Tag / church planting

by johnkking

Two Remarkable Conversations

One was a young Jewish lady who is training to become a nurse. She said, “Africa is calling my name.” The other was a mother of a six-year old daughter who told me, with tears in her eyes, “No, I cannot picture myself in God’s lap hearing him say, ‘I am proud of you!'”

I traveled to Dallas two days ago to hear news of great things God is doing in Asia. While there I led a devotional for the group. We looked at Ephesians 1:15-23 and Ephesians 3:14-21. Both texts model great intercession and discuss the fact that being on mission with God requires divine power. Paul prayed that the churches planted through the Multiplying Ministry he launched from Ephesus, throughout Asia, would experience God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” (1:19).

Paul also prayed they would grasp the vastness of Christ’s love so they would “be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (3:19). Imagine that! Jesus’s love can produce the fullness of God in us. Then, Paul states a mind-blowing promise–God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (3:20). I am claiming that promise!

Claiming his promise brings me back to those two ladies I mentioned earlier. The first one was in her twenties and had a bubbly personality. She quickly said, “This is only my second flight! Are you a frequent flyer?” I briefly mentioned some of my international flights. She really perked up when I mentioned Africa. “Africa has my name!” she said excitedly. After finding out she was in nursing school, I told her she could do much good in Africa.

Eventually the conversation died down and she pulled out her book. I got out my Kindle and returned to Neil Cole’s book, Church 3.0. After a while I noticed she had fallen asleep. Later she woke from her nap as drinks were being served.

When we returned to our earlier conversation I said, “My first international flight was to Israel.” She really became animated. She told me she was a practicing Jew and was excited she would be able to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land next year. She started asking questions about my trip. I was able to describe some of the remarkably unique characteristics of the tiny strip of land we call Israel.

Before traveling there I did not realize you can stand on a high point in Jerusalem and see the borders to the north, south, east and west. I pointed out to her that this narrow land bridge connects Eur-Asia to Africa. Because of the desert to the east, all the land routes passed through this region. God had called Abraham and his people to this hallway between the largest landmasses of the world. “What an awesome way to put his people on display for the nations!” I praised him. She said, “I never thought about it like that.”

Then she turned to tell me that her parents were divorced and her mom had recently converted to Christianity. Her mom was baptized in Israel on a trip last year. Now she said that her mom wanted her to read the New Testament to be “well-rounded.”

I said, “Well, with the exception of Luke and Acts which were written by a Gentile, the rest of the New Testament is the largest block of Jewish writings from the first century.” I proceeded to tell her that the first four books tell the story of Jesus for the sake of communicating it well to four different people groups. Matthew writes for a more Jewish audience. Mark tells the story of Jesus for Romans. Of course, Luke writes for Gentiles. Then John seems to tell it for a more Eastern mind-set. She asked, “Now which one was for Jewish readers?” I told her it was Matthew, the first one and gave a few illustrations. She seemed intrigued. We were taxing into DFW airport, so our conversation ended.

On the return flight I noticed that the lady sitting next to me had on a jacket with a Belmont University logo. I said, “Oh, are you a student at Belmont?”

She said, “No, I have worked there for seventeen years!” So I asked if she was on the faculty and she said, “I am an adjunct faculty member, but I work full-time in the recreation department.”

She asked about my work and I told her that I had gone to a conference in Dallas because of my work training indigenous church planters in Africa. She seemed interested so I shared the four questions we train them to use when they facilitate Discovery Bible Studies. After she asked a question I told her that the third question about obedience is where inner transformation takes hold. When she showed and openness to hearing more I shared the S.P.E.C.K. questions that can help us discover how to obey any passage. As I got to the third “P”–“Is there a Promise here that I can claim?” I mentioned the promise in Ephesians 3:20 of God’s willingness and ability to give us more.

A question popped into my mind, right at this point. I asked it–“Can’t you just picture yourself crawling up in God’s lap to ask him for something and hearing him say, ‘You make me so proud!”?

As she fought back the tears she said, “No. I know he exists, and I know he is able, but I am not worthy of that. He is Sovereign and he can do what he wants. I don’t want to risk asking for something he does not want to give me and getting a ‘No.'”

My heart just ached. But I had solid confirmation that she is churched. Sovereign is a word you only hear from church people. It turns out she is a pastor’s wife for a church that has been shrinking from 70 to 50 since they have been working with them.

I reminded her of Jesus’ story about the Prodigal Son, pointing out that the younger boy was not worthy of Papa’s extravagant grace. While he’s practicing his “I’m unworthy” speech his dad is running to receive him back as his son.

I returned to finish the letters “E.C.K.” Then I asked, “Does that make sense? Can you think of somewhere you might do that kind of study?”

“Well, I was actually thinking about that and had begun to think maybe I could do it in a Bible study with some of the girls who work for me. We employ over 100 of our students. Up until two years ago I always did a Bible study with some of them. Maybe I can start one using this approach this fall.”

Our flight landed and we started to de-plane. Since I had an aisle seat, I stepped out and back to allow her and the lady across from my seat out. We walked through the plane, out to the concourse. She stepped aside to let the other lady go by saying, “I will wait on my co-worker.” As I passed, she said, “Thank you.”

I said, “I will pray that you find a Lady of Peace–one of those girls who works for you who will be willing to invite her friends for the study. That way you can harvest grapes and bananas, rather than apples and oranges.”

Wow, I have never had one conversation like those, let alone two. Isn’t it just like “The Impossibility Specialist” to give me these two interactions? I praise Papa for the Holy Spirit leading me through these conversations! I do pray the first lady reads Matthew and finds her heart burning in her. I pray the second one finds a Person of Peace and experiences the joy of God’s pleasure as she uses this awesome group harvesting strategy!

by johnkking

Conspicuously Spiritual, but…

Last week I posted something old and something new. First, I posted an article I wrote in 2006 that described what happened when I first taught a group of church planters in Sierra Leone to do 3-column studies. I had seen a reference to such an approach in a file on my mentor’s web site. No one had ever shown me how to do one. It just sounded like a format that could be easily implemented. (Of course I promptly complicated the process by envisioning ways to make it easier to get people to do a 3-column study, but God corrected my error.)

Then I wrote about God’s directives for any new king. That passage from Deuteronomy caught my attention because I have recently been training Americans to do 3-column studies. It gives me a text that directs leaders to write out Scriptures and then spend time every day meditating on the implications for their realm of influence.

Let’s spend some time evaluating the purpose of each of the three columns. The first column slows me down and causes me to hear the words. I must do this or I will be unable to complete the second column. Even when I used to cut and paste the text into the first column, I always had to re-read the passage numerous times to understand how to state its meaning in my own words. Writing the passage out has me handling the text. It gives me a measurable activity that indicates I have spent time with this word from God.

The second column provides proof that I have used my powers of observation. I can answer the journalists questions (Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?). By restating the passage I verify to myself that I can help someone else hear its meaning. There are many passages that I find this to be harder to accomplish than I earlier imagined. Sometimes the more familiar I am with the passage the more difficult I find the second column to be. If I cannot put it in my words, then I do not understand its meaning. If I cannot restate it I cannot share it with someone else. While column 1 is for me, column 2 is for others. It prepares me to speak a word from God into the life of another person.

David Watson has shocked many believers by saying, “People don’t want your religion! They don’t! Now if you are truly spiritual, some of them will want to be around you, but they don’t want your religion. You have to be conspicuously spiritual without being obnoxiously religious.” I really wanted to argue with him when I first heard that statement. It was a blessing that I could not because I was listening to it on MP3 recordings. After I got beyond my initial response I began to think, “You know the word ‘religion’ generally has to be qualified in Scriptures.” The first text I thought of was the one in James where he says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). The use of “pure and faultless” warns us there is impure and fault-filled religion.

Conspicuously Spiritual

This part of David’s affirmation made perfect sense to me. This is what Jesus was talking about when he described the good deeds of disciples lived out in the open. He said that our lives should be so ministry-filled that people see what we do and give God glory. Jesus said,”You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Conspicuously (readily seen) spiritual (God-like in nature) is to be our hallmark.

