Missions - a Sovereign Grace Perspective

Sign this petition: Lost In Translation: Keep "Father" & "Son" in the Bible

2012-01-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

Here is the link: http://www.change.org/petitions/lost-in-translation-keep-father-son-in-the-bible

And here is the text:

Western missions agencies Wycliffe, Frontiers and SIL are producing Bibles that remove Father, Son and Son of God because these terms are offensive to Muslims.

Some examples:

• Wycliffe/SIL produced Stories of the Prophets, an Arabic Bible that uses “Lord” instead of “Father” and “Messiah” instead of “Son.”

• Frontiers worked with an SIL consultant to produce True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ, an Arabic translation which removes "Father" in reference to God, and removes or redefines "Son."

• Frontiers produced a Turkish translation of Matthew, distributed by SIL, that uses “guardian” for “Father” and “representative” or “proxy” for “Son.”

• SIL consulted on the Bengali Injil Sharif, advising that “Son” be translated as “God’s Uniquely Intimate Beloved Chosen One.”

By removing Father and Son, these translations fail to portray God as who he is: the familial, eternal, loving God the Father, Son and Spirit. The deity of Jesus is obscured, and thus the self-sacrifice of God on our behalf. In June 2011, the Presbyterian Church of America explicitly declared such translations as “unfaithful to God’s revealed Word” because they “compromise the doctrines of the Trinity, Scripture, and the person and work of Jesus.” John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, said that “it is not biblically justified to . . . remove or replace ‘Father’ and ‘Son of God’ in translating Biblical revelation of God and Jesus Christ in any language.”

Perhaps most importantly, national Christians say these translations are harming their work. Yet Western proponents condone removing Father or Son because they say Muslims can only see sexual connotations to these terms. Numerous missionaries and national believers, however, strongly assert this is not the case. Further, Christian churches in places like Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Middle East, Turkey, and Malaysia have asked these agencies to stop producing these translations, but to no avail.

Adding fuel to the fire, these agencies have raised millions of dollars for these projects, yet donors are unaware their gifts are being used for translations that remove Father, Son and Son of God from the text.

A member of the SIL board indicated that while “a few objections” over these translations would be “dismissable,” SIL would need to respond when the “man in the pew” created a “backlash.” By signing this petition, you are letting these agencies know that your convictions, and the integrity of God’s own Word, can’t be dismissed. Instead, you are asking for a written commitment from Wycliffe, Frontiers and SIL not to remove Father, Son or Son of God from the text of Scripture.

Consider going to the link and signing this petition, as well as checking out what missions your church supports and whether or not you are helping misguided missionaries to muslims reinterpret the bible when they should only be translating it.

The High Privilege of Mobilizing for Missions

2011-11-18T09:42:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 10:24:And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works

The joy of introducing friends to my Lord Jesus! What can compare?

Well, perhaps this - introducing a friend to the joy of missions and seeing God at work in their growing commitment to follow his calling.

David Livingstone’s proclamation rings true: "If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?”　 Our missionary labor is not duty or sacrifice so much as it is God’s gift to us – an invitation into joy.

　

I marvel that God has saved me. Furthermore, He has called me into service and into a hard place among the unreached. His kindness to me overflows. To have the further privilege of introducing others to the joy of missionary service takes my breath away.

　

To not only be caught by the grace of Christ, but also to become a fisher of men is great - but to further become a fisher of fishers of men is an astonishing blessing. Ralph Winter put it well, “If you see a roaring fire, you can grab your bucket, run to the stream, then run to the fire and pour water on it—and you can do that repeatedly. Or you could wake 100 sleeping firemen.

Believers in community bless one another by provoking one another to love and good works by arousing, stirring up, and calling one another to action. Deep Christian fellowship fuses hearts together with a contagious holy ardor that desires to see Christ magnified and which longs for others to desire this as well. One coal alone easily cools; but coals lumped together burn all the hotter. Let us ignite one another to glow brighter and burn hotter for Jesus!

　

Believers are not only blessed to exercise “love and good deeds,” but are further gifted with the privilege of stimulating others to good works. God grants us the gift of not only serving Him but also being fuel and catalysts to help others achieve high and holy ambitions as well.

