Category Archives: Reflection

May 25, 2012

Holy Insatisfaction

By Rob Karch

Change or die.

Be judged or be ignored.

Things cannot (and will not) stay the way they are.

World Venture (my missions organization) has to stick its neck out. Business as usual is not an option if mission is still a goal. If radical change is not sought, mission will cease.

Radical is not only an option, it is the only option.

Church planting in Québec is difficult. Thousands of neighborhoods across the Province without a “matys evangelion” (Gospel witness). Only a radical movement can change this.

So I’m calling out World Venture.

And I’m calling out myself.

…

What could this look like?

It looks like something we have never seen. That’s the hard part. We have to invent it ourselves. We can’t rely on existing models.

We are the early church. We are the printing press, the reformation, and the haystack prayer meeting. We are the next unimaginable.

Is the next step safe? No way.

We don’t know how this is going to end up. There is no guarantee of success. It may fall to pieces.

But wouldn’t you rather die part of a movement that matters?

Wouldn’t you rather be part of a spectacular failure rather than a slow insignificant death always asking what could have been?

This is dangerous.

I’m excited.

Let’s go.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Reflection, Rant, Church Planting, World Venture, Missions, Obstacles to North American Church Multiplication, Calling, Church, Mission

April 12, 2012

Justice Hurts… and leads to Flying Cockroaches

By Rob Karch
Flying Cockroach

Flying Cockroach

First, a story from my friend Doug:

New to Kenya, she wasn’t yet acclimated to the hole-in-the-ground bathroom covered simply with bamboo and palm leaves. As she approached, her worst nightmare sat next to the hole, almost as a dare: a huge flying cockroach. Amongst screams of panic she rushed back to the house not far away, grabbed a can of “doom spray”, and made her way back to the outdoor enclosure, determined to “do justice” to that cockroach.

Entering the enclosure she saw that her nightmare had not moved. The cockroach just sat there, not realizing the death power she now wielded. She opened the can, aimed it, and began to shoot.  That cockroach died a quick death. And for good measure, she sprayed all around, making sure no other cockroach ever ventured to repeat the same mistake as their dead colleague. All the while clouds of spray plummeted to the depths of the black hole.

Suddenly, like the sound of a speeding train, thousands upon thousands of flying cockroaches flew up out of the hole, covering the entire enclosure, the path from the house, and eventually the entire house as well. It was like a whirling, steaming, Old Testament plague.

She had indeed “done justice” to that one cockroach. But did not realize that what awaited her in the dark recesses was far worse, and potentially far more emotionally damaging than the one case of injustice she had originally planned to triumph over.

Paul faced the same problem in Acts 16. He and Silas freed a slave girl. Was the town happy to see them “do justice”? In verse 22

“the crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods”

Doing justice cannot be about simply rescuing people. It has to be about being willing to step into a situation, knowing that “doing justice” will awaking thousands of sleeping cockroaches.

Jesus did justice. What did it get him? He did not become a hero. He was ripped to shreds.

Titus and Stephanie Folden

Titus and Stephanie Folden

This will hurt.

This will be difficult.

But the sacrifice is worth it.

Please pray for my good friends Titus and Stephanie Folden who have sacrificed much to bring hope to orphans and abused children in Ecuador. They have given their lives not simply to rescue, but knowing that the rescue costs much, infinitely more than they would have imagined.

Now let us count the cost, and more forward knowing the personal price will be steep. But knowing the payoff, when we are before the One who gave all for us, will be infinitely greater than the cost.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Compassion, Prayer, Reflection, World Venture

April 11, 2012

Starting new churches is difficult…

By Rob Karch

Image

… I often feel like several elephants are tied to me, and pulling in multiple directions. So while God is doing amazing things all around (170 people attended last Sunday, many are non-­‐ Christians), I’m also constantly letting people down. They come for support, help, or direction, and I simply have to trust that God is bigger thanIam.

