Lynn Green

Category: Current Events

  • Prayer Letter: May/June

    Prayer Letter: May/June

    Dear…. The first calling of YWAM is to send teams of mostly young people to take the Good News about Jesus to those who haven’t heard or understood the life-giving, life-saving message.  I am copying two testimonies from teams who are on their Discipleship Training outreach now. 

    They illustrate how the Holy Spirit works through us when we are doing what He commissioned us to do.  The first one is from Madagascar, written by Fiona, who was on staff here at Highfield Oval for several years.  The second one is from a DTS team we recently sent from here to Albania.  I will add some personal news and requests after these two encouraging stories:

    “One of the students who had been heavily involved in witchcraft shared that in the past he would gather people and he would teach, but all he shared was from the kingdom of darkness and led people to death.  On the outreach, people gathered to listen to him preach about Jesus and the result was life!  Isn’t God amazing?  Many students shared how God had healed them from past hurts; one girl said she’d had a very difficult relationship with her mother, but as she was healed and forgave her mother, she could take the first step by telling her mother she loved her.

    Their relationship is being restored. One student shared that he was addicted to cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs just to cope with traumas he had gone through as a child, but as he was healed from the inside out and delivered, he has been able to break free.  “On outreach the students were going door to door and prayed for a lady who had been bedridden for 4 years because of a stroke.  She was healed!  

    A man with a terribly swollen leg, and the pastor’s wife sick with fever were all healed, as were countless others.  One of the students who suffered from a debilitating heart condition himself was healed during the DTS.  One staff member shared that many Muslims had asked for prayer as they had gone door to door, as a result a number had given their lives to Jesus. 

    “Many of the villages were going through a drought and needed rain to plant their crops. They asked the students to pray, and when they did, it immediately started raining! Then when the DTS needed to go and do “open airs”

    they asked God to stop the rain just until they finished. Once they got home, it started raining again. What a testimony of God’s power!”  Here is the team we sent to Albania recently; their update follows.We are now 4 weeks into outreach!

    “Last week one of the trainees prayed for a 16-year-old boy, named Klejvis, who said he was a Christian. He had pain in his back which he’d had for over a year. This pain sometimes prevented him from leaving the house. After praying, the pain immediately left his body.

    Klejvis then told the team about his friend who was really depressed; she had tried to take her life 3 times; so they prayed for her. When Klejvis got home he received a message saying how happy his friend was feeling!! The trainee maintained contact with Klejvis, meeting him regularly to read the Bible.

     Klejvis bought himself a Bible and has been telling his friends in school about how Jesus healed him. In addition, he has been praying for other sick people!  He invited them to church the following Sunday and they came!  He now sends us messages telling us his favourite Bible verses that he’s read for that day (he reads it at least 3 times a day).

    His friends have now also started reading the Bible and are telling him how encouraging they’ve found the gospel of Matthew. Klejvis says he wants to live his life telling people about Jesus like we did for him. The trainee and Klejvis went for ice cream the other day and Klejvis was telling the lady behind the counter how much Jesus loved her! Kleyvis has now asked his pastor if he can meet twice a week to study the Bible with him. God is so good!”

    Downs and Ups.

    These last few weeks for YWAM Harpenden have been full of “downs and ups”, in that order.   Covid restrictions resulted in the fruits of isolation.  We stopped meeting together for worship many months ago and, at the time, there were some strained relationships that would have normally been sorted out as a by-product of regular fellowship.  Our online meetings were good, but that format is not great for repentance, confession, forgiveness, and restoration.  And a discipling missionary community cannot be healthy without the events when God convicts different ones of judging, harsh words, gossip, withdrawing or other offenses against one another. 

    When some of the restrictions were lifted, we began to get together in teams and then we had a couple of days with the entire community together.  The Holy Spirit was faithful to convict me, and others, of the ways we had fallen short of Christlike behaviour.  As we confessed to the community, forgiveness was extended and the distances between us were closed.  Those days were so fruitful and precious that the whole community decided to meet for another full day to worship and wait on God.  I am writing this as our third day together has concluded, and as we hoped, we went deeper still.  God has not finished with us and prolonged absence, along with different opinions about how Covid restrictions were applied, have left quite a lot to get sorted out.  But we are encouraged that hearts are soft and genuine; honest conversations do have their healing effect.  There have been times of repentance and then many sincere words of affirmation.  It illustrated again that we don’t expect people to be perfect, but humility paves the way for restoring trust.   

