Kontaktmission E-mail Update & Gebetspost* – September 26, 2006
*That's German for "prayer mail"
*That's German for "prayer mail"
Please take a moment to at least look at the prayer requests printed in bold and bring them before the Father. Thank you!
- Please pray for Scott and Leona Way, now making preparations for departure in the spring to serve in Germany. Scott will be teaching Bible at a German Bible college. In addition to support-raising and preparing for relocation, Scott is now learning the German language. He does have at least one advantage, though… Leona is German!
- Please pray for Olga Vogel, about to give birth to twins. Peter and Olga serve in Orenburg, Russia. The Vogels already have two small girls (Alena, 3 and Emily,1), so they are going to have their hands full. In addition, they live at the top of a high-rise apartment building with a tiny elevator and they have to park the car ¼ mile away. So please pray for wisdom and God’s provision as they consider a move to a single-family house elsewhere in the city. These houses usually require significant renovation. The babies are due October 15th, but signs are that they will need to come sooner.
- Please pray for new KM-Ukraine worker Pavel Ferkalyak, a church planter in his native land and language. Pavel, who has already successfully planted one church, has just recently joined the KM team by means of support through a US church. Pray for his brand new church plant and for his assimilation into the KM team. Praise God for the addition of this new worker!
- Please pray for new missionary recruits. We are especially looking for more American missionaries for service in W. Europe.
Missions in an ADHD world
It’s become a truism as blatant as “the sun is bright”, but “frenetic” is probably the word which best describes the schedules many of us keep. We are overrun with opportunities and activities – not to mention people – all screaming for more of our precious time and attention. Christians who attend churches larger than just a few dozen face even more of these options and opportunities for service than do non-believers.
All this reminds me of the symptoms of ADHD. Even if they aren’t shackled with this kind of schedule, how hard life must be for people – children and adults – who suffer from Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder, which keeps their brains from focusing on any one thing for long enough to direct their concentration and energy at it.
How hard it is for people, families and churches with “too much on our plates” to focus on the things that really count. Our thinking isn’t clear; the thought processes look like they’re under the remote control of a channel-surfer. We hardly have time to give serious consideration to the very question, “What is important?”, let alone to attempt to live by the answer consistently. Everything, always seems urgent, important, and on the verge of causing real trouble should we fail to give it our attention.
There are a number of straightforward statements of God’s Will in God’s Word which help me gain some clarity. In crystal clear, strongest-possible language, Jesus says in what is apparently His final statement to us as an air-breathing human that we are to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He commanded. It’s so clear and powerful it sometimes makes my eyes water.
I have heard that there are medications doctors prescribe for ADHD, ones that really help sufferers to focus and regain control. I wonder what might serve as a medication for the church’s Attention Deficit, but I’m forced to admit there probably isn’t one available. We are responsible for what we can’t seem to focus on. Church leaders and individuals are responsible for keeping the focus on the Great Commission and the Greatest Commandment. Please, let’s do our part to stay focused while so many things are trying to get in the way. Don’t forget to serve actively in missions, don’t forget to give, and please don’t forget to pray.
Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in Kontaktmission and
church planting in Europe.