Mere Missions

32 • M ere M issions : M oving F orward to M ultiply

you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. ~ John 15.1-11

Contact: Situation Awareness “I can’t wait till Jesus takes me up in the air like that.” Those words sealed the direction of my life journey and it started in the spring of 1982. I was in my Senior year at Taylor University,

majoring in Christian Education. January, known as J-Term, was always quiet and peaceful on campus. Many students went to other schools or took trips during this light academic load month. Usually, they went somewhere where it was warm and sunny to escape the frigid cold and cornfields of Indiana. Like the three previous years I chose to go back to Taylor. It’s not that I necessarily liked the cold but the quiet and slowness of campus life during this time was perfect to reflect on my future plans upon graduation. I was a regular visitor to the small prayer chapel, across from my dorm, where I could pray and journal. As I reflected on my life experiences at Taylor, the Spirit of the Lord made four truths very clear to me: 1) God’s heart for the poor and oppressed (Jon. 4.11); 2) disciples are to be salt and light in a decaying and dark world (Matt. 5.13-16); 3) the Lords deep love for His Bride, the Church (Rev. 19.6-8); and 4) God’s missions mandate to go and make disciples (Matt. 28.18-20; 2 Tim. 2.2). There it was. Four years wrapped up into four foundational principles. So, what next? Where do I go? “Lord, show me clearly what it is you want from me.” Around this time of searching and praying I was reading the book The Making of a Disciple by Dr. Keith Phillips. Along with a female counterpart, we were leading a campus wide discipleship program and I was always looking for some further insights. I was so