How We Approach Mentoring

JIM: Seeking Ministry Colleagues For these past 18 years, we have been learning about the Christian leadership context in Asia and relationally empowering pastors. We began in Singapore and then reached out to several nearby countries. While in a transitional sabbatical year to discern what is next for us in ministry, I am still passionate about serving Christian leaders in Asia, where the resources and support and role models are scarce. We see a great need and the Lord has given us many open doors, especially in Vietnam and China.  Some of the distinct characteristics of how we approach mentoring: Personal - it is built on relationships more than curricula, so we meet in small groups and individually many times over a period of years. As the relationships grow, the trust and personal support grows with increased understanding of the leader's gifts, personality, challenges, and dreams. We go deeper with fewer, and encourage the leaders we mentor to reproduce their lives by investing in others. Pastoral - it is focused on spiritual and character growth more than on skill development. When we are together, there is a lot of group Bible study and reflection and discussion that is attentive to what the Holy Spirit is pointing out in a leader's life for change and direction. We focus on who the Lord is shaping us to be, where he is leading us, and what he is calling us to accomplish for his kingdom. Practical - mentoring starts in the context of where the leader is serving, and is put into practice within the leader's relationships and ministry. The starting point is where God has put us and what he wants to teach us, and the end point is applying what we are learning where we are at. We are not finished until the learning is put into practice. Being the pioneer and the leader - and usually the only Westerner in the room - has been fulfilling. But is also tiring and sometimes lonely.  While my greatest desire has been for reproduction and I have seen that in many, many Asian leaders, I also recognize the need for more colleagues around me to keep going strong. To go the next lap in a healthy and effective way, I am looking for others who share the same values and vision and who want to work together. Here is a link to a fuller description of my ideal for an apostolic mentoring team. Would you please pray with us over the coming months that the Lord would lead us to close ministry partners? If you have input regarding this search, please let us know! Father, thank you for Jim’s fruitful service over the past 18 years and for the many leaders, ministries and lives that have been touched as a result. Now please lead Jim to others who share his passion and perspective for developing Asian leaders. Give him colleagues that will sharpen each other and complement each other and lead to greater multiplication across Asia in the coming decade, in Jesus’ name. Helping people understand who Jesus is... Have you heard of the Alpha Course? We will be part of a team who is hosting tables for this 10 week investigation of what it means to follow Jesus Christ. A course from the UK, it has had a huge impact in Singapore. For years we have known those who have led groups or have begun to have faith in Jesus while attending this course. We are excited to help out in this initial run with The River Church (where quite a few of our supporters attend). If you have friends in the South Bay who are curious and might consider investigating the Christian faith invite them! Social: Open for invitations We're making good use of a grill and had quite a few guests to our condo over the summer! We've also had some sweet times with other RHCC missionaries who were traveling through So Cal during the summer. As we move into fall season, let's plan some time to get together! Thank you friends for your prayers, financial support, and personal encouragement through this season of transition! We continue to be so thankful for the timing of our year back in the US - caring for parents, supporting our children, and treasuring the all too few opportunities we have to catch up with longtime friends. In this sabbatical for discerning God's direction for our future ministry, we continue to feel his peace and provision. Jim & Kimberly Lord, thank you that you continue to give us everything we need - financially and relationally. We look to you for clear guidance for our next chapter in ministry. Renew our vision and passion, that our next chapter wil be tremendously fruitful in serving you! You have a lot of choices where to invest your charitable giving, and we are honored and humbled when it's to partner with us through Church Resource Ministries. staff.crmleaders.org/creasman 1240 Lakeview Ave, Ste. 120, Anaheim, CA 92807 USA. You may designate by adding: "preferenced for Creasman-acct 5651" Our US Address: 1418 Brett Place #124, San Pedro, CA 90732 Jim (310) 698-2588, Kimberly (310) 658-1500. The Boys: 3 Time Zones Away in Virginia & Georgia Last month, we had a simple launch party for Cameron in Orange County. Some of the men he looks up to shared advice, affirmed and prayed for him. He's ready for this next big step. The boys are now settled at Liberty University VA (Cameron/Business Major), and at Ft. Benning GA (Tyler/2nd Lt Army Leadership Training). We find that being in the US this year gives us closer connection with them. Even if it's not a lot of face to face time, text messages come more friequently when we're only 3 time zones away. JIM The Battle for Investment Survival, G.M. Loeb Judges The boys had a great time with Jim in Colorado in July. And Tyler flew from Georgia to spend Labor Day weekend with us! Our prayer for them is a growing hunger for God and finding good friends and role models with godly values and lifestyles. KIMBERLY Praying God’s Word: Breaking Free From Spiritual Strongholds, Beth Moore

Refugee Awareness & Giving

Distance From Home - Translating Global Refugee Movement to Song from brian foo on Vimeo.

