Author: Scott Chafee

Scott serves on staff at King’s Grant Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

The Work of Supervision

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I used to work at the International Mission Board Office of Mission Personnel; mainly reading missionary wannabe applications, and then selecting and preparing candidates for overseas service. One main issue in sending short-term personnel overseas (two to three years) is the topic of supervision. Here is a lot of information out of Doran McCarty’s book called, Supervision: Developing and Directing People in Ministry. This post is an introduction.

Contents of this Series:

  1. The Work of Supervision (below)
  2. The Definition of Supervision
  3. The Art and Science of Supervision
  4. The Models of Supervision
  5. The Covenant within Supervision
  6. The Covenant Process in Supervision
  7. The States of Supervision
  8. The Supervisory Conference
  9. The Biblical Basis of Supervision

What’s the first thought that comes to your mind when you hear the word supervision? Answers range from “an administrative chore” to “a boss” to “controlling” to “time consuming” and the list seemingly goes on forever. It takes effort to change that type of thinking. However, if people are the focus of your work, remember that those you supervise are people, too.

Supervision is a work comparable to everything else you do. Supervision can strengthen the life of the person in your care through the attention and support you provide. Supervision extends your work. With appropriate supervision, employees are extensions of your work as you share your goals with them.

Some businesses point to their employees as their most important resource. Support personnel, undoubtedly, are important components of your system. They provide help in the work of the your team. If employees become burned out or used up, the team may suffer the loss: the loss when goals are not met and the loss of integrity because of a supervisor’s insensitivity to their needs as people.

The supervisor should ask, “What is the object of my work of supervision?” Is the object a program or a person? Every supervisor is either program oriented or people oriented. Balance is most difficult. An administrator administers a program but a supervisor supervises a person.

If the supervisor’s central focus is on the program, he depersonalizes the personnel and makes him/her an errand runner rather than a fellow worker. The supervisor’s work is helping the employee fulfill the task to which they have been assigned. Your focus is not on the task, but on the person. The employee’s focus on the task.

Identifying Leadership Potential

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I’m on the lookout for new leaders… not that the currently leaders need to be replaced, but if King’s Grant is going to grow, we cannot do more with the same number of leaders. We need to bring new leaders on board, people who will catch the vision of what God can do in this place, and seek ways to exercise their giftedness in various areas of the congregation.

Since qualities of natural leadership are important in discussing spiritual leadership, there is value in seeking to discover leadership potential both in oneself and in others. Most people have hidden or undeveloped characteristics which, through lack of self awareness, may be simply undiscovered. Each of us needs to consider this instrument of self measurement that could result in the discovery of such qualities, (as well as the detection of various weaknesses which would make one unfit for leadership). When I taught a leadership class at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Zambia, I gathered teaching notes on the topic of leadership. Consider asking these questions:

  1. Have you ever broken yourself of a bad habit? To lead others, one must be master of self.
  2. Do you maintain control of yourself when things go wrong? The leader who loses self control in difficult circumstances forfeits respect and loses influence. He must be calm in crisis and resilient in adversity and disappointment.
  3. Do you think independently? While it is good to know the thoughts of others, the leader cannot afford to let others do his thinking or make his decisions for him.
  4. Can you handle criticism objectively and remain unmoved under it? Do you turn it in to good? The humble man can gain benefit from petty and even malicious criticism.
  5. Can you use disappointments creatively?
  6. Do you have the cooperation and win the respect and confidence of others?
  7. Do you possess the ability to discipline without having to resort to a show of authority? True leadership is an internal quality of the spirit and requires no external show of force.
  8. Have you qualified for the beatitude pronounced on the peacemaker (Matthew 5:9)? It is much easier to keep the peace than to make peace where it has been shattered. An important function in leadership is conciliation, the ability to discover common ground between opposing viewpoints and then lead both parties to accept it.
  9. Are you entrusted with the handling of difficult and delicate situations?
  10. Can you induce people to do happily some legitimate thing which they would not normally wish to do?
  11. Can you accept opposition to your viewpoint or decision without considering it a personal insult and reacting accordingly? Leaders must expect opposition and should not be offended by it.
  12. Do you find it easy to make and keep friends? Your circle of loyal friends is an sign of the quality and extent of your leadership.
  13. Are you unduly dependent on the praise or approval of others? Can you hold a steady course in the face of disapproval and even temporary loss of confidence?
  14. Are you at ease in the presence of your superiors or strangers?
  15. Do your subordinates appear at ease in your presence? A leader should give an impression of sympathetic understanding and friendliness that will put others at ease.
  16. Are you really interested in people? In people of all types and all races? Is there hidden racial prejudice? An antisocial person is unlikely to make a good leader.
  17. Do you possess tact? Can you anticipate the likely effect of a statement before you make it?
  18. Do you possess a strong and steady will? A leader will not long retain his position if he is indecisive.
  19. Do you hold on to resentments, or do you quickly forgive injuries done to you?
  20. Are you reasonably optimistic? Pessimism is no asset to a leader.
  21. Are you in the grip of a master passion like Paul who said: “This one thing I do”? Such a singleness of motive will focus all one’s energies and powers on the desired objective.
  22. Do you welcome responsibility?

