Church Planting Movements (CPM); Surrenderedness at Personal Levels

Church Planting Movements (CPM); Surrenderedness at Personal Levels

Sticky Bunned Levels of Transformation

Transformation. God is after our hearts: on all levels, at all costs. Not the part, but the whole. Totality in surrenderedness is the heart of the Father for His followers. Obedience borne forth of implicit trust in the One who knows us best and loves us most is sweet surrenderedness.

How did my husband and I feel about our daughter leaving soon to serve the Lord among a Muslim unreached people group in the war zone of the Middle East?

No kidding, as my husband and I were returning to J*ta a few months ago via Thai Airways we noticed two huge Middle Eastern sheikhs fully adorned.

Their red and white-checkered head covering was coifed quite perfectly atop their regal heads while they sat in the middle section of the plane. These men were quite committed to boss anyone and everyone around who would feign give ear.

While these men seemed to be in a constant posture to complain, they were in motion to prepare to arrive into J*ta. Most likely, they were to perhaps be a featured speaker at one of the larger mosques of note. Or at least, that was my best guess as to the necessity of the entourage. Their underlings hurriedly complied with every barked command. Whether to fill out their entry forms or just plain “you live to make my needs satisfied” type addresses flowed freely from their lips.

What happened next is where it gets really sticky-bunned as well as personally more engaging. As our plane began to descend, at the precise moment where all flight attendants are seated, one of these 6-foot-5ers proceeded to rise from his seat and to open the storage bin.

At this move, and at that precise moment, a little waif of a 90 pound (dripping wet) female flight attendant rushed over to “force” him to be seated for his and everyone else’s safety. Who truly knows what impact a 300-pound sheikh flying through the passenger cabin could have if things went awry? Of course, we won’t mention how reality says that a little strap of seat belt won’t do much to avert bodies flying if something really went amiss. Anyways, back to the action.... the female flight attendant sees a non-complying man who basically gives her the brush off, “no, no, this is what I am to be doing! No, no I am just getting my things! Let me be!” This verbal exchange is actually funnier if you add some linguistic imagery to the mix; just add Arabic accent and it would sound about right.

With the obvious show of non-compliance the flight attendant ran towards this large man as though she were going to “take” him down! After my eyeballs returned to their sockets at the sight of this calculated but absolutely stunning move, I saw this little gal put that huge man in his place. He continued to grumble and “thus protest loudly” on all levels, but in the end, she had the upper hand.

The thought that comes to mind is “His perfect love casts out fear.” I felt convicted in such sweet whisperings of grace and mercy on two levels at that moment. On the first level, I realized that even in my observation of these men there was a level of disdain I felt for Muslim men at that moment. Do I really get it, after all these years of serving among Asian Muslim UPGs? “Such was the condition” of my own heart apart from the sweet and powerful grace of our Master and King. Who am I? I could be the same. And the reality is, apart from Christ I was the same lostness to the Father. Whether dressed in robes while barking calls and commands to all whom I expect to attend or simply politely self-willed, God is still Holy and the Perfect and Most Righteous Judge. Christ alone is our salvation.

The second level of conviction was when the tears flowed. I heard my ABBA whisper at that precise moment, “you are fearing your dear Toni from being among the likes of these, are you not?” To which I was able to acknowledge and then be honest about the process of releasing my fears about the Lord’s leading for Toni into His hands.

Lest I be misunderstood, we are thrilled with His leading for Toni and are cheering her on big time. I had not recognized a small level of fear that could have grown given the right cultivation had the Lord not revealed even this to my heart. I love the ways in which the Father moves and lovingkindedly leads. Nothing hidden, nothing held back, all in a process of on-going surrenderedness is such as He desires. It’s funny but I am not sure why I am writing this to you exactly except perhaps He might encourage your own heart at whatever levels.

Taking on them Giants, one 300 pounder at a time, RA