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

Back in Action

It has been an embarrassingly long time since we last posted anything new. I suppose I could excuse myself and claim that I got “time off” for good missionary behavior. Translated that means I’ve been incredibly busy. Here is what we’ve been up to:

During Christmas time, we had our “vacation” in the US. While there, we enjoyed family time and good food and all the other perks that go with a visit back home. But for me, it was also a time to finish up some new curriculum for one of my classes. This new curriculum was the culmination of an intense 2-3 month project. It resulted in a 130 plus page resource for our students on the doctrines of salvation (aka, Soteriology).

Then we began the New Year with a new semester ahead of us. I taught all the bible classes during the month of January. We started January with two weeks of Old Testament History, and then went into two weeks of Soteriology. Add all of my usual translating to the mix, and we had a very FULL month.

God deemed it wise to stop me in my tracks. Friday evening (the 31^st), was my last day of classes and that same evening, I came down with a pretty nasty cold. I’ve been quarantined in my apartment with nothing but tissues, tea, and some TV shows for the past few days. The first day was spent almost entirely on the couch (near death). The second day was a lot of couch time mixed with some restlessness that had me cleaning up around the house.  And, today I am still feeling pretty poorly but I’ve decided to quit moping about and really tackle the day!

Part of my plan for today is this thing called blogging. Blogging and I used to be friends, but then it just got complicated.  Now, I am sick and during this brief pause in my healthy (hectic) life, I’ve decided to reacquaint myself with the blogosphere. Typically my blogging impulses are short-lived, and it could be that this doesn’t make it too far either, but I will try to do a much better job at keeping up with you. I actually have a few more posts up my sleeve so hopefully they’ll make their way on here soon. Stay tuned.

February is looking pretty crazy, though not as busy as last month. Nevertheless, please keep these things in prayer for us and with us:

1 .)    Colossians, Feb. 4-7 (this class will be delivered by a guest teacher, Dave Marvin)

2 .)    Interpreting Seminar, Feb. 11 (I will be delivering this class to our students)

3 .)    Parent’s Encounter, Feb. 13-18 ( Our students’ parents and friends are coming for a visit)

4 .)    Interpreting/Evangelism Class, Feb. 18-21 (Ashley and I will work together on this class)

5 .)    Friend’s Veterinary Opportunity, Feb. 22-March 5 (More on this below…)

6 .)    GAP Mission Trip, Feb. 25-28 (This will require a lot of planning and a lot of prayer!)

Our friends, Bill and Peggy, are coming down to work with a local Fire Dept., help out at SCORE, cheer us up, and connect with our veterinarian and her students. Our vet has a clinic but also teaches at a nearby University. Because Bill and Peggy were also vets, they’ve built a connection and will (Lord-willing) be able to do a couple seminars, Q & A’s, and – most importantly – share the Gospel with local vets and vet students. Please keep this (and the other requests) in prayer. Thank you!

Stewarding Gratitude

Missionaries live off of what God provides. The Church recognizes this, and plays a vital role in supporting missionaries, but sometimes the Church forgets that they too live off of what God provides. No one achieves anything on their own, even though it is human nature to think that we can provide for ourselves independently of God. Everything we have is a gift from God. God is the Giver of all good gifts.

 

Realizing this enables me to understand that I need to wisely care for what He provides. This principle is known as "Stewardship." We are to steward (administer) God's gifts carefully. We are to make them prosper when we can, and we are to enjoy them. God doesn't give us good gifts for us to keep them neatly tucked away or tightly wrapped up. He gives them to us to enjoy!

 

What I have been reflecting on so close to Christmas is the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ. He is also to be enjoyed and cared above all other gifts. Everything pales in comparison to His incomparable worth.

 

His preeminence should be our greatest joy.

 

Our devotion to Him should be zealously nurtured.

 

Of course, this is not limited to the holiday season or sentimental reflections of God's generosity, but to a daily, reasonable, sacrificial lifestyle. Please join me in beginning the new year with a thankful heart for what our Lord and Savior has done for us, and all that God has given to us and what He has still in store.

 

Missions Challenge

Philemon is a short little book that not many people pay attention to. Thankfully our pastor did, this past Sunday he finished up a 3-message series on the book. That’s when I realized Philemon is an incredible “missionary” book.