　

This is multiplication! As we stir up others who in turn do the same, including the invitation and challenge to join us in missionary service, we become multiplicational mobilizers as well as multiplicational church-planters. As we pray for church planting movements to occur among people-groups around the world, we can also work to initiate mobilization movements among our own circles of support as we each fish from the ponds which God has providentially provided for us.

　

Intentionality is commanded. The word “consider” demonstrates thoughtful planning in our quest. We are to conspire and plot to bless others lavishly! We bless others by seeking their good, recruiting them into greater levels of service. We love them by helping them reach their full potential. We have but one arrow of life to shoot, let us charge our friends to aim well! As such, mobilization is an act of love.

　

We pray for what we value. My personal prayer is this: “Lord, every year may you grant me the ongoing privilege of serving on the field. Please also give me the privilege of significantly helping at least one other single person or family move towards the field.”

　

If God has saved a dear soul and is now calling them into missionary service . . . Oh Lord, what a blessed gift to be able to aid them towards the field of their calling! Give us the privilege of helping other brothers and sisters move forward.

Why Christians should do more than others?

2011-09-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

EIGHT REASONS WHY A CHRISTIAN SHOULD DO MORE THAN OTHERS:

1. Because more is done FOR him than for others.
2. Because he is more nearly RELATED to God than others.
3. Because he PROFESSES more than others.
4. Because he is inwardly CONFORMED to the Redeemer more than others.
5. Because he is WATCHED more than others.
6. Because if he DOES no more than others - it will appear that he IS no more than others.
7. Because he is appointed to be a JUDGE of others.
8. Because he EXPECTS more than others.

As the disciples of Christ are more than others - so the disciples of Christ do more than others.

Where there is an overabundance of privilege - there should be an overabundance of practice.

To whom much is given - of them much shall be required.

Those should bless most - who are the most blessed.

---From William Secker's Nonsuch Professor

Carrying the Grand Banner of Christ, not just your own little denominational flag

2011-09-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

(thanks C. Poe for alerting me to this fine Spurgeon quote)

Here's the nutshell if you've no time to read the full quotation:

‎"We do not regard it to be soul-winning to steal members out of churches already established, and train them to utter our peculiar Shibboleth: we aim rather at bringing souls to Christ.....

..... Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterwards to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes, is a suitable labour for Pharisees: to beget men unto God, is the honourable aim of ministers of Christ."

WHAT IS IT TO WIN A SOUL?

This may be instructively answered by describing what it is not.

We do not regard it to be soul-winning to steal members out of churches already established, and train them to utter our peculiar Shibboleth: we aim rather at bringing souls to Christ than at making converts to our synagogue.

There are sheep-stealers abroad, concerning whom I will say nothing except that they are not “brethren”, or, at least, they do not act in a brotherly fashion. To their own Master they must stand or fall. We count it utter meanness to build up our own house with the ruins of our neighbours’ mansions; we infinitely prefer to quarry for ourselves. I hope we all sympathize in the largehearted spirit of Dr. Chalmers, who, when it was said that such and such an effort would not be beneficial to the special interests of the Free Church of Scotland, although it might promote the general religion of the land, said, “What is the Free Church compared with the Christian good of the people of Scotland?” What, indeed, is any church, or what are all the churches put together, as mere organizations, if they stand in conflict with the moral and spiritual advantage of the nation, or if they impede the kingdom of Christ?

It is because God blesses men through the churches that we desire to see them prosper, and not merely for the sake of the churches themselves. There is such a thing as selfishness in our eagerness for the aggrandisement of our own party; and from this evil spirit may grace deliver us! The increase of the kingdom is more to be desired than the growth of a clan.

We would do a great deal to make a Paedobaptist brother into a Baptist, for we value our Lord’s ordinances; we would labour earnestly to raise a believer in salvation by free-will into a believer in salvation by grace, for we long to see all religious teaching built upon the solid rock of truth, and not upon the sand of imagination; but, at the same time, our grand object is not the revision of opinions, but the regeneration of natures.

We would bring men to Christ and not to our own peculiar views of Christianity. Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterwards to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes, is a suitable labour for Pharisees: to beget men unto God, is the honourable aim of ministers of Christ.

C.H. Spurgeon, The Soul Winner, p. 11-12, Pilgrim Publications, 2007.

