Dear Friends at Friendship,
I'm in the last leg of the journey here in the States. I've visited my daughter Katie and her husband Dave in Austin, Texas. A few weeks ago we were present for the birth of our second grandson, Jackson. The boys are making comeback in the family! We have also spent time with our daughter Jenny, her husband Tim, and grandson, Benjamin in the greater Philadelphia area. Earlier this week we went to New York City, and among other things were able to see old friends, visit Yankee Stadium, and attend Redeemer Presbyterian Church. You may recall that Tim Keller has been my mentor for over twenty years. Now we are getting packed for a week of vacation at the Carolina shore. It will be a week of fishing, and being with the family we love a lot. Having said that we feel like we have two families--Stateside, and Taiwan. We feel toward you in many ways like we feel toward our own family. You have received us into your hearts and you into our hearts. As Paul says, "We thank God upon every remembrance of you."
This has also provided me time to read, reflect, and pray about the ministry in Taipei. I feel like the church is poised to make a greater impact beyond our own community so that we are better able to bless Taipei and places beyond. I've read some good books this summer that I would recommend to all. They are mostly about how Christ and culture intersect. Here are the books:
1. Andy Crouch, "Culture Making"
2. James Davison Hunter, "To Change the World"
3. Ed Stetzer, "Transformational Churches"
4. "Confucius and East and West". That's not the exact title, but close.
5. I've also listened to messages by Tim Keller and Matt Chandler.
Here is the summation of things read and heard and what I want to emphasize when I return: I am concerned that ordinary Christians understand that they are as called to ministry as pastors and missionaries. My son-in-law Dave just came back from a mission trip to Uganda in central Africa. He and my daughter Katie are being
changed as they attend an Acts 29 church in Austin, Texas and seek to live missional lives in their community. They are discovering Christ's call in their lives. This is because the gospel isn't simply about being saved from our personal sin so that we can all go to heaven, but basically live like everyone else during most of our hours at work, and play. Jesus came not only to die for our sins, but he rose again to give us a foretaste of a new world where someday he will be the king over all. We have the great privilege of being His witnesses, His representatives in the world as we await His second coming. This means creating an alternate culture where people live 24/7 lives out of the power of the gospel. It means creating a new city within a city where we have new values, new approaches to how we relate to money, sex and power. It means sharing his love by both word and deed ministry It also means doing everything we can to plant other communities of faith who can also be living, physical, incarnational representatives of Christ's life in the world. During this time I have also had opportunity to connect with church planting networks like Redeemer, Acts 29 and the Presbyterian Church in
America's "Mission to the World." We need connections with others who have the same passion. These are good groups who embody this vision. When I return I want us to grow together as we seek not only to love Christ, but to love Taipei better. How we can live, work, relate, serve in such a manner that Taipei is blessed (experiences God's shalom) because of our presence? I need to hear from you because you know the city better than I. You will have ideas, connections, and opportunities that I will never have.
In the first few weeks of my return, I want to share a few messages about our mission again. It's on the bulletin every Sunday, "To glorify God for the good of Taipei." We glorify God in worship, but we also glorify God when we do good work in the culture. All of life is to be an expression of worship. Here are some of the themes I am exploring that I will unpack with you:
1. The gospel and hope for our lives
2. The gospel and hope for our relationships
3. The gospel and hope for our work
4. The gospel and hope for the poor
Be assured of my deep affection and prayer, and I look forward to seeing you soon,
Warm regards,
Pastor Dennis
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