Road-Trip and Prayer Requests

Road Trippin’ the USA

Life has been a whirlwind for the last month. We were afforded the great opportunity to drive down the entire Midwest to visit with friends and family. Since July 28^th we have driven 3,992 miles. We visited 12 different states and spent 60 hours tucked away in our Toyota Corolla. We had to buy two new tires and get one oil change. We enjoyed the corn-laden flats of Ohio, the pines dotting the mountains of Alabama, Disney World, a foggy morning in North Carolina, and the rolling hills of the Virginias. God protected us and provided all that we needed. All in all, God has been so good and so faithful to us, just as He promises.

Jenny and I enjoyed ourselves dearly. It was a trip that for me (Justin), at least, galvanized our friendship as we venture out on this new journey. We shared many laughs and some tears. We spent times in prayer. We got to visit with each of our immediate families, some extended family, and friends who are like family. They got the burden of housing us, and they all fed us VERY well!

More than anything we came away grateful for all of the people that are lifting us up in prayer. It is so comforting to walk into a home and find our prayer card stuck to a cork-board or refrigerator. We owe so much to many of you and trust that God will reward you exponentially for your dedication to supporting us in prayer and finance. Thank you!

Our to-do list is growing RAPIDLY!

Needless to say, we arrived home to a stack of chores we must accomplish. It’s crunch time – the final minutes of the 4^th quarter (or second half for you futbol fans). We have so many final details in preparation for our departure and so many initial details following our arrival. Your prayers are greatly appreciated as we pilfer through the muck of moving to another country.

To-Do before we leave:

We need to sign up for COBRA, which we are doing this week. This will provide our healthcare until our departure.

We need to fill out ALL of our benefits paperwork for TEAM in the next week to ensure that everything is in order for our departure.

Justin has had to get two final vaccinations Hep A., completed today, and Typhoid which he is taking orally. It is live bacteria…that’s weird to think about.

On August 30^th we have another appointment for the baby at which we will discover the gender!

We have to sell our cars.

We have to write up our wills.

We have to get our visas.

There are equally just as many if not more pesky details when we arrive. Fortunately, our host organization - Potters House - is generously providing a helping hand!

To do when we arrive:

Find a place to live, furnish it, and move in.

Find and buy a family-friendly car.

Outfit our home for a baby…yikes!

Learn a whole new world…(not the song)

i.e. where will we shop, find doctors, DMV, mechanic…you know all of those things that you “just know” where they are here in the States.

I hope we don’t sound like we’re whining. We are so excited for everything that the future holds. However, there is just this big mountain of details that stands between where we are today and what we believe that God wants us to accomplish in the near future. We covet your prayers through these final weeks here in the U.S.A. We don’t want to have any complications that could delay our departure. We trust that God is sovereignly in control of all these things, and we are SO anxious to finally arrive. 

If you are in the Chicago-land area we want to be able to say as many goodbyes as we can and share what God has for us in the future.  Let us know when you are free for coffee or to share a meal. If not, then stop us in church or if you see us out and about stop us and say "hey!"

Thanks again for all of your prayers!

Being Loving > Being Right

Growing up in Mexico City there were certain things that we experienced with regularity. One of them was the Mormons. They always seemed to show up at our front door, usually right a dinnertime. Fortunately, we began to figure them out. It wasn’t hard, really. They had a distinguishing mark, something that set them apart. Anytime that you saw two guys riding bikes down your street wearing shirts and ties with backpacks on their back you could be certain they were Mormons.

But this got me thinking: what if there was something that noticeable about Christians? I don’t mean some outfit or accessory that warned people we were coming. But, what if people could distinguish true, genuine believers from the rest of the Christian population? Even more so, what if Christians were so counter-cultural in some aspect of their lives that it was clear and evident whom they were and what they stood for?

Francis Schaeffer delivers a power-packed essay that argues for this very concept. It is a small booklet titled The Mark of the Christian, easy to read in 45 minutes. However, it is revolutionary. It’s one I am trying to re-read every year to 6 months. His line of logic is simple, richly Biblical, and deeply practical. The mark of the Christian is…drumroll…LOVE. You’re probably thinking “DUH!”

Building his arguments from John 13 and John 17 Schaeffer argues:

“The point is that it is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark.”

It will be virtually impossible for the world to distinguish our faith in Christ apart from it being represented to them through our love for them and for one another. John echoes the words of Christ in his first letter when he states:

^“We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.”

