After three days of processing, praying, and seeking the Lord in scripture, my wife and I firmly believe that we are called to share our hearts in this matter. Even after removing ourselves from the immediate emotions of the situation, these truths still remain evident and we feel called to share:
First and foremost I want the leaders of this blog post to know who this letter is written to and why it has to be written. This letter is for AIM leadership connected to E squad and the World Race, but more importantly, for all those who have supported in prayer or financially the three men of God who were sent away from our squad two days ago. The character, actions, and reputation of these men won’t need to be fought for or proven by the men themselves, as their communities (both on the squad and at home) and contacts they’ve worked with on the field will gladly stand in the gap for them. This is why, in the next couple of days, more letters, blogs, facebook posts, and emails like this will be coming from E squad members, members of other squads, alumni racers, donors, churches, family members, friends, and, most importantly, contacts who have seen these men in action and know their true hearts.
The tears and faces of the 40 shocked members of E squad, both men and women, who couldn’t fathom the decision being made by AIM leadership should have been enough of an indicator that something incorrect was going on. The nearly three-hour long session where nearly every person spoke on behalf of these men, sharing scripture as to why the decision was unrighteous and unbiblical, and pleading to the few in leadership (who, consequently, have spent significantly less time “knowing” these men than the rest of the squad) to reconsider their decision should have been more than sufficient proof that this was a situation that needed to be corrected.
Hearing that three of my brothers in Christ, Godly men who are on fire for the Lord and for sharing His Gospel, building relationships, and furthering the Kingdom of God were being sent home has rocked me and my squad to our core. It has caused disunity, confirmed distrust in squad leadership, and taking them off the field is sure to have a negative impact on the witness of the Kingdom of God that will be unmeasurable.
The misinformation and reasoning given by leadership is full of only half truths and gross misinterpretations. Of all the people involved in the matter, I feel that, being a friend to both leadership and to the Men of God being sent away, having worked within leadership of the squad and been a first-hand witness as to how they work, and having the reputation of being a man of God who fights for his team, squad, and beliefs, you can trust my word.
These three men of God weren’t sent home because of “open defiance” of authority, because women are in leadership, or for any reason the leadership has put forward with their twisted and self-serving bias. They were sent home because leadership as a whole is lacking in the ability to lead this squad, E squad, well. They have proven their inability to take the cares and concerns of this squad and act or even simply address them. Leadership has clearly proven again and again that they will do what is only right by themselves and their own biased beliefs to make it easier on themselves over the needs and concerns of this squad. Their actions and words indicate that their word is king because of their divine right as leaders, regardless of the wants, needs, and voices of the godly people actually living and serving within the community. How can so many racers, and even contacts of the people who live with and have served with these men over the last eight months be seeing something so drastically different than what the leadership – one of the major advocates for their expulsion having only been present with us in person for twelve days out of the last eight months- is witnessing and acting upon. The claims against these men are gross misinterpretations and false witnesses against their character.
We were continually told that their removal was “for the health of the squad”, yet their removal puts the health of the squad in the place of peril. When asked by one of the squad who was trying to get clarification and defend their brothers asked the head representation of leadership “Is this decision for God’s glory or is it because you feel disrespected?” there was a pause for thought and an answer of “both.” Furthermore, when asked to seek the LORD and pray about reconsidering based on the witness provided by 40 people, the response was “I’ll pray about it, but the decision has been made and they are going home.”
This is what I have learned to expect from leadership with this squad- that whatever AIM leadership wants or chooses to believe from their interpretation of things is the infallible truth. That no matter how much council you give or rationally God-centered ideas you present, if you don’t have a title appointed by leadership then you are either wrongfully questioning authority, being negative, being defiant, and/or could only be trying to manipulate to get your own way. They again have presented themselves so infallible because of their appointed title by AIM and the fact that they believe that God appointed them to leadership for this squad, that when asked to not make this a knee-jerk decision but to take the witness of 40 and to take 24 hours and pray about and reconsider, their response was “sure, but the decision has already been made.” When personally inquiring and confronting the leadership, trying to get some sort of rationale for the decision of sending home three of my most honorable brothers, I was hit with “Well, if you don’t like it, then go home.” This was the only answer I received from two separate members of leadership.