R. E. Thompson, the founder of Mission Training International (serving in China in the 1920’s and 1930’s), suggests these tests of our attitudes to people as an indication of our capacity for leadership:

  1. Do other people’s failures annoy us or challenge us?
  2. Do we use people or cultivate people?
  3. Do we direct people or develop people?
  4. Do we criticize or encourage?
  5. Do we shun the problem person or seek him out?

It will not be sufficient merely to engage in this exercise in self analysis superficially, and pay no further attention to the discoveries made. Something must be done about it. Why not take some of the points of weakness and failure and, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, concentrate on strengthening or correcting them?

These desirable qualities were all present in their fullness in the character of Jesus, and each Christian should make it their constant prayer that they might more rapidly be incorporated into his or her own personality.

Leading Small Group Discussions

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Beginning in 2011, King’s Grant is preparing to “Hear God’s Voice” and then “Take Steps of Faith.” I’ll post the emphasis is detail later, but for now, my main concern is to invite people to become a part of the journey. My desire is for people to get involved in what God is doing at KGBC, and from where I stand, we need people involved in the leadership of small groups. That is where theological belief meets practical living. In our winter semester (starting in February), I plan on helping our people to improve at what they are doing in small groups, and also to invite new people to investigate if this type of service is for them.

How To Lead Small Group Bible Study Discussions: Why do some Bible study discussion groups sparkle with interest and worthwhile discoveries, while others seem to drag-even though all are studying the living word of God?

Guidelines – To lead a Bible study group successfully and to make this time of fellowship in God’s word a highlight of everyone’s week, consider these guidelines:

  1. Keep the group small (four to eight persons is probably best).
  2. Discuss only the Bible and its application to life.
  3. As the discussion leader, be a chairman rather than a lecturer or teacher.
  4. Before the discussion time, write out a list of questions that will stimulate active discussion.
  5. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance as you lead.
  6. Pray, prepare, pray.

Why Keep it Small?
A small group encourages even quiet members to talk about what they discover in the Bible, and to share problems and to ask questions. They will grow in their ability to speak comfortably about spiritual issues.

With this kind of discussion setting in which all participate, the members will be more motivated to complete their individual study preparation beforehand. They’ll become more personally involved with what God says in the Bible, and will also profit greatly from hearing the rich discoveries that others in the group are making.

A face-to-face Bible discussion group also provides opportunity for members to get to know one another better, with God and his word at the center of their relationships.

Finally, since the leader of such a group acts as a chairman rather than a teacher, it isn’t necessary for him to know a great deal more about the subject than others in the group. Leading Bible study groups is therefore an excellent ministry opportunity for laymen.

What Should We Aim For?
Perhaps your most important aim is to study the Bible itself. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the faith and correcting error, for resetting the direction of man’s life and training him in good living. The Scriptures are the comprehensive equipment of the man of God, and fit him fully for all branches of his work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 , Phillips).

Because of this supreme value of Scripture, we want to discover the truths of the Bible, and to understand or interpret their meaning and relevance, This should be the focus of the group’s time together.

Another important aim is to apply the Bible to our daily lives. God wants to change us, not just inform our minds. Keep thinking about these questions.

  1. Which of the these truths in the Scriptures do we need to act on now?
  2. What are we already doing about this, and where are we failing?

Application can also mean using what you have learned to help someone else, or remembering such things as important scriptural doctrines, God’s attributes, and his promises. The three basic aims of Bible study and discussion are:

  1. Discover—finding out what the Bible says,
  2. Understanding—recognizing what it means,
  3. Application—doing, using, and remembering what it says.

