GlocalNet

Nikki and I ate supper last night with Nghi and Jessica Tran and their two beautiful little girls.  We had a blast.  The picture you see of the lady with Nikki is May - she and her husband started the restaurant ten years ago.  They had just come from China via North Vietnam and couldn’t speak much English at first.  Nikki was able to get her 5 year old into a special pre-k program in the Birdville ISD and was her teacher.  We love her, her family and their restaurant - if you want exceptional Chinese - it’s at the intersection of Rufe Snow and Hightower in a shopping center on the northwest corner. 

We also had fun catching up with Nghi and Jessica.  Less than 3 years of marriage and 2 kids - wow!!!!!  Keep rocking forward guys - proud of you - God has a great plan for your life.  Nghi finish your dissertation NOW!!!!!

SOME BACKGROUND:  I read through my Bible every year and I write out a daily prayer.  I read 2 to 4 chapters out of the Old Testament, a chapter of Ps., Proverbs, Job (wisdom literature) and a chapter out of the New Testament.  I start by writing in my journal about things going on - good and bad and issues - and then asking God to speak to me.  I’ve done this since ‘96.  Some years I’ll write prayers in the Bible for my son or daughter or someone else and give them that Bible.  It has where I speak, my sermons, my trips, people I meet - tons of stuff.  Get a wide-margined Bible to use and you can design it how you want.  ANYHOW . . . . .

MY BLOG:  I know this is a blog - one that a lot of different kinds of people read - pastors, church planters, diplomats, businessmen, educators, plumbers, international people, Muslims, Buddhist, Atheist - you name it - I gots lots of friends!  So when I write I try to do so in such a way that everyone can understand - whether we all agree or not. 

TODAY as I write - I don’t mean to write a devotional - but this morning as I was reading my Bible - the Old Testament portion was 2 Chronicles 14-16.  This would be good for all my friends - Jews, Christians, and Muslims - we all accept the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.

Read the entire passage slowly - and reflect on your life - I’ve highlighted the verses that stood out with me.  Asa was a good king but that didn’t prevent him from having people attack him and him having to respond- but he responded as God wanted because he knew that God was real.  He also knew that God rewards those who seek him.  What was the reward?  Peace.  Even in the midst of the battle.  He did very well, but the reality is towards the end he turned away from God and God judged him.  But it climaxes in how God works in 16:9.  May that be the desire of all of us.

Are you a pastor or church planter facing some things that aren’t easy right now and you want to give up or give in?  Read this.

Are you a diplomat or political …

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I spent part of the day yesterday with Philip Kua and his wife Poh Choo.  I took them to eat Mexican food – hey, they said they wanted it - and they liked it - some!  Philip is a Chinese pastor at a church of over 700 in Melbourne Australia - they are a cell church.  He met with our staff to learn how we do engagement.  His grandfather was a pioneering church planter in Malaysia.  They worshipped with us Sunday and visited a small group and submerged themselves in our church.  Today we have another group coming in - we do have Turbos ANYONE can come to and get the same kind of experience - if not better because it’s focused and clear.

Anyone who studies what God is doing around the world knows what God is doing in China - but what people don’t often realize is how expat Chinese are also driving things all over the world. One of the greatest Chinese pastors is here in the U.S. at River of Life Church in Santa Barbara.  Eddy Leo is Chinese of Abba Love in Jakarta and the list goes on and on and on - it isn’t just China but Chinese who have been born in other nations that God is using around the world in powerful ways. So I asked Philip why and here are the reasons he gave.

1.  We are survivors and are highly adaptable people. 

2.  It is in us to give a lot to something we believe in and make sure that it succeeds.

3.  We are travelers and have no fear of picking up and starting in another country or culture and making it work.

I also asked Philip what he sees in the American church and what it has to offer?  Americans think they can conquer the world and do anything.  That belief is very energizing and they think big.  They are willing to include others to do great things.

I asked him if he knew the American church wasn’t doing as good - he told me he was aware, he had heard all the stories.  This was his first trip to the U.S.

Finally, I asked him what the American church can do to make a difference in the world:

1.  Share resources - money, teaching, and skill impartation

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If you go to northwoodchurch.org you can listen to the Sunday sermon.  I had a good friend Suhail Khan, former White House appointee and Transportation Department - who I interviewed.  He’s a very committed Muslim.  I interviewed him in our church about how Christians should talk about their faith to Muslims.  It was really an incredible conversation.  However, our “off the record” conversations are even better! 

