{"id":17746,"date":"2018-05-24T05:37:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T12:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=17746"},"modified":"2018-05-24T05:37:57","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T12:37:57","slug":"will-you-join-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/will-you-join-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Will You Join Me?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jackie Pullinger\u2019s life story, Chasing the Dragons, <\/em>is inspiring and convicting. Her grit and perseverance liken the sacrifice of Mother Teresa and the tenacity of Rosa Parks. When the only criticism of her work (literary and contribution to the community) can be found on websites which question the validity of the Christian faith, it\u2019s evident she is highly respected and God ordained.<\/p>\n

Jackie\u2019s first act of total surrender to God\u2019s will and purpose for her was the purchase of a one-way \u201cboat ticket for the longest journey she could find\u201d.[1]<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0Hong Kong became her mission field in 1966 and she still is serving there today. Jackie withstood danger, persecution, poverty, filth, and language barriers. She faced discouragement and failure but she never deterred. \u201cUndaunted, Jackie was determined to bring the gospel to the Walled City\u2019s inhabitants \u201cI loved this dark place\u201d she later wrote. \u201cI hated what was happening in it but I wanted to be nowhere else. It was almost as if I could already see another city in its place and that city was ablaze with light. It was my dream. There was no more crying, no more death or pain. . . . I had no idea how to bring this about but with \u2018visionary zeal\u2019 imagined introducing the Walled City people to the one who could change it all: Jesus.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

There are several poignant and important lessons in Chasing the Dragons – <\/em>the power of the spirit through speaking in tongues, the power of living like Jesus rather than talking about him, and the power of women in ministry. Applying these three vital components of ministry to the protestant faith in the United States gives me pause. How are we doing here (stateside) in our clean, orderly, church on the corner? My first reaction is \u201cnot so well\u201d! How should our ministry evolve to be effective? Here are my thoughts\u2026<\/p>\n

Jackie started telling people in the Walled City about Jesus but made little impact. The only Christianity these people knew about was a Christianity that looked down on them and considered them worthless. Realizing she needed to demonstrate Jesus rather than talk about Him, she started a youth club to reach out to the thousands of young men whose only future lay with the Triads. Most of these young men were addicted to heroin or opium.[3]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

We need to stop judging! Christians are dubbed \u201chypocritical\u201d by non-Christians.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because we are.\u00a0 We judge, we rank sin based on our own understanding or our own biases and discomforts. \u201cDo not judge or you too will be judged\u201d Matthew 7: 1-2. God will be the judge of each of us\u2026\u201cYou hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.\u201d Matthew 7:5. Instead, view situations and people with the eyes and heart of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Talking with a young man who expressed interest in Christianity one day she handed him a gospel of John to read, whereupon she did not see him again. Encountering him unexpectedly two years later she asked why he had stayed away so long. He answered: \u201cI wanted to know Jesus and you gave me a library.\u201d[4]<\/strong><\/sup><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The act of preaching the gospel and giving someone a Bible is not enough! Words and \u201clectures\u201d don\u2019t matter if there isn\u2019t lived faith and action behind them. We must become the hands and feet of Jesus, not just leaders in our faith communities who are esteemed for their knowledge and biblical teaching. Be vulnerable and real \u2013 this is the way for a non-believer to know Jesus.<\/p>\n

The book includes many cases where heroin addiction was instantly ‘cured’ without withdrawal symptoms, but with the addict immediately praying confidently in tongues and often receiving knowledge of Jesus despite barriers of language and literacy\u2026.It is, rather, an account of long haul work for the Kingdom where, despite many disappointments and apparent failures, faith and an almost na\u00efve trust and complete reliance on the Holy Spirit’s power push back the influence of evil and deprivation.[5]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Rely on the Holy Spirit! As controversial and uncomfortable as it might be, \u201cthe gift of praying in tongues, in Pullinger\u2019s experience, was a necessary and consistent part of the Holy Spirit\u2019s presence in her and her community.\u201d How appropriate to discuss just after Pentecost. Even Pullinger resisted praying in tongues for a lack of understanding it or its usefulness.\u00a0Yet, when she experienced its dramatic power, she eventually accepted that praying in tongues must be good; \u201csince God created and gave it, then who was she to judge or restrain it?\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0 How do you incorporate the Holy Spirit into your faith congregation?\u00a0 Do you avoid it or harness its power? Jackie shows that the spirit cannot be ignored because it has the power to fully transform.<\/p>\n

Now and again, people would say (concerning her ministry in Hong Kong), “Isn’t it WONDERFUL that God would choose a woman to go? I would say, “No, it’s not wonderful.\u00a0 Excuse me for being rude about God, but He can pick who He likes.” I mean, it’s no more wonderful for Him to send a woman than a man, or an old man or young woman.\u00a0 He picks who He wants.\u00a0 That’s His business.\u00a0 It was God’s wisdom that sent me.\u00a0 I was just doing what He made me for.\u00a0 That’s no credit to me; it\u2019s all credit to Him.\u00a0 If He’s made you for something, you just do it.[7]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Just do it! Jackie has boldly expressed her thoughts on women in ministry \u2013 If He\u2019s made you for something, you just do it. Jackie\u2019s path was not easy as a woman (although she is clear that women are accepted into mission work more than preaching\/teaching). Legalistically our \u201cchurch\u201d in the United States has done their own interpretation of the Bible related to women in ministry (some are accepting and some are not). Rarely is the faith community challenged like Jackie does in her statement. Women, we must listen to God\u2019s call for us \u2013 regardless of what the \u201cchurch\u201d says. If you are called to preach \u2013 then preach. And no Christian man or woman should question God\u2019s call on your life and talents.<\/p>\n

Jackie Pullinger\u2019s story is powerful and convicting\u2026I plan to evaluate myself and my ministry based on her clear demonstration of following God, the Holy Spirit, and His call on her life.\u00a0 Will you join me?<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> http:\/\/refuelscotland.org.uk\/2017\/12\/17\/jackie-pullinger-coming-refuel18\/<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Jackie Pullinger, Crack In the Wall: Life and Death in Kowloon Walled City (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1989), 16.]\u201d<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> http:\/\/refuelscotland.org.uk\/2017\/12\/17\/jackie-pullinger-coming-refuel18\/<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> http:\/\/refuelscotland.org.uk\/2017\/12\/17\/jackie-pullinger-coming-refuel18\/<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> http:\/\/www.cmf.org.uk\/resources\/publications\/content\/?context=article&id=1122<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> http:\/\/www.servantpartners.org\/index.php\/news\/160\/40\/Book-Review-Jackie-Pullinger-s-Chasing-the-Dragon#.WwVcJO4vz3g<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> https:\/\/godswordtowomen.org\/Pullinger.htm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jackie Pullinger\u2019s life story, Chasing the Dragons, is inspiring and convicting. Her grit and perseverance liken the sacrifice of Mother Teresa and the tenacity of Rosa Parks. When the only criticism of her work (literary and contribution to the community) can be found on websites which question the validity of the Christian faith, it\u2019s evident […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1261],"class_list":["post-17746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-jackie-pullinger","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17746"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17747,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17746\/revisions\/17747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}