The Seabourns

Thoughts

Small things

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I’ve been thinking about small things lately. Little things like responding in a timely manner to those who ask me to do something. Answering emails promptly. Returning phone calls.

Last Thursday, I returned from a very good few days in Veenendaal, Netherlands. We went there to do big things. We went there to help the growing internet ministry to develop more fully.

And we did have very successful times.

As we flew back, I read the following
“Great services reveal our possibilities, but small services reveal our consecration.” (George H. Morrison)

We flew to the Netherlands to help plan and train for internet ministry in Europe.

We had some great opportunities to serve. I was able to volunteer our WebEx internet web meeting solution to allow someone from Canada and someone from Spain to participate in part of the conference.

It met a specific need for this meeting, and it revealed the possibilities of a distributed web meeting.

Now, the directors in Europe have decided to join the consortium of Campus Crusade ministries that share the cost of WebEx and share the benefits.

We had an opportunity to serve big and it revealed the possibilities.

We also had many opportunities to serve “small.”

One staff member asked Rob and me how we personalize our email that we send to our donors. He’s on our lists. Rob explained that we use Lyris, later I was able to set up a list for him to begin adding his donors.

We helped Stéphane from Switzerland a create a Global ConneXion community. He has begun what may be our first French community for his donors.

After the meetings ended Wednesday night, Roger (internet ministry director for Europe) asked Rob for some help with Outlook Express. As Rob helped him, they decided to create a GCX community for the Jesus Internet Ministry Agape Europe (the internet ministry in Europe).

“Great services reveal our possibilities, but small services reveal our consecration.”

This morning, I read that

we ought not be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. (The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence)

I also read

all things are possible to him who believes; they are less difficult to him who hopes; they are more easy to him who loves and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.

Go beyond expectations and help in little ways. It’s an act of consecration. It’s a demonstration of faith, hope, and love.

Small services reveal our consecration. It’s not the greatness of the service, but the love with which it is performed.

“He who is faithful in little things is faithful in great things.”

Travel adventures

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Kay and I have been on an adventure during our travel from Nairobi to Dallas, Texas so that we can drive back to Orlando, Florida. We were delayed a day in Nairobi due to technical difficulties. We finally made it to Paris last night. This morning, we learned that our flight to Houston, Texas was delayed 6 hours.

On Friday night after canceling our long-delayed flight, Kenya Airlines shuttled us to a hotel near the airport. Riding in the bus about 2 am, I recalled one of those critically-important lessons I learned from Henry Brandt. I had no choice about being on the bus. The flight was canceled. I was going to spend a few more hours in Nairobi, and I was going to only get 3 hours of sleep. I had no choice over those things. What I did have a choice about is my attitude. I am going to be sitting in a seat on the shuttle bus, but I could be sitting there full of joy or full of anger. I could sit there relaxing in God’s sovereignty, or stressing out because my plans where thwarted. The choice of my attitude is mine. “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13).

The herd rush to grab seats on the airplane about noon today caused me to rejoice that my place in heaven is secure. It’s promised. It’s guaranteed. I have no fear of missing my seat.

Renewing your passion

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Kay and I flew from Orlando to Dallas to spend a few days with our family before leaving for Pamoja Africa over Christmas. On the flight, I read something that got me to thinking about renewing passion for mission.

People love talking about their passions. Sometimes, those of us in fulltime, vocational Christian work begin to lose our passion. We forget why we wanted to do this stuff fulltime.

When someone asks you what you are passionate about, does it have anything to do with your vocation? You probably chose this vocation out of passion. What happened? How can you recover your passion?

Sometimes, we get chewed up, mangled, feeling ground to dust in the organizational gears. Here are some things I’ve found helpful at renewing and maintaining my passion.

#1: Seek out others who are passionate about our work.

Passion is infectious. It spreads from person to person. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” We become like those we associate with. The greater our association, the more we become like them. Associating with passionate people stokes the fires of our own passion.

#2: Attend conferences.

Campus Crusade for Christ in the U.S. has an all-staff conference every two years in Colorado. I look forward to those times. Yes, it is expensive. Yes, it is stressful. But those times worshiping God with 4,000 people like me who have committed their lives to fulltime service is so encouraging and re-visioning to me.

Attend a Christmas conference. There is nothing like hanging out with college kids whose lives have recently changed by coming face-to-face with Jesus Christ. Enthusiasm is contagious.

#3: MPD [Ministry Partner Development].

Campus Crusade for Christ is a faith mission. That means that the organization does not pay a salary. Kay and I prayerfully develop a team of ministry partners who pray and partner financially in our mission team. Sharing the stories from our ministry, sharing the vision of everyone knowing someone who truly follows Jesus, these times with our faithful partners in mission are times that renew my passion and my vision.

#4: Re-engage in one-on-one, direct ministry.

Sometimes as we develop leadership responsibilities within a fulltime organization, we move away from one-on-one ministry. Re-engage in risky faith steps of personal ministry. Step out in faith and resume sharing your faith with others. Teach a serious Bible study in your church. Seeing lives change in front of our eyes rekindles passion.

Space Shuttle launch

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Shuttle launch

It started with Alan Shepherd, Gus Grissom and John Glenn, in the 4th and 5th grade. It has continued through last night’s shuttle launch. I was afraid I would be in Vancouver, Canada on Thursday night and miss the opportunity to see a night launch. I mean, why else live in Florida if you can’t see the shuttle launch, right? But the launch was delayed and I got back into town.

So Kay, Jennifer and I drove east out of Orlando a little bit and watched the shuttle launch from Bob’s Market parking lot.


See other photos we made of the launch.

And I’m not alone. There are many new photos of last night’s launch on Flickr.

In church today, we sang:

You, Who made the mountains and the sea
Measured out the universe and you made me
Echoes of the voice that called the worlds to be
Reach throughout the ages and now speak to me
You’re my Creator King

You, Who made the valleys and the skies
Displayed Your love on far horizons and before my eyes
You, Who lit the stars and set the dawn in time
Called them all by name and now You whisper mine
You’re my Creator King

Chorus
Who am I that You are mindful of me
Who am I that You sent Your love on me
You’re my Creator King

You, Who made the darkness and the light
Sun and Moon to watch the day and guard the night
The hand that stretched the heavens like a canopy
Reaches down to cover and watch over me
You’re my Creator King

There is something about travel into space that stirs awe and wonder in us. For me, it’s a testimony of the power of God in creating the heavens. I’ve never gotten over it. Since Alan Shepherd in 4th grade, I’ve been awed by our efforts to explore the majesty of the heavens that God created.

I don’t plan on ever getting over it.

Learning to use the “long tail of the internet”

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I found an interesting article on U.S. News. Publish or Panic: The credibility of books is in a million little pieces.

It is especially interesting to read of print publishers who are finding the internet continues to bite into their sales, but are finding new approaches that leverage the uniquenesses of the internet to actually enhance sales. I think there is important perspectives in here about how publishers are using complex, multi-level approaches to modern publishing. They talk about the “long tail of the internet”.

Some quotes:

Their goal is to wag “the long tail”–a concept popularized in a widely read article by Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired.

When publishing executives invoke the long tail–and almost everyone interviewed for this article did–what they mean is that if you tote up enough small sales (especially via a low-cost, direct-to-consumer sales tool like the Internet), you can add up a big profit over time.

Oprah isn’t the only way to get readers; he relies on word of mouth (in person or online), pinning hopes on the long tail of the Internet, with interlinked blogs, online literary magazines, and reader- and writer-friendly chat rooms and E-communities. And the chief person he relies on to start the chain reaction is the author.

It’s interesting to see for-profit big-name publishers learning to use the various publishing media that we call the internet. Blogs, websites, online magazines, chat rooms, and e-communities, all working together to generate transactions, called sales.

We’re thinking of trying a similar “long tail of the internet” for outreach surrounding The DaVinci Code movie. We’re thinking of a combination of different media, all part of the “long tail of the internet”, to reach different people. Blogs, websites, evangelistic presentations, apologetics articles, podcasts, discussion, comments, PDF files. The goal is “transactions”, but in this case, it’s the transaction of the exchanged life.