Round One: Circular Reasoning

Hi! I’d just like to go on record here and now to announce to you and the world that I am… Batman.

Alright, everyone calm down. I know the majority of you already want autographs, and the paparazzi are rolling up even now for photographs. But maybe some of you are skeptics. Some of you might doubt my claim. Okay, fine. Let me just ask you this: Have you ever seen Batman and me at the same time in the same place?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I rest my case, I am Batman.

Silly, right? And I am joking with all of that, but my joke (like most jokes) is done with the attempt to pursue a reaction or to prove a point. The point I’d like to make is that circular reasoning is not foolproof. We can go round-and-round saying that I’m Batman and that since you’ve never seen us simultaneously my argument is a valid one.

Circular reasoning is an argument one tries to prove valid on its own claims. In a sense it’s going about in circles. It doesn’t always work. But it can work.  We use circular reasoning a lot more than we think. For example, if we wanted to prove the merits of science we would have to reference science. If I want to praise the benefits of a certain meal I would compare or contrast it to other meals. A movie is judged according to other movies in the film industry.

Maybe poets can wax eloquent and create abstract comparisons (metaphors, etc.) to address something likened to something else. But most of us adopt circular reasoning in our arguments. And the truth of the matter is no one really seems to mind…

…until it comes to the Bible.

For some reason the Bible is off limits from circular reasoning. We are told that we are not allowed to use the Bible to prove the Bible. But we never hear a scientist being told not to use science to prove (or disprove) science. A chef is never told not to cook or reference condiments, meals, taste, and other culinary experiences. That’d be ludicrous!

Yet when it comes to the Bible circular reasoning is off limits. And to make matters worse, is that we believe the critics and back down. So let me ask: How do you prove the Bible without using the Bible?

Without our Bibles, we lose most of our understanding of who God is, what salvation means, and so much more. Yes, nature proclaims the glory of God. I’m not denying that nature may be a good teacher, but I will affirm that nature is an insufficient teacher.

But to prove the Bible (its inerrancy, its authority, its historicity, etc.) without the Bible leaves us in a fuddled mess. We are bewildered with what to do next. And we leave others confused too. But we needn’t cower before our critics. An argument with circular reasoning is not always an invalid one. We don’t deny that sometimes it’s not the best argument, but neither is it moot. In fact, it is a valid one in our case and we have every right to use it.

Come back next week to see how we can best use circular reasoning to prove the authority and trustworthiness of the Bible.

A Confessional Blog About What We Do and How We Are Doing

Lately we’ve been swamped with busyness. I say this because it serves as the most honest excuse for our absence from this blog (though certainly not the only excuse). It’s been far too long since we were last here. Since then we’ve been through a whirlwind of experiences, but the consistent factor through it all has been busyness.

Sad, isn’t it? Too often we see busyness preventing us from some of the things that matter most. Yet busyness often eclipses other important aspects of life. For example, I just said that since we last left this blog the consistent factor or the pattern in our lives has been being busy. That’s not entirely true.

In fact, to be honest sometimes we didn’t blog because we quite simply forgot, or were too tired (even lazy) to write. So let me restate what I said earlier: The most consistent factor in our life since we’ve last written is that God is good. All the time. God’s grace has not failed us. His mercies are constantly renewed. I cannot let busyness eclipse God’s goodness to me.

I also cannot let busyness eclipse you from being a more connected part of what we do. Yes, I want you to know what we do and how we are doing. That’s why we’ve decided to try to keep up with you more consistently through this blog. What we do is we keep busy. But not just to garner your sympathy or support. Our busyness is not just to impress others or to try to please our Father. We are busy because the work here is great, sometimes overwhelming, but it is work that will impact eternity.

Ashley has invested more time into the Lily House than any year past. She is there every day! And, on top of that, she is also teaching Spanish every day and a few Bible classes throughout the year. She leads a small group and is one-on-one mentoring a hungry student, plus so much more. Her work here is invaluable.

Carter is also teaching Spanish every day. He is teaching Bible classes for the next 3 weeks and other classes during the semester. He is setting up the calendar of guest teachers and filling in the expected and unexpected vacancies as needed! A teacher’s work is never done. Between lesson plans and classroom activities, personal study and textbook formatting, there is a lot of work ahead. He is also translating on Sundays and for conferences as needed.

