Working for the Harvest -- Baking for the Cookies

When you make cookies, you have (in my opinion) every right to lick the spoon. But you also want good cookies, not just good batter. You have to enjoy the work being done, but also work in such a way that the result is desirable.

I find it curious that scripture makes so many references to fruit and harvests in the context of the gospel message -- and ministry in general. We can learn so much from Jesus' parable of the sower, or the arduous truth behind "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." There is so much richness in such few words, even when those words seem like the whole thing is going to be a laboriously uphill fight. More than the question as to where the other workers are, I think I want to ask: Why try to spread seeds if so many are just going to just be killed off?

The answer? The harvest.

The harvest is the goal. The fruit. The prize, as Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 9. And we have to labor for that. We need to push forward and work in such a way that we not be deprived of that prize (v. 24, 27). There has to be that vision of the finish line. I have to know what I'm working towards and how to get there, and not just work blindly -- I need to know what kind of cookie I want to make, and then take the steps necessary to get there.

I am not at all overstating when I say that the fruit is to the minister what the landing is to the gymnast or  quarterly reports to the long-term investor -- basically, it's what matters. All the flips and spins and various complicated acrobatics mean precisely nothing if ending in a faceplant; periodic "ups" are still a poor investment if the stock falls consistently each quarter; a seed that never bears fruit is wasted; the gospel minister that doesn't reap a harvest is useless. True disciples produce fruit (John 15:8).

And that can get stressful. That's a lot of pressure, if one is inclined to believe the words of Jesus. I am, so I say that's a lot of pressure: it is a big task. And it is hard to see sometimes what's really coming of all my work. It's the moment of doubt, wondering if the cookies will be at all good or not.

I'm two thirds of the way through a church plant, and it's time to prepare for the harvest. For me to be able to say that this wasn't a waste of time, I need to see fruit in that harvest. Now, then, I need to meet goals and move strategically and work tirelessly and just keep pushing...




It is so incredibly easy to be so concentrated on the product that I miss out on the simple joy of the work: what I do is " for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you" (1 Cor 9:23, KJV, emphasis added). To partake in the gospel. What does that mean? Earlier on in the chapter, Paul asks who would work in a vineyard and not eat its grapes, or tend a flock and not drink its milk (v. 7). By parity of reasoning, then, who bakes cookies without licking the spoon? This is the perfect parallel that I want to follow when things seem tedious. 

Yes, working in such a way that there is real fruit is so incredibly important, as the gymnast needs to stick the landing. But if I forget to just enjoy and partake in the gospel that I'm sharing, then that's my own fault. I need to rejoice in the little victories and the simplicity of salvation, and above all, that I know Christ. Every day, that sweetness will sustain me in the middle of the labor. 

It's hard work in the hot sun, but I get to eat all the grapes I want. That simple and daily joy of just knowing God is something I cannot afford to lose, lest the I become bitter in my work. 

Two thirds. I can see the deadline, done here in about nine months. And I can see the fruit starting to form and I have to stay disciplined and vigilant and that fruit will grow and give its own seeds. But in that, I have to be present right now and enjoy it.

Where are the broken hearts?

 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

⁴ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. ⁵ Then I said:

“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. ⁷ We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

⁸ “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, ⁹ but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’


 Nehemiah 1:3-9

I want to preface this by saying a few things. First, that it is likely to be long (that will be the only thing I will apologize for here). Second, that it is more or less my stream of thought while on the bus today. And lastly, I believe the darkness is losing ground. What I'm talking about here seems to me to be a bit more serious than I like, with a really heavy tone. But I don't want that to take away from the hope that I see. The darkness is losing ground and I believe that a new revival that's gonna blow up like an A-bomb is already stirring itself up worldwide. This is just what's in my head and heart right now...

Man. Throughout scripture, we're told that we should be joyful, at peace, kind, wise, humble, and any number of other traits and attitudes. We are called to have tender hearts, and advised to guard them. But where are the brokenhearted Christians?

I see a world of people driven to new levels of depravity, a nation in a downward spiral, and I don't see many people who care. Now, I'm not talking about nationalism here. I'm talking about brotherhood.

You see, we as Christians don't let things bother us. On one hand, that is a very VERY good thing, because we need to have the peace of Christ and the rest that comes with that. But having peace and just not caring are not the same thing.

And saying this, I can see a lot of people who will nod their head and say that they agree that things are bad and need to change. But where is the action that comes with that?

When I look to scripture, from the old testament prophets to Jesus on the Mount of Olives, I see many times weeping and anguish accompanied by an earnest, caring, feeling, brokenhearted prayer.

When I look at us today, I rarely see that. Christians, we have a staggering number of children growing up without fathers, a stupidly high divorce rate, we are desensitized to what has become a cultural norm of adultery. We have 22 veterans who commit suicide daily. In the US, we have come to the point that there is such a mix of fear and selfishness and confusion and apathy that there are an estimated 3000 abortions carried out daily. Worldwide, that number is 125,000. We are faced with the epidemic of porn that at best preys on guilty pleasure to trade sin (death) for cash, and at its worst makes the beloved and valuable human beings involved seen only for their meat; as if they existed only for the enjoyment of someone else. That contributes to human trafficking, which is so much worse...

There are more than these. And we have all heard them. But that is not enough! We have all been affected by these things. We can no longer pretend like we can exist in our bubble and that those ugly things exist outside of it. These things should break our hearts, Christians. And it's time to do something about it!