    My sin was judging others.  A couple of people had said or written things that seemed to say that Marti and I and our extended family needed to have less influence in this community.  Based upon those few comments, we began to feel unwanted and drew the conclusion that many people were feeling that way.  Once we confessed our sin of judging, it helped others to look inside too. What followed were words or notes of encouragement and acceptance.  We thank God that we are in a much better frame of mind and emotions now.

    All this illustrates that the Lord wants to get his “living stones” sorted out before we make new progress with the physical “stones”.  As I have written before, we are at a critical stage of improving this amazing property so that it can be a tool fit for God’s purposes and a “thin place” where residents and visitors experience God’s presence.  We have made good progress towards more accommodation but need to see quite a lot of money come in to finish the building, which is known as the Kinahan Lodge, after Peter Kinahan.  (Peter worked with me and others for years towards planning improvements and extensions to the capacity of this site before he died of cancer three years ago .)  Before we finish the KL, and to enable us to go on and improve the Factory building, we must install a new power supply.  That will cost about £400,000 , and without it we are woefully short of electrical energy, so it had to be done now.  The foundations have been laid, and the brickwork is starting today. 

    The last thing we did this morning was to reiterate how God has led us thus far.  Then we took up an offering, which came to over £21,000.  It was great to see a real sense of sacrificial buy-in from all who live here.  However, as of this morning we were still about £120,000 short of the money needed to pay for the new power supply.

    Would you please join us in prayer for God’s provision for the remaining £120,000 (about $200,000)?  It would be a great encouragement if you would join with us in prayer for this.  Completing it will symbolise a breakthrough for training up more ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.  If you can think of others who might want to be a part of this, feel free to pass this information along.

    Thank you!

    Lynn

  • The Day the Revolution Began

    The Day the Revolution Began

    THE DAY THE REVOLUTION BEGAN

    Tom Wright is a prolific writer of scholarly books and papers–of thoughts that provoke worship, and of deep scriptural understanding. His scholarlyacademic works are published under NT Wright and his works for a general audience under Tom Wright. Last year I read The Day the Revolution Began and today Marti and I heard a great illustration of The Revolution.

    It was shrove Tuesday and in England, that is known as pancake day. That is such a fun tradition of feasting on English pancakes before lent begins. One of our community members worked out that we could serve pancakes from a few of our houses and everyone could sign up and have "take-away pancakes". It was great fun!

    Marti had only one pancake griddle so we were serving slowly. Adaina, a trainee here for two years, was the last person in the queue at our house, so we chatted with her as she waited. She is from Bolivia and has an economics degree and will soon return to Bolivia to get her Mastersmasters’ Degreedegree in Economicseconomics. When she talks about accounting and book-keeping, her face lights up with a broad smile and she says, "I’m very good with numbers!" She loves them and I hope she returns to help us with financial management.

    Marti and I asked her to tell us some of her story, so she explained: she is a third generation Christian. She was born in a village that sits 4200 meters (nearly 14,000 feet) up in the Andes and is a member of an indigenous South American tribe. Her village was historically very poor and neglected. But the revolutionary story began with her grandfather, Juan Cruz.

    The villages in that part of the Andes were isolated with hardly anyone travelling from one village to another. But, her grandfather boldly traveled to a different village and while he was there, someone gave him a Bible in Spanish, the trade language.

    He could not read or write, but he longed to understand what was in the book. He knew there was a God and every night, he would ask God to help him understand how to decipher the book. One day he found that suddenly he could understand what the book was telling him. He read it avidly and soon gave his life to Jesus.

    He couldn’t keep this “best news ever heard” to himself and told everyone around him. Before long, the entire village had decided to follow Jesus Christ. I asked her how her the heart-change impacted life in general in her village and she explained that her grandfather was a major agent of change. He read the Old Testament and started to implement some of what Moses taught the Israelites about farming and now, two generations later, the farming methods have improved the quality of their crops. From that, the health of the village has improved a 

    Before her grandfather’s conversion, the children grew up with no education, but now they have had a school for some decades and Adaina is the fruit of that. Just think about that for a moment! Because of the good news, her capacity as a human being in the image of God is being realized. She already has a university degree, has traveled internationally, and is going for a higher degree.

    As she told us more of her story, we were a bit puzzled asbecause she recounted that she had experienced a time of "grief" while she was with us. Then she explained it, saying, "The old Adaina died and a new Adaina was born!" This young woman, the first of five children in her family is a beaming example of a transformed person who will be an agent of transformation where ever she goes!

