GlocalNet

Yesterday at church we had a powerful story of a man who went to Vietnam for the first time to work at an orphanage with a group of people from NorthWood.  His story was very good and God did a work in his heart and life.  He shared and then we prayed with people coming forward all across the front of the worship center. 

When we finished praying I went back to my seat and I was standing there singing and thinking about how so many churches have asked us to help them engage nations like we are.  I was thinking about the training, writing, all that goes into that and how we are trying to do it in a scaleable way.  I was thinking about nations and opportunities.  I’m often asked, how do you get a church to do what NorthWood does.

It hit me - faith.  Core to “missional” values is always faith.  You see the opportunity and you do it.  We had no manual, no 10 step process for doing it.  Yes - I know - we may be in that 3% of innovators that figure it out and do it.  BUT, the reality is we don’t have a story because we read someone elses manual and then did it.  We have a story because we saw an opportunity and just starting moving towards it. 

I began to think about other leaders in the Bible - most didn’t have strategies, they just pulled up stakes and went - be it Abraham, or Noah building an ark, or David with a sling shot, or Paul following the Spirit to different places.  MAYBE that’s the curriculum, how to hear God’s voice.  That’s what Paul wrote about and others.  They loved God, they worshipped him, he put things in front of them, and in faith - they moved towards them.  Unexpected things happened and God WON! 

Last night on 60 minutes I watched the story on the Sudan and Darfur.  How tragic and horrendous.  Where are we?  Who will go?  How much more do we need to know?