Be like Nehemiah! Be brokenhearted! Then the ONLY response is a fervent prayer born out of sorrow and love, a prayer for the WE, not for the THEM. We are responsible for this. And we have to care.

Care. Pray. Love. It's more than a tag line; you've really gotta change your heart if you wanna change the world.

And I believe that we can. I believe that if We as the body of Christ put ourselves into one of those spirits of biblical intercession for Us as a people, as a broken and fallen and sinful nation, it would kick start something that's already brewing.

What I love about Sundays

"Then Jesus said to them, 'The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath'" -- Mark 2:27 (NLT)

So, the Sabbath is pretty important. Just a day of rest, a day away from trouble and responsibility, a day dedicated to God and to recognizing the blessings He has given us. Not the last day of the week, but the first; starting a new week celebrating who He is, what you have, who you have, and a little r&r to top it off. For a lot of people, that day is Sunday.

My Sundays are not like that. They're work. For the first half. But it's like heavy work. It's kind of a short sprint instead of a long jog, so it still leaves you worn out. Tracking with me?

Great. But with that, I don't want to sound like these Sundays are anything short of amazing. They're powerful, and I look forward to them every week. I get to see so many of the faces of the people we have met here in Manta, new Christians with a passion and a hunger. And they all worship together, they're starting to hang around and talk with each other after the service, and they're turning into a real family.

It's like, we work in our pairs all week long with one or two people at a time until our houses of prayer, where we have a small group, usually. Then they're all there on Sunday for the EXACT same reason -- to spend their Sabbath in the house of the Lord, looking for him. We even have a few of them starting to help out during the service! That just makes it so real to me that we're here and that these people's lives are being affected.

But then there's also my team on Sunday...

If I haven't said anything to any of you before, my team is fantastic. Each one of them is talented and driven. And on Sunday morning, they're all at their peak. We all work together so that everything goes smoothly, but they're all so real about it. They don't themselves forget that we are also there to Worship, to learn, to have fellowship, and to serve. In spite of the fact that it's work, it isn't a burden.

So, Sundays in this time in my life are different than they used to be. Church isn't exactly relaxing, but it's refreshing. And having so many of the indescribable people that I've come to know and love here with me on Sunday morning... I dunno. What's not to love about Sunday?

I'm one of the Tall ones

Living In a different culture is different. Obviously. A lot of Days I don't even feel like I know what's going on with anything. I wonder what it is that I'm going to do next and why in the world the bus driver thinks he can just go get lunch in the middle of his route. Times like that can be a little bit frustrating. But then, I feel like I'm at home here, too. It seems like a contradiction, but it makes sense if you don't think about it too hard. I have a decent grasp of Spanish, so communication isn't usually a huge issue. And I was raised in a semi-Latino culture, so there isn't much shock as far as that goes. I guess the thing that still gets me is that I know that no matter how at home I feel, I'm really always going to be an outsider to so many. Don't get me wrong, the church really is a global family and the people here make me feel welcome, but I am always going to stick out. I wasn't born here. That's always going to be obvious. I am always going to be given bad prices at the market and always going to be more of a target for robbers. That is such a frustrating fact to try to come to terms with. Ecuador has a wonderful, rich culture that I get to take part in for the next couple years. -- not to mention our South American partners who we're going to be doing life with and who have already became family-- but I will always be like a visiting family member. Welcomed, maybe even embraced at times, but not really a part of the culture. If you know me, then you know that I am maybe, MAYBE, average height for the United States. I guess that's where the cultural difference is really apparent. Here, I'm one of the tall ones..

I'm Just watching this thing...

So this is a first time thing for me: "blogging" or whatever. But I have some kind of theme echoing around me and I feel like I should put it down. I am on a pretty awesome and exciting walk, far from home and home though far. I say exciting because it is something that many people do not get the opportunity to do. The great people behind me have made it possible for me to simply walk with God and do good works. Namely, my job for the next two and a half years is to build relationships with people and help wherever I can. Just loving people and acting in that. It's not exactly that simple and surely not going to be as easy as that sounds but that's the gist of it. The truly wonderful part is that I get to experience God working in my life and in the lives of those around me. And that's all I can do. I cannot save anyone. I cannot fix anybody's life. I can give pretty good advice sometimes, I guess, and I can be there to help encourage somebody, but I am too imperfect. I am far too broken to truly help someone out of my own power, regardless of how hard I might try. But, God can do all of that. I can be used to give advice that isn't from me, I can be bolstered by the mighty hand of God himself to set an example that I have no way in setting of my own accord. I get to be here to witness the MIRACULOUS POWER OF THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE AGAINST ALL THE ODDS AND DANGERS OF BEING IN A FOREIGN FIELD. And that's all I am. I am a witness. I see what goes down here to tell others about it. In spite of the opposition. When Jesus says that we are to be his witnesses, that's what he's talking about. Witnesses as in witnesses as part of the judiciary process. We get to see him. We don't do hardly anything, but yet we are an intricate part of the happenings. And that doesn't have to be in a foreign field, it can be on your street or in your house or wherever you are, whatever you are doing. Wow.

However, there is still opposition. I am still in the middle of a war. So I am going to soldier up with the full armor of God from Ephesians 6, knowing that this fight is not against flesh and blood. I'm gonna keep my sword sharp and feet ready, suited up at all times to be prepared for whatever comes at me. It's not a fight I can win, though, so I need to remember that I am simply watching this thing.