    There is no doubt that every social system has its faults, injustices and corrupt practices. We need a revolution! But what do we want? Do we want those who are angry and envious and are demanding their rights, to enlist more of us to tear down the system we know? Are we sure that a better social system will emerge? Or will we see another violent revolution followed by horrendous atrocities as the angry, ambitious and power-hungry revolutionaries take over? That has happened several times in the past hundred hears and the results have not been pretty.

    Or would we rather have a revolution that starts with the love of God that transforms individuals, who transform families, who transform villages, and then those transformed villages provide models that lead to transformed nations? The first of these two options produce sudden, dramatic changes, but not the changes that wereare usually promised. The second of the options is slower, but much more fruitful in the long run.

    I vote for the revolution of love.

    That is why we must proclaim the Good News as far and wide as possible and why the Bible must be available to all people everywhere!

  • Can anything good come out of COVID-19?

    Can anything good come out of COVID-19?

    Photo by Chris Panas from Pexels.

     

    Yes, it can! 

    And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

    The Apostle Paul wrote those words nearly 2000 years ago.  Inspired by God to write, his words have inspired millions of Christians since then to find the faith to rise above the worst circumstances and trust God to bring good—and he does!

    But what about Covid?  To answer that, we should first address the question that I have heard many times. “Did God cause Covid?” 

    DID GOD CAUSE IT?

    No, of course he didn’t. But he did create us in his image and that means that we have creative potential—for good or for evil.  It also means that we must live with the consequences of our decisions and behaviour; he does not routinely intervene and override our freedom.  That is why I don’t agree with the phrase that I hear so often, “God is in control!” 

    He is “in charge” but does not meticulously control human behaviour—as is obvious from reading the Bible.  If he is in total control then all the appeals from the prophets, and the calls from Jesus for people to repent, and the exhortations to change behaviour from Paul’s letters, are all misleading.

    THEN WHAT DID CAUSE IT?

    So yes, I am saying that Covid-19 is a consequence of human behaviour.  I am not yet sure what that behaviour was, but it seems that most experts have concluded that it came from one of two potential sources:  It could have been from the wet markets of Wuhan where a very wide range of animals are kept together in small cages to be sold alive.  Disease can pass from one species to another and mutate until it is a danger to people. 

    The second and more likely cause is that it was a result of an accident in a Wuhan laboratory that was studying bats that carry the Covid viruses but are immune themselves.  Given the response and reactions from the Chinese Communist Party, we will probably never have a conclusive explanation about its origins and why the knowledge of it was kept secret for so many weeks, while is spread globally.  It is worth noting that the second location where it began to spread was Northern Italy, where China had purchased some luxury Italian fashion brands and had changed the work force from Italians to Chinese, especially workers from Wuhan.  So, it seems possible, if not certain, that much of the world is suffering from a series of decisions that reflect poor judgment—at best.

    But what God is promising in Romans 8:28 is that, no matter what comes our way, he is never taken by surprise and will work within the problems that human sins produce.   And that applies to Covid too.

    HOW DO I FIND THE GOOD IN IT?

    There are, however, conditions.  The people who love him and are doing what he has called them to do, are people who look for his good work in everything they do and everything that comes their way.  They are people who see the world through eyes of faith, not fear.

    To my mind, the worst aspect of this current season is not the disease, which has accounted for about 3% of the total number of deaths in the world from January 2020 to January 2021 with the average age of those dying being just over 80 years old.  The worst aspect is the pandemic of fear.

    For the committed believer, Romans 8:28 is a description of the cure for the fear pandemic.  So, how are you faring?

    The cure is not available to those who are passive.  It is not available to those who have no consistency in prayer and the scriptures.  It is available for anyone who sets out, each day, to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, who read and study the scriptures and who actively “throw all their cares on Jesus.” 1 Pet 5:7

    SOME OF THE GOOD HAS ALREADY BEEN OBVIOUS, BUT MORE WILL COME

    Already some of the good that God can bring, and is bringing, out of Covid can be seen.  Here in the UK, our teams are finding that conversations with ordinary non-Christian people are deeper and more sincere than any time in our memory.  People are now more serious about the big issues of life and death.

    Many Christians have discovered that meeting with much smaller numbers of fellow Christians can often go deeper and be more relevant to daily life than their weekly experience as part of the “audience” in larger congregational meetings.  Often, the very large online events are a poor second to being together in live events with good worship bands, good preaching etc.

    “TWO OR THREE TOGETHER IN MY NAME”

    The smaller meetings, whether online or in person, are another matter.  When just a few people open the scriptures together and meet in the name of Jesus, his promise is true, “where two or three come together in my name, I’ll be there in the midst of them.” (Mat 18:20) These small meetings can be so much more personal, lead to application and change, create an environment of personal support and touch areas of our lives that remain a closed book in the larger meetings.  I’m not saying that the large congregational or celebration meetings are wrong or unhelpful, but they are not so likely to lead to such deep relationships as the smaller gatherings produce.  The gospel has to include the deep sharing of lives together.

    UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH!

    It is no accident that the greatest numerical growth the Church has ever known was in China from the 1950s through the 1990s.  Now the greatest percentage growth of the church in any people group is amongst the Iranians.  In both cases, they were not able to meet as congregations, but took great risks to meet in small groups where they read the scriptures together, helped one another apply what the Bible taught and prayed for one another.

    CONNECTING WITH GREATER EASE

    Another good is coming from Covid.  I note that geography has become less important.  The online world of meetings can be equally effective with a group of neighbours or with friends from several continents.  In recent months, I have regularly been in online meetings with people from more than a dozen time zones.  Just today I chatted with, and then presented a half-hour message of encouragement to, people from South- Central- and North America. I noted that there were about 130 devices connected and many of them had 15 or more people engaging with the screen.  Next week I expect around 3-4,000 people to be online for one of our YWAM family gatherings.

    I could think of more positives to come from Covid 19, but I will finish with just one more.  More than a year has passed since Marti and I were last separated from one another and that is the first time ever, since we met one another in 1969.  We have really enjoyed it!

    What about you?  Can you identify some of the “good” that God has brought out of Covid 19? Can you stop and give thanks for those blessings?  If you have been struggling, a thankful heart can be good medicine!

  • Prayer Letter: January

    Prayer Letter: January

    Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels

    The following post is a typical prayer and report letter that I send out every month.  If you would like to receive it, please send an email to lgo@oval.com.

     

    It’s early morning and I have just finished a two-hour meeting.  My, how life has changed!

    This meeting, one in a series of three this week by Zoom, started at 4 a.m.; there were 22 participants and about as many time zones and I was one who “drew the short straw” this time.  It was a meeting with the Founders’ Circle of YWAM and we were welcoming and praying over five new couples, from Central America, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and South Africa.  Yes, life has changed and YWAM has adapted!

    These new members of the group that have been drawn together around Loren and Darlene Cunningham are generally about 20 years younger than Marti and me,  but already have around 30 years of YWAM experience on average.  I also noticed that most of them spoke of their children and that several of that third generation is already pioneering and leading in missions, via YWAM.

    As they each had about 20 minutes to tell their story, we heard of many developments in the spread of the gospel!  These are things that few Christians in Europe or North America ever hear about:

    YWAM teams have planted 1500 churches amongst the Yao people in Southeast Africa.  10, 000 more churches over the past 25 years in Madagascar.

    Leadership multiplication on a massive scale.  Young Asians pioneering in difficult situations.  Africans reaching into the areas where radical Muslims are killing and kidnapping huge numbers.

    Darlene had given each of them a few questions so we could get to know them more deeply.  I could go on with even more stories and facts we heard this morning…those above are just a few.

    About two weeks from now, I will have another series of global meetings, also starting at 4 a.m. GMT, but this time it will be several thousand people convened by a group of our younger leaders mostly in their 20s and 30s, the Malachi Network, so named because of those two verses at the very end of the Old Testament:

    Malachi 4:  5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

    Marti and I draw great encouragement from seeing these three generations.  Each generation is honoring the others and Darlene Cunningham and I have had the privilege of joining and advising the leaders who have catalysed this younger global network in YWAM.

    These developments are a fulfillment of a prophetic dream I had about 30 years ago.  The dream is recounted on my website at:

    Click on the picture

    I won’t include a schedule with this newsletter because, though I have quite a few commitments to online meetings, my schedule tends to fill up just a week or two in advance.   But my prayer need is that I might keep growing in Christ.  I spend such a lot of my time walking and talking with young missionaries here at Highfield Oval and on many Zoom calls each week.  Some are in great crises; some are just hungry for God and for revival and some are at turning points in their lives.  Our prayer, though, is that all of them would grow in a passionate commitment to follow Christ –wherever, whatever, and forever!

    God has clearly spoken to me to “strengthen the steel” in this massive global mission movement and the task seems overwhelming at times.  I am so concerned about the power of modern culture to warp and damage young people before they emerge from their teens.  We need a deep move of God so that young people are not only redeemed but experience a rapid and thorough change of thinking—the “renewing of their minds” by the Holy Spirit.

    Thank you again for your ongoing interest and prayers,

    Lynn