Without being obnoxiously religious

Here is the hard part. How much and what kind of religion will others find obnoxious? Should I really give other people the right to judge my actions? How can I avoid being obnoxious in the eyes of others?

The key, in my judgment, is giving people the freedom to opt out at any point of a discussion. One of the best ways I know to do this is make a statement like, “I learned something new about God yesterday.” Anyone who hears me say this has the right to question, ignore or scorn my affirmation. If she/he is curious then there will be the question, “What did you learn about God?” By asking me this, I am being given permission to pursue the conversation a little further. If she ignores my statement, then she is not open yet. If he scorns my comment then I know he is closed to spiritual discussions with me at this time. To push the discussion with the later two will be viewed by them as obnoxiously religious because they have opted out.

With the person who queries me I will need to use care. So far, all he/she has communicated is curiosity about my affirmation. This person may just think I am crazy. He may wonder if I am hearing voices. She may be curious whether or not this is a trap. I suggest you just give a brief statement that summarizes what you studied. For example, I could say, “I learned God want me to hand write my own copy of the law.” Now the ball is in this person’s court. My response will give him/her the opportunity to decide whether or not to proceed further. As long as I do not dump a whole load of judgmental-ism our conversation can go as far as this person is willing.

What I am looking for in the conversation is permission to help this person discover God’s character for himself/herself. I know it will be best if this discovery process can happen in a context of this person’s significant relationships, but I first need to find out whether or not there is a willingness to participate in a discovery process.

By writing out column 2 I am preparing myself for that kind of dialogue. I am discovering something about God that is fresh, new and intriguing for me. My passion for this new insight is more likely to capture the favorable attention of another person, especially someone on whom God’s Spirit is already working. (Jesus describes such an individual as “a person of peace” in Luke 10:5.) I believe we need this kind of process to help us be conspicuously spiritual without being obnoxiously religious.

Column 3 prepares me to obey the passage I have written and paraphrased. It pushes me to open myself to being convicted by the Spirit of God. It reminds me what the Lord authoritatively demands of my life. It pushes me to be honest with God, myself and another human being (I will share at least one of these with my small group and expect them to ask me next week how I did being obedient). This column pushes me to stop deflecting the passage by spending my time discussing what others need to do to obey it. Column 3 tests my honesty and integrity. It gauges whether I am a wise man or a fool (Matthew 7:24-27). Am I going to show Jesus my love for him by obeying him? Am I going to play the fool by hearing him and then refusing to apply the word to my life?

Let me return to the Sierra Leone story for just a few moments. It looks likely that every village in the nation will have a church by the end of 2010, or at the latest 2011. When that happens this will be a remarkable example of saturation church planting. This is happening because thousands of people are hearing God’s word and being obedient. Using 3-column studies (among the literate) and teaching S.P.E.C.K. to everyone, especially the illiterate, they are being equipped to hear and obey Scripture. The Anglican bishop of Sierra Leone calls my friend every three days or so to tell him about his personal devotions with 3-column studies and about the exciting things happening in the Anglican church as a result of CPM. In addition to training every leader in his own fellowship, my friend has trained military chaplains who are going into the civilian communities to serve, and planting CPM-type churches among civilians. Civilians are also coming onto military bases to participate in the churches there.

Since late 2005 God has used these people and study methods to shine beacons of light into a nation that only recently came through a horrible civil war (the movie Blood Diamond was based on the war). Imagine what can happen to our lives through this process.

by johnkking

Training Trainers: An Attempt to Train Church Planters in Training New Disciples in Doing Their Own Inductive Bible Study

[NOTE: This is an article I wrote in early 2006 that has not been published. I am posting it here because of its relevance to my greatest passion–training people to train others in a simple process of learning God’s heart and becoming obedient to His word.]

Likely we have all heard the old adage, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  What if we raised it to a higher power?  “Teach him to train his village to fish and you feed them all for a lifetime.”

Replication is one of the fundamental principles of Church Planting Movements (CPM).  Disciples of Jesus should replicate the Master’s ministry of pouring himself into people who will in turn teach what they are learning to others who pass it on . . . Churches also should be reproducing pregnant churches.  At its fundamental center Church Planting is about understanding and practicing this call to replication from day one.  It also serves as a basic test for all methodology.  Disciples should be discipled in a manner that they can replicate (e.g., if evangelists are going to be working in village settings it is best if they are trained in methods that will be readily available in the villages).

In the spring of 2005 I was commissioned with the task of developing and implementing an approach to training people to train others in doing their own inductive Bible study.  This assignment came because there was a weakness in this critical Bible study approach in Sierra Leone.  As David Watson trained church leaders there in CPM earlier that year he identified this deficiency.  With this insight, Jerry Trousdale and Shodankeh Johnson encouraged me to return in November 2005 and train a group in doing Inductive Bible Studies.

As I sought guidance in developing a strategy for accomplishing this task I was reminded that such learning is “only internalized through practical work.” I was reminded that church planters should be lead “through a time of struggling with passages that relate to the biblical basis of CPM, both as a way of solidifying their understanding of how the inductive process works, as well as being personally sharpened in looking for a theology of CPM.”

Where Should They Begin?

 “What is my theology of CPM?” and “What passages do I encourage disciples to investigate to discover the biblical basis for CPM?” were questions that kept arising in my thinking.  The answer was the Ephesus material.

Let me point out, that as a Bible student, few practices trouble me more than “proof-texting.”  Selecting a few verses from random biblical sites and stringing them together as the proof for a position is always tenuous at best.  While it may be acceptable when under severe time constraints, this methodology is very susceptible to abuse.  I much prefer finding a block of connected material and carefully studying it rather than skipping around.

Few cities rival the prominent position of Ephesus in the New Testament.  Jerusalem, Antioch of Syria, Corinth and Rome are possible candidates.  But when you consider them in light of CPM, Ephesus has more to offer.  Paul desired to work in the Roman province of Asia during the early stages of the second missionary journey, but the Holy Spirit prevented that from happening (Acts 16:6).  God’s Spirit had already prepared persons of peace (Lydia, the jailor, Dionysius, Damaris, Titius Justis, etc.) in Macedonia and Achaia and the apostle and his church planting team heeded divine directions.  But Paul was able to close his second church-planting trip with a short stay in the capitol of Asia and left with a promise, “I will come back if it is God’s will” (Acts 18:21).

Acts 19 tells the wonderful story of the successful launching of a church planting movement.  An opponent testifies to the impact of Paul’s ministry.  A silversmith named Demetrius was angered that the apostle’s work adversely impacted the “bottom line” of his business.  He pointed out to the other silversmiths, “you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia” (Acts 19:26).  We know that churches were planted in nearby Laodicea and Colossae during the time Paul was in Ephesus.

The three years Paul labored in Ephesus was his longest time spent with any of his church plants.  Many believe he rarely stayed longer than six to nine months in the cities where he planted churches.  I believe the reason he stayed unusually long in Ephesus was he essentially established a church planting training center in the “lecture hall of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9).

When you examine Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and 1 Timothy through this Acts material some interesting insights arise. (It is also interesting to note that John’s Gospel, his letters and Revelation may well have arisen in this context of Asia,too.)  In Ephesus Paul modeled Jesus’ teaching about seeking out persons of peace (Luke 10).  He quickly focused on training local leaders so indigenous churches would develop.  Much can be learned about doing church planting well by investigating the Ephesus material.

How Do You Train in Three Days?

 How do you train people to do their own inductive Bible study, introduce them to the Ephesus material and guide them in the process of discovering their own nascent theology of CPM in three days?  That was my dilemma.

After prayer and through dialogue with colleagues I decided to introduce the church planters to inductive study by giving them the one-page chart that had been developed by David Sargeant.  This Inductive Bible Study Approach—Outline is a succinct tool that encourages Bible students to answer basic journalistic questions:  who, what, where, when, why and how.  It calls them to think about the text in a way that equips them to re-tell it in their own words—basic exegesis.  Then it pushes them to think about how the passage should be applied to their own lives.  Through the S.P.E.C.K. method and additional discussion questions the students are led to determine how they will obey the text they are studying.

