Haiti Hangover Part 1: Back to the Daily Grind

I am writing a series of blog posts on what I call the "Haiti Hangover." Mission teams experience a let-down when they come back to the United States. One of the reasons for the doldrums is that they lose the excitement they have in Haiti because they are no longer on such a focused mission. On mission trips, God seems so real and daily activities seem so important. The discipleship teams focus especially on the mission: evangelism, soul care, discipleship and devotions. When they return home, their lives seem mundane and ordinary. They go back to their everyday jobs and their daily chores. They code programs, drive buses, paint houses, rake leaves, cook meals, do dishes or change diapers. These tasks seem so unimportant in progressing God's kingdom.

A quote by Os Guinness helps me sort through this issue. It concerns a theologian named Justin Martyr who lived in the 2nd century AD.

Justin Martyr
In the second century, Christian apologist, Justin Martyr grew up over the hill from Galilee. Interestingly, he notes that the plows made by Joseph and Jesus were still being used widely in his day. How intriguing to think of Jesus' plow rather than his cross -- to wonder what it was that made his plows and yokes last and stand out.(Os Guiness,The Call,p. 202)

The public ministry of Jesus probably lasted between 2 1/2 and 3 years. Luke recorded that Jesus started his public ministry when he was around 30 years old (Luke 3:23). If Justin Martyr was correct, then Jesus probably spent most of his professional life as a carpenter. Jesus claimed in John 5:19 that "He does nothing on his own accord." The author of Hebrews 1:3 described Christ as "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature." Therefore, while He was incarnate, Jesus glorified God the Father through His "secular" work as a carpenter. Whether Jesus was making plows, preaching, performing miracles or dying on a cross, every moment of His incarnate life: Jesus glorified God.

 When we consider the life of Jesus, the dichotomy between sacred and secular work breaks down. As followers of Christ, we need to glorify God every moment of our lives. Paul argues in Colossians that our work can be sacred, if we do the task heartily as for the Lord.

Colossians 3:22-24 ESV
Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

The following commentary on this passage in Colossians emphasizes that no matter where we are or what we do in life as Christians, we are foremost servants of Christ.

F. F. Bruce
But Christian slaves--or Christian employees today--have the highest of all motives for faithful and conscientious performance of duty; they are above all else servants of Christ, and will work first and foremost so as to please him. Not fear of an earthly master, but reverance for their heavenly Lord, should be the primary motive with them. This would encourage Christian servants to work eagerly and zestfully even for a master who was harsh, unconscionable, and ungrateful; for they would receive their thanks not from him but from Christ. A rich recompense is the assured heritage of all who work for Christ; and the Christian servant can work for Christ by serving an earthly master in such a way as to "adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in everything" (Tit. 2:10). (pp.168-169, The Epistles to the Colossians to Philemon and the Ephesians)

The following three quotes emphasize different aspects of the same truth: our work matters to God. Tyndale is the first person to translate the majority of the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew into English. He is one of the first of the English reformers and he gave his life so that the common person could have the Bible in his or her own tongue. The doctrine he is preaching is the "Priesthood of believers," which states that everyone, not only priests, are called into their position of life. God saves not only our souls but our lives. We are to minister where we are. We do not need a calling to be a monk or priest to serve God wholly, we can serve God in our station in life. We can worship God in our work.

William Tyndale
There is no work better than another to please God: to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a [cobbler], or an apostle, all are one; to wash dishes and to preach are all one, as touching the deed, to please God. (Parker Society, vol. 42, 102)

Francis Schaeffer is a 20th century apologist. His books, films and teachings try to demonstrate only the Christian worldview explains and gives meaning to culture and our lives.

