Dave Terpstra

LABOR DAY

Sun, 5 Sep 2010 07:29:37 +0200

The street names in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, are a little more flavorful than the street names of Denver. Many of the streets are named after Mozambique’s revolutionary leaders or important dates in their revolution against Portugal. But the names that jump out the most to Westerners are the names of the ideological influences for the revolutionaries. So allow me to give you some real directions in Maputo:

Head north on Karl Marx, turn right on Ho Chi Minn, left on Vladimir Lenine, right on Mao Tse Tung, and then left on Kim Il Sung (these directions would put you a couple of blocks from our apartment)

Surrounding you in the city as you drive these directions are the physical reminders of what communism did to this country. Once a thriving tourist destination in the 1960s and 1970s, Mozambique was ravaged by a bloody communist revolution and then civil war. It finally adopted a predominantly free market economy in 1992 after its country became the poorest country on earth (and it was no longer receiving support from the Soviet Union).

Last weeks riots here in Maputo were organized primarily through union leaders. Text messages were sent out from these leaders to their constituents, who in turn passed them along to others.

So as you celebrate “Labor” Day in the United States of America, allow me to remind you that although the legacy of organized labor in the United States is relatively peaceful (although hardly worth a national holiday), it’s work around the world is causing quite a bit of havoc here in Mozambique.

Happy Labor Day, Comrades!

FISHERMEN

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:22:33 +0200

We recently went to the beach with our teammates. While enjoying a flawless sand beach and the sparkling Indian Ocean, we got to observe local fisherman hard at work.

Their process of fishing was to row their boat close to shore and have one of their crew jump out with a rope. That rope was dragged to shore while the rest of the crew rowed about 500 meters out into the ocean letting out the rope. Then the crew rowed parallel to the short and laid down a net that was attached to the rope. Finally when they had reached the end of the net, they turned back to shore letting out another rope attached to the other end of the net. The whole operation creation a half-kilometer long “U” with a net at the bottom of the “U”.

Once the entire crew was back on shore, they split into two groups and started pulling on the ropes. Each side had a drag the rope in for a half-kilometer. It was very hard work (I helped for a little while and was exhausted from just 5 minutes of pulling).

We got to watch several crews work throughout the day and some scored enormous catches, while others were nearly skunked.

I wondered what it would have been like for a rabbi to show up on the beach, just after a crew had finished working. Their arms are exhausted and their spirits extinguished from not catching a thing. And then this “non-professional” says to try fishing in a different spot.

It must have taken some serious faith for Peter and the others to say, “We have worked hard all night and haven’t caught a thing, BUT BECAUSE YOU SAY SO I WILL let down the nets.”

Jesus makes demands of us even when we are tired and dispirited. Some of these demands simply test our faith. Others leave to miraculous catches of fish.

REFLECTIONS ON COLORADO

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 22:47:52 +0200

Amy and I moved to our new home state in 1998 just a couple of weeks after we got married. It is the only place the two of us have ever called home together. I’ve thought a lot about leaving my home in the last couple of months, so I thought I would document some of my random thoughts:

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT COLORADO
θ I love the mountains. They never get old. Checking out the Front Range every morning was one of the highlights of my day.
θ I love the riverwalk area of Denver. I love the 16th St. Mall. I love the Brown Palace and the Capitol. I love the lightrail (although I’m not a huge fan of the new cars with all the ads on them).
θ I love the Broncos. Who would have guessed someone who hates professional sports would fall in love with a football team.
θ I love Highlands Ranch. I loved our house. I love the people who have been able to stay with us over the years. I love my Jamba Juice, my Tattered Cover, my Super Target, my Home Depot, as well as my bank, my movie theater, my post office, my rec center and my dry cleaners (which were all across the street). I loved watching movies in my basement with friends and watching YouTube clips after home group.
θ I love the Highline Canal Trail and the other metro trails throughout Denver. If they don’t beckon you to exercise, you may be a terminal couch potato.
θ I love Colorado sunsets.
θ I love The Next Level Church.
THINGS I DON’T LOVE ABOUT COLORADO
θ I think the weather in Colorado is dumb. I know everyone here raves about how it is sunny all the time. But seriously? Going to work in the nice warm sun and going home in the snow is dumb. Living in a place that has highs in the summer of 100+ and lows in the winter of -5 is dumb. Pick and extreme already Colorado. Stay within a 20-degree range for a whole day. I dare you.
θ And while I’m on weather: Coloradans, the phrase “if you don’t like the weather, wait 15 minutes” is kind of lame. You should stop using it.
COLORADO THINGS THAT WEREN’T MEANT TO BE
θ I’ve never been on the Coors tour. I meant to go several times, but I never got around to it. I have, however, been on the Budweiser tour and New Belgium, so I think I paid my dues to Colorado breweries.
θ I’ve never been to Aspen. I really should have checked that one out. I hear Durango is nice too. I’ll keep those on the to-do list for a visit one day.
COLORADO THINGS I WILL MISS IN THE NEXT 4 YEARS
θ I have lived here for over 12 years and now they are putting in an IKEA. Lame.
θ There is a good chance the first In-n-Out will arrive before we return in 2014. Bummer. If you could order a Double-Double animal style with no tomato in my honor, I would appreciate it.

