Global Outreach Website

Apr 10

Apologies for being a day behind. The computer got a virus Easter day and just got repaired after 9 on Monday night. Here is Sunday's entry:

Although the morning began at 6 or 6:30 for most of us, it sure felt early. There was something neat about walking around the house with a group of people who were mostly strangers until recently and hearing the historic Easter greeting of, “He is risen,” and the matching response of, “Alleluia, He is risen indeed.”

There was a spirit of cooperation and excitement as breakfast-seekers hunted for bagels or cereal or oatmeal. The really tired just gravitated toward the coffee. People swapped stories of trying to sleep amidst the sound of barking dogs and routine Guatemalan nightly fireworks or the now identified snorers in the group. Others seemed more challenged by the slight air circulation and inability to open very far the heavily secured windows. But there was no real complaining because people seemed to have real healthy perspectives. After all, we were all here on a journey to seek Him, serve Him, and share Him.

We were to leave at 7:15 for worship when our leader Herman was to come by. Although I had met him briefly in Atlanta on two different occasions and spoken to him when we arrived, I hadn’t really had much time to get to know him. Like most of us, I’d heard about Herman for years. His exploits seemed almost legendary as a physician, sage, teacher, and medical missions leader. But primarily I’d heard about him as an evangelist extraordinaire. It seemed as if everyone that has gone to Guatemala had great praise for the man and at least one Herman story that was unique and interesting. Like many others, I think I’d probably built him up in my mind as the most interesting evangelist in the world. Here is what I’d heard:
1. He lives vicariously through himself.
2. He taught his German shepherd to bark in Spanish.
3. He never says something tastes like chicken – not even chicken.
4. His reputation is expanding faster than the universe.
5. He’s been known to cure narcolepsy, just by walking into a room.
6. He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.
7. Even his enemies list him as their emergency contact number.
8. He’s a lover, not a fighter, but he’s also a fighter, so don’t get any ideas.
9. His shirts never wrinkle.
10. He is left-handed. And right-handed.
11. If he were to mail a letter without postage, it would still get there.
12. You can see his charisma from space.
13. The police often question him, just because they find him interesting.
14. On every continent in the world, there is a sandwich named after him.
15. He doesn’t believe in using oven mitts, nor potholders.
16. His cereal never gets soggy. It sits there, staying crispy, just for him.
17. Washington politicians refuse to go on his mission trips for fear that Herman’s preaching would cause them to switch parties.
18. His hands feel like rich brown suede.
19. Respected archaeologists fight over his discarded apple cores.
20. He started the whole one-word-name thing, long before Cher or Bono.
Of course I’m kidding. But it is true that he is deservedly well-loved and well-respected by so many. So it was with great joy that we greeted him this morning and drove to Vida Real to worship. The church had just moved into its own building a month ago for the first time since it was a church plant to the local business community. In so many senses it felt much like our home church, Perimeter.

We entered the large auditorium to see a dark room illuminated in the front with a vibrant worship leader. We took our place in the back right corner and were handed small radios which were half the size of a computer mouse. Each person unwound the earplugs and put them in their ears. From the back of the room Herman’s son talked through the words on the screen and then proceeded to translate the sermon with amazing clarity.

John and Julie later described the sense of singing some of the same songs as we do at Perimeter but that it was a different language, then went on to posit that others throughout the world are singing the same tunes with lyrics in dozens of other languages. Though we were a clear minority, we felt completely safe and connected to these fellow worshipers. It was truly a foretaste of heaven. Most of us went into the service expecting to get little out of it, yet it was not difficult to find it transcendent. There were multiple stretches where I actually was enjoying God and forgetting that I was in a foreign land. It was also inspiring to see that this church body clearly had a heart for the lost amidst them as they labored amidst so much violence and corruption to communicate a welcoming message where God offers hope and transformation. God is apparently the same God of reconciliation in the Middle East, Middle America, and Central America.

And even though we were visiting in the middle of a sermon series called ‘Phrases of Substitution’ about Jesus’ last words from cross, it was not difficult to follow. There was so much application that came from his third point that, “although salvation is free, it was not cheap.” In looking around the sanctuary at these people whose life experience is so different than ours, it was clear that we had far more in common, based on the sermon, than we had which separated us. We all fail to live thankfully. We all invest too little time reflecting on what Jesus accomplished on the cross. We all forget the price that our freedom to not sin actually cost Jesus. We all fail to consider what Jesus would say about our choices from the cross. We all have a huge problem that it is neither economics, our neighbor, our job, nor our broken relationships. Our universal problem is sin. And our singular solution is Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Clearly the good news of Jesus is not only transformational, it is trans-cultural. (Tomorrow we anticipate seeing how it is trans-dimensional and trans-generational.


Pastor Tim Keller, author of The Prodigal God wrote some of what we heard another way when he said, “The Cross is not simply a lovely example of sacrificial love. Throwing your life away needlessly is not admirable — it is wrong. Jesus’ death was only a good example if it was more than an example, if it was something absolutely necessary to rescue us. And it was. Why did Jesus have to die in order to forgive us? There was a debt to be paid — God himself paid it. There was a penalty to be born — God himself bore it. Forgiveness is always a form of costly suffering.” It also reminded me about how Keller has said,” If you and your church were to disappear off the face of the earth tomorrow - would anyone in the unbelieving community around you notice you were gone? And if they did even notice - would they say we are really glad they are gone or - gee we’re going to miss them.” It does not take much insightful observation to realize that the surrounding community would feel a huge void without them. May we aspire to live that way in our neighborhoods and work places.

Afterwards, we had lunch at Chili’s. That’s right, the American food chain. And dinner was Domino’s. We’ve not suffered nutritionally. Honestly, several people admitted to feeling a little bit guilty. After all, we hadn’t really labored for Christ yet in a way that we intended. And nobody wants to go home from a mission trip to tell supporters that they had great fun getting to know others and put on 10 pounds from the good food. Of course we could justify that tomorrow we were going to really start serving. A person could also qualify that the staff was off with their families for Easter, which made the start of this trip unique. But Allie may have said it best when she tried to describe the tension of feeling guilty with the fact that God is truly taking care of us and every aspect of this trip. Moreover, we are called to rest on this Sabbath because Jesus has done the work and we can rest in Him now. That made this gringo smile.

The afternoon was spent resting and preparing for tomorrow. Herman spoke of the vision for the ministry center that will soon be built and gave a walking tour. Some napped. Jerry, Pat, and Elizabeth have been very sick and are trying to fight off the illness with sleep as one of the weapons. We’d ask that readers really pray for them and the health of our whole team.

Tomorrow we need to be showered, fed, packed, and ready to go by 7am when devotions will begin. So having this day to transition has been wonderful. Having everyone ready to go with a smile on may be the first miracle we see. Clearly our team is itching to serve and engage the people. I know that I resonate with the wisdom of CS Lewis who said, “The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.” There will be little dullness or monotony tomorrow. We are looking for God to show up. Even the youngest among us agrees with the logic of another Lewis statement when he said,” Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” We are here because of the belief that it is of infinite importance because Jesus is of infinite worth.