Cucumbers and Tomatoes

So your parents told you “No.”

Emily Martin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:40:44 +0000

So you heard about iGo at Falls Creek or Super Summer and got really excited about going. Then you told your parents…and they said, “no.” How should you handle this? The following post is written by L.C., an iGo alum, who dealt with the same problem several years ago.

I had spent the past few weeks praying, seeking the Lord, and asking Him what the next step of obedience was for me. He was clear in letting me know that I was supposed to go overseas with iGo the following summer as a JSI. Sure of the Lord’s leading, I excitedly waited for what seemed to me to be a “good time” to drop the bomb on my parents. Well it turned out that I was more surprised by the conversation than they were. They told me no. Simple and straightforward, “No.”

I began to pray through the confusion, “But Lord, You said I was supposed to go. Your Word commands your people to go. But Your Word also says to honor your father and mother. And they just told me no? God, I don’t understand.”

If this is where you find yourself right now recognize two things. The first is that God is sovereign. It did not catch Him by surprise that your parents told you that you cannot go overseas next summer. The second is that there is nothing new under the sun. So take comfort in knowing that you are not the first student whose parents told them that they could not go overseas. There is the temptation to think, “Well, Jesus’ command in the Great Commission is far more important than what my parents have to say.”

But I would caution you against thinking this way. In fact, I would tell you that it is dangerous for to you think this way; it is wrong for you to think this way. God has placed your parents in authority over you. And God commands us throughout His Word to obey and humbly submit to our parents and to those He has placed in authority over us.

So does that mean you’re just supposed to forget about the whole thing and just not go? Or that you heard wrong and maybe God didn’t actually tell you that you were supposed to go? These are not questions that I can answer for you. So for now, what are you supposed to do? Seek God. Seek Him in prayer, through His Word, and with His people. And submit to your parents. I would challenge you also, to not forget the power of God. Pray for your parents. And then pray for them some more. Pray that if this truly is His will, that He would open their hearts and allow you to go and pray that He would help you to joyfully submit to them.

It may end up that your parents don’t change their mind. That’s okay. God doesn’t need you. And He will honor your obedience to your parents. Maybe you can go the next year. It also might end up the way that it did for me. Over the course of a few months God opened my parent’s hearts. They allowed me first to send in an application and then a few months after that they allowed me to get on the plane. And I was more convinced than ever that this was His working, and not my own.

What if God had your parents tell you no, so that you would seek Him more? That you would depend on Him more? That you would trust Him more? And that you would praise Him more as you see Him move?

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Buy a shirt. Support Japan.

Emily Martin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:42:32 +0000

We at iGo have a deep love for the people of Japan - having sent teams there for many years. Our hearts are saddened by the recent disaster that struck this country we have served in many times. We wanted to somehow support those devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. So, we are currently selling our Japan t-shirts for $20. All proceeds from the sales of the Tokyo shirt will go toward helping those affected by the earthquake and tsunami last month in Japan.

Baptist Global Response is a Southern Baptist Relief and development organization whose purpose is to connect Southern Baptists with relief and development needs worldwide. Seeking to mobilize and involve the influence, prayer, human and financial resources of Southern Baptists for worldwide relief and development. BGR was created to meet human needs around the world due to problems such as tsunamis, earthquakes, and hurricanes. BGR is a partner of the International Mission Board in helping to implement a more effective and efficient international relief and development effort.

The Baptist Global Response is working right now in areas devastated by the March 11^th earthquake that are outside the tsunami impact zone. Until that area opens up to humanitarian organizations they are concentrating on the critical needs of earthquake survivors in other areas. This initial relief work will focus on life essential items: basic food items, water, blankets, hygiene supplies and kitchen utensils. There are weekly updates on the BGR’s website on the work that is going on in Japan and how they are moving forward to help the people of Japan. You can read more about this organization here: www.baptistglobalresponse.com

To buy a Tokyo shirt and support the outreach, click here: BUY A SHIRT. SUPPORT JAPAN.

Crystal’s Reflections on Leader Retreat

Crystal Meeker — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:09:15 +0000

I turned my radio off, put my phone on silent and pointed my Honda down the road that would lead to my house some 45 minutes later. I hoped to process a bit of what the Lord did throughout the Leader Retreat weekend, even though I knew my brain had already stopped thinking clearly and was anticipating sleep rather than sorting out the weekend. I pushed forward anyway. By the time I reached my house, there was only one conclusion I had come to: my heart is deceitful but God is faithful. He is faithful to complete the work He began in me. But it’s not even about the work He’s doing in me, or the iGo staff, or the M’s, or any of the students who participated in the retreat. The good fruit we see is a by-product of what it’s really all about: His faithfulness to bring about His Glory to the nations. This is what stood out to me throughout the weekend from start to finish, weaved throughout every person God used to teach, correct, encourage and lead.

I was reminded of this truth when our staff met on Friday morning with the M’s & partners to spur one another on in the task set before us. I was kicked in the gut as AC shared on Friday night with the Team Leaders from 2 Chronicles, “even though we resolve to set our hearts to seek the Lord, God gives the victory, the salvation is His and He gets the glory for it.” Saturday morning, I was reminded how God displays his glory through a once cocky, punk kid turned Team Leader how the Lord worked through his Team Leader years before to show him humility. Jami Lee brought the whole idea home when she shared, “You will multiply yourself when you acknowledge God can do it better than you can.” Brad pushed it further with Philippians 2:5-11, commenting, “The reason Jesus took on our nasty skin was so that God would be glorified.” All of this happened in just the Team Leader portion of the weekend!

Then, the JSI’s arrived Saturday afternoon. (Sidebar: There is a distinct difference between the way excitement is expressed from the Team Leaders and the JSIs upon arrival. Neither one is wrong or right, just different. Team Leaders walk in calm, say their hellos, give high fives and get down to business. JSIs arrive FULL ON, talking 800 miles an hour, doing cheers, jumping up and down about their new t-shirts and never wanting the weekend to end. I love it all.) God used a JSI drawing out the core value on Ancient Work from creation to Christ’s return to show that God has been working since the beginning to bring about His Glory. I had the privilege of challenging the JSIs with the how to’s of the JSI role and saw God’s handiwork again when I realized that 75% of them were stepping up to the leadership ladder because God had used their JSI in the previous years to encourage them. Ky preached from Matthew and Mark that, “greatness is found in the mundane and ordinary,” charging us to “excel in our serving others rather than trying to increase our own positions.”

Sunday morning, God used Shu to speak God’s Sovereignty seen in Habbakuk saying, “God is reigning and ruling. He’s in control. Is that enough for you to press on even if everything is falling apart?” Rowdy brought the idea full circle for me from 2 Timothy 3: “You don’t have to rely on some manual iGo puts out that has steps A-Z in it. We have scripture and it’s sufficient.”

These are just a few highlights that stood out to me. We heard from the M’s and former JSI’s about being and making disciples; we worshipped through song with great leaders; we held small group discussions; we had lots of laughs getting to know one another better; we gave many hugs and high fives; and I believe we brought much Glory to God. He is it. The story we’re sharing is about Him, His plan, His sacrifice, His kingdom. He is the only one worthy of being made famous. What were your thoughts from the weekend?

Upcoming Retreat - How will you make Him Famous?

Aaron Clayton — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:10:05 +0000

It’s crazy to be saying this already, but…the Leader Retreat is upon us! Next weekend, April 7-10, iGo missionaries, Team Leaders, JSIs (overseas interns), and staff will convene just outside of Dallas for 3 days of planning and preparation.

Leader Retreat is our first official event of the iGo summer, so that means summer is almost here. And as any iGosian will tell you, summer is crazy!

It’s also really exciting. We look forward to the summer and especially to Leader Retreat. For us, this is time to invest in our students and missionaries and dream about what the summer holds. Pray with us for the missionaries, TLs, and JSIs who will be coming. If you are one of those, begin praying now for Father to open your ears and eyes and to speak to you. And please pray for our staff as we pour ourselves into the next wave of iGosians.

