On board a ship to Georgia

Here is an excerpt I found interesting:

Sunday, November 23, 1735: At night I was awakened by the tossing of the ship and roaring of the wind, and plainly showed I was unfit, for I was unwilling, to die.

I find if very interesting that the fear of death creeps in on Mr. Wesley. He states that he is unwilling to die, unwilling to come to meet eternity. At this point Wesley is in his 30s, and he is well educated man in the things of God, especially knowing the teachings of life after death. Yet here we find a man unwilling to meet his maker. I think this is a good example of what Wesley characterized as being unsure of his salvation; he would later attest to this assurance at the Aldersgate meeting a couple of years later.

Exploring John Wesley's Theology

Greetings my mom, my mother-in-law, and anyone who might stumble upon this blog!

I'm back, and badder than ever, and This course will be dealing with John Wesley's Theology.

This module will mostly cover excerpts from the Journal of John Wesley, noting my insights and feelings from particular readings. The first of which is this:

Upon his (Wesley's Father) encouragement we still continued to meet together as usual; and to confirm one another, as well as we could, in our resolutions to communicate as often as we had opportunity (which is here once a week); and do what service we could to our acquaintance, the prisoners, and two or three poor families in the town.

This particular excerpt dealt with the origins of the Holy Club. I like this excerpt because Wesley clearly communicates to me the art of living in Christian fellowship with other believers. He spells out three things that I believe are significant:

1) Meeting Together: I think it is important for Christians to meet together on a regular basis, both in and out of the church service. I have had the privilege of meeting with my Pastor and other men from our church for coffee every once in a while, and the times I get to do that lift me up and affirm my call to ministry.

2) Confirm one another & communicate: I believe that it is important as a Pastor to meet with other pastors and confirm the work we are doing. I think a lot of laypeople do not fully understand the amount of energy that is put into being a minister, and I believe Pastors need regular support and confirmation from their peers.

3) Service: Wesley outlines engaging in service to acquaintances, prisoners, and to the poor. I think all three of these areas are great opportunities for individuals to engage and support those who may or may not believe in Christ.

Motivator #11

John Fischer tells of attending a “birthday bash” at the Starplex amphitheater in Dallas. The partygoers were there to celebrate the anniversary of a local alternative rock station. On that summer night the smoke from tobacco “and some other leaves” hung low. One Christian group—Jars of Clay—was the only Christian group to appear. The man next to Fischer had five earrings on his face, only two of which were on his ears. As Fischer looked out over the crowd, six young men—Jars of Clay—slipped onstage and began to sing, “Arms nailed down, are you telling me something?” Fischer said to himself, “We’ve waited a long time for this.”

Noticing Fischer’s backstage pass, the man with the facial jewelry asked Fischer, “Are you with Jars?” “Yes,” Fischer answered. The man continued, “If you’re going to see them afterwards, would you thank them for me? I became a Christian listening to their CD. I played it over and over and figured out just about everything. I went and got a Christian friend of mine—pulled him out of a party—and told him I wanted to get saved right away. He didn’t believe me. You wouldn’t have either. I hated Christians.” (John Fischer, Fearless Faith: Living Beyond the Walls of “Safe” Christianity (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2002), 221-23.)

I think this is a testimony of the power of the Gospel to be proclaimed through a variety of mediums. The man in this story probably would never receive belief in Christ in a traditional way, from a church service or a bible study. He received the message through a medium that was culturally applicable to him: music. The Gospel of Christ was communicated to this young man through the lyrics and music of Jars of Clay, a medium that only Jars of Clay could uniquely portray in the way that they did. Jars of Clay did what they were called to do as followers of Christ: proclaim the Gospel of God. They did it in a way that reaches a unique group of people, and I believe that is the beauty of the unique differences that make up the body of Christ.

Motivator #10

“Would not openness to other religions relativize the truth claims of Christianity? How can Christians be [attentive, respectful, and patient toward] persons of other faiths without undermining their own convictions not only [regarding] the validity of Christianity, but the importance of efforts to reach non-Christians with the good news of Jesus Christ? Is there any way to combine strong conviction with genuine [respect and patience]?” (Runyon, The New Creation, 215.)

