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- Allocate 3 days at each stop for substantial discipleship time.
- Plan a day of travel between each stop.
- Plan on 3 days for sailing back to the starting point.
- Include 10 extra days for margin.
The Lord of the Rain
Exodus 9:33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth.
Job 5:8 “As for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.
Job 5:10 He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields;
Psalm 65:9-10 You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
Psalm 147:8 He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills.
Jeremiah 5:23-24 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, “Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.”
Jeremiah 14:4 because the ground is cracked. Because there has been no rain on the land the farmers are dismayed; they cover their heads.
Jeremiah 14:22 Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, LORD our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.
Joel 1:19-20 To you, O Lord, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have burned all the trees of the field. Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Acts 14:17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
James 5:17-18 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.
Listening to Tanto Tempo by Bebel Gilberto and waiting for the monsoons to samba over Tucson. 🎵
I took this picture of a balloon man in Eugene, OR. He was giving life and purpose to balloons in order to bless others. God does this when he re-forms people in Christ—“we are his workmanship”. If your life right now involves some painful twists and turns, consider: could God be re-forming you?
Here’s my first try at painting with watercolor. It was fun and I’d like to learn more. Painters, what’s a great book to get me started? 🎨
Explore the ministry of Titus with maps
Imagine that after working together with Paul to bring the gospel to the island of Crete, Paul leaves you there so that you “might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town.” It’s hard to know what “every town” means, but historians think there were about 15 major population centers at the time. To consider the task, you can explore all of Crete’s towns, temples and topography with the Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
Thinking about the geography of Crete can help us better understand what Titus' ministry was like and think about our own ministry in our own places. As Charlotte Mason said, “The peculiar value of geography lies in its fitness to nourish the mind with ideas and furnish the imagination with pictures.”
Considering the size of Crete in comparison to your own ministry area can provide perspective. For me that means noting that Crete is roughly one-third the size of Pima County. To visualize the dimensions, I can imagine traveling east to west from Sells to Willcox, and south to north from Green Valley to Casas Adobes at its widest part.I made a map that compares Crete to Arizona to visualize this.
Based on what I know so far, if Titus focused on developing leaders in these 15 cities (with approximately 12 distinct stops since some towns were close together), he could potentially visit every town and return to the starting point in less than 30 days, assuming a brisk walking pace. However, this plan allows only one day per stop, which is not much considering the assignment Paul lays out in his letter. Additionally, this plan assumes that the Christians in each town would be ready to receive Titus upon arrival, which can be challenging even with modern tools like email and GPS.
So if I were Titus, knowing only what I know now, here’s how I would handle it:
With this plan, you could spend quality time discipling every 60 days in each town and have the opportunity to worship there on the Lord’s Day at least once per year, maybe even twice. Although I’ve never been to Crete, ancient or modern, this seems feasible to me and likely to produce good results.
I also think such a plan could be adapted to fit other places around the world as long as there was commitment from local Christians in making time in their schedules to meet with the missionary and preparing hospitality for him in advance.
What would you do if you had Titus' job? And what if you were one of the local Christians on Crete, how could you help him during his time on the island?
I’m building a custom commuter bike, and I got one step closer yesterday by overhauling this amazing derailleur. It’s a Sachs Huret Duopar Eco from the early 80s. 🚲