To know Christ will be evidenced in our love for one another.

However, the beauty of what Schaeffer does in this little book is not in its theological argument. All Christians everywhere agree that we are to love. Clearly Jesus commanded it when he told us to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This has never been in question. The rubber meets the road when we begin to truly discuss what the daily, moment-by-moment implications are for this. What does Christian love and unity look like in the midst of doctrinal disagreement? What about when one party perceives another to be promoting heresy? How should, say, Baptists interact with Catholics, if I dare suggest that? How should Calvinists interact with Arminians? Or what about in matters of practice? Women in ministry? Those who espouse the attractional model for their church disagreeing with those who prefer a more organic model? Contemporary or traditional? These are all polarizing topics.

What does Christian love and unity look like when you believe in some non-essential so strongly that you cannot fathom someone disagreeing?

Politics is another one of those taboo topics. Many conservative Christians have seldom met a democrat they liked. Fewer still have met one in their church! Many Christians who are democrats are repulsed by the close-mindedness of republican Christians. How are we to speak with one another and treat one another when such seemingly foundational truths are immediately in question? The problem that many Christians have had is that they have valued the ideal for which they are arguing more than they have valued love. It is a problem of priorities.

Later on Schaeffer adds:

“Here [in John 17:21] Jesus is stating something else which is more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus’ claims are true, and that Christianity is true, unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.”

Where many of us have fallen off the wagon is that we have interpreted Christian unity as organizational unity. If we all agree on practice and doctrine then we are united. Consequently, many of us are ill prepared to adequately and lovingly respond in the midst of great differences. It is problematic that we have been trained all of our lives in ministry for doctrinal correctness. Being able to sniff out the beginning of any heretical statement or thought, we crush it. We’ve been taught that the gravest dangers facing churches are false teaching and heresy. Few seminarians consider that the greatest danger facing churches may be their lack of love and unity. It’s easier to vilify and crush a bad strand of doctrine than it is to lovingly welcome in those who may espouse it.

Schaeffer continues by discussing when Christians disagree:

“We rush in, being very, very pleased, it would seem at times, to find other men’s mistakes. We build ourselves up by tearing other men down. This can never show a real oneness among Christians. The world must observe that, when we must differ with each other as true Christians, we do it not because we love the smell of blood, the smell of the arena, the smell of the bullfight, but because we must for God’s sake. If there are tears when we must speak, then something beautiful can be observed.”

These sentences landed on my ego like a bag of bricks. I pride myself in being right, often. If you are wrong around me, you’ll know it. And how often have I don’t this very thing, searching for the nuance that will allow my opinion to rise to the top. Few tears are shed, few hugs exchanged, and few moments in prayerful unity together. As one friend has told me before “being right is not a spiritual gift.” I don’t know that there is a magic cure for this egocentric disease. All I know is that the Spirit of God must grant me a greater sensitivity to my relational foibles. I’m writing all of this for two reasons:

First, I hope that our (Jenny and my) entire community of believers that surrounds us will be able to evaluate our quality love. Not merely do we all carry around a little flag that says “I love people,” but the true moment-by-moment actionable love. Does our concern lie in justifying ourselves, elevating ourselves, being right and letting everyone know it? Or, can we vehemently disagree and walk away in true Christian affection and true Christian unity? More than that, are we graciously extending ourselves for the benefit of others?

Second, this is also a missiological principle for which Jenny and I need your prayers. In crossing cultures we will find many things that are different. Christian love demands our patience, gentleness, and grace as we adjust. In particular, we may be working alongside of individuals with doctrinal differences. The mission of Christ, and the love and unity exhibited between us is a far greater goal than doctrinal cohesion. Being doctrinally cohesive is irrelevant to the watching world. Knowing that love supersedes all other values is truly attractive.

Let me simply ask, then, are you making Christian love? Do you bear the mark of a Christian?

_________________________________________

1. Schaeffer, Francis, The Mark of the Christian, Downers Grove: IVP, 1970.

An Update Full of Updates

It’s been too long; we know that. These last 6 months have been a whirlwind. So many awesome things have happened and God has been so faithful and so good. We have been reminded at every single step that He is worth proclaiming and exalting, not that there was ever any doubt.

So, here is a list of updates…for those who care. Many of these are a matter of prayer and we would ask that you pencil us into your prayer journals with these requests in particular.