I will miss Colorado. There is no place like home. But in a couple of days, home will be somewhere else entirely.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER AND FAITH

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:39:21 +0200

I was once told that prayer doesn’t change God, it doesn’t change my circumstances, but prayer changes me. I possibly even taught on that idea. I apologize if you ever heard me say that in a talk. It’s nonsense.

As I was thinking through the role of prayer and faith in the Scriptures recently, I stumbled upon an important concept. My prayers and faith changes OTHERS lives. Don’t believe me? Allow me to illustrate.

θ 4 guys let a paralytic down through a roof. Whose faith did Jesus see that prompted him to heal the man? Their faith. Not the paralyzed man’s.

θ A centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant. Whose faith impressed Jesus? The centurion’s faith. The servant was healed.

θ The disciples couldn’t cast a demon out of a boy. Was it the boy’s faith that mattered? No, it was the disciples’ and the father’s faith.

θ When you are sick, do the scriptures tell you that you need to believe more? No, they tell you to go to the elders.

The faith of others impacts me. The prayers of others impact me. My prayers and my faith impact you.

This is why Amy and I take prayer requests so seriously and we ask others to take ours seriously as well. God pays attention when his children cry out on others behalf.

THE MINISTRY OF FUNDRAISING

Sun, 4 Jul 2010 23:50:37 +0200

This last year has been a challenge for us. It has not been easy to raise money in 2009-2010. It is not very easy to make these requests of friends and family members. But we have been extremely blessed over the last year to be able see this year as one full of ministry.

When our friends Nathan and Becky Kendall challenged us at Denver Seminary to make a commitment to supporting missions, we thought we were simply making a decision to give our friends $50 a month (which we thought was a lot for poor seminary students!). What we had no idea of at the time was how God was going to use our relationship with Nathan and Becky to grow our relationship with Him. In the last 7 years that we supported them, our eyes were opened in new ways to how we think about money, missions, the world, and our role as followers of Jesus.

In many ways this last year has been very difficult for us as we have been outside of a defined ministry role for the first time in our adult lives. However, we recognize that we have been about the ministry of fundraising. Upon reflection, it really has been a year full of ministry.

For many of our supporters, we are the first missionaries they have supported. Hopefully, we can introduce them to God’s work around the world in ways they hadn’t been before. For others, God has asked them to stretch financially to support us. We have heard stories from some about how God has spoken clearly to continue to support us even though they lost their job. We begged them to stop until they found a new job, only to see their pained expressions. We were asking them to disobey what God had told them to do.

Amy and I do not enjoy asking people for money. Frankly, it sucks. However, we have seen God work in the midst of our weakness. For the last decade we have been ministering in areas of strength. Certainly God showed up in powerful ways, but we used many of our strengths. This last year we have been humbled to see God work in the midst of our weaknesses. That is comforting knowing we are heading to Mozambique where our weaknesses will greatly outnumber our strengths.

BIRTHDAYS

Tue, 1 Jun 2010 19:13:24 +0200

My youngest daughter, Alyson, celebrated her 4th birthday last week. As usual, Amy put together a great party and it was a fun time to celebrate my feisty daughter’s life. (Yeah - I called her “feisty”. Some have claimed she takes after her father that way...)

But next year’s birthday will be a much bigger deal because we will be living in a country where more than 1 out of 10 children do not make it to their 5th birthday. Pause for just a moment and let that statistic sink in. 1 in 10 kids don’t make it to their 5th birthday. As I think through the dozens of kids in first:link at TNL, I can’t imagine losing any one of them. But to imagine losing 1 in 10 is more than I dare ponder.

The map on this post shows the number of deaths of children in countries around the world per 1,000. Mozambique has the 7th highest infant mortality rate on earth! That is mostly due to malaria, a preventable and TREATABLE disease. You can find the original map here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Infant_mortality_rate_world_map.PNG

So if you have a kid who reaches another birthday, pause for just a moment and give thanks to your Father. What a blessing it is to live somewhere that we can take birthdays for granted.

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY...

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 17:46:36 +0200

One year ago today was my last day employed as a pastor at TNL. I expected to wake up this morning and be sad. After all, I am still living in Colorado, and I was expecting to be waking up in another country on April 30, 2010.

Yesterday, I was so sure of my future despondency that I actually called a couple of my good friends and asked them to check in with me today to cheer me up.

But as I woke up this morning I wasn’t bummed at all which was truly surprising. When I woke up this morning I was actually excited. Let me tell you why:

Yesterday our support level percentage was in the high 80s.
Today we have been pledged 90% of our monthly support!

A week ago I was wondering if anyone was going to rent our house.
Today we are signing a 4-year lease with a tenant for our house in Highlands Ranch!

Two weeks ago we had reached our goal of 5 supporting churches.
Today we have reached our DREAM of 7 supporting churches!

A year ago we had 3 supporters.
Today we have 92 supporters… and we only need 8 more!

especially

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:15:31 +0200

The scriptures command us to care about the poor. I hope that is not news to you. However, what might be news to you is that the New Testament doesn’t treat all needy individuals equally, and you shouldn’t either.

I have noticed this phenomenon while listening to the Bible on CD in my car. Jesus and the writers of the New Testament talk about the poor all the time, but they place a prioritization on two sorts of people in need: family members and other believers. Let me show you what I mean.

Paul tells us that our family should be a financial priority.

Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Timothy 5:8 TNIV

Hopefully that one is clear enough that I can move on. I want you to see how Jesus and the writers of the New Testament talk about the poor. Not all the time, but a lot of the time.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10 TNIV

Did you catch that? Especially. This verse doesn’t take away our mandate to love our neighbor (the old command), but it simply emphasizes the new commandment that Jesus gave us.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35 TNIV

Our hallmark as Christians, our business card, is not simply our care for the poor, but our prioritization of the needs of fellow believers.

So many Christians miss this element, even when they quote the following passage:

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these you did for me.”

That is not what Jesus said! He said:

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40 TNIV

According to Jesus, it is not what we do to everyone in need that makes us a sheep or a goat, but what we do to his brothers and sisters.

He also makes a big deal about his “little ones” throughout the gospels.
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is known to be my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly be rewarded. Matthew 10:42 TNIV

It doesn’t take much to demonstrate compassion or to be rewarded, just a cup of cold water, but again Jesus emphasizes a prioritization on his followers.

Why do you think that is? Why does Jesus place a special emphasis on his believers? If we really prioritize Christians, wouldn’t that draw people to the gospel just to get a meal or help with rent? Shouldn’t we prioritize those who have never heard of Jesus and focus on them?

What are your thoughts?

I will close with the words of Paul on the subject that seems to summarize this difficult-to-grasp concept:

Always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. 1 Thessalonians 5:15

How to say “no” when someone asks you for money (and not feel guilty)

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:18:44 +0200

Since Amy and I have been inviting people to financially partner with us for the last year, I have had plenty of opportunities to hear people tell us “no”. Sometimes it is done well, but other times it is not. So what is the difference?

In order to be able to tell someone “no” well, you need to be saying “yes” to the right things. That means that each of us is obligated to discern what God is calling us to do with our money. Scripture is clear on our financial obligations to the poor as well as to the propagation of the gospel and sustaining those who teach and lead us in worship. In short, as a follower of Jesus I have a burden to keep my financial house in order, and a burden to strategically use the resources in which I have been entrusted to advance and sustain God’s Kingdom.

However, my burden cannot be based on need. If you think about it, it is impossible to respond to need. There are too many needs we encounter each day. From the homeless family on the street to the Girl Scout standing at the grocery store, from the mass mailing we receive to the phone call from our alma mater and the text messages for relief efforts, we are inundated every day with “needs”.

We cannot respond to need. We must to respond to calling. I’ve taught on numerous occasions: You can’t do everything. You can do something. What is the something that God is calling you to do?

Our favorite “no” answers over the last year have come from individuals and churches who are able to articulate the exciting things in which they are partnering with God that prohibit them from financially partnering with us. It isn’t that they aren’t excited about us or what God has called us to do, it is just that God hasn’t called them to work with us. Their focus is elsewhere. So they get to say “no” to us knowing they are saying “yes” to what God has called them to do.

If your financial house isn’t in order, you should feel guilty when you have to tell people “no”. Find someone to help you clean it up. If you are attempting to respond to “needs”, you will always feels guilty when another need comes along that you can’t meet. However, if you know the joy of partnering with God in all of the things you are supposed to right now, then you know the bittersweet moments of being able to say “no” well.

THE DEATH OF LOLA

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:50:06 +0200

“Lola the Corolla” died on 09, December 2009. She was a great little car.

She was almost 14 years old. So young. So full of life. My first and only car.