Are we asking?

2011-09-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Regarding new missionaries...perhaps we have not because we ask not.

The Lord himself commands us to praythe Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers, and it appears that God will bepleased to answer prayers that are commanded such as this – if His Peopleactually do pray for such things.

Our Father does, indeed, seem pleased toanswer the prayers of his people (Matthew 7:7-11;18:19; 21:22; Luke 11:9; John14:13; 15:7,16; 16:23-24; Philippians 4:6; Philippians 4:19; James 1:5; 4:2;1John 3:22;5:14), how much more ready will He be to answer prayers resultingfrom an explicit request of His Son.

Not merely running; being sent

2011-09-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

They werecommissioned:

As they ministered tothe Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul forthe work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, andlaid their hands on them, they sent them away.

We witness here a commissioning service in Acts 13, alaying on of hands. This wasn’t ordination, but a formal recognition andseparation for a special task.

The Apostle Paul was alreadya missionary, but now the Antioch church gives him formal recognition andauthority unto this new task. Acts 13 wasn‘t Paul‘s ordination service, but aformal declaration that he was to be sent forth with a mission. Such an actconfirms the local church‘s commendation of the missionary. It is their seal ofapproval, a transfer of authority, granting the missionary the right to act inthe name of the church for the sake of the Glory of Jesus.

When a church layson hands this is a testimony that they recognize the fittedness and thepreparedness of the missionary to serve in that cross-cultural capacity forwhich they were commissioned.

It is an affirmation of suitabilityand, therefore, not a light or casual event. As eager as local churches are tosend one of their own to the field, such a serious step should give pause tochurches lest they risk turning their ugly ducklings into swans and confirm onewho should not be sent. Many commissioning services include a charge both tothe missionary and also to the sending church body, reminding them of theirmutual obligations.

Such a laying on of hands isan evidence that the missionary is not merely one who runs forward on his own,but is one who is sent. He is not layinghands on himself, but the larger body of Christ is testifying that themissionary is truly, indeed, a “sent-out one.”

The Apostle Paul returned to Antioch

2011-09-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Paul went back to his home church and stayed there for a while:

In Acts 14:26-28 we read the following;

…Andthence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace ofGod for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and hadgathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them,and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abodelong time with the disciples.

Paul returned home to Antiochand resumed a close relationship with his home church, cheering their heartsand encouraging them by reports of the work. His ministry did not cease once hearrived back home. The missionary ought not to seek merely to bless his targetpeople “over there.” He should seek to bless the “home folks” as well.

Some literature speaks ofPaul returning to Antioch in order to “report back” to his authority, but Ithink this misses the point. Paul wasn’t merely dutifully reporting to hisboss; instead, he was celebrating with family! He rejoiced with the church,stayed with them for quite some time, resumed his old teaching and leadershipduties, and even engaged in deep theological controversy with the Judaizers inthe very next chapter.

Paul wanted to celebrate with his Antiochan family becausethe missionary task is not a “one man show.” This was their mutual work.

Missions is a state of total war; not all go far away to fight, but all laboron behalf of the war effort.

What apleasure when beautiful feet which bring glad tidings of good things have theirorigin in your local churches and are shod by the loving care of your ownpeople!

The local church - hot-house and nursery for the task of planting in the world

2011-09-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

Small tender plants are often raised in a greenhouse,and small trees are often matured first in a nursery. There, tender shoots arestrengthened and readied for the world.

The church functions in just such away.

Believers are matured and readied for service out in the world. Greenhousebuds are not prepped merely for more long-term residence living in thegreenhouse; likewise, our goal in church attendance is not merely to attendmore church, but to become well-nourished and prepared as one of God’s roses tomake the world more beautiful and sweet.

Whether standing tall or crushedunderfoot we are to sweeten the world.

A Solid Port and Steady Winds for the Missionary Journey

2011-09-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

A missionary can be likenedto a sailing vessel, the missionary’s journey to a great sea voyage. The sweatof many brows and many calloused hands make the vessel seaworthy. Then, thesails are hoisted, farewells are given, and the vessel debarks, often crossingvast spaces and reaching lands far different from home. Sails which are fulland rounded with the wind drive the ship onward towards its destination.

