Drew Boswell

a place for us to share ideas, talk about life, and learn together.

Hospitality and the Believer

Biblical Hospitality

When Americans think of hospitality it usually involves having someone over to your home, or simply having a spirit of hospitality, as in being nice or welcoming. Last night I had the opportunity to experience a biblical definition of hospitality.  The host pastor here in India drove six hours to meet us in Raipur then drove with us back to his home. The drive is not easy, it is over roads that are in great need of repair, and through a swirl of chaotic drivers, bicyclers, constant honking horns, and people on foot or pulling something. In India if it has wheels it is used for transportation of one kind or another.  It is a jarring trip of sudden accelerations, close calls, and slamming stops. If you are not used to it, to is nerve wracking.

Upon our arrival at the hotel where we were staying in his city there were native people there to welcome us with flowers, handshakes, smiles, and hugs. We rested for about an hour, where we then traveled to the pastor’s home. Again, as we drove up there were people there to welcome us.

We were ushered to chairs in the driveway and many children danced and sang for us as men played drums behind them. After the children sang several songs, and continued to sing and dance, women brought out small wooden platforms and shallow pots filled with water. Then they bowed before us, removed our shoes and socks, and proceeded to wash out feet.

___________________________

Hospitality Can Be Very Powerful

I am not sure why this moment struck me so deeply, but as they washed my feet, I began to weep. It was very humbling. As the pastor led this effort, he said, “it is an honor and privilege to serve the holy people.” Who am I that they should wash my feet? Why did they feel the need to show this honor to me, and our group, and to serve us in this way? It was overwhelming.

In John 13:12-17 says, “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant3 is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”

The Christians of India understand this very powerful display of love and respect to others.  As followers of Christ we are to follow His example of being a servant to others and to show others their worth.

Then we were led, hand-in-hand by the children to a room with a long table covered with various colored table clothes. Then one dish at a time, a wonderful meal was served. It included rice, a type of banana, a lintel yellow sauce, seared chicken, and potato balls, with water to drink. It was wonderful. Then at the end of the meal, the pastor’s family came in and we clapped our hands for them.  There was no question that these people were excited about us being there, and wanted us to feel very welcomed.

 ___________________________

 Hospitality Can Be Encouraging to Fellow Believers

If we look at Luke 7:36 ff. a sinful woman was just come into a Pharisee’s home and broken a bottle of very expensive perfume to pour over Jesus’s feet and then wiped the excess with her hair. For the women it was a great sign of admiration honor.

In response to this the Pharisees are shocked, and Jesus responds by saying, “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

For the Christian, hospitality becomes a desire to show another person how you view them. It is a Christian’s desire to honor them, and to show how thankful that they are in their home. So with this in mind, it is incredibly humbling when someone gives you this level of hospitality. It is my prayer that when I interact with others that they can see how much I love them by how I show them through acts of honor.

___________________________

 Hospitality As A Witnessing Tool

On every mission trip I always walk away changed in some way. So far, I have a renewed appreciation for biblical hospitality and also a desire to show it to other people.  What a wonderful way to show the world our love for them, to invite them into our homes, to honor them as treasured guests and to display Christ’s love as a humble people who have been forgiven of somuch, and want to share this love and how they can be forgiven with others.

* Because India is a “closed” country to the gospel I have not given the pastor’s name and did not show any pictures of him or his family.

Awakening and Genesis 3

Friday Morning at Cracker Barrel

I am sitting at a Cracker Barrel on an early Friday morning and can see various families heading out for Spring Break retreats and respites, Sherriff’s deputies huddled around a table laughing over various experiences in their line of duty, and ‘locals’ beginning their day. As the sun creeps over the ensemble of cars in the parking lot another day begins with its unknown opportunities, life changing surprises, and its mundane workday. It is this potential for change (in me and in the world), this unknown future that drives me to the Father and His holy book. It is not one of fear, but of an excitement that I don’t want to miss the potential opportunity.

__________________________

 Internal Struggles

With an upcoming mission trip to India and an awareness that there is a huge potential to be of great service to the Lord there, I am becoming ever more aware of my depravity and sinfulness. I am not sure if it is the Holy Spirit desiring to cleanse me and make me more useful to the Father or if it is Satan trying to keep me from even trying.

At the age of 37 I am keenly aware of my sin nature, how and where I tend to drift and am very alert to my weaknesses. That doesn’t mean that I always remain strong to fight against these weaknesses, but I know who I am as a person, a part of the fallen human race. I have the faint shadow of wisdom to know that my sin nature destroys and it vanishes as smoke when I display my lack of wisdom and depravity and listen to that still small voice and heed it’s foolish instructions.

 __________________________

 A Walk Through the Garden

If we go back to the Garden at the beginning of time, we discover it was Satan’s desire to disrupt what God had established. Chaos was brought into perfect order, and disruption and death were cast upon peace and eternal life. Everything changed when Adam and Eve fell and sin entered the world.

1.  Satan desires to use our empty cravings and vain self-deceit to keep us off topic and focusing our lives on the wrong things. We are to love Christ completely and with our whole heart, yet many times we love ourselves and become gods in our own minds.

Genesis 3: “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

What God said was that they could eat of any tree (freedom) except for one tree (limitations). Satan wanted Eve to think that God was keeping something from her, or taking her freedom away. Christ left heaven, took on the flesh of man, and died as our substitute. He then commands for us to follow His example, yet we often times could care less about people and their eternal destinies. When we focus on our own navels, we spend all our money on ourselves, we spend all our time in our own self-adventures, and we tend to stay comfortable in all things.

2. Satan desires to feed our wicked desires with constant temptations so that we increasingly lose potential to do great things for Christ. When we sin, and continue to sin, and have decades of sinful behavior our impact and ability to serve Christ becomes greatly diminished.

Genesis 3:4-5 “But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

It is this knowledge of sin that destroys us. We chase after it with all our hearts and lean constantly on our own understandings of the world around us.

I often times feel that I am in a fog or a deep sleep. My anesthetized soul drags through life as if coming out of a horrible surgery.  Awake and yet half-asleep. There are moments when it is as though I am coming back to being spiritually awake, only to slide back into a deep slumber of cold callousness.  Days drag on to weeks, weeks roll on to months, and months to years – this constant sleeping and moments of awakening. Always asking, “Lord, have I slept too long to be of any use to you and your kingdom?”

3.  Satan desires to make us doubt our Creator’s love for us.

Genesis 3:6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

In one conversation Satan was able to persuade Adam and Eve to rebel against their Creator. They were perfect, in a perfect world, and having a perfect relationship with God. Every time we take a bite of the forbidden fruit we doubt God’s love for us, and make ourselves gods in our own minds. We say to ourselves, “I know what is better for me, and what I should know, not God.”

I know my gentle Father’s response is always “Drew, let’s go – wake up, there is much to do.” He loves us enough to make us apart of His plan for the redemption of humanity and the created order.  Whether that is a “big role” or “small role” – it is hard to tell. It seems to be based on His sovereignty (putting people where He sees fit) and our willingness to turn from sin and being holy.

__________________________

The Great Adventure

On my trip to India I am taking my camera, every sermon I have ever written, and a heart that desires to be greatly used by the Father. My prayer is that I may be spiritually awake to see what is going on around me, and have the wisdom to hear His voice. Who knows what’s going to happen, who knows what we will be able to accomplish in His name.  This is the adventure, this potential to be of great use for the Lord.

Mentoring Those Who Feel Called to Ministry

In the course of serving as “pastor” in various capacities I have been approached over the years by several men who feel they are called into ministry.  Since there is no fill-in-the-blank or multiple choice test one can take, it becomes more of a “feeling” or specifically a “knowing” that God has called one to ministry.

We know the Bible commands all to ministry, but there are some he calls to leadership of the flock as a position of authority. Some are attracted to this position because they desire “to lord over” people.[1] These individuals want others to call them “pastor” and crave power over people. Others want to lead and have control.  But are not ready for this responsibility, and in their “ignorance on fire” they are reckless and destroy people’s lives without even knowing it.

As an established leader you should have a heart to mentor and guide someone else into serving the Lord and His church, but where do you start? You may even feel like you “don’t have it all together” yet, and you say to yourself, “who am I to lead anyone else in ministry?” I often times feel this way, but I also recognize that the Lord has taught me many things over the years, often times because of my ignorance and pride I ran into situations and obstacles that often times were creations I built myself. I do not want another brother in Christ to do the same things.

So the following are some suggestions from someone who “doesn’t have it all together” yet and is still in a lifelong process of learning.

 ______________________________

Suggestions on How to Mentor 

First, just because a person tells you they are called to ministry and has approached you, doesn’t mean they are actually called. I would suggest at least a year long mentoring relationship where you introduce them like “this is ________________ and he is seeking the Lord’s will for his life.” Not, “This is __________ and he is called to ministry.” It’s hard to gracefully back out of the second one. It may be that they just want to go deeper in their relationship with the Lord, or that up to this point have not really been discipled in their faith.  What they perceive as a call may actually be a desire for a closer walk with the Lord.

I have mentored two men who because they held a position of leadership too soon and I moved them too fast went on to destroy churches and people’s lives. Be extremely careful who you give a title and position to. Watch out for your own pride in wanting “to show them off” as a person you are mentoring — watch your heart.

Don’t immediately begin with topics of study like leadership, political maneuvering, preaching, etc. – these are advanced topics. Instead, begin with determining where they are with the Lord – it has been my experience that few are very well equipped to accurately handle the Word of God.[2] So for the first six months you could focus on topics like Bible study, being a godly husband, time management, being a godly friend and father, prayer, etc.

These topics of discussion should be considered basic Christian life topics but you will be amazed at how few Christians actually are living a godly life and displaying maturity in spiritual matters among those who desire to lead others in the church.

But do immediately give them a service in the church. It should be a non-visible task that will require them to truly serve the church. If a guy Is not willing to regularlly set up chairs for a service, clean toilets, clean up after a fellowship dinner, etc. then they are not going to be worth much in ministry in the long run. If they are only happy if they are up in front of people, receiving others praise, then this will give you an early indicator of their heart.  This will also more than likely give some much needed relief for a ministry leader somewhere in the church.

But do have a plan in your mentoring. Don’t sit too many times over coffee in idle discussion. This will not help them in the long run. If they are called they are going to want to get started as soon as possible.

Now after six months of basic Christian living topics you are now going to move into other topics. After meeting regularly (even weekly) you should have a pretty good idea of the call upon their life. Even if you help them determine that they are not truly called, they will have a greater discipleship life, they will be stronger men of God in their homes and community, and their walk will be stronger with the Lord because of your mentoring. If they are not called, just tell them how you feel, and let your sessions end.

But if you feel you should continue, it is at this point that I would give them a “ministry. “ Again it should not be too visible, and how they handle the ministry will give direction as to how you should mentor them. [3]  If they are not faithful in doing minor ministry tasks, they should never be allowed to have responsibility for greater tasks that will affect people’s lives.[4]

I would suggest meeting weekly at this point and give the mentored a homework assignment in between meetings. If they are not willing to read a chapter or two of a book and be prepared to talk about it, put a lesson together, or make a visit in the hospital (or something like these things) then this will tell you where they are in the searching process.

I once had a man come and tell me he wanted to have a deeper Bible study and that he wanted to meet regularly with me. So I told him to read the first few chapters of John and that we would meet to discuss them.  I told him to let me know when he was finished with these few chapters, but weeks dragged on to months – which showed me that he really did not want to have a deeper walk with the Lord – he wanted me to do all the work and unload information on him. If someone is truly called to ministry they will do the work.

The mentoring process takes a great amount of time, so just be aware of this when you commit yourself to a man who says they feel called to ministry.  But it is a much needed responsibility that pastors bear.

It is at the one year mark (or other designated point) that the relationship changes from mentor to coach. You stop meeting regularly, and you become available for occasional questions, discussion, and moral support.  The apprentice needs to find godly friends, other than you,  who they can have regular support to make the transition to a place of leadership.

It is not an understatement to be extremely careful with who you place into leadership positions, and whom you attach your name and reputation to. It is better to be without a leader than to have the wrong leader or to put someone in a place of leadership before they are ready.

[1] Matthew 20:20-28

[2] 2 Timothy 2:15

[3] 1 Timothy 3:6

[4] Matthew 25:21

Valdosta Kids Getting Muddy

Valdosta Kids on Mission is in their second week of doing pottery down stairs at FBCV in the “pottery room.” The children’s master pieces are really coming together nicely, and each pot has it’s own personality (just like the kid making it). If you have missed it so far fear not, because this coming week we are beginning to make our second pot. This would be a great time to join it, bring a friend, or just come and see what we are up to. We are looking at the verse that says, “I am the Potter, and your are the clay . . .” and from Jeremiah where God tells him to go to the potter’s house.

Sunday, 6pm upstairs in the Children’s Building, at 6:10pm we walk over to the “pottery room.”

 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

Contact Drew