Francis Schaeffer's View of Work
His [Schaeffer] view of death and his own death was having confidence that life matters and that the world matters, that life and existence is something real, true and eternal and is not going to just disappear into thin air. Because of that you fight to live, and because of that you need to go out and carry on the good fight. You do matter, and God does exist. So you put your hand to the plow, you work and you struggle—you do what you can in all different areas, with passion. You don’t sit in a corner somewhere and wait to die. You don’t embrace death. You see death as a terrible, terrible enemy. What you look forward to is not death, but the Second coming. You are longing and working for that. Contrary to what people say—that you can’t take anything with you—yes, you do take your work with you. It’s a biblical teaching, that what you do matters and will continue on into eternity—building houses, walls, and hiking paths and the whole of human existence. You live with energy. (Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life. p. 202)

McGrath is a living theologian and scholar. He is an expert on John Calvin and his biography on Calvin is very insightful.

Alistair McGrath
Whatever the precise relation between Calvinism and capitalism may prove to be, it may be said the one of Calvinism’s greatest legacies to western culture is a new attitude towards work, and, supremely, manual labour. Work, far from being merely an inevitable and somewhat tedious means of obtaining the basic necessities for existence, is perhaps the most praiseworthy of all human activities, surpassing all others in this respect. To be ‘called’ by God does not entail withdrawing from the world, but demands critical engagement with every sphere of worldly life… ‘Work’, it may be added, is not understood as ‘paid employment’, but as diligent and productive use of whatever resources and talents one has been given.

Work is thus viewed as a profoundly spiritual activity, a productive and socially beneficial form of prayer.(p. 245, A life of John Calvin)

The quote by McGrath is almost a commentary on Ephesians 2:20. Paul writes in Ephesians that "good works" are prepared beforehand. God is in control. He has placed us into our sphere of work and our home. He has pre-ordained our tasks list at work and our honey-do lists at home. He wants us to worship Him through the performance of these tasks.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Short term missions are important, but we can serve God anywhere. We can combat the Haiti Hangover with joy. There is joy for us in each task because each task is given to us by God. Each task can be done by us with sincerity and heartily for and through Christ. When done this way, each task is worship and worship brings us joy. We can celebrate God through our work. No matter where we are, whether in Haiti or the United States, we can serve God joyfully through our work.

Haiti Hangover: Introduction

Some of the people on the mission teams returning from Haiti experience difficulties returning to "normal" life. This blog is an attempt to clarify the problem and suggest some ways to adjust. I see three primary reasons for the doldrums for the team members.

1. In Haiti, we are very mission focused. We have people to cook for us and wash the dishes. All the discipleship team does is fellowship, pray, have devotions, disciple, and witness. When we come back home, we come back to our jobs and our household chores. All this seems to detract from building God's kingdom. Doing dishes or raking leaves seem to be a waste of time.
2. In Haiti, we only have a week. With our limited time and resources, we just can not help most of the people we meet. Even when people accept the gospel, we do not have good ways to plug them into a church and see that they are discipled. At times, it feels like we don't accomplish anything down there. Who knows if we are doing any good?
3. We live in so much affluence and they are so poor. In Haiti, we see families of five or six living together in huts with only one room. We come back home to our big screen TVs, which are in living rooms bigger than the huts in which we see the villagers live. The excess food we throw away after dinner may be more than some villagers may have for a family of four for a day. How can a just God allow such inequality? Or more personally, am I doing the right things with the resources God gives me?

My goal is to address these issues from a theological approach over the next week. Please pray for insight. Any feedback would be appreciated.

