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OCTOBER 2017 • DIRECTOR’S UPDATE NEWS.OM.ORGOCTOBER 2017 • OM INTERNATIONAL
Director’s Update
LAWRENCE TONG
IN THIS ISSUE • Israel • Africa • Haiti • Malawi • Near East • Brazil
An awareness of life’s mysteries
Life—the everyday variety—is a mystery that has captured the greatest imagi-nations through the ages. We honour God most when contemplation of His mysteries becomes a personal spiritual discipline. God is shrouded in mystery and yet, through our relationship with His Son, reveals Himself. Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV) expresses this well: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” We can have confidence that He will show us more of Himself (and therefore ourselves) as we mature in faith.
Few of us are theologians, yet should we deny ourselves of the fullness of God, who made all things for us to enjoy? I think of Psalm 8: 3,4 (NIV): “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” I have sat in an African desert at night, lost in wonder, captivated not merely by the what of the sky (and desert) but also the why and how. God makes an impression at every turn and witnessing His power in creation gives new energy and passion to serving
Him. How many of us seek that kind of meditation in the midst of our busyness and cares?
The Bible is a book with power to change lives and shape history. Explain that. Itself a profound mystery, it preserves, for our benefit, scores of mysteries. How can we encourage stillness and contempla-tion among younger generations? Who cares to ponder life when it can be Goog-led? There is no app that will substitute for a persistent quest to discover more of God and marvel at His works.
OMers are generally doers, not contem-platives—we’re in a battle and all that. What’s the point of studying creation, the interdependency of life, or celebrat-ing diversity? What does this attitude say about loving all that God has made? Has it disengaged us from dialogue with seek-ers of science or spirituality as a result?
Take those first stepsI have learned to retreat regularly for several days to simply be alone with God. This is not an effort to be spiritual or look spiritual; it is a means to survive with sanity. In my leadership role, I can be-come overwhelmed by demands of other people. When it takes an hour to reply to one email, I know that my tank is nearing
empty and I need recharging with the Lord. That cause and effect example cannot be rationalised away by human thinking. It’s a mystery that I have come to depend on.
God wants us to slow down and smell the roses. We honour Him when we invest time in thinking about Him and His works. Never mind if it is difficult at first. Here’s how:
1. First things first: If we have nothing to do, we check our phones rather than use the moment to quiet ourselves within. God did not design us for a lifelong rat race.
2. Silence: Such a rare commodity ought to be treasured rather than eliminated. We must build into our day times of pause and reflection (device free).
3. Distraction doesn’t come from sur-rounding noise but from the clutter we insulate ourselves with in life, be it physi-cal, emotional or even spiritual behav-iours. Downsize!
Take time for silence, to hear better. Stare at the night sky, to see better. The more we consider God’s works, the more we will love Him and speak of Him.
OCTOBER 2017 • DIRECTOR’S UPDATE NEWS.OM.ORGNEWS.OM.ORG
ISRAEL: FAITH BLOOMS
An OM Hope of Israel outreach team went to
a Muslim town to have conversations.
Entering a flower shop, they engaged
in small talk that led to a hospitable
welcome and invitation to sit down.
The shopkeeper asked why they were
in his town. The team shared that they
love Jesus and that’s why they were in
Israel. The team bought four flowers
and the store owner gave them a fifth.
In return, the team gave him a New
Testament and a tract.
The team proceeded to give away the
flowers in the community. One young
woman, in astonishment, said no one
had ever done that for her. The team
explained that Jesus’ love brought them
to this town to give this flower to her.
Each of the five flowers found a
grateful hand, a large grin and an op-
portunity to share about Jesus. Each
person gladly received a tract or New
Testament, the flowers serving as effec-
tive icebreakers. Pray these recipients
will receive the Rose of Sharon, Jesus,
as Lord and Saviour.
AFRICA: STRAIGHT DEAL
Every Saturday and Sunday, OMer
Adoum* invites friends to his house
for a game of Fourteen, a popular card
game. Groups play Fourteen under
the shade of trees or in shops—but in
Adoum’s house there’s more going on:
“My passion is to see every Muslim come to faith in Christ,” Adoum says. Formerly
devoted to Islam, he became a Chris-
tian shortly before university, and now
uses any occasion to approach the
subject with friends.
