sending out hard copy promo material or renting booths at Missions conferences, which can be very expensive, you will likely find yourself with your hands full before too long, and be effectively encouraging people in these directions with a lot less travel! Face to face is best, of course, if you can't continue to do that forever, there are so many options for us these days! Cast your bread upon the water and in many days it will come back to you : ) + + + Many of the same aspects of networking can be utilized locally as well. However, there are some additional aspects which local networking can include as well. Developing local networks can potentially take a long time, depending no how much time you're willing/able to invest, and depending on how much time you take to develop relationships. Personally, I'm always praying that God would be raising up the people He wants me to connect with. Often people's names will come to mind years before it ever works out for me to connect with them. Then all of a sudden things will work out and the emails or face to face visits are incredible as God's timing for us to meet seems to be perfect! How do I find local contacts? + referrals from friends or others that feel the person shares similar vision + local Christian directory + internet + local missions, Christian schools, Bible colleges, churches, ministries, etc. + local Christian newspapers + local Christian events + local Christian TV + missions conferences + missionary training centers/courses, etc. Once I want to connect with someone, what steps do I take? + keep praying for the person and our upcoming meeting - that God will give wisdom and direction and confirm in our hearts whether we're to continue to move further, together, once we've met, or not...and if so, what are some specific steps we can take to move forward together? + email them to make initial contact...tell them who I am and why I'm writing, let them know who referred me and why (if applicable), ask them if we can meet together to meet, get to know each other a bit, hear what's on each other's hearts - especially re music/arts and the Great Commission - locally or overseas, etc. what steps they've taken in that direction, some steps they're in the process of taking or may be able to take next, some specific steps we may be able to take together in the future, find out what gifts/resources/contacts we have which we can share or use to complement what each other and related others are doing, etc. They often bring up other contacts that I should follow up on after that. Follow up on your visit as appropriate. Keep connecting with them on a relational level over time to keep developing the friendship. Again, MINISTRY FLOWS OUT OF RELATIONSHIP Some people that you connect with locally or internationally may not be too concerned about privacy, but others may be. Some may wish to have you make their networking information available on your web site or in your newsletter or both. Some may not want their info posted anywhere. Some may want you to include an abbreviated networking profile on them on your web site - especially if they're working in a creative access nation. Find out from them the EXACT wording they wish to have you include so it doesn't cause problems later on. If you are connecting with folks in creative access countries, make sure you understand their comfort level in how much or little information they want you to give out to other people you think they should network with. Find out how they wish the protocol to go? Should you contact them first with a potential contact or have the potential contact connect with them directly, for example.... ############################################### Are you in a time of transition? Are you sensing that God is leading you further in the directions of the things you feel He has put on your heart, but not sure how to proceed? Perhaps the following questions will help you in your thinking and praying in this regard. May the Holy Spirit indeed lead you into all that He has for you and do FAR MORE than you have asked or imagined, for His glory!+ + + Ask yourself: Keeping in mind that our ultimate goal is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbour as ourselves, and to present ourselves and others to Jesus Christ as whole-hearted, total-life worshippers, and especially to see Christ Jesus formed in us, would the option I'm prayerfully considering help me to continue to move in these directions? What options am I considering? Which options am I most leaning toward? Why or why not? What are the pros and cons of each situation? Would the option I'm most leaning toward give me joy in what I'm doing? Is it something I would really LIKE to do and something that I would sense God would WANT me to do? (as opposed to something I would feel burdened/oppressed by or feel obligated to do for whatever reason ie. other's expectations of me, etc.) Is the option I'm most leaning towards an opportunity which could utilize and exercise and grow in many of my gifts? And if so which ones? Is the option I'm most leaning towards something that would utilize various aspects of my experience/training? If so, in what ways (potentially)? And what aspects, etc.? Is the option I'm most leaning towards one which would provide some holistic growth/learning opportunities in crucial aspects of my life ie. Christ-centeredness, godly character development, spiritual, relational, intellectual, ministry, practical, etc. etc. Is the option I'm most leaning towards one in which I would need to exercise faith and trust God to do in and through me more in the future than I've seen so far? Do I feel inadequate in myself but confident in the Lord that HE can do this through me even though I also know I can't do it on my own? Does it move me towards a deeper walk of faith and trust in Christ Jesus and deeper dependence on Him? What are the things that I can see that God has been leading me increasingly into and what are the things He's increasingly putting on my heart? In what ways has God affirmed
