From Pastor James Harleman: I had dinner with good friends and members of the church, Craig and Diana Baker, who oversee our hospitality team on Sundays, and had a great conversation with them about Perspectives… not perspectives in general, but specifically an incredible class both endorsed by Dr. John Piper and taken by Pastor Mark Driscoll as God was preparing him to plant a church years ago. Diana helpfully provided the following to inform our congregation and friends about this opportunity…

I was ruined last spring. Ruined for the ordinary. They warned me it would happen, but that only served as an enticement. I was at a time in my life when I was yearning for something more fulfilling, with more purpose. Who would have thought a 15 week college class would so energize me in my relationship with Christ and leave me forever changed?

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement is a class that has existed for over 30 years which focuses on God’s heart for the nations from four different perspectives: Biblical, historical, cultural and strategic. Last spring, like many people around the country, I gathered with a group one night a week to listen to speakers who had been flown in from all over the U.S. to share their personal experience and professional expertise. Then during the week between classes I immersed myself into a textbook of articles gathered from other experts in the fields of missions, Christian history, cross-cultural work, community development, church planting and more.

When I was in college, I was at the height of my Christian fervor and thought becoming a missionary to Africa was the best use of my life for God. After all, isn’t that tantamount in Christian service? I spent a summer in war-torn Sierra Leone, West Africa on a missions internship, walking the red dirt roads to share Bible stories, helping lead a Vacation Bible School at a refugee camp where cholera was rampant, eating fish and rice in orange palm oil day after day, and sitting by lantern light listening to Sierra Leonean Christians talk about how God had cared for them when the rebels were chasing them with machetes from their homes. Was this something I could devote my life to? I had an amazing time and but I also got the very clear impression that this was not what God wanted for me and frankly, was quite disappointed.

Since then I have found opportunities to support others financially and through prayer who are serving worldwide. But I always yearned for more; to make more of a difference and impact in the world for the Kingdom of God. And that’s when I was ruined. By the time I finished my last Perspectives class, I was so excited and energized by what God has been doing through the centuries and is currently doing around the world – things we just don’t hear about in today’s media. And I realized there are numerous ways for me to be involved in what God is doing even if I never leave my city. With the growing urbanization of the world, we have the nations in our neighborhoods. Whether they are immigrants, refugees, international students, or post post-modernists at work or at the local coffee shop, we are surrounded by people God desperately loves and wants to know him.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still, and …” What’s the rest of that verse?

Would you say “…know that I am God?” Me too.

But the entire verse says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

When this was shared in class, it made me think about how I have so often focused Scripture on myself. What does this verse say about ME? God’s heart for the nations is such a common theme in the Bible. It is a motivating force for so much of what He does. The point of reading the Bible is not to discover what the Bible says about me, but what it says about God; who He is and what is important to Him. I want to be involved in the things that are of utmost importance to Him. That is where I find the fulfillment and purpose I have been looking for.

One of the speakers one week made the comment “Get involved in something so great it can never be accomplished in your lifetime.” Wow, that’s a different way of thinking than “What quick fix can I throw money at?” Like Pastor Mark so often says, we should think in terms of the legacy we will leave when we are gone. William Carey, considered by many to be the father of protestant missions, said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” It makes me think of the Moravian Christians who, in the 18th century, organized their community so members took turns praying 24 hours a day for 100 years. During this time, there was an awakening in interest and mobilization for missions worldwide and “modern” missions history began.

I have been ruined for the ordinary and will be satisfied with nothing less than being a part of this story. That’s why after taking the class, I decided to help plan the next Perspectives class Spring of 2009 in Seattle. It made such a difference in my life and lit the fire in me for being part of something that is bigger than myself. If you’re interested in finding out more about this class, check out the Perspectives website at www.perspectives.org. The next class begins Tuesday evenings starting January 13 in Green Lake and Wednesdays in Bellevue.