God's Knowledge and Our Will

I have read several books that have tried to reconcile God's foreknowledge and our free will: The Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther, Freedom of the Will by Jonathan Edwards, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J. I. Packer, and others. I am reading the puritan, Stephen Charnock, right now. I do not know if I agree with his approach, but his conclusion seems sound. In the end, we must affirm God's wisdom and sovereignty along with our responsibility for our sin. It is matter of trust in God's promises and faith in His character as exhibited in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Stephen Charnock
But what if the foreknowledge of God and the liberty of the will cannot be fully reconciled by man? Shall we therefore deny a perfection in God to support a liberty in ourselves? Shall we rather fasten ignorance upon God and accuse him of blindness to maintain our liberty? God doth foreknow everything, and yet that there is liberty in the creature are both certain; but how fully to reconcile them, may the understanding of man. Some truths the disciples were not of bearing in the days of Christ; and several truths our understandings cannot reach as long as the world doth last; yet in the mean time we on the one hand take heed of conceiving God ignorant, and on the hand of imagining the creature necessitated: the one will render God imperfectm and the other will seem to render him unjust, in punishing man that sin which he could not avoid, but was brought into by a fatal necessity. God is sufficient to render a reason of his own proceedings and clear all at the day of judgment; it is a part of man's curiosity, since the fall, to be prying into God's secrets, things too high for him, whereby he singes his own wings, and confounds his own understanding. It is a cursed affectation that runs in the blood of Adam's posterity, to know as God, though our first father smarted, and ruined his posterity in that attempt; the ways and knowledge of God are as much 'above our thoughts and conceptions, as the heavens are above the earth,' Isa lv. 9, and so sublime, that we cannot comprehend them in their true and just greatness; his designs are so mysterious, and the ways of his conduct so profound, that it is not possible to dive into them. The force of our understandings is below his infinite wisdom, and therefore we should adore him with an humble astonishment, and cry out with the apostle; Rom. xi 33, 'Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!' Whenever we meet with depths that we cannot fathom, let us remember that he is God, and we his creatures; and not be guilty of so great extravagance, as to think that a subject can pierce into all the secrets of a prince, or a work understand all the operations of the artificer. Let us only resolve not to fasten any thing on God that is unworthy of the perfection of his nature, and dishonourable to the glory of his majesty; nor imagine that we can ever step out of the rank of creatures to the glory of the Deity, to understand fully everything in his nature.
(pp. 219-220, The Existence and Attributes of God, Volume 7 of 50 Greatest Christian Classics, 2 Volumes in 1)

What Will Happen to the World?

Timothy George in his book, Theology of the Reformers, quoted "Christus, Die Hoffnung für die Welt." He thought it expressed the heart of the Reformation faith, our hope and our calling.

To those who ask, "What will happen to the world?" we answer, "His kindom is coming." To those who ask, "What is before us?" we answer, "He, the King, stands before us." To those who ask, "What may we expect?" we answer, "We are not standing before a pathless wilderness of unfulfilled time, with a goal which no one would dare to predict; we are gazing upon our living Lord, our Judge and Savior, who was dead and lives forevermore; upon the one who has come and is coming, and who will reign for ever. It may be that we shall encounter affliction; yes, that must be if we want to participate in him. But we know his word, his royal word: 'Be comforted, I have overcome the world.'"

William Tyndale, Sir Thomas More, and C. S. Lewis

One of my favorite movies is A Man for All Seasons with the late, great Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More. The plot revolves around More's opposition to King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn. The film is a story about a man who uses all his wits to avoid martyrdom, but in the end loses his life because he remained true to his faith. The movie paints More as the greatest saint whoever lived; however, More's hands have blood on them. He is not as pure a saint as the movie portrays. He is guilty of subverting justice, kidnapping Tyndale and having him murdered. William Tyndale is the translator who translated most of the Bible from the original languages, Hebrew and Greek, into English. From comparing the Tyndale version and the King James Version, it is easy to see how the translators of the King James Version borrowed liberally from Tyndale's translation. He is the first major English Reformer.

Before his death at age forty-two, Tyndale translated most of the Bible into English (he had to learn Hebrew, Greek, Latin and German), combated More's theology through an extensive correspondence, and he wrote several pastoral letters to encourage his fellow English believers. He did all this while he was on the run in a foreign country trying to escape More's agents. The following are a few key quotes on Tyndales' doctrine. The first quote is from Timothy George who quotes Tyndale on predestination.

Predestination is not an easy doctrine, and it can never be grasped by those who try to reduce God to a formula or by those "feel good" Christians who have never struggled for their footing in the awful swellings of the Jordan. Here is how Tyndale put it:

Except thou hast borne the cross of adversity and temptation, and hast felt thyself brought in the the very brim of desperation, yea, and unto hell-gates, thou canst never meddle with the sentence of predestination without thine own harm, and without secret wrath and grudging inwardly against God; for otherwise it shall not be possible for thee to think that God is righteous and just.

