Global City Mission Initiative
  • Home
  • What We Do
  • About Us
    • Strategic Overview
    • New York City
    • Los Angeles
    • Tampa Bay
    • Orlando
  • People
    • Mission Catalysts
    • Organizational Leadership
  • Mission Training
    • Church Equipping
    • 1 Year in NYC
    • Engage: Orlando
  • Get Involved
    • Nations Nextdoor
    • Financial Giving
    • Help Wanted
    • Prayer in the City
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • Articles & Books
    • GCMI Podcast
    • Recent Newsletter >
      • Newsletter Archive
    • Multimedia Archive
  • Team Blog

The Leadership of Leaving

5/16/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
By:  Seth Bouchelle (New York City) 


Last week was the final time our church at the botanical gardens would meet together before splitting apart to multiply into several new church groups. This has been our intention from the inception of this group. Even so, it has been something of a poignant departure: as we withdraw from the primary facilitation of this church and turn over central leadership to those who, when we first came together as a group, were relatively new in the faith. It was coincidental then that the next to last time we met as a large group one of the new leaders said that he wanted to read John 16. He had read it for the first time the night before during some time of prayer, and felt that God had put it on his heart to share with the church. And it struck me, because this was a time I identified with Jesus more than I normally do. "It is good for you that I go away," Jesus said. "For the time is coming when you will be scattered." Of course it is obvious and appropriate to interpret Jesus' words in light of his coming death, but it strikes me that he is speaking of his ascension as well. Jesus has reached the point in his ministry where he must let go for the sake of his disciples. Jesus' work has matured to the point where he must leave in order to continue leading. And perhaps I was overly influenced by my context in how I heard this passage; then again, perhaps there is something in the leadership of Jesus which we sometimes fail to emulate in our ministry today.

In my cursory investigation, it seems that leadership is perhaps the most popular topic in every field, ministry being far from an exception. At times it seems that there are endless conferences and books about "Christian Leadership;" the last years have seen the entree of "servant leadership" into the vernacular of the evangelical world; it seems, at times, that there are ministers who have made entire careers of public speaking tours about how to lead. So it is natural that we, too, would be asking the question in our work: what is the mark of good leadership? It is a question we are struggling to answer in our context.

 I have heard it said that if you want to know whether you're a good leader, you should look behind and see who is following you. I don't disagree. There is no such thing as a follower-less leader. But in a culture which obsesses over leadership in the way which ours does, I wonder if there is a more helpful metric for healthy leadership in ministry. What if we set the paradigm differently, perhaps something like: if you want to know whether you're a good leader, you should see if the work will continue without you. With such a metric, I am inclined to think that we would have fewer ministries which pass muster. Not for lack of skill, I am sure, but perhaps a lack of trust. There are so many skilled ministers who have all of the qualities one would hope for in a leader. I often feel intimidated by the competency and charisma typical of many ministry leaders. But I frequently wonder: how many leaders, particularly in the mission world, are seeking to make themselves replaceable? Although my experience is admittedly limited, I cannot recall many. So many ministers, church planters, project managers, small group leaders, and overseers seem unable or unwilling to replace themselves. We seem to believe that things couldn't be better off if we weren't there to manage them, to keep account and oversight.

I'm beginning to understand the temptation too. I went to school for a decently long time to develop some skills which didn't come naturally to me; and I can perform some tasks with greater efficiency and professionalism than many to whom I minister. But at the same time, I limit the effectiveness and reach of my ministry to my own gifts when I don't see my position as one of empowering others to reproduce or replace me as a minister. And when I search my own heart, I find myself caring about the expertise with which my work is executed more than I do the multiplication of the ministry. I find that when it comes to teaching, facilitating, coaching, mentoring, evangelism, and making decisions, I am probably more concerned with the professionalism of our work than I imagine God is. And I think I sometimes hold tightly to my position, not for the health of the church, but because it makes me feel validated and needed. I think that may be what I really don't want to give up.  Because it's really messy when you give leadership away. It is difficult to manage the workers when you scatter them out and trust them to do the ministry without you present. And when you're no longer in charge of the work then you don't get credit for its success, but you definitely identify with its failure. And ministry requires a lot of failure. But maybe it's good for the ministry for me to leave. Maybe it's good for me too. Maybe that is truly what it means to lead like Jesus: to lay down your life and then leave.

