Dear Friend in Christ,
As, in the United States where I write, we progress from Spring into Summer, growth is obvious. The trees are full of leaves, the plants are growing tall, the weeds are flourishing. There is life everywhere!
Scripture often compares us to plants. We are told to be rooted in Jesus (Col 2:7), to be grafted into Jesus, who is the vine (John 15:5), and to meditate on the Word like a tree planted by a stream (Psalm 1). We are told that, if we do, we will bear fruit (Gal 5:22-23).
Notice: It is a fact that no tree ever bore fruit by trying. And there is little more annoying than a person "trying" to be patient with you or "trying" to love you! We develop the fruit of the Spirit just like a tree. We are rooted in Jesus, we drink the water of Scripture, and we breathe prayer. As we do, fruit happens. God even places us in a forest of other believers!
This reminds me of EFAC. The mission of EFAC is to resource local leadership for biblically faithful teaching and mission. As Evangelicals we serve Jesus by acknowledging and living under the supreme authority of Scripture, as a Fellowship we work together with all who share our biblical commitment, as Anglicans we are part of a worldwide body of Protestant reformed believers, as a Communion we reach, serve and pray for our brothers and sisters on every continent. We are growing "fruit-bearing trees" for Jesus!
This month, we will be looking at the EFAC OKRs, enjoying the final installment of Life in Christ, and listening to an informative Church Society Podcast (see below), where you can learn more about the TRN's upcoming Kampala conference. At the bottom, you can also find a link to EFAC's May press release. I hope you enjoy the May EFAC newsletter. If you do, consider sharing the blessing and forwarding it to a friend. They will be happy you did.
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What in the World is an OKR and Why Should EFACters Care?
During the October, 2018 meeting of the International Council in Nairobi, the group spent quite a bit of time setting OKRs based on the agreed mission and vision of EFAC. These were honed and then officially agreed by the Executive Committee during their meeting on December 12, 2018. Since then, EFAC staff have been working diligently to implement them. What does that mean?
Good business practice for nonprofit organizations, which is what EFAC is, demands that the organization fulfills the mission and vision set, in our case, by the Constitution. You can find the full Constitution on the website
here
, but in a nutshell, our goal is to "resource local leadership for biblically faithful teaching and mission." (Advice gathered from professionals is that the mission summary must be less than ten words.) How do we know that we are fulfilling our mission? That is where OKRs come in.
"O" stands for Objectives. These are the overarching goals of the organization. Normally it is best to have 3-5. We have four; they can be found
here
(at the bottom of the page). The Objectives are usually big ideas and, because of this, it is difficult to assess how well an organization is doing at accomplishing them; they are not measurable.
Thus, KRs. "KR" stands for Key Results. These are definite and measurable tasks that fall within each Objective. They allow an organization to assess whether they are, indeed, accomplishing their vision. They also allow the organization to assess potential projects--do they or do they not fall within the remit of the agreed KRs? EFAC's KRs for each Objective can be seen at the bottom of the page
here
. Normally, an organization can consider that it accomplished the Objectives for the year if 70% of the KRs are in hand.
Currently, we are nearly halfway through the year--a good time to evaluate how EFAC is doing at accomplishing the OKRs set by the Executive Committee. A quick look shows progress is being made on all fronts. Watch this space over the next months to see exactly what is going on in each area.
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Under Christ Our Lord
edited by Peter Walker
Extract 4 of Life in Christ by John Stott, to be re-published by Langham Publishing May 30, 2019.
Jesus compares himself to a farmer and us to oxen in his service when he says “Take my yoke upon you” He is inviting us to submit to his authority, and he encourages us to do so by reminding us that he is gentle and that his yoke is easy and his burden light (Matt 11:29-30). He wants us to live under his authority.
But who wants to be “under” Christ? Is not such a position damaging to our human dignity? No, for there is no element of oppression in the way Jesus exerciseshis lordship, or of humiliation in oursubmitting to it. For his lordship has both a divinelegitimacy (Phil. 2:9–11; Eph. 1:19–23), and a matchless quality –far from crushing our personalities, it enables them to develop. Just as children grow best in a secure and happy home, so Christians grow to maturity in Christ under his loving authority. Christ’s lordship spells not frustration but fulfilment and freedom.
Our minds under the yoke of Christ
Jesus expected his followers to put their minds under his yoke. Notice how he changes the metaphor: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” The farmer with his oxen has become the teacher with his pupils. Jesus has founded a school in which all his followers are invited to enrol as students. He is not only the Saviour who lifts the burdens of “all who are weary and heavy laden” (Matt 11:28) but also the Teacher who imposes them.
Jesus’ earliest followers delighted to call themselves his “disciples”, “servants” or “slaves.” Humbly they submitted to his teaching authority and set about the task of bringing their minds under the tutelage of their new teacher. It was a gradual process, as theycontinued their training through the ministry of his Holy Spirit (John 14:25, 16:12–14); but,step by step, their understanding matured, of God and human beings, history and eternity, sin and salvation, creation and redemption, faith, love, righteousness and hope, Holy Scripture and Holy Spirit, life and death and final glory.
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EFAC News
Press Release
: On May 2, EFAC issued a press release concerning remarks made by Archbishop Josiah Fearon concerning EFAC at the Anglican Consultative meeting in Hong Kong. You can read it
here
.
Podcast
: Rev. Dr. Peter Walker was just interviewed by Ros Clarke of the Church Society. Be sure to listen
here
!
Articles:
To stay up to date with EFAC Global articles, be sure to
follow us on our
website
and
Facebook
.
EFAC Intercessors
: These faithful people are willing and able to pray for us and for all EFAC chapters.
So, if your chapter has a prayer need, please
email us
.
We will add your need to the monthly prayer request email. If you want to be an intercessor,
email us!
EFAC Website
:
What's new at our website? Check it out! We always have new posts (found on the
homepage
), new entries to the
calendar
, and new papers (found on the
Reading
page).
Incidentally, if you missed previous
newsletters
, they are available on the EFAC Global website under Resources, Reading, Newsletters. Or you could just click
here
.
While you're on our website, check out the whole thing and
let us know
what you think! Input is welcome.
New Book
: Andrew Bartlett, an EFAC friend, just published
Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light from the Biblical Texts
. This is on a debate about which evangelical people differ, and where EFAC has no preferred position. Bartlett's balanced study contains material to make those who hold either position think.
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Please join with EFAC Global in achieving the goal of encouraging and developing biblically faithful teaching and mission. Here are some suggestions for what you can do to help:
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Spread the Word!
When you receive the email newsletter,
share it with friends who may be interested.
Like EFAC Global on
Facebook and click
share on our posts.
Follow our
website and
share our posts through your social media feeds.
Invite us to your Church or church gathering, so that we can get to know you and your friends.
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Pray!
EFAC has a prayer team, but the more prayer, the better!
Do remember to pray for all EFACters around the world, that they will be faithful to the mission of Jesus Christ and powerful in His service.
We have BIG plans for 2019; pray that we find partners who can help make it possible to accomplish all that the Lord has instructed us to do.
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Give!
EFAC Global has tremendous potential for good, but we need to be adequately resourced.
Please
give generously, either by sending a check to either our British or our American address, or by clicking on the
donate button on our website.
We encourage you to
give us what you won't miss
every month. It is so helpful for us to be able to plan what we can do to help spread the Gospel throughout the world.
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