Part 3 - What Do We Need? - What Exactly Are the Procopios Doing, Anyway?

This is part 3 of a series. Here is where you can read part 1 and part 2.

3) What Do We Need?

This last question is the most down-to-earth. For right now, Loanne and I are both working part-time in order to pay for living expenses, which are very high in France even if one lives conservatively. As a result, the preparatory work for our future plant is quite limited; there simply are not enough days in the week to follow the training and do what is necessary to get ready to plant. (This work would include visiting cities which could be potential sites for the plant; doing research on the city and its residents once we decide where to go; spending time with the residents in order to get to know the context in which we'll plant; finding a building to house the church, etc.)

This is why as soon as possible, Loanne and I will need to leave our jobs in order to devote ourselves full-time to the preparation of this church plant. This means, of course, that we will need to find financial support elsewhere.

And that is where you come in.

We are actively looking for generous Christians from all over the United States to support us financially in our work in France. We would ask you to prayerfully consider a one-time or regular donation, which would enable us to commit all of our time and energy to planting churches which will bring the light of the Gospel to those who have not yet had the opportunity to hear it. 

We cannot do this alone, nor should we. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need" (2 Cor. 8.13-14). As part of the larger Body of Christ, we are called upon to take from our abundance to support and sustain each other; as we hope to do for others, we would ask you to consider doing for us. 

We are currently looking for a secure system in which those who wish to do so can give. We will be posting regularly on our activity in France, how the internship is progressing, and so on; if you feel led to support us, don't hesitate to contact us at theprocopiosinfrance@gmail.com.

Part 2: The Internship - What Exactly Are the Procopios Doing, Anyway?

This is part 2 of a 3-part series. For part 1, click here.

2) What Does the Internship Entail, and What Are Its Future Goals?

This is the second question I'm asked. The internship began in October; since then, what have we been doing, and what will we do in the future?

In July 2012 I was contacted by Acts 29 Europe pastor Philip Moore to join him in a new Centre de formation régional des implanteurs (CFRI), a training center for hopeful church planters in France. The goal of this 2-year training is to equip these future planters with the resources they will need not only to plant a Gospel-centered church, but to do so in a way that is contextualized to the country of France and to the particular area in which the planters find themselves. This training takes place in Lagny-sur-Marne, a town about 25 minutes east of Paris.

The CFRI is tightly linked with a project, “Une pour dix mille”, led by the CNEF (Centre national des évangéliques de France, France’s association of evangelical churches); this project would be called “One For Ten Thousand” in English.

The goal of this project is very simple: reduce the huge gap between the number of churches in France and the French population by planting one church for every ten thousand people living here (see previous post for information on the current numbers). It is an ambitious project which will require a large amount of work, time, and—of course—couples to plant churches.

At the beginning of 2012 the church in Lagny-sur-Marne launched a church plant in nearby Val d'Europe, a relatively new city that as yet had not a single evangelical church. This new church now runs between 30 and 40 people at the Sunday services held once a month, all crammed into a member's living room. We are actively searching for a larger location in the city center, which will allow us to have more frequent services and welcome more newcomers from the town. In addition, we run regular home groups which meet twice a month or more, during which we study the Bible and learn to live out the Gospel in the context of everyday life. 

So the first step is following the training at the CFRI in Lagny-sur-Marne, which consists of a half-day per week of face-to-face training with four other future planters, as well as active "on-the-ground" work in the church plant in Val d'Europe. Loanne and I are both active in separate home groups, one of which is an English-speaking group which I co-lead. The objective is to see firsthand what a church plant entails in France—its challenges, its legal boundaries (the laws in France for religious associations are particularly strict) and, of course, the possible fruit we pray it will bear. 

Our hope is that, Lord willing, we will begin a church plant of our own soon after the training is over, in a city still to be determined. But in order to even begin to think about that, we must raise support...

What Exactly Are the Procopios Doing, Anyway? - Part 1: Why Plant In France?

In my post from a few months ago, I announced that Loanne, Jack and I had accepted a call to participate in a church-planting internship with Acts 29 Europe pastor Philip Moore. I promised I would tell you all what exactly we're doing here, so for the next few days I'll be posting a few blogs that will fill you in on the details.

I'll do this by answering some common questions. Some of these have been about what we've had to sacrifice to come here. I answered these questions in a post this past December; for the purposes of this post I'll just say that if we look at the facts, it could seem like we have sacrificed a lot, but that God has been so present in our situation that it doesn't feel like much of a sacrifice. God asks us to sacrifice in order to fill us up with better things (Rom. 8.28), and even in our moments of difficulty we have been aware of the promise and presence of those better things.

But of all the questions we've been asked since moving, the three most pertinent ones have been:

1) Why plant in France?

