Lynn Green

Category: Uncategorized

  • Tired of reading about refugees?

    Tired of reading about refugees?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    The river keeps running at full flow.  The numbers of people fleeing Syria can hardly be counted, let alone contained.  But we have to add to that the Afghans, Libyans and Iraqis who have given up hope that their nations will stabilize.  Then there are the economic refugees from various parts of Africa and the steady “brain-drain” of Christians from Egypt and other parts of the Arab world.

    We will have to keep reading and hearing about it because it is one of the great, human tectonic shifts of our world.  It will keep flowing for a long time.  And it is changing our world.

    Within that big, attention-grabbing mass movement of suffering people, there are a number of sub-stories that are worth some attention.  One of those stories is the very large number of Muslims who have become, or want to become Christians.

    The Greek government noticed that story a few weeks ago and responded by shutting down faith-based aid groups in the Athens area.  I understand that.  It is a form of manipulation or exploitation to try to persuade people to change their religion when they are desperate—right?  I assume that was the tone of discussions behind the doors of Greek politicians.  Most European, and probably most American, politicians would take that view.

    Again, I understand that IF:

    Christian aid agencies were only offering assistance to Christian and withholding it from others.

    Threats were issued.

    Longer term benefits, such as residency was being offered to converts. Refugees were being forced to listen to propaganda against their will.

    I now know of at least 200 volunteers from YWAM alone, who are helping these same refugees and there will be thousands of other Christian volunteers.  If I visited every location where these Christians are working, I doubt that I would find even one instance of the practices I have just listed.  I say that because such practices are simply not Christian and Christians know that.

    I think there are some reasons why it is good and right to present the Christian message to refugees.  Evangelism, after all, means “good news”.  So here are the reasons.

    1. Many of those who are fleeing are looking for a new life.  Their governments and their religion have failed them.  They would like some good news.
    2. One of the amazing sub-stories is the hundreds or thousands of people who have had visions, or dreams or experiences of healing or miracles where Jesus is the central figure. There is something supernatural going on here.  God is answering the prayers and labours of recent decades or even the prayers and sacrifices of Christians for centuries and many Muslims want to know more about Jesus.  (And remember, they already revere him more than most of our fellow citizens in the secular Western nations.)
    3. It is not uncommon for people to come to faith when they are in very difficult circumstances. Desperation can result in a deep, heart honesty leading to faith.
    4. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

    When Article 18 was adopted in 1948, many Muslim nations signed it, including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

    When a nation or religion tries to withdraw that right, they are in violation of one of the most foundational documents in history.  Not only that, but they are encroaching upon a universal right that was extended by our Creator.  He gave the issues of personal beliefs and conscience to each individual and each individual will be accountable to their Creator for their beliefs, how they obeyed their conscience and the choices they made.

    Tyranny is when a religion or government (or any other authority) attempts to coerce people at the level of their personal beliefs.  The river of human misery flowing primarily from the heart of the Arab, Muslim world is fleeing the spread of that exact brand of tyranny.  Can we, in good conscience, withhold from them the wonderful faith that first gave birth to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

    Jesus said, “Freely you have received.  Freely give!”  This precious gift should be available to all.

    Lynn Green.

  • Long Live Secretaries!

    Long Live Secretaries!

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    For the past 43 years my wife and I have worked with a person who knows she has a high calling.  God gave her gifts for this calling, and the ministry she has exercised fits who she is and gives her a sense of fruitfulness and satisfaction.  That is the way it is supposed to be in God’s economy; he designs us with specific qualities to match His plans for us and to make us fit well with others who have different abilities.

    A few years before she came to YWAM, she trained and then practised as an executive secretary.  When she arrived I had no idea how much she would change our lives and increase our effectiveness.  In those days secretaries were honoured in the workplace; it was a respected and essential position in most companies and organisations.   Secretarial skills required time and hard work to perfect, and anyone aspiring to that role had to be intelligent with good social skills.  They had to have good spelling, grammar and typing and they had to master shorthand—a completely different way of writing!  They also had to be able to keep confidences, be a source of wisdom in sensitive conversations, and extend a sense of welcome to anyone contacting their office and the person they served.

    In my case, my secretary also had to train me and I am sure that more than one “boss” was mentored by his or her secretary.  I had never dictated letters before and it was an uncomfortable exercise.  When I had finished a paragraph and she had taken it down in shorthand, I would sometimes ask, “How did that sound?”  She often replied with a gentle correction, “Perhaps you could say it this way….”  Then, when I was finished, she knew exactly how to layout a good letter and type it without mistakes.  She also had the skills to sit in a board meeting, take notes and produce an accurate record of the meeting in the form of minutes.  What a treasure!

    Then, along came personal computers, personal digital assistants, smart phones and some wonderful communication tools.  It seemed secretaries were no longer needed.  But I recently read an article where the author expressed how many people feel these days.  She wrote that she has five PDAs, including Siri and Cortana, but complained, “so why do I get so little done?”  It’s because she doesn’t have a secretary!   No digital assistant can do what a secretary does.

