Reflection and Action

Leadership involves both reflection and action. I have a lot to reflect on from what God accomplished through my trip to India. My faith was stretched to the max as I first was not able to go in August, and then as we waited on God's timing to be able to go in September. I learned more about perseverance and waiting on God. My faith was strengthened by my time spent in Trichy and Lonavola. I interacted with so many leaders who are dependent upon God to bring vision and resources. I left India feeling encouraged by everything that God showed me, and inspired to be a better leader in my context in Pittsburgh.

My reflection on India leads me to action in Pittsburgh. God has given me an incredible church family to shepherd at North Way East End. The incredible mentoring activity through LAMP continues in Homewood. God is transforming lives and drawing people closer to him in my city. I'm excited to preach live at East End this coming Sunday. In addition, we have baptisms and a worship night this coming Wednesday night. And, I am really looking forward to teaching Encountering God in the City at North Way East End from October 23rd through November 20th.

God continues to call me to be a leader through serving as a pastor and mentor. When I visit places like India, God changes me through a process of displacement. Taking risks and experiencing God in other cities and other cultures causes me to be a more effective leader in my own context. I'm more inspired than ever to lead a multi-site, muti-ethnic, church that is on mission to reach a diverse part of my city. I'm more excited than ever to participate in God's mission to redeem my neighborhood and my city with the transforming love of Jesus Christ. 

India Update 9-25-13

Today is our last day in India. We've had so many adventures here. Our adventure started off with four plane rides and starting to teach at the School of Urban Missions in Trichy having not slept in two days. We had a blast connecting with the students there, and I think that we have inspired a group of world changers. God will accomplish many things through them. Then, we flew to Lonavola to see everything that God is doing through the University of the Nations and our friends, Jose and Sarah. We saw several different ministries in many different parts of India. We were spoiled by the hospitality of the people in all of the places we visited. We'll never forget the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of one of the most intersting countries on earth. We've been invited back to visit our new friends some day. Hopefully, we'll be able to do that. For now, we're just thankful that God has brought us this far and we're looking forward to being with all of our family and friends in Pittsburgh soon. And, so, we begin our journey home with full hearts. We're ready for the next steps in our adventure through life in Pittsburgh. Much thanks to all who have prayed for us and supported us in so many ways over the past couple of weeks. We are so grateful.

9-24-13 India Update

I'll be posting some photos of today on my Facebook page soon. Today was our last full day in India, and we made the most of it. We drove three hours from where Jose and Sarah live to a village called Satara. We saw the ministry of a man named Ramesh who started an agricultural outreach three years ago. He is reaching many people now. It was so good to see his ministry model which is very contextualized to the region. There are 1,700 villages in that part of rural India, and he believes that this model will be able to reach into many of those places.

I had the chance to share at the school in Satara. I had to use a translator this time, but it still seemed to land pretty well with the students. They are so eager to learn. Afterwards we spent time with the new friends that we made, having lunch, touring the sugar cane farm, seeing scorpions, and Julie even helped to prepare a meal for a wedding that was planned for the next day in the village.

It was a long three hour ride home, but in the evening we relaxed with pizza. I have to admit it is kind of nice to have some American food (Dominos) every once in a while. The kids had a dance party in the house for us tonight. It's been so nice to not only get to know the ministry and outreach efforts that are going on here in India, but also to be able to get to know the people that we are supporting. We feel like we are a part of the family here. We are also greatly encouraged by the faith that everyone lives on here from day to day. It is very inspiring.

We leave to head home to Pittsburgh tomorrow evening, and we should be arriving in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening. At this point in our adventure, we're definitely looking forward to being home. We miss all of our friends and family, and expecially our girls. We miss everyone at North Way, and we can't wait to share about what God has done on this trip to India. We'll see everyone soon!

India Update 9-23-13

After a day of rest yesterday, we looked forward to getting out and about today. We had the opportunity to school that Jose and Sarah lead which trains and equips thousands of leaders each year. I had the chance to teach this morning at DTS, and then we worshipped together with the students. It was a powerful time of worship.

We met many different people today throughout different parts of the YWAM base. There were so many staff and students around, and we got to hear some amazing stories of what God is doing around the world. Jose is the director of the entire school and base area, so he has many responsibilities. It was good for me to experience their mission first hand so that our church can pray specifically for everything that goes on here. They are really making a tremendous difference with their lives and the ministry. I am so thankful that we are connected with them at North Way East End.

Julie and I learned that we are the first staff members from North Way to have the chance to visit the ministries here. What a privilege! We will definitely be doing our best to be good advocates and supporters of the mission here when we return back to the U.S. We were inspired by the stories of faith from people who are putting their lives on the line and trusting God to come through for them in adventurous missional efforts in cities and remote villages.

We are also enjoying getting to know Jose and Sarah's family. They have a big family and it has been such a joy to be able to be invited into their lives for a few days. We had lunch with Jose and Sarah at a restaurant which is located in a place that has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. The view was incredible.

I've been writing these blog posts from my ipad this week (my laptop hasn't adjusted well to the travel), but I haven't yet figured out how to post photos on this blog from my ipad. I will be posting photos of our adventures on Facebook, though. There is so much to see and do here.

Please continue to pray for us as we enter into our last couple of days. Tomorrow we will visit several ministries that have been started through YWAM, and we're also planning to check out the city of Pune before we head to the airport of Wednesday. Pray that our remaining time here will be fruitful, and please also pray for the ministry that Jose and Sarah have going on here in this part of India. God is doing amazing things through them, but they have many leadership responsibilities for which we can provide prayer support.

India Update 9-22-13

Yesterday was a travel day, so I didn't have the chance to do any blog updates. On Saturday morning we visited a piece of land that local leaders have purchased in order to set up a ministry center. We went there to pray and also to see their outreach to local widows. We gave out rice to widows, many who walked miles in the heat to get there. It was really an incredible moment to see Julie praying with the women and encouraging them with a message of hope from the Bible.

After one final meal with Muthu's family, they dropped us off at the airport in Trichy. We flew from Trichy to Chennai, and then from Chennai to the other side of India at Mumbai. It's a city of 24 million people, so it was quite a sight to take in. It was about a three hour drive from the Mumbai airport to visit the home of our North Way East End global partners, Jose and Sarah Joseph. We'll be staying with them for a few days to learn more about their ministry and how our congregation can be effective supporters to them from Pittsburgh.

Their home is very nice, and we're having a great time hearing stories from all of the work that God is doing through their ministry. The weather is much cooler here since we're at a much higher elevation. There is a cool breeze that has been coming through the house all day. It's very refreshing considering the heat that we experienced in Trichy. Trichy was an amazing place, though. We will miss our new friends very much, and hopefully we'll be able to back again some time.

Well, not much to report today. We're just trying to get caught up on some rest and relaxation before we check out some of the ministries here in this part of India this week. I'm looking forward to being able to share at the school here tomorrow. The highlight of today was a hike we took with Jose and Sarah to what must be one of the most beautiful places in India. It was one of the highlights of our trip so far after an intense week of teaching last week. I'll try to get some more photos up in the next couple of days. Thank you for the continued prayers and support!

9-20-13 India Update

This was another intense day of teaching in Trichy, India. It was truly a joy to see the students grasping the information and becoming excited about implementing the incarnational ministry models in their own cities and contexts. The main topic of the day was transformation... the kind of positive change that is lasting even though it takes longer to work toward. We talked about how to enter into other people's pain, and how that can be done by developing a theology from below. There are many examples in the Bible of God leading a process of transformation through pain.

Cities are complex, and there are many dynamics of transformation. I gave some practical examples from my experiences in Pittsburgh. Theory and practice go well together when it comes to learning.

The process of transformation in cities leads to the type of city that is described in Isaiah 65. How can we as transformational change agents bring about this shalom in our own cities?

For the final small group project, I described a healthy city in which all of the people and places benefit from God's peace. Then, I described how we live in a present evil age and I slowly described the break downs in the people and places of the city. The group was tasked with how they would serve as incarnational urban ministry leaders to bring about transformation in the sample city. Complex problems require complex solutions, and Christians should be out in front of culture leading the charge. If the world is migrating to cities, then that's right where Christians should be found giving ourselves away to others.

Our new friends then took a final, comprehensive exam covering the content from this week. Over the course of just five days, we learned about the foundations, theology, history, modern context, and practical implementation of incarnational urban ministry. The students did very well! Here are the results from some students.

It has been an amazing week! In the afternoon we went to a local Hindu temple where we could see out over the entire city. We loved the view, and we spent some time there praying for God to transform the city.

The School of Urban Missions really spoiled us this week. They were so generous. They gave us gifts and personally thanked us for coming this week. Julie is loving the gift that she got... a new sari.

We are loving the cross-cultural experience. We were privileged to be able to share so much about our city this week, and it was wonderful to see the spark that was lit for the leaders to embrace their own cities throughout India and Sri Lanka. We're hoping that tomorrow will be another great day.

9-19-13 India Update

Each day keeps getting better and better here in India. We're finally caught up on sleep, and the relationships are really coming together with our new friends here. So much happened today. We discussed some very practical incarnational ministry models with the students. They did a great job of mapping out the signs of hope and signs of need in their communities.

No fancy powerpoint presentations are needed. Everyone is really grasping on to the information. We'll see how they do on their test tomorrow. Julie is feeling much better today. In fact, several of the ladies painted her nails during one of the breaks.

During the next session we talked about the layers of the urban jungle, and how the city is a much different place during the day and during the night. Effective urban ministries are able to connect with people at all layers of the urban jungle both at night and during the day. The students designed a decentralized ministry wheel aimed at reaching cities through incarnational leadership.

Always the neighborhood mom, Julie found a way to keep Muthu's kids occupied during the break.

In the afternoon, everyone dug into the Word of God to learn more about how Nehemiah is a great example of incarnational urban ministry. Check out how many different forms of incarnational leadership the group learned simply from the story of Nehemiah.

I've enjoyed teaching in bare feet all week. It's taken some getting used to, but I really like it now. I may have to start communicating from the stage at North Way East End in bare feet from now on... not sure if that would fly in Pittsburgh, though. We have also been enjoying drinking water straight from coconuts.

This evening I was invited to perform my first international baptism at a local church. I had the great privilege of baptizing my new friend, Samuel. Check out the baptism pool. Awesome!

I think we need to carve out a baptism pool just like that at the North Way East End ministry center. Seriously, it was such a special evening at that local church. We really enjoyed the time we got to spend with the local pastors.

We watched a beautiful sunset, and then we ate dinner at our friend Muthu's house once again.

All in all, we are having a transformational experience here in India. We have been so blessed by the leaders who have come from all over India and Sri Lanka. They are hungry to learn, and we are building many new friendships. It's hard to believe that nearly a week has gone by. All I can say is thank you so much to the people who have supported us all along in this journey to India. This has been an amazing trip.

India Update 9-18-13

Yesterday went very well, and we ended the evening with dinner at our friend Muthu's house. We enjoyed the meal with his family very much. It was so good to hear about all of the amazing work that is going on through this family in Trichy, and we were greatly encouraged in our ministry in Pittsburgh as well. Julie brought some gifts for the kids. They were excited!

We are still getting used to sleeping here in the new environment. Our room is very comfortable here at the school, and we have a completely different urban chorus here in Trichy than we do in Pittsburgh. There are roosters, dogs barking, and lots of other interesting noises. We're slowly getting adjusted to the time change, though.

Our group has been learning so much! I am very impressed with this group of students. Many of them sacrificed so much to be able to come to this class. I ate lunch today with a young man who took a three day train ride from the northeast part of India to be here. The group is eager to learn, and they are really doing well. This morning we talked about learning the history of our cities. I shared about some of the history of Pittsburgh and Homewood. It turned out like this:

Then, I had each of the students map out the history of their own cities. It's impossible to develop incarnational ministry strategies for cities if we don't first seek to understand the uniqueness of each context. Here are some of the students at work:

In the second session of the day we plowed into 2,000 years of global Christian history of incarnational ministry. Despite language barriers and the complexity of some of the content, this incredible group really grasped the material. After the lecture, the students were asked to select two Christians from the past 2,000 years of history who have been influential in terms of incarnational ministry. They reported their results to the group.

During the evening session we discussed recent historical events that have led to rapid urbanization and a shift of the center of Christianity from the global north to the global south. We examined this history in order to develop incarnational ministry responses in India. The students came up with many strategies to reach India. This is a group of world changers!

Tonight we visited a new construction site that is being built for staff and the local outreach efforts here in Trichy. We were excited to tour the space and to pray for the holy ground that God will use to transform many lives in the years to come.

Finally, tonight I had the chance to take a tour of different parts of the city of Trichy. I met many new people, and I was so impressed at the ministry that is going on here. It really is a transformational work as a part of advancing the kingdom of God. Please pray for Julie as she has been sick most of the day and she was unable to go out with us tonight for the tour of the city. Other that that, please continue to pray for us that the teaching would be helpful in equipping these amazing leaders that we are partnering with. 

9-17-13 Update

We have had another incredible day at the School of Urban Missions in Trichy. The relationships are beginning to develop with the people here. We're enjoying some great cross-cultural interactions and we're also starting to figure out the teaching methods that are effective in this context. God has been so good to us so far.

Yesterday we learned about the foundations of incarnational ministry. Today we built on that foundation through learning about the theology of incarnational ministry. We learned about what God has to say about how we can live out God's ways in our modern context. We are orienting ourselves to live in God's Grand Narrative, based on the five acts of Creation, Separation, Israel, Jesus, and the Church. We are all living in the era of the Church. We talked a lot today about biblical characters who lived out incarnational ministry, including Nehemiah, Moses, Esther, David, Joseph, Jesus, Paul, and Peter.

In the afternoon and evening sessions, we learned about the four levels of incarnational ministry among the poor: The Model of Christ, the Method of Incarnational Ministry, the Message of Incarnational Ministry, and Incarnational Ministry as Spiritual Discipline. We looked throughout the Bible for examples of each of these dimensions of ministry. We ended our time together this evening by learning about the three gateways to transformation that are often experienced in incarnational ministry: Prayer, Praise, and Pain. Pain is the biggest gateway to transformation. When we enter into the pain of others, we gain a different perspective on God and studying the Scriptures. That theology drives the process of transformation in incarnational ministry.

Here are some pictures of events over the past couple of days:

Julie got to go shopping last night to add to her traditional Indian wardrobe...

We present information, and then we break out into small groups to learn more about what God has to say about these topics and how we can apply things we've learned to our lives.

Julie is an incredible partner in ministry and she's also a gifted teacher. I'm so glad she's here with me.

They're feeding us very well... spoiling us really. We've had different people join us for meals which has given us the opportunity to get to know each other. We now have new friends from throughout different parts of India and Sri Lanka.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We are trusting that this visit is making an impact for the kingdom of God. We are learning a lot as we go, and we are excited about the remainder of our visit.

9-16-13 Update Continued

Looks like jet lag has me awake, so I might as well give an update on our first full day here. The journey was long. We flew from Pittsburgh to Paris, Paris to Mumbai, Mumbai to Chennai, Chennai to Trichy. Our friend, Muthu, picked us up from the airport. The drive through Trichy was full of sights and sounds that we have never experienced before. It seems to be a tropical environment, warm and humid, and there are people everywhere walking, riding bikes and motorcycles, and dodging each other as they drive. This place doesn't remind us of any other place we've been... it's unique. We arrived at the School of Urban Mission in time to unpack our belongings and grab breakfast. Then, went right into our time with our new friends.

There are about thirty people who will be spending time in our cohort this week. Today we discussed foundations of urban ministry, including defining incarnational ministry, ministry with people instead of ministry to or for others, radical presence, calling from God, risk taking, relationship building, community development, and downward mobility. We broke out into groups to discuss practical applications to our unique ministry contexts. Julie did an incredible job facilitating those groups, bringing energy where I was lacking. Some entertaining stories about Homewood and the East End were shared throughout the course of the day. It is such a privilege to be able to share with the world about the great work that God is doing in the city of Pittsburgh.

Our new friends are from many different parts of India and Sri Lanka. We've been working on names and getting to know stories. Julie got to go shopping, and she is the proud owner of four new outfits that are culturally appropriate for this region of India. She now blends right in with the other girls who are here in their traditional Indian outfits. We celebrated a birthday of one of the people who are here this evening. Even though we were tired, we will remember a lot from this day... our first time in India. Today was a good day! I'm thankful that God gave me the energy to make it through. Now, it's off to sleep we go in the guest room of the S.O.U.M.

India Update 9-16-13

We officially made it to India! It was an incredibly long journey, but it was so worth it. We arrived at the Trichy airport at around 7am this morning, and we've spent most of the day with our friends at the School of Urban Mission. We have some time off in between classes, so I thought I'd post a quick update. I can barely keep my eyes open... I haven't really slept in the past 48 hours. I will share many more details about this incredible country and the people that we're having the privilege of interacting with once I get a good night of sleep under my belt. Much thanks to everyone who has been praying for us.

Bryan

We're Ready

We have both finally received our Indian visas! The flights are booked... Delta was so great to work with and they were very understanding of our situation. We leave Pittsburgh tomorrow evening at 6:50pm flying through Paris. We arrive in Mumbai late on Sunday night where we'll jump on a domestic flight from Mumbai to Trichy. We'll arrive in Trichy at 6:50am on Monday morning, and then I'll hopefully have enough energy left to invest at the School of Urban Mission.

After our time in Trichy, we'll be spending some time with Jose and Sarah Joseph near Mumbai. We're scheduled to arrive back in Pittsburgh on Thursday, September 26th. We're excited about the adventure that God has us on. Even thought this has all been very stressful, we're expecting that God is going to do amazing things.

I Have My Visa... Still Waiting on Julie's

I received my Indian visa in the mail today! We are now praying that we will receive Julie's visa in the mail tomorrow morning. Then, would head to the Pittsburgh airport tomorrow morning to try to track down two tickets to India. Thanks for your continued prayers! It's working!

The Latest on Our Trip to India

Thanks so much to everyone who has been praying for our trip to India. Here's the latest:

We were hoping to depart for India tomorrow. Our visas had been significantly delayed, so we were not sure if we would be able to do this trip in September. We did all we knew to do... ask people to pray for God to intervene! We were able to track down some information on the website of the company that processes visas for India. Their website says that my visa was processed and mailed out yesterday (Monday), and Julie's visa was processed and mailed out today! That means that, if that information is correct, we should receive our visas within 3 to 5 days of when they were mailed. If all goes very well, we should have our visas in hand by Thursday or Friday or this week. Once we both receive the visas, we then need to drive to Pittsburgh's airport to try to book flights with Delta.

A lot has to fall in place for us to still be able to go on this trip to India. Please pray for us! Pray specifically that our visas would move through the mail system from New York to Pittsburgh quickly, and for success in booking flights to India once we receive the visas. We are confident in God's timing, and so we are expecting that God is going to receive all of the glory for this whole situation. Our attitude is that we are completely dependent on God to come through in his perfect timing.

Thanks for the prayers and support!

Bryan

India Update

Julie and I had planned to visit India in August, but we had to delay our trip until the middle of September so that we would have time to get visas. We applied for our visas, and we should have received them last week if the 7 to 9 business days required for processing would have held true. Julie tried to call to check on our status, and the organization couldn't find our applications in the system. They said they would call us back within 48 hours with an update on our application status. Please join with us in praying for our visas to come through soon. We would like to fly out next Wednesday. Thanks!