Update #1 – BABY!
We are pregnant! Yes, it’s true, God allows the Burkholders to continue to grow. He is a gracious God indeed. Jenny is 14 weeks along. Many of you are on Facebook and were privy to this information already. Aside from me (Justin) being a little bit bummed that Jenny’s post got more likes than mine, we are absolutely ecstatic! The prayer requests here are obvious, I think.

1. Pray for the health of the baby.
2. Pray for Jenny’s health.

Update #2 – Training and Transition
We spent the week of July 22-July 26 at TEAM for our Phase 4 training. It was fabulous. Jenny and I had a great time meeting with other missionaries, and it functioned as a time of forging for our marriage before we depart. We learned so many things and had so many discussions. In particular we had great discussions on the transition process. There are many good-byes, visas to acquire, living arrangements to be found, plane tickets to be purchased, and in all reality it is the epitome of chaos and disorganization and the unknown. Your prayers during this time are appreciated.

     1. Pray for authentic emotional strength and fortitude as we say many good-byes (though not for          the last time) We know that we will see everyone again. We don’t want to hide our emotions,                  equally we don’t want to be driven and controlled by them.

     2. Pray for us to find suitable living arrangements. One that is fitting to our needs, and                         appropriate to our ministry context.

     3. In many ways we are starting our lives over. Pray for patience and strength in our marriage as          we start into such a chaotic and unknown phase of our lives.


Update #3 – Have the plans changed?
The plans have changed a little bit, however, not as drastically as one might think. Initially we were planning on going to Honduras first. After extensive conversations with our mission board and sending church we have decided to go directly to Guatemala. At this time, the plan is still for us to depart this fall (probably October). We have lots of things to think about with the arrival of the baby. We have the opportunity to stay here in the USA until the baby is born, however it will be at great cost (Cobra, delay in ministry etc.). If we stay, we would depart in Feb/March of 2014. We really are anxious to arrive and begin establishing ourselves in Guatemala. At the same time, we want to be sensitive to our family so that they also are able to enjoy the arrival of our first child as well. It is a difficult decision.

1. Pray for wisdom, knowledge, and discernment as we examine all of the possibilities. 
2. Pray that everyone involved would be understanding with whatever decision that we make.

Update #4 – What will you be doing?
The exact nature of our day-to-day work is still up in the air. We know that I (Justin) will be heavily involved in discipleship and evangelism as we seek to gather groups of believers in biblical community.  Jenny will be involved in some teaching roles (still unsure how the baby adjusts things). We are still in discussions with our mission board and others in Guatemala City as to what the best day-to-day fit will be for us at the very beginning. Of course, much of our time the first month or so will be in adjusting our living situation.

1. Pray for clarity of vision and unity among everyone involved. 

Update #5 – Lots of Travel
On Sunday, August 4th, we are departing on a 2 weeklong road trip down to South Florida and back. We are going to be making lots of stops along the way to see people, and will be spending a lot of time with family. I (Justin) am speaking at one of our supporting churches (Hollywood Community Church, YEAH!).

1. Pray for safe travels. Being a pregnant lady in a car for that long won’t be fun. 
2. Pray for lots of good conversations. Jenny and I will get to spend so much time chatting and in      prayer. We haven’t had enough of that time lately.
3. Pray for Justin as he speaks at HCC on Aug. 11th
4. Pray for an enjoyable time with family and friends.

Update #6 - Funds
We have arrived at the amount that TEAM has recommended for us to raise in monthly commitments. We are still waiting on some people that have committed. If you have committed to giving we would ask you you begin doing so by August 15, that way we have sufficient outgoing funds. There honestly is always going to be need, so if God has called you to partner with us financially and you have yet to do so we always welcome it.

1. You can always pray that God provides for our needs, however, we trust wholly in His character that He will provide for us as He has promised to. 

What about you?
We want to hear from you. What is happening in your life? How can we be in prayer for you? We are honestly so grateful for every one of you. We are grateful for your support, encouragement, prayer, and love as we enter into this next phase for His name's sake.

Where Will You Live?

 This is the question we get more than any other.  It makes sense, because it is a question that Jenny and I wrestle with consistently.  The short answer is that we don’t know yet.  There are a lot of different factors that go into the decision. 

Here is what I will tell you:  More than likely we will NOT live within the garbage dump communities.

I have to tell you, it is a difficult decision though.  I see all of the benefits of the “incarnational” approach to ministry.  Jesus “pitched his tent among us…” as John 1 tells us.  Likewise, shouldn’t we move in to the neighborhoods where we are doing ministry?  In short, if I (Justin) was a single guy with no family, I probably would.

