Lessons from Oz
Eight flights and 12 lodgings across 10 cities in five states (of only seven!). More than 37 trainings and meetings, with nearly 750 people. Deep, rich, intentional time with 48+ churches' leaders, over the course of 38 days. That’s the “quantitative” side of our family’s summer, several weeks of which was spent in Australia (in slang, “Oz”). But the “qualitative” side is what I want to share in this Equipping Group summer recap.
First, some backstory: one of the greatest joys of our organization is getting to shape trainings around relationship, interaction, and depth, in addition to the content itself. It was a huge honor, then, after meeting leaders and sharing trainings in Australia in 2022 and 2023, to be asked to spend a longer time in the country in 2024. Our hosts’ hope was that we could visit a few cities, giving more time to each – for training sure, but also for follow-up conversations, meetings with leaders, church gatherings, and relational depth. So by God’s grace and the partnership of many organizations, churches, and households on both sides of the Pacific, we flew away June 15. For the next five+ weeks, we spent time in and near Cairns, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, and Melbourne, before returning home July 23.
It'll likely take awhile for everything to fully settle in, but our Equipping Group team asked me to reflect on our time there for this last summer email. So knowing that I learn and glean far more than I could ever train every time I’ve visited a new church, context, or country, here are five truths (among many!) that I was reminded of in Australia:
1. Hospitality matters
If hospitality is the art of making strangers feel welcome, then Australian friends – old and new – were great at hospitality. We stayed in host homes in nearly every city we visited: in most cases we had met our hosts previously, but never stayed with them; in one place, we were literally total strangers! And yet, in every case we were welcomed with joy and generosity; we were offered treats and good food; we were given rides and/or lent cars (a risky move, since it meant I would drive on the “wrong” side of the road); our hosts rearranged their schedules to spend quality time with us. We could not have felt more welcomed – and it led me to reflect on the “strangers” I see in my everyday life back home: those I’m too busy for; those I could be more generous toward; those I could bless if I were a little more intentional.
2. Pace matters
In both obvious and subtle ways, Australian culture forces a slower pace than US culture does: one pays inside at gas (petrol) stations; clothes washers are smaller than they are in ‘murica, and clothes dryers were rarely used – so one dries clothes outside and laundry simply takes longer; there are massive fines for speeding, and even holding phones at red lights (more on that in a moment). Morning and afternoon tea breaks are real, and invite moments of pause and conversation throughout the day. People are still busy; stuff still gets done; needs still arise and need to be met – so I’m not trying to over-glamourize the pace. But we did appreciate the comparative slowness, and are seeking ways to bring some of those lessons home with us.
3. Relationships matter
As mentioned, this trip’s goal was not to do as many trainings, in as many places, with as many people as possible. Rather, the goal was longer and deeper time with fewer folks, in various cities. This provided rich conversations and deeper trust; on more than one occasion, it seemed like the most fruitful aspects of our time came in the midst of an unplanned pub conversation, or in an unhurried late night, sitting on sofas. Ministry and mission is, in some ways, incredibly unique in different parts of the world – that’s the point of contextualization. But in some ways, it is so similar: the tensions and goals, the pains and joys, the tears and laughter, the hard and good conversations, the many needs and varied seasons, the prayers and praises, the temptations of the enemy and the power of God… these kind of things cross culture and time. And while it was a joy to train, we were richly blessed by relationships across Australia. If you know me, it might not surprise you that I can trend more “task-oriented.” So the five-week reminder that ministry and mission are primarily about people (an obvious truth, I know, I know), was rich and needed, and is leading me to re-prioritize and reallocate some of my time.
4. Family matters
God was so gracious to our family: He truly provided everything we needed, in every sense of the word, for our time in Australia. He kept us all healthy and safe, and we came home with so much gratitude and many amazing memories. Everyone in our family did great, got along with each other(!), and had a lot of fun along the way. We each grew in unique ways: it was so sweet, for example, to see our kids engage multiple different cultures, ask really good questions, and embrace new experiences (from animals to cuisines to ways of life). Jess and I met doing ministry – we’ve been serving God and his people together since before we were dating! It is a massive joy to get to partner with my best friend, and this trip stretched her as she did more training than she is used to – and did better than she believes! But the new factor this year was our kids’ presence: in every city, both kids and adults engaged our kids, blessed them (in part with “heaps” of TimTams), introduced them to new games, and cared for them in many ways. They also watched how our kids engaged the various activities, and how Jess and I interacted with our kids. We were even invited to shoot some impromptu video training on “raising a family on mission,” which was an honor. The point is, family matters, both as a priority and gift from God to parents, and also as a vital reality for any form of mission and ministry: kids can respond well when given opportunities to serve, kids remind us of truths of the kingdom of God, and kids play a meaningful role in God’s work ...just like Jesus says they do! We are so grateful to God for our kids, and we were blessed to see His work in each of them on this trip.
5. Fun and rest matter
A few folks have asked how we balanced work and rest, ministry and family, during this whirlwind adventure. On one hand, we started planning the trip in February, and worked with our hosts in each city to create a schedule that worked for both local leaders and our family. In general, each city saw an average of three days of full-on training, and I had a few other sessions or meetings while the family explored. Then we had two or three days of fun and rest, before repeating that pattern in the next city. And we booked two “just fun” stops in the midst of our time. Planning ahead and clearly communicating let the actual experience feel balanced, and reminded us of how important the “day of preparation” is, for true “Sabbath” to occur, in any setting. On the other hand, Jess and I both trend toward structure – with calendars (me more than her!), diet (her more than me!), finances, etc. But we went into this trip expecting it to be the only time we will get to do such a thing – to that mindset freed us to be “looser” and more flexible. This, in turn, freed us to be more present with our kids and with people; to be more spur-the-moment with plans, opportunities, and adventures. We will not forget that ministry “work” was the motive and bulk of our trip and that we came home feeling pretty spent. But we had a lot of fun, experienced truly unique things, and rested well – relationally, spiritually, emotionally, etc. even if a little less physically – together.
Did everything go perfectly? No.
We were invited into some difficult situations in churches that will need ongoing attention. We had some awkward interactions. The many cities, late nights, and travel-weariness took a toll on each of us at times – and if anything took a hit, it was our normal early morning proactive time with God, coffee, and a Bible/journal. But we rest in his grace, knew his presence, and felt – in some ways – more dependent on God than we do during “normal life.” So, there are more learnings and lessons in these things as well. We are beyond thankful and blessed by this incredibly unique opportunity – to God; to Soma Australia and The Equipping Group board/team; and to the other churches, organizations, and households for making this trip a reality.
Perhaps another time I’ll share more about the actual trainings – from everyday gospel & everyday discipleship to pastoral training; from Soma School to Sunday preaching (on mission, the Bible, and even Esther!). We were grateful for each of those opportunities, and consider it a privilege to play a .00000001% role in serving the mission and ministry that folks are faithfully pursuing in Australia. But this is a more personal reflection: we are grateful to many of those faithful folks for inviting us in, for sharing their lives and culture, and mre. And we are grateful to God for this opportunity, and for reminding us of these (and many other) truths, which will shape our family and impact lives in untold ways for years to come.
