Why discipleship?

Johnny Chun / Executive Secretary of TI

   " Therefore go and make disciples of all nations ..." -Matt. 28:19-

   The whole world now is in turmoil because of COVID-19. Christians in many countries were stopped to attend 

church and live a new Christian life style at home. They listen to a sermon via internet on Sunday, read the Bible and pray alone. The problem is that " not many Christians are not well trained to sustain their Christian life without 

attending churches." After this crisis, local churches might face some trouble and challenges as well.

   Why do we need well trained disciples of Christ today? And why is it difficult for churches to make true disciples of Christ today? As we all know, 

people today, no matter where they live, pursue "the easy going and convenient life style. According to Time magazine, Generation X, Z and Millennials including baby-boomers are well influenced and trained by self-centered life style and this materialistic culture in a long time.

   As the result, most people today including Christians evade hard and difficult works such as hard and difficult work and training and pursue easy 

going.

   Recently, I read an article on "Capitalism Makes Converts but Not Disciples "from the Lausanne article.

   In his writing, David Wells wrote " Why converts emerge very easily but why is it so hard to make disciples? Making convert is easy because 

culture at least in the West, empties people out so they hear the Gospel from a position of a fractured and wounded spirit and it is easy for the church to 

pitch Christian faith to them as a product to a buyer, and many churches in America are doing that. But when we sell Christianity as a 

product, we’re offering it only for its benefits, its therapeutic benefits and that kind of Christianity never issues in discipleship because it was never 

about truth in the first place. And are we then amazed to find that there are many Christians who subsequently live no different ethically than their secularist neighbors? No the Gospel is not about self-help, it is not a product for our internal aches and our cultural emptiness.”

   Why did Christ emphasize on the importance of making disciples?

   The reason why Christ focus on discipleship and spent much time with His disciples is that He knew the well trained disciples could transform the whole 

world doing His Ministry very effectively.

   Why do we often fail to build good Christian disciples and workers at Christian communities?

   It's because our cultures and values are not used to discipline or training. Actually the term disciple and discipline came from the same root. Without disciplines, we can't expect disciples and discipline doesn't mean just talking about something.

   Someone said, "It is better to train ten people to work than to do the work of ten people. But it is harder." "No pain, no gain" is the principle that we Christians know well. But only a few follows the principle.

   I pray God will give you the strength to overcome this COVID-19 crisis.

   May God continue to bless your ministry in His peace !
 

Christian Missions Hard Hit by Corona Pandemic

from Tentmaking Today
 
   Estimates done by The International Labour Organization (ILO) indicates that 25 million jobs can be lost 

worldwide due to the corona pandemic. The expansion of the Gospel may also be hard hit by the financial 

downturn caused by the Covid 19 virus.

   “Global Intent and Tent International operate entirely in the global job market. The loss of jobs worldwide makes it much more difficult to find international assignments,” says Steinar Opheim, director of Tent International.

   Global Intent and Tent have specialized in sending Christian professionals, workers and students across cultural borders.

   “Market place ministry and bringing you faith to work have become well-known concept in the churches. We do the same thing internationally. 

Financial downturns like the one we see now, makes our job a lot more challenging. The major downside of this is that there over time might be less 

Christian workers in nations where the Gospel is not known,” explains Opheim.

<< Hard hit sectors>>

   According to Forbes Magazine “companies that are in the travel, hotel, airlines, sporting events, concerts and restaurant sectors” are hardest hit by 

the Covid 19 effects. A magazine issued by the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW), points out that the job market has gone further down now 

than during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

   “It is really a global crisis not just in terms of its outreach but also in terms of it economic impact. Literally all sectors will be impacted,” says ILO’s 

Dorothea Schimdt-Klaus to DW.

<< God is in control>>

   The picture is not all dark, though. According to Financial Times “tech companies are still hiring feverishly as they move to take advantage of a world shifting increasingly to digital as a result of the coronavirus.” Deutsche Welle points out that healthcare workers are also in high demand.

   “We do not know exactly what the international job market will look like after this pandemic. None of us have experienced a situation like this before. We do however know that God is in control and that his mission will be fulfilled. No matter the environment, we should stay faithful to 

the calling that God has given us and share the Gospel of the kingdom in all nations,” says Steinar Opheim of Tent International.
 

The Coronavirus Pandemic and BAM: Seven Things We Can Do

by Mats Tunehag from Business As Mission
 
   The effects of the coronavirus are disruptive beyond comprehension. The situation is changing by the hour. 

The consequences vary from difficult to dire for billions of people, and nobody knows what the timeline is for this 

crisis.

   Media across the world updates us constantly on the negative effects on businesses and on people’s lives, so 

this short article will have a different focus: what can we do?

   But first let’s note that throughout history the Church has a track record of serving others in the midst of major plagues and catastrophes.

   “The sociologist Rodney Stark has written (in The Rise of Christianity) that one reason the church overcame hostility and grew so rapidly within the 

Roman empire traces back to how Christians responded to pandemics of the day, which probably included bubonic plague and smallpox.  When 

infection spread, Romans fled their cities and towns; Christians stayed behind to nurse and feed not only their relatives but their pagan 

neighbors.” (Living in Plague Times – Phillip Yancy)

   Why has the Church done this for centuries and why should we do it now? One fundamental reason is that we are to love God and our neighbors, and the two are connected. As Bishop Barron says: “Why are the two commandments so tightly linked? Because of who Jesus is. Christ is 

not simply a human being, and he is not simply God; rather, he is the God-man, the one in whose person divinity and humanity meet. Therefore, it is 

impossible to love him as God without loving the humanity that he has embraced. The greatest commandment is, therefore, an indirect Christology.” [1]

   Many businesses are facing challenges with cashflow, lockdown, sales, having to let staff go, supply chain disruptions, bankruptcies, et cetera. 