So how are we going to choose where we will live? 

We have decided on three key elements to our housing that we are using as the framework for prayer.

1. Proximity

We want to live AS CLOSE as we possibly can to the garbage dump.  We don’t want to be the rich, white people that come soaring in off of the mountain.  Historically, this is the way much of missions worked.  Missionaries would find housing that was conducive to the lifestyle they would prefer, and often it required a much nicer location than where they were ministering.  Many times, missionaries have had to travel quite the distances to meet with the people they are ministering to. 

We want to be close to the action.  We want to be as close as possible.

2. Safety

The flip side of this is that we want to live AS SAFE as possible.  We know what everyone knows about Latin America, often Americans have a target on their backs.  Naturally many thieves in Latin America presume that we have money (they'll be in for a surprise if they mug us!). We know that we need to guard the longevity of our ministry.  While it would be noble to move into a rough community to “do ministry,” getting shot a week later wouldn’t be a great step forward for our ministry. 

We also want to have a family.  I (Justin) know that it is my God-given responsibility to protect my family.  There is a HUGE difference between protecting my family and sheltering my family (a distinction more missionaries should probably consider).  We are not looking to eliminate risk.  If that were they case, we wouldn't go!  

This is just a side-note: Jenny and I are perfectly aware of the great risk that this move places on our families.  Yet we both firmly believe that the gospel demands action, action in the darkest, most dangerous places in the world.  Eliminating risk is impossible, as a matter of fact, risk comes with the territory.

We are simply wanting to make the wisest decisions for our family, knowing that there is always risk in proclaiming the gospel.  Regardless, we will be actively  making decisions with our safety in mind.  

3.  Identification

Finally, we plan to live as simply as possible.  We don’t need the flash and glamour of the suburbs.  We want a humble space that we can use.  We will use it for our own personal retreat and rest.  But we also want to be able to use it for ministry.  If we are using it for ministry to people within the garbage dump communities, then we want to ensure that it will not be extravagant in a way that puts their homes and belongings to shame.

We are not trying to fool them.  They know that we are American, and by nature we have more then they have.  At the same time, we don’t want to luxuriously flaunt what we have.  We are perfectly willing to set aside what many of us would consider “necessary comforts” for the sake of our ministry.

We need You!

With that said, we are by no means under the delusion that we can accomplish this perfectly.  We will never completely eliminate risk or need for comfort, and we will never completely eliminate American stigma.  This is why we need your prayer.  Please, pray on our behalf that God would show us the best way to make our housing selection.  Any input from you would also be encouraging and helpful.

We trust a God who provides.  We are whole-heartedly resting in God, that He already has the perfect home for us selected in Guatemala.  We just need to find it!

Worshipping on the Free-Throw Line

A Church in a Gym

I don’t know if I’ve ever attended another church like it.  The echo of the drums off of the hardwood floor made the sound bounce in all directions.  You don’t get to just find your seat, you have to set up your seat, and then tear it down when the service is over, how’s that for “Welcome to Church!”  The only apparent emblem that there is a church somewhere is the flag stuck in the ground outside of the YMCA in which they meet.  And somebody has to take those down too. 

The Summit Church in Green, OH is not your traditional church.  They have an overwhelming passion for their city and a comprehensive involvement in the mission of their church.  Everybody is doing something.  No one is simply receiving and walking away happy that “it was a good sermon today…”.  Needless to say, their pastor preaches great sermons, and their worship team leads fabulous music.  Seriously, it’s fabulous!  But their Christian lives are not tied up in the Sunday event. And for them it is much more of an event than for most churches.

The Summit Church is a church that was started out of a vision to see the un-churched and the de-churched meet with a church.  They began meeting in a movie theatre, but eventually landed in the gymnasium of the YMCA.  Those of us influenced by church structures may have a hard time adjusting to singing our worship songs with the strands of the basketball net looming above us.  But this doesn’t even phase members of the Summit.  As a matter of fact, they love it! 

When they use the word “church”, they mean something quite different than most of us accustomed to buildings and programs mean.  Their “church” is quite literally them!  They spend time together, interact constantly, serve together, throw parties together, invite anyone and everyone.  They all have careers in all sorts of things…but they use their abilities honed by their careers to serve their church. 