Without a solid launchingport, the missionary vessel often founders or is lost at sea. One’s localsending church is such a port, a harbor from which to launch the missionaryvessel in zealous obedience to the biblical mandate. Much peril was faced bytrading companies reaching precious spices in days of old; how much greater isour charter, how much more regal our sending King, and how much more vital thegoal of our journey.

Does regular prayer andfinancial support help “fill the sails” of your missionaries?

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
‘Twas sad as sad could be ;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea !

…Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean…

-SamuelColeridge Taylor, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Doldrums were the fear ofsailing men of ages past, being stuck on a still and painted ocean untilprovisions ran out and the crew slowly succumbed to slow weakening and death.

Don’t let your missionary getcaught in the doldrums! Fill their sails with contact, loving affirmation, andenough material support to keep them on their voyage.

God is the one who plants the Church

2011-09-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

“…They rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.”

----------Acts 14

Paul was a very active worker, and yet Acts 14 speaks of all that God was doing.

The entire world is the stage, yet God is the main actor in missions; we merely fill bit parts (and we usually stutter our lines). God is the bringer of results. God plants the Church.

William Carey and co-workers recognized this truth in their Serampore Covenant:

“We are firmly persuaded that Paul might plant and Apollos water, in vain, in any part of the world, did not God give the increase. We are sure that only those ordained to eternal life will believe, and that God alone can add to the church such as shall be saved.

Nevertheless we cannot but observe with admiration that Paul, the great champion for the glorious doctrine of free and sovereign grace, was the most conspicuous for his personal zeal in the word of persuading men to be reconciled to God. In this respect he is a noble example for our imitation.

Our Lord intimated to those of His apostles who were fishermen, that he would make them fishers of men, intimating that in all weathers, and amidst every disappointment they were to aim at drawing men to the shores of eternal life.

Solomon says: “He that winneth souls is wise,” implying, no doubt, that the work of gaining over men to the side of God, was to be done by winning methods, and that it required the greatest wisdom to do it with success.”

Strive to be as involved as possible

2011-09-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

If you can support missionaries by prayer, don’t be content to merely read missionary newsletters. If you can support missionaries financially, don’t be content merely to support missionaries by prayer. If you can support missionaries sent out by your own church, don’t be content merely to support those sent out by other churches. If you yourself can go out, don‘t be content merely to support others whom your church sends. Be as involved as possible! As the Church charges the battlements of the enemy, press as far forward into the front lines as possible!

Did the Apostle Paul make his material needs known?

2011-08-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Did the Apostle Paul, as our model missionary, make his needs known on the mission field? Furthermore, did he expect a response to those expressed needs?

I Corinthians 1:15-16:

15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;

16And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.

And again,
Romans 15:24:

24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you,

Paul expected help in being sent on his way. What does that mean?

The greek word (sorry, I've got no Greek font here) is propemfthenai, derived from propempo, and Baur and other Greek scholars state that this word denotes an expectation of "help on one's journey with food, money, by arranging for companions, means of travel, etc." Thus, Paul is stating an expectation that the church will provide for him materially as he goes out beyond them with the Gospel.

What is more, Paul had never even personally visited this Roman church before, and still has the audacity to expect help from them as he continues westward!

Furthermore, Paul is so bold as to assert, in Philippians 4:15-17,

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

Paul wants the Philippians to give in order that they may be blessed by giving.

Furthermore, though he desired not to appear like the travelling paid teachers (sophists) and so personally made tents, the Apostle Paul did vigorously defend the right of other servants of God to be recompensed; "the laborer is worthy of his hire."
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I have heard some missionaries pride themselves on not "begging like other missionaries," meaning that they either never vocalize their needs or else never ask supporters to give towards those needs. They, in contrast, were just "praying and trusting in God."

Wow, now imagine how that makes this missionary feel? I, after all, always make it a policy to be very open and transparent about all my needs? I have never thought of myself as a begger before. And the last I checked, I am still "praying and trusting God" also; I merely add the common-sensical and permissible means of informing supporters of those needs, since the normal means by which the church moves is through known information.

Concerning personal views regarding missionary support raising, my wish is that we allow the same measure of freedom that the Apostle Paul allows for (and which the Apostle even practices on occasion, making known his hope of material support on the occasions quoted above) when it concerns this thorny issue of missions and money.

