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At a memorial service the other day the pastor described the deceased as one who loved adventure: “He liked to say, ‘If everything is under control, you aren’t going fast enough!'” Then the pastor quoted from The Hobbit the conversation that became the opening for my book Join the Adventure! I was inspired all over again, and I reproduce the book’s opening for you here:

In The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, prequel to Lord of the Rings, Gandalf, the wizard, approaches Bilbo Baggins:

Gandalf: I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.

Bilbo: I should think so—in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them …

This is remarkably similar to a conversation recorded in the Bible: an angel appears out of nowhere and challenges Gideon:

And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”   (Judges 6.12 – 14)

Bilbo and Gideon both said, “Who, me?”

God has an adventure in mind for all of us…for each of us—not a collective “we” in some general way but for you, specifically. Is there anyone in your circle of friends, acquaintances, neighbors, co-workers, etc., that has a need—a physical, emotional, or spiritual need? If it’s a spiritual need, is there anyone in your circle who doesn’t go to your church to hear your pastor preach? What do you think God’s plan is that these people’s needs are met? Once, Jesus looked around and saw people with needs:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9.35, 36)

What was Jesus’ solution to those needs? 

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9.37-38)

Or, as Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message,

“What a huge harvest! How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!” The prayer was no sooner prayed than it was answered. Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. (Matthew 9.37 – 10.1)

The solution is you and I, and we need not feel any more qualified than Bilbo Baggins, Gideon, or any of Jesus’ twelve disciples, who, in Matthew 10, didn’t know much and hadn’t really been trained to do much. 

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Here’s a story that reinforces what I wrote yesterday about reading the Bible for ourselves.

I had taught daily time with God to the staff of a small church, and the pastor encouraged everyone to give it a try. The pastor himself got up early the next morning, and here’s the way he tells it:

I decided to read Romans, and I got my Bible, my journal, my commentary, and my Greek New Testament. I used all four for a couple days until I said to myself, “That’s not what Bob taught us to do!” So I put away my commentary and my Greek New Testament and settled down to “read, reflect, respond, record,” just like Bob taught us. And I said to myself, “This is insanely simple!”

I like insanely simple. If it’s simple, I can do it; if it’s simple, I can teach it; if it’s simple, the other person can do it and also pass it on.

Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the LORD. (Proverbs 8.33 – 35, NIV)

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I like to blog what I’m exercised about, and I’m really exercised about something I read the other day that seemed to imply that if you wanted to understand the scripture, you needed to read it in the original languages. Why would that writer want to plant a seed in his readers’ minds that only those who know Greek can read the Bible?

I am very grateful for those who know the original languages and have worked to provide us with God’s word in readable form. And in the U.S., there are a plethora of translations to choose from! You may notice that I vary the ones I quote from. 

But I am very disturbed at the apparent elitism that suggests the Holy Spirit can’t speak to ordinary people through the translated Word. We decry that period in history when the Bible was literally withheld from the common people, but then we effectively withhold it in our day by suggesting that ordinary believers can’t understand it. By contrast, Paul tells Timothy:

From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3.15, NKJV)

And in Timothy’s day, what we call the Old Testament had already been translated into Greek so that Timothy could read it. So take heart! God speaks through the Word in the language we understand:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 TImothy 3.16, 17, NIV)

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A number of years ago I was planning “Discipleship Sunday” with a pastor and one of his elders. I was going to teach time with God during the Sunday School hour, preach the service, and then have something after church over lunch. We had also planned some follow-up activities. The elder articulated his reservation to the plan with something like, “Not everyone will want to participate.” The pastor wisely responded, “We will never offer a growth opportunity in which everyone will participate. That’s no reason not to offer it!”

As much as we would like for everyone to enthusiastically embrace their disciple-making mission, it won’t happen. Jesus didn’t reach everyone: each of John chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 ends with confusion and division. Here’s an example:

On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. (John 7.40 – 43, NIV)

It’s always been about a biblical concept called the “remnant.” Isaiah’s call to ministry is recorded in Isaiah 6 where he is told explicitly that he will fail to turn all of the people. (See Isaiah 6.8 – 13) But there is also the promise of a remnant who will bear fruit.

And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 37.31, 32, ESV)

So we will write, speak, make disciples, and encourage pastors and others to do the same, knowing that none of our clever methods will reach everyone. We’re just looking for reliable people who will teach others also.

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.1, 2, NIV)

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I wrote recently about the need for discipleship methods, materials, and programs to be accessible and reproducible (March 22 and March 25). Recently a pastor friend reminded me that ministry opportunities also need to be accessible–instant participation, instant success.

In the church, not everyone is qualified, for example, to teach children’s Sunday School, but almost anyone could help with crafts or registration. How much talent would it take to be the “scripture memory lady,” listening to children recite their verses?

Some ministry assignments are difficult and require training, but many beginning ministry activities are not. Instant participation, instant success.

Jesus sent the twelve out on their first missionary assignment (Matthew 9.36 – 10.10) for a limited time after he had been with them for a while. When they returned, however, their next ministry assignment was at the feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6.30 – 44) where they became ushers, servers, and busboys!

Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass [USHER duty!]. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people [SERVER duty!]. He also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish [BUSBOY duty!]. (Mark 6.39 – 43, NIV)

The disciples didn’t, nor should the folks we’re helping, stay doing “entry-level” ministry. But it is a place to start. Accessible. Instant participation, instant success.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5.18 – 20, NIV)

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I was setting up to teach an elective seminar on how to have time with God at an annual men’s conference, and I recognized a fellow from the same seminar last year. “My brother, didn’t I see you here last year?” “Yes.” “Well, I hate to tell you, but it will be the same talk!”

The challenge is, the brother never got started, and he keeps looking for something that will motivate him to begin. And as a speaker, I keep looking for ways to do just that.

I am increasingly convinced that the key to getting started is simply obedience. Joshua 1.8, for example, is a command:

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (NIV)

Instead of waiting until you want to to do something, we would be wise to recognize this principle: You will not want to do something until you first did it when you didn’t want to.

I could talk to you about the benefits of exercise, for example, but if it has been a long time since you did it, starting is difficult, and the benefits are not immediate. But if you stay with it, soon you’ll realize that you feel better when you live a lifestyle that includes exercise than when you don’t. Then you’ll want to do it. But you wouldn’t know that you want it unless you had first started when you didn’t want to!

The same is true for daily time with God. You’ll go from drudgery to discipline to delight. Eventually, you’ll say with Jeremiah:

Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15.16, NKJV)

You will not want to do something until you first did it when you didn’t want to. Or, as the writer of Hebrews explains it:

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12.11, NIV)

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Now there’s research from Barna confirming what we already should know: that inviting people to church is only one form of outreach. Among lapsed Christians or those who adhere to something other than Christianity or to no faith at all: 

• A plurality in each group prefers either a casual, one-on-one conversation or casual group conversation. 
• Overall, settings that prioritize relational interactions tend to be more attractive than approaches that don’t, even among those who are inclined toward spirituality. Being approached by a street evangelist or with a tract, for example, are unpopular methods even with people who are already open to exploring faith. 
  

I’m not saying we shouldn’t invite our neighbors to, say, Easter Sunday service. However, if they decline, don’t give up! Continue the conversation over a cup of coffee or while walking the dog.

And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it. (1 Thessalonians 1.7, 8, NIV)

Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy. (1 Peter 3.15, MSG)

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Today I was inspired by an email from Frank Dennis, “retired” medical missionary. Frank is an orthopedic surgeon and served for a number of years in Taiwan. Paragraphs like this inspire me:

We have been well. Sally is tired much of the time… On 3/7 I had an inguinal hernia repaired by a very nice robot and a hanky sized piece of mesh, pretty sore for 3 days and now like it never happened!

I am still sleeping on ice which numbs my right sacroiliac joint. I make another trip to the freezer about 3 a.m. I will get another injection 4/2 in hopes it will promote healing. I am fine during the day except it hurts to stand. When I preach I keep moving around a little. There is gradual improvement and I am not disabled.

Frank and Sally are at least 90. They never complain. Did you notice “when I preach”? And, “I am not disabled.” Frank still preaches twice a month when he’s in town and frequently travels elsewhere, including back to Taiwan. Here is the text of one of his recent sermons–Elijah’s burnout. And there are no pictures of Sally not smiling!

Frank is on my list of heroes who never quit, including Navigator Jim Downing who returned from his last speaking tour just two months before passing away at age 104 1/2. My Uncle Sam was sending out inspirational emails until three weeks before his passing at age 99.

¹²  The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
¹³ planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,
¹⁵ proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” (Psalm 92.12 – 15, NIV)

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A couple of days ago I wrote about “instant participation, instant success,” which was stimulated by a conversation with my friend Ray in another state. A few days after our conversation, Ray sent me this story:

This morning we had lunch after church, and I sat next to a brand new believer (Jan) and she told me that she just started meeting with the wife (Rosana) of one of the guys I disciple.  So, Jan mentioned that Rosana was helping her to memorize a verse from the Bible.  Jan said that memorizing the verse was work, but she was sticking with it.  So, I enthusiastically said, “That’s great!” and I explained your participation/success principle and shared the archery example.  She has one verse now: instant participation, instant success!

It reminds me of when I started working with Len, my physical therapist, taking him through Every Man a Warrior. I told him scripture memory was an important part of it. He replied, “I can’t memorize too well.” My response? “Of course you can!” I reminded him that he didn’t get through engineering school and then physical therapy training because he couldn’t memorize. And he’s doing fine: instant participation, instant success.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119.11, NIV)

It is written… (Jesus, Matthew 4.4, 7, 10)

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My friend Ray shared with me the epoxy principle of disciple-making which he learned from our friend Rick. 

Epoxies are created through reacting an epoxy resin and a hardener.

That is, it takes two different chemicals to make epoxy. The hardener without the epoxy resin won’t do the job. Some of us are “hardeners:” trained and experienced disciple-makers. We know how to help someone mature in their walk with God until they are helping others do the same. But we are useless without someone to build into! 

Whenever I teach disciple-making, the inevitable question is, “Where do you find people to disciple?” Answer, God has to bring them to you! I’m always looking for the people. I pray for “men of valor whose hearts God has touched.” (1 Samuel 10.26) And when God brings one, the “resin,” I have the privilege of becoming his “hardener”!

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles… (Luke 6.12, 13, ESV)

And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach… (Mark 3.13, 14, ESV)

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2.1, 2)