    God designed us so that we need one another.  When Paul wrote to the Romans and Ephesians, he made it clear that we can only live well and fruitfully when we see ourselves as part of a body (or you could say team).  God has designed people with a wide array of gifts, and no number of digital assistants can come close to the effectiveness of people working together according to the gifts God has given.

    The letter to the Romans lists a number of ministry gifts in Chapter 12 and the second one is the gift of helping:  “If your gift is serving others, serve them well.”  A good and contented secretary will almost certainly have the gift of service.  If that person has applied themselves diligently and acquired the skills of a secretary, then their service will “bear much fruit”, as the scriptures say.

    At this stage of our lives, Marti and I spend quite a lot of our time training younger leaders and we get to know their joys and their pressures.  One of the most common pressures is stress and stress often comes from doing tasks we are not gifted or skilled to do.  Many people who carry leadership responsibility actually spend much of their time, typing emails and texts, organizing their schedule, coordinating dates and invitations and other arrangements for meetings, booking transportation,  keeping accounts and many other administrative tasks.  Good leaders rarely have the gifts and skills to do those things well; they need others to serve with them.

    On the other hand, I think there are those who do have the gifts to do those essential administrative tasks, but they are often not available.  Why?  Perhaps it is because we think digital tools have made secretaries redundant so people with the gift of service are no longer drawn to that role.  There is probably a more likely reason.  Paul addressed it in some measure when he wrote about spiritual gifts in his letter to the Corinthians.  He said it rather bluntly when he said, “In fact some of the parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.”  Given the way people think, some of the spiritual or ministry gifts get more honor than others.  Those who have a healing gift, or a leadership gift, or a teaching gift, get recognition and honor because they use their gift in public.  Not so for those who serve at a desk.

    We are created with a need for some measure of recognition and honor; it’s not wrong to feel that need.  So, as Paul suggested, those with the gift of helps should be given special honor.  If we honor that part of the body more, then we will see more people using the gift of service they have been given and some of those will also put in the effort and hours to acquire secretarial skills.

    I can now look back on 45 years of ministry in YWAM.  Because God gave me a wife who is both a secretary and a very good organiser, and Terry, a secretary who is highly skilled and has served with us for 43 years, we have been immeasurably more fruitful then we could ever have been otherwise.  Many people who know me think I have been very fruitful but it’s simply not true.

    We have been fruitful! I am part of a body/team and, as we have all worked according to our gifts, fitted together with one another in harmony, we have indeed been very fruitful decade after decade.

    Long live secretaries!

    Lynn Green.

     

  • Jihad by Emigration?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

    Robert Spencer recently wrote in Front Page Magazine that Europe is being targeted for Hijrah.  Is that a new term for you?  Here is his definition:

    “To emigrate in the cause of Allah — that is, to move to a new land in order to bring Islam there…   [it] is considered in Islam to be a highly meritorious act.”

    He explains that the term refers to the time when Mohammed and his army left Mecca to return to Medina (where he was initially rejected) to forcibly bring it under his control.  Spencer then goes on to write,

    And now a hijrah of a much greater magnitude is upon us.  

    Is this great flood of refugees a strategic initiative to bring Europe under the control of Islam?  Should we be afraid?

    Maybe we should look another side of the story.

    My wife Marti, and I recently entertained a young woman from Germany who has engaged with refugees in her town over recent months, teaching them German and helping them adjust to a world completely different from theirs in the horn of Africa.  Her eyes lit up as she described their kindness and their loyalty and their intelligence.  The BBC also ran a wonderful article in recent days.  It describes the daughter of Albert Speer, Hitler’s architect, who has been a life-long peace activist and who opened her large home to some Syrian men.  Her description of their care for her and her home, their honesty and thoughtfulness was wonderfully encouraging.

    A couple of years ago, we got to know a Syrian immigrant who was living in London but wanted to come live near our community and planned to start a Middle Eastern restaurant in our town.  I didn’t discourage him, but I wondered if he knew how much work and money he would need to be successful.  Today, he and an Iraqi man have the highest rated restaurant in town.  And to top it off, they got the financial help they needed from a Sudanese man!

    Image result for refugees

    Do we welcome them or fear them?

    Let me put it this way–if we fear them, time will prove that we had every reason to fear them.  If we welcome them (with due process) they will make a huge contribution to our continent.

    If they experience fear and rejection; if they feel unwanted and unwelcome, bitterness will flavour their attitude to their new residence.  They will be more likely to become lawless.

    If they are welcomed, given help to learn better English (or the language of another host nation) given jobs or trained for jobs where needed, helped to find homes and to navigate their way around this new world, then they are likely to love their new homeland.