0 Comments

Intentional

5/16/2015

2 Comments

 
By: G. B. (a GCMI Mission Catalyst)

Half of our local house church was sick and we had decided to not meet together, deciding instead to stay at home and worship God with our families.  My wife, daughter and I prayed together, listened online to a Francis Chan sermon and sung some songs.  It was a good and simple morning; God was brought glory and we challenged each other to move closer to Him.

After our morning of worship together, I headed off alone to visit one of the Masjids (Muslim places of worship) that several of my friends are a part of. Friday is the Muslim “holy day,” but on Sunday they have a Sunday school and prayer time.  I try to be present semi-regularly; learning new things and talking about Jesus and about what is True in this world.

I had some extra time so I didn’t catch the bus across the street, instead deciding to walk a couple stops to the North.  As I walked, I greeted the people that passed by; this is not a common NYC thing to do. I am often met with blank stares, but once in a while someone will greet me in return. This time, someone did just that and more.  Not only did they greet me, but they gestured for me to come over and sit with them at their park-side bench. I obliged and dived straight into conversation.

My new friend was from Guyana (in South America) and a Hindu.  Soon after I sat down, he called over another guest, this time a man from India; also a Hindu. Our conversation was rolling, and I began to talk about God. We were both thankful for the amazing weather and were thankful that we lived in a place where had freedom to do as we pleased. We were thankful together that even though we believed different things, we could still become friends.  My new Hindu friends assured me that they thought my religion was good too and one even mentioned that he had a poster of Jesus Christ on his wall here in NY.

However, I didn’t really care if they thought my faith was ‘good'; I wanted them to understand that it was true.  I shared some stories about Jesus and about His proclamations of being THE Way, THE Truth and THE Life.  I talked about how it didn’t make sense to me that all different religions could lead to the same place.  After a little more discussion though, I decided I had to be going. I was already running late to the Masjid and our conversation was dying out.  I gave out my contact information and thanked the men for our time together.

I hurried across the street and fortunately caught the bus just as it was arriving to the stop.  In about 15 minutes I was inside the Masjid, but sadly, most of my friends there were very busy.  At first I thought this to be horrible, but I decided to make the best of it and to meet several additional members.  As I’m writing, one man in particular stands out in my mind as he had just moved over from Macedonia and was trying to get settled into his new surroundings.  We talked for while in broken communication (His English was 50/50 and my Albanian is not nearly conversational).  He asked if my family had raised me Muslim, I quickly smiled, excited to explain that I was not Muslim, but instead a follower of Isa (Jesus).  I told him that I had friends at the Mosque and I knew that they respected Isa.  I told my new friend that I was happy he lived in my community and that I was excited to learn more of him and to share about my faith in Jesus.  I also offered to help him with his English and he gladly took down my number!  Before leaving, I helped clean up after the children and put away the chairs.

Next, I called up another friend, this time from Albania.  We shared a coffee and discussed the transformative qualities of Christian living.  I explained how being a Christian doesn’t mean we just live by some “law” but that we actively take part in the Kingdom life offered by Christ and help transform this world for Him. This conversation was followed by others; a very busy day where I was able to see friends from Kosovo and Bosnia, Morocco and Bangladesh… culture after culture I came in contact with.  And this was exciting!

But the contact itself was only minimal in importance.

It’s what we do with the contact that matters.

During one of my final conversations of the day I was talking with a Muslim friend.  We were talking about things that are forbidden in Islam but accepted in Christianity; things like pork, alcohol and the uncovered heads of women…

He shared with me that many people in his country do drink alcohol, and so does he on occasion.  This bothers him though because it goes against the teachings of Allah (God) from the Qur’an. I agreed that this seemed like a difficult contradiction. I then explained how Paul told the early Christians that all things are permissible but not beneficial to us. I told about how if we do something that causes our brother to sin then we should cease doing it even if it causes us no harm.

“There is a freedom that comes in Christ,” I explained.  “But this freedom is not to enable us to sin more… but a freedom to come back to the heart of God when we do mess up.”

As Christians, if drinking some wine causes someone around us to sin, we should NOT drink that wine.  But if it doesn’t cause others to stumble then Christ has made that wine permissible…  “But as a Muslim” I said, “drinking that wine is a sin… and nothing ever seems to make that right.”

The only answer for restoration is Jesus.

I had great contact with my friends, but without intentionally sharing the Gospel truths they needed to hear… my contact may have been in vain.

I could have just waved at the guy on the bench. I could have left the Masjid after I realized my friends were busy.  I could have just sipped my coffee quietly with my friend as we discussed the weather, but because of His great love for us, I didn’t!