I would respond that there is a way to combine conviction with genuine respect and patience. It comes from appreciating the fact that God made each person with a unique and free will, and they have the right and ability to choose to live and believe that which is incorrect. It is up to us as Christians to communicate in love the truth of Christ to them while respecting their right to believe what they want to believe. At the same time, we must live our lives in a way that communicates the Gospel of Christ; we must choose to follow his call for our lives, we must live according to his word, we must be transformed by his way, so that we do not conform to the cultures around us, but transcend them. We must live, act, and do what we believe, and we must be readily available to communicate the power of the Gospel.

Motivator #9

“What, if I were to see a Papist, an Arian, a Socinian casting out devils? If I did, I could not forbid even him, without convicting myself of bigotry. Yea, if it could be supposed that I should see a Jew, a Deist, or a Turk, doing the same, were I to forbid him either directly or indirectly, I should be no better than a bigot still.

“O stand clear of this! But be not content with not forbidding any that casts out devils. It is well to go thus far; but do not stop here. If you will avoid all bigotry, go on. In every instance of this kind, whatever the instrument be, acknowledge the finger of God. And not only acknowledge, but rejoice in his work, and praise his name with thanksgiving. Encourage whomsoever God is pleased to employ, to give himself wholly up thereto. Speak well of him wheresoever you are; defend his character and his mission. Enlarge, as far as you can, his sphere of action; show him all kindness in word and deed; and cease not to cry to God in his behalf, that he may save both himself and them that hear him.” (Wesley, “Against Bigotry,” Sermon 38, IV, 4-5.)

I think this is a problem that a lot of people can run into. An individual may see the way a particular person is communicating the Gospel of Christ, decide that they are not doing it in the "correct" or "appropriate" kind of way, and we respond in an act to shut down what they are doing. I think often times God uses a variety of people to reach a variety of people in a variety of ways that make no sense to most. God has uniquely gifted individuals to reach particular individuals; we hinder the message of God when we try to stop its proclamation just because it is not in our particular style or taste.

Motivator #8

“What makes Wesley’s theology distinctive is his ability to hold together in a working union two fundamentally important factors in the Christian life that have often been disconnected, the renewal of this relation (justification) and the living out of this relation (sanctification), neither of which is possible apart from the other.” (Runyon, The New Creation, 222.)

I think this is an important concept to understand because it is essential to understand the difference between justification and sanctification. These two concepts are not the same thing, and they are very closely related, and I believe a basic understanding of the two is essential if we are to communicate the Gospel to a lost world. We must explain the two part work of pardoning of sin and purifying the heart for works of service. Without a clear understanding of both of these, we preach a message that pardons for sin, but does not change the lifestyle. If all we get is the pardon, and not the purification, we sell the power of the Gospel short.

Motivator #7

“The renewal of the creation and the creatures through the renewal in humanity of the image of God is what John Wesley identifies as the very heart of Christianity.” (Theodore Runyon, The New Creation: John Wesley’s Theology Today (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), 8.)

“John Wesley is convinced that God’s Spirit is at work everywhere in the world extending God’s prevenient graciousness among all peoples.” (Ibid., 33.)

I think this is a call for us to be prepared to give our account of the power of Jesus Christ living in the lives of all who might be called to believe. The spirit is working in the hearts of all humanity, and it is our job to be able to proclaim the message of Christ at any moment that the spirit might move. The harvest of souls is plentiful because the Holy Spirit is going out before us; it is up to us to harvest that crop and cultivate it to produce fruit. We are called to go out as the Spirit goes out, live our lives according to his word, and lead people towards the paths of righteousness.

Motivator #6

The following statement comes from The Myth of God Incarnate, edited by John Hick, an influential book in the debate over religious pluralism. The book denies the incarnation of God in Christ the New Testament affirms, and hence sets the stage for one way of responding to religious pluralism. Will the New Testament permit Hick’s “solution”?

The Christians of the early church lived in a world in which supernatural causation was accepted without question, and divine or spiritual visitants were not unexpected. Such assumptions, however, have become foreign to our situation. In the Western world, both popular culture and the culture of the intelligentsia has come to be dominated by the human and natural sciences to such an extent that supernatural causation or intervention in the affairs of this world has become, for the majority of people, simply incredible.

