Oswald Chambers, Uncertainty, and the New Year

Many thoughts run through my mind at the beginning of this New Year.  There has been one thought, however, that captured my attention and is worthy of deeper meditation.  It comes from Oswald Chambers and appears in his biography written by David McCasland.  This wonderful biography provides vignettes of Chambers’ service in Cairo during World War I with the YMCA.  Soldiers relished their time under Chambers’ ministry.  War equals uncertainty, and Chambers helped these men deal with the uncertainty they faced day in and day out.

In the year 1916, Mr. Chambers made a statement when questioned about what he might do after the war.  His response came in the form of a simple truism, “Trust God and do the next thing.”  We often want to boil things down to a simple, memorable maxim to carry with us throughout life and Chambers seemed to always excel in this task.  This was his advice to all who were facing uncertainty, “Trust God and do the next thing.”

What does this mean to us as we start the New Year?  I think it means a great deal, and it is a statement that will carry us through the many uncertainties we face.  After all we are His children and we can trust Him when all else on earth fails us.

As I contemplated this statement, I broke it down into two parts.  The first, “Trust God,” calls to mind the nature of our Heavenly Father.  Don’t put you faith in man who will fail you, put your trust in God.  He is worthy of trust because of His nature.  I can trust Him because He is faithful, He is present, He is Holy, He is just, He is worthy, He is loving.  I always think of the “omni” words when describing the nature of our God:  omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

Trusting God also calls to mind Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all you ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight.”  Often we get into trouble by relying on our own wisdom in certain matters.  Ask God for wisdom, trust in Him fully.  We trouble our lives when we rely on our wisdom or another man’s so-called wisdom.

Back to the second phrase of Chambers’ maxim, “Do the next thing.”  Don’t we often wring our hands worrying about what to do next?  If the entire path is not mapped out we refuse to move.  This type of “business” thinking has invaded the lives of too many Christians.  Sure, plans fail for the lack of counsel and when we plan to build something we must consider the costs, but should we expect from God the complete picture before we do anything?  This is where the believer gets into trouble and gets into a state of inactivity that God cannot use him to accomplish God’s purposes.

I think of the Israelites leaving Egypt under the leadership of Moses.  Here is an example of how to “do the next thing” under God’s leadership.  Read Exodus 14.  We see here how Pharaoh and his army pursued the Israelites to the edge of the Red Sea, an impossible place of escape militarily speaking.  In their terror, they cried out to God.  God instructed Moses to remind the people He was with them and that they need not be afraid.  He had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, why would He not deliver them now?  We see that God told Moses and the Israelites to “move on.”  Moving on is the same as doing the next thing.  Trust God and do the next thing meant moving toward the sea.  I can just picture the scene that as they took the steps toward the sea, God provided a way out by driving the waters back so they could cross on dry ground.  Not only did He provide a way of escape, He provided His presence with a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.

Are you in a place this New Year where you are uncertain about your future?  Maybe a job change, maybe a relationship issue, maybe a physical challenge.  These all are happening under the eyes of our Loving Heavenly Father.  He cares for us and we can trust Him.  I am thankful that Oswald Chambers reminded us to “Trust God and do the next thing.”  Let’s face the New Year with this one thought in our hearts and mind.

George Lucas and Effective Bible Training

In a special advertising section of the October 6 Wall Street Journal, several CEOs and “thought leaders” share perspectives on rejuvenating the business sector.  George Lucas chimes in as an “expert” on the educational needs of a future generation.  His answer?  Return to the basics.  Hurry, all you education gurus out there, go back to educational practices that are centuries old and discard all your current experiments in effective teaching and learning.

Lucas says this is the best way to deal with mountains of information produced especially during this digital age.  He explains, “Over the years, the oldest forms of learning seem to be the most effective forms of learning.”  What are these oldest forms of learning?  He divides this into two parts.  The first is the Aristotle/Plato form of a teacher engaging and encouraging a small group of students, and the second is the hands-on “artisan school of learning.”  According to Lucas, “Once we got into the Industrial Revolution, those two forms of learning got swept aside.”  Amen George.

