Set Apart for Service

At the end of June, we stood before other missionaries and guests at One Mission Society's International Conference, and said these words as we were officially commissioned: 

By God’s grace and for His glory, I will live a surrendered and pure life, growing in Christ-likeness as I serve Him and others in the carrying out of the Great Commission.

It was explained to us this way by OMS Human Resources leader, Tommy: "This is a sacred moment. It is a setting apart for service as was first done in Acts 13:1-4."

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.  Acts 13:1-4. New International Version (NIV)

Four Charges: 

In addition to our verbal commitment, One Mission Society President Bob Fetherlin gave us four charges, which he explains this way:

• To put on your oxygen mask before helping someone else put on theirs – This is about taking good care of our own souls, ministering out of healthy, Christ-centered being. I urge you and others to nurture your souls through regular intake of the Scriptures along with prayer and other spiritual disciplines.
• To be a part of the Royal Order of the Towel – This is the idea of being a servant, following the example of Jesus who washed his disciples’ feet. He did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.
•  To follow the example of John the Baptist, who is described in John 3:30 as saying, “He (Jesus) must increase, I must decrease.” We are to live to be forgotten so that Jesus can be remembered.
• To enthrone Christ as Lord in our hearts – Lordship implies full ownership. If Jesus is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all. This involves all-out obedience and full allegiance to him.

This commitment, and these charges, are not just for those of us with OMS, but are appropriate for every follower of Jesus. If that's you, read through them again and ask yourself if this is a commitment you're making, too. 

For us, we've now made these commitments publicly during the service, and here in the blogosphere. As we strive, with God's help, to live out these commitments, we'll need grace when we fail, encouragement to keep going. The part that struck me the most (because though I know it to be true, I did not expect to hear it here) was the first charge, about taking good care of our souls. We were exhausted, overwhelmed, needing rest. (Thankfully, we had already booked a few days' vacation, something we have not done for a long time.)

Perfect Timing: 

For most people who become missionaries with One Mission Society, and for others in full-time ministry, this kind of commissioning happens earlier on in launching out into your role, almost as the final stepping stone before beginning in your ministry role. For us, it came after many years of serving the Lord and the people of Haiti through 4VEH. 

We'd been scheduled to be commissioned during a regular chapel service at OMS headquarters a few times over the last couple of years, and for various reasons, it kept getting postponed. And we got a little cranky about it. If this was an important step for us, why was it being postponed each time? 

After the second or third postponement, we stopped even mentioning it to people, not wanting to have to say it's postponed again. 

In God's great providence, being commissioned during the International Conference was better than we could have imagined. Because people who've played a key role in our journey to this point were already gathered together at the conference. We were honored, blessed and deeply moved to have this crowd of witnesses pray over us, in British, Haitian and American accents. Past and present leaders of OMS in Haiti, leaders from OMS-UK, and OMS-USA, people who have shared their wisdom, experience and friendship with us over the years. 

We're so thankful for these people, including the one who was so moved to tears that she could not pray out loud over us. She's the one who responsible for sending Storly to the U.K. to study. To the place where he and I would meet and fall in love. Talk about playing a key role in our journey!

Hannah and Esther had a fabulous time at conference, too. Here they are with the rest of the kiddos practicing one of the songs they learned about being a light in the world.