A better title would be “For better or for worse.”

I met Tom and Jan Falconer last weekend at Spring Canyon near Buena Vista, Colorado. Tom is a high energy, joyful guy, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, a staff missionary with Officers’ Christian Fellowship. But that’s not what impressed me.

After the first meeting, I saw him helping his wife into her wheelchair. To get her out of the chair in which she was sitting and transfer her into her wheelchair, he stands in front of her, she puts her arms around his neck, and he helps her to a standing position. At that point, before the transfer, there’s a pause…a pause for them to embrace, for him to whisper in her ear, in other words, PDA! (public display of affection).

I asked him later what her illness was. He replied, “She has MS. She’s been in that wheelchair for 30 years.” When I said how much I admired the way I saw them relate to each other, he responded,

It’s the way God has chosen for us to do ministry.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Ephesians 5.25, ESV)

So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4.19, NIV)

We were just at Spring Canyon, the conference center near Buena Vista, Colorado, owned by Officers’ Christian Fellowship. Our room had a picture of a guardian angel. Not this one! Feminine, gentle…

The one in our room looked like this:

I like the image of a warrior standing guard! That’s what a guardian angel would do.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 18.10, ESV)

Angels are mighty beings. Ever wonder why the first words spoken by an angel when encountering people are, “Fear not!”

There is spiritual warfare, and angels are part of it.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26.52, 53, ESV)

I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude…Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia… (Daniel 10.5, 6, 12, 13, ESV)

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.12, ESV)

Before I quit talking about The Navigators 2:7 Series, an extraordinary disciple-making tool celebrating its 50th anniversary in February, please let me tell you one more story.

We were in Montgomery, AL, in the late 1970s, and I was teaching an adult Sunday School class attended by Albert and Linda. Albert was a draftsman, drawing bridges for the state of Alabama, very shy. He would hardly speak up in the Sunday School classes, but he and Linda seemed eager to learn. Once, when I saw them during the week, I encouraged them to be in class Sunday because I was going to teach something important. They said they were sorry, but they had planned to be at the lake that weekend…but they showed up!

So when we started a 2:7 group, Albert and Linda were among the 15 or so folks (large for a 2:7 group) who began. It was a 2-year program, six courses (it’s only three now), and when we got to Book 6, there were only three people besides us: Albert, Linda, and one other man. Some Navigator-trained friends moved to town, and we invited them to participate in Book 6, just so we’d have a decent-sized group.

It came down to the last meeting, and by course four or so, we were rotating leadership of part of each week’s lesson among the participants. So at the appropriate time, I said, “Well, Albert, I believe it’s your turn to lead tonight.” And Albert (shy, remember?) replied, “Yes, and if you would shut up, I could get to it!” I was ecstatic.

Later, Albert’s church launched a new-members’ orientation program, and Albert developed a significant part of it: the discipleship skills portion to include daily time with God and scripture memory. You couldn’t join that church unless you had been “Albertized.”

Folks, that’s what ministry is about: ordinary people training ordinary people and releasing them to train others, and 2:7 is one of the better tools. Some of you reading this blog have 2:7 experience as leaders and/or participants. Please add a confirming comment. And any of you can come to the conference in February in Dallas. I’d love to see you there.

Rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2.7, NIV)

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, NIV)

Continuing the theme of leadership transition, we moved to Alabama in 1977 and stayed there until 1984. Then we returned in 2001 for five years. During that second visit, when I was serving on church staff as Minister of Discipleship, leading, essentially, a Navigator ministry, everyone said, “You’ve got to meet David Shropshire! He’s a Navigator.” 

So I met David, about my age, came around The Navigators about the same time I did while serving in the Air Force in Denver in the early 1970s. David continues as a disciple-maker today, investing in the lives of a number of men. We had a wonderful five years together, meeting frequently for mutual encouragement.

But this blog is about something I just learned when he called me earlier this week. He was one of the very early participants in The Navigators 2:7 Series, whose 50th anniversary we are celebrating next year. In fact, he and his wife, Patsy, were in the first promotional video! And he also told me this as an aside:

When we moved to Alabama in 1985 [right after June and I left] the church asked me to lead an existing 2:7 group. It was started by some Air Force officer.

I said, “Yes! That was me! We started a group, went through several books and then moved to Colorado.”

So when God moved us out, he moved the Shropshires in! The Air Force only thinks it’s in control of assignments!

Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. …They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila… (Acts 18.18, 19, NIV)

Do your best to come to me quickly…Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. (2 Timothy 4.9 – 12, NIV)

Yesterday, I mentioned Clemson’s 50th anniversary of the ministry of The Navigators. Today, I want to think about another 50th anniversary. In February, we’ll be celebrating the anniversary of The Navigators’ 2:7 Series, that I’ve written about before. The event is open to all–you’re welcome to join us!

I didn’t participate in 1970–tomorrow, I’ll introduce you to someone who did!–but we started using the material in a small church in Omaha in the fall of 1976, beginning Book 1 with 12 people. It was a 6-book series, and the number of people from that first group that went on to Book 2 was exactly 0.

What to do? No question…find another group and start again. So we had 9 people beginning Book 1 in January 1977. We did Books 1 and 2, and in June, we moved to Montgomery, AL. End of story? Hardly. Two of the folks in that group, a father/son team, owned the Dale Carnegie franchise in Omaha. They were not only committed disciples of Jesus, but they were also leaders. After we left, they kept 2:7 going, and within a year or two, every person in that church had been through Book 1.

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)

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2.6, 7, NIV, the title verse of the 2:7 series)

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3.5 – 7, NIV)

As you read this, some Clemson University students will be gathering to celebrate 50 years of Navigator ministry on campus, dating from the arrival of Chuck Steen in August 1969.  I wish I could be with them, and here’s the rest of the story.

I met The Navigators at ROTC summer camp at Charleston AFB in July 1967, before my senior year at Clemson. I spent two additional years at Clemson, including one year of graduate school. There was no Navigator ministry at Clemson then, but I had a mentor, Mel Leader, in Charleston, about three hours away, and twice/year, the military Navigators had week-long conferences only 30 miles from Clemson. 

I attended as many nights of those conferences as I could, met Navigators who served in the southeastern U.S. from Washington, D.C., to Florida, and tried to put into practice at Clemson what I was learning, both personally and in ministry. I don’t remember exactly what I did, but I do remember connecting with Mike Murphree, a junior at Clemson, right before I left in May 1969. Here’s the way he tells it:

My roommate and I went to Mount Tabor [church] to tell about a youth crusade we were having in Easley, S.C. Bob Ewell was there, and after the service, he came to me and asked if we would be interested in a Bible Study. I said yes. It was at the end of my Junior year at Clemson. Bob came to our dorm room, and we did about 2 lessons. He told my roommate and I that he was leaving and there was going to be Nav Staff there next year. He wanted to know if he could give them our names. I said yes (although I didn’t much want to). I figured he would lose our names over the summer. That was April of 1969. The first day of my senior year, Chuck Steen showed up at my door and said he was with The Navigators. The rest is history! I sure am glad Bob met us. You never know what God is going to do. It’s great to see what God has done at Clemson over the years.

The history he mentions is that Mike went on to become Navigator staff and served as The Navigator representative at Clemson for decades. 

So many lessons. I’m thankful Dave Koetje in Charleston, living with Mel Leader, went to the chapel at Charleston AFB that night in 1967 and connected with me. I’m glad Mike Murphree responded to my invitation to do Bible study and to Chuck Steen’s follow-up the next fall. And I’m thankful for Mike’s faithfulness over the years and for the thousands of students he influenced.

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (1 Corinthians 3.5 – 7, NIV)

Someone who’s opinion I usually respect has just written an article bemoaning the fact that a popular song became so without the “mediating institution” of the Nashville music industry. He was really talking about direct versus indirect democracy (ours is supposed to be indirect) and cautioning of the dangers of direct democracy.

Without getting into all the nuance, I must respectfully disagree that it’s a problem when a song becomes popular without the approval of some authority. I asked a question, the answer to which I’m still waiting for:

How would you describe the Jesus movement in its first 250 years? If it had had to depend on “mediating institutions” it wouldn’t have survived.

Few, if any, great ideas or movements have come within the boundaries of existing “mediating institutions.”

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, NLT)

And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) (Galatians 2.6, NLT)

My new friend in Cameroon that expressed concern about a seeming lack of transformation in churches (please see my September 5 blog) just wrote that he thinks radio is the way to go:

Since some months our God put in my heart to start a small Christian radio so that wherever they are they should hear our discipleship teaching and messages. Transmitter is what we need to start please can you an idea of how we can get it?

Here’s how I responded.