The fact is, I’ve probably let you down at some point. I’m sorry about that, I really, truly am. And thank you for the grace, forgiveness, and support you have shown, knowing that we are giving everything we can to sharing the Grace, Forgiveness, and Love of Christ here in Québec.

So what do we do? We’ve narrowed our focus to investment in three priorities:

1) A continued healthy marriage and family.
2) The local church in St-­‐Jérôme
3) Supporting churches and individuals.

I’ve trimmed down my involvement in other church plants around Québec on multiple fronts for the rest of 2012. However, if the church in St-­‐Jérôme becomes healthy, creating a foundation for multiplication, it’s a huge win for us and the entire Province.

At the end of the day, there is one Person we are responsable to, and His sacrifice makes it impossible to let Him down.

Thanks for praying for us!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , | posted in Church Planting, Reflection

February 14, 2012

Who’s Getting Divorced?

By Rob Karch

Apparently, fewer people than we were led to believe.

Remember in school when the entire class would lose recess privileges because of a couple of irresponsible kids; then the entire class looked irresponsible? That is how I feel about marriage statistics.

Mainly, an irresponsible minority are bloating divorce statistics to make it look like marriage in general is in crisis. This is simply not the case.  Though many responsible people do get divorced, they do not constitute the majority of divorces. Tim Keller spells this out in his new book The Meaning of Marriage:

“While it is true that some 45 percent of marriages end in divorce, by far the greatest percentage of divorces happen to those who marry before the age of eighteen, who have dropped out of high school, and who have had a baby together before marrying. So if you are a reasonably well-educated person with a decent income, come from an intact family and are religious, and marry after twenty-five without having a baby first, your chances of divorce are low indeed.” -p. 23

Not only that, but the majority of marriages are happy ones:

“All surveys tell us that the number of married people who say they are “very happy” in their marriages is high-about 61-62 percent-and there has been little decrease in this figure during the last decade.” -p. 26

“But,” you say, “my marriage is going very badly right now. I’m miserable. I feel like we’re in a free-fall toward divorce.” Tim Keller has something encouraging to say to you as well:

“Most striking of all, longitudinal studies demonstrate that two-thirds of those unhappy marriages out there will become happy within five years if people stay married and do not get divorced.” -p. 26

What can I take away from this?

  1. Practical strategies that increase the chances of having a “very happy” marriage really do exist (though no guarantees).
  2. There is much reason for hope even in currently “unhappy” marriages.

God bless you and your (current or future) marriage on this Valentines Day!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Family, Marriage, Reading, Reflection

January 27, 2012

What am I afraid of? And what can I do about it?

By Rob Karch

What are you afraid of?

We are all afraid of something, without exception:

  • I’m afraid of failing.
  • I’m afraid for my children.
  • I’m afraid facing cancer.
  • I’m afraid of being abused.
  • I’m afraid of hurting others.
  • I’m afraid of losing my job.
  • I’m afraid of being influenced.
  • I’m afraid of dying.
  • I’m afraid my life doesn’t count.
  • I’m afraid of conflict.
  • I’m afraid of not having enough money to go around.
  • I’m afraid of being single for the rest of my life.
  • I’m afraid of being married for the rest of my life.
  • I’m afraid I don’t have what it takes.
  • I’m afraid of speaking in front of people.
  • I’m afraid of being in crowds.
  • I’m afraid of being alone.
  • I’m afraid of the future.

In a broken world, we cannot love fully without fear of and for those we love. Conversely, fear is one of the primary obstacles to giving and receiving love fully. Either way, we’re stuck with fear in this life. But does that mean we should be passive and let these fears dominate our lives? One of the most-repeated commands throughout the Bible is “fear not”. Obviously, fear is not what God desires for us.

So what do we do? Do we simply repeat “fear not” a dozen times and hope our fear disappears? Before attacking fear, let’s try to understand it.

