NO-SPIN OPPORTUNITY: VIETNAM - Morris Ruddick

Morris & Carol Ruddick Having spent almost three decades working alongside some of the best from the advertising world, I know the fine line that can exist between the perception and the reality. In a world wrought with information clutter, as God's representatives, we need to follow the standard upheld by Jesus: eschew hypocrisy and avoid the spin. I spend prayerful time before the Lord both in preparing and during our venues. Then afterward, I prayerfully evaluate both the tactical and strategic results and implications from these "assignments." In order not to allow these opportunities to take on a life of their own, or if I could express it this way, to avoid a spin that reduces God-opportunity into the precepts of men, I view each venue as a standalone assignment and a sacred trust. The Pharisees had all the right foundations, but allowed what should have been God-opportunity to digress into a spin of a self-serving, self-promotional focus. In their zeal, human efforts bypassed the supernatural, blinding them in missing the forest for the trees. That is why I consider it so important to prayerfully ponder the impact of these "assignments," to grasp the difference between the tactical and strategic. The Realities and the Response It reduces the spin and keeps the focus on the God-opportunity. Solomon said that a dead fly would make the perfumer's oil stink (Eccl 10:1) and that a little foolishness can be weightier than wisdom and honor: a strong word for those whose ambitions have convinced them that the end justifies the means. "Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders labor in vain." Ps 127:1 For more than seven years, we've been exposed to the full range of the realities underway in Vietnam: spiritually, economically and politically -- within the Vietnamese infrastructure, within the church in Vietnam and within those attempting to come alongside those emerging as the "true players" in what God is doing. In a talk I gave not long after the doors had opened to us in Vietnam in early 2008, I framed the observation that God chooses the most unlikely candidates, to employ the most unlikely strategies, to bring about the most extraordinary results. Whether it has been the penetration of a society to redeem God's people during the time of Joseph, the leadership model to forge community unity through David or the Kingdom empowerment to conquer darkness through Jesus, this has been God's pattern. God uses the simple things to confound the wise. It has always been and it remains: no-spin, righteous opportunity. Compromise, phoniness and self-promotion are dead flies in the ointment. "Teach me Your ways O Lord and I will walk in Your truth. Unite my heart to fear Your name." Ps 86:11 The Big Picture Vietnam is on the cusp of revival. Not in any way to disparage the importance of evangelization, but revival does not equate with evangelization efforts. True revival is nothing short of the sovereign outpouring of God's presence. I recall in the early 70s that the consciousness of God's presence was everywhere. Even non-believers acknowledged it. People were hungry for God. It was the result of the amassing of prayers of people tired of the traditions of men, who were fervently reaching out to God as the psalmist advises (above) in Ps 86:11. With the exception of China, I know of no other place like Vietnam, where grass-roots prayer has manifested to such a level in this hour. The Vietnam house-church movement which began in the 1980s, for the most part, continues as a movement of prayer. The Least Likely Within that context, we've planted God's economy, often among some of the most unlikely. In one of our recent workshops, we ministered to a group of over a hundred, most of whom had come from pretty rough backgrounds on the streets. Among its members are ones who have been totally healed from the final stages of HIV. Yet now, set free as some of the most mobilized and sold-out of followers and leaders, they are zealously and strategically penetrating the darkness with new businesses and even a private Christian school. Along those same lines, a key part of what we do is to mobilize community builders, ones who are committed to be blessed to be a blessing through their businesses and enterprises. From the simplicity of these efforts, we're seeing fruit emerge. Because these efforts involve God's timing in this nation, we're seeing them dovetail with big-picture developments that only God could have orchestrated. Other than being busted at immigration for bringing in a small plastic sword among the toys, Carol's work with the orphans exceeded expectations and her efforts resulted in being asked how soon she could return. Carol was a part of a Vietnamese team that brought in food and also ministered to the leaders in this remote, rural orphanage. In all these efforts, not only are we seeing the most unlikely becoming the head and not the tail, but we are seeing change in the spiritual climate. Most importantly, our efforts have become aligned with the cusp of revival taking root from one end of this country to another. We likewise have been pursuing efforts with venues in which brethren from one region of the nation are reaching out to others in other regions -- Vietnamese helping Vietnamese. Heeding the spiritual realities faced by these brethren, we've targeted those who have made prayer a lifestyle and building their communities as their goal. It's what the Apostle Paul referred to as "the principle (law) of Christ" in bearing one another's burdens. The foundation has been firm and what is now emerging has bypassed not only our expectations, but even what is considered conventional wisdom within believing-circles. Again, it is God's most unlikely candidates, employing God's most unlikely strategies, to accomplish the most remarkable results. Thank you so very much for your faithful prayers and role in making these efforts possible. Gratefully in His service,

Morris Ruddick Global Initiatives Foundation 3838 South Wabash Denver, CO 80237 USA www.strategic-initiatives.org www.strategicintercession.org Global Initiatives is a tax-exempt 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization