Podcasting

You might think with the advent of YouTube and other such media that radio and podcasting are soon to be a thing of the past. However, the trend internationally (and especially in Africa) is still that audio dominates.

YWAM is entering into a new season of podcasting. The global YWAM Podcast is awesome, thanks Bill for your hard work on this. If you haven't already, please take a look – follow the link and listen to the latest podcast. It really helps us see how God is moving continuously in the nations. Also, this is great if you're an intercessor and value an update on which to focus your prayers.

Now, YWAM AfriCom is entering into the game with ywamafricapodcast.org. It is still to be launched and will be spear-headed by our latest addition to the team, Stefan Hall. Please keep AfriCom in your prayers as this will be a big undertaking for us, contacting friends across the continent to get their updates and share the news internationally.

Collaboration is the name of the game, encouraging all within YWAM to share their knowledge, share their news, update each other and build mechanisms for good flow of information. May God continue to guide us as we do this.

A new season for Africa

Yesterday I watched a TED Talk on ending acute global poverty given by Bono known as the Good News on Poverty. The talk was very inspirational and showed that if we all worked together, fought for just laws and preferred our neighbour over ourselves, we could end global poverty by 2028.

Exciting, hey!?

I have great hope for Africa. I see a generation of unsatisfied Africans being raised up to bring about a change that will rock the world. Just this morning received an email from a Rwandan friend of mine where he talks of his own journey with God.

In it, he said:
Telling and explaining the truth, it seems, requires God's own tutorship and investing much time in learning all that the Lord brings before you:-) I thank the Lord for great opportunities not only for having knowledgeable instructors but also for the grace of learning new things.

All this makes me turn my eyes to my beautiful country, Rwanda--with all her vast needs, not only physical but, even much more, spiritual. There's no poverty so dire as spiritual, so much so that when it's met by the Lord the poor are deemed rich in his estimation, no matter how materially poor they may be. The example is the words addressed by the Lord to the Church of Smyrna: ... I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:8-9 NIV).  

Rwanda, too, has vast needs, that is, in a total sense, encompassing physical and spiritual. I believe the Lord has ordained that i should be one of the people whom He shall use to meet some of the needs. That's why He has brought me to South Africa, as it were in a wilderness, to learn His Word and different ways to minister it. He keeps me in school because, i suppose, spiritual needs will grow worse and worse; whereas for the saved, there's a dire need for growth which is brought about not by mere length of time but by proper feeding from the Dish of Christ. Without this we can expect degeneration at every turn. Therefore, brothers and sisters, pray for us, that the Lord, having committed this ministry to us, the earthen vessels, may form us accordingly, and that we may in the end not prove to be stubborn but obedient.

The fact that I'm British living in Africa doesn't mean that I have the solutions. I do not have a saviour mentality or rescuing complex. Far from it. What we have is a faith in the God who created this beautiful planet and a willingness to serve Him wherever He sends us. This perspective means that when we enter a new place and meet new people, we ask God for what He wants us to do and allow Him to move us, challenge us and use us affect positive change for those around us.

Matthew complete

I have just finished reading Matthew. What an awesome gospel. I love this book. If I can recommend anything, it's reading big chunks of text – even whole books – at one sitting. Matthew was too much for me, but I managed it in three sittings (I'm a slow reader, with a 2 year old kid!). The Jesus represented here is so different from the one I hear about often in the media and at church. He's radical, daring, bold and courageous. He's compassionate and kind. He does not suffer fools and applies great wisdom.

I really had to wrestle with some of the text, especially when it came to the place of the chosen people of God. I knew the importance of Israel in God's eyes, but I really didn't appreciate it until I read this gospel. Jesus strongly, passionately, walked in obedience to what his calling was that people often took it as insolence and arrogance. He knew who his Father was and He unashamedly carried out His Father's business.

I know the Bible wasn't written to me, or for me, but the inspired Word of God to reveal His character and His purpose. And if you allow the Bible to speak to you, and change you in your thinking, it has the power to transform. Reading the Bible in this way is uncomfortable and can be irritating – challenging us to our very core.

Reading Matthew, I began to get revelation that demons also worship Jesus; that proclaiming and confessing his name is not enough; that God calls us into something so much higher and more important. It starts with worship and then moves on to simple, child-like obedience.

It's so wonderful to get to know the God of the Bible: His passions, His purpose and His calling. He's the one I will follow. However, I may get very broken along the way!

Out of the mouths of babes

I'm still working on reading my Bible. I'm only up to Matthew 17. I'll let you know how I get on later today...

Meantime, I've been debating whether to use English terms with Joshua or American. Where we live is quite British in its history and way of working, but the YWAM campus has a lot of Americans. I therefore want our son to have a grasp of both American terms and British so that he doesn't feel alienated when a babysitter says: "let's change your diaper".

This morning, walking to creche with him, it was rush hour, with lots of traffic, he pointed and said, "lorry", I said, "yes, well done, that's right". I then said, "it's also called a truck..." to which he said, "kuk, kuk" (not being able to pronounce the 'tr' sound yet). However, it sounded a lot like 'kok', which, when said out loud appeared that he was swearing!

So when I walk into creche, his first words to the teacher was: "Daddy saw a kok".

Jesus is radical

Just read Matthew 6-14 and I'm learning more about the character of Jesus from Matthew's account. He's such a bold, courageous, daring, fearless leader. He took no nonsense, he had huge humility and compassion, yet was not a people-pleaser. This is the leader I want to follow.

I'm reading the Bible in a new way this year: whole books at a time. Matthew is a bit more challenging because of its length and the amount in it. I'm finding myself stopping and imagining in the character of Jesus and how he was received when he walked the earth.

Sermons are good and necessary in every Christian's walk, but if we're not reading the Bible regularly and allowing it to challenge us directly, we can end up following some crackpot ideas created by fallible humans.

The part of seeds and the separation of the good from the bad on judgment day filled me with an awesome fear of God whilst reading it and my heart skipped a beat as I realised in a new way how real God's authority, power and judgment is.

May God continue to guide all of us who are serving Him to protect ourselves from the snare of the enemy. Help us Lord to know you, be obedient to your call and to keep ourselves pure and Holy in Your sight. Amen.

Trying again

I thank God that my journey with him is so full of grace and mercy. When I have failed in my work God is giving me a second chance. Where I have failed at spending time in prayer, intercession and quiet times, God is giving me a second chance. Where I have failed to read the Bible, God is giving me a second chance.

I recognise my skills and abilities, but often overlook my failings. Having done StrengthsFinder as a team, we can clearly see our gaps in our skills and I have been praying for a few weeks now for God to help me staff my weak areas in my ministry. However, God has been guiding me to a different thought: allow Him to work in areas that we cannot; allow Him to get the glory. Just as when we don't have the finances (more often than is comfortable - great tips, by the way on the YWAMKB on how to fundraise), when we don't have the skills, God is the one who can give us the tools to get the job done. So, personally, I am really trusting Him now to bridge the gap of skills that we currently have on the team, and if that's supernatural provision, then so be it!

Part of my recent lack of discipline is not having regular fellowship and bible study outside of the Sunday church service. This has happened because of having a two year old who needs to be in bed at the time when most groups meet. However, right now, my wife and I are trying out a new home group which fits better with our current circumstance (it meets in the afternoons and includes childcare). The topic this week is grace and the power that it has to spur us into action. Rather than grace being a reason to give up, quite the opposite is true: grace is the very thing that should kick us into action. Under God's grace we will be effective, productive and worthwhile citizens of this earth - pleasing to Him who made us. It gives us a purpose, a place and a reason to keep going when times are tough.

At church we are going through the gospels and just seeing if we can learn more about the nature and character of God through what the gospel writers present. The new rector of our church encouraged us this week to read through the book of Matthew. For those of you who've been following my blog for a while, you will know that last year I tried and failed to read through the entire Bible in a year. This year, I am trying a new tack which has so far been met with moderate success: read through entire books at a time. The Bible I use has a table of the books with the estimated time it takes to read through. It's surprising how many books can be read in less than an hour. Matthew is a bit longer at 2.5 hours, so it's probably not one sitting! Yet totally do-able in a week.

This morning I started and read the first five chapters. Tonight I plan to read five more. I'll let you know how I get on!

So far this year I have read Hebrews, 1 Kings, James, Malachi, Ruth and Esther. As I read, I'm asking God to transform me by its content. Watch this space to see what happens!

Thank you God that when I failed to read your Bible last year, you gave me another chance this year, with a different way of doing it. Amen

What is a luxury?

Just read a thought provoking blog post from Pubol's Post on Cultural Economics - basically how it's not easy to compare the cost of living from one country to another, because of so many variable factors. Where one thing might be cheap in one place, other things may be more expensive in another.

Living abroad, but getting funding from home means that you continuously have to work out exchange rates and compare prices of what is available to what you can afford. What might seem like an unnecessary luxury for some, may well be essential for another. For us, the debate is often about healthcare. Coming from the UK, health expenses were never really a big discussion and certainly not something that would need budgeting. Yet, living in South Africa, where healthcare is insurance-based and expensive, you can find yourself having to pay a significant portion of your budget on sickness prevention. I know for some missionaries, working in difficult situations, security is one of the big expenses. Many have to have private security guards and insurances - an expense which can prove very costly, yet completely unnecessary in the UK (and therefore often not easily understood).

From this must come a certain measure of trust from the supporters who keep us here. When we pay out a significant sum for something, we have to ask our supporters to trust us that this item is important/necessary for our continued work here. That, in itself, is a step of faith on their part.

Right now, I'm fixing my car. If this was in the UK and I had a car which was 15 years old, with over 260,000km (c.160,000 miles) on the clock with the engine that needed a whole overhaul, the cost comparison to getting it done compared to scrapping the car and buying a new one would be laughable. It would be considerably more expensive to fix than to replace. Yet, here, to fix the car will cost a fraction of what it would cost to replace. The reason? There's a flat second hand car market, making used cars really expensive. Therefore, even if it's expensive to get the car fixed, it's still worth doing, even if it is an old car!

We all look at financial decisions based on our own culture and experience. The more you travel, the more you realise that these decisions are different in every place and not always easy to make. The missionary is always in a difficult place, because they face criticism from local people on searching out 'unnecessary luxuries' that the missionary is missing from home, and spends a 'fortune' buying, whilst facing the need to defend actual necessities that those back home think are an 'unnecessary luxury'. Therefore, part of our job when we budget is to explain clearly the importance of spending extra on the 'unusual' things and why they are important to budget for. And never underestimate the importance of local knowledge!

Learning to wiki

As I gradually learn that, as a team, we can work stronger than any of our individual contributions, I'm also seeing that the same can be applied to the mission movement – that is, YWAM – as a whole.

YWAM Knowledge Base

Today I've been learning how to write 'wiki'. It's all in an effort to build a connectedness in Africa without 'doing everything' for the people we're trying to reach out to. With the advent of social networking and wiki sites, it is now perfectly possible for the masses to be literally in control of web content. Rather than just having a central office which updates and maintains the information about YWAM, we are now entering a season where any and every location which calls itself YWAM can update not only about themselves, but also about history, books, learning experiences, people groups, health care, biblical worldview etc. In fact, anything that would be useful for others to know about is now shared - or available to be updated through the YWAM Knowledge Base.

YWAM KB, as we refer to it, is a wiki website which, once registered, can be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the world. The principle behind it is: we all have things to share and here's a platform with which to do it. Things (techniques, experiences, knowledge) change over time and to have one office that is responsible for keeping up with all that is YWAM would be impossible. AfriCom champions some great stories on our website, but we are so pleased to be working on a project that hands the responsibility and ownership back into the hands of those working at the grassroots.

Writing in Wiki takes a bit of learning (hence my lessons, with my trusted friend and AfriCom staff member, Arnoud). However, when you've got the hang of it, you can share with the world some of the expertise that you know that someone else may benefit from.

As a movement, we are made up of many organisations from very different backgrounds and different giftings. It's really exciting that a tool like this can be used to pool our knowledge and resources together. It's right to the very heart of AfriCom's vision and mission.

Our heroes are also human

It is wrong to idolise, but let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater!

It is human nature to idolise - God knew that, and he told us not to do it! Yet there needs to be a balance between idolising the people we admire and showing them the respect they deserve. Though others are not above us (humans are all made equal), we can have a healthy respect for those who have gone before us and done many great things. Many have sacrificed their own wants and desires to serve God in amazing, life giving way. Yet we are not called to worship or idolise these people.

The reason I write this is because I am prone to idol worship in this way. As I stand in their presence, I find myself urging towards worshipping them. A colleague once teased me about this, suggesting that I admired our heroes a bit too much, going glassy eyed and tongue-tied in their presence! Many talk of Loren Cunningham in this way, though I have yet to meet him in person, so haven't had the opportunity to go all weak kneed! Yet not idolising our heroes doesn't mean that we don't hold them in respect and see what they have achieved in life and the anointing that such obedience (often sacrificially) carries. There is an anointing on those who serve Christ in the mission field and yet so often we focus on what they do not who they are. We idolise their obedience and sacrificial service, rather than the God who made them. This leads to an expectation that when they come to a natural turning point of handing over the work that they're doing, they become 'redundant' in the minds of the world. Yet, the anointing does not go from them, if they continue to walk in obedience with what they carry (i.e. by stopping 'works', they do not become passive in their walk with God).

Right now I'm sitting with members of the Africa leadership team for Youth With A Mission. If you look at what they have achieved in their time serving with YWAM (pioneering, maintaining, building, relating) there are many books that could be written. Just the longevity that they carry is so inspiring.

I hope and pray that these heroes of our faith will continue to be long after they complete the projects that they are doing. That way, the new, younger leaders and pioneers can have a stable foundation on which to build the next season of YWAM's work in Africa. The next generation, if they understand the anointing carried by the previous generation, will lean into them and look to see how they display Christ-likeness, giving stability and wisdom. Good leaders don't step down, they step aside, maintaining a presence and a love for what God has called them to do; they stand at the sidelines, cheering others on to achieve higher and better than they did. They coach, love and support; they bless and cherish.

But if they 'disappear' back to their home countries (like has happened many times before), without maintaining contact and good communication, the orphan spirit which exists across YWAM in Africa will be  perpetuated over and over again.

I admire these leaders and they have my vote to stay here, supported by us - the next generation - and being the stability for us to continue to press on towards the higher goal. (Phil. 3:14)

On the journey

Getting the balance right between striving towards that higher goal, whilst recognising that we are far from it and have a job to do now in our current state and abilities is a difficult one. Coming towards the end of 2012, I felt that 2013 would be a year for action and I'm not wrong. I have spent the past few weeks reflecting on who I am and where I'm at. Then, this week, suddenly, it's time to put into action all that I know will help me and my team serve him better this year. Taking the lead from the Book of James (faith without deeds is dead), I'm saying that, not only do I trust God that I am supposed to be here and to do what I'm doing during this season, but I'm going to embrace it with my whole heart, even if it hurts. So, while I read a very interesting post from Paula Cummings' blog on her reflection on a time to stop/give up, for me, it's a time to plough on into the work that I've been tasked with doing. I now know my strengths (thanks Holger for your amazing training), which also means that I'm more acutely aware of my weaknesses, yet I have the opportunity to do something about that, rather than pretend that I am the "super boss" who can achieve anything and everything.

I'm challenging my team this week to be on the journey with me. Walk with me, partner with me to support my skills (my strengths) and support me in my weaknesses. Being on the journey, it's a time for boundaries, deadlines and specifics for now. The future, though I love to discuss possibilities of where we can be, can wait for tomorrow.

Making life more meaningful

After discovering a person's name, what is the first thing that you ask them? "What do you do?", right? And when we ask that question, what we are really asking is: what are you paid to do? What do you complete during the hours of 9-5 Monday-Friday.

Which leads the conversation to describing each other in terms of the current job that we do. We are so accustomed to labelling ourselves in these terms that it comes to define us and who we are.

Jesus, during his ministry on earth, continuously attacked such paradigms, whether that's him renaming Simon, Peter, to give him a greater purpose in life, or asking the disciples "who do you say I am?".

Yet to step away from this cultural norm takes away a comfort in social etiquette. If we are to define ourselves by who we are rather than what we do, then we're going to have to develop a whole new way of talking to one another. For example, here's a typical conversation on two new people meeting:

- Hi, my name is Brian.
- Hi, Brian, I'm John.
- What do you do, Brian?
- I'm a builder.
- That's interesting. What kind of projects have you been working on recently?
- I just finished a house down by the river. It's a great source of pride for me actually.....(and the conversation goes on, and flows neatly back to Peter's job and how they might be related/interesting anecdotes etc).

Take that social norm away and replace it with a deeper understanding of who are are and we have something a little more awkward:

- Hi, my name is Brian.
- Hi Brian, I'm John.
- Who are you, Brian?
- I'm sorry!? What do you mean, John?
- I mean, what is your calling in life? What were you put on earth to do/be?
[awkward silence]
- A builder, I suppose. How about you?
[John, who's thought about it, replies confidently:]
- I'm a command achiever. I see a problem and I fix it, no matter who's in my way.
[Brian, getting a bit scared, starts to back away and make his excuses to leave]
- Anyway, nice to meet you, John. Must go.

So, how do we step into a zone where we are heading towards a meaningful, fruitful life, without alienating ourselves from cultural practices and norms?

For me, as I'm processing this, I think – to a certain extent – our everyday job does define us for others (at least for the first meeting). It usually is connected to our greater life purpose and goals and if it's not, at least it gives us a way in to discuss further dreams, ambitions, goals. This week I heard someone give a good explanation of this:

Know your calling/life purpose. Have a good idea of the career that fits into and then let the decisions you make in your current job lead you towards fulfilling that purpose. When someone asks 'what do you do', tell them first who you are, what that means and then what exactly you're doing right now to achieve that goal.

Grace Samson-Song (paraphrased)

So, let's re-visit that conversation again and apply this principle:


- Hi, my name is Brian.
- Hi Brian, I'm John.
- What do you do right now as a job, Brian?
- Right now, I'm a builder. What do you do?
- I'm an IT guy for a paper supply company. I enjoy it, because if see a problem, I can usually fix it, no matter what is the obstacle to overcome. There's something in me that I know I was designed to tackle problems.
- I can imagine that is a useful skill to have.
- Yes, and it's applicable in so many circumstances. How about you, what interests you in building?
- Making things has always interested me, in fact I designed all the houses I have built.

The key part, is then how we define others, based on this principle.

Old way:
Today I met Brian. He's a builder. We don't have much in common as I'm an IT geek, but he's a nice guy. 

Here, not only have I limited Brian to just being a builder, but also limited myself to geek status.

Alternative:
Today I met Brian. He has a real gift for design and he's using it right now in his job as a builder - designing the houses that he builds. I can see how his skills for visualising the end product could compliment my skills in problem solving along the way. We had a great chat. 

Both Brian and John sound like much more interesting people in the alternative scenario.

By limiting ourselves and, more importantly, to definitions of job title, we become a very dull society indeed. Because God created each one of us unique, with gifts, abilities and skills, you can never know the skills of those around you until you dig a bit deeper, where you will discover absolute gems under the most mundane job titles.

Let's redefine who we define ourselves and others to be and not limit ourselves to the 'builder' or 'IT' guy that our job title says we are!

Who has the whole picture

I love how God physically demonstrates to us how to live. The ultimate and most glorious of these demonstrations was through his Son, coming to earth and dying on the cross. But it's not just that, but every way in which he is, is the example of perfection.

Take, for example, the Holy Trinity. Although God is all seeing, all knowing, all powerful and so on... he shares the load among three beings. These three are in perfect harmony and fellowship. Each Member has the ability to work alone, but chooses to be in continuous relationship with one another. God shows us, by His very character, a perfect way of things.

If we ask ourselves, which teacher/prophet/leader has everything we need to know about God. The answer is, of course, nobody. God purposely created us so that we would need to be in fellowship to gain understanding and wisdom. Fellowship with him and fellowship with each other. The term fellowship might be old fashioned, and give you an image of 'the shire' from the Hobbit or Lord of the Rings, but I prefer the term as it gives a deeper understanding of the type of relationships we are to have.

In the past, some groups have mistaken the idea of pooling our giftings to mean that we don't need a leader because 'Jesus is our leader'. This is not true and often ends in dis-unity. We do need leaders among us, who will guide us to where we're supposed to be and stand behind the body, encouraging, supporting it and continuously pointing towards Jesus and giving all glory and credit to the Maker.

This week, my wife and I are doing a course entitled PIN code. It's designed to pick out and bring out some of our unique giftings and characteristics that shape us. Just as the PIN you use to access your cash at the ATM, this code is designed to help you unlock some of the amazing things that God has created you to be.

But we're not doing it alone. We are with an intimate group, who will reveal their PIN too. This way, we will hopefully learn and see how the body of Christ can work together in fellowship with one another. If we choose to put Christ at the centre, raise up leaders from among us who will themselves put Christ at their centre, and whose purpose is to serve and bring out the giftings of those they are leading, then we will have a mighty army, strong and powerful, able to do awesome things together.

Entering into Sonship

On the radio this morning, there was a song playing, with the repeating lyrics, "I refuse to replay the mistakes that yesterday I made". I heard this during the time I was taking my quiet time with God, reflecting on my past sins and failures and trying to work out how I stop myself from returning to them. I find it wonderful how God uses nature and those things around us to guide and support us sometimes.

January is often a time for action, shedding off the mistakes from last year and looking to become something better. One of my failures last year was Bible reading. I was trying a chronological 'bible-in-a-year' plan. However, I kept falling behind. I got so behind, that I gave up.

"The Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't"
Charles Spurgeon

Yet, thankfully God is a redeemer, a pursuer, a life coach, a friend.

This year, therefore, in the spirit of I refuse to replay the mistakes... I am going to pick myself back up and read through the Bible and dedicate time to doing it.

I have asked God for keys to stop myself slipping back into passivity and this is what he said: read whole books at a time. At first, this seemed daunting, as if he were raising the bar higher for me when I'd already failed to jump over the first hurdle. But, as I start, I notice that I can actually read many, if not all, of the books of the Bible in this way. In fact, it has given me a much better contextual understanding of the book. Thankfully the Bible I own has an index of timings, showing how long each book takes to read.

So far, I've read Hebrews (45 mins), Joel (15 mins), and Esther (30 mins). Today's task is Revelation.

As I read, I'm discovering some of the nature and character of God that I have been missing for so many years. God is a pursuer. He longs after a relationship with us.

As I gain a better understanding of who he is, I can better understand the world around me and have discernment for what is good and what is not; for what is right and what is wrong. Rather than searching scriptures to back up or test claims made, I find myself having a deep revelation of truth that God is injecting into me through my study times with him.

Stepping into this new season, I'm finding myself understanding what it is to be a son of the living God. I'm boldly stepping into a relationship that without the blood of Jesus, would be impossible.

And I'm loving it!

Christmas in the warm

Spending Christmas in South Africa as a foreigner is great if it's a planned holiday or chance of a lifetime excursion. However, if your home is elsewhere and you end up staying in a foreign country because of circumstance, then the experience is somewhat different. Though intensely beautiful and such a privilege to be in the warm during the winter, those of us who are not from here, feel the distance from home and family even stronger during this season.

As my wife and I prepare the house for our guests on Christmas day (shopping, cleaning, sorting), we feel that twinge of pain that is felt by all those who cannot journey home for Christmas. It is somewhat compounded by the fact that my wife's grandma died earlier this year, and for the last 10 or so years, we always spent Christmas day with her family at 'gran's house' in the UK.  So, as we speak over Skype with those close relatives that usually join us, we are all feeling somewhat 'out of place' in our various locations.

However, today, as I sit with my coffee to plan the worship music for church on Sunday and for Christmas day, I notice an update to Chris Lautsbaugh's blog (a fellow YWAM colleague). This year his family was able to travel back to the States to see family. But with more than 20 years mission work under his belt, he has spent a fair few Christmas holidays on the mission field. Here are some of the tips that he had, and I think they're worth sharing for anyone who finds themselves away from home this Christmas:

1. Acknowledge Things Will Be Different
In order to succeed in celebrating, you have to be in the right frame of mind, or you start miserable. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking we can make a “mini-Britain” (or wherever you are from) Christmas on location.

2. Establish New Traditions
How does the nation you are in celebrate? Embracing a new custom can be one of the best parts of the season. South African’s celebrate with the braai. A braai is a  BBQ on steroids. It take most of the day while you slowly cook food and socialize. The main course is meat and more meat. Chicken is considered a vegetable. We started a tradition of cooking some nice meat, making a casual afternoon of relaxing and enjoying the company of some of our friends. We have also added a camping vacation to this season as Christmas falls over the kid’s summer school holidays.

3. Something Old, Something New
Find a tradition you can replicate in addition to new customs. We still find a Christmas tree, even though it makes the tree from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” look like a prize winner! Our kids make ornaments rather than pulling antiques out of storage.

4. Find Community
Don’t spend it alone. Let me say this again. Find someone to celebrate with. Self pity and mourning will creep in otherwise. Invite friends, others missionaries, or even some of your co-workers for a meal and fellowship.

5. Use Technology
You can still “attend” the gatherings back home with the increase in technology. As you tell the stories of your celebration, don’t be surprised if people at home are a bit jealous of the nice weather and fun you are having!

So, if you are discouraged. Don’t give up. Keep trying things till you embrace a new tradition. Whether you are home or abroad, invest the time it takes to make this celebration special.

All throughout the Bible, celebrations were times of remembrance. Israel needed to pause and takes stock; remembering who they were and what God had done for them. Don’t let a change in geography rob you or your family from creating memories. And of course, celebrate Jesus breaking into time and space, forever changing the planet.

Merry Christmas!

The real Santa Claus

I'm so grateful to God that he believes in the written word. He created the world, then he got someone to write down exactly what happened. He sent his son to redeem mankind, then he got the witnesses to write it down. These written accounts enable us to get a clear picture of God's nature and character and gives us something to believe in and base our faith upon.

God very clearly wants us to know him and to reveal him to others who don't know him. This is such a joy and why I love my job so much.

I'm debating at the moment what to reveal to Joshua about Santa Claus or Father Christmas. The culture in many parts of the world is to celebrate this jolly fellow who is generous and gives out presents to good children. This story is also attached to mystical idea that he's still alive and travels the earth and is able to perform a miracle of visiting every child.

I thought I'd spend a bit of time reading the written account of the real St Nicholas, who lived in the 4th Century. What I see, if the records are true, are some amazing stories of provision and miracles. A real man of faith. It's no surprise that we've kept this figure 'alive' in our hearts, as he performed so many miracles, yet took no credit for himself. It was others that credited him, but in fact, he only told of how great God is.

There were times of famine, where, through prayer and intercession, Nicolas pleaded with God and harvests were multiplied. He had an amazing heart for the poor children and would bless continuously. He believed in the deity of Christ and defended his faith. He was a righteous man, devout in his discipline and walk with Christ and 'carried his cross' daily.

Yet what do we as society take from the stories? What do you teach your children about God's provision and guidance through obedience and faith? How many stories of God's compassion on the people do you see?

Adventure, excitement and make-believe is all part of a kid's life. I play with Joshua and all of his toys are not real, but 'make-believe'. It's part play, part educational (how to engage with others, how to take care of equipment etc). Each story I tell has to have a good moral undertone that would line up with scripture. We need to value truth.

I can see how this bastardisation of the story happened. It was probably in good faith that parents wanted to get their children to behave themselves, and to do that they needed a mechanism. Rather than "if you're bad, you won't get any Christmas presents", it's "if you're good, Santa Claus might visit and give you lots of presents", thereby offsetting the discipline to a third 'mystical' party who looks on you and decides if you've been good or not.

Current story of Santa Claus: Mystical figure who will give presents to children who are good.
Summary: behave yourself and you'll receive a gift.
Outworking: transactional faith by works. Ultimately selfish (if I am good, I will get what I want)

Original story: Faithful man of God serves God unconditionally, has a fulfilled life and was able to bless others, especially the poor and needy
Summary: Put God first, then serve others.
Outworking: selfless love that has no bounds.

I know which Santa Claus I'd rather teach about. So, as Joshua grows older, I'm not going to stop teaching about this saint that we all hold dearly to, but I'll tell him the true story, so that he's not 'trying to be good' with the aim to receive presents, but put others first before himself.