Six realities about fear (from Ed Welch):

  1. The Bible speaks often of fear: Everyone has fears. Fear is normal in a broken world.
  2. Fear is expressed differently in men and women: Women generally relate their fears to real-world situations more easily than men. Men generally express their fear through anger, depression, and addictions, not always realizing fear can be one of the root causes of these symptoms.
  3. Fear is primarily a spiritual phenomenon, and secondarily a psychological one. Therefore, the solution is not simply to condition my thoughts or actions, but to trust.
  4. Only the God of the Bible can calm my fears. He is in control.
  5. Prayer is the medium by which we make known our fears to God and receive His peace.
  6. We need the church, our brothers and sisters, to pray with us, and continually reveal the truth of the person of God.

After some reflection on the substance of fear, how can I attack the fear in my life? How can I help someone walk through their fear, honestly helping them and not denigrating their fear?

Five ways to attack our fears (or walk with someone as they attack theirs) (from David Powlison and Jacob Mathieu):

  1. Listen: What, exactly, are you afraid of? (my children’s future, my health, my reputation, lack of money, lack of comfort)
  2. Reflect: What is under your control and what is out of your control?
  3. Read: According to the Bible, who is God and what has He done? (Example: Isaiah 40, Psalm 71, Romans 8).
  4. Pray: Pray together, express our fears to God and ask for His peace (Phil. 4:6-7)
  5. Act: What can you do today that is under your control? (Matt. 6:34)

In 2012, let’s not be passive about our fears, but attack them.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Reflection, Theology

January 21, 2012

A Lifetime of Agony, Overpowered by Hope

By Rob Karch

Jesus answered “ If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?  You must follow me.”  Because of this, the rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die.  But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

Perhaps this was the cruelest sentence of all.  Yes they all died.  For some of them it was a quick beheading.  Others were tortured mercilessly until cries of “Father forgive them” were reduced to spasmic gasping.  But they found relief.  Every last one of them. . .

How he longed for that same relief!  But it was not to be.  One after another.  His friends.  His brothers.  The only ones in the world who could truly understand.  The brotherhood of the twelve.  Well, eleven.  They were so normal.  So ill-equipped.  So naïve.

“Follow me”

Those two words will echo into eternity.

All of this madness.  The world, overwhelmed, shuddering.  Thousands dying.  Some say millions.  More suffering than one should see in 100 lifetimes.  . .  It all began because of Him.

“I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

I could see it.  A lifetime of agony, overpowered by hope.  He continued.  He continued.  He continued.  Tasting the morbid death that hunted them.  An empire on its head.  Evil  seething.  . .  never quenching that defeat.  The one, final. . .

Perhaps the first wound was the deepest.  Absolutely, he believed with all of his heart before.  He had already stood up to the chief priests and Pharisees many times.  He himself had been hunted with many trying to murder him.  It was nothing new.  And yes, there was Stephen. . .  but this was different.  The stakes stretched infinitely higher now.

That day.  That day he paused. . .  walked out of the synagogue, and kept walking, drenching his clothes with tears, until he fell over, shaking from exhaustion.

That day.

His brother was murdered.

Now, 45 torturous years later, the wrinkled brow and scarred hands began to write.  No one must forget why.  No, they must know why.  They must know why he never turned back, why it was worth it.  Why there is still hope.

“In the beginning was the Word. . .”

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in Favorite Posts, Missions, Reflection

January 16, 2012

Drug-Using Polygamists…

By Rob Karch

Do you know what a Mandrake is? It is a plant found in the middle East. Here is a Wikipedia definition:

Mandrake roots

The parsnip-shaped root is often branched. This root gives off at the surface of the ground a rosette of ovate-oblong to ovate, wrinkled, crisp, sinuate-dentate to entire leaves, 5 to 40 centimetres (2.0 to 16 in) long, somewhat resembling those of the tobacco-plant. A number of one-flowered nodding peduncles spring from the neck bearing whitish-green or purple flowers, nearly 5 centimetres (2.0 in) broad, which produce globular, orange to red berries, resembling small tomatoes. All parts of the mandrake plant are poisonous.