As a Sunday school book, it’s all about a crook who “got religion.” Paul probably got his evangelistic hooks into Onesimus (the crook) when they were in jail. Now, Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon, probably the person Onesimus had robbed  earlier.

As a Theology book, it’s all about “imputation.” Imputation is an accountability term, it has to do with transferring or in-putting/imputing something onto someone else’s account. Adam’s sins were imputed to us. Then they were imputed to Christ. Lastly, as a believer, God’s righteousness or justice has been imputed to us (Romans 5:12).

As a Missionary book, it’s all about “missions.” Paul, as a great missionary, is commissioning a new believer (Onesimus) and he is challenging the church that was in Philemon’s home. The book of Philemon is Paul’s prayer letter. Missionaries write prayer letters for a lot of reasons but mostly because they need your prayers. Without your prayers, support, and encouragement we could not do what we do. You are part of our team. I want to focus on verses 20, 21, and 22.

Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, since I know that you will do even more than what I say. At the same time also prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you. (Philemon 20-22)

1) Paul was unashamed in seeking benefit from his supporters. Sometimes as missionaries we are cowardly and don’t dare think to ask for any sort of benefit. But Paul was unashamed because it wasn’t a self-centered thing. It was a benefit from the Lord. Your generosity is a reflection of God’s generosity. Someone once said that you are never more like God than when you are giving.

2) Missionaries need to be refreshed in Christ. Your encouragement keeps us going. It cheers us up whenever we get feedback from you about our letters, our ministries, etc.

3) Missionaries need to trust the Church. After all, it is God’s vehicle for impacting the world through evangelism and the discipleship of believers. We need to trust that you, as the Church, have our backs. That you pray. That you give. That you visit. That you help. That you read. That you respond. Like Paul, we need to trust that you will do even more. The Church can go above and beyond for what is asked or needed.

4) We need to count on your prayers. They help keep us on the field. They help us get home. They give us the rest we need. They give us the courage we need. We earnestly count on your prayers and need to count on them seriously.  Paul asked for “lodging” (accommodations) even before his release from prison because he took their prayers seriously. That’s faith. When we pray, we need to pray with faith.

The benefit we need from you in the Lord, the refreshment we need in Christ. Our Christmas Wish this year is 5 dollars. Twice a year we host a 5 Dollar Challenge. Our winter challenge is really simple. All we are asking you to do is forfeit a cup of coffee, sacrifice a snack, to invest 5 dollars to help keep us on the field. We trust that you, the Church, will give 5 dollars to help our ministry.

This year we have added a new element to our 5 Dollar Challenge. We’ve never done this before, but this year we set a goal. Our goal is to raise 500 US Dollars. Our deadline is December 31^st. We think you can help us meet our goal. Please share this challenge with others in your Church. With your gift and serious (faith-filled) prayers, we can meet this goal. If you would like to donate, please go to: https://scoresponsor.org/missionaries-staff/shop/carter-charles-ashley/

Us with one of the children at Pasitos de Jesus Orphanage, Rosemery

Our GAP students of 2013-14

Missions Trip to Bani

Last weekend (Saturday – Monday) we left our home in Juan Dolio and travelled across Santo Domingo to end up on the other side of the city, in a town named Bani. Those names probably don’t mean much to you, but in essence it means that we left our beach comforts, crossed the capital, and about two hours later ended up among some of the mountains of the Dominican Republic. It was a fantastic change of scenery for all of us.

We went to Bani as a sort of mini-mission trip, and we plugged into one of the churches there. The pastor of the church (Vernon) opened his home for us to sleep in, and although quarters were certainly cramped, it felt like home. Their hospitality towards us was superb! And if I started telling you about the food – the amount of food, the quality of food, the yumminess of the food, and… Well, pretty soon this would turn into an Anthony Bourdain blog instead of a blog about our mission trip. Suffice it to say, everything was absolutely mind-blowingly delicious!

Of course, mission trips are supposed to be about “ministry” not just the food and the hospitality, yet I think that a lot of the ministry was in the sharing of food (breaking bread together is a form of communion) and hospitality is a Biblical imperative (Romans 12:13). What I’m trying to say is that we were ministered to during our stay there.