What Does the Leader Do?
The Bible discussion leader asks questions which help each group member become a “discoverer.” The leader is not a teacher. He is a guide and a participant himself He uses questions that help the group members discover, understand, and apply biblical truths. He does this by:

  1. Launching the discussion
  2. Guiding the discussion
  3. Summarizing the discussion

A good launching question is one that simply asks the group members what they discovered on their own in a particular section or question of their Bible study preparation. This means using phrases such as “What did you learn?” “What did you observe?” “What did you discover?” “What impressed you?” For example: “What did you learn from this section about prayer?”

To guide the discussion means keeping it moving, and drawing out the principal thoughts the group is sharing. You can ask questions like these! “Who else would like to comment on that?” “What does someone else see in this verse?” “Does anyone else want to add something?”

When the discussion wanders away from the Bible, you may need to get the group back on track by saying, “What we’re discussing is interesting, but we’ve left our topic. Perhaps we could discuss this more at a different time.” Then you could present a thought-provoking question that draws the group back to the biblical issues you were discussing.

Summarizing the discussion is something you may want to do frequently throughout the group’s time together. Your summary will serve as a brief review and as a transition to another topic. Remember to summarize what the group has discussed, rather than your own insights. Don’t preach.

How Do I Ask Questions?
Questioning is a powerful method of stimulating thought. So the more you plan and evaluate the questions you ask in a Bible study group, the greater will be your effectiveness as a leader.

One of the main reasons for asking questions is to help people understand biblical principles. Our questions can help them grasp the basic issue a particular verse or passage is addressing.

Once the group has identified this biblical principle, you can ask a follow-up question that ties in this principle to a specific situation This can be a real-life situation or a hypothetical one, but it should help the group realize how the principle can be practically applied. Then they can see more clearly how the Scriptures can actually change our lives.

When you ask a question, look around the group until someone answers it. Then you can ask “What did others of you find?” or “What did someone else discover?” Again, look around the whole group, watching for anyone who wants to speak instead of pointing out a specific individual.

To begin with, the group members will probably look directly at you as they give their replies. But if you patiently persist with good guiding questions, the members will begin responding to the group instead of to the leader. Thus, true discussion will begin. Rather than being leader-centered, they will become group-centered.

The best way to learn these methods is to write out your discussion questions beforehand.

Common Errors – Try to Avoid These Things:

  1. Not making the questions sound conversational. Even though you prepare and write out your questions beforehand speak them in a conversational tone. And use your own natural vocabulary.
  2. Being afraid of silence after ask a question. Don’t be impatient or nervous. Give everyone time to think.
  3. Limiting yourself to asking questions. The leader is also a participant in the group. Share freely your answers and observations, but don’t dominate the discussion.
  4. Combining two questions in one. Ask one question at a time.
  5. Not explaining what you want the group to do. You’re in charge. Don’t hesitate to step in from time to time to influence the direction of the discussion, to end the discussion on time, to call on someone to pray, and so on.
  6. Trying to maintain too much control. If the discussion “takes off,” don’t worry about it as long as the group doesn’t wander too far from the Scriptures.
  7. Asking a question which can be answered “yes” or “no.” This type of question hinders discussion.
  8. Asking questions that are too complex. State each question simply and clearly.
  9. Emphasizing your own viewpoint or application. Don’t expect everyone to be deeply impressed with the same things in Scripture that deeply impressed you.

A Checklist – Here are Questions to Ask Yourself After Each Group Discussion:

  1. Was I familiar enough with the material to feel free in leading the discussion?
  2. Did everyone take part in the discussion? Or was it a lecture (with me doing most of the talking), or a conversation among only two or three of us?
  3. Did we keep to the subject without wandering?
  4. Did I frequently summarize the main ideas that were brought up by the group?
  5. Did the discussion lead to further understanding of the truths the group members discovered in their personal Bible study?
  6. Did we discuss adequately how we can apply what we learned to our lives?
  7. Did the discussion end on time?

This is an article from Discipleship Journal, November 1981.

Communication in Marriage

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I’ll be the first to admit that I am not an expert in marriage; but Kim and I have a strong commitment to each other which brings security in our relationship. In my reading and research I discovered this information to be concise and quite interesting, regarding Communication in Marriage.

Introduction:

Marriage counselors agree: Most, if not all, marriage problems are rooted in poor communication. We often act in our marriages as though we are soloists, singing alone and beholden to nobody. But marriage is a duet, not a solo. And the Song of Solomon shows us a real life marriage filled with the music of intimate, personal, and open communication.