Do you know what a Mandrake plant does? Again from Wikipedia:

Parasympathetic depressant, hallucinogen, and hypnotic. Most hypnotics produce low alphoid and spindle alpha brain-wave activity, similar to that found in REM sleep, or the dreaming state. This rhythm does not allow deep sleep to occur although it does lower brain patterns into a dreamy visionary mode, known in magic as an astral plane experience. Mandrake root causes delirium and hallucinations. In high doses, it can even send the user into a coma.

What does this have to do with anything?

Today, while reading through the full-on childbearing competition between Rachel and Leah in Genesis 30. I came across this text:

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 15 But she said to her, “Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” Rachel said, “Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he lay with her that night. 17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. 18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband.” So she called his name Issachar.

Here’s what struck me: God listened to Leah. She was in the middle of a less-than ideal situation: married to a dude that never took a premarital class or read a book on how to love his wife. She’s taking various drugs trying to medicate through the situation, getting pregnant to try to get his attention; introducing other women to him in an insane servant/wife-swapping situation (Bilhah and Zilpa’s situations are even worse), she prays… and God listens.

And God is working through these drug-using polygamists to build for Himself a people for His glory.

There is hope.

No matter how bad the situation. No matter how horrendous the sin. No matter how messed-up my life is… God not only listens, but He can even build something beautiful, for His glory, that will last for generations.

This doesn’t mean drug-use or polygamy are all right. But it does mean that when I cry out to God He is capable of breaking through the worst situations imaginable and making something beautiful.

Thank you God for examples like Genesis 30.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Reflection, Theology

January 9, 2012

Looking ahead to 2012: “Make the most of your time, because the days are evil”

By Rob Karch

-Ephesians 5:16

NOTE: I’m not saying things will go badly, or that there will be a global meltdown, etc., I’m simply saying not to sweat it, there are more important things to worry about.

Jacob knocked it out of the park yesterday (in his sermon at our church, you can watch it here) with these three observations (I’m taking a lot of liberty in melding his sermon with my reaction to it):

1) Paul doesn’t exhort us to make the most of our time because the future looks so bright, but because the present and near future look so bleak.

I’m not complaining. (My life is phenomenal in every sense. I’m married to an amazing woman..we just celebrated 10 years! I bless God for my two children. Friends and family are spotted all around the globe. Our local church is healthy and growing, regardless of the myriad of challenges.) I’m just saying that Paul’s is an anti-prosperity message. Are you worried about what lies ahead? Are you worried about the ramifications of a collapsing Euro? An indebted USA? Global unrest? Sickness? A loss of a job?

Paul tells us that these are actually the sources of unique opportunities.

These are all reasons to make the most of my time, investing in what will never fade. When bad times came, Paul didn’t encourage the church to hunker down. He encouraged the opposite. Times are bad? Get out and engage into our mission with gritted teeth, armed with hope that surpasses death. Are we on the verge of global collapse? Stand up and be counted, don’t hide in a ditch.

2) Paul’s exhortation is not to more action, but to intentional action.

Making the most of my time doesn’t mean sleeping less. It means opening my eyes to the unique opportunities around me during bleak times. What really counts? What doesn’t? Maybe I need to spend less time at work and more time with my family. Maybe I need to spend less time in a softball league and more time loving on those hurting in my community. Maybe now is the time to sell it all and move to another community, or country.

Losing a job may be the biggest blessing of my life, causing me to reevaluate what life is for. Cancer may be what shatters the chains that attached my heart to what matters least. An exploded marriage may be what forces me to my knees for the first time in years.

As a pastor and missionary, this is exactly what I’ve seen. I can give multiple names for each one of these examples. When times are evil, my frenetic life screeches to a halt as I wrap tearful arms around the few things that count. Thanks you Jesus for the evil times.

3) The evil times will pass, the investments we make in what really counts will last forever.

The stakes in 2012 are eternal. What this means is that I can stop sweating the small stuff… (like the strength of the Euro/Dollar/Yuan, a global economic meltdown, or a stupid Mayan calendar), and begin investing in what matters: the people all around me: my wife, my children, my neighbors, my fellow image-bearers in Cairo, Guayaquil, Paris, and Phnom Penh: their physical needs, and their current and future relationship to their Savior.

