In the army those involved in resourcing front-line troops sometimes get a bad press. I know because I was one of the guilty ones who did not appreciate what those in less glamorous positions contributed until it was my turn to serve in that role myself. The Gulf War (whatever its rights and wrongs) demonstrated the importance of the "logistic tail" and the danger of cutting back in this less visible area.  Whilst managing to maintain the more visible and impressive "frontline strength" the British were hard-pushed in the event to maintain a division in the field.

Christians have gone wrong when we have not sufficiently valued the apparently less glamorous gifts of the Spirit of God, forgetting that they are all gifts from a merciful God to undeserving servants.  Much less attention is devoted to gifts of service, encouragement, contributing to the needs of others and showing mercy than to those that are perceived as being more glamorous.  Yet these are vital for the proper functioning of the church.

This would also be true of much mission agency work.  As a mission partner in South America it was sometimes embarrassing the esteem in which we were held. It was an esteem based on lack of knowledge of the depravity of the object of the esteem  (being on the other side of the world is great for being able to hide this side).  We were perceived as being frontline and the contribution of those resourcing us (in the mission agency or among our churches and supporting individuals) was not sufficiently appreciated.  Rightly, mission agencies are under pressure to ensure that finance and attention go to the frontline; no one wants to be involved in high overheads.  This is a constant struggle.

Now, for a second time, I have moved from "frontline" to "rear echelon" or support staff and am learning to appreciate afresh how much I had taken for granted.  In the last issue I outlined the Crosslinks focus in terms of direct mission engagement.  I described how we are, by God's mercy, involved in making God's word known to God's world.  Actually much of my attention, since coming to Crosslinks two years ago, has been directed to the less visible background work.  Yes, it has been a tremendous privilege to travel far and wide and to see the amazing variety of contributions that we have been involved in, but I have also learned how much of this depends on the support staff who beaver away in the background.

We are in the middle of a protracted and radical overhaul of how the Crosslinks team resources the work we are engaged in.  We are in the process of re-forming ourselves into 4 teams covering different but overlapping areas of the work. This is illustrated in the diagram below (courtesy of Mr John Truscott who carried out a Review) which has become known as the "Bubble Diagram".  The Mission Personnel Team looks after study partners and short-term SMILE participants as well as the better-known mission partners.  The Ireland Mission Team will cover all the varied aspects of the ministry in Ireland.  The Regional Mission Team covers the relationships between Crosslinks and churches and individuals in mainland Britain.  The Mission Resources Team seeks to provide the means for all the rest to happen.  The team leaders from the four teams will form the leadership team of the Crosslinks staff.  

There is still much to be done and it will take time.  We are in the midst of months of celebration as we remember the enormous privilege that God has granted us in BCMS and now Crosslinks over the past 80 years.  Let us remember those in the background (and not just staff members) whose faithfulness to a faithful God has made it all possible. Please continue to pray for us as we seek to adapt to a very different world but whose greatest need remains that of knowing God in Christ.