God Is Busy

February 2, 2012

Missions Fest 2012, Vancouver

The doors open to Exhibition Hall C under the sails in the Vancouver Convention center and I stop to stare.

“Wow.”

I’m not sure what I was expecting. After all, I was here in November for the Grey Cup Breakfast and know how large the room is. That’s not it though.

I think what gets me about Missions Fest 2012 is the variety within the 250 exhibits. Rows and rows of booths; its like Gospel meets Costco.

It’s then I realize afresh, God is busy. Just looking around makes a person want to join in the work He’s doing.

Besides the standard missionary organizations (which I don’t lump together to minimize their importance), are some notable specialties. This agency over here works with native Canadians, while at the booth next door, they focus on smooth adoption processes for orphans around the world. I think, if the whole world was like me, both of these needs and many others would be overlooked; thank God for diversity! This fellow here is busy translating the Bible into 6009 languages, while these guys are taking care of Vancouver’s mentally handicapped.

It was a real eye-opener to be on location at one of the booths, periodically refreshed by the stories of dozens of passersby. “Have you heard of Power to Change?” I ask. This one time, I don’t get the usual “yes” or “no.”

“Saved my life,” says the man. He proceeds to tell me about never having heard the hope of Christ until he was 34 years old, through a Campus for Christ meeting. It resulted in great personal loss: his wife left him and two of three children still do not know the Lord. I hurt for him and he moves on, our discussion painfully brief. Then, I ask an elderly man about his story and he proceeds to tell me about a bathroom stall in China.

“Just a hole in the ground, is all it is. One minute I’m putting five bags of Bibles into three, and the next I’m in prison. How’d they catch me? Officer looked under the door and said my feet were pointing the wrong way.” I make a mental note to remember that next time I’m smuggling Bibles in a bathroom stall.

There was an older gentleman there who married Miss Minnesota (I believe him, too). His story of true love and true heartache pulled me in, which is apparently not an uncommon side effect. An old man now, he uses his love story to lead people to Jesus. And I come out of yet another conversation with a woman who has inspired me to learn about Jewish feasts and their significance in our lives today.

Many people came to our booth. Halfway through the weekend though, most of our visitors were inquiring about the 35 Day Challenge.

“I’ve heard about this… what is it?” they ask. Some had heard second-hand while others had caught the vision during Leonard Buhler’s seminar about evangelism (his was one of a hundred other seminars at the conference). Appreciated by listeners for his story-telling and pragmatism, Leonard explained the realities of sharing our faith, as well as provided a practical means of doing so.

“In Canada, we need to change the way we evangelize. We’ve found 19/20 people turn their backs on a ‘4 Spiritual Laws’ tract but most of those people are willing to talk about their cravings. It’s an effective way to approach someone with the Gospel.”

However, since a 50-minute seminar doesn’t provide nearly enough time to unpack the how-to of evangelism, Leonard encouraged the audience to sign up for the 35 Day Challenge which provides daily resources via email. It’s a free how-to manual in a culture that opposes conventional approaches.

“This thing is great, I’m bringin’ back my buddies,” says a twenty-something who clearly understands the simple vision of the 35 Day Challenge. I’m intrigued by his enthusiasm.

“What do you like about it?”

“It’s a movement you know? It’s gunna catch on.” And guess what? He brought his friends back, like he said he would. Twice.

He wasn’t the only one excited. At one point, a flood of kids leaving the youth rally Friday night made their way through the exhibition hall, fired up for Jesus after Daylight Worship Band and Shane Claiborne.

Shane’s message put less emphasis on doctrine and more upon the reality that God is going to ask us one day if we took care of His people: faith working itself out. “Almost every time he opens his mouth, Jesus talks about the kingdom of God… It’s something we’re to bring on Earth.”

Shane’s “exemplary persons profile” didn’t include the likes of Lady Gaga or Lil Wayne, but instead he chose Saint Francis of Assisi and Mother Theresa to inspire the generation before him. “For some strange reason, God doesn’t want to change the world without you. If we listen really close, we can hear God say, ‘I made you. You are to be the body of Christ.”

What better solidification of 1 Corinthians 12 than to send the 1500+ gathered into one of the most exhaustive assemblies of God’s activity in this world? It’s as if Shane said, “Now go see some real role models.” They swarmed the booths, eager for information, not yet containing the rich legacies and wild adventures of older visitors, but with a quiet readiness rarely seen in their wild and restless age bracket.

The whole experience was good for the heart, as I realized that God is alive and on the move through His people, all over the world. I find myself thinking, “Unity in diversity” and even though it’s cliché… its also undeniably true.

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