Let’s sweat the big stuff in 2012: loving on our fellow image-bearers: weeping over their physical and spiritual situations. Jesus did not conquer death for the benefit of a stable global situation in the present era. He conquered death to save people, now and forever.

Close your eyes. Do you see their faces? Do you see your Savior?

Evil times will pass. These investments will last forever.

Thank you Jacob for yanking us back to reality yesterday.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Compassion, Favorite Posts, Missions, Rant, Reflection, World

December 24, 2011

Christmas Misconceptions

By Rob Karch

First, Dan Kimball, over at Vintage faith has a great list of three common Christmas misconceptions:

  • Jesus was likely born in the Spring or Fall not December
  • There is no indication the star was there on Christmas Eve
  • The Wise Men weren’t at the manger scene and Jesus was likely up to 2 years old when they visited Him

Dan speaks out against letting misconceptions slide… (and I agree with him):

“If we are having a play or art piece about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and in the artwork or actors in the play we have Peter, James and Thomas standing there with Jesus – we would be thinking “What are they doing there? They weren’t in that scene and there when Jesus was in the wilderness?’. Or if we had an art piece or play portraying the Last Supper and in the art piece or play we also put in Pontious Pilate being at the Last Supper with them. We would be like “What is Pontious Pilate doing there? He doesn’t come into the story until a little later after Jesus was arrested?”.  It feels like as we put the Wise Men and the star in our Christmas portrayals is basically the same.”

I’d encourage you to read the whole thing

Secondly, the the team over at I-Monk debunk the myth of the Candy Cane:

“Besides, the “true story of the candy cane” is not true. Not one bit. (Snopes is your friend in these kinds of things.) Here it is, as passed on in emails by well-meaning Christians this time of year.

False Legend of the Candy Cane

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker then shaped his cane into the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd” with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Ok, first of all, think about this for a minute…” Keep on reading here

Lastly, I uncovered a short, informative video from Focus on the Family a while back:

  1. Jesus was born in the shadow of one of Herod’s greatest fortresses, though today we only remember Herod for one thing: the evil king who tried to kill the baby Jesus, massacring many innocent children in the process.
  2. A stable and a manger are not what we thought they were (see the video)

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Reflection, Video

November 23, 2011

10 Reasons I’m thankful today (Thanksgiving 2011)

By Rob Karch

To my good and loving Heavenly Father. Thank you…

(1)… that I was created in Your image, created to reflect Your Trinitarian glory.

(2)… that I was chosen by You to be Your son.

(3)… that I was called by your Holy Spirit, through the means of those you placed in my life, out of my spiritual deadness, and You gave me life.

(4)… that I was justified through the death of Jesus, your unique Son, on the cross, and His victorious resurrection over sin, death and Satan.

(5)… that I will one day be glorified, given a new body with which I will carry out an eternal and all-fulfilling experience in the new heavens and on the new earth, in community, in Your presence.

(6)… that I’m still here, on mission to reflect Your glory, goodness, and love, in community, to those around me.

(7)… that this community on earth begins with the blessing of marriage as Martine and I reflect God’s glory together.

(8)… that this community continues in the privilege of fatherhood, the blessing of Caleb and Constance, following Your example, my heavenly Father.

(9)… that I have the privilege of living out this mission in daily community with brothers like Jacob, Paulo, Louis, Terry, Réal, Danny, Pierre, Philippe, Pierre, Jean, Benjamin, Jonathan, Bernard, Michel, Olivier, Jeremiah, Raymond, Zac, Étienne, Angus, Carl, Alex, Pat, Benoît, Robert, Hermann, JS,  and the list goes on…

(10)… that this community is intrinsically tied to my local “ekklesia” as we live out our mission, the gospel and community, with all of its ups and downs, blessings and difficulties, laughter and tears, together.

For these gifts I deserve no merit. They are gifts from you and you alone my good and loving heavenly Father.

Thank you.

Amen.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Family, Reflection

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 100 other followers