We must DIG deeper into our relationships; ASK questions and PROCLAIM Christ as King.

Remember friends:
Meeting a Hindu is great, but explaining how Jesus is superior to all other God’s is greater.
Seeing your neighbor is great, but offering to help her carry her groceries is greater.
Going to the Masjid is great, but using it as a platform to talk about Jesus is greater.
Visiting your friend at the hospital is great, but praying with them for peace is greater.
Talking about the Law with a Muslim is great, but offering the Hope of Christ is greater.
Connection is great, but being intentional is greater.

Choose to be greater… I believe that’s who God created us all to be.

2 Comments

Opportunities for Mission

5/11/2015

1 Comment

 
By:  Jared Looney (NYC)

There are great opportunities before us for participating in God's global mission. Global City Mission Initiative (GCMI) is sharing a vision for reaching out to the nations by engaging as missionaries in global cities, such as NYC or L.A.. We want to articulate needs and opportunities before us, and we hope to discover potential missionaries who share the same passion as Global City Mission Initiative (GCMI). Admittedly, this article is a bit like a public memo. So friends & partners, help us spread the word!  We want to discover co-laborers as the GCMI team continues to grow.  Spread the word.  
Picture
Asian Diasporas 
In North America, Asian immigration represents the fastest growing immigrant communities in North America. Thousands of Chinese, Indians, Koreans, Thai, and others are rapidly transforming neighborhoods in both central cities and in suburbs. It is an essential priority for GCMI to mobilize missionaries among Chinese and other Asian communities in cities such as NYC, Los Angeles, or Toronto. If you know someone with a passion for Chinese or other Asian communities, spread the word. 

Latin American Diasporas
GCMI has a strong desire to mobilize missionaries among Latin American immigrant communities. We recognize the great potential inroads for the Gospel among these communities. It is a high priority to mobilize missionary workers among the vast Latino populations in global cities. If you know someone with a passion for Latino communities, spread the word. 
Unreached People Groups 
In New York City, we have GCMI missionaries working among Albanians and Bengali Hindus and Muslims. We're also glad to be part of Equip, a one-year training internship with a focus on unreached peoples in the city. Through our partnership in Equip we've been involved in mobilizing new workers among West African Muslims, North Africans, Tibetans, Nepalis, and others. In NYC alone, there are tens of thousands of Afghans, Yemenis, and countless other nations living in our city that are almost entirely unreached by the Gospel.   

We hope to discover more missionary workers who will specialize and focus on reaching out among Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and other peoples from Africa, Asia, and the various corners of our planet that have migrated to global cities. If you know someone with a passion for the unreached, spread the word.  
Picture
International Students
Every year, there are thousands of internationals studying in New York City and in Los Angeles with over 70,000 cycling through each city respectively. Our NYC team has been involved with international students, and we are over-joyed with the receptivity we often find. Reaching international students and scholars in places like NYC, L.A., or Boston are great opportunities for making a global impact. If you know potential missionaries to the networks of international students studying in our cities, spread the word. 

Picture
Beyond NYC...
Global City Mission Initiative (GCMI) began in NYC, and we are continuing to build a growing team in this quintessential global metropolis. Our vision is to utilize NYC as a launching pad, and to mobilize missionaries in strategic urban settings where we can intentionally share the Gospel and make disciples. We work in global cities as a missionary network. We are eager to partner with co-laborers and to mobilize new missionaries. 

New York City.  We have a team in NYC, and we believe it should continue to grow. Just as people move on from the city, they are constantly replaced by people from around the world.  If you know someone passionate about NYC, spread the word..  

Los Angeles. GCMI has a mission catalyst in Los Angeles, and we are dreaming about developing a GCMI team there. If you know someone passionate about L.A., spread the word. 

Tampa Bay.  At the conclusion of 2016, My family will be relocating to Tampa Bay, a metro area that is increasingly reflecting the global context for mission.  If you know someone with a passion for the Tampa & Orlando areas in Central Florida, spread the word. 

And Beyond....  We are seeking to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  If someone has a desire to serve as a spearhead for the Gospel in a global city, they might bring that passion for their city as part of the GCMI vision.  Spread the word.    

1 Comment

    Author

    Mission catalysts, interns, & friends of Global City Mission Initiative reflecting on experiences & ideas based on making disciples at global crossroads.  

    Archives

    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    June 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed