Tag: Talents

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The Remarkable Florence Young

The Remarkable Florence Young

Sacred Agents

Andrew Turner of Crossover writes about the remarkable story of Florence Young in his Sacred Agents blog.

Recently at a gathering of Baptist leaders from around the Pacific, I was privileged to meet Eric Maefonea and Thomas Weape, leaders of the Baptist movement in the Solomon Islands (the South Seas Evangelical Church). They spoke of their movement of over 600 churches, and 100,000 members. One in seven Solomon Islanders is a SSEC member. ‘But did you know how we got started?’ asked Eric. 

Who is Florence Young?

In 1882, Florence Young was 25 years old and still a relatively new Christian.

Invited to visit her brothers, who’d bought a sugarcane plantation in Bundaberg, she was ready to set off from Sydney when a couple of friends offered to pray for her. They all knelt together, and after her friends had prayed, she went to stand up. ‘Why don’t you pray, too?’ they asked. 

This was not something she was confident to do. In fact, quite the opposite. She desperately tried to put words together, but nothing would come out, and after a couple of agonisingly awkward minutes, one friend finished for her.

Being A Blessing

She journeyed north feeling acutely embarrassed, but also unable to shake off of one her friend’s prayers – asking God to make her a blessing to everyone she saw on the plantation. 

On arriving, she saw a housekeeper with four young children and decided they must be her mission field. She offered to teach them Bible stories – and even managed to pray in front of them! But she realised that she also saw 80 indentured Melanesian labourers, rough, uneducated, without English, and most of all, without the gospel. Should she offer to help them too? 

To her surprise, ten showed up to her first lesson, where she used a chrysalis as an object lesson to describe the transformation God brings. It took weeks to get beyond ‘God – so – loved’ in her Bible lesson. But already more and more workers were attending, some returning to learn every evening. Gradually friends and connections joined in the work, which spread to other plantations and towns.  

When the Federal Government eventually outlawed such overseas labour schemes, over 2,000 workers had been baptised and taught the Bible essentials!

Undeterred

But would they keep their faith upon returning to the Solomons? To find out, she bought a boat, didn’t she?

And to her delight she found that the faith was not merely being kept, but shared. Churches and mission stations multiplied – 179 by her last visit – despite the very serious dangers of disease, ship-wreck and cannibalism. 

It’s a great story, worth reading in more detail. I’ve not even mentioned Ms Young’s two stints in China and one nervous breakdown. But I love how powerfully God works through even the weak and shy – especially through them – when they pay attention to the sacred agent’s assignment to be a blessing to all they see. And to really seeing! 

Who do you see?

Andrew Turner, Director of Crossover.

Andrew Turner is Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries. Photo: missiology.org.uk

The Remarkable Florence Young

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Turning One Talent into Two

Turning One Talent into Two

Sacred Agents

Andrew Turner of Crossover reflects in his Sacred Agents blog.

Sacred agents have a strong sense of responsibility – or at least we should have. I’m sure you’ve noticed how many of Jesus’ stories are about whether agents will be found faithful when an absent master returns. So we have an eye on that day as we go about doing what we can with what’s been entrusted to us. 

But there may be times and seasons where we feel we’re not kicking goals or making much of a difference. It may simply be that the Spirit is giving us a season of rest between assignments – in that case resting is the assignment we’re to be faithful with! But still there are times when we feel we’re just spinning our wheels, and not bearing much fruit (like some bogged and barren motorised citrus tree). 

Multiplying Talents

What to do with our talent in such a season? The bottom line, says Jesus, is to put it in the bank and at least make some interest. Better than burying it, anyway. But if you’re looking to do a bit better, here’s an idea: 

Find someone who is bearing ministry fruit, and help them out.  

One of Jesus’ lesser-known sayings is this: ‘Whoever receives a prophet because they are a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous person because they are a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because they are my disciple, truly I tell you, they will never lose their reward.’ Matthew 10 

Doing Laundry for the Kingdom

It makes simple sense. If you do something practical to enable someone with a fruitful ministry to produce even more fruit, then that extra fruit happens because of your action. If Billy Graham came to town and was planning to do a day of laundry, wouldn’t it be a no-brainer to do it for him, to enable him one extra speaking event? You might bring dozens of people into the kingdom just by standing in front of a washing machine. 

But it takes some humility, doesn’t it? It might be tempting to look at Billy and think, ‘When was the last time you hung out washing, Bill? This will be good for you. And give me some platform time for a change.’ It’s only when we realise that it’s not about us, that all the talents belong to the Master, and all that matters is that his ministry bears fruit, that we’ll open our eyes to see the creative opportunities we have – even when it feels like nothing’s happening.  

What ministries are flourishing in your neck of the woods? And how might you get a piece of their reward? 

Andrew Turner, Director of Crossover.

Andrew Turner is Director of Crossover for Australian Baptist Ministries. 
Photo by Scottsdale Mint on Unsplash

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