Leading with Cultural Intelligence

I just finished reading this book: Leading with Cultural Intelligence by my friend David Livermore.  David and I first met while traveling together and training youth pastors in Quito, Ecuador and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This book is a must read for anyone traveling to countries outside their own for mission work or for business. There are great resources and helpful tools throughout each chapter to help grow ones cultural intelligence. Dave talks about how cultural intelligence goes way beyond modifying your behavior to real transformation of cross-cultural behavior from the inside out.

The Externally Focused Quest part 2

Last month I finished reading The Externally Focused Quest. I've written a short review in a previous post, but here I would like to share some great insight form the authors Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw.  IN Chapter 8 of their book they focus on evangelism and the importance of mobilizing what they call kingdom laborers, not just community volunteers.  They do a great job explaining the value and balance of Good News and good deeds.

Here is an excerpt from that chapter:

Sometimes people ask, "But what if the people we serve don't respond the way we'd like them to?" The truth is that many people won't come to faith regardless of what evidence the have (Matthew 11:20). So in Luke 17:11-17, we read of Jesus and ten lepers. Lepers were the outcasts of society. Jesus did what only he could do: he cleansed all ten of the lepers. Interestingly, only one in ten returned to Jesus and made the God connection by giving praise to God,  We think Jesus knew all along that only one would make the God connection, and yet knowing that nine would go on their merry way didn't prevent Jesus from healing them.  He healed them not because they would convert but because they were broken.

I think that is a very powerful concept to remember when we are helping others!  Later on in that same chapter the authors quote John Stott and his insight regarding motives in service:

To sum up, we are sent into the world, like Jesus, to serve. For this is the natural expression of our love for our neighbors.  We love. We go. We serve. And in this we have (or should have) no ulterior motive. True, the gospel lacks visibility if we merely preach it, and lacks credibility if we who preach it are interested only in souls and have no concern about the welfare of people's bodies, situations and communities. Yet the reason for our acceptance of social responsibility is not primarily in order to give the gospel either a visibility or a credibility it would otherwise lack, but rather simple uncomplicated compassion. Love has no need to justify itself. It merely expresses itself in service wherever is sees need.


We love. We go. We serve.

The Externally Focused Quest

I just finished an excellent book on becoming the best church for the community.  So often I think churches can focus on trying so hard to become the best church in the community, instead of realizes that they exist for the community. This book is actually a follow up ot the Externally Focused Church  written in 2004. The Externally Focused Quest is a must read for all church leaders and anyone who has a vision for the world outside the walls of their church.

When you read this book you will want to be close to a computer so you can look up all the web addresses that the authors mention of examples and resources.  This book is packed with them!
I loved chapter six that focused on partnerships and collaboration.  Eric and Rick discuss how this is a must for churches desiring to become the best they can be for the community.

I think what is so great about this book is it's practicality!  If you want to lead others in any city reaching efforts, or even making an impact on your block you have to rush out and get this book.  It will inspire you, encourage you and give you the tools to put feet to your dreams about loving your community.

Be on the look out for the next book in this 'series" titled To Transform a City. It should be out in September of 2010. I've pre-ordered my copy at amazon.com and excited to get my hand on it!

God & Poverty

Bono "preaching" about God's view of the poor...inspiring.

When is God Good?

Have you ever doubted God's goodness in your life or the world around you?  Here is message I gave a couple weeks ago at my church.

Sowing Seeds

On a recent mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico part of our team had quite the memorable experience.  One morning in the village of San Mateo Mixtepec where we were staying we got up and went out on a prayer walk   asking God to show us opportunities where we could show Christ's love in a practical way and use open doors to share the Gospel.


As we were walking up the mountain we ran into a woman who was expecting to give birth in about a month.  She told us that she would be planting her corn with her husband in the morning.  We asked her if she would like some free help. She said that would be great so we got directions and told her we'd see her the following day.


We had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into, but it turned out to be the most memorable highlight of the trip. We drove as far up the mountain as we could and then we spent the next 30 minutes climbing up to their corn field which was literally on the side of the mountain at about a 45 degree angle! We helped them plant their 2 acres of corn by hand all morning at an elevation of 6000 feet!  Sustenance farming...that was a definite first!  How we did that without falling down the mountain is a mystery to me!

This was my view looking down to the silver truck that we drove in. We had to climb down that ravine and then up to this corn field.

The view back up the mountain side that we just planted.

When we were done we asked them if we could pray with them. We prayed for their crops to have the best yield they had ever experienced! May God grant not only great corn harvest, but also a great spiritual harvest of the seeds planted in the hearts of the people of San Mateo Mixtepec!

Reaching the Unreached

I just returned with an awesome team from my church who were on mission for a week in Oaxaca, Mexico. This region of Mexico has the largest concentration of people in the western hemisphere who are still unreached and primarily unengaged with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We were serving alongside one of the missionaries that our church supports on a monthly basis; his name is Peter Cawthon.  Peter took us into the mountains of Oaxaca to the village of San Mateo Mixtepec.  Living at an elevation of about 6000-feet is a people group of 1000 Mixtepec Indians whose ancestors settled there in the 1500’s.  We had a great week of serving alongside the villagers.  We did daily prayer walks through the village, showed gospel films, helped them plant their crops, cut their wood and improve their school buildings among many other things. 

Let me tell you a little of what we learned about this people group.    They are a very stoic group, who see themselves at the bottom of the humanity totem pole.  They are among the poorest in Mexico and are looked down upon because of they are darker, shorter and poorer than all other Mexicans.  They think that everyone is out to get them and that they deserve every bad thing they have coming to them.  They see themselves as last in line and if there was a ‘proverbial handout’ that they wouldn’t receive anything. On top of that they believe that Jesus is angry with them because their sins killed him.  They have a very fatalistic worldview.

This village of sustenance farmers is known as ‘the village of young widows’ because the majority of the men drink themselves to death in their 30’s and 40’s.  Spousal abuse is very common here in this male dominated society. 

So how do we share with young Anastacia pictured here, growing up in the mountain village of San Mateo that God is good? 

Or with Lovia a grandmother from this same village who’s husband died 12 years ago from alcohol poisoning? We did that through engaging their life in their everyday, helping them with daily chores, conversations, praying for the sick and just loving on these people. 

May God grant a great spiritual harvest of the seeds planted in the hearts of the people of San Mateo Mixtepec!