If you only learn stuff you already know, meetings are boring. Since you already knew what was taught, and you are doing your best, how are you going to change? By trying harder?

Jesus understood this. He taught people different ways to behave and to think about things.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).

“It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28) 

We practiced engaging with changed thinking at the marriage conference.

After the opening supper meal, Deanna led the group in an Immanuel Prayer session. When you seek the presence of Jesus, it helps relational circuits turn on.

Each session opened with worship.
The next morning, I opened with a well-known text in Genesis 2.

“Then the LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him’” (Genesis 2:18). 

I highlighted the word “helper,” and we discussed the meaning. It was very easy. Everyone knows that if a bricklayer has a helper, the bricklayer is the boss. If a mother has a helper, the mother tells the maid what to clean or cook. She is clearly the boss. The power dynamics are clearly verticle. Simple.

Except that Bible authors used the word differently. The Hebrew word is used 16 times in the Old Testament and is usually God helping or rescuing people who need help.

1. HELPER

I have a computer program that enables me to find the original Hebrew word and then search the Bible for that word to see how the ancient authors used the word.

I asked them to form small groups of two couples each and gave each group a number and different Bible verses where the Hebrew authors used the helper word.

1. Discuss how the word helper was used in your Bible verse.
2. Compare that context to Genesis 2:18.
3. Discuss how the ancient authors thought about the power dynamics between the helper and the one being helped.
4. Come back in 15 minutes and share how you think about the power dynamics between the helper and the helped.

Groups would call me over.

“We don’t understand.”
“Well, who is helping who in your verse?”
“God is rescuing someone.”
“So is God the helper?”
“No.” 
“But does he help?”
“Yes.”
“That is the dynamic that you are to discuss.”

Puzzled looks all around because the power relationship was backward.

I could see their brains lock and slowly reengage as they searched for different ways to think about a helper who was not less than them, power-wise. I spoke as little as possible because if I gave them the answer, it would be my answer.

2. POWER DYNAMICS

For the second hour, we brainstormed ways that husbands and wives exerted power over one another to get their way.

We got a whiteboard full of ways. The room was full of emotions and laughter as hidden dynamics came to light.

We talked about whether we really wanted to manipulate or coerce our spouses or if we really wanted to be manipulated or coerced to keep the peace.

I taught them how to actively listen to one another as peers without racing to a solution.

3. COURAGE

For the third session, we brainstormed another whiteboard full of situations and reasons why it takes a lot of courage for both sides to stop the manipulation/coercion habits when emotions are high.

We closed with the small group of four taking turns coming up and sharing their key learning from the morning. By this time, everyone wanted a chance to talk. Each of the four. The pastors got up and wanted to preach. There was a buzz in the room that was helpful to learning. I was surprised. I had to limit them to 90 seconds each so we could get out by lunch.

The afternoon was free. The food was exceptional.

Deanna and Angelita led the second evening with teachings and exercises about lowering anxiety, complete with breakout groups and interaction.

Sunday morning, Clenildo let with communion and a renewing of marriage vows ceremony.

I was surprised by how well it went, and I am grateful for your prayers.

Clenildo officiated in the Lord’s supper and the renewal of marriage vows ceremony.

The participants of the marriage conference near Santarem, on the shores of the Tapajos Tributary of the Amazon River.

Timoteo, Nilma, Deanna, and Rick. Timoteo and Nilma are the pastors of the Vineyard Church in Brasil, Novo. “This is the best bread in town… this the best cheese in town… this is the best butter in town.” Timoteo and Nilma pulled out all the stops, and we ate a delicious breakfast together, eating the fat of the land.

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Timoteo and Nilma

Six hundred kilometers into our 1,000 km journey to Santarem, we stopped to have breakfast with Timoteo and Nilma, the pastors of the Vineyard church in Brasil Novo. It was Timoteo’s 60th birthday, and he caught a ride with us to Santarem to visit his 89-year-old mom, who still lives in a remote region. After we dropped him off in Santarem, he still had a three-hour boat ride to Lago Grande and a one-hour car ride to his mom’s home. Timoteo and Nilma were among the first Brazilian pastors to take us under their wing and help us get started in Brazil.

A Close Call

In April 1994, Luke Huber died in a two-seater ultralight plane accident. Timoteo was supposed to be on the plane with Luke, but a Canadian visitor took his place at the last minute. Timoteo got bumped. Luke was the founder of PAZ Mission and their church-planting movement, and he had a gift for attracting and releasing young leaders like Timoteo. When the plane crashed into the water and sank, Timoteo told us, Luke died on impact, but Lloyd had a knife, so he cut the harnesses, freed himself from the wreck, and surfaced. Timoteo said that had he gone with Luke, he did not have a knife, so that felt like a close call.

We First Meet Timoteo

Deanna and I had been in Brazil for nine months when Luke died. We continued with our plan to live for one year with the PAZ mission, then to move across town for a year to learn to function in the Brazilian culture as church planters. Paz, also known as the Vineyard churches in Brazil back in those days, had many small churches in Santarem. I walked the streets for weeks and finally found a house to rent in a bairro called Floresta, where Timoteo was the pastor. About 20 people went to the church at that time. They had ten benches that were small, 8-inch-wide board with no backrest.

Elba

When we moved from the mission headquarters to Floresta, Deanna needed a helper in the house. The other experienced missionaries told us not to hire non-Christians. Elba had recently moved to the city from a small town on the Amazon River so she could go to high school, and when she came to our door looking for work, Deanna was grateful. Three weeks later, Elba became a Christian at the small church where Timoteo was the pastor.

A Survey Trip

Later that same year, 1994, I invited Timoteo and Ross, another missionary and Deanna’s brother, to go on a survey trip to Altamira. It was 14 hours over adventurous roads. The powdery dust was about ten cm thick, and if we drove slowly, it would ripple out in waves away from the tires. It hung thick in the air for about two kilometers behind semi-trucks, making passing them challenging. Timoteo brought a sack of “farela de peixe” and farinha, so we ate that on our journey.

Fishermen make farela de peixe by catching fish and drying them on the cement waterfront. After the fish are cracker dry, they pound them into a kind of flour, bones and all, then scoop them into big plastic bags. You take a big pinch and some farinha and enjoy the flavor until it is moist enough to swallow. You get used to the smell. We picked up some hitchhikers, and they rode in the dusty, open back of our Toyota Bandeirante 4×4. Then we came to a forest fire. The smoke was thick, and the guys in the back yelled to hurry as it was hot. We saw the flames jumping across the road ahead as big trees burned. I could not stop because we were too far in, and there was thick dust and smoke behind us, so I stepped on the peddle and sped up. Thankfully, that all turned out ok.

God Shows Us Altamira is a Good Place to Start Planting Churches

When we arrived in Altamira, we dropped Timoteo off at a government farming agency to ask about the availability of a small acreage. At the same time, we went and fueled up the truck. When we returned, Timoteo came running out white as a sheet. The agency had sent him up a few blocks to another agency by a bank. Gunmen were robbing the bank, and he could hear the shots shooting outside the door. A man ran into the agency where Timoteo stood and got shot through the leg. He landed bleeding on the floor in the hallway as he tried to escape deeper into the government building. Since there were agency people to care for him, Timoteo slipped out to intercept us so we did not end up in the middle of the scene. Ross and I understood God was confirming our call to Altamira because they needed the gospel. Then we saw a blue Chev pickup driving around with soldiers and guns in the back, looking for the bandits. A couple of years later, we bought that blue pickup for the mission, and it served our mission for many years. Timoteo never stopped recounting and telling stories for the whole six-hour drive from Brasil Novo to Santarem.

Lunch in Santarem

When we got to Santarem, we dropped Timoteo off to continue his journey to see his mom. The next day, we had lunch with Elba, who was unexpectedly in town helping with an exposition at the shopping mall for the NGO she started. Elba is also the vice-president of the Association of Vineyard Churches in Brazil, and together with Steve and their two daughters, they are now church planting in Belem, our state capital.

Conclusion

It continues to amaze me how far God can take people when they keep saying yes and getting back up again.

Fatima (white shirt with a blue-collar) and Daide (far right, big smile) worked with Elba and many others to start a dentist ministry that helps the less privileged.

Renato posted these photos on social media recently. He and Serinalva and friends from their church in Porto de Moz travel to river villages to expand the Kingdom. Discovery Groups are helpful because they are a way where minimally educated people can meet together to get to know and obey God, even when people from far away delay in returning. When “professional” Christians come to visit, or Christians with more experience in education, that is also super helpful for answering questions and for getting past complex situations.

It is not uncommon to visit villages that are six or more hours away by boat. Brazilians struggle with working for living expenses like everyone else, so time on mission trips is a labor of love, and frequent trips without outside money for a living are difficult. Still, if we feel called to start church-planting movements that sweep across the Amazon, it is helpful if the leaders find ways to serve God within their own reality.

I helped plant rural churches for years that met whenever we showed up, but when outside “professionals” stopped coming, many groups went dormant. “We’re waiting for someone to come visit us again.” With the Discovery Group evangelism model, they can keep developing their personal relationship with God, and even help others meet and grow spiritually.

A missionary friend who experienced success told me he invested their time and money primarily in training events with the hope that the new churches would develop a culture of helping others even as they have been helped.

Finding ways to help God start sustainable church-planting movements is a continual complex conversation for everyone involved.

Ideas or Thoughts?

The prião church was closed for years, but they are meeting again and experiencing growth.

Several missionaries helped sacrificially with this village church, and seeing their renewed vitality within their own ecosystem is encouraging.

I downloaded this photo off of social media this morning.

Watching for examples of sustainable growth and learning what they are doing differently might help us understand how the gospel can sweep through the Amazon again, rescuing hopeless people.

Mangos are like apples and bananas in that there are many varieties. We have manga rosa, manga comun, manga bacuri, manga maça, and manga caja on the mission property and around our house. Each variety is more delicious than all the others…

The sound that strikes paralyzing fear into lizards, frogs, and small birds.

Are you ever amazed that God designs mangos to start as flowers that get transformed, partly by the energy of sunshine, into large fruit?

1. Get a good photo. These bougainvillea are growing by our driveway.

2. Remove some unwanted objects. Add a few flowers.

3. Play around with effects. I only allow myself time to do this on Sunday mornings when I write this MailChimp. It’s a lot of fun!