The first day in Sierra Leone I passed out copies of this outline and introduced the students to the issues it raises.  After some time was spent on this approach I divided them into six randomly assigned small groups.  Each person was given a 3-Column format to use in reporting the results of their inductive study.  Unknown to them, each group was assigned a different section of the Ephesus material.

Acts19:1-22, Acts 19:23-20:1, Acts 20:13-38, Ephesians 1:1-23; Ephesians 3:1-4:16 and Ephesians 6:10-24 were the texts I selected, formatted and gave out copies.  Each small group was encouraged to spend time discussing the questions raised on the Inductive Bible Study Approach.  Also, they were taught that the first two sections of that outline would be helpful in completing the “Exegesis” column and the rest of the sections would be helpful in completing the “Application” column.  After spending time as a group examining their texts they were dismissed to use the rest of the day to complete in writing their 3-column study of their assigned text.

On the second day a representative of each group presented his/her rephrasing of the assigned text.  After all six passages were retold, then a different representative of each group shared what he/she heard God calling for obedience from the assigned text. 

Quickly the students realized their assumption that all the groups had been studying the same texts was incorrect.  But they also began to recognize that the other passages related directly to their text.  By teaching what they had encountered, each group broadened the knowledge of the other five groups.  Then the students turned in their 3-column papers.  This process took the first half of the second day.  That afternoon we began the process of distilling principles related to Church Planting that appeared in the texts:

  1. The importance of prayer was recognized first.  Paul’s practice of praying for those he was discipling was clearly seen in the Ephesians texts.  His conduct while in Ephesus and Miletus shows the importance of prayer in his church planting strategy.
  2. The role of obedience was mentioned second.  This is especially evident in Paul’s dialogue with the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 and it is also seen in the choice of Ephesian believers to destroy their magical stuff (Acts 19:18-19).  We noted that Paul’s desire that they know Jesus would have entailed behavior and not just head knowledge.
  3. The issue of spiritual warfare being a part of church planting was noted.  The riot in Ephesus and Paul’s words to the elders about them not seeing him again, were coupled with the “spiritual armor” text in Ephesians.  There was the recognition that some will find the spread of the gospel has an adverse effect on their income and will oppose the work.  It was noted by some of the participants the importance of remembering that the war is not with “flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers” (Eph. 6:12).
  4. The need to develop indigenous leaders was discussed.  This insight was gained from Paul’s dialogue with the elders.  It was also noted that Paul’s conduct in Ephesus, during the time he taught the disciples in a rented school, shows him pouring himself into others.  I also pointed out that Colossians and Philemon are additional letters Paul wrote to believers who lived in the province of Asia and would be worthwhile for them to study in this context.
  5. The fundamental significance of having a servant heart was examined last.  Paul’s lifestyle was held up as an example for the elders to incorporate into their lives.  His practice of tent making was discussed as a way of looking at using a trade as a means of furthering the spread of the gospel.  Some of the participants shared that there are times when such will be beneficial rather than a hindrance to their efforts to plant churches.

Church Planters recognize these are important elements of CPMs.  These students discovered these within their investigation of the assigned texts.  Their sense of the biblical basis for CPM is stronger because these elements arose from connected texts.  Through the discovery process their inductive skills were sharpened as they exercised them.  While my original goals seemed overly high, I believe they were realized.  Did any of the students develop a full-blown theology of CPM?  No, that did not happen, but students of very diverse skill levels were benefited.

Those who had stronger study skills were kept interested because of the purpose of strengthening their theology of CPM.  All were presented with a study methodology that can be replicated.  Their homework for the third day took this issue of replication to a new level.  Every student was assigned 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and 4:11-16 to be studied overnight and bring in a 3-column format.  This time they were not given these texts already typed out.  They were told to write the texts in the first column and then do their exegesis in column 2 and the application in column 3.

The third day they were directed to turn in their homework on these texts.  They were asked to report on the texts.  Several complained that it was much easier to do the work when the texts were provided in the 3-column format.  I asked, “How many of you work primarily in a village setting.  Most said that is where they would be doing their church planting.  Then I asked, “How many of the villages have photocopy machines?” 

“None of the villages,” was their answer.