I said I couldn’t help him with a radio transmitter (I know nothing about that sort of thing), and I encouraged him to think about what he had told me originally: that he wanted to disciple his leaders. I continued:

I remind you that Jesus spent most of his time with the 12 men he chose. He trained them so that they could carry on after he left, and they did the same. The early church reached the world, and they had no radio, no television, no Internet, no printed materials, not even a copy of the New Testament. They told people about the resurrection, and they loved people in sacrificial ways, including taking in abandoned babies and tending to the sick during the plagues.

I closed with these verses:

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)

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8.4, NIV)

By the way, I’m not against radio, television and all the other media. I’m just pointing out that we may not need them as much as we think, and we can all make a contribution starting from where we are!

I’m sometimes asked about why I quote from particular translations, and the answer is, it depends. Sometimes it was a particular translation that evoked what I’m writing about. Often, nearly any translation will do, and I copy the one I happen to be looking at.

You may have noticed that The Passion Translation appears from time to time. It’s new for me, and I’m enjoying reading it, and sometimes I’m picking up new insights from either the phrasing or the textual notes. Here’s the translator’s objective:

The Passion Translation (TPT) is a new, heart-level translation, using Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic manuscripts, that expresses God’s fiery heart of love to this generation, merging the emotion and life-changing truth of God’s Word.

I get a little disappointed when people we have recommended it to won’t even try it if they discover something they don’t like about the (reported) theology of the translator, Bruce Simmons.

I’ve already written about the dangers of rejecting people because of differences in theology. The truth is, my theology is not the standard, and it’s a problem when I act like it is.

Another possible problem with rejecting a translation / ministry / teacher / preacher for the wrong reason popped up while I was listening to a sermon on Psalm 88, a very negative Psalm about life not going right. Other Psalms like that start or end on a positive note. Not this one, it’s complaining all the way through.

What does that have to do with rejecting a translation? I think we would all like things to go well all the time. No illness. No accidents. No relationship issues. We’d also like our translations done by people we agree with 100% on every detail. We might like the same for the books that we read. But life is messier than that.

John spoke up and said, “Teacher, we noticed someone was using your name to cast out demons, so we tried to stop him because he wasn’t one of our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus replied. “For the one who does miracles in the power of my name proves he is not my enemy. And whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:38 – 40, Passion Translation)

For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. (2 Corinthians 10.12, NKJV)

Of course, we wouldn’t dare to put ourselves in the same class or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. They compare themselves to one another and make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and then they judge themselves by their own standards. What self-delusion! (2 Corinthians 10.12, Passion Translation)

Why did you turn all my friends against me? You’ve made me like a cursed man in their eyes. No one wants to be with me now. You’ve caught me in a trap with no way out. Every day I beg for your help. Can’t you see my tears? My eyes are swollen with weeping. My arms are wide, longing for mercy, but you’re nowhere to be found. (Psalm 88.8, 9, Passion Translation)

(By the way, I believe it’s OK to pick a translation and stay with it and choose not to read another for whatever reason, as long as we understand that no translation of the scriptures is perfect and there’s no virtue in NOT reading a particular translation!)

An email directed me to a Facebook post which began, “Just for fun and to procrastinate [an important work-related activity], let’s play [a mindless quiz modeled after a game show].”

But the same day, I had been talking with one of my Navigator mentors Skip Gray. Skip is in his late 80s, has Parkinson’s and is on oxygen. He’s growing weaker. As to Parkinson’s he likes to say, “When people come up to me and say, ‘Skip, I’d like to shake your hand,’ I say, ‘All you have to do is hold it; it shakes all by itself.'”

June and I were at a gathering of some older Navigators, and someone came up to me and said, “Skip would like to see you and June before you leave.”

So we went over to his table in the corner, and Skip said, “Just keep doing what you’re doing.” By which he meant investing time in people to help them follow Jesus and help others do the same. He went on to say, “There are two things you can do with money: spend it or invest it. There are two things you can do with time: spend it foolishly or invest it.” He closed by saying:

I’ve heard people use the phrase “killing time.” That’s a terrible thing to do to time!

So I didn’t participate in the mindless, time-killing Facebook quiz. Rather, I’m writing this blog! People say, “I don’t know how you write a blog every day.” I respond, “It’s a discipline I’m developing, and it keeps me alert to what’s going on around me.” And I could add, “It’s amazing what you can get done if you don’t kill too much time!”

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5.15, 16, ESV)