I don't think the New Testament permits the solution Mr. Hick has provided. I think the New Testament speaks to the power of God exemplified on this Earth in ways that cannot be explained by the human or natural sciences. If we believe that God is all powerful, and that he given to us in the person of Jesus Christ, then it is not a reach to believe that the supernatural is possible both in the Early Church days and in our day today.

Week 5 Reading Excerpt

From this week's reading, originally cited in a 2003 edition of Christianity Today in regard to Mary Poplin:

"In January my mother wanted to go to North Carolina to where she had grown up. We went to this little Methodist church, not because she was religious; she just wanted to see her friends.

When we got there, I was really moved to just go up to the altar and give my life to the Lord. It wasn’t even an altar call. It was a communion call. The guy said, you don’t have to be a member of any church to take communion. You just have to believe that Jesus Christ lived, that he died for your sins, and you have to want him in your life. And when he said that, I was so powerfully moved that I actually thought, even if a tornado rips through this building, I’m going to get that communion.

I took the communion, and I didn’t even listen to the guy. I knelt down and I said, “Please come and get me. Please come and get me. Please come and get me.” And when I took the communion and I said that, I felt free. I felt like tons of things had been lifted off of me. And I began to have an insatiable desire to read the Bible.

Romans 1 says God is obvious to everyone and people’s minds who deny him become darkened. And though they think themselves wise they’re actually foolish. That was me. But the Scriptures began to heal my mind so I could actually think again."

I think this is a powerful story of the Spirit of God moving in the hearts of people. The spirit was working in the heart of this person, and she was moved to participate in the communion. That is half of the work. The second half was that there was a person (a pastor in this case) who was ready, willing, and able to preach the Gospel of Christ and give this person an opportunity to receive it. We are coworkers with the Spirit, it goes out before to work in the hearts of all humanity; we have to be prepared to move when the spirit moves, to preach when we are called to preach, so those that have the spirit working on them can be moved to believe.

Motivator #5

Dr. Truesdale writes, “Each time Dr. Ron Benefiel and I conduct the Nazarene Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry Seminar, ‘The Theological Development of the Minister,’ the seminar members, Dr. Benefiel, and I attend Sabbath (Shabbat) service at Beth Shalom Congregation, a conservative Jewish synagogue in Kansas City. Alan Cohen is the senior Rabbi. The ‘contemporary’ service begins with joyous singing, accompanied by guitars, tambourines, a violin, and drums. Talented musicians lead the music. As the service proceeds, the liturgy—heavy with Torah readings—repeatedly refers to the holiness of God and to God’s command that His people live righteously before him. Over and over one hears reference in the liturgy to the love and grace of God. As the Torah scroll is taken throughout the congregation, the congregants move to the aisles so they can touch the Torah either with their prayer shawls or their scriptures.”

The question: Soteriologically, what is going on there? Nothing? Something? If so, on what basis?

I think there is some genuine heart felt worship of God going on, but it is going on the basis of a covenant understanding that I as a Christian believe is no longer applicable. Its like the Jews are acting under the bylaws of an old contract, when a new contract has been put into place by the Passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are certainly glorifying God, but they are missing part of the picture in the person of Jesus Christ.

Motivator #4

Prince Albert of England organized the Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1851 in Hyde Park. His public speech on the opening day voiced the modern confidence in human progress through the use of reason. “Nobody who has paid any attention to the peculiar features of our present era will doubt for a moment that we are living at a period of most wonderful transition, which tends rapidly to accomplish that great end to which indeed all history points—the realization of the unity of mankind.” Prince Albert’s words identified the achievements of the 19th century as the zenith of human reason and progress. Quoted in J. Richard Middleton and Brian J. Walsh, Truth Is Stranger than It Used to Be (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995), 18-19.

I think the use of reason is a double edge sword. The use of reason has certainly brought lots of human progress in the modern world, but lots of individuals have used reason to bring about great human atrocities. It would only be several decades after Prince Albert's speech that reason and logic would be used to annihilate entire populations of individuals in Germany and other parts of Europe. Reason would be used to spark revolutions and take away individual's freedoms and rights. It must be noted that reason may or may not walk hand in hand with wisdom; I think reason is best used when it does not veer from wisdom.

Motivator #3

The following story appeared in the Washington Times on December 8, 2002. “Suit Seeks to Allow Wiccan’s Invocation,” written by Mary Shaffrey. Mention of the ACLU in the story is not meant to speak negatively of its role in defending the civil rights of Americans.

The Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors for refusing to allow a Wiccan leader to give the invocation at the start of its meeting.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Richmond and says the Board of Supervisors is violating the constitutional ban on state-sponsored religion by denying Wiccan priestess Cynthia Simpson the opportunity to offer an invocation.

The lawsuit also says the board’s policy violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. “They are supposed to be making laws, not theological judgments,” said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which has joined in the suit with the ACLU. “They do not believe Wicca to be a religion like Christianity, but government officials cannot be making these decisions.”

The board regularly opens its meetings with a voluntary invocation by a leader of a Judeo-Christian denomination. Earlier this year, Miss Simpson asked the Board of Supervisors to allow her to give an invocation. She was denied. “Chesterfield’s nonsectarian invocations are traditionally made to a divinity that is consistent with the Judeo-Christian tradition,” wrote Chesterfield County Attorney Steven Micas in a letter to Miss Simpson denying her request.

In response to this article, I have mixed feelings. My first thought is that why is there a big hub-ub over a County Government meeting? It seems to me to be a little nit-picky. My second response is that the equal protection of religion that our country guarantees should be protected; If I was living in a country like Saudi Arabia, where my religion was a minority, and I had equal protection of religion, I would like that. The next question I have is whether or not the County Government is imposing a Judeo-Christian viewpoint on the population of Chesterfield. It doesn't seem like that is the case.

In the end, I think that the county either has to let everyone of every religion have an opportunity to pray, or not do it all. As a Christian, I would love to see only Christianity be the predominant religion in my country, but being that there are other religions, we have to be respectful of them. The beauty is that we can be respectful without supporting or agreeing with their beliefs.

In Response to Horace Kallen

"In 1915 the sociologist Horace Kallen, a Jewish immigrant, wrote a much-discussed article in The Nation, taking issue with the melting-pot vision of America. He may well be the first to use the term “pluralism” to describe an alternative vision. The article was titled “Democracy versus the Melting Pot.” In it he argued that the “melting pot” ideal is inherently anti-democratic. It collides with America’s foundational principles. After all, one of the freedoms cherished in America is the freedom to be oneself, without erasing the distinctive features of one’s own culture. Kallen saw America’s plurality and its unity in the image of the symphony, not the melting pot. America is a symphony orchestra, sounding not in unison, but in harmony, with all the distinctive tones of our many cultures. He described this as “cultural pluralism.” (Diana Eck, “A New Religious America: Managing Religious Diversity.”)"

I can see the viewpoint of Mr. Kallen, but I think his viewpoint on the melting Pot being un-democratic seems a little unfounded. When I think of the Melting Pot, I think of the fact that the thing that makes an individual distinctly "American" is the fact that there is a giant mixture of geographic and cultural influences in each person, blended together! When each individual American is combined together in one pot, it is the differences that make us American, not the similarities (inherent or otherwise). I look at my family, and I descend predominantly from England, while my wife has Norwegian, Italian, and Irish in her background. Those geographic differences blended together make each one of us American, even though they are not quite the same. The viewpoint that everyone will become American by absorbing the dominant culture does seem anti-democratic, but I think you can work around that without having to abandon the Melting Pot metaphor all together.

Communicating the Gospel in a Pluralistic World

Well it is that time again... I have started a new module in the Nazarene Course of Study. This one is entitled "Communicating the Gospel in a Pluralistic World". The course seeks to look at the dynamic of spreading the great message of Jesus Christ to a world that very often sees life from a relativistic viewpoint. The argument is that it does not matter what you believe as long as you do good and noble things and live an upstanding life that doesn't hurt or encroach on other people's lives. A relativistic viewpoint makes no room for the Gospel Message of Christ and the kind of life that one is called to live as a follower of Christ. Following a belief system with rules and doctrines and trying to get others to follow it is viewed as imposing and oppressive to those who are just trying to make their own way on the road to Rome. The truth is that Jesus is the only way, the only real truth, and the only guarantor of life; not just eternal life, but the absolute best life possible, right now! The word of God and the story of Jesus has a great hope for those who live in this "my life, my way, my rules" kind of world we live in today.

