Pastor Roger has been supportive of us going to Latvia - even before he became the senior pastor at CCMB 4 months ago. He has been a mentor to me ever since I assisted him as he taught a Missions class last fall when God began calling us to Latvia. We actually had dinner at his house last night along with his fellow missionary from the Philippines, Dave Matthews (not the musician). We enjoyed sharing fellowship and stories and Janet's cooking. At the end the men went into the kitchen and washed dishes and laughed as he sang "if you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all". He reminded me of how fruitfulness comes from spending time with people not just creating a storm of activity and then leaving. It takes time to see peoples lives change radically. The best method for church planting is feeding the sheep the Word of God and exampling (is that a word?) the Biblical Christian life until they get it and begin modeling it to their own people. "Healthy sheep beget healthy sheep." That is when you know you are done, but it takes years.
We are blessed to have a senior pastor who was a missionary in the Philippines for 13 years. He often emphasizes missions in a very dynamic and encouraging way. Last Sunday he concluded teaching though the gospel of Mark. The call to "Go preach the gospel to all" was made simple and practical, "Are you at least available to go, if God should call you?" And this Sunday, he started the book of Acts "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth." "Acts is about first century missions," he said "A missionary is someone who is willing and trusts God to go where the Spirit leads". These aren't exact quotes but you get the idea. The timing couldn't be better as we leave this Tuesday for Latvia, God is definitely using pastor Roger to impart faith and vision for the future to us and to the rest of the gang at CCMB. In the words of William Carey, "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God."