It may just be the greatest botched opportunity in all church history. In the 1260s, the Polos, an Italian merchant family, journeyed to China and were well received at the court of the great Kublai Khan. Before they returned to Italy in 1269, Kublai Khan requested them to ask the Pope to send 100 teachers of science and religion to instruct the Chinese in the learning and faith of Europe.
The Pope only managed to send two Dominican friars with the Polos in November, 1271; but a war frightened the two friars, and even they turned back. The Polos, including young Marco, continued their journey to the Chinese emperor without the requested religious teachers. How might the history of Christianity in Asia been different had this incomparable opportunity been seized!
That opportunity may be gone, but today there is an excitement in the air as people all around us in America are crying out for something real. I’ve got it and want to pass it on!
Tags: China, history, missions, mistakes, opportunity
Stuart Briscoe wrote about a funeral for a war veteran in which the man’s military buddies had a role in the memorial service. The friends requested that the minister lead them to the casket for a moment of silence. They would then follow the pastor out a side door.
The plan was carried out with military precision – until the minister marched them into a broom closet. The soldiers had to make a disorganized retreat.
That pastor made an honest mistake, but it illustrates that leaders must know where they are going. As go the leaders, so go the followers.
The mistakes I’ve made in ministry (and there have been many), have caused me to be more cautious, but never made me want to quit. Let’s learn from our mistakes.
Tags: Leadership, mistakes
If you’ve ever been involved in a traffic accident, you understand the confusion that follows. Insurance claim forms often reflect that confusion. Consider the following actual quotes from insurance claim forms, as printed in the July 16, 1977 edition of the Toronto Star:
- A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
- The guy was all over the road; I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.
- I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law and headed over the embankment.
- I had been driving my car for four years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.
Confusion leads us to make mistakes. To avoid mistakes, we must have a clear view and know what we’re doing. Without God’s Word guiding us, confusion will be rampant in every corner of our lives. Every voice will have equal weight. Understanding God’s Word is crucial to your future on the earth.
Tags: confusion, humor, mistakes
Today Anita and I are celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary! There won’t be a lot of fanfare, though. Alan Roth is coming to begin laying carpet in our basement today, so I need to be around to move furniture, etc. We’re still spending money for materials in our basement project, so that is our anniversary gift to each other. We are going out to eat with Al & Jo Fair tonight in Ft. Wayne, so that will be our celebration.
Thirty-five years is a long time. When we got married things were a lot different than they are today. First, we were a lot younger then. Also, we were a lot dumber than we are now. We made a lot of marriage mistakes in those early days. We got off on the wrong foot in a lot of ways. But those struggles helped to make us what we are today. We are able to help other young couples in their difficulties because we can identify with what they struggle with. And we have solid answers because we also walked down that path.
We learned (are learning?) the hard way that it is the Lord’s desire that “each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:33).
Tags: marriage, mistakes
In 1871 evangelist Dwight L. Moody preached a series of sermons on the life of Christ in old Farwell Hall in Chicago for five nights. As he was following the life of Christ from the cradle to the judgment hall, I said that he made the greatest blunder he ever made in his life.
With the firebell (a common sound) ringing in the background, Mr. Moody finished his sermon with the question: “What shall I do with Jesus?” He said, “Now, I want you to take the question with you and think it over, and next Sunday I want you to come back and tell me what you are going to do with Him.”
That night the Great Chicago Fire destroyed Farwell Hall as well as the church Moody pastored. He never saw that crowd again. And he learned a valuable lesson. Moody never again closed a meeting without an invitation to accept Christ.
When have you delayed something until it was too late?
Tags: delay, mistakes, Moody
I have a spelling checker
I disk covered four my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot see.
The words are spelled correctly, but they aren’t the right words to convey the message of the writer. It’s proof positive that if you’re looking to the wrong source for correctness, then you aren’t right.
It follows then, that its possible to trust the wrong source of information about finances, sex, or spiritual matters. It is wisdom to find the source that has real answers to life’s problems and stick to it. The Bible is always write.
Tags: Bible, communication, mistakes