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Corinthians 9:20-22 - To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win
Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not
under the law—to win those under the law. To those
who are without that law, like one without the law—not being without God’s
law but within Christ’s law—to win those without the law. To
the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to
all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.
I grew up in a city in the Midwest. As a
teenager I moved to a small city in Virginia. After college I lived in a city
in South Carolina. Since I had lived in a city most of my life, I experienced
culture shock when I moved to rural Vermont in 1993 to live in a small village
with less than 1,000 residents. We moved there as missionaries with the North
American Mission Board, serving a rural church with less than 20 members, a
church struggling for survival.
It has been my custom for years to walk
in the mornings and pray about what God is doing in my life. During that first
week of living in a rural area, I struck out walking down the main street, the
only paved street in town. I did not get very far before I encountered a cow
that had escaped from a pasture and was standing in the middle of the road.
Having grown up in the city, I did not know quite what to do, so I froze in my
tracks. My life flashed before my eyes. My heart raced with fear. Would this
cow charge me? Would it trample me? Would it eat me? Surely this vicious
creature was a killer cow!
I do not know how long I stood in the
middle of the road looking at that cow, but someone drove by in a pickup truck
and asked what I was doing. I replied that a killer cow had gotten loose and I
did not know what to do. The driver looked at me, looked at the cow, and then
laughed hysterically as he drove away. Eventually I realized that the poor
creature was just a harmless old milk cow. I slowly eased past her and went on
my way. I was not in the city anymore!
To live successfully in a rural area, I
had to adjust to the presence of cows in the middle of the road. I also had to
adjust how I did ministry so that it fit my context. I learned to show up at
the post office each morning at 9:30 AM when everyone came to get their mail. I
could visit half the town in an hour. I learned that I was the pastor for the
whole community, not just my 20 church members. As the community pastor, I
conducted weddings and funerals, provided personal and marriage counseling, and
hospital visits for the entire community, even though many of them had little
or no affiliation with our church. I learned how important it was to make a
contribution to the annual 8th grade fundraiser. I learned not to wear a tie,
as it made people think I was either a Mormon or a bill collector, neither of
which was very welcome in that small rural village.
During the eight years I served that
church, I learned a great many things about how to minister in a rural village.
However, I never had to change the Gospel itself. The Gospel is always relevant
to all cultures in all time periods and to all people groups. There is no other
Gospel but the one found in the New Testament that begins with the sinfulness
of mankind and ends with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. But
methods and programs used to communicate the Gospel are constantly changing.
One generation might use flannelgraph and chalkboards; another generation might
use video projectors and smart boards, but the message of the Gospel remains
the same.
Since my fateful encounter with that
killer cow so many years ago, I have learned to communicate the Gospel in a
variety of ways as I have started churches and led evangelistic activities
across New England. Each town is a little different, but in each one God has
called a group of people to Himself. My ministry is to join God in His work and
communicate His Gospel in a way that the called can hear and respond. When that
happens, the Gospel goes forth and God is glorified, and His people rejoice,
even if it looks different than what we are used to.
Lord,
help us learn to share the Gospel in ways those around us can understand. Amen.
This post is an excerpt from the book, The
Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in
big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God
in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a
gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased
at this link:
This one's a keeper, Terry!
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