All this to say, this has been our busiest year yet! This is our fifth GAP year in the Dominican Republic and we are refreshed in the knowledge that the work we do is not in vain. We are encouraged by your prayers and by the strength we find in the Lord. We cannot do this on our own, it’s much too taxing. Our strength is insufficient on our own. So thank you for your payers, and hopefully this has given you a glimpse into what we do and into how we are doing as well.

In sum, what we do: we keep busy seeking to glorify God and advance His kingdom by equipping young people with practical missional experience, a deeper knowledge of the Bible, and other elements that in a word mean discipleship. As for how we are doing, well, again, we are tired but we are plodding on. We keep going because God is faithful and His strength is sufficient. We are also blessed in all of this busyness by knowing we can count on you for prayer and support.

Defeating Fear

I have recently been reading the Old Testament chronologically.  I noticed that Israel had times of fear (which became complaints) and they cried out in fear (which became anger) because they thought they are going to die.  When things didn’t go their way, they rose up and challenged God and their leaders. They repeatedly stated that they should have died in Egypt, instead of God killing them in the wilderness.  It would have been easier to die in Egypt than to have God bring them all this way to die. But, God was not done with them yet. They just didn’t see it.

Each time they believed that they would die; they showed their doubt in the LORD-- it showed their lack of faith.  God ends up showing them over and over that He is FAITHFUL and MIGHTY.  He shows His JUSTICE, POWER, and LOVE.  Yet, that was not enough for the Israelites.

The Israelites were afraid of death.  However, as the Pentateuch unfolds, it seems like the Israelites wanted to die; they were giving into their fear.  They were okay with having their fear become their reality.  Not only did their fear hinder them from obeying the Lord, but it enslaved them.  They turned their fear (once a viable fear) into a complaint and yelled out when they wanted a “change of menu.” Num 21:5 says “they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

When we focus on our fears, we tend to perceive them as coming to fruition; even if they don’t actually come true.  God was providing through miracles for his remnant, and yet, they were afraid of death.  Then, after years of seeing the Lord provide, they turned their fear into complaining.  God took care of their fears and still they weren’t grateful.

We all have our doubts and fears in life.  Each of us, even when following God, can have a recurring fear; many of us may struggle with a specific fear until we die.  

Some fears are more “rational” than others; nonetheless they can hinder us from truly following and trusting the LORD.  If dealt with properly, these fears can turn into a showing of God’s POWER and LOVE in our lives.  

Because we are human, we all have fears. I hope we can trust Him enough to surrender those fears on a DAILY basis; letting God use them for His glory.  We must continue to preach the Gospel to each other as a reminder of what God has done for us and what we live for.  If we leave our fears at the cross of Jesus every day, instead of dwelling on them, we could experience the JOY of our Christian calling more vividly. 

Heaven is Home

Home. What a complicated concept. I’ve lived in several countries and have had nearly 30 homes during the whole thing. In just a few months, Ashley and I will celebrate 4 years of marriage. During those 4 years we’ve had 3 different homes.  Bouncing from place to place might be resolved if we could just narrow it down and understand this concept of home. 

Some say that home is where the heart is. Because of all our travels and all of our friends and loved ones, our hearts have been stretched all over the world. Nevertheless, the Bible (or a hymn) tells us that the world is not our home. We are just passing through.

So, yes, Heaven is home. And if I feel like being spiritually technical about the whole thing Heaven is home. But although not exactly elusive, neither is it precisely tangible. So let’s address this issue of a more down-to-earth home. 

While we were in the States we got to spend time with family. We enjoyed cookouts with Ashley’s Dad, with her brother we competed over who’d eat the spiciest Buffalo wings, and then with her Mom we’d go for a walk to get some ice cream or just watch some TV together before going to bed. Their hospitality is not taken lightly. 

But there are other forms of family too. Our home church always makes us feel right at home. Whenever we return we honestly feel as if we’d never left. Their care and generosity mean more to us then we could possibly express in this blog or in any other form of words. (Words have such a way of expressing while limiting what we mean to express!). 

We even had the opportunity to meet up with 5 of our GAP students and at least 4 others who are, in their own special way, a part of our GAP family. It was a sweet reunion. There were plenty of laughs and fond memories to celebrate between us all. 

