Recently, I traveled with two
others to South Korea to do sports ministry.
Leading up to the trip, there was a lot of posturing and threatening by
North Korea to attack the South. Clearly, this didn’t happen, but I realize, in
hindsight, that much of what I learned from this trip came as much from the preparations
to go as from the trip itself.
As a teacher of teenagers, I deal
in the world of hyperbole on a daily basis. Not one to make a big deal of
anything, I found myself getting more and more restless leading into the trip
as students and faculty alike came by my classroom telling me not to die, giving
final wishes, and dropping off way too many “just in case I never see you again”
notes. All of it together made me doubt whether or not I even wanted to go in
the first place. It wasn’t until I heard the words “Go until God says stop”
from a trusted mentor that my heart committed to going and the real preparation
was on. Threats, stress, risk… Those were all the world’s clamoring, but none
of the Lord’s direction, so I boarded the plane early one Friday morning and
headed to South Korea to serve with a friend I had met only once four years
before and another guy I had never met at all (In my mind that took a little
faith too!).
It’s strange to go on mission to
a place perceived to be more Christian than my own, but I walked in with high
expectations of God. See, a little over a year earlier, God had called me very
specifically to teach at the school I was at… So, when he beckoned me out
temporarily, I expected for Him to have a reason why. I wasn’t really sure what
God could or should show me there, so I just tried to be open to the experience
and enjoy the amazing community of believers I was being blessed by immediately
upon my arrival.
It was clear that leadership
development would be part of the plan, but I knew little else walking in. What
resulted was a week of investment – in time, in words, in prayer. There were
the leaders from the International Sports Leadership Training school who we got
to share life with, hearing how God had called them to Korea to be trained, and
how he would soon send them out to live with an intentional mission in their
own country. There were the believers from the Olympic Training Centers who
spoke with desperation for their fellow athletes and training mates to know
Christ and make him known through sport. Then there were others we met and
broke bread with that had a sincere heart to care for their countrymen by
making the gospel more accessible through sports outreach and ministries like
the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The time there went quickly, but it
constantly reminded me of the verse by which I am teaching this school year… 2
Corinthians 12:15 which says, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for the
saving of your souls.”
My take away from being in Asia
is to be encouraged that there are people desperately hungry for others to know
Christ. That this is to be my reality and desperation too. And to lead with
excellence, selflessness, and a mindset of spending is to live out the mission
that God has given each of us whether we travel halfway around the world or only
ten minutes down the road. It may seem simple, but God expects our life. When
we count the cost of sharing Him with fervency, sincerity, and vulnerability we
know that to make Him truly know is more than just to speak correctly of his
character, but to model it as well.
So, thinking back to the fact
that I almost didn’t go reminds of the faith it took to get there in the first
place… That this year has been all about taking risks big enough that failure
is guaranteed – unless God steps in… And that risk and faith go hand in hand.
We live in a place and a time where we constantly feed the craving for more
information, but God has been faithful to show me that it is rarely more
information that I need, simply more faith.
