The Seabourns

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MinistryNet 2011 Bangkok is a Go

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The flood is coming to Bangkok. So are the MinistryNet conferees! The MinistryNet 2011 conference is ON and it is in Bangkok!

Our theme verse is becoming Isaiah 43:2:

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.

Kay and I are in Bangkok as the advance team. Well, truthfully we are in Bangkok to be Grammy and Grandad to two amazing grandgirls. With the flooding crisis, we have become the eyes and ears to help with on-site evaluations about continuing the conference here.

We traveled the city streets in the conference area of town which have no water at this time. We talked several times with our Thai leadership and crisis management team. We all agreed the conference should continue. Air tickets are purchased. Travel visas are approved. Hotel arrangements are made.

In contrast, our grandgirls and their mom Michelle are leaving town!

Yes, we are bringing people into town and Daniel is sending his family out of town. How did we arrive at differing decisions?

It’s because the decision-making process needs to fit the target audience. Our conference is in a 5-star hotel that is committed to providing food and water. They have large national procurement chains that continue to work during this crisis time. They have a stand-by generator with days of fuel reserves. The hotel is located in a higher section of town. The roads from the airport to the hotel are elevated and will not flood. Our conferees are adults who can take care of themselves.

This is different from the parents of 4 and 6 year olds who were scheduled to depart for furlough in 6 weeks. They purchase their food in the local stores, where food and water have disappeared from shelves due to stockpiling. Their daughter’s school, along with all Bangkok schools, are closed for 2-3 weeks. Some expect the flood waters could stay around for the month. Would you want to live on the second floor of your house and not go outside for a month?

Daniel, Michelle and their leadership decided to send them on their furlough early. Daniel will stay behind to care for their house during the flood and to help with flood relief.

Floating a car

Continuing our MinistryNet conference is already helping with flood relief. We were asked by the Thai leadership if conferees could bring in 4-person inflatable boats. Local Campus Crusade staff will fill the boats with water and food and navigate flooded streets helping others. In 90 minutes, we found 7 volunteers who each purchased a boat, two paddles and a foot pump. We used the internet to pull it together very quickly. After a cellphone call from the Thailand Campus Crusade crisis management team, we used Skype and email to finalize the plan. We emailed a number of conferees. We used a Google Doc to manage the signup process. Each volunteer used Amazon.com to order the items. There was not a single face-to-face meeting to plan and execute the project. It was a totally internet-based project.

In 90 minutes, across 9,500 miles, the project was initiated, planned, and executed. Next week, 7 boats will arrive to help with life-saving relief.

It’s kind of cool — a conference focusing on using the internet for ministry is able to use the internet to prepare for flood relief.

As Hannibal Smith would say, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

A plane, a train, and a bus to get to the ship

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I just finished the plane part of a journey which got me to Amsterdam. Soon, I start the train to Rotterdam, then the bus. The goal is to get to the ship, SS Rotterdam. But before that story, let me tell you what Kay and I did last week.

Kay and I joined about 40 others at the Global Operations Team meeting in Orlando. I love going to a conference and not feeling jet-lagged! The highlight of the time was connecting with leaders from around the world.  After a dinner where Kay and I talked with leaders from 5 parts of the world, I was struck by how unusual that might be to many people. Kay and I are blessed to be missionaries in a role that allows us to work across cultures with Spirit-filled leaders from around the world.

Some of the highlights:

  • Kay served all as the hotel and conference liaison, working with the hotel to enable the conference leaders to focus on the agenda rather than the rooms, the break times, and the physical arrangements. Her gift of hospitality and service was appreciated by everyone.
  • I spoke on Leadership Thoughts, sharing from my experience and from the Word.
  • Introduced the initial version from the Ops in a Box project, a set of simple but powerful operations tools that help our staff (and disciples) be more effective at building movements at the local level. I have been co-leading this project over the past 6 months with our leader in East Asia. The development of this project has been fast and furious. Our project motto:

An imperfect plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan when it is too late. [US General George Patton]

Some photos from the conference. Click the thumbnail below to see a larger version.

Global Operations Leaders from the 13 areas of the world Keith speaking on Leadership Working with Operations Leaders

Now, on to the train and bus part of this story!

I am participating in the Jesus.Net Conference. Our European colleagues partner with others in an internet evangelism and discipleship project called Jesus.Net.

Visit their real-time decision page to see an absolutely amazing display of people who are coming to know Jesus right before your eyes. Their Knowing God website has been translated into 21 languages and variations with trained counselors ready to help people come to know God, to grow in their faith, and to engage in sharing their faith with others via the internet.

What is your latest travel story? Comment below and we can all enjoy!

Let God be God

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God just doesn’t fit into any box. We often appear to try to box God in by predetermining how he should work out a solution to my current problem.

I’m reading through Acts. It’s amazing how often God spoke directly with Paul, to warn him, to guide him, to encourage him.

So, why then did God use the son of Paul’s sister to overhear an ambush plot? Why did Paul believe him? (Acts 23:16-18)

It would have been easy for Paul to say, “Thanks, nephew. But I have this communication channel with God, you see. He speaks directly to me. In fact, he spoke to me just last night and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” He didn’t say anything about this ambush plot, so we’ll just let things go. I’m sure God can deal with it.”

No. Paul understood that God uses all sorts of ways to communicate with us. Paul understood a very important principle. Don’t put God in a box. Don’t predetermine how God will speak or how God will act.

Let God be God.

How do you sometimes box God in?

No checked baggage

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I recently returned from a 10 day trip to Asia. I spent nights in 3 countries.

And I checked no baggage.

I lived out of a rollerboard carry-on bag and my computer backpack.

How did I do this?

It has taken me some time to learn and it takes my wife’s excellent packing abilities. And it’s not just a guy thing. Kay has developed the ability to live for a week out of a carry-on bag. Here’s how we do it.

  • Wear the shoes you will use throughout the trip. Extra shoes take up space.
  • Pack efficiently. Roll your clothes. This prevents wrinkles, but also takes less space.
  • Use the laundry service in your hotel. There is a cost, but it’s less than having no changes in clothing because your checked bag is missing.
  • Choose clothes that can be mixed and matched. Every shirt should go with every pair of trousers.
  • This is a personal choice, but I prefer wool-blend trousers, even in the tropics. I’m in meeting rooms with air conditioning most of the time. Wool trousers travel well with minimal wrinkles. They wear well and can be worn more times than cotton trousers. (Pinky Tailor in Thailand makes great trousers!)
  • Be brutal about leaving things at home. You need much less than you think you do. Set out everything you think you need. Then remove everything you can.

Why is this important?

  • Because I was moving every few days to another country, a missing bag would probably never have caught up with me. It was important to have everything with me as I moved from place to place.
  • Because flights are sometimes delayed or rerouted. It’s important to have everything with me.
  • Because I can more easily rebook flights if necessary. On the return trip, we arrived at the U.S. entry airport more than an hour earlier than expected. I was able to change to flights that allowed me to arrive home an hour earlier. After 33 hours of travel, arriving at 10:30 pm rather than 11:30 pm becomes really important! It was important to have everything with me when rebooking or changing flights.

Here are some links that I’ve found helpful

So, what packing tips do you have? Use the comments to share with others.

A change in direction

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This morning, I read Matthew 10. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

I reflected on the life I have found by losing my own ambitions and plans.

I am a 5th generation native-born Texan. My great-great grandfather was born in the Wylie area of Collin County, Texas in 1853. His father had moved from Tennessee.

I am a 4th generation product of Mesquite, Texas. My great-grandfather Sam Seabourn moved to Mesquite. I graduated from the same Mesquite High School that my mother and father did. I married my high school sweetheart, also a 4th generation product of Mesquite, whose parents also graduated from Mesquite High School.

Until leaving for college, I had only lived in two houses and both were on the same piece of land. Kay had lived in one house on two pieces of land (her dad jacked up their house and moved it when their land was turned into a shopping center).

To say we have anything but deep roots in one place is a shallow statement.

But 40 years ago, in September 1971, when I was a junior at Texas A&M University, the God of the universe re-invaded my life. He reminded me that he had a call on my life. He reminded me that he wanted me to follow him with everything I am.

And that began an amazing journey that continues to this day.

The journey led us out of the engineering and school teacher roles we were preparing for, and into the role of a cross-cultural ambassador of the King of Kings, called a missionary. That began a journey that led us to leave our Texas roots for Nigeria where we lived for 15 years. That has led us through 6 passports filled with visas and stamps from 33 countries on 4 continents.

It started when a fellow Aggie student stopped by the Law Hall dorm room I shared with roommate Steve. It was a hot, humid September afternoon in the Brazos valley. As we sat on my bottom bunk and the springs squeaked every time I uncomfortably shifted, Frank shared the gospel with me using the Four Spiritual Laws. I told him I had accepted Christ as a young person through the influence of my parents and my church. Then Frank asked me, “So, if you were to die today, are you sure you would go to heaven.” I must have given him a somewhat acceptable answer, but also a somewhat confused one. My ongoing struggle with areas of sin robbed me of confidence that I was right with God.

Without missing a beat, Frank asked me “Would you like to make the wonderful discovery of the Spirit-Filled life?” We shifted into Campus Crusade’s famous blue book. As Frank walked me through these basics of the Christian life, for the very first time in my life I understood that following God was a step of faith. I understood there were Christians who lived by their own strength and Christians who lived by the Sprit’s strength. I understood spiritual breathing, how to deal with the sin in my life and how to see the life of Jesus flow through me by the power of his Spirit.

I still remember the visual image of that afternoon. My dorm room had a closet. A naked light bulb hung from a cord. As Frank shared the truths of the Spirit-filled Christian life, it was just like walking into my dark closet and switching on the light. Illumination. I could see. Everything made sense. God had prepared a path for an abundant, joyful life as his child. That afternoon, for the first of many times in my life, I invited the Holy Spirit to fill me with his overflowing presence.

Frank met with me weekly for follow-up Bible study. With his encouragement, I joined a Leadership Training class. I joined Frank in going door-to-door talking to other students about Jesus. I wrote letters to Kay, by then my fiance, explaining what I was learning. She, too, began walking daily in the power of the Spirit.

I was hooked by seeing my life transform, by seeing Kay’s life transform, and seeing the lives students change right before my eyes.

Now, 40 years after that September afternoon, I cannot imagine a different life. I wanted a job as an engineer in a big company. I wanted a vacation home. I wanted my own airplane. God wanted me to represent him to people in need. God wanted me to use the technical abilities he had given to help millions of people hear about his love through the Jesus film, through the internet, through mobile phones.

I am amazed that God uprooted a 5th generation Texas boy from a small suburb of Dallas and has given me such a privileged life. It all started on a September afternoon in 1971 in a dorm room when I asked the Holy Spirit to fill me with his power.

And I am eternally grateful.