Two days prior to the decision by leadership to send these Men of God home, I told my wife that I felt like I specifically was called to the World Race and E squad to help start the change in what appears to be an unhealthy culture. A culture of leadership only doing what is right by leadership and its organization under the assumption that the Lord granted them divine wisdom and authority. Without even knowing that leadership had already made the decision to send those three Men of God home, I had what I now only realize to be a God-appointed meeting with leadership, giving them a chance to re-evaluate and reconsider the decision they had already made without the squad or myself knowing they had already made it. For about two hours I shared my feelings with leadership on how heavy the emotions were on the squad of both men and women. That the day just felt spiritually heavier and something just didn’t feel right. That it specifically felt as though there was a lack of trust from the leadership in having strong and healthy men of God appointed to lead alongside them. I gave them examples, specifically of one of the men, and how he is the type of man that both men and women are craving in leadership. A spiritual leader that could represent to both men and women what a man of God looks like. That putting someone like him in leadership would go a long way in showing the squad that the current leadership had our best interest at heart and not their own. I told them that, in the whole time I was this man’s team leader, I had never had or witnessed a better teammate. This sentiment would later be repeated by many when they announced they were kicking him off.
I also discussed that it isn’t about the TITLE of leader (because we will lead regardless), but the issue lies in THEIR lack of trust in giving the title to someone like him, someone that would make the difference in unifying and bringing the squad and leadership together. That, even if it might be a bit more difficult for them, that it wasn’t about them, but about the racers. Less than 15 minutes after this long conversation, this man was called for a meeting and kicked off of the race. Not once considering what I had shared that I felt God was specifically laying on my heart. Not once taking time to pray or reconsider. That is the culture the leaders have presented and the culture that they live and act by; I am just a racer and they are the leaders. That, because I don’t have a name tag with leadership on it, what I have to say doesn’t need to be considered past a patronizing smile, let alone thought over, discussed, or prayed about.
The accusation that these three Men of God were causing disunity and creating an unhealthy community are false. Not just according to me, but according to the witness of the 40 other racers who are fighting for them. To me it is very evident that if the charges of being continuously unhealthy for the community and causing disunity are grounds for expulsion, then it is also clear where the problem actually lies, who it lies with, and how it can be fixed. Leadership needs to prayerfully consider whether or not their leadership is healthy for this squad.
We as a squad have never been more united in community and as a body of believers than when we all stood together to defend our brothers. Not united against leadership, but for what is scripturally right. We are united for our three brothers in Christ and we are united for furthering the Kingdom. That is why we are fighting for our brothers right now. We are standing up for them because there has rarely been a better example of what it looks like for Godly men to serve the nations and further His Kingdom than shown by the three Men of God sent away yesterday.
I will finish with this: all decisions made in a Christian organization should come from a place of asking the question, “How is this decision going to effect the Kingdom for God?” And, after hearing from about 40 fellow racers on E squad, Racers on other squads, parents, donors, churches, family members, friends, and (most importantly) contacts out there whom we have served alongside, the answer to that question is the one we want to hear an answer to. Will sending these three Men of God home further the Kingdom of God for his glory now and in the future? If the answer to that question is not a resounding, 100% “yes,” then we have to ask why that decision was made. And if the answer is NO, then leadership has to reconsider its actions and bring our Brothers in Christ back to our squad to continue serving the nations.
Prayerfully written,
Darren & Lyndie Bateman
ps- We want to thank our supporters who have been prayerfully and financially supporting us on this journey. Your support has not been in vain despite the actions of our leadership. We have said from the beginning that the world race was just the vehicle the Lord was using for us to get out onto the mission field to further his kingdom. We feel blessed by all the support and can’t wait to get back home to share what the Lord has been doing out here in the Nations.