Who will be the next stud Team Leader or JSI? Who will emerge from their team as a future Team Leader or JSI? What crazy or funny stories will we be telling 4 months from now? What seeds of the gospel will be sown? Who will hear the gospel and put their faith in Jesus? What will we learn about Father that changes everything for us? These are the questions we’re asking as we head into this first weekend of the iGo summer.

What are you dreaming about right now? What are you expecting from this summer? How will you be part of making Him famous?

Update on Japan from an M in Tokyo

Jami Gainey — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:32:57 +0000

Gary F, an M in Japan shared this recently in a Facebook post:

CONTAMINATED AIR, FOOD & WATER, AND THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF SUFFERING

Is God REALLY in control? Does He truly rule over the land, the sea, the mountains and their movements? Can we trust in Him (not in our faith in Him but in the Person of God Himself!) when things are chaotic and so out of control in “real life”? Is faith in a higher power just a “pipe dream”?

Many, many sincere and good people lose their faith in God and their trust in “religion” in times of trouble. That is not a judgment but a statement of fact. Believe me, I have been close to it myself some days. I think that is a part of the human condition, isn’t it?

So, what do we do with the most recent news coming down from Tokyo? It is very clear that radiation levels are higher than normal in many parts of the Kanto region wherein the city is nested. Some readings show very high amounts of radiation, others much lower. But, regardless, the fact is that the readings are not normal. What about water? It has been confirmed by numerous sources that tap water is giving evidence of both iodine ( I-131) as well as cesium, both radioactive substances that should not be found in water under any circumstance. The government is saying that these levels are not “immediate health hazards” but what about the long term? Just yesterday, it was confirmed that radioactive readings were found in food products such as spinach, milk and other food in areas as southward as Chiba-prefecture which is latitudinally on the same plane as Tokyo. Finally, just this morning, it was revealed that an opening was discovered on the OUTSIDE of a building that houses a cooling pool at one of the reactors. There is a suspicion, yet to be confirmed, that the pool may have leaked radioactive water into the ocean. But there has been no recent update on that yet.

Let’s put these two realities together. Radioactivity in the food and water chain. Believing that God is sovereign and in control of everything, even nature. Can we put these two together? On the one hand, as a human being and as a parent, yes, I am concerned. As a follower of Jesus, living here, I have to believe God.

This morning, I read the first chapter of the book by John Piper and Justin Taylor called “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.” In that chapter, John Piper says that this should be our prayer in the midst of suffering, “that God would stand forth and reassert his Creator-rights in our lives, and show to us his crucified and risen Son who has all authority in heaven and on earth, and waken in us the strongest faith in the supremacy of Christ, and the deepest comforts in suffering, and the sweetest fellowship with Jesus that we have ever known.” AMEN!

Piper then goes on the detail 10 relevant points. Each begins with the phrase,

“Let Us Celebrate That God is Sovereign”

1. Over Satan’s Delegated World Rule

2. Over Satan’s Angels (Demons, Evil Spirits)

3. Over Satan’s Hand in Persecution

4. Over Satan’s Life-Taking Power

5. Over Satan’s Hand in Natural Disasters

6. Over Satan’s Sickness-Causing Power

7. Over Satan’s Use of Animals and Plants

8. Over Satan’s Temptations to Sin

9. Over Satan’s Mind-Blinding Power

10. Over Satan’s Spiritual Bondage

Now, for those of you not familiar with the Bible or Christianity, this list might seem a little ridiculous. After all, aren’t Satan and demons a figment of our imagination? Or, you might be thinking so, Gary, the way you’re framing this list are you saying that some of this is happening intentionally? And others might be thinking, so, is this a battle of good versus evil? And who’s winning?

Glad you asked!

To the first question I would say, the greatest and most successful deception of Satan is to make us believe that he does not exist. If not for the teaching of Scripture we would know very little but the Bible is clear that the Satan or the devil is very real. More later when I do a separate note on how Piper develops some of these themes. To the second question, is what’s happening up in Tohoku not an accident, that is, did something cause it? Well, let me take this out of Christianity for a second. The governor of Tokyo made the mistake of calling the earthquake/tsunami that. He said that because of Japan’s egoism this horrific disaster was a “Ten-batsu”, literally, punishment from heaven or “divine retribution” as some news agencies have translated it. In other words, Shintaro Ishihara, a Japanese non-Christian man, said that there was “something behind this”, that it didn’t happen by accident. More on this later, too. To the last question, is this a battle between Satan and God, of good versus evil? Actually, the question should be framed, is this an EQUAL battle between Satan/evil and God/good (to put it in plain terms)? The answer here would be, no. Nothing happens without God’s permission. Satan is under God’s sovereign control even should God allow Satan to cause havoc upon humankind (see Job, chapters one & two). Again, this statement opens up a whole new can of “why” questions or even “how” ones. Again, I can’t answer that here but want to try to address what Piper says on a few of these things.

Let me just quote him and close now. I’ll come back to this later. I need to go out pretty soon.

Signs of “in-breaking of the kingdom of God.” Piper uses this phrase in relation to the impact of Christ healing people. But I think this concept has deep meaning when it is applied to radioactive foods, earthquake relief and human suffering in general. Even in the midst of disaster and tragedy God “breaks in.” He sometimes does it unilaterally on his own but many times He does it through people. For the aforementioned serious issues we’re dealing with here, I am trusting Him for “the in-breaking of His kingdom.”

“God, not Satan, is the final ruler of wind — and the waves.” Here, Piper was referring to the story in the gospels where Jesus literally made the wind and seas stop raging during a storm (see Mark 4:39). But I am applying this to the wind carrying radioactive particles or the water and the waves tainting the water supply. Yes, it is true that things are already beginning to happen here. But, once more, is our faith and what the Bible says about God’s control over nature irrelevant in this circumstance? Or, should we just trust in science to solve it or in our own intuition as we seek to flee from disaster (see my note on Calvin’s viewpoint on this)?

I want you to know that I am not treating this lightly and am not saying that this is all solved. But does my faith relate to any of this or do I just put it to the side and rely on reason, science, the government or other “experts”? It is a measure of all of the above, I think, but I don’t want faith to take a backseat while we trust in “man” and his abilities also (see Zech 4:6).

Finally, do we believe God more than Satan in the midst of this? Because Satan has the power not simply to mislead people but to deceive and “blind” them to all that is true and good. Piper quotes from 2 Corinthians 4:4, and 4:6, to show us “God’s blindness-removing power over against Satan’s blinding power” because this blinding power “is the most deadly weapon in the arsenal of Satan. If he succeeds with a person, the suffering will be endless.” I want to believe God more than Satan, more than even the circumstances I see around me. I choose Christ even as I carefully evaluate the present danger.

God is the king of the universe, creator of nature itself. God is in charge, Satan or “chance” is not. We are often blinded in our disbelief and must allow “the veil to be lifted” from our eyes so that our suffering is not self-fulfilling and endless.

Above all, as we walk with God and trust Him, even against insurmountable odds like the food and water supply we can rejoice in Him, and Him alone, for His glory.

Let Us Celebrate That God is Sovereign.” God is good, God is great. Let us thank Him.

Mustard seeds aren’t sexy

Ky Martin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 16:51:30 +0000

“He put another parable before them saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Matt. 13:31-32.

A mustard seed starts as something very small, the smallest of all seeds. But it eventually becomes something huge. Palestinian mustard plants can grow up to 12 feet tall. The illustration Jesus is making is clear: Things seemingly small and insignificant are often quite the opposite. But in what way does that describe the Kingdom?