As American Collegiate Football season launches tomorrow, I somehow can't get into it. After picking up my son from Los Angeles Airport today, we drove the scenic coastal route back to our San Pedro home. We stopped along the way at Redondo Beach to take in the beauty of the LA coastline. I can't seem to get out of my mind the photos which came out yesterday of the Syrian children washed up on the Turkish shore.

The photos of the drowned Syrian children seems to have awakened the “west” about the need for stepping up in helping the newest wave of Middle Eastern refugees.

On the 8th September I continue writing this post...

Charities have reported a surge in donations since the publication of the photograph of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old boy who drowned on a Turkish beach, with Save the Children raising £1.2m in a matter of days. - The Guardian, 8 September

This is from 2 hours ago, the Guardian reports that UK relief agencies are cash strapped. However, I believe Americans are wary about cash donations, even to our larger aid organizations (after the recent debacle reported on how American Red Cross has not used donations for Haiti well).

 

So who can you trust in regard to giving toward this crisis?

Jim and I serve with CRM and we have met those who lead our work based in Lebanon. Here is what the CRM President wrote to me today:

We have huge needs and we have the means to meet both physical and spiritual needs of thousands of refugees throughout the Middle East. CRM has a fund — 9990 Syria — which is specifically designed for Syrian relief and ministry efforts. All of this goes toward the refugee efforts.

 

We can absorb and put to work as much funding as people can move our way, and the results are really good! For example, we are partnered with Heart for Lebanon which is one of the most respected and effective relief and development agencies in the region. While relief is not our forte, this partnership makes up for it and we bring a evangelistic and spiritual focus to the partnership that makes it a powerful combination.

Through our Middle East Relief Initiative, we have the opportunity to uniquely impact refugees through the following programs:

1. Relief for Syrian refugees: This program provides supporting education for refugee children, direct relief (food, clothes, etc.), and counseling. As a result of CRM’s relief efforts, the number of Syrian refugees participating in Discovery Bible Study (DBS) groups continues to grow. We now we have 525 groups among Syrian refugees with several new groups starting each week. Furthermore, the existing churches in Lebanon have observed our work among Syrian refugees and are slowly moving to cooperate and participate, which we will believe will have a positive impact on the growth and health of the Church in that region.
2. Relief for Iraqi refugees: More than 1 million Iraqis have had to flee their homes, many to Erbil. Our team in Northern Iraq is directly engaged in the refugee camps with basic humanitarian relief. In the process, over 50 DBS groups have been started.
3. Trauma counseling and inner healing prayer among abused women: The low view of women, common within Islam and exaggerated among groups like ISIS, has resulted in large numbers of women who have suffered unimaginable abuse. CRM has a growing team of well-trained national women who minister regularly among abused women, providing trauma counseling and inner healing prayer. As a result there are more than 200 DBS groups among abused women in the region with more multiplying weekly. Many are second-generation groups led by the abused women who have become followers of Christ. Another team is currently forming to work with Iraqi women who have fled ISIS.

Here’s more of my notes of the highlights of my reading in the past 3 days:

 

Ann Voskamp has posted 2 articles this week giving ACT NOW suggestions of how to get involved.

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2015/09/why-now-is-the-churchs-moment-it-will-take-all-of-us-not-to-miss-it-wewelcomerefugees/

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2015/09/5-ways-to-stand-up-be-the-church-in-the-worlds-worst-refugee-crisis-since-world-war-ii/

 

https://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/category/christian-refugees/  (and other posts…)

 

http://www.christianaid.org.uk/emergencies/current/syria-crisis-appeal/ 

 

*I like the presentation of the stats, graphics, interviews and photos here, though wouldn't send my donations their direction: http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/syria.php

 

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/08/28/activists-want-us-to-do-more-to-help-christians-fleeing-isis/

 

You might have this questions: Why are the refugees NOT settling in the wealthy nearby countries (Arabic speaking, Muslim majority)? Quora has an interesting discussion on this. This infographic came from a muslim website (but I can't find it in a search on their site now). Shame on them! Should we start a trend with #stepupGCC (GCC=Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman. countries import THOUSANDS of workers from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, etc for manual labor, but they don't want the muslim refugee neighbors).

*from February 2015

there isn't currently on up on the site that shows it like this.

I also read over various websites for refugee resettlement programs in Los Angeles, and it’s quite overwhelming! Will have to sort more of that out later.