I like grapes. I also like what we get from grapes: juice, jam, raisins and good Californian or Chilean wine. (I don’t hide my bias). Anyway, what does this have to do with a family update? No, we’re not starting a vineyard (though Claudia dreams of doing just that), but the Lord used a recent sermon on John 15 to give me a better understanding of what He has been doing in “our” life over the past few years.
If you’ve been following the Abegg chronicles you know that up to a month ago we anticipated stepping away from LAM and parachurch missions (missions through a non-church organization). In short we were lead to seriously and is some ways painfully analyze our belief and theology of missions. (See my previous entry to this Blog.) I thought that based on our convictions, the best option was to step out of parachurch missions and continue in missions from our local church while supporting the family through a secular job. As the year wore on though, and I didn’t sense direction from the Lord as to what occupation I should step into, I began to grow weary and feel more and more barren even as I continued with the ministry projects at hand. I was torn in not being able to see how my theology and my daily work in ministry matched up, and wondered why the Lord (and I do believe it was His hand) would apear to strip something away from me yet not provide something new to serve Him in.
Here’s where the grapes come in. Living near wine country in CA didn’t make my dad a vinedresser, yet his impressive pruning techniques, akin to current “slasher” horror movies, proved to be exactly what our one and only grapevine needed. Every fall, the yard plants would tremble in fear as my dad got out his preferred pruning instrument, an 18” gas powered chain saw, in order to “clean things up a bit”. Nothing green was spared be that oak trees or berry bushes. Guava plants and even the hedge dared not resist his onslaught. Some plants actually survived, their limbs removed, hauled off and burned in our fireplace. But it was the grapevine that always amazed me. Every summer that vine would foolishly send 40 feet of twisting greenery along our fence. And every fall it would stand defiantly before my father only to be hacked back to a pitiful, miserable looking brown stick. Each year I thought, “well, that’s the end of that”, but each spring it would rise again, stretch its limbs far and amazingly produce clusters of grapes.
In the recent sermon, I learned that true vinedressers do actually prune back each years growth to what looks like a dead stick (though I doubt they use a chain saw). In his own special way, what my dad was doing actually provided the care that the vine needed, and prepared it for the next year’s growth and fruit.
What the Lord was doing in Claudia and my hearts over the past “season” is very similar:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful... 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing... 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples… 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” John 15:1-17
Less than a month ago, LAM president Steve Johnson asked me to assist in developing what may grow into a “Department of North American Church Missions”. The idea is to help mission minded churches to strengthen relationships with their missionaries as well as the ministries they partner with throughout Latin America or the world. One of my concerns this past year was in seeing churches essentially “outsource” missions and let the parachurch (i.e. LAM) handle the care and feeding of their missionaries instead of assuming the role of pastoral care and being a full partner in fulfilling the Great Commission thus receiving the rich returns and benefits that accompany that involvement. Over the past year the Lord, in His mercy, has lead me through a course in missiology and church-missionary relationships even though I wasn’t aware of the purpose.
I’ll share more on what this new work will look like as I am able, but needless to say we are VERY excited about the possibilities and ask for your prayers as we step into this new area of growth and by faith…fruit. Cuba will remain in our scope of ministry and we are excited about some new possibilities to help meet the incredible lack of literature and resources that Cuban pastors have to draw from, but again...stay tuned!
Thank you so much for your partnership over the years. We look forward to what the Lord will be doing as our new branches grow and He produces fruit that will last in our lives, the churches we are involved with and in you, our partners in the Great Commission.