Communication Levels:

Here’s the stark truth about communication in marriage: You will communicate, or your marriage will disintegrate. And marriages today that are on the rocks are there because of poor communication. Experts say there are five levels of communication:

Frivolous Level: This is the communication we experience daily in our casual relationships. The weather, the latest scores, clothes, and the like – we do this often and think about it rarely. It’s communication on “automatic pilot.”

Factual Level: This is a little more content oriented than frivolous communication. Factual communication digs a little deeper into the knowledge of various subjects. There’s still no real personal involvement.

Fellowship Level: Now, we’re beginning to get a little personal. We share ideas, judgments, and philosophies. We begin to risk rejection for our beliefs.

Feeling Level: In this kind of communication, we go a step deeper. We not only share ideas and core beliefs but we share our feelings about those beliefs. We let others know how important they are to us. This is much riskier, and it’s about as deep as most people ever get with each other.

Freedom Level: This is the deepest level of communication. We are completely open with our mate. We share our deepest dreams, fears, ideas, and feelings – without fear of rejection. The word “intimacy” comes from the Latin intimuce. It means “innermost.” And truly intimate communication encompasses all those dreams, beliefs, and feelings you wouldn’t share with anybody else. Freedom level communication is the secret of lasting love.

When the Bible speaks of a husband and wife coming together in the act of marriage, it says, so and so “knew his wife.” To be completely known and still be loved is the supreme goal of marriage. That’s true intimacy. Every marriage needs it to survive.

Application:

Intimate communication won’t happen without some adjustments, especially on the part of men. In most troubled marriages, the men won’t talk. I read about a woman who said that the only time her husband speaks is when he wants food or sex. That’s wrong. Men need to talk, whether they want to or not.

I was at a men’s conference last year and one of the best pieces of advice I heard was in a marriage seminar, where the facilitator challenged the men to ask one simple statement when your wife is telling you about her day… “Tell me more.” It may be hard after a long day at the office and all you want in peace and quiet, but this statement allows you to hear what she has to say without kicking in the male “fix it” mode. Just listen and affirm, you don’t have to fix it.

A husband’s silence is the culprit in most family communication problems. The wife, who craves communication, pushes her husband into a corner just to get him talking. She pushes and pushes, and Pow! He explodes. Ironically, this is often better to the wife than silence. At least she has his full attention. I’m not saying she intends to pick a fight. But deep down within her there is something that prefers argument to silence. She wants communication. That’s understandable. That’s how God made her.

Have you noticed how many books there are on marriage? On intimacy? On communication? Here’s the problem: The people who need them don’t read them! Women read them, but men, who truly need to adjust to their wives’ communication needs, don’t.

This is understandable. There are natural barriers to men communicating with the intimacy their wives desire. And wives need to take that into account and make some adjustments.

Consider the articles found in women’s magazines: “Five Ways to Develop Closeness in Your Marriage” and “How to Have Harmony in the Home” and “Achieving Intimacy With Your Lover.” Now what do men read about in their magazines? “How to Remodel Your Garage” and “How to Double Your Gas Mileage” and “How to Make It Big in the Stock Market.”

Yes, there are differences between men and women that affect marital communication. Some of these stem from the fact that we are raised differently. Boys are taught not to cry, not to show emotion. Part of the macho self reliance myth is silence, which supposedly communicates complete self-control.

These differences between men and women should give us all a healthy amount of understanding toward the struggles of our spouses. But they shouldn’t stop us from trying, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to imitate the intimacy between Solomon and his spouse. We’ll never arrive at perfection. But the closer we get, the happier our homes will be.

God Calls us to Sexual Purity

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Last year about this time we began challenging the congregation to read the Bible in 90 Days. As we went through the Old Testament, there were some pretty “R” rated (if not “X” rated) passages. I heard about one family traveling on a trip with the grandchildren, reading the Bible aloud while the other was driving. They had to stop reading out loud because the kids where listening! Grandma just couldn’t read certain passages and speak the words aloud. Leviticus 18 is one of those chapters. As I work with men, statistics tell me that when it comes to sexual purity, men who are in church are not too much different than men outside of the church. Purity is a desire, but impurity is a great temptation.

Leviticus 18 contains a series of laws that have to do with sexual expression (except for Leviticus 18:21, which forbids child sacrifice, which is really a whole other topic). We might wonder why God didn’t simply say, “Have sexual relations only with your spouse,” rather than offer such detail in the form: “Do not have sexual relations with… (you name it).”