My Time at the Summit            

This past weekend I had the chance to speak there.  My overwhelming sense was “my goodness the American church has some sacred cows to slaughter”.  Though this isn’t the first time I’ve concluded this, it returned with a renewed strength.

We are totally consumed by our buildings....How will we adjust them?  What will we add?  What new thing can we buy?  How can we make it better, more attractive, more compelling?

We are totally consumed by our programs…what new event or new ministries should we offer? Is it engaging enough? Will people come? Is the music loud enough, new enough, old enough? Do we have a graphic?…we have men’s, women’s, students, children, college, post-college, pre-college, post-highschool, post-college/premarried…I mean my goodness!  We have too often missed what it means to be the church…together. In an effort to offer the "best possible product" to "our consumers" we have cheapened the gathering of believers.

We have missed that church, the assembly, the gathering, is simply those who have been called by Christ, justified by Christ, and are being sanctified by Christ, gathering to worship Christ. 

And let me tell you…there are whole groups of people that are concerned with the numerical growth of churches, but the Summit is growing, and not with the usual ploys and gimmicks.  There is rawness, an authenticity and genuineness of faith that this generation loves and at Summit they find that.  They find real people, with real problems, not trying to use cosmetics on their buildings, programs or their lives rather passionately pursuing a Savior who rescues them. 

All this to say, I am grateful for my time at the Summit Church, and for the influence that Pastor Tom Hogsed and their leadership team have had.  They are building a church, not a church building, and that cheesy cliché may actually make all the difference.  

Check out the Summit Church here.

April-June Prayer Letter

Check out our latest Prayer Letter

Click Here.

Everything is Changing

     We looked around the room and it hit us.  This is actually happening.  I mean, we knew that it was happening.  We knew that TEAM had accepted us.  But all of the sudden it got very real.  There was still a whimsy to our future that had been washed away.  There are going to be moments throughout this entire journey that will forever be with us.  Walking into TEAM’s headquarters last week will be one that I carry with me for a long time. 

     As I was reaching for the door to walk into TEAM’s building I started feeling that flashback sensation that happens right before a big life-change.  Seeing my glare in the window I couldn’t help but think back to my wedding day – the day that I married the goddess of a woman that is giving up everything with me.  Images of youth retreats to Silver Birch Ranch, Teen Serve, missions trips to Nicaragua, Mexico, and Honduras, leading worship hundreds of Sundays, teaching and preaching all came crashing back.  Faces of our family, and our family at Grace Pointe, Moody, and Canton were speeding through my mind.  It felt like my mind went through every single emotion that I have felt over the past 6 years in ministry here in the USA.  Some were great emotions, others were horrific.  I couldn’t help but feel my failures, the ways that I have not lived as I ought, my sin, my missteps, bad decisions.  I couldn’t help but see unfinished tasks, unrealized potentials, and unacceptable apathy toward the American church.  Great victories were there too – life change in students, warm and loving friendships, compelling worship experiences, libraries of lessons learned. The joy, the sorrow, the laughter, the pain – none of it lacking.    

     The bitter cold air brought me back.  I shot Jenny a glance and reached for the stainless steel handle on the door.  The overwhelming support and love in her eyes reminded me that she is crazy for marrying me, and I’m crazy about her.  It was a new building.  A new task.  A new goal.  Heck, a new life.  We stepped into the building leaving the grip of winter behind us aware that what we were leaving behind was much more than a cold day.

     We rounded the corner and walked into a room full of other missionary candidates.  People that we now call friends.  We shared stories of the places where we will be living.  We heard of medical needs in Myanmar, sex-trafficking in Austria, education in China, Tilapia-farming in Zimbabwe, and of course dump church-planting.   All of it stirred within us a secure confirmation that we were exactly where God wanted us. 

Doing a skit in morning devotions.

Some team building.

     

     God’s heart is for the nations.  And He has equipped us with the tools and resources to plant churches in Latin America.  When we got married, He began to create within us a restlessness in America so that we would some day be walking into TEAM.  For all of the flashbacks that we have experienced, for all of the remorse, frustration, joy, and laughter...for all of the inconsistency and doubt that we know we will face the rest of our lives we know there has been one constant.  God.  He continues to write this story.  The sweeping narrative of our lives keeps taking unexpected turns, but nothing makes us happier than knowing the author.

     Our week at TEAM was fantastic.  It was nurturing, encouraging, and fulfilling.  Nothing bad can be said about it.  What we learned more than anything though is that God owns the past, the present, and the future.  And there is no greater feeling than knowing that.