George Muller does not trump the Great Apostle, and Muller's personal calling should not be made normative for all missionaries.

Missionaries are not beggers, but we are extensions of the established church who are sent out to do the work of missions in the name of the church.

May I be so bold as to say that, when I communicate missionary needs on the field, I am not at all begging, but giving churches the opportunity to be blessed. After all, if I am truly working towards the spread of the Gospel and following the Apostle Paul's motives, then I, too, "...seek a profit which increases to your account" (Phil. 4:17).

C.T. Studd on the "Romance" of Missions

2011-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

"The "romance" of a missionary is often made up of monotony and drudgery; there often is no glamor in it; it doesn't stir a man's spirit or blood.

So don't come out to be a missionary as an experiment, for that is useless and dangerous. Only come if you feel you would rather die than not come.

Lord Wolsey was right: "A missionary ought to be a fanatic or he encumbers the ground." There are many trials and hardships. Disappointments are numerous and the time of learning the language is especially trying. Don't come if you want to make a great name or want to live long. Only come if you feel there is no greater honor, after living for Christ, than to die for Him. That does the trick in the end.

It's not the flash in the pan, but the steady giving forth of light and the shining on and on that we need out here. Our job is to make all hear the Word and God's job is to give penetration to His Word."

The PCA General Assembly (overture 9) to address the issue of Muslim Insider Movements

2011-06-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

"Overture 9 from the PCA's Potomac Presbytery expresses grave concern concerning the practices of the “Insider Movement” regarding their translation practices..."

"The issue comes to the fore in the matter of Bible translating...they want to translate “son” as “messiah” in reference to Jesus because it is offensive to Muslims."

The Sonship of Jesus is more than a mere minor linguistic concern, but is central to Christian Trinitarian theology. Huios Tou Theou should not be rendered Messiah rather than "Son of God" based on audience preference.

Praise God for the PCA who is making a stand against radical contextualization.

"A Common Word" between Christians and Muslims?

2011-05-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

“A Common Word Between Us and You” is a letter sent to Christian leaders everywhere on October 13th, 2007, by 138 Muslim scholars.

This document states that Muslims and Christians enjoy common ground in several areas, such as our "love of God" and our "love of neighbor."

However, can a false religion that denies the Trinity and denies the substitutionary atonement of Christ for sinners really be said to love the true God? Can a religion that allows for Jihad really be said to be one which cultivates love towards all their neighbors (including the khafir)?

This trend towards focusing on "common ground" rather than contending for legitimate points of difference is a hallmark of modern evangelical missions towards Muslims. We may look for legitimate "open windows" rather than beating on closed doors, but let us never do so at the expense of truth.

We are in the midst of several dangerous trends regarding missions to muslims, such as:

-Radical contextualization,
-Re-translating the Greek "Hiuos Tou Theou" the Son of God into "less offensive" renderings and similar "dynamic equivalence" offenses against the Scriptures,
--Some western missionaries refer to themselves as Muslims and have said the Shahada,
--There is a concerted effort by Western missionaries not to have local believers take the name of "Christian" or join an established church. Some "believers" remain unbaptized, use the name "Muslim" and take part in mosque worship, long after they have "confessed Christ."

While using the Qur'an as a bridge to the Bible might be permissible (if that bridge is quickly crossed and does not become a parking lot), many are misleading Muslims regarding the content of the Qur'an. Look at this quote from the popular book on missionary methodology among Muslims, referred to as "The Camel Method":

"Barrier #4: What Do You Say about Mohammed? This is the big question. Muslims take great offense at those who would profane their prophet. The best bridge to overcome the barrier of Mohammed is to simply say: "I agree with what the Qur'an says about Mohammed." - The Camel (2007), 144. (Note: I believe later editions of the Camel Method may have revised this paragraph, hopefully)

This is the methodology that new missionaries to the Muslim world are being taught today.

In the past, it is granted that missionaries went out to the muslim world without adequate anthropological knowledge and often merely exported external forms of the institutional church. But what we are seeing today is not merely anthropological deficiency, but major doctrinal and theological betrayals.

