As you read this, I will be en route to Bangalore, India, where I will be providing spiritual direction to pastors and students (and possibly their family members) at the South Asia Institute for Advanced Christian Studies. A team of six of us are helping to equip leaders of churches with new tools for spiritual formation.
This is a new thing for me. And as I’ve told my congregation, it’s way outside my comfort zone. The last few days of preparation were remarkably difficult, because my dear wife and I, in twenty years of marriage, have never been apart for three consecutive weeks before! However, I pressed on, because I know God is in this in a powerful way.
One of the things I know this trip will teach me is just how global the church really is. Never having flown farther than Vancouver before, I know this will stretch my picture of human society and enhance my understanding of what God can do in the world.
In that sense, I will almost certainly receive more than I give in this trip, but I hope to make a contribution to the Asian church as it enriches its understanding of spiritual formation.
God is at work all around the world. While we in the North American church lament the closure of congregations and bicker over points of biblical interpretation and theological practice, the church in Asia bustles with excitement and activity. People come to know Christ every day. And I’m excited that I get to be part of that for just a few weeks.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28.19-20, NIV). Wherever in the world you go to make disciples, know that the Lord is with you.
Please keep our team in your prayers.
