The mission of the Global Leadership Summit is “Transforming local churches around the
world with an annual injection of vision, skills development, and inspiration in
the lives of Christian leaders.” For
three of the days that I will be in Norway, I will be helping to prepare the
church in Oslo for the Summit and working with the staff of Willow Creek to present the Summit. The rest of the time there will be filled
with travel, local serving opportunities, prayer, some sight-seeing, and a lot of
relationship building with the Norwegians.
From the Willow Creek Association and the Global Leadership
Summit’s website, “The Global Leadership Summit is a two-day, world-class
leadership event experienced by more than 170,000 leaders around the world,
representing more than 14,000 churches. It's telecast LIVE from Willow's campus
(near Chicago) every August. Throughout the fall, Summit events take place in
an additional 300+ cities, 92 countries—and translated into 42 languages. This
event is crafted to infuse vision, skill development and inspiration for the
sake of local church transformation.”
A year ago, I would have answered why I want to go to Norway
completely differently than I now answer it.
I probably would have said something to the effect of “it sounds cool”, “I
liked Denmark, this can’t be that different, right?” or maybe even to make an impression
on the people in my life.
Now, however… I have grown and am completely different person.
- I’ve experienced the deep loss of close relationships
- Experienced first-hand the amazing power of prayer (Have you
ever tried a 30-day prayer challenge?)
- Watched God work miracles (read my previous post of 360 on
694 for just one example)
- Have seen and experienced restored relationships
… and most importantly, I want other people to be able to experience
the same kind of living faith that I have.
I also feel very strongly about the verses in Matthew where Jesus is commissioning His disciples. Maybe it’s because these verses were emphasized while I attended Northwestern. Maybe it’s because I love international travel. Maybe it’s because it’s simply because it’s the way God has wired me.
Matthew 28: 16 – 20, The Great Commission verses read:
“Then the eleven disciples went to
Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him,
they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All
authority in heaven and on hearth has been given to me. 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.’”
Jesus is speaking to his disciples after he has
resurrected. He is telling his disciples
to spread out past Jerusalem. Many of
them went to Judea, Syria, Cilicia (Paul went here to Tarsus). They didn’t stay still. The disciples and apostles went beyond the
boundaries of comfort into nations that were new, spoke different dialects, and
would have had to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, their faith, and prayer
to have their most basic needs met. God
didn’t say only go to the poor nations or neighborhoods to build wells and
houses; although he did say to take care of the poor. What God did say is (1) GO TO ALL NATIONS,
(2) MAKE DISCIPLES, (3) BAPTIZE, and (4) TEACH.
So, if all of us go to Africa, Haiti, the inner city, etc… who will
reach the nations that have material goods, yet are spiritually bankrupt? Me.
The underdog… except in this case, it’s the spiritual underdog – not the
social underdog, not the financial underdog, and not the week underdog. It’s spiritual. I want the Norwegians and the leaders there
to have the same kind of joy that I have. I want to share my faith story with
them. I want them to know the
unbelievable and immeasurable power of prayer.
I want them to have an opportunity to have the same kind of real
relationship with Jesus that I have.
Even though I know that I have God on my side, I still need your support. Prayer support for preparing the trip, staying strong and overcoming spiritual warfare, and safe travels. Another way to support me is through financial support.
I have about 20% raised, but still need your help. The last day to contribute to my trip is October 15th.
If you can help support me financially, you can click here. And then, finally, I will need someone to help me out with Osakis the weekend I am gone (November 1, 2, and 3rd). I could use your help taking him outside and feeding him. Just let me know if you can help out!
Here's some more info about what the GLS is...
Highlights from the Global Leadership Summit in August 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2NuCZtxiAw#t=88
Additional Resources
No comments:
Post a Comment