I’m amazed at how much time we spend talking about stuff we don’t really know about and waste energy on sharing the Good News of Jesus on so many other speculative things.  Some people get all caught up in “last times” speculation and are waiting for the temple to be rebuilt or something like that.  Jesus has already rebuilt the temple - it was done in his resurrection.  He also builds his temple in our hearts as followers.  It isn’t the building of the temple that we have been commanded to do, but the building of the Kingdom of God that we are to be doing before Christ’s return.

This has been a very busy week, but a very good one.  My friend Suhail Khan, a Muslim Indian Republican Bush appointee has been here - wow that’s a mouthful.  Met with a Mongolian leader.  Had an American Hmong emerging pastor hangout with us last week.  A Chinese pastor just arrived.  An American pastor will be here this week with staff wanting to do serious engagement globally - lots of people in and out!  They say the primary gift of the early church was hospitality - I never understood that until the past few years.  You may write sermons, books, and administer in an office - but you don’t change the world there.  As you plant churches and engage cities - you wind up with lots of relationships, with lots of different kinds of people all over the place.  That’s what I like about our ministry at NorthWood.

Yesterday as I preached I interviewed Suhail some.  We talked about how we differed in our view of Jesus and Mohammed but how we can talk about that and be really good friends.  There’s much we can agree on.  I was preaching on evangelism - what a Sunday for him to visit!  I asked him how Christians should talk to Muslims about God.  People loved it.  We are brainstorming putting together a special service right now with Muslims, Jews, and us.  I love the fact that at NorthWood we can have conversations that you can’t a lot of places. 

Yesterday we had one group in Vietnam, another group of nearly 50 teenagers head to Hanoi to work at the orphanage, another group will be heading to Mexico this week - and some are doing daily things in the inner-city in DFW - it’s out of control, there’s so much that no one person can control it or direct it all - I love that.  We were also signing up people yesterday to take exchange students from Vietnam. 

Worship was good yesterday - it’s always different - never the same - and the power moments are always distributed over different things. 

I’m glad I’m at a glocal, globally conscious, church planting, city engaging, kingdom focused, disciple making church.  Are we perfect?  No way! We have a ways to go and are always working on stuff, but we continue to keep moving forward and learning and implementing.  I know of lots …

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How old were you when you first started coming to Northwood?

*
I was 4 years old, so i have been going to Northwood for about 20 years now.

What impacted has Northwood had on you?

*  Without Northwood’s influence I can say I would probably wouldn’t have
lived in Vietnam this past year.  Growing up in Northwood I saw how the church
itself changed and became more outward focused.  As I got older I realized that
my faith was not all about me and I began to look outwards.  After I graduated
from high school I went with Northwood to work with orphans in Vietnam.  At that
time my eyes were really opened to see how much bigger the world is and I fell
in love with Vietnamese people.  I knew that one day I would go back.

What have you been doing this past year?

*  This past year I have been living in central Vietnam teaching English at
Vinh University.  I taught speaking to the first year English students there. 
It has been such an adventure living in Vietnam.  It is so different being there
and just living day to day life.  It was hard getting adjusted at first to life
there but in the end I really ended up loving it.

Did you have to raise money to go?

*  I did have to raise my own support to go over and teach in Vietnam.  I know
that there are some Asian countries where you can make money if you go and teach
there but Vietnam is still a developing country.  They need good teacher to
serve their country.  Last year I have to raise about $19,000 and this next year
I will have to raise around $15,000.  This summer while I am home in Texas, I am
working on raising money for this upcoming year.

What are some of the key lessons you learned?

*  I have learned so much this year.  It is hard for me to just list a few.  I
think the biggest thing I have learned is how big and different this world is.  …

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This is rare that I got to see it - Abraham’s tomb at the cave of Macpela.  I also saw Isaac and Jacob, Sara and others buried there.  My Palestinian friend got me and a couple of other guys there.  What a movement starter - 3 major religions - not bad for an old dude who God called!  He is still the driving force in blessing nations.  Our Great Commission is a direct result of his call.

