the Glocal Trekker Blog

For the past two days all of us in this picture, and Nikki my wife who took the picture, have been working very hard. We started Sunday after church, worked until about 8:00 pm and then all day yesterday. We took very few breaks--had too much to cover and we were really into what we were doing. Both Loren Cunningham and I have written books on engaging the world through domains. His is The Book that Changes Nations, mine, Glocalization. We are working on putting together a process and system for churches to engage major global cities through the use of every church member using their jobs. But, enough said on that for a a few months--more later. Each of us brings different things to the table and we were trying to see how we could better serve the world by serving one another.

Those pictured: Leonard Buhler, a very successful potato farmer from Canada and now President of Campus Crusade in Canada, their city strategist Norm Schulz, Loren Cunningham who started YWAM, their "global engineer" David Hamilton, me, Dennis Jeffares who has lived and worked in Nepal and Afghanistan and now drives NorthWood's work in Vietnam, Omar Reyes who is head of our Glocal Impact Ministry at NorthWood, and handsome Ritchie, one of the coolest interns we've ever had!

I'm still overwhelmed and mentally processing all we did. Prior to the meeting, our staff had worked for the past few weeks in preparation for this meeting developing man models, etc. We will keep most of it, tweak most of it, but chunk some of it! But, more on that in a few months. It's one thing to get to hear some of these men speak over the years, but what an incredible joy to sit down with them and pray and strategize on the world.

Here are some observations from and about Loren that I took away from the meeting:

This guy prays with his heart. I love to be around someone who, when they pray, you know there is intimacy. Any speaker can get up and "fire up" people. You can't force prayer. It is what it is in the life of a person.

He sees the potential of the church. No, he isn't a pastor and his organization started by being focused on young people. But, the reason we're collaborating is because he sees the church mobilized and engaged as one of the keys to fulfilling the Great Commission. He said, "The church is a lake, but God wants it to be a river!" In his prayer, he asked God to "release the church and let her flood the ends of the earth" if I remember correctly.

He gets the big picture. His word is convergence--in everything. You can't talk to him without realizing real fast this man reads, thinks, and processes at a very deep level. His warmth, simplicity, and sincerity cannot be confused or translated as merely a loving older grandfather. While he may be that, he's also a professor practitioner. As we were talking, I was amazed at who and what he had read and at his level of thinking. I get excited when I meet a person who is both passionate and intellectual. He likes everybody and works with everybody and isn't mad or throwing rocks at anybody or elevating himself or his ways above others. Maybe that's why he's a world changer and not just a fad or small ministry.

As are all great men of God, he's humble. He was never condescending and I've never seen him be that way in the times I've been with him. He listened and respected everyone's view--though he'd debate and challenge you--which I like.

Last night we all ate supper in Grapevine and were talking. He was sitting at the end of the table, I looked at him and said, "Loren, when I look at someone like you, Billy Graham, Bill Bright, and other people who have been massive world changers, I can't imagine what it will be like for you to stand before God. What joy you're going to give God. You're over 70 now. Do you ever think about what it will be to stand before Him one day?" It became real quiet for a few minutes while Loren answered in typical humble Loren fashion, "Oh, I don't know, I just said yes. All I did was obey. God spoke and I said yes. Maybe He asked 1,000 people before me, I was just the one who said yes--maybe I didn't know any better."