To a first century Jew expecting a Messiah to come and overthrow Rome, the life of Jesus would seem very small and insignificant. He was convicted by the authorities of the religion he claimed to uphold. He was crucified by the nation that the Messiah was expected to conquer. And the followings he amassed were always either small, unreliable, or both. Given the expectation of what the Messiah would do, it would seem that Jesus accomplished very little through His life and death.

God seems to love irony. The life and death of this seemingly insignificant person from Nazareth was the biggest, most significant thing ever to happen in the history of humanity. “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Mark 12:10). The end result of this seemingly insignificant man is a Kingdom (the church) far greater and influential than any political country or kingdom.

And it doesn’t stop with Jesus. This principle of God accomplishing his work through the seemingly insignificant is true of not only the beginning of His Kingdom but of it’s expansion, too. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

I see this intersecting my every-day life in two ways:
1. It reminds me that we bring nothing to the table: Have you ever had the thought, “I really wish ____ would come to faith because that person is SO extraverted and influential. He would make a huge impact on the Kingdom.”? As if God needs important or influential people to accomplish His purposes.

Do we really think that God NEEDS celebrities and extraverts to expand His Kingdom? God launched this whole Christian movement with a Nazarene and 12 fickle, uneducated knuckleheads who fled the scene when things got dangerous. His options were truly endless, and yet that is how He chose to do it. Similarly, God is using the small, seemingly insignificant people like you and I (as part of His church) to advance His Kingdom. He doesn’t need celebrities to make it happen.

2. The ordinary is significant: Just like God chose 12 ordinary uneducated men as his means, He has chosen me to lead my family, serve His church and share His gospel. That may mean that I need to spend less time dreaming about the “big things” that I could accomplish and focus more on the ordinary.

I remember as a high school student always looking for the next spiritual benchmark. I longed for that camp, or that trip, or that mentor that would take my faith to the next level. I treated those things as if they were the apex of spirituality. Ironically, the apex is the ordinary: Sitting with God’s people (church) under the preached word; Shepherding my wife by reading Scripture together; Taking the Lord’s Supper. Those things aren’t sexy, but neither are mustard seeds. These seemingly small things deserve my full attention. They are the means God has appointed for the expansion of His Kingdom in my life and around the world.

Jami’s Trip to Paris

Jami Gainey — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 18:28:52 +0000

Paris, France. What do you think of? The Eiffel Tower? The Louvre? The Notre Dame Cathedral?

Yes, those monuments are all there, all a part of the city. But the suburbs of Paris are what caught my attention a lot more than the locations that attract tourists.

My idea, incredibly misconstrued, of what France entailed, was radically shifted and enlightened during the four days during Spring break that I walked and prayed with the M’s through these suburbs. In the district where we were, there are people from every country in the world except for three countries. It’s truly where the nations gather.

Walking through the market place, I found myself surrounded by North Africans from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. Most of the North Africans don’t have jobs, except for the occasional man who maintains a janitorial position cleaning up after the markets end. The few Muslim women that I saw were almost completely covered, some showing on their eyes, a few more leaving their faces uncovered. I met South African women, with dark skin and painted faces, clothed in the bright colors of their traditional African dress. Occasionally I’d pass a Hindi woman, identified by the red dot on her forehead.

On Friday afternoon, at a few minutes past one o-clock, I saw four hundred men fill the streets of a particular suburb to listen to an imam teach and then corporately and simultaneously lift their voices and bend their backs to pray to a false God.

That’s the Paris I saw. That’s what I witnessed.

But I also met a handful of Egyptian Christ-followers who were clearly unveiled to the gospel, glowing from the reflection of Christ in their lives. I saw these families sharing the gospel in the varying Arabic dialects with some of their own people on the streets of these suburbs.

God’s work is ancient and existent in these suburbs of Paris, France. And I’m excited that some of our students are being allowed the opportunity to join God at work there and pray through the streets where people have heard about Jesus, but don’t know the truth about him.

Please join us in praying for God’s fame to continue to spread, especially in Paris, France.

Listen to Shu’s Message

Aaron Clayton — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:40:52 +0000

In November we hosted the first ever iGo Conference, and our theme was The Body. The Bride. The Church. (We are finalizing conference info for 2011 right now, which will be released soon.) We spent a couple of days talking about what it means to love and serve the local church.

Shu opened the conference with a challenge to love your church. He pointed us to God’s undying love for his church, even when it is unhealthy or dysfunctional. He closed that session by giving us 5 practical ways to love our church:

1) Pray for your church

2) Look for evidences of grace

3) Apply the Core Values

4) Invest in your church

5) Build up the body

It’s been a few months since then, and a lot has happened for all of us, so it is a good time to get introspective and ask ourselves if we’re really living this way. Are you investing in your local church, looking for evidences of God’s grace in it, and giving yourself to God’s work THROUGH your church, rather than around it or in spite of it?

Listen to Shu’s message again (by clicking the link or searching for iGo Global in iTunes), and ask yourself some hard questions. And then respond in obedience.

Pray for India

Emily Martin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:00:34 +0000

Capital: Delhi

Population: 1,214,464,312

Peoples: India is the most ethnically diverse nation on earth, with over 2,500 distinct people groups. 2,223 of those people groups are unreached.

- South Asian Peoples – 97.7%
(Including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi-Konkani, Rajasthan, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayali, Urdu Muslim, Jat, Munda-Santal, Punjabi, Oriya, Gond, Bhil, Gypsy, Kashmiri, Assamese, and Oraon groups.)
- Tibetan/Himalayan Peoples – 1.1%
- Iranian-Median - 0.9%
- Others – 0.3%

Languages: The official language is Hindi, which is spoken by 40% of the population, but there are over 456 other languages spoken throughout India.

Religions:

- Hindu – 74.33%
- Muslim – 14.20%
- Christian – 5.84%
- Sikh – 1.86%
- Ethnoreligionist – 1.35%
- Buddhist 0.82%
- Other – 1.1%

70% of India is under the age of 35, and 31% under the age of 15.

How can you pray?

1. India has more unreached individuals than any other nations. In fact, the world’s least-evangelized people groups are concentrated in India. 133 of 159 people groups are considered unreached. A really good place to read about different people groups throughout India is: http://www.joshuaproject.net/

2. Hinduism is the world’s third largest religious system. Hinduism is a civilizational dynamic that permeates every aspect of life, embracing those who live in or identify India and its culture. It has a large range of religious beliefs (ranging from self-realization, rituals, and animism) and absorbs any religion it encounters. Hinduism is regarded as a religion of tolerance and peace. The Hindu caste system has created major issues. There are four major caste divisions: Forward Castes, other Backward Castes, Dalit/Bahujan/Scheduled Castes, and Scheduled Tribes. These have been the foundation of the Indian social order for centuries. Discrimination based on caste is constitutionally illegal, but caste-based discrimination is still a major issue. Pray that the government will handle the reality of caste discrimination wisely. Pray for churches: that in their outreach they may be sensitive to the caste networks and that they would not discriminate based on caste. The Hindu ideology of “India is Hindu only” is used to justify persecution against Muslims and Christians, saying that they are foreign faiths. Pray for local believers and leaders to be united and courageous in the face of widespread and localized persecution.

3. Pray for the Church in India. Pray that leaders would lead their churches well and proclaim the gospel boldly. Pray for more teachers and pastors to be trained and discipled well since most who are sent out to teach and lead in churches have very little training or preparation for their ministry. Pray for the boldness of local believers that they would proclaim the gospel unashamedly and stand firm in the face of persecution.

4. I’ll be honest: I was overwhelmed as I sat down and read about the nation of India. Who wouldn’t be? Pray for more workers to go and boldly proclaim the gospel in this largely unreached nation.

The information provided is from the book Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. You can go to the Operation World website to order your own copy here http://www.operationworld.org/

Owl Team Shirt Voting

Emily Martin — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:58:34 +0000

It’s time to cast your vote for this year’s team shirt. The winning shirt will become the 2011 Team Shirt! Vote now!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.