Youth Evangelism Ministry

26 September 2010

 Dear Phyllis,

I wrote to you about James a few weeks ago. He is that very fine Thai brother starting out serving the Lord. He got canned from the organization he was with and came to me asking advice as to what he should do. He has the heart, vision, and gifts for being a very fine servant of Christ. I told him, “Don’t worry about finances. If God orders something that means that He is responsible to pay for it. You worked for AI before and they supported you. Work for God and He will support you.” He decided to start his own mission and called himself Youth Evangelism Ministry – YEM. He made up a brochure hoping to raise funds to get his ministry off the ground. I warned him about tin-cup fund raising. Much has happened since then.

He was working with a very fine church as the song leader. The pastor wanted to take him on as full time staff. This looked like a pretty good deal except their vision was not a direct overlay, but there was so much in common that I advised him to go along with the pastor as far as possible. Where he felt the Lord had spoken to him specifically about some other aspect to do that on his own.

 One major point was that he wanted to have a home to help minority boys who had no place to live while they go to college. He had five boys he was responsible for when he was with AI. When he got put out on the street the boys said they would move out also. He wanted to have a house for them but that would cost about $130 a month. The pastor didn’t share that vision quite as keenly but did say they could stay in a room at the church. James also wanted to work on college campuses and the pastor was asking him to work on the same four college campuses where he already had meetings. I asked, “What’s the problem? Do it!” I could see James as an excellent youth pastor for the church and I thought the pastor was a very reasonable man. I don’t know him well but he seems to be a first-class pastor. James is over to see me for an hour almost every night.

 The first problem was money. John was very supportive of James wanting to have his own ministry but strongly advised him to do it through the church where there would be accountability. The pastor was agreeable and they set up an account for James in the church. The Lord gave him $850 the first month – which is quite a lot of money. But then James said the pastor was using his money for church things. We checked on that and the pastor had a good explanation in that he had spent it on things for James. He also promised to keep his hands off James’ money. There is a lot I don’t understand but it suspect most of it is misunderstanding between the pastor and James.

The second hurdle was more difficult. James came to see me saying that the pastor wanted him to cancel all the meetings he has going in four universities and start new ones. Why? He said the explanation was that the present meetings were not church oriented. None of the young people going to James’ meeting go to that church. The pastor doesn’t want any meetings where the students are going to another church. That was a little depressing.

I can understand the pastors thinking, but he is dead wrong. I don’t know so much about Thai but that certainly is 100% Japanese thinking. It is because of that self-oriented, vacuum cleaner, attitude that the church in Japan – and probably Thailand – is so weak. But most pastors are very strongly that way. James was in agony.

An hour later I was genuinely surprised at the counsel I gave him. Basically what I advised him was to bow the knee. Not because the pastor is right and James is wrong, but for the sake of Christian character development. I told James this was the most important thing at this stage of the game. I can see James as being a very effective mission leader, but the first step to leading is to learn to be a good follower. I told him he could step out on his own and refuse the discipline of the pastor. The Lord might bless him in doing so, and he might have a successful ministry, but he would get seriously short-changed in what he might have learned through suffering. It is like death for him to consider closings the meetings he has had going for over a year. It is like death for him to be restricted to staying at the church and doing odd jobs when he would rather be out witnessing for Christ. He still feels there have been some shortages in money. I said, “Hang it! Take the short end of the stick!” I know it is not right but it is good to suffer.

Maybe it is because I am older now, and it is easier to be deprived, but I see suffering as one of the most valuable experience the Lord deals out to us. Jesus was made perfect through suffering and we seriously short-change ourselves if we try to exempt ourselves from the thing that was so necessary for Jesus (Heb 2:10). [Of course Jesus was perfect, but His character had to be developed just liked His body and mind had to develop.]

As I was talking to James, I thought of the frustration of Jesus through His years of silence. It was strongly in His heart to serve His Father when He was 12 years old (Lk. 2:42, 49, 51). What must have been burning in His heart when He was 18, when He was 20, when He was 25, and when He was 29? He must have had a great desire to be about His Fathers business, but He quietly stayed in the carpenter’s shop making shavings. During that same period, He watched His cousin, John, launch out and became a huge national icon as a major prophet. They were virtually the same age, but John must have preceded Him in the ministry by ten years. That certainly was one type of suffering.

The story of David is recorded in 1^st Samuel and 2^nd Samuel. 1^st Samuel is the story of David up until he became king and 2^nd Samuel is his life after he was king. Of the two, my favorite book is hands down 1^st Samuel. Without a question David’s greatest moments were when he was living in a cave running from Saul. After he was king, life was certainly better, but he made some grievous mistakes that are so bad I dread to read them. The years of suffering were the best years of David’s life.

 Joseph is perhaps the most perfect type of Christ in the Bible. He was marvelous as the Prime Minister of Egypt. But it took twenty years of suffering to develop that splendid character. It is wonderful to read about his life when he was in charge of Egypt, but that character was developed when he was a servant in Potiphar’s house and in prison. He never would have been the man of God that he was had he not gone through the furnace of suffering.

I gave James the illustration of two women. For instance; both were committed Christians and highly gifted in serving the Lord. Both had difficult husbands who were restrictive on their ministries. One woman was quietly submissive and accepted her husband’s limitations. The other was defiant. She said, “Hang you Jack! You’re not going to tell me what to do. I’m going to serve Jesus and if you don’t like it you can stuff it!” I asked James, “Which one is the most honoring to the Lord?” Of course the first one. I told James there are a lot of women out there that are just like the second woman. They may have a productive ministry, but they have a hard, nasty, defiant, spirit. They are loud-mouth, boisterous, self-willed; and they are a disgrace to the Name of Christ. Having a successful ministry is not the main thing. Having the right, Christ-like, spirit is the thing that is precious to God. 

As I approach my more senior years, I see Christ-like character as an extremely valuable commodity. I believe character is far more important than a predictive ministry. I have seen enough of life to know that many ministries have some of the most lamentable leaders at the top. God will certainly use them, but in heaven I fear they will be standing at the rear of the line.

In talking with Mark about James’ problem, he strongly disagreed with me. He said, “If the pastor is that kind of a man, who thinks only of his own advantage, it s wrong for James to submit himself to him. He said, if James already has well attended Bible classes going in four universities he should tell the pastor, “Gomen nasai (I’m sorry) but I am not going to cancel them just because they don’t come to your church and I am not going to devote myself to promoting your ministry. I am here to serve Jesus.”

 I know exactly what Mark is talking about. Thirty years ago I would have said the same thing. But the problem is that Mark doesn’t’ see the character issue as clearly as it do. It is very American to be independent. And it is more typical of younger men to say, “If I can’t have it my way I’m not gong to do it.” (Mark is nearly 30 years younger than me.)

 I believe the day will come when James will be a mission leader. I believe he will be a very good one. But if suffering was necessary to produce the marvelous character in Joseph and David; and the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering; I believe it is highly doubtful that we will be like Him if we prefer to exempt ourselves from the very thing that was so needful for Joseph, David and Jesus.

Just a few thoughts. What do you think Phyllis?

                                                                                 bill