and/or confirmed these directions/leanings to me so far to date? What kinds of things am I looking
to Him to confirm if I continue to move in these directions so
that I'll become increasingly sure that I'm making or have made
the right decision? What kinds of confirmations
do I need in order for me to take the step of faith to make the
decision before me (whether to keep going in this direction or
not), keeping in mind that although He'll give me enough to go
on to make a good decision, He'll always leave room where faith
is needed to move forward to the next step? Is the option I'm most leaning
towards a situation which could help me/encourage me to continue
to grow in my intimacy with Jesus Christ? Is the option I'm most leaning
towards a seeming 'fit' with my gifts, personality, history, experience,
training, desires, and sense of God's leading in my life? Is the option I'm most leaning
towards one which could also help to encourage, bless and potentially
benefit my sending church in some way/s as I continue to move
in these directions? Does the option I'm most leaning
towards provide opportunities for me to live out the things God
has been putting on my heart? BEING and DOING? Have I 'scouted out the land'
in a physical, geographical sense to find out whether this situation
could be where God is leading me? And if so, could I live with
the new surroundings/people/team I'd be working with? Could I
live with the housing situation, the climate, the food, etc.? Am I in agreement with the
philosophy of ministry/core values/statement of faith of the people
I'd be working with? Do we share similar vision? If so, in what
ways/areas? Would I be comfortable with
the leadership style of the leaders I'd be working with? Do I feel good about the people
I'd be working with? If yes, in what ways? Do I have some concerns? If
so, what are they? Do I feel that I would be able
to learn in this situation? What are some things I think
I could grow in in this situation? Do I feel that I would be able
to contribute as a vital part of the team in this situation/these
situations especially as I'd have passed through the initial transition
stage? What are some of the key ways
that I would be involved? Would these involvements drain me or
help inspire me/give me life because I feel like I'd be doing
what God has created me to do/be? Do I feel that the opportunity/ies
presented/available are on track with what I believe God is leading
me into? Do I feel called into these directions? If so, what are some of the indications that I sense God has given me to indicate this sense of call in my life to date? Has God given me any Scriptural
confirmations/affirmations to date regarding the direction I'm
moving in? Would the option I'm most leaning
towards provide opportunities to work as a team and to learn from
others and also teach others? giving and receiving? Would it provide
opportunities to be mentored and mentor others? Do those whom I consider to
be my significant spiritual counselors in my life sense that I'm
heading in God's directions? Why or why not? Does their sense
confirm what I sense God is putting on my heart? If yes, in what
ways? If no, in what ways? If no, is it a sense that it may be
a timing issue? If so, what do they sense would need to take place
in order for the timing to be seen as right? Is the Christian fellowship I'm accountable to willing to support me in prayer, emotionally/spiritually, perhaps financially and perhaps in other ways if I go in this direction? Why or why not? Are the finances, or most of the finances, there to help to confirm this direction? What steps do I sense God leading me to take re finances if they are not there but if I sense, and others I'm accountable to, sense it IS God's timing for me to move forward with this? Does the location I'm most
leaning towards provide a good environment to be/do what I believe
God is putting on my heart to do? Does the option I'm most leaning
towards seem to be coming to the fore in good timing? Does the
timing seem to be God-ordained and Holy Spirit led? (just a helpful
note to consider here: In my experience as Personnel Director,
one of the ways that the timing issue often became clear was when
the following things seemed to come together: Is anything TRULY holding me
back from moving in these directions and if so, what? Is anything hindering me personally
from moving in these directions and if so, what? ie. if fears,
what are they? Have I given them to the Lord and if not, am I
moving in those directions? What is my 'gut' response when
I think about potentially moving in this direction? Am I excited
and wanting to move in this direction (recognizing that there
will be fears to overcome along the way because I'm moving into
new territory, and recognizing that there WILL be obstacles along
the way since the enemy of our souls does not want us to do what
God is calling us into it is a step of faith and obedience but
also joy in cooperating with what God is wanting to do in and
through us) or is there a deep sense inside that if I were to
move in this direction, I'd be moving in the wrong direction?
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