The Christian family as a whole is just a perfect way to be welcomed home. Another inexpressible reality is the very real family quality sensed with other believers. A pastor friend of ours joined our support team admitting that it was just the right thing to do because we were family! 

And so all of that makes us feel very much at home. Nevertheless, we were – to be brutally honest – relieved to return to the DR. This too is home for us. It’s home in a very different way, but it’s still home. We have the camaraderie of family among our colleagues. All of the SCORE staff, whether the directors of a department or the driver of a bus, are like family to us here. 

Part of the Dominican charm is certainly in the fact that it is our home. We have our pictures on our walls. Our cats greet us at the door. We can help ourselves to what we have in our fridge (right now mostly some of the candy we brought from the States). And, most importantly, I have my books readily available on my shelves. 

Work makes this home for us too. Already this week I’ve been asked to translate a meeting between some of our staff. The other night I translated a devotional, and tonight I have to give a devotional (probably on Jonah). And Ashley has been hard at work every day at the Lily House with new products, designs, etc. And this is only the beginning. There is still so much more to come (that is said with both dread and excitement!). 

But if I really seek solace to this nomadic experience, this experiential restlessness as to where home is, I have to put my eyes back on Heaven.  I just can’t escape it. I keep going back there time after time. No, it’s not me trying to be trite or cliché. It’s just the very real and very pleasant truth (as comforting as every other expression of home I’ve made so far except more so). Heaven is home. 

The day we arrived home in the DR, from having been home in the US, the founder of SCORE International, Ron Bishop, went home to Heaven. He’d been hospitalized suddenly because of a blood clot and things escalated. One feels like adding that things escalated tragically, but that is only true if seen from our limited vantage point. I’m sure from his perspective there is no greater peace or relief. 

We do miss him and remember him fondly. He was more than a founder, he was a leader to be admired and a friend to be loved. He had the presence of a grandfather, both serious and sweet. But soon we will all be Home together. 

Oh, what a glorious day! 

Uninhibited Prayers

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

This text (Ephesians 6:19-20) was pivotal in our most recent post (A Bold Blog). We had asked for you to pray for boldness, and not just for yourself but for us too. In fact, Paul, when writing to the church of Ephesus, unashamedly asked that they pray for his boldness.  To be honest, this completely b-l-o-w-s my mind! Paul is one of the most courageous Christians in the Bible and he still asks for prayer.

 

It was C.S. Lewis who suggested that we pray because we are helpless. Paul understood that prayer was what kept him going, not just his personal time of prayer, but the prayers of others backing him in his adventures. We understand this too. We understand that without time spent in prayer we can't do anything. Without your prayers we can't do anything.

 

Thank you for your prayers.

 

Paul's circumstances were less than ideal. He was in chains. Nevertheless, he did not let the Roman shackles hold him down. He did not allow the chains to inhibit his ministry. Sometimes our circumstances can cripple us. We become afraid, all we see are limitations or obstacles. Paul could very reasonably have just wimped out and served his time, instead he used his time to serve as "an ambassador in chains." That's just amazing!

 

Someone once said that prayer is the only form of omnipotence God grants a man. Our dreams don't fly high enough and our imagination is not as limitless as we think, but in our prayers - in our prayers - we can move mountains! Through prayer we can achieve the impossible. 

 

Please continue to pray for us, as we pray for you.

 

 

 

 

A Bold Blog

Missionaries are always asking for something and I want to stay true to my calling. I want to ask you for something.

Don't worry, I'm not asking this only for myself, I'm also asking it for you.

 

Frankly, I think I have a decent amount of authority backing me up on my request. No, it's not because I'm a missionary or anything as ridiculous as that. My authority is based on the fact that whenever someone shares something from the Bible there is an inevitable request - or demand - made.

 

In fact, if someone shares something from the Bible and there is no demand made on you, well, then I'd have to question the sensitiveness of your heart or the authority of what was just shared.

 

Every time God communicates He is making demands of us. Maybe that's why missionaries also get a pass on asking you for a thing or two.

 

Right now, my demand is based not only on Scripture but on the testimony of Paul, one of the biggest missionaries of all time. Here is what he says in Ephesians 6:19-20

 

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

 

You ready? Here it is. My request is that you pray for boldness. We need to stand boldly for the person and the truths of Jesus Christ.