(p. 355, Theology of the Reformers )

According to Tyndale, here is what happens when a preacher preaches the Gospel and the seed of the Word lands in good soil.

When a true preacher preacheth, the Spirit entereth the hearts of the elect, and maketh them feel the righteousness of the law of God, and by the law, the poison of their corrupt nature; and thence leadeth them through repentance, under the mercy that is in Christ's blood; and as an anointment healeth the body, even so the Spirit, through confidence and trust in Christ's blood, healeth the soul, and maketh her love the law of God. (p. 357, ibid)

Tyndales comments on how works and faith are related.

The man doth good deeds, and profitable unto his neighbor, he must therefore love God: he loveth God; he must therefore have a true faith and see mercy. Any yet my works make not my love, nor my love my faith, nor my faith God's mercy: but contrary, God's mercy maketh my faith; and my faith, my love, and my love, my works. (p.361, Ibid)

Tyndale is saying my works without faith does not save me because they are done without love. God's mercy gives me faith. Faith produces my love for God and thus my works result from my love of God.

All this is set up for me to quote C. S. Lewis. Lewis, who not only wrote fiction and apologetics, but is considered one of the foremost literary scholars of the 20th century. His book, English Literature in the Sixteenth Century is considered a classic. This quote is about More's and Tyndale's contrasting literary styles.

The sentences that stick to the mind from Tyndale's works are halfway to poetry--"Who taught the eagles to spy out their prey? Even so the children of God spy out their Father"--"that they may see love and love again"--"where the Spirit is, there is always summer"... In More, we feel all the smoke and stir of London; the very plotting of his sentences is like horse traffic in the streets. In Tyndale we breathe mountain air. Amid all More's jokes I feel a melancholy in the background; amid all Tyndale's severities there is something like laughter, that laughter which he speaks of as coming "from the low bottom of the heart." (pp. 357-358, ibid).

The main reason for this blog post is that I enjoy good writing. Tyndale and Lewis provide me with much enjoyment and I want to share that joy. These writers not only provide food for my soul, but music to my ears as I read them aloud to myself.

2014 Fall Haiti Mission Trip Story 1

My favorite experience on this last trip only involved me tangentially. Kevin and his high school senior son, Cameron, were more involved, but ultimately the story was about how God glorified Himself through us. On our last day of clinic in Luly, things were winding down. New patients were not showing up. Team members were either standing around or playing with the children. I was hanging out with Aland, a 17-year-old kid I met from my last trip in March. I was trying to read the Creole Bible to Aland and Aland was trying to read the English Bible to me. Aland was good at sounding out English words, but only knew a few words of English. Pastor Dan and I talked about seeing Pastor Layans up at the school, but Dan did not have time. I knew that Kevin and Cameron were leading a high school boy conference at the school. Kim and Abby were spending time with a girl's class. So I knew if I could get up there, I would have a ride back. I also knew that the school was not far away from where we set up the clinic. I asked Aland through a translator if he could lead me up the hill to the school. I also asked the translator if he thought it was safe and he said yes. Aland and I took off walking.

Aland and I followed the street for a while, but after a 1/4 of mile we jumped a small ditch and walked in a small gully masquerading as a path. People from their front door saw me, laughed, good-naturedly mocked me and yelled, "Bon Jou," which was "Good Morning!" in Creole. It was well past 3:00 p.m. Aland took me to his mother's house. He handed the "Gospel of John" in Creole to his mother, which I gave to him earlier. She smiled and waved. Aland introduced me to her and we continued on. Aland's cousins joined us on the trip to the school. It was hot and it was very bright. I started to wonder how wise it was to make this trip without a hat, but we arrived at the school in a few minutes.

