TMB

First ever mass evacuation of tentmakers! 

/ Ari Rocklin

Ari Rocklin

This has been a tough month for tentmakers in the troubled region of the world. As I watched this quickly developing turmoil, from one country to the next, I received a word from the Lord which has been of comfort to those who have had to leave, sometimes with only their clothes on their backs, to an unknown future.

   ” I am the Lord God, I have not been caught by surprise by these events. 
   Tell those who have to leave in haste that their service to my Kingdom has 
   run it’s course this time around. They could not have done anymore. 
     Their service and obedience has been noted and I am pleased.”

How does anyone prepare to evacuate from countries where an already weak system breaks down completely? The terror of gunfire, air attacks, bombs blowing up at all hours of the day, seeing bodies on the streets from your windows, spending time with locals who do not have the luxury of being evacuated and must stay behind.

At our tentmaking business as mission courses, we try to prepare people well for all known challenges. However this one has not been a part of our program, but will be in the future. We have learned a lot from the experiences of tentmakers who have faced forced evacuation in the past weeks, and those now being trained will benefit from their tragic experiences.

God is in control!

We are hearing reports of a new openness to the Gospel in this region already. One house church that seemed incapable of taking leadership without the tentmakers, were forced into doing it simply since they knew they would be alone in a matter 
of days. The report told us of a confident, joyful, mature house church telling the tentmakers that we will be fine now, is encouraging to everyone involved.

One tentmaker refused to leave with the initial waves of evacuations, and was seen as a hero by the local people. Even taxi drivers were telling him that this is 
a new time in their country, and talking about your faith is now OK.

Another tentmaker who also stayed behind until the last possible moments (just before the bombs fell from the coalition forces) was actually invited to sit at the table where the new constitution was being drafted. Imagine the joy of being a part of something like this? Add to this joy, being asked what he thought should 
be in this constitution. He suggested freedom of religion, and was told that it was already in the document. Then he suggested freedom to change ones religion. 
This too was added, after a rather lengthy explanation of what he meant by that statement. You can understand why this would be a new line of thinking in this region. Again, in the middle of turmoil, God is doing a new thing.

It is impossible to share all the good news that are coming out of this tumultuous time, but trust that God is doing something amazing even as we watch the news 
in horror. 

Pray for the local believers, yes there are many. 
Pray for the local friends of our tentmakers who have had a chance to hear, 
but have not yet made decisions. 
Pray that the tentmakers will find encouragement, that their needs will be taken care of, and that they will be able to return to a better situation than the one they were forced to leave.

What’s going on in Scandinavia and will the rest of Europe follow?

/ Ari Rocklin

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FINLAND

Together with Howard Norrish of OM, we had the delight of being part of a weekend seminar in Kauniainen Finland. 

Howard is one of the foremost experts on tentmaking and personally it was a joy to sit in on his teaching that displayed a life time of experience and knowledge. His passion for the children of Ishmael moved the listener to a new passion for them as well. The Finns had arranged a wonderful bible school for the venue and we were treated like kings. You don’t want to know what the weather was like outside. 

 SWEDEN

Together with Steinar Opheim of TENT, with the fantastic cooperation and planning by the Smyrna Church missions team, we ran a one day seminar that had more people than expected in attendance. This was the first ever seminar we have run in Sweden, and what a joy for me it was to be back in the church where I gave my heart to the Lord as a young boy. It almost felt surreal to be standing in the pulpit on Sunday morning, looking over the smiling faces and seeing the spot on the balcony where I had sat so many years ago. It was a great testimony of Gods faithfulness.

 FAROE ISLANDS

Steinar Opheim had the pleasure of flying to these islands in mid winter to meet with mission leaders. Future cooperation is now being planned, and some representatives of this small but missions committed land are joining us for the Bergen course. 

 NORWAY

The upcoming tentmaking business as mission course in Bergen Norway looks to be the most international one yet. Even though the course is not until June, it is already 95% full. If you are interested, please register now! We would hate to not be able to accommodate you, even though there are always other courses coming up.www.tent.no

 DENMARK

Steinar has worked together with the Danish tentmaker group and it has been a pleasure to see them attend our training in Norway.

 ICELAND

It is my personal delight to be running the first ever tentmaking seminar in Reykjavik Iceland in June. It is Steinar’s and my vision to see a Nordic Tentmaking Group be born out of these meetings and connections. Together we can do so much more!

If you are interested in being a part of this group, 
please send us an email.

Hurrah! TM Briefs Completes Two Years 

/ Phill

Happy Anniversary frogs

Phill Sandahl

This month marks the second anniversary of the publication of Tentmaking Briefs. Thank you for your support. Over these 2 years we have seen circulation grow over 25%. It has been a slow but steady increase.

Our desire is to make TM Briefs a valuable service in your reflection on the difference tentmaking can make and what god might be calling you to do.

Many of you were not with us in the beginning or may have missed some of the issues along the way. For your convenience we are providing an index to all the past issues. We invite you to visit the archives and pick up something you may have missed.

Serve God by doing what you like

/ Steinar Opheim

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Steinar Opheim

What does a little boy bringing food to Jesus and a European comedy show have to do with tentmaking?

The boy who came with bread and fish to Jesus was too small to be a professional himself. Probably he had not even prepared the food he is bringing in front of Jesus. Still a drawing of this little, faithful young man has become an illustration for the GO Equipped TENTmaking courses that are run several places in the world. The main reason for this is that the boy is making what he has available for Jesus in order for the Lord to use it. And because he has this attitude, he and the others present become witnesses of one of the greatest miracles the world has ever seen.

God´s calling to all of us is to bring what we have in front of him so that it can be of use to him. That also includes our professions.

God and desires

It is probably not by chance that you chose the profession you did. God has designed us in different ways. His design also defines what we are interested in. And our interests will again direct us when it comes to choice of profession.

Many people are concerned about what God´s will for their life is. A good way of finding the answer is to ask what interests the Lord has given to you and what you would like to work with. God is not a father that gives us desires and interests in order to test if we are willing to sacrifice everything to follow him. He usually wants us to use his gifts to glorify him.

A Bible school teacher working for a conservative, Lutheran school in Europe once said that his standard reply to young students seeking the Lord´s will for their lives was as follows: “Until God shows you something else, you should think that he wants you to do and work with whatever you like the most.”

This may of course sound like self-fulfillment, but it isn´t.  As believers we have a calling to develop our God given gifts in order to glorify him. If our aim becomes to glorify ourselves, we have missed the point.

Move your skills

When it comes to tentmaking and Business as Mission, you are not asked to leave your profession to serve God. The question is whether you are willing to bring your skills and God given gifts with you to another culture in order to be God´s ambassador there? If your answer is yes or maybe, you should consider attending one of the upcoming GO Equipped TENTmaking courses. The next one is in Florida March 2-6. You can find information on this one and on all the other courses and seminars on www.globalopps.org.

Let us go back to the little boy bringing food to Jesus. A few years ago some European comedians made a TV-show where they pretended that they were teaching people to prepare food. They had bought five loaves of bread and two fishes. Then they held a Bible in front of the camera saying: “According to this book this will be enough food for 5000 people.” Everyone laughed, but of course the recipe was not right. They had forgotten the most important ingredient: God´s blessing.

When we bring our professions and what else we have in front of God, he can use it for his purpose, and he can make us a blessing to many nations. (Gen 12)