2) What does the internship entail, and what are its future goals?

3) What do you need?

I'll dedicate one post to each question.

1) Why Plant in France?

On the surface, it could seem like France isn't a very logical place for missionary work. France is not in the  so-called 10/40 Window. France is a wealthy country. We have the Internet. We drive cars (yes, someone did once ask Loanne that question). It is fairly easy to live a comfortable life here. Christians are not openly persecuted in France. So why would such an initiative be necessary?

It is important to know a few facts. France's history is long, and has pushed the country to a very secular mindset—a mindset that the French culture as a whole prides itself on. This is understandable, since keeping the country secular seems to free it from the sort of religious wars and persecutions its history has witnessed. But the result is that often, people are either wary or indifferent, not necessarily to the Gospel (as we'll see in a second), but to the church which was called to proclaim it. Because of this, evangelical churches have had a hard time putting down roots. 

Today, of France's 65 million people, less than 1% can be counted as followers of Christ. On average, there is 1 evangelical church for every 32,000 persons in France. Less than 10% of the French population own a Bible, and 80% have never even handled one.*

But glory to God, Christians in France have not been inactive. Since 1970, over 1,400 new evangelical churches have been planted and established in France; the total number of credible evangelical churches in France today stands at 2,308. This is certainly a good thing: outposts for the Gospel have been created to bring a credible witness to areas which didn't have them before. 

However, in order for the current French population to have reasonable access to the Gospel, another 4,192 churches would need to be planted...today.

This means that in many towns in France, there is not a single credible witness to the Gospel of Christ. When people think of Christ they often think of the pale, skinny guy on crosses in cathedrals; they think of morbid images of self-flagellation and depressing liturgies. Most of them certainly don't think of the true, biblical Gospel of Christ, because they've never heard it. Contrary to popular belief, the French are not indifferent to the Gospel; most of them simply haven't had the opportunity to hear it faithfully preached. 

What is more, if they wanted to hear the Gospel and have access to a Gospel-centered community of believers, many of them would be unable to, because there are simply no churches in their area. 

The need in France is very great. There are many other issues at stake than just the ones I've mentioned, but these will have to suffice for today. Our challenges are different from those one may hear of in missions conferences, but no less real. That is why we are planting in France. That is why it is a real and pressing need. 

* This post's stats have been borrowed from the CNEF (Conseil national des évangéliques de France) and Acts 29 Europe. Map adapted from www.1pour10000.fr/la-carte.

I Can Forget My Lines

I've got a pretty good memory. It's something I've always prided myself on, mostly because I've always been so forgetful.

You can say something to me, I'll have forgotten what you just said thirty seconds later (just ask my wife). Every time I go to the store with a grocery list, I invariably forget to buy at least one of the items listed. But as a teenager I could tell you, with no hesitation, useless information about movies (like which directors of photography Steven Spielberg had worked with on which films) and books (like the titles of every novel by Stephen King, and their years of publication). Practical, down-to-earth things slip my mind; but words, anything I can see on a page or hear repeated aloud, stick well.

So when I became a Christian, I was pleased to find that Bible memorization came easily to me. One year I memorized a passage a week; the next year I memorized Philippians and 1 John (the entire books). When I became convinced God was calling me to the ministry, I knew it would come in very handy.

Flash-forward to two weeks ago. As it was a very snowy Sunday, there were only about 20 of us in the congregation. Our pastor, Philip Moore, asked us what we could do to practically remember that God was with us every minute. One guy said admire His creation; another person said meditate on His Word. My answer seemed obvious: memorize Scripture, to be able to take that Word with us.

Not missing a beat, Philip asked, "Do you do that?" To which I proudly responded in the affirmative. He asked, "What was the latest passage you memorized?"

Suddenly I couldn't quite recall, so I latched onto the biggest one: "Philippians," I said, neglecting to add chapter and verse.

Philip said, "Okay, let's hear it."

And suddenly, I pulled a complete blank. I knew it started with Paul introducing himself, but I couldn't quite remember the words. I blubbered something like, "Paul, servant of Christ Jesus..." and couldn't get any farther.

You have to understand, I'm new at this church. I'm going through a church planting internship, and as it's the first time I've ever truly been in my element, I want to impress. I want these people to know they're not wasting their time with me; I want them to know I'm not wasting my time moving all the way over here to do this.

So after blubbering for a few seconds, I admitted I couldn't remember any more, and hunched down in my chair. I wanted to be a turtle who could just sink its head back into its shell.

But right on the heels of that embarrassment, I felt God speaking very clearly to me: Why are you embarrassed? Why do you want them to be impressed by you? Shouldn't it be enough that they're impressed with ME?

This is the simplest example of the sort of pride-leading-to-a-fall that could await me as a church planter if I let it take root. Because no matter how hard it is for my sinful nature to admit, the day I, Lord willing, finally plant a church, it won't be my church. When I perform any type of mininstry in the church, it's not my ministry. When I successfully manage to say something helpful to someone in need, it's not my success. It's God's success; it's His ministry; it's His church.
Paul said (in my precious, memorized book of Philippians), "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but...Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant..." (Phil. 2.3, 5)

No one is going to remember my skills at memorizing Scripture if I don't use it to serve them. Even if I were able to recite the entire Bible by heart, it would have no lasting impact if it isn't coupled with an all-consuming desire to see God glorified in everything I do. "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Phil. 3.7-8). And as we have seen, Christ is remembered not for His miracles, not for His oratory presence, but for His service; for His emptying of Himself; for His bearing on Himself the weight of all our sins; for His all-consuming desire to see His Father glorified.

What I am doesn't matter. What people think I am doesn't matter. God knows who I am: His adopted son, bought by the blood of Christ, who suffered all the wrath I deserve for my sin. He called me long before I was equipped to do anything useful; whom God calls, He equips...not the other way around.

Before long, the embarrassment faded---because how could I, an adopted son of the Creator of the universe, be embarrassed while I'm wearing royal robes? How could I be embarrassed when my own perfection and performance don't matter the slightest bit, but only Christ's? How could I be embarrassed when His perfection and performance have already been credited to my account (2 Cor. 5.21)?

Good news: I can forget my lines. He's already recited them for me.

New Life, Old Promises

It's been a long while since I've given an update on our new lives and what we've been doing. I'll be writing at least semi-regularly on exactly what it is that we're doing here, but an update (and a quick lesson learned) will have to suffice for today.

Since my last post, we have done what we set out to do: we left our beautiful house in Vernon and moved to Lognes, a town about a half hour east of Paris, to intern with Acts 29 Europe under pastor Philip Moore. This of course was a feat in itself, since it happened very quickly, and we needed to find jobs and a place to live before our move. 

For employment, God came through. We were able to keep our jobs and work from home, by telephone. It's been a surprising joy for both of us—how many couples get to eat every meal together?

A family from the church we're interning with graciously agreed to let us rent the  apartment located on the second floor of their house (they occupy the ground floor) and at a very low cost. On top of the practical relief, it has allowed us to get to know these downstairs neighbors, the Finleys, in a much closer way than we normally would have (the door off our staircase opens next to their kitchen). Again, God came through.

We have also been worried about our finances, as our salaries have taken a substantial hit: I (Jason) am now working only part-time, in order to follow the internship, and Loanne works part-time as well in order to be with Jack as much as possible; all told, our salaries were cut by about 40%. Then this week, God sent us an unexpected gift that will allow us to begin the search for funding from partners willing to support us, and begin searching without worry. God came through, in spite of difficulty, in spite of pain. Again.

I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. I am one of those morose sorts who keenly sees his weaknesses and has a hard time seeing his strengths (I so identify with David Brainerd that I find it difficult to read his autobiography: it hits a little too close to home). But over the last few months I have learned that this may be a blessing in disguise, for it allows me to see the hand of God at work, perhaps more keenly than I would if I felt I could do it on my own.

In Isaiah 41, God gives a promise to his people, a promise that, if taken to heart, will not only hold us firm and steady, but also make us entirely dependent on him. In verse 14, he says, "Fear not, you worm Jacob". You worm Jacob!  Now here's a nickname I can identify with! God doesn't tell me I'm awesome; he doesn't tell me, "You can do it!" He is not a cheerleader. He tells the truth: I am a worm. I am small. I am unable to do the work before me.

But fear not! The resounding cry of this passage has been a great relief to my heart at countless moments in the past, and will be, I'm sure, for countless more. "Fear not, for I AM WITH YOU; be not dismayed, for I AM YOUR GOD. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (v. 10).

Fear not—not because you can do it, but because I CAN. Fear not—not because you have all the resources you need, but because I DO. And I am your God.

My prayer for my life, my family, my ministry, is that it may be evident that God was the one behind it. I want to see things happen that only God can take credit for. Like the jobs, like the apartment, like all the rest. We did nothing for these things; they fell into our laps.

So did grace. So did Christ. So did election and forgiveness and mercy. God dropped them into our laps, for his good pleasure.

My prayer is this: whatever we do, may it not be attributed to us. May it be crystal clear that in all our work, it was God working in us all along, to will and to work for his good pleasure.

My hope is built on nothing less 

Than Jesus' blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweetest frame

But wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand

All other ground is sinking sand

We're Moving!

Well, we hadn't planned on this. Two years after moving into and entirely renovating a beautiful, 150-year-old fixer-upper, we're moving out.

In July I got a call from Philip Moore, a pastor with Acts 29, a church planting network that has recently put down roots in Western Europe. He invited me to come do a 2-year church planting internship with him and his church in a little city called Lagny-sur-Marne, about twenty-five minutes east of Paris. The call was completely unexpected. Of course, given the difficult circumstances we've been through this year, I appreciated the call but never thought we'd say yes.

Then, over the summer, as Loanne and I both thought and prayed about it and went over as much material as we could find concerning exactly what we would be doing, we were surprised to see doors opening in Lagny and doors closing in Vernon, where we are currently living. God never gave us an overwhelming sign from heaven, but He definitely seemed to be orchestrating events in our lives to push us in that direction.

After a lot of prayer, visiting the church in Lagny mid-August and spending the day with some of its members (with whom we felt instantly at home), and enjoying a visit in Vernon from Philip and his family, during which we talked about some of the issues we were struggling with, we decided last week to go for it.

So we're doing it. It's scary, it's completely unknown, but God is good (Jeremiah 29.11). We hope, Lord willing, to be moved in and settled before we come to Florida for Thanksgiving.

Side-note: I said that God didn't give us a sign that this was what we should do; that wasn't precisely true.

We're not big on "laying out fleeces", as David Wilkerson famously said; we prayed for wisdom (James 1.5), asked God to direct our steps (Proverbs 3.5-6), and trusted Him to do it. But when I first got the call from Philip in July, Loanne jokingly said that she'd pray for God to give her a sign: that Jack would sleep through the night.

Two weeks ago, Jack started sleeping through the night.

That was, of course, not the decisive factor in our moving, but it was weird.

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Why We Love Superhero Movies

I know a guy who loves superhero movies. LOVES them. With the release of The Avengers he regularly posted articles with spoilers and behind-the-scenes info. When the Man of Steel trailer came out, he actually changed his Facebook profile picture to show Superman's insignia, and he saw The Dark Knight Rises three times in a 24-hour span. He spent more than a third of his day with Batman.

I'm not that kind of superhero movie fan, but I like them. I can spend an enjoyable Saturday morning watching Iron Man and not think anything of it. My wife doesn't feel the same way. Every time she sees a poster for The Avengers (or any of the five million such movies Hollywood produces every year) she rolls her eyes and bemoans the immaturity of the world's men, who waste their time watching such frivolous nonsense. (I did score a minor victory in getting her to see—and like—Nolan's Dark Knight films.) This has been an amusing disagreement between us that always goes something like this:

"Wanna watch Thor?"

"I'd rather have the baby gum me to death."

"Come on, it's fun."

"Mopping would be a better use of your time."

She has a point. But I'm still not ready to concede, not totally. Keep in mind, I'm not talking about the constant watchers, the man-boys who spend several hours a day playing video games or watching action flicks. But I know very mature, very responsible men who still enjoy the thrills of the occasional superhero movie, without that damaging their maturity or responsibility. 

Guys, why do we like this? Why are we drawn to superheroes?

1) Because we're waiting to become more than we are.

I think Paul gives us a clue in Romans 8.22-23: "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

The Bible tells us that God has worked into the very DNA of all creation the idea that this is not the end. That things aren't as they should be. That things will one day get better. That one day everything will change. And while we wait for it, creation groans, impatient to see it happen.

And we groan too. We humans know inherently that we should be more and better than this. That's why some people build rockets to the moon, while others attempt extraordinary feats in weightlifting and base jumping and extreme sports. And that's why the rest of us watch superhero movies. They give us the chance to see a normal human being becoming something more. 

1 John 3.2 says, "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is." Our souls long to be made into what we were made for. We were created to be like him, to see our bodies renewed and restored and glorified.

2) Because Christ is our superhero, His story resonates with us.

This is an oversimplified sentiment, perhaps, but I believe it's true. Superheroes have something normal people don't. They have resources we don't have. They are able to save us from things we can't save ourselves from. 

We needed to be perfect. Jesus was perfect for us. We were unable to atone for our sin. Jesus atoned for our sin, in our place. We needed to be righteous to appear before God. Jesus gave us His perfect righteousness so that, when we appear before the Father, the Father will see not our sin, but His son's righteousness covering us (2 Corinthians 5.21).

A superhero's story resonates with us because we were made to behold the ultimate hero—the glorious God-man who was the only one able to let God punish sin without punishing the sinner. We were created for the bigger story, which is why the little stories call out to us, pointing us up: This is a shadow, a foretaste, like the smell of a wonderful meal when you stand just outside the kitchen door. Look higher; look to the REAL object of awe and excitement, of wonder and delight. Enjoy it, but not too much—save your real enjoyment for what is really enjoyable. Save yourself for ME. 

Watching Batman save Gotham City is good. Watching Jesus save the world is far better.