“How many of you have computers and internet access to format such studies?” was my follow-up question.  Very few had such capability.  I introduced the issue of reproducibility at this point.  While I have the ability to expedite their study in this way, they do not and the people they will be training to teach others in the village how to study will not have such a capacity at all.  They were challenged to make sure they utelize resources to which the people they are teaching will have access.

We can (and often do) unintentionally make the process unattainable for our target audience.  When this happens we program them to not replicate themselves.  Their study in 1 Timothy which focused on the personal qualities of pastors and evangelists gave them additional insights into planting churches in such a way that they can plant churches which plant churches.  We must not allow technology to get in the way and prevent indigenous churches from arising.

by johnkking

Transplanting or Planting?

Years ago, one of the books in the Firefox series was open on my in-laws’ dining room table. The line art picture revealed a sagging pear tree limb growing through a wash tub of dirt that was sitting on a wooden post. The goal of this process was to tease roots out of that limb into the dirt so the rooted limb could be disconnected from the tree and used to start another pear tree.

Decades later I began to hear people talking about “church planting” in the United States. As I listened to what they were discussing, I realized it was actually transplanting. They described a process of gathering a nucleus of people within one church who would form the leadership team that would later move to a new region where there were no churches (or at least not the “right kind” of church). Here these people would “plant” a church that would reflect the spiritual DNA of the “mother church” out of which they were sent.

Please do not misunderstand anything I write below. I value these efforts to spread the borders of the kingdom, but what is being done here is not planting. It is actually transplanting.

Planting involves placing a seed in the ground and watching the mystery of God at work. Only he knows how a tiny seedling tree sprouts. Only he knows how the gospel planted in the heart of a household can sprout a community of faith. Is it possible that our refusal to plant churches in this way reflects a lack of faith in God? Do we actually believe that he is incapable of producing a harvest?

I am leading a class of children in some discovery studies. Their ages span several years and they bless me and challenge me in many ways. I love the ways they respond when they discover insights for the first time. They rarely respond to a passage as though it is “old hat.”

We started the class months ago talking about missionaries that our congregation has been supporting and having each one pray for a particular country. We kept a globe in the center of the table and read passages that discussed sowing the seed. Then we moved to Mark’s Gospel and read it over several weeks with the thought in mind that Mark was writing for a Roman audience that loved a hero. I suggested Jesus’ life story is presented sort of like a comic book, a real-life action hero.

Yesterday I mentioned something about “church planting.” Some of them confessed that this imagery had sounded odd to them when they first heard it. The girls had pictures of spring time when stalks break through the ground and flowers appear. I asked if they had ever done a school project of planting a seed in some soil in a styrofoam cup. All had and at least one of the plants had been a vegetable that eventually had to be transplanted and actually produced fruit.

I asked if any of them had any idea where I got that imagery. They shook their heads no, so I asked them to turn to Matthew 13. We read the parable of the sower and then Jesus’ explanation. Jesus is the one who used this word picture from horticulture. He knew the process that had been launched from creation. He knew we were surrounded by learning labs, if only we have eyes to see.

Then I reminded the class of how we started this whole process with our time of praying for missionaries. I asked about the people for whom they had prayed. I reminded them of the family and their daughter (the same age of some of my students) who had visited our class when they were back in the states. I pointed out to them that this family was busy sowing the seed of the gospel in Brazil.

I am sure some of my childhood memories are why that line-art illustration stuck with me. In the backyard of the house where my great-grandmother lived, there was an abundantly fruitful pear tree. Each fall we would go over to visit her and pick all the pears we wanted (without making a dent in them). Those were the sweetest, most delicious tasting pears I have ever eaten. We would not only eat our fill, we would carefully wrap the pears in newspaper and place them gently in a cardboard box that would be placed in the living room which was only heated Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. Periodically we had the treat of another pear until they were all gone.

Years later when I first started preaching I ministered with a congregation just down the road from that house and the pear tree was still there. I would remember those experiences as I drove by and wish that I had a pear tree just like that one.

The illustration showed me how to do it. Now two things keep me from having one in my back yard. The first is the time and effort it would take to get a branch to root. The second (and bigger deterrent) are all the wasps that are attracted to those pears. I hate wasps!