Adoum’s journey to Christ began in
1998, when an Islamic sect, the Sunna,
built a mosque nearby and proclaimed
that theirs was the way to paradise.
Confused, Adoum learned that the
prophet divided what would become
Islam into 73 groups—only one of
which would attain paradise. He says,
“Every day I read the Qur’an and got more confused; it could not be the word of God.”
His research took him to the only
library in town, run by a Christian.
Adoum began spending time in a Bible
study involving a game of bocce ball
every week. He aimed to convince the
Christian to become a Muslim, but he
took a Bible, began reading it and was
baptised in 2005; his wife followed
shortly afterward.
Now, his experience serves as a back-
drop for his own evangelistic efforts
with ten card-playing friends. Adoum
has discipled three into the faith so far.
Fourteen offers a perfect opportunity
for evangelism; a single game can last
more than six hours, pausing once to
take lunch.
As an English teacher for 500 high
school students, Adoum has opportuni-
ties to share his faith.
He also works with
child protection and
widows/orphans pro-
grammes. Using ques-
tions that led him to
doubt his own Islamic
faith, he can ask those same questions
to his friends. “A Muslim cannot move easily, and decide one day: Today I will not be a Muslim anymore. It takes a long time. We show our love through actions,”
Adoum says.
HAITI: WHEN PLANS CHANGE
When Isaac Gibson (USA), a welder on
Logos Hope, made an advance visit three
months ago to establish how the ship
could help local projects, he learned
about a school started by Marie Claire
Jean Lorthé and her late husband. After
a devastating earthquake in 2010, the
building’s stability was compromised.
Isaac planned to replace the metal roof
and install water tanks, solar panels and
a playground.
But when the ship arrived and Isaac
brought a team of crewmembers
to begin work, the school had been
knocked down for rebuilding! After
their initial surprise, they set to work
on the other projects, installing shelv-
ing, two 1900-litre water tanks, four
solar panels and an electric water pump
to replace the well’s hand pump. Staff
members had been cooking under a
tree, so the crew built a covered, out-
door kitchen with a sink, small counter
and two stoves.
As the school only had an hour of
electricity once or twice a week, the
solar system will store power, so the
school will have it on demand. “Now they have electricity to power several computers and the electric water pump,”
said Isaac. Crewmembers also built
a playground. “The kids were all over it and it was barely built!” he said. “There was a youth music camp in session next door, and those children came to play, too. Marie Claire made the kids wash the play equipment with brushes after they had used it, to keep it in good condition!”
While ship volunteers are told to ex-
pect surprises in their unconventional
life of service, it is not easy to prepare
for the unexpected. Isaac was thankful
that crewmembers could still bless the
school in so many ways. The roofing
material was left for
later installation; em-
ploying local labour for
the rebuild will help the
community’s economy.
MALAWI: GO DEEPER OR DIE
OMer Macdonald Mushiya has a
burden for the Yao Muslims. He has
planted five churches in villages sur-
rounding Chisopi, each enjoying grow-
ing numbers of Yao believers through
evangelistic efforts. However, a new
passion has sent Macdonald on a jour-
ney into God’s Word.
“Churches are making Christians, not disciples,” he says. “They don’t equip them to help others. They’re ‘Sunday Christians’ that don’t testify to other people.” To
help his congregations grow in faith,
Macdonald offers theological training
through Veritas, a programme designed
OCTOBER 2017 • DIRECTOR’S UPDATE NEWS.OM.ORG
to enrich students’
understanding of
Scripture. Through
his teaching, pastors
and church members
are gaining a level of
discipleship beyond what most Africans
experience. “I teach people to read the Bible in context, to know the whole book. This course gives me a greater understand-ing of Scripture, to better teach others,” he
says.
Veritas training comes in four mod-
ules, each taking one year. Macdonald
currently has 29 students in three mod-
ules and is finishing his own training of
module four at a college in Lilongwe.
Macdonald now sees pastors from
all denominations coming together to
share truth—and more communities
are begging for the Veritas teaching.
“Everyone now has a group to lead—and some are leading churches,” he says of
his students. “I’m delegating and shaping them, training them to train others. The more you teach, the more you learn as well,” he says.
NEAR EAST: NOT FORGOTTEN
“Sudanese refugees have the best atti-tude,” exclaimed Elaine* who, with her
husband, developed a ministry focused
on helping refugees facing discrimina-
tion. “Many refugees are downcast, but the Sudanese are so upbeat,” she said.
“They’re the sweetest, most optimistic people,” despite experiencing severe
racism from Arabs, long-term OMer
Marie* stated.
Bringing food and encouragement,
Elaine spent her time visiting Sudanese
refugees who lived “in [small] apart-ments…typically [occupied by] five to 10 people. There was mould everywhere.”
Even in summer, their accommodations
were “pretty damp and dark,” she said. “Most places didn’t have windows, and were only concrete.”
Sudanese refugees in the Near East
are not allowed to work or receive
financial help from relief organisa-
tions, Elaine stressed. “The children are starving [because] they don’t have enough money to buy bread.”
For over a year, Marie has visited
a particular Sudanese family every
week. Often a local Arabic speaker joins
them. “Normally, we do the [Bible] study together. We’ll read a story and discuss it,” Marie shared. One day, Marie decided
she would pray with the family. “Arabic is not my heart language, so my praying is not eloquent,” she explained. “I prayed a simple prayer, and I think the Sudanese family from that day on [understood] you don’t have to pray eloquently to God. God used my weakness to help someone in their journey.”
Several weeks later, the wife prayed
for the first time. “It was beautiful,” Marie enthused. Al-
though the Sudanese
family are Muslim,
“They welcome us into their home and ask to read [Bible] stories. I hope they’ll share what they’ve been learning with their commu-nity.” Marie believes God is using the
refugee situation for good. “Amongst all the refugees coming to [the Near East], and the increased pressure economically and politically, God’s at work.” Pray that
OM workers will find opportunities to
build relationships with refugees from
least-reached nations. Pray that these
people would come to know Jesus and
spread their knowledge of God’s Word
throughout their communities.
BRAZIL: OPEN THE TAP
Cynthia Hansen first experienced mis-
sions on a short-term trip to Guatemala
with OM. “I was certain [missions] was what God had for me,” Cynthia related.
Her parents, however, did not want
Cynthia to pursue full-time missions, so
she continued taking short-term mis-
sion trips, twice to Guatemala and once
to Bolivia.
Eventually, she underwent missions
training with OM, hoping to serve over-
seas. Instead, she applied her finance
skills in the OM office. Short-term trips
“change how you feel about and under-stand missions. You feel motivated to mobilise the church,” she said.
For churches, short-
term missions trip
participants bring mis-
sions closer to home.
Lukas, a youth pastor,
travelled to Serbia on
a short-term trip in
2016. One month later, he emailed OM.
“I need a trip for teenagers in my church,”
he announced. “When I told what I did, my church went crazy. My teenagers want to have this experience, too!”
In 2016, OM sent about 40 Brazil-
ians on short-term trips. In 2017, they
launched the Balkans project, designed
to send youth from Latin America on
an eight-month trip to one of seven
strategic countries.
Gisele Pereira, who spent nine years
in Bosnia, affirmed Brazilians’ suit-
ability to serve in the Balkans. “It’s a warm culture. They love talking and being together all the time. It’s very similar,” she
described. The short-term team hopes
to mobilise Brazilians and other youth
from Latin America. “They are very simi-lar to us, and we would like to have more people from our area go there,” Gisele
stated. Pray for the short-term team
at OM to connect with youth inter-
ested in missions. Pray that short-term
participants would return to fields in
long-term capacities and motivate their
churches towards greater involvement
in global missions.
Thank you for your prayers and support
of all OM ministries worldwide.
* name changed
OCTOBER 2017 • DIRECTOR’S UPDATE NEWS.OM.ORG
The way I see itPOLARITY: DO WE HAVE TO CHOOSE? • BY NG SU-LING
OM International Director’s Office
38 Orchard Road #03-00
Singapore 238836 SINGAPORE
www.om.org
© 2017 • This update is classified (N)-No Restrictions. This is a publication of OM News
& Information (OMNI) in which the International Director highlights timely developments, important issues
and concerns for prayer and response. Issued monthly in digital form. Feedback and ideas are welcome.