See John Piper on the youtube link below to hear his critique:

http://youtu.be/rTY-9FY13kw

Offering Yourself For Missions

2011-05-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Willing to Go

More than a century ago, a missionary meeting was held in the First Baptist church, Richmond, Virginia. When the offering for missions was taken, the people gave generously and sacrificially.

When the ushers were counting the offering, they found in one basket a card on which was written the word Myself. It was signed, "John Lewis Shuck."

The card was immediately carried to the pastor. With deep feeling he read it to the congregation.

John Lewis Shuck had heard God‘s call: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" and he had responded, "Here am I; send me" (Isa. 6:8). He was the first Southern Baptist missionary to go to China.

The gift which God wants most of all from us is the gift of self: "I seek not yours, but you." (2 Cor. 12:14)

(Taken from the newsletter of the Spurgeon Baptist Association of Churches, www.sbaoc.org).

Since not every Christian is able to go, those of us who are, indeed, able should ask the question, "Should I go?"

Generosity and Dependency in Missions

2011-05-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

Many mission fields are very poor. Many missionaries come from very rich nations.

Even if many missionaries live below an "average" economic baseline when compared to their own countrymen, we must realize that the average "poor" missionary from America is still often a "rich" man overseas.

This economic disparity creates a ripe breeding ground for dependency.

What is dependency?

Dependency is the loss of local initiative and ownership that can unintentionally result from our giving. People are given a hand-out instead of a hand-up. Or they are given help only based on certain conditions which serve to disempower them. The recipient becomes "stuck" - and is left feeling helpless - in a state of having his identity defined as being merely a pitiable recipient of the charity of others, rather than a person of dignity who is providing for his own family and determining his own future. Motivation and initiative is thus squelched. Resentment may even arise in the hearts of some recipients because such giving is an insult to their dignity and self-worth.

It is not merely the fact that we give that is important. HOW we give is also important. We are not loving others if, by our giving, we are demeaning their self worth.

We do not want our generosity to produce unintended negative consequences, such as enabling idleness, stealing local ownership or communicating a message that defines others only through their poverty and need.

Imagine yourself as a father and breadwinner unable to feed your own family. Imagine the shame of having others provide where you have failed. Imagine having to endure such charity regularly. Imagine being the object of someone else's prayer letter or blog back home; your existence and identity being defined by your want and your privation rather than by your achievements and successes. Imagine the cumulative toll and the hopelessness and despair that such a situation could provoke.

Stinginess is not to be our default:

Let it be noted that, in our attempts to avoid dependency, we are not to take a default position of stinginess, but that generosity and self-sacrifice ought to be clearly evident as we engage in ministry.

Two books that I highly recommend are (1) When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett and also (2) To Give or Not to Give: Rethinking Dependency, Restoring Generosity & Redefining Sustainability by John Rowell

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Here are some further suggestions drawn from the two books above for avoiding dependency, even while exercising generosity:

• Christians are giving people. And there are appropriate pathways to channel this generosity. In our efforts to reduce the risk of dependency, we ought never to limit generosity. Given the great needs in the world, better channels of giving, rather than reduced giving, is the better pursuit.

• We will distinguish between relief and development. Those who are experiencing disaster may need an immediate outpouring of monetary and material aid. This can come from the outside and come with little local initiative or ownership. However, for long-term development, sustainable strategies that increase local initiative and ownership ought to be encouraged (giving a hand-up rather than a hand-out).

In general, we are to avoid doing anything for the people which they can do for themselves and any monetary or material aid merely ought to be used as a catalyst to encourage or sustain existing locally-initiated efforts or as a bridge enabling local communities to work towards the eventual goal of self-support.

• Money ought never to be used as a tool to dominate. We ought to avoid any giving that reduces local leadership, initiative or ownership. We should not give to enforce our wills on others, but to make possible what is agreed upon by both the mission and its indigenous partners.

• Works of compassion are not to be treated merely as a means to an end. We help because we love. Humanitarian work is not to be used as a bait-and-switch technique to lure people to Jesus through material gain, but naturally springs forth from Christian compassion.