    As Christians we need to be wary of ideas and assertions that stir fear in our hearts.  For many years now, we have had a steady diet of commentators who convey fear of Islam, but let’s stop for a moment and re-frame current events. For more than two decades, millions of Christians have prayed for Muslims to meet Jesus.  It has been wonderful to keep hearing and reading about the thousands of Muslims who have come to know Jesus. What if, say 15 years ago, someone had prophesied, “in a few years’ time millions of Muslims will be fed up with their governments and the many competing factions of Islam and will be desperate to move to Christian lands where they can be freely reached with the Good News!”  Surely we would have eagerly looked forward to it.

    Now it has happened. If Churches and individual believers everywhere in Europe (and other nations taking in refugees) met the new migrants with a warm welcome and thoughtful assistance, then this vast migration of people could turn out to be a huge blessing to the world.

    Having said that, a word of caution needs to be added.  When I see groups of aggressive young men attempting to force their way past the rightful authority of our nations, I get a bit worried.  I am sure that the vast majority of refugees are exactly that–refugees. But I am also sure that there is a criminal element and Islamist agents.  The numbers may be small, but they could do extensive damage.  They need to be screened out, even though that is a difficult task.

    So, let’s do all we an to extend a warm welcome to refugees/asylum seekers/migrants.  Let’s also pray for our governments, police and border control authorities that they may have the resources and wisdom to refuse entry to those who represent a danger to our nations.

  • ARE YOU NERVOUS?

     

    **This is a personal website and reflects my thoughts and convictions. It does not represent any official position held by Youth With A Mission.**

     

    32,900,000 people are.

    “Life’s too short. Have an affair.” That is the motto of Ashley Madison, the website of choice for people who want to cheat on their wife–or husband. (Predictably, 5 out of 6 subscribers are men.)6497720551_79c434a2a0

    So, with the assurance that confidentiality would be thoroughly protected, nearly 40 million people signed up and made confidential information available to potential sexual partners.  They took the risk because the illusion of safe, clandestine adultery was too much to resist.  Now hackers have broken into Ashley Madison and have begun to make all that information available and lots of people are very nervous.  Journalists are combing through the information hoping to find celebrities, politicians and other public figures whom they can “out” and further their own careers.  (I wonder how many of them hope their Ashley Madison profile is safe?)

    I have watched this story unfold over recent days and have taken an interest in how it has been analysed.  One commentator today claimed that the main issue here is web security.

    No it isn’t.

    The main problem here is integrity.

    A futurist recently claimed that, in the near future, it will be almost impossible to avoid being on the web–but the price we will have to pay is transparency.  I don’t like the fact that Google and others have a lot of information about me.  It leads to unwanted ads–and occasional concerns that messages to and from friends can be hacked into. Some of my friends have very important security concerns.  But transparency is not a bad thing.

    Transparency is closely related to integrity.  Some sources define integrity as “adhering to a set of morals or principles”, but the root meaning is closely related to integer.  That means a number that is not a fraction.  A person of integrity is one who is whole, not a sum of fractions, the same at all times, whether in private or in public, No matter when you might see them, even if you have hidden cameras and microphones so everything they do is captured, there will be no surprises, no inconsistencies.  What you see is what you get.

    If there is any one reason for the disillusionment and cynicism about our politicians and other public figures today it is the lack of integrity.  We see the image that their public relations experts project, but we don’t know who they really are.  The flood of scandals involving public figures undermines any confidence that we might have had.  Does it make us long for the days when information was not so readily available, when public figures could safely project an image that would not be shattered by some investigative journalist?  I don’t think so,  We want real integrity.  But is it possible?

    We are made in the image of God and He has given his Spirit to live with us and work with us so we become more and more like Christ Jesus.  He was the very essence of integrity.  His disciples lived with him in every circumstance, under unimaginable pressure and stress, in adulation and vilification.  But they saw what a human being is created to be.  And they so believed in him that they were willing to be martyred rather than deny him and what he represented–the one true human being. They gave their life and breath to be like him.

    I can be a person of integrity.  So can you.  It does not require perfection, but it does require humility.  I will not be free of error, shortcomings, failures and sins.  But I can aim high and readily admit when I have failed–not covering up my imperfections, but exposing them to the light.  The Apostle John wrote, ” God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all unrighteousness.”  That is the path to increasing integrity.

    I am sorry to read that there have already been suicides related to the exposures from the adultery site, Ashley Madison, but these tragedies are not primarily about internet security, they are about integrity.  The lack of integrity and heart-fidelity leads to countless betrayals and tragedies every day.  Sad as the suicides are, their numbers are dwarfed by the vast numbers of broken marriages, betrayed husbands and wives and damaged children.

    Let’s be radical.  That means we get to the root of an issue.  Let’s not focus on protecting our private details, let’s concentrate with all our hearts on integrity!  By the grace of God and the Holy Spirit with us, we can increasingly approximate Christ-likeness.

    Lynn Green