When we entered the school compound, I asked a random adult, "Pastor Layans?" The man responded in English that Layans was not there that day. Aland just kept walking, while I followed him I tried to decide what to do next. Aland led me to a door to a classroom and opened it. To my surprise, Kevin and Cameron were there with Patrick, their interpreter. There was about 50 boys ranging from the ages of 13 to 18. Kevin was coming to the end of his talk. Some of the students were getting restless, but on the whole they responded very well to Kevin's talk. Kevin summarized what he and Cameron talked about, thanked them, and prayed. Kevin dismissed the boys, but about 1/3 of the class stayed in the classroom. Patrick repeated that they were dismissed and they were free to go. One lone boy raised his hand and asked Patrick if he could accept Christ. Patrick responded that he knew him and said he thought the boy was a Christian. The boy timidly insisted that he wanted to accept Christ. Kevin looked surprised, but said we could pray with him. 13 other boys raised their hands and said that they would like to pray too. Kevin and Cameron looked even more surprised and Kevin said yes. Kevin led them in the sinner's prayer; Patrick translated and the boys repeated. He confessed their sins, he repented of their ways, and confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Patrick was from Luly and he knew these boys. After he was done translating, he shook his head, smiled, and took their names down.

I talked to Kevin afterward. He said he all he did was teach some scripture and told the story of his conversion. Cameron taught about the "Parable of the Soils" and told his testimony. There was no altar call and no explicit gospel message like the Roman Road. Kevin said it was just God showing up and displaying His power. For some reason, God led me that classroom so I could witness that display of His power. I had a rough, but fruitful day on Monday, but that Tuesday, God just blessed me with displays of His love and power. As a further blessing, God gave me a ride on a motorcycle with my buddy Patrick. After the prayers, Pat, the World Wide Village coordinater, strolled by, saw me and asked me, how did I get up there? I told her and she said the Durango was packed and asked how I was going to get back down to the clinic? I was about ready to say I could walk, but Patrick said I could ride with him on his "moto," which were ubiquitous in Haiti. I looked at Pat and she said it was safe so that's how I got back to the clinic.

What did I learn from this experience?

• First, having our youth going with us was very important. Cameron was almost monosyllabic in his conversations with me, but God used him and Anderson's daughter, Abby in mighty ways down there.
• Second, John 3:8 is:

  "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit”

  The Holy Spirit brings people into the Kingdom of God through Christ's work on the cross. God uses our preparations, but the Holy Spirit can choose bring people into His family at anytime. Kevin and Cameron may have viewed their talks as a time of encouragement to young believers, but Holy Spirit chooses times like these to awaken the people's hearts to the Gospel.
• Third, as for me, God sometimes chooses just to display His power and love to His people. I am wrapping my head around why God wanted me there to witness Kevin and Cameron's evangelism, but I plan to follow the Psalmist's example

  Psalm 66:1-6
  Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
  sing the glory of his name;
  give to him glorious praise!
  Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
  So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
  All the earth worships you
  and sings praises to you;
  they sing praises to your name.” Selah
  
  Come and see what God has done:
  he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
  He turned the sea into dry land;
  they passed through the river on foot.
  There did we rejoice in him,

Take-Aways From the Fall 2014 Haiti Trip

It was repeated so often on our trip that I started to tune it out, but it was important. We kept asking each other throughout devotional times and conversations, what were we taking away from this trip to use back home.

My brain works slow, but here are a few ideas.

• Be more intentional about making my wife more of a prayer partner. We don't pray enough together about being missional together.
• I'm going down to Haiti again. You should have seen Pastor J's face when he saw me. Pastor Layans's was very pleased to see me as well. It was time of mutual encouragement. I pray and hope that my consistency in coming down there every 6 months will reflect God's steadfast love to the Haitians in Luly and Williamson. My prayers were answered about this trip. 
• Be more bold with the gospel in my neighborhood and at work.
• Keep the mission in Haiti in front of us. Grace has made a committment to the villages of Luly and Williamson. They have opened their hearts to us as we serve God together. We need to be prayerful, intentional and missional in serving them. As we have done in the past, we need to continue to bring our "A-game" to Haiti.