Accommodations

For the past couple of months my sister and I have been doing another trans-continental study, this time on the book of Acts. Conveniently, our college group at church also began a study on Acts a few weeks ago. Although I've read bits and pieces of Acts throughout recent years, I had never taken the time to really delve into it and break it down verse by verse. In the perfect timing of the Lord, I am now studying it each day- a perfect wrap-up for my time here in the states.

This past weekend a small group of us watched a video about the first 1,000 years of Christianity as it relates to the reading of Acts. We talked for a while about accommodations and how, in Jerusalem, the Jewish converts to Christianity felt that Paul was making accommodations for the Gentiles so that they could accept Christ and the new religion. The question was then posed: "What sort of accommodations are we making in the church today?"

Initially we discussed how we leave little room for necessary change when we bring someone to the Lord. Paul taught with a sense of urgency because of the inevitable persecution; he needed for as many people to hear the word as he could possibly reach.  On the flip-side, we have urgency in the modern church so that we can add to our attendance and grow the local church. While there are certainly benefits to boosting attendance that include the sharing of the gospel and a true conversion, I think often time that is not the central goal. If our urgency were to return to that of Paul, of sharing the word of Christ across all nations and continents, surely the church will grow equally as efficiently.  We are, in a sense, accommodating for a lack of outreach and ministry in the church, as well as a lack of real change in conversion. 

Paul urged the new converts that they must be diligent in prayer and fellowship. Acts 2:42-47 says that they were devoted to the fellowship, teaching, communion, and prayer...everyday. Do we make accommodations today so that this devotion is no longer 'necessary'? Is it suddenly okay and acceptable to have fellowship and prayer just one or two days each week and communion once a month? Something tells me the Lord is not satisfied with that. Even as Christians who are not new to the faith, we sometimes spend less time in the word, in prayer, in teaching, in fellowship. We accommodate for ourselves and our lifestyles.

I think the big difference between Paul's accommodations and our own is that he was accommodating for others and we tend to accommodate for ourselves.  We accommodate for non-Christian attitudes, negativity, lack of prayer, lack of ministry, lack of fellowship, and we attribute it to busy schedules, work, non-necessity, etc. Of course, not each person is guilty of this each day, but at some point I am sure that we are all guilty of each of those accommodations to a certain degree.  For us, accommodations quickly turn into excuses to not have the same urgency as Paul and to accommodate for ourselves rather than for the needs of others.

At the end of it all, I have had to ask myself: What accommodations am I making for myself? For others?

And what is the remedy, the grand fix for these accommodations? I think it is simple: A return to the basics- teaching, the fellowship, communion, and prayer. As far as the accommodations for others, I think we have to return to Paul's basic, but powerful, urgency- to share the word and the love of the Lord. In this way, an accommodation becomes a positive rather than a negative action.

My prayer is that we will all begin to accommodate for ourselves less and for others more and that we will return to Paul's urgency of spreading the word and truly changing lives through the Lord.
I also pray that, when I return to Honduras, I will follow in Paul's footsteps in order to reach the unreachable and lead the lost back to their Father.

Shout out to FCC college group for bringing up some discussion points on the history of Christianity, Acts, and accommodations.

Six Weeks Out: Thoughts and Logistics

I've been on a little bit of a hiatus, but, as of tomorrow, my trip is SIX WEEKS away, so I figured now is as good a time as any to get back on the wagon. From here on out, I will be posting (semi) regularly about the happenings on the mission field. 

Recently I have spent a lot of time thinking about how temporary my life is right now. I am working at the same part-time job as the past year and a half, but it is very much a temporary job; it is not my career, nor would I want it to be. The church I attend is wonderful and has given me a strong community in the past year, but it is a temporary place of worship and fellowship. Many of the people I have met in the past few years will continue to be part of my life in some way, but for the most part the relationships that I have right now are temporary merely because it will be implausible to maintain them all in the future.  Because I've graduated college, I am no longer fully booked each day, and I have a temporary break in a crazy schedule. 

Initially I was impatient and eager to get through this stateside period of preparation. I wanted to be on the mission field, and I wanted it to happen RIGHT NOW. Then I realized how much the 'temporary' is preparing me for the future, and perhaps the 'permanent.'

Don't get me wrong; I am not planning to stay in Honduras forever. 

I am, however, planning to live out my faith in a permanent way. Rather than attending a Sunday service and an occasional Bible study, I am full committed to a lifetime of radical, faith-oriented living. For the foreseeable future, that looks like mission work in Honduras, but that is still a temporary situation, and I know there is still so much room for change within this upcoming period. The Lord has shown me in these months that He has shaped my life to be ready for the temporary. He has given me a passionate, eager motivation to succeed and progress, but He has also given me the gift of being 100% present, even in the temporary.  

These months stateside have reminded me of how precious and important time is. Not in a 'you may die tomorrow' sort of way, but in a 'learn from everything and everyone' sort of way. In a sense, I fully believe this was my biggest lesson in preparation. Regardless of how temporary or permanent a situation is, I am prepared to be present, passionate, and to soak up experiences and relationships like a sponge. After all, isn't that what ministry is about- using the passion of the Lord to share the Gospel and build relationships? Jesus' time here was temporary, but it was powerful. By harnessing an attitude of being present, my time can be productive and powerful as well.
My prayer is that these next weeks will be even more enlightening than the past months and that I will keep my focus on the 'now,' temporary or not. 

"To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."  Ecclesiastes 3:1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once a month I will give a mini fund report for those of you who are financially invested in my mission work and are curious about where your money is going. For now, that will really just be an update about where I am with my monthly support. Aside from finances, I will do my best to post pictures, ministry updates, and any other news at least once or twice a month. As with before, time between posting will depend primarily on internet availability, so please be patient.

With that said, here is the up-to-date fund report:
In total, I have raised $5,155.
Last month's total was $280. 
I am still looking for monthly supporters before I leave. Please consider signing up for monthly donations if you feel called to do so. $5, $15, $30, $50, $100- No amount is too small, and every bit helps. My goal is to reach the $450 amount each month without counting on one-time donations. 

If you would like to partner with me, donations can be made either online or via post. In the right-hand margin there is a direct link for online donations and an address for donations by mail. Thank you for your support!