Behind the Scenes
September-December 2013 Volume 113, No.3
Try Thanksgiving
In April, OMSers participated in our monthly prayer rally here at the OMS World Headquarters. The theme was “Praise Changes Things,” based on a booklet by OMS cofounder, Lettie Cowman. I was intrigued. Of course, I had heard about and believed that prayer changes things … but praise changes things? Then, I realized that, yes, I had lived through and believed in this concept for years of my own life challenges—just never thought of it in those terms. While living in Mexico, we adopted the “10 good things” rule. We could not go to sleep until we had listed 10 good things that had happened that day and praised God for them. It helped a lot when things got hard. It changed our attitudes and, at times, our circumstances. In the praise booklet, Mrs. Cowman shared ideas, using Scripture to describe the importance of praising God, despite his not answering how we wanted or as quickly as we thought he should. She taught that we must learn to praise him despite the circumstances and praise him because of the answers. We certainly must pray, but we must also praise. Martin Luther said, “When I cannot pray, I always sing.” I love that. In this issue of OMS Outreach, we share stories of praise in the midst of challenges, as well as stories of praise because of what he has done. Enjoy!
OMS Outreach equips Christians to make disciples of Jesus Christ through informative, inspiring and involvement-driven articles, which leads to deeper mission participation by serving, giving and praying.
Office of the President
Editor and Director of Communications Susan Griswold Loobie Associate Editor Lori McFall Senior Graphic Designer W. Foster Pilcher President David Long Executive Director of International Ministries Rev. Randall Spacht
Australia—Mr. Ian Bongers, office manager www.onemissionsociety.org.au Canada—Mr. Bryan MacDonald www.onemissionsociety.ca New Zealand—Owen and Avalon Brown, interim www.onemissionsociety.org.nz South Africa—Rev. Bruce Bennett www.omssa.co.za United Kingdom—Mr. Donald Coulter www.onemissionsociety.org.uk United States—Mr. Joel Silverman www.onemissionsociety.org
Praising God in Good Times and Bad
A prevailing theme of the Psalms is that God is to be praised. In Psalm 145, David, a king himself, celebrates the kingship of God with praise forever and ever. Often praise and thanksgiving are thought of as the same action and attitude. It is true that praise will include gratitude, but it is much more. “To praise” means to publicize the excellence of someone, which includes honoring, glorifying, extolling, magnifying, and so on. The disciple of Jesus is to develop a life of praise. When the attributes of praise are understood, it is seen how pervasive praise is intended to be. Praise is generally public (Ps. 26:12), and it is intended to lead others to praise (Ps. 40:3). The psalmist writes, “I will bring honor to your name in every generation. Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever” (Ps. 45:17). We intuitively understand that praise is performed with more than words, but we may not be consciously aware of how extensive praise is to be. God teaches children and nursing infants to praise (Ps. 8:2). The heavens and earth, seas and all that moves in them praise him (Ps. 69:34). The fields and their crops, even the trees of the forest, rustle with praise (Ps. 96:11). If that leaves anyone out, all living things are to praise him (Ps. 98:7); everything he has created is to praise God (Ps. 148:5). To praise God means to acknowledge who he is, to recognize or acknowledge God’s salvation, his mighty deeds, his honor and majesty, (Ps. 104:1) his goodness and faithfulness (Ps. 106:1), and his enduring love and unequaled greatness (Ps. 150:2). Perhaps this is another way of stating the purpose of One Mission Society. By God’s grace, we make disciples of Jesus. But what is a disciple? A disciple is one who praises God, in good times and in bad, because he or she has caught a glimpse of the majesty of God, wants to give honor to God, and wants others to join in the praise of God. Praise his name forever and ever.
Affiliate Countries
One Mission Society World Headquarters 941 Fry Road • Greenwood, IN 46142-6599 317.888.3333 • 317.888.5275 FAX [email protected] Cover: Design by W. Foster Pilcher All photos courtesy of missionaries, volunteers and partner churches of One Mission Society unless otherwise noted.
By God’s grace, One Mission Society unites, inspires, and equips Christians to make disciples of Jesus Christ, multiplying dynamic communities of believers around the world. One Mission Society is an evangelical, interdenominational faith mission that makes disciples of Jesus Christ through intentional evangelism, planting churches, and training national leaders in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. OMS then joins with those churches in global partnerships to reach the rest of the world.
Subscriptions and Contributions: OMS Outreach is the official publication of One Mission Society and is published three times per year at the One Mission Society World Headquarters in Greenwood, Indiana. Please send all address updates or preference to receive the magazine online (we need your email address) rather than hard copy to: [email protected]. Outreach is sent free of charge to all OMS partners, but donations are greatl ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????=5L?=??????????A