“What’s in a name?”

Like I said, we have been thinking about what to name this ministry.  I never really thought about what all is involved in choosing a name for something like this, but in today’s internet-connected world there is a lot you have to think about.  How will it show up in search engines?  Does anyone else use the name? Is the name licensed or registered? Etc., etc., etc.

Cindy came up with the name we will use for our ministry (yes, we are going to start a charitable organization, but I’ll come back to that in a bit) after reading another great Bible passage that often gets overlooked because of its surroundings.

In Mark 6 there is a ton of stuff happening.  In verse 7 Jesus sent out the 12 on a “mission trip” of sorts, in verses 14-29 we have the account of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptiser being killed, then in verse 30 the disciples come back and tell Jesus all about their trip.  In verse 34 we have the beginning of the story of the feeding of the 5000 men.  All of these are great and important stories but tucked in there in verse 31 is a verse that often is overlooked, practically speaking if not theologically.

After the disciples reported back to Jesus all they had done and taught (a debriefing , if you will),  Jesus says to them, “Come away with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” That verse also notes that there were so many people coming and going that the team (Jesus and his disciples) didn’t even have time to eat.  So in verse 32, they get in a boat and go to a “solitary place”. Unfortunately for them, the crowd figured out where they were headed and followed them, so they did not exactly get the rest they were looking for – I think the same thing happens to many workers today. However I still think that Jesus’ invitation to His disciples, His co-workers, echoes across the years, “Come away with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest!”

We need to be reminded that God’s first and primary call to us is to BE WITH HIM.  As we are with Him, He then puts work before us to do, but we do that work WITH HIM as well.  Too often though, we get all caught up in the work, and then the burden becomes heavy and the work becomes hard.  We forget that in the middle of the busy-ness, from time to time Jesus calls us to “come away… and get some rest.”  Our desire is that this place would be a place where those involved in full-time ministry would be able to do just that.  It will be a place where Christian workers can get away to a quiet place for some “alone time” with Jesus and to get some rest.  And so we will call our organization (drum roll please...)  “The 631 Solution” – a solution to the situation found in Mark 6:31.

We are beginning the process of registering as a charitable organization and will pursue tax exempt status in the US in order to receive gifts and donations.  We’ll keep you updated on our progress.   In order for us to purchase the place we want, we are going to have to see God work in pretty powerful ways.  We are talking about more money than we could ever come up with on our own, so it will have to be God doing the providing.  We need prayer warriors to join with us in covering this whole project in prayer. As we talk to missionaries and other Christian workers, the need for such a place is obvious to us.  As we share this vision, almost everyone says “When will you be open?  When can we come?”  Just as God is Lord over the finances, He is also Lord over the timing.  Will you pray with us that we will see this vision become a reality sooner, rather than later?  Will you share this vision with others and ask them to join with us in prayer too?

In the next post, I’ll tell you a bit more about the place where we believe we should open this refuge, and why we feel like it is the right place.