 

When I was younger (17 or 18) I had a job at an amusement park. It was a pretty sweet job. I enjoyed working there. While I worked there, I often got to speak in Spanish to the visitors who passed through. One day a co-worker asked me how come I spoke Spanish so well. Seeing as how she was kinda pretty (as in gorgeous), I fumbled about trying to come up with a non-dorky answer. Something impressive to show just how James Bondsy I could be.

 

I told her that I was born in Uruguay.  I told her I grew up speaking Spanish.  That was all true. I told her it was because my parents were diplomats; that was a lie. My parents were actually missionaries; but that was embarrassing. It was totally not the James Bond effect I was going for.

 

She seemed impressed, but at the same time she wasn't too impressed since she never really spoke to me again during the rest of the summer. Meanwhile I felt horrible.

 

I was ashamed of the Gospel. The complete opposite of Romans 1:16, a verse I'd had to memorize for Sunday school while I was growing up.

 

Clearly, just memorizing a verse that told me not to be ashamed of the Gospel was not enough. Being a Missionary Kid (MK) didn't cut it either. Growing up and becoming a full-fledged missionary wouldn't really cut it either.

Here's a little secret. I can't do it alone. Yeah, memorizing Scripture is great. Growing up in a Christian home with role-model parents is a bonus. And choosing to follow the Lord into missions is one of the best decisions of my life. But those things in and of themselves won't make me bold.

I can't depend on myself for boldness. That kind of contradicts the whole point. Like Paul, I need to go to God. I do that by prayer. Secondly, I need to go to you. God's people praying on my behalf for boldness will not only encourage me but it will also serve to spur me on.

If Paul needed others to pray for him to be bold, who am I to think I've got what it take on my own?

So here it is. Here is my request (authorized by Scripture): Please pray for me to be bold.

Pray for our boldness and ask the Lord how you can be bold in furthering the Gospel with us.

 

The Main Thing

Last week was intense for us here on the island.  We received more than 300 students from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Georgia. These young people came to build homes and perform other construction projects, they held various sports clinics, at least 5 different VBS sites with 100 plus children at each one, and they worked in more than 5 different orphanages and children centres. This is just a part of what we do. Yet, at the same time, those are just the peripherals. Don’t get me wrong. They are important, but they are not the most important.

During the past week someone on the construction crew said that they felt “accomplished” because not only were they building a family a home, thereby taking care of their immediate physical needs, but they were also having a chance to share the Gospel as they went about the community. So by no means do I wish to denigrate the importance of all the peripherals but we have to keep the main thing the main thing.

Of course, that’s easy for me to say because I am, after all, a missionary and as a missionary making sure I keep the Gospel as the main thing should be fairly easy. It is, after all, my profession-career-vocation-calling-etc. Sadly enough, that’s not the case. It’s not always easy to live Gospel-centered lives, even as missionaries. But there is more to it then that. Because, sadly enough, that’s also not the case that it should be easier for missionaries or that it is only a missionary’s responsibility. It is every Christian’s responsibility too.

My motives behind this post are multiple. First of all, informational. I wanted to tell you about what we’ve been doing; letting you know or informing you how busy we’ve been and what the Lord has accomplished through our service and our partnerships with other churches (specifically Johnson Ferry). Secondly, it is an attempt at something “inspirational.” I want to challenge you to keep the main thing the main thing, and that, for us, as believers, is the Gospel.

Sometimes we feel shamed into sharing the Gospel or somehow guilted into it. This past week I loved seeing our students struggle with sharing the Gospel in Spanish and in English. I loved seeing them succeed. There was one student who made it a point to come back each evening and excitedly share with me her experience of sharing the Gospel with Dominicans and Americans alike. It was awesome.  During this week, she realized her giftedness and passion for evangelism. She is now reconsidering her future and wants to use her giftedness for missions.

Please, keep the main thing the main thing. Not out of shame, guilt, or even my attempt at encouraging/inspiring you. Keep it the main thing simply because it is the main thing!

The gospel of Christ is what saves us, sustains us, and brings us safely home. We do not move on from the gospel. If you preach it in such a way that you give the impression that Christians should move beyond the gospel, then you will remove from them the very lifeline of a Spirit-empowered relationship with Jesus. – Matt Chandler