He goes further to state that this type of education significantly improves the character of the people engaged in it.  Character comes from working in small groups, Lucas surmises, where members of the group learn to work together on projects and share in the success of the outcomes.  This must be an extension of the lessons of Star Wars where character counts and develops in the context of a group of galactic heroes.  Yoda and the Jedi had it right all along.

Let’s leap from these thoughts into the context of effective biblical training.  A teaching philosophy determined to be effective with pastors and church leaders is the use of a traditional classroom setting with a mentor and several apprentices.  The assimilation of practical knowledge and skills is an outcome of this philosophy.  Students are personally involved with the teacher/mentor over a period of time where they learn to apply basic and then complex knowledge.  The teacher combines lecture, question-answer, and discussion to insure productive interaction in a culturally relevant manner.

This sounds an awful lot like what Lucas espouses.  It also makes one think of Jesus and the disciples spending time together.  The disciples learned from the Master and they had direct contact with Him.  Inept at seeing spiritual matters, the disciples stayed close to the Master for instruction.  Jesus involved the students in order to enhance their abilities and skills.  This was all in preparation for when He left them.

In this digital age, let’s reconsider the need for this type of training among believers.  When you see a younger generation, and sometimes your own peers, using an I-Phone to read the Bible a verse at a time you have to wonder if they get the application.  There is a connectedness that is missing from this type of learning.  The body is cut off from the Head.  We need to understand how to live the life as a believer and the effective way to get this understanding is to be a part of a body of believers where learning is a priority.  Yes, there are times in life when we need to spend time alone with God, meditating on His word.  But there are also times when we need the context that we can only get from being involved with others.  Thank you George Lucas for reminding us Christians of this.  May the Force be with you!

Dramatic Need for Hispanic Church Leader Training

In response to rapid Hispanic church growth in the United States, the Bible Training Centre for Pastors (“BTCP,” www.bibletraining.com) has formed a consortium of ministries that will address the training needs of Hispanic pastors and church leaders.  Founded in 1990 by Dennis Mock of Atlanta, BTCP has extended non-formal theological training to the world’s untrained pastors in 85 countries through the help of unique partnerships with other ministries.  Over 57,000 pastors and church leaders have been trained since 1990 around the world due to the work of BTCP.  Near 35,000 currently are in training.

According to Mock, President of BTCP, there is “no known strategy to be found” for addressing the theological training needs of Hispanic pastors in the United States.  The needs are dramatic, Mock insists, because of low educational levels, lack of resources, and limited availability of facilities.  “The vast majority of these bi-lingual, bi-vocational Hispanic pastors will never be trained in traditional Bible colleges or seminaries,” says Mock.

The goal of the newly-formed Hispanic ministries consortium is to develop and implement a large numbers strategy to take non-formal theological and ministry training to the untrained Hispanic pastors and church leaders in the United States.

Research corroborates these needs.  In a study of Hispanic Bible institutes from 1998 by Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier of the Claremont School of Theology, the need for training will reach unprecedented proportions soon.  She states, “The Hispanic population is projected to be the largest minority population in the nation.  This places the Hispanic church in a key position as a positive contributing factor in the life of Latinos in the United States.  If, however, the leaders of the church do not receive the theological training necessary for contextualizing its ministry so that it responds adequately to the complexities of issues affecting the well-being of this group, then their future stands to be adversely affected.”

With a systematic and integrated curriculum and a solid educational philosophy, BTCP’s Consortium is now positioned to be involved in the training needs within the U.S.  The well-being of the Hispanic community is affected by the spiritual wholeness of the community and its future.  This is an opportunity for strengthening Hispanic churches that must not be neglected.

The Consortium’s new Director, Miguel Montenegro, has already started multiple classes in 12 states with over 1050 leaders in training.  According to Miguel, “Hispanic pastors need more than just basic training to be able to teach and lead their congregations.”  Miguel and his wife Maria seek ministry partners who may help train leaders and support the work of the Consortium.

For further information on this Consortium, please visit the BTCP website at www.bibletraining.com or e-mail consorciohispano@btcp.com.