Dear friends
Paul urges us to “teach God’s truths to trustworthy people who are able to pass them on to others” (2 Timothy 2:2). Last Saturday (15 October), Beryl and I had a golden opportunity to do just that. With the outside temperature at minus 3 degrees, in a warm and comfortable teaching facility in Warsaw, I was privileged to facilitate a discipleship workshop with twelve young people from Christian Fellowship North, together with the Youth Pastors, Adam and Monica. read on
When Monica signed up for cell pastor training at Maadi Community Church, Cairo, some years ago, she had no idea of the impact the experience would have on her life. Listen to what she says – her testimony attests to amazing things the Lord did in her weakened state.
“Through the grace of our Heavenly Father I came to Christ in April, 2000. The former dark side of my life began to be transformed to light. At MCC I was soon asked to join a cell pastors’ training course, something that fuelled me for the challenges ahead in my life. The love and encouragement that I received made me fly centimetres above the ground with joy – thinking, feeling and tasting His wonderful love for me. This was no shallow “spring of life” experience, this was deep “fountain stuff”… and overwhelming.
After completing the course I joined a cell group as a member. Later, when a vacancy came up I agreed to serve as an apprentice cell pastor. The invitation to serve as a cell pastor came to me, not because of my theological knowledge or biblical literacy but because of the honest admission of my human weaknesses, together with a sincere offer of my willingness to serve the Lord.
The study books used in our cell meetings highlighted topics from the Bible which fed my soul, and the discussions that followed opened up possibilities to put into practice the lessons we discussed. My blessings, however, came from my praying at all times. In our cell group we would hold each other up in prayer. We prayed for absentee members, loved ones, family friends, and world issues. Prayer kept us focused. Prayer kept us on track!
One day, my husband told me that it was time for our family to move to Finland. I was completely surprised because I had lived in Cairo all my adult life (more than 17 years). It’s true, in Him, all things are possible! The scenario was perfect! The Lord provided us with everything: housing, work, and school – beyond my wildest dreams and expectations!
And, the best is yet to come! MCC equipped me with their Cell Pastor’s Training Course material. My prayer is to start training lay-leaders in Helsinki for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (Philippians 1:6). This is good news – a hallelujah special! Monica.”
What has the Lord done in your weaknesses? Don’t hide them. Don’t minimise them. Don’t excuse them. Present them to the Lord and invite Him to do great things through you, as He did in Monica’s life. He will do great things through your weaknesses, because of His ability and your availability.
Our present visit to Poland is quite different to our previous four visits. This time, we are focussing all our thoughts and channelling all our energy on equipping and empowering the small groups director (Iza Pazdyda) of the Christian Fellowship North (Warsaw), and her faithful assistants, Marcin and Agata Gochnio. They are ideal 2 Timothy 2:2 “relay-runners” … receiving from us small groups resources and experiences the Lord has entrusted in our care that they may pass these things to other trustworthy “relay-runners”.
By the time we conclude our program in Warsaw on the 26th of October, a great deal of time, money and effort will have been invested in Iza, Marcin and Agata. I can tell you now, how blessed we are to be partnering with such fine, trustworthy, disciple-makers. What they have received from us they have already begun to invest in other “relay-runners”.
As stewards of the Lord, we are accountable for the valuable things He has entrusted in our management. We can manage, or mismanage “these” things – we can invest, or we can spend them … there’s a big difference. Are you investing in “relay-runners”?
“Lord, please help me to be a wise investor of the good things you have entrusted in my care. Help me to identify trustworthy relay-runners who will be glad to pass these things to other trustworthy relay-runners. Amen.”
In my opinion, Failing Forward is one of the best books John C. Maxwell has written. In Chapter 1 of this book, Maxwell contrasts leaders who are average and leaders who are achievers. The following has been adapted from this chapter.
What makes achievers excel? Why do some people skyrocket while others plummet? You can call it luck, good fortune, blessing, or the Midas touch – call it whatever you want. But the truth is that some people just seem to achieve incredible things in spite of tremendous difficulties.
What’s the root of achievement? Well, it’s not having a good family background, wealth, opportunity, high morals, or the absence of hardship. None of these things are the key. When it comes right down to it, there is only one factor that separates those who consistently shine from those who don’t. The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. Nothing else has the same kind of impact on people’s ability to achieve and to accomplish whatever their minds and hearts desire.
In Leadership Magazine, J. Wallace Hamilton states, “The increase of suicides, alcoholics, and even some forms of nervous breakdowns is evidence that many people are training for success when they should be training for failure. Failure is far more common than success; poverty is more prevalent than wealth; and disappointment more normal than arrival.”
In life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with your problems. Will you choose to fail forward, or backward?
Whatever obstacles you face in your life, and there will be many, what matters most is the way you choose to see them – you need to “put a new face on your problems”. You need to see problems as opportunities to learn, grow, develop and succeed. You need to welcome and celebrate them, not fear, turn, and run away from them. You can be strengthened, and not crushed, through them.
Look at the way any achiever approaches negative experiences, and you can learn a lot about how to fail forward. Examine the following two lists, and determine which one best describes your approach to failure:
Friends, we all have a history of many failed outcomes. Maxwell’s book inspires us in our decision making in life through helping us to understand that our failed outcomes don’t make us failures. Mistakes are not our enemy, but allies … helping us to see more clearly, to make better decisions.
Just a photo update from our fantastic visit to Warsaw in Poland.
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