Commissioned!
This morning our team to Thailand was commissioned.
It was wonderfully significant as we stood together surrounded by friends, family, (my husband James) the Missions Committee and numerous people, people I didn’t even know, and they prayed for us, real, earnest, in-touch-with-God prayers. I FELT COMMISSIONED!
I had been sorry that my regular faith family had not had the opportunity to commission me, it didn’t seem right.
Yet it didn’t seem right to not be part of our 2005 Thailand team on my last Sunday in Christchurch for a while. So I went to the team’s Church. (It was the third time James and I had been there this week as we had also attended 2 funerals there.)
The music and singing was great, worship to be embraced by, and then we were commissioned. This was followed by preaching that will be a special memory in dry places at night in Thailand ~ and the enemy of my soul will make sure I have those! Finally communion, thank you God that we happened to be there for communion, Yes! we were thoroughly commissioned.
So what is it to be commissioned?
In my ignorance I thought it meant something like ‘sent out.’ Like saying, “Hello Father God, here is a group of people we have set aside to train and prepare and now we ask that you will accompany them to Thailand to use as You chose and bring them safely back forever changed people!”
I looked it up on my computer Thesaurus: It means ‘tailor made’ ‘made to order’ or ‘custom built.’ Really???? Am I a custom built temporary missionary? Am I tailor made for this work? Have I been made to order? Who ordered me? God did? Like, this all sounds far bigger that I dreamed of! I am an empty vessel. A sinner saved by grace. An often times failure striving to be real and perfected but I don’t feel ‘tailor made’ ‘made to order’ or ‘custom built.’
So then I went to the Concise Oxford Dictionary. (I know what you are thinking, why did I not do this exercise last year or even last week and you are right of course!)
So the C.O.D. says things like ‘warrant conferring authority,' ' as in a warship manned, armed and ready for use, in working order’ ah huh, now you’re talking! Entrusting a person to perform a duty, authority to act as an agent!
I get it and yes, I agree with this, I get it,
Ø I am in working order having prepared as much as I can for several months now
Ø I am entrusted by all those who have financially invested in me to perform a duty
Ø With the blood of Jesus cleansing me and the Holy Spirit empowering me I have authority in His Name to speak and pray believing I am called
Ø Actually through those who have invested in my life in other ways God has now made me to order, custom made me for the work, I am tailor made by His love and the love of those who care about what I do.
Today I have been commissioned, on Saturday I am going to Thailand. Thank you to the two churches that have been involved long term in my commissioning!
It was wonderfully significant as we stood together surrounded by friends, family, (my husband James) the Missions Committee and numerous people, people I didn’t even know, and they prayed for us, real, earnest, in-touch-with-God prayers. I FELT COMMISSIONED!
I had been sorry that my regular faith family had not had the opportunity to commission me, it didn’t seem right.
Yet it didn’t seem right to not be part of our 2005 Thailand team on my last Sunday in Christchurch for a while. So I went to the team’s Church. (It was the third time James and I had been there this week as we had also attended 2 funerals there.)
The music and singing was great, worship to be embraced by, and then we were commissioned. This was followed by preaching that will be a special memory in dry places at night in Thailand ~ and the enemy of my soul will make sure I have those! Finally communion, thank you God that we happened to be there for communion, Yes! we were thoroughly commissioned.
So what is it to be commissioned?
In my ignorance I thought it meant something like ‘sent out.’ Like saying, “Hello Father God, here is a group of people we have set aside to train and prepare and now we ask that you will accompany them to Thailand to use as You chose and bring them safely back forever changed people!”
I looked it up on my computer Thesaurus: It means ‘tailor made’ ‘made to order’ or ‘custom built.’ Really???? Am I a custom built temporary missionary? Am I tailor made for this work? Have I been made to order? Who ordered me? God did? Like, this all sounds far bigger that I dreamed of! I am an empty vessel. A sinner saved by grace. An often times failure striving to be real and perfected but I don’t feel ‘tailor made’ ‘made to order’ or ‘custom built.’
So then I went to the Concise Oxford Dictionary. (I know what you are thinking, why did I not do this exercise last year or even last week and you are right of course!)
So the C.O.D. says things like ‘warrant conferring authority,' ' as in a warship manned, armed and ready for use, in working order’ ah huh, now you’re talking! Entrusting a person to perform a duty, authority to act as an agent!
I get it and yes, I agree with this, I get it,
Ø I am in working order having prepared as much as I can for several months now
Ø I am entrusted by all those who have financially invested in me to perform a duty
Ø With the blood of Jesus cleansing me and the Holy Spirit empowering me I have authority in His Name to speak and pray believing I am called
Ø Actually through those who have invested in my life in other ways God has now made me to order, custom made me for the work, I am tailor made by His love and the love of those who care about what I do.
Today I have been commissioned, on Saturday I am going to Thailand. Thank you to the two churches that have been involved long term in my commissioning!
posted by ElizabethB | 4:42 PM
3 Comments:
Hmmm, it makes me think that a decommissioning service is also very important. I wonder what it should have in it? thankfulness and a sense of that particular task God has given you completed, a sense of needing to prepare and be equipped for the next commission?
Yes this sounds good in that it would bring a certain sense of closure to at least one years effort. We had such a closure for a missionary returning home from Niger yet with that there was a sense of sadness like the death of a long cherished dream.
I am not sure how it should be done for short term goers.
I did,not a decommissioning, but a recommissioning service for a missionary this year, attempting to help her wrestle with a changing commission from mission overseas to mission in NZ. It was a very helpful experience for me.
And I'm saddened that Opawa as a whole church couldn't be part of your commissioning Elizabeth. We had space ready and waiting, but such is the busyness of your life at this time I guess.
peace as you travel
steve
www.emergentkiwi.org.nz
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