Zion Vision Blog
First Week of September 2008
I have been spending much of my time meeting and getting to know (I had met one team member briefly last spring.) the team members I will be serving with in Iraq. For all practical purposes these people are complete strangers to me, but I will need to be able to work with them and ultimately will depend upon them for my success, safety, maybe even my survival.
One of the team members who has had previous experience in Iraq describes it as a dark place, with not only raging physical war, but also raging spiritual warfare. I will be living just down the street from a mullah who is not a friend of the gospel. There are only a handful of Christians in this town of 800,000 so the need for Christian community seems obvious and essential.
But it is equally essential and needed in Clear Lake where the spiritual warfare is often directed toward damaging and destroying community. The enemy devotes energy and time to this effort because he knows how powerful and God-glorifying community can be. We have always worked hard at building and maintaining community at Zion because it is so essential to mission, but it also reflects God’s intention for us. Indeed we were created for community. It reflects our nature. Just as it reflects the nature of God in whose image we were created, who himself lives in community as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the God head.
As I work to develop and strengthen the team I will be working with, so it is important for you to build and strengthen our community in Clear Lake. These efforts will not only advance our mission, and glorify God, they will so be deeply satisfying.
Second Week of September 2008
Language is important. How you say things and how you express yourself can make a real difference. In the U.S. there are certain words that imply racial or ethnic tension so we avoid them so as not to offend or put up barriers. We search for the right language (sometimes new language) to challenge ourselves and cause our minds to think new thoughts or be open to new possibilities. As Christians we hopefully reflect a Christian world view in our language. But how often do you think about that? Have you ever asked yourself how does my way of expressing myself reflect my ultimate values as a Christian?
In a culture like Clear Lake we tend to forget that people are watching, listening, and evaluating our language (among other things, of course). Here in Iraq where the culture is so different and so non-Christian at best and anti-Christian at worst you have a much more intense sense of being watched and evaluated. You are aware that you are an ambassador for Christ nearly every moment. Your sense of being unique or different is much more palpable.
Maybe we should be more aware in Clear Lake. It might make us better representatives and ambassadors. Because while the sense of being watch and evaluated is probably not as intense in Clear Lake as it is here, the reality is that the watching probably is as intense. You become if not the only expression of Christ for those around you, at least one expression. So what you say is important. But don’t think of that as a burden. Think of it as an opportunity.