I will freely admit that journaling is my weakness when it comes to these modules. This is my attempt to meet this component of the course that is very difficult, almost grueling for me to accomplish. Lord willing, I will succeed.

Read the fictional, journalistic-style description of the execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Consider the depth of his devotion to the will of God and his willingness to sacrifice. Relate this to your own life—what is God’s will for you, to what lengths would you be willing to go to fulfill this call, how has God promised His faithfulness and sufficiency to us in times such as these, how was Bonhoeffer an “imitator of Christ” for us, how might our witness—like that of Bonhoeffer—impact others?

DISTANT DATELINE: Theologian Bonhoeffer Executed on Order from Hitler

FLOSSENBURG PRISON April 9, 1945. Today the controversial theologian,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, along with other members of the Admiral Canaris
resistance group, was executed here by hanging.

Bonhoeffer went calmly to his death. This morning as he was led out of his cell,
he was observed by the prison doctor who said, “Through the half-open door I
saw Pastor Bonhoeffer still in his prison clothes, kneeling in fervent prayer to
the Lord his God. The devotion and evident conviction of being heard that I saw
in the prayer of this intensely captivating man moved me to the depths.”

The prisoners were ordered to strip. Naked under the scaffold, Bonhoeffer knelt
for one last time to pray. Five minutes later, he was dead.

Bonhoeffer was condemned for his involvement in “Operation 7,” a rescue
mission that had helped a small group of Jews over the German border and
into Switzerland. The 39-year-old theologian had also been involved in planning
an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler. His
participation in the murder plot obviously conflicts with Bonhoeffer’s position as
a pacifist. His sister-in-law, Emmi Bonhoeffer, cited his reasoning. He told her,
“If I see a madman driving a car into a group of innocent bystanders, then I
can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe and then comfort the
wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the
hands of the driver.”

Interestingly, Bonhoeffer had safely escaped the troubles in Europe and gone
to teach in New York in June, 1939. He abruptly returned less than a month
later saying, “I have had time to think and to pray about my situation, and that
of my nation, and to have God’s will for me clarified. I have come to the
conclusion that I have made a mistake in coming to America. I shall have no
right to participate in the reconstruction of the Christian life in Germany after
the war if I did not share in the trials of this time with my people. Christians in
Germany face the terrible alternative of willing the defeat of their nation in
order that civilization may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and
thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must
choose. But I cannot make that choice in security.”

Even while in prison, Bonhoeffer maintained his pastoral role. Those with him
spoke of the guidance and spiritual inspiration he gave, not only to fellow
inmates, but to prison guards as well.

In a letter smuggled out of prison Bonhoeffer showed no bitterness but rather
explained how, “We in the resistance have learned to see the great events of
world history from below, from the perspective of the excluded, the ill treated,
the powerless, the oppressed and despised . . . so that personal suffering has
become a more useful key for understanding the world than personal
happiness.”

EDITOR’S POSTSCRIPT: In the same month Bonhoeffer was hanged, on April
30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide. Seven days later Germany surrendered.

When I look at the story of Bonhoeffer, I have to admit that I stand in awe of a man with that much commitment. He left the comforts of the United States, went back to his home nation that was run by an oppressive regime, and defiantly stood for the Gospel up until his last moment on this Earth. I think it is a tall order to die for what you believe in, and I think there are many individuals who attend Church on a regular basis who would not be willing to die for their faith. As I reflect on my own life, I know there is a fear of death and the "unknown". It was something that I struggled with greatly when I was younger. Now as I look at where I have come and where I think I am headed in this life, I would be amiss to say I don't struggle to come to this conclusion. I would truly sacrifice my life for what I believe in, but I would hope that it would not have to come down to that. I would love to spend my life preaching the word of God well into my 80s and 90s and dying peacefully and pain free, but the truth is that I don't know what the Lord has in store for me five minutes from now, let alone 60 years from now. I think I will continue to follow the example of Paul and Bonhoeffer in that I will work to have every part of my life infiltrated by the mission of Jesus Christ, and to live my life according to his word all of my days, however long they might be.

Focus on Christian unity and Christ’s prayer to “make them one.” Read the portion of John 17 that speaks of Jesus’ desire that His disciples be one as He and the Father were one. What lay at the heart of Jesus’ prayer? How can the church of today fulfill this prayer? In a spirit of confession, how have we contributed to division?