• Those who will not work should not eat (II Thessalonians 2:10). We ought to ensure that our generosity does enable locals to depend on us or feign greater levels of poverty or self-pity in order to increase their dole. If someone is, in fact, working but their work is inefficient, it is permissible to give a hand to the industrious, remove barriers from the inefficiencies of work, or to help remove hindrances or even oppressive power structures which contribute to inequities and deprive the poor of the fruit of their labors.

23 Reasons Why YOU Should Become a Missionary

2011-05-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

#1 Because God will not leave dumb idols to steal his praise! (Isa 42.8)

#2 Because God will not allow the usurper Satan to keep reigning (Gen 3.15; 1Jn 3.8), but Christ has bound him & is plundering his kingdom (Mt 12.28,29).

#3 Because the Father loves his Son so much, that he honors him with an inheritance of men from all peoples (Psa 2.7,8; Jn 6.37; 17.6).

#4 Because God, who cannot lie, promised to bless all people groups through the Messiah, the Son of Abraham (Gen 12.1-3).

#5 Because when we multiply believers we multiply God’s praise (Psa 96).

#6 Because one people group is too small a chorus to sing the praises of our God; He will fill the earth with his glory, and all peoples with his praise (Isa 49.6).

#7 Because Christ has already paid the price for men of every family on earth; they are his! (Jn 12.32; 1Jn 2.2)

#8 Because the end is certain: God shall be praised by all peoples (Rev 7.9,10; 5.9,10).

#9 Because, to this end, God gave all authority to the resurrected Man Jesus Christ (Mt 28.19,20; Acts 5.31), making him the Lord & only Savior of men from every
people group (1Ti 2.5).

#10 Because, to this end, God gave the Holy Spirit to his people (Acts 1.8), that they would be equipped to proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.

#11 Because Christ has sent us all into the world & he fills the earth with his Kingdom through us, just as the Father sent Him into the world to take dominion over it all (Jn 20.21; 17.15-18).

#12 Because God prepared from all eternity for us to do this work (Eph 2.10).

#13 Because we are all slaves of Christ, and compelled by his great love for us to proclaim his greatness to others (2Co 5.14,15).

#14 Because, by proclaiming the Gospel and reclaiming Lost Sheep, we fill heaven with joy, more than 99 Christians sitting in church (Lk 15.7).

#15 Because there are other Sheep that Christ will bring to himself (Jn 10.14-16); and he will make one Sheepfold of all peoples, and Christ himself will be our One Shepherd (Isa 40.9-11; Eze 34.11-16,22-31).

#16 Because the Body of Christ will not be complete without the others, who've not yet come (Heb 11.40).

#17 Because our message really is Good News that speaks to the hearts of all men, and their lives (Lk 2.10,11,30-32).

#18 Because without Christ, our brothers & sisters according to the flesh will perish (Rom 9.1-3).

#19 For the joy of remitting sins (Jn 20.21-23), and defeating Satan (Mt 12.28,29).

#20 For the joy of bringing the Good News to a people who’ve never heard of Jesus.

#21 For the joy of working together with God in his great work (1Co 3.5-9).

#22 Because investments in his Kingdom now, pay unimaginable dividends when Christ returns (Lk 16.1-12; 19.17; Mt 19.28,29).

#23 Because your time is short! (Jam 4.14; Psa 103.15,16) What will your life count?

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(thanks to Michael Pfleegor, missionary appointee with World Team. To help his cause, contact him at gracepreacher@hotmail.com).

Are we too easily deterred from attempting great things for God?

2011-05-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

George Stott was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the newly formed China Inland Mission.

Although he was an amputee, missing his left leg, he labored for the Gospel in China for 23 years, arriving in October, 1865.

His efforts brought Christianity to the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, where the teaching had been unknown, previously. The oldest church in the city, Chengxi Christian Church, still stands as a testimony to his work among the people that he loved. As a result of the ongoing influence of the message of Christ first brought there by Stott, Wenzhou is known today as the “Jerusalem of China” because in the entire Wenzhou Municipality, which has 6 million inhabitants, there are more than 600,000 evangelical Protestants – 10% of the population.

In accepting Mr. Stott for mission work, Hudson Taylor manifested faith, for no Society would have sent an amputee to such a country to pioneer work, and Mr. Stott often referred with gratitude to Mr. Taylor's acceptance of him. When asked why he, with only one leg, should think of going to China, his remark was,

" