Reflections on Christian leadership

From Henri Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus:

In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, cares, reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response. It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope. 

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The original meaning of the word "theology" was "union with God in prayer."

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The world says, "When you were young you could not go where you wanted, but when you grow old you will be able to control your own destiny." But Jesus has a different vision of maturity: It is the ability and willingness to be led where you would rather not go (John 21:18).

Missiology #1

The reason God hasn't taken life from the Christian is because they are on mission. No other possibility. The implication there is that if you are not on mission now, you won't be in another field.

Want vision? It's a matter of opening one's eyes (John 4:35).

Once that's accomplished, hopefully you'll feel overwhelmed. Good. The more you know yourself to be insufficient for mission the better candidate you are for mission.

Identity compromised

With great consternation, I must admit I wouldn’t be a good MI6 operative. All my intentions are very clear, I suppose. Both clear and not innocent (parents’ pov).

Hanging out with my sister is obvious; my mom tells me to stop taking her to Christian things. But stuff like if one day I choose to stay at home instead of go out, my dad will call me out on wanting to convert the family.

Why do the only people on the planet that really understand me are against my life’s main thrust? God, you are my help.

And what's wrong with being a Christian extremist?

My parents always warn me of the grave potential of possibly becoming a Christian extremist. If you actually read the text, would a world full of people following the submissive, humble, and truthful example of our savior actually be that terrible?

I'm on overseas missions!

LOL I might as well be.

At my maternal grandma's house, I found a couple of interesting books. "有一位關心人的造物主嗎?" "帶來永生的知識?" "和平安全:怎樣才能獲致?" As I was decoding these titles I was playing songs like Starfield's "Great in all the earth" and "I will go," so I felt like a wannabe of the the first overseas missionaries lololol.

Given we were at a Buddhist temple today, the conversation went as followed:

婆婆: "你妈说你喜欢基督教."
歪歪: "...不懂."
婆婆: "你洗了礼吗?"
歪歪: "对."
婆婆: "所以你是基督徒!"
歪歪: "对...可是我还有罪恶.每个人都是罪人.觉得你也是吗？"
婆婆: "毋啊！要吃粥呢？"

Mannnnn.