I think the heart of this prayer is that those who choose to follow in Christ may be in one accord in the mission to see the Gospel Message redeeming the lives of humanity. I don't think his prayer is that we all look the same as one, we all play the same music, we all preach the same sermons and styles, etc. I think Jesus Christ wants to see the church working as one towards the same purpose. I think where it gets different is when that purpose has to adapt to the culture trying to be reached; the purpose is the same, but the means of getting to that purpose must adapt.

How are we to be salt and light in our world? How do we counter the negative influence of fundamentalism in our own lives?

I think the best way to be salt is to look at what salt does:

First off, it adds flavor. We can add flavor to the world around us by allowing ourselves to transform the world through our message of Christ. There is nothing quite like adding salt to a bland soup to give it flavor, much like there is nothing quite like adding Jesus Christ to the heart of a bland human.

Secondly, salt preserves. We have the opportunity to preserve the Gospel Message by standing up for what we believe, becoming defenders of the faith like so many have before us. We must preserve the Gospel message through sound doctrine, teaching, and training, so as not to be led astray.

Finally, salt help fight infections. We have an opportunity to bring out the worst in people so that Christ can bring out the best in them. Sometimes we have to attack the rough parts of peoples lives before we can get connected to the source, the heart.

We can also be light much like we can be infection fighting salt. Darkness shrouds the senses, confusing judgment and decision making. Our light can shine and give guidance and direction in a world full of dark discrpeancies and misleadings.

We fight fundamentalism by showing ourselves trained and approved in the Gospel message, and subscribing to sound doctrine that can be backed up by the Word of God, by our traditions as a church, by our experiences, and by the use of reason. If we can use the 3 latter to support the former, we can effectively fight the misleadings of fundamentalism and liberalism, and continue to put out the track that God has set for our denomination.

Read scriptures on worship and praise of God. Reflect on a recent worship experience where you were fully engaged in worship and praise. Read the following selections and reflect on them.

When I think of Worship and Praise, I think of the 150th Psalm:

"Let Everything that has breath Praise the Lord (Verse 6)."

I can remember a service a couple of months ago where I felt like everything that had breath in the building was praising the Lord. I can remember the particular song that was being played coming to a crescendo of sorts, finding myself basking in the glory of the Father... it brought me to tears to think of the Amazing and Powerful Love that the Savior has for me. It brings my heart to praise his name in all aspects of my life. As the band Ever Stays Red says: "Every single breath that is in my chest is for you to glorify your name, I want to scream your name at the top of my lungs, until there is none."

God is so Very Good indeed!

Read biblical passages related to reason or the mind—love God with our minds; have the mind of Christ, etc.—and meditate on the role of reason or the mind in the Christian life. Read biblical passages that describe decisive spiritual experiences—Moses at the burning bush or Paul on the road to Damascus—and mediate on the nature of spiritual experience. Relate from your own spiritual journeys on these points—reason and experience.

As I look at these two different concepts - reason and experience, I find myself being attracted to both. I think the only thing that I am hesitant on when it comes to these two things is putting them on equal playing field with Scripture. I think often times reason and experience can be used to try to usurp the foundational Word of God. I think reason has been used to justify acts that the word of God has very strong language against, and I think experience is often used to view the Bible as an antiquated text that is no longer applicable to the "modern times" we live in. The truth is that scripture was revealed to man through experiences and through reasoning with the Lord; but our ideas and our ways of thinking should not overcome the word of God by any means.

Imagine yourself as a missionary in one of the areas that was explored in this lesson. Imagine how you would pray. What would be your focus? What would be your passion?

I think if I were a missionary in any of these areas I would be focusing my prayers on an ability to effectively communicate the Gospel to the people I was called to minister to. This could mean effectively learning a new language or customs, being prepared to blend in with the local culture, and speaking the Gospel message in ways that are easy to understand. I think often times the Word of God can be complicated by poor communication, and I would pray for quality, efficient communication.

I think my passion would be to ascertain the culture group I was ministering to and be willing and able to immerse myself in their culture, to become like them as Paul did to win them over. If that means compromising on everything that makes me comfortable in my culture except the values of the Gospel Message and the Word of God, then that is what I would have to do.