Whenever anyone engages in missions, whether full-time or short-term, one always walks away blessed. I’ve worked with enough groups to recognize that God seems to have a pattern of out-blessing those who are available to be a blessing. Every short-term group that rolls through the DR comes expecting to be a blessing in some way to the Dominican people, and yet they always leave happily humbled at having been so deeply blessed by the Dominican people. This is magnificently illustrated in II Samuel 7, but I’ll save that for a later blog…

Anyway, we did accomplish what we set out for which was also to minister. Our ministry focus was divided into both helping repair the church building and helping encourage the Church body. We succeeded in some of the church repairs by painting, cleaning, and more. We also succeeded in encouraging the Church. Saturday afternoon we played softball (and other games) together. Then one of our students shared the Gospel with a translator. That evening we helped lead youth group. We led their games, helped with their music, and one of our students shared her testimony in Spanish. Sunday morning some of our students helped in children’s Sunday School – all in Spanish! Then during the morning service we prepared some special music, shared another testimony (in Spanish), and translated the message. For the Sunday evening service we prepared some special music, and two more of our students shared their testimony in Spanish. It was very encouraging for us to see our students boldly connect with Dominicans in Spanish after only a few months of studying the language! We also helped encourage them by just giving them an opportunity to get out of their own community. We took a lot of the young people out to a nearby beach and just had some good old fashioned “fun in the sun.” And, of course, it’s all fun and games until some of the students decide to throw their leader into the ocean…But it’s okay I’m plotting my sweet revenge on them still. J

Victory Over Sin, Part 2

The following message is brought to you by Connecting with the Carters. Please check out our previous post to see Victory Over Sin, Part 1.

[Review: A serious introspection on our sinfulness reveals who awful we truly are. As a believer in Christ it is important that we also look on the flip side of the same coin and see the wonderful grace of Jesus which reaches you and even me. Therefore, as McCheyne suggests, if we take a look at our sin we must also take ten looks on Christ.]

Of course, looking to Christ – even ten looks on Christ – will impress more grace in your life than looking at your sin. The Bible urges us to fix our eyes steadfastly on Christ (Heb. 12:2). That means that our gaze on Him has got to be constant, a lingering gaze.

Grace enables us not only to overcome our sin, but also to forgive ourselves when Satan whispers in our ear telling us that we are “Guilty.” Grace allows us to tell Satan to shut up! Grace also enables us to be able to forgive others.

During the Hamartiology class, I got really frustrated with Adam and Eve for messing everything up so badly. I mean, they had it perfect! Then I realized I would probably have done the exact same thing. Philip Yancey noticed that, “Christians get very angry toward other Christians who sin differently than they do.” And C.S. Lewis warns us that, “This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behavior we expect from other people.”

So how can we remedy this? We remedy it by showing them grace. Because grace was given to us not as something to keep to ourselves, but as something to freely share with others. We are responsible for what we do with the grace that is given to us.

Sometimes we get greedy with God’s grace, as if it might run out on us. But it won’t. The Bible tells us that God’s grace is abundant (II Cor. 4:15). And in another passage it heightens that reality and tells us that God’s grace is exceedingly abundant (II Tim. 1:14). His grace is manifold or multifaceted, giving us the idea of a kaleidoscope (I Pet. 4:10). Again, there is no way that the grace of God can run out on you.

Therefore it is up to you to use it and to share it. Use it on yourself; stand on grace. Use it on others; show them God’s grace. “The world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church. You need not be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace” (Gordon MacDonald).

We need to show grace to ourselves and to one another. After all, the grace that we have is all because of regeneration (being born of God or re-birth).

Our regeneration is a great display of God’s amazing grace because our regeneration is possible because of the cross. Nowhere else in all of History can you see God’s grace more magnificently displayed than at the cross. “[Christ] bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you are healed” (I Pet. 2:24).

Our sin, our guilt, our lack-of-grace for others is killed at the cross. There we are re-born to live in righteousness and healed by His wounds!

At the cross, at the cross

Where I first saw the light,

And the burdens of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith,

I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!