Subscriptions • To receive by mail, contact your local OM office. To unsubscribe, e-mail lawrence.tong@om.org.
In leading strategy implementation in OM,
I frequently face questions to answer or
problems to help solve. On some occasions,
however, I am truly stumped, or questions
once answered resurface in different circles
such as “What does it mean for OM to be a
field-led movement?”, “How do we manage
dual accountability?”, and “Do we value people
or tasks?”
Recently, I attended organisational
development training by Christian profes-
sionals where they explained the concept
of polarity management. This was an “Aha!”
moment for me. These same questions keep
popping up not because we have not de-
veloped satisfactory answers, but because
there is no one clear answer to begin with.
These are not questions to be answered,
nor problems to be solved—they are ten-
sions to be managed.
Polarities, as first defined by organisa-
tional psychologist Barry Johnson in 1975,
refer to interdependent pairs that need
each other over time. They are not mutually
exclusive, and always at tension with each
other. No amount of problem solving will
resolve that tension.
Examples of natural polarities in life
include inhaling–exhaling, activity–rest,
and work–home. In our spiritual lives, we
experience polarities such as life–death,
weakness–power and working–waiting.
Jesus’ teachings and stories were full of
paradoxes (or polarities) that brought out
the tension between first and last, present
and future, greatness and humility, sacrifice
and reward.
It’s simple to notice many polarities in
our daily OM work such as:
• Global Centre and Field Operations
• Freedom and Accountability
• Centralised and Decentralised
• Structure and Emergent
• Team and Individual
• Diversity and Sameness
• Task and Relationship
At best, a polarity pairing reflects two
realities that are good and desired. Let’s
consider freedom and accountability. On
one hand, we want freedom for fields to act
as they deem best, allowing leaders to be re-
sponsive to ministry needs that change and
emerge. This also yields greater ownership
of the ministry by leaders. On the flip side,
accountability ensures that leaders use re-
sources and manage ministries responsibly.
One coin, two sides
To function effectively, we need BOTH
freedom and accountability, learning to
manage the tension to stay on the upside
of the poles where gains can be reaped. In
the example above, the upside is when OM
leaders feel empowered to lead in their ar-
eas of responsibilities, but also understand
and appreciate the support that comes with
good accountability.
Problems arise when tension between
the two poles is not well managed, leading
the organisation to live on the downside
of the poles through too much freedom
or accountability or even both. Warning
signs that the organisation is living on the
downside of the poles would be when lead-
ers are overly protective of geographical/
ministry ‘turf’ (too much freedom), or micro-
management by the global centre (too much
accountability).
The polarity concept affirms that
achieving both sides of the poles is quite
possible. It’s not either/or, nor one versus
the other (as in a zero-sum game), but
rather both/and. Grasping this concept
could enable more constructive conversa-
tions about dilemmas we face as leaders.
Rather than forcing ourselves to have to
choose between task or people, or freedom
or accountability, a helpful dialogue would
centre on how to achieve the best of both
without slipping into the downsides.
People may value or hold on to the
upside of one pole, or be fearful of the
downside of the opposite pole. These are
very natural tendencies that, unfortunately,
can result in the organisation, or a particu-
lar group, becoming stuck on one end of
the pole. As leaders, we can help facilitate
conversations that:
• Affirm the value of the pole where there
is bias
• Acknowledge the real fears of the
downside of the other pole
• Explore benefits to the other pole
• Seek the higher purpose supported by
both poles.
This last point is important. Ultimately,
both ends of the pole should work towards
the same higher purpose. In the case of
freedom-accountability polarity, that is
effective ministry.
Change is the new constant we must
embrace as part of our future reality. To
manage ongoing, ever-emerging change
effectively requires us all to manage polari-
ties well.
(Author’s bio) I began with OM in 2001 with my husband, Han Teck, on Doulos. We spent nine years with OM Ships, and were part of the first leadership team of Logos Hope. I am currently the Associate International Director of Strategy Implementation, leading the implementation of OM’s global change initiatives. These include strategic developments arising from our new mission statement, as well as changes to our governance and leadership structures.
For further reading: https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/are-you-facing-a-problem-or-a-polarity/
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