So, what can we do now?

   Let me suggest seven areas for action as it relates to BAM businesses and the global BAM community. We also invite you to add your suggestions.

   Please do share your thoughts and suggestions by responding to our Reader Survey.

1. Pray

    Seek God, listen to Him.

- Pray for BAMers and BAM businesses.
- Pray for divine wisdom and intervention.
- Pray for creative thinking and innovative solutions.
- Use St. Patrick’s BAM prayer, available in five languages.
- Ask friends in business how you can pray for them!
- Start or join online prayer groups for BAMers and businesses.

2. Buy

  We can help BAM businesses by engaging their services and buying their productst
- Support local businesses by buying their products and services when possible.
- Shop online.
- Do your Christmas shopping now!
- Buy gifts and give to neighbors, family and people in need.

3. Give

    There is a need for financial, intellectual and social capital.

Loans: Many businesses face issues with sales, revenue and cashflow, and could benefit from donations and loans. We need contingency funds.

Advice: Can you help a business with advice, can you be a coach and mentor? You may be an experienced business person who has gone through 

tough times and learned important lessons.

4. Remember the poor

    The coronavirus crisis affects the poor more than most others. Millions of self-employed have lost their jobs and thus income. There are even more 

people who are day laborers who work in the informal economy, have no safety nets, and in a lockdown situation they may lose income 

day 1, and may be out of food soon after. And they have limited access to healthcare. [2]

   The mantra many of us hear – “work from home, wash your hands frequently, and keep physical distance” – is not possible for millions of people.

   Some headlines from India, Africa and Nepal:

- India’s poorest ‘fear hunger may kill us before coronavirus’
- In Africa, social distancing is a privilege few can afford
- Daily wage workers are more worried about starving to death than Covid-19

   One group in Thailand provides care packages of food to vulnerable women in the sex industry, who lost their daily earnings because of lockdown. 

Another example is an African American woman in North Carolina, USA, who “feeds more than 100 families every day during the COVID-19 pandemic”.

5. Learn

    Many of us have to stay home, and this may open up opportunities to study. Being mindful that our present crisis is unique,  albeit not the first one, we should also study lessons learnt from previous significant world changing events. We should also – even now – try to draw lessons in and from the 

present crisis.

   In a time with major dramatic changes we should remind ourselves about countries which have been transformed in our lifetime. It will give 

hope and inspiration during these stressful times. Learn from Israel, Singapore and Rwanda, which have succeeded against many odds. See four 

recommended books in footnote.

   I am just now reading a book which describes, analyses and compares 12 Church encyclicals from 1891 to 2009. They deal with topics like business, wealth creation, profit, workers rights, private property, democracy, socialism, theology of work, human dignity, human rights, free markets, democratic capitalism – all from a Bible based perspective mindful of both historical roots and contexts. One of the best is the John Paul II encyclical from 1991: 

Centesimus Annus. I also warmly recommend the book!

6. Regroup

    This global crisis is bigger and more complex than we have ever experienced before in our generation. We are not just going through it and 

coming back to normal. Things are and will be changing. Thus, we need to review our business presuppositions, and possibly regroup even now. 

There are of course also new business opportunities during and after the crisis.

   Praxis is “a creative engine for redemptive entrepreneurship, supporting founders, funders, and innovators motivated by their faith to renew culture 

and love their neighbors”. Three of Praxis’ leaders have written a thought-provoking essay dealing with these issues: “In this essay we will explain why we think that for most organizations — businesses, nonprofits, and even churches — this is a time to urgently redesign our work.” This is highly recommended reading!

7. Don’t give up!

    Why pursue BAM? God wants it, the world needs it and we are called to it! It is part of a greater godly plan which the Jews call tikkun olam: repairing 

the world. We are living in the tension of the world that is and the world as it ought to be. Thus, we pray “may your Kingdom come, and may 

your will be done on earth as in heaven”.

   Tikkun olam means co-creating with God, bridging the gap of the world which is to a world as it ought to be. During and after the corona crisis we are 

to repair and heal people’s lives and improve the world, bringing hope and healing to the world, also through business.

   As the markets plunge due to the corona crisis, let us learn from Jeremiah: “The prospects were not good. Actually really bad, even disastrous. 

The city was under siege, and everything pointed towards a defeat. People would be assaulted, hurt and killed; houses burnt down and the remaining 

citizens of Jerusalem would be deported to a foreign land. In this doomsday context the prophet Jeremiah was told by God to make an investment – 

in the doomed city!”

   Sounds like bad advice, maybe like investing during the corona crisis. But God showed that the marketplace will be restored again one day, and 

God was engaged to that end, and He still is. See my earlier blog God Restores the Market Place.

  As we pursue BAM and tikkun olam, we mustn’t lose hope or give up as we are facing tough times. Emmanuel – God is with us.