Dear Partners in the Gospel,
What a mess we are in.
Everywhere we look, we are constantly reminded that our world is broken. Satan’s evil and deception, plus humankind’s rebellion, arrogance and foolishness, led to countless deaths and suffering. In addition, we face personal and family challenges. I struggle with waves of feeling overwhelmed, anxiety, anger, cynicism and temptations to shut down and stop caring.
What might help us to be hopeful, compassionate and resilient?
Psalm 131 has been a guiding light for me, helping me to accept my limitations and focus on God amid our broken world.
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters or things that are too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself…
Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forevermore.
Put our hope in God
We must resist focusing our hope on ourselves, humankind or governments and focus on God. He is still on the throne. He demonstrated his commitment to humanity by rescuing us from Satan and our sins at the cost of His Son.
Acknowledging our limitations, let us connect with Jesus and receive His help. We cannot change what is happening on the other side of the globe. I am only one life among 8 billion. However, I have been rescued, forgiven, and empowered to be God’s child, witness and representative. With His help, we can fulfil the mission He has designed us to do.
Your prayers and support are invaluable to our shared mission. Please let me know how I can pray for you and your mission. Thank you for being a part of this journey.
May to August – a whirlwind of church-speaking events in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne, and participating in the Missions Interlink (the peak body for Australian Mission organisations) Conference. September included a trip to Indonesia with my 93-year-old Mum, and I’ll write more in the upcoming newsletter.
Seeing fruit from sowing seeds in 2019
Do you sometimes wonder what happens to the seeds of God’s word we sowed years ago? I confess that sometimes, I feel discouraged and want to see more tangible results. Here’s God’s encouragement during my visit to Perth in May. On 26 May 2019, Michael heard my preaching and responded to the invitation to follow Jesus in His mission, and now …
Themes from Speaking Events
People discover their blind spots and are keen to read the book.
Some feedback after my presentations:
“I didn’t realise how much the world has influenced me. It is so subtle.”
“You’re right; if we are honest, we are more concerned about our success than God’s mission.”
“I have never heard of harmful middle-class values.”
“You helped me see that some middle-class values are not Biblical.”
Craig, Scripture Union Director for WA, expressed his appreciation for your prayers and the benefits of Redefining Success According to Jesus to his team:
Pastors, leaders and missionaries discover their blind spots.
It is disheartening to be told by a few pastors, missionaries and older Christians that they don’t need to read my book.
Recently, I interacted with other pastors, leaders and missionaries who benefited from my book. Some mentioned they resist consumerism and pleasure-seeking, such as a house on the waterfront, but struggle with other blind spots, such as pleasing people. Approval from others sometimes means more than God’s approval. A pastor admitted they suffer anxiety after preaching and are desperate for ‘likes’ and compliments.
In this video, Sarah, a long-term missionary, shares her thoughts on why missionaries should read ‘Redefining Success According to Jesus’. It could help you avoid burnout
Upcoming Events for Your Prayer and Possible Participation
In November, I’ll facilitate two online workshops:
- Discerning God’s Purpose.
- Essentials to Be an Effective Visiting Speaker.
I appreciate your prayers for me and the participants. We invite you to join us and forward the information to family and friends who might benefit from it.
Saturdays 16, 23 & 30 November 2024: Online 4 to 5.30 PM AEDT (Sydney)
When making significant decisions, how do you manage the tensions between God’s will, other people’s advice, conflicting values and our freedom to choose? Many sincere Christians struggle to discern how God has uniquely shaped them for His purpose and mission.
Do you wish you could be sure and confident in knowing God’s plan for your life?
How can we overcome our blind spots, anxiety, fears, and analysis paralysis to make wise, timely decisions?
Who will benefit?
Anyone seeking to know God’s purpose for their life or facing significant decisions, or if you are helping others to make wise and timely decisions:
- What has God created me for?
- Where does my life fit into the incredible story of God’s mission?
- Where is the maximum overlap between my passion, gifts and God’s plan for His world?
- How can I know if I am meant to stay in my job, change career, do further studies, leave secular employment, become a missionary, or do business as a mission?
- Is there a decision-making process that can overcome unhealthy individualism, self-reliance and analysis paralysis?
What might you gain from the workshop?
- Discover your blind spots in decision-making, e.g., being overly focused on information and middle-class values and neglecting other factors.
- Identify and seek to overcome your anxiety, FOMO, analysis paralysis and other barriers.
- Understand the Dot Vs. Circle Theories of God’s will.
- Connect with the real Jesus of the Bible and receive His help.
- Identify how God uniquely created you.
- Learn about a discerning and decision-making process that seeks to be Biblical, holistic, and interdependent.
- A checklist to understand yourself and the essentials for wise decisions.
- Inspiration to exercise your God-given capacity to choose.
Watch Omar describe the course here.
Explore a process that seeks to be Biblical, holistic, and interdependent.
Cost:
- $99 for the three weeks – per device, up to 2 people.
- Invite friends for only $40 per additional device.
- Group of 3 or more on 1 Device: $199
Discount available upon request to info@redefiningsuccess.com.au
Essentials to Be an Effective Visiting Speaker Workshop
Thursdays, 28 November and 5 December 2024: Online 7.15–8.45 PM (Sydney)
Being an effective visiting speaker is more challenging than a minister preaching to their congregation.
What we learnt about preaching at Bible college assumes the audience knows us. As a stranger, in 30 minutes or less, you must:
- Connect meaningfully with your audience’s heart, mind and spirit.
- Earn their trust (unless you are famous).
- Inspire and inform Biblically.
- Call to action unapologetically but without manipulation.
- Represent your organisation.
Are you ready to improve so you can engage more churches and people in God’s mission?
Join me in discovering the approaches and skills a visiting speaker must practice differently to be effective.
Who will benefit?
Anyone who shares with an audience where they are not known, e.g. another church, Bible study, organisation, or context, especially:
- Mission, NFP and para-church leaders, representatives and mobilisers.
- Pastors with a unique message for other churches.
- People raising prayer and financial supporters.
- Donor relations.
What might you gain from the workshop?
- Discover your blind spots, e.g. where you might be overly focused on information and neglect other essentials.
- Define effectiveness and identify areas to improve.
- Identify your strengths and weaknesses.
- Learn about the ‘Heart, head, hand, heart’ paradigm and other essentials.
- A checklist to understand and engage your audience.
- Understand your own heart – what makes being a visiting speaker important to you?
Cost:
- $69 for the two weeks – per device, up to 2 people.
- Group of 3 or more on 1 Device: $ 149
Discount available upon request to info@redefiningsuccess.com.au
Email me your questions about the workshop.
If you face a significant financial challenge, I’ll gladly give you a further discount. The fee helps towards my support.
If you want to begin supporting me financially, here are a few ways, depending on where you live.
Secure online giving – Scan QR Code
Questions?
Please call 1300 746 580 or email partner.relations@sim.org.au
https://sim.org.au/omar
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- Give to a missionary or project.
- Click on the “Give Now” button.
- Select Destination – Type Omar & Kay Djoeandy – Ministry
Kenya Donors
Transfer to my Admin Assistant’s MPESA Pochi La Biashara account with a note for Support for Dr Omar.
No: 0700 431 448 (Gitau Regina)
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