Prayer Partner Update

As you read this, I'm probably checking the inventory of Bibles, audio Bibles, and Christian literature in a Seoul USA distribution center (located inside of a closed country). More about that in the next update, though.

This past week, I had the chance to attend an intense 6-day, 12 hour/day missionary training Seoul USA hosted for pastors and missionaries to North Korea. Most of the attendees were North Koreans themselves; there were Underground University students and alumni, along with a couple of South Korean pastors, too.

Sitting in a room like that, it really gives you a good appreciation for the body of Christ - and the necessity of body-thinking: a team concept for field operations to the persecuted church. The facilitator of the program is a pastor from Missouri, USA. No way he's going to be able to go underground in North Korea. He's a stereotypical Caucasian with a bit of a Southern accent. And of course, no one's going to mistake me for a Korean, Han Chinese, or any nationality whose skin color isn't "bright white."

But this is cause for celebration, no whining here. As much as I'd like to go into North Korea myself and distribute Bibles, witness, preach and heal, I probably have a better chance of winning the lottery in the near future. What I get to rejoice in is that God has given me the opportunity to work with these Christians who do have the right qualities to go into these closed countries and be the voice and hands of Christ. I get to be the bicep, or knee or the shoulder of Christ in that process, and as you know, that's what we need.

We don't need a body with 50 hands. We need a body that works together under Christ to do the transforming work of the Gospel.

As we do operation in the field, the assessment of our role and the best person in each role is critical. If we can't put our desires aside and focus on how to best structure a team around a person's strengths and weaknesses to build the best team, the best body, then we put our own selfish desires ahead of doing the work of God.

And usually, it isn't the risky business that lacks for volunteers. It is the mundane, the repetitive, the boring stuff. No one really thinks a lot about their shoulders until they injure them, right? So when in the field, make sure that the right person is the hand, the right person is the shoulder and that we are focused on being Christ's body together to serve the persecuted church instead of trying to carry that burden alone.

And this is isn't just for field ops. In our churches, our ministries, and our home congregations, we should constantly evaluate how we develop and conform to be Christ-like through the work we do as we take on various roles at various times. Don't just do the things you like. Evaluate how you edify the whole body of Christ through the specific role you serve in.