This is Daniel and Linda Yang who hung out with Nikki and I this weekend.  One of the greatest Jesus movements in the world today is among the Hmong - yep the kind in “Gran Torino” - many of their friends and families were in the movie.  Now they want to explore how they can serve the more global church and at the same time make an impact here.  Abraham is on the move in their life to bless nations as well.

this is a picture of a very good friend of mine’s son in my office today - we start them early on blessing the nations!  He loved spinning the globe.  We start ‘em early at NorthWood - who knows what God may do with this young guy.

check our my daughter Jill’s blog at glocalventures.org - she’s in Hanoi this summer and is posting.

When I was 15 I began to preach - this is the first church I preached at, Harris Chapel Methodist Church.  There’s a lot of talk about “simple” church and “house” church - but as I was home over the weekend and reflecting I was stunned at how many of the things some people want the church to be today, in many ways, it was yesterday.  No one would have called them house churches - but look at all four of these buildings - they were all the size of a small, very small house.  Each will hold only about 75, if that many, packed out.  This church is on the trail that opened up Louisiana to New Mexico - running right through Lindale, Texas.

This church is around the corner from where my wife grew up, Sabine Methodist Church.  Her step-sister is buried here.  The church was in the neighborhood - you walked to it - you didn’t drive half-way across town.  The people were your friends in worship - not people you didn’t know or weren’t tied to during the week.  They really did “do life” together!  They had to - or they’d die.  Whatever people needed - they provided it.  In a sense all churches were community churches and missional.

This is St. Mary’s Baptist Church - the African American church in Lindale.  I remember when having finished preaching at Harris Chapel Methodist one Sunday me and 2 football buddies drove over to the church and sat in the back and worshipped.  The preacher began to preach loud and say, “We knew one day white folk would come and sit together in worship.”  I didn’t have a clue about civil rights and minorities - I was white, and in East Texas - life couldn’t be better - for me.  That one experience would one day have a profound impact on how I thought about race and justice, not just in the world, but in the place I grew up in.

This is Bethesda Presbyterian Church, where my wife’s mother and baby sister are buried.  Last weekend we had a family gathering around the corner.  JB Hicks still goes there - 87 …

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I had a blast sitting by my friend Patrick from Nigeria.  We didn’t know one another until we sat together on the plane, but what a guy.  He was coming to Dallas for the Redeemed Christian Church of Christ out of Lagos Nigeria.  Pastor Adeboye is the one who started the movement 34 years ago when he inherited the church. They’ve been in the US and have started 350 churches in that time.  There are 5 million+ people a part of this church worldwide.  We talked about everything - here’s just some of it:

Bob:  What is the difference between the church in Nigeria and here in the U.S.?

Patrick:  Because this country has freedom, no one can challenge anyone about wrong or evil.  In Africa a child is raised by everyone - we speak into children.  Here, if you challenge someone you go to jail!  The entire community is responsible.

Bob:  What is the role of church planting in your church?

Patrick:  We want a church on every street - the smaller the better.  We have megachurches but we want everyone to be in walking distance of a church.  In America, no one cares about this much.  Mostly, just big churches trying to get bigger - even spreading out campuses, but not churches. 

Bob:  What is another difference you see in the church in Nigeria and here?

Patrick:  The Holy Spirit.  You have so many doctors here.  We have to believe in miracles.  We are desperate for the Holy Spirit just to survive.  We pray and involve ourselves in the Spirit.  You Americans have this power, you just don’t use it.  It’s the Holy Spirit. 

Bob:  Anything else?

Patrick:  Yes we pray until something happens.  You pray until your prayer is finished. 

Bob:  Anything else?

Patrick:  Yes we rebuke openly for sin and deal with it. 

There were lots of other things we talked about, but I was glad I didn’t get upgraded and that Patrick was right beside me.  I hope, Patrick, your conference in Greenville was awesome. 

My daughter Jill is in Vietnam for the summer working at our NGO Glocal Ventures.  You can visit the site at glocalventures.org.  She’s having a blast.  We learned to do “SKYPE” and have been skyping and it’s just a blast.  There’ s something about seeing someone’s face when you talk to them. 

I was so proud of her.  Her flights were all screwed up but she made it, and, though a lot later than anticipated, she arrived and is settled in.  She called me “Hanoi” time Sunday morning - Saturday night here, to wish me happy Father’s Day.  She rocks!!!

It’s a pretty significant thing when, as a pastor, church members name their children after you.  I’ve never had that happen.  However, this past week, I had a goat named after me.  Kinda got to me if you know what I mean - I love them Byrd kids! 

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