Conventional Wisdom

This past weekend my wife and I attended the National Missionary Convention. As I stated in my last post, this weekend is a special place for me. What I didn't mention is that it was at the NMC where Lindsay and I decided that we were going to share our lives together in ministry (this is after we broke up and then got back together).

I think Joel Searby said it best when he said that he views the convention with "different eyes " each time he attends the convention. The first time I went, I was highly critical of the guilt trip I felt for not being a missionary. Later, I came primarily trying to see how someone like myself could fit into God's global plan without having to learn a foreign language. Then I came as an ambassador for Lincoln trying to make contacts for Week of E3. This time was unique in that I came with my eyes looking to find old friends and new co-workers. I didn't realize until this past weekend how frustrated I had become in our support raising. However, God showed us once again that God's faithfulness is bigger than any promise or action that I can do on my own.

I can't tell you the joy I felt as I talked to prospective partners and followers of Jesus who just wanted to know more about the work God is doing around the world. At some points during the weekend, I didn't know if my voice was going to stay together or if I would be able to keep my emotions in check. There are just some things that God brings into our lives at specific moments that bring us into awe of His presence. Four things stuck with me:

1) During the opening ceremonies flags from around the world were carried in as we sang praises to God. There was just something about being in that large of audience seeing representatives of the nations all there in one body. Since I walked into that worship service after seeing several friends, I felt like I got to experience a small piece of heaven. I don't know all that heaven will intel but I do know that I am looking forward to being with our God and our brothers and sisters around the world who have stayed true to His name.

2). Walter Birney received a Restoration Award from Lincoln Christian College. Who is Walter Birney you ask; he is the guy who does the behind the scenes stuff for the NMC since the creation of the event. The story that captured the essence of Mr. Birney's desire to just be a servant of Jesus resides in the manner he traveled around the country this past year. In order to save the convention money, he decided to sleep in his car. The thought of this great saint sleeping in his car to save people like me money brings tears to my eyes. What an amazing testimony of a man who simply loves Jesus. The kicker of the story is that this isn't the first year he has done this. Year after year, Mr. Birney just makes every sacrifice possible so that Christ can be exalted through this event.

3). One day during a lull in the action at the PBT booth, I looked over to see one of my partners reading his Bible. This may not seem like a big deal until you understand that William Butler is a Bible Translator in Papua New Guinea. The guy has spent his entire life reading scripture and then when he has this "break" away from his work, he is there reading God's word in order to know God better.

4). At the end of the conference, the preacher played this clip of a football player doing a bear crawl with a teammate on his back. The whole time the blindfolded linebacker creeped up the field, his coach cheered him on to "not quit. Don't you give up on me. Do your absolute best!" When the player took off his blindfold, he not only went the amount that he thought was impossible, he made it all the way into the endzone. While watching this movie, tears rolled down my eyes. God used this clip to encourage me not to give up. Even though some parts of this season of our life is difficult, God wants us to not give up on him. As I sit hear typing this post, I can still hear those words echoing in my ears. My prayer is that they will continue to echo in my heart.

As I walk away from this weekend, I feel my bateries recharged. God knew that we needed this weekend to teach us servanthood, remember our passion for His word, and catch a glimpse of heaven even more than I could have ever realized. Thank you Father for not giving up on me. Help us to become less so that you can become more.