The answer to this question comes in Leviticus 18:3. God is leading the Israelites out of Egypt, where various forms of sexual immorality were common, into the land of Canaan, where the people do the very things Leviticus 18 prohibits. As Leviticus 18:27 explains, “All these detestable activities are practiced by the people of the land where I am taking you, and this is how the land has become defiled.” God was concerned that the Israelites would easily be tempted to imitate the Canaanites’ sexual impurity, so he spelled out graphically the relationships in which sexual activity was forbidden. He knew that his people were like young children who needed specific instructions and prohibitions.

Although our context differs a lot from that of the Israelites, we face a pretty similar situation. We live today in a culture that endorses unimaginable sexual activity. Even though our society still agrees with Leviticus 18 about some things, like the wrongness of sex with a close relative, our world presents us with new challenges to our sexual holiness, like readily available pornography.

The New Testament does not really offer an updated list of sexual “don’ts,” like a new rulebook for Christian sexual conduct. Rather, it calls us to holiness in every part of our lives, including our sexuality (see 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). We should not imitate the ways of our world when it comes to sexual expression, but we are to devote our whole being to God, which includes our bodies. We are to live each day with the realization that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). So, we have the obligation and privilege of honoring God with our bodies. When we take this calling seriously, each day we will desire to dishonor God with our bodies less and less. We will seek to give him all that we are, all the time, giving Him honor.

Application: In what areas of life are you tempted to compromise in the are of purity? How have you come to realize your weaknesses? What safeguards have you set in place? What in our culture tempts you to set aside God’s standards for sexuality? What helps you to live according to God’s standards? What lures you to adopt the ways of our fallen culture? What has been your track record over the past few months? If you wish to start over, what prevents you from confession, restoration and commitment to purity (1 John 1:9)? Who is the man who holds you accountable? Whom are you holding accountable, your neighbor, brother, son, co-worker?

The Snapshots from Chande

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The Chande Orphanage Project…
 Story | Support | Statements | Mission Stories | Snapshots | Storm | Social Media

Here are a few photographs of the Chande Orphanage, taken by one of the many mission teams from the Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, TX.

Click the first thumbnail to begin viewing the photos at full size, or view as a slideshow.

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[Show as Slideshow]

Mission Stories from Chande

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The Chande Orphanage Project…
 Story | Support | Statements | Mission Stories | Snapshots | Storm | Social Media

Report from Ed Miller:
Former missionary in Kitwe and current missions pastor at Inglewood Baptist, from the trip September-October 2009:

Thank you so much for your prayers for our team that went to Zambia and Congo from September 27 to October 8. Below is a brief summary of how we saw the Lord work.

We saw your prayers answered as we went through customs and immigration: We had the privilege of seeing how your prayers were answered as we made it through immigration and customs at the Zambia/Congo borders with no problems both going into Congo and returning to Zambia in less than an hour. There were over 250 eighteen-wheel trucks backed up awaiting permission to get through the border. We made it through in less than an hour each way. Considering we were walking through what is called “no man’s land” we really sensed your prayers. This was above and beyond even our imagination to move through the confusion of so many people waiting with no difficulty.

We saw your prayers answered as we saw people responding to the gospel: We had the privilege of seeing over 260 people come to Christ. We saw one new church started while we were there as well as heard the report that the number of new churches in Southern Congo had grown in number. When I wrote to you before going, I reported that there were 28 new churches there. However, we found instead the number had grown to 34. We saw church leaders committed to reach out to unreached areas and start ten more new churches this year. We traveled about three hours north of Lubumbashi as we traveled in a van to see a new church and got to preach to that church. We also preached in 5 churches in the Lubumbashi area.

We saw your prayers answered as we taught: Each day, we got to teach about 25 men and ladies who were excited to receive all that we shared with them. After teaching 8 or more hours a day, they were always eager for more.

Thanks again from each of our team members (Pastor Shawn Barnard, Chris Zink, Jim Potts, and Ed Miller).

Yours in Christ,
Edward Miller (on behalf of Zambia/Congo Team)

Report from Shawn Barnard, March-April 2009

Blog post – Surrender – April 10, 2009 at 5:36pm

Although I was hoping to blog each day while in Zambia, it just wasn’t going to happen. Needless to say, it’s Africa. There was an “internet connection,” but it was like riding a slug when you’re use to a Ferrari. The first day I tried to load a page, it took 10 minutes . . . just for the text. As a friend of mine says, “Africa wins again.”

So . . .

There is much to be said in the upcoming posts simply because it cannot all be said now. For those of you who have had the privilege of engaging in missions, especially in 3rd world countries, there is always much to be processed. One thing that I’ve learned, after my sixth trip to Africa, is that no trip is ever routine. It is never mundane, or typical. It is always unique. If you listen, and go with eyes-wide-open, and your heart equally receptive, there is much you will learn; and question; and chew on; and cry over; and be changed by it all.

People often ask me, “How was it? Tell me all about it.” And I try. But there are no words that could ever adequately describe the experience. You just have to go . . . and quite honestly, you should. Maybe not to Africa, but somewhere. Whether it’s in a third-world country or across the street visiting with a neighbor, the location of your mission engagement is not what makes the experience indescribable. It’s the activity of God in that place that makes the experience impossible to put into words. Wherever it is, you should go. And the reason you should go is because, as Christ-followers, we are called to do so. It really isn’t an option if obedience is the desire of your heart.

For the past five years, I have had the privilege of spending time in Zambia, Africa. My heart, it seems, is drawn there. As a matter of fact, I often tell people that my second home is Zambia . . . and I mean it. I can’t put my finger on why, but my heart is wrapped around the people; and what God is doing there resonates deeply within me. Perhaps it’s working with orphans at the Chande Orphanage in Ndeke township. I’m not certain of all the details of Heaven, but it seems that God gives me a glimpse and a taste of what it might be like when I walk into a room of 260 children who are singing “Here I Am to Worship,” and they are smiling and singing with angelic voices like they truly mean it.

Or, it could be that I am so drawn there because the taste of death is palatable, both physically and spiritually. These people, not unlike the other 1.6 billion unreached people in the world, are in need of the life that is only found in Jesus Christ. I am humbled that God allowed me to see 313 people give their lives to Christ while we were there. And I have been changed by one in particular, whose surrender will be forever etched in my memory. The story goes like this . . . I was asked to preach a three night crusade at a “soccer field” in a township called Wusakile, just outside of Kitwe–a city of close to 1.2 million people. On the second night of the crusade, the crowd gathered as two choirs from local churches began to sing on the make-shift stage that was constructed by men from local churches in a matter of just a day and a half. If you had seen what they had to work with, and what they built, you would be amazed. By the time the music had finished, and just before I got up to speak, there was a moment where I caught just a glimpse, perhaps, of what it must have been like for Jesus when the crowds would gather to hear Him speak. From the stage I could see those who had gathered in front of the platform, but on the fringes people were sitting on logs; leaning against trees; standing outside bars; even across the highway people were standing and listening. It was an amazing thing. As I finished the message, and desperately tried hard not to worry about the bugs that were flying in my mouth and the grasshopper that had taken up residence on the back of my neck during the sermon, the invitation was given to anyone who wanted to come and talk with a counselor about giving their life to Christ. And this is what I’ll never forget: an middle-aged man, from the back of the crowd, began to walk forward. But as he was coming to the stage, both of his hands were held high in the air. His head was somewhat bowed down. Out of all the people that were coming down, he caught my attention. This man understood what it meant to completely surrender. As a matter of fact, as he approached the stage to talk with a counselor, he was led to a grassy area just to the left of the stage, and even then he still had his hands up. The counselor was the one who lowered this man’s hands. Talk about fighting back the tears. In all honesty, the song that kept coming to my mind was, “All to Jesus, I surrender. All to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His daily presence live. I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Jesus, I surrender. I surrender all.”

For me, the take-away is this: Everyday should be lived with such surrender. It’s impossible to cling to that which steals our affections when we come to Jesus with both hands open, and lifted high. So, here’s to living today with open hands, lifted high, so that we might embrace the one who is worthy of our surrender.

The Testimony of Charles and Jan Van Norman:

Charles and I are very proud to be Christians and members of Inglewood Baptist Church, Grand Prairie, Texas – a church with a vision for missions.

In 2006, when we decided to go to Zambia we knew we would see things Ed and Linda Miller and the 2005 IBC Team had described but we didn’t know the eagerness of the people to learn about Jesus nor the severity of the poverty.

We always heard that God doesn’t call the equipped but that He equips the called. We are not teachers, but we do know that God held us in His arms and that He stood by us during these two mission trips and gave us courage to speak His word. It didn’t seem to matter to those precious children that we had a funny accent. What mattered was that we were all there to love them and to share about Jesus. We were thrilled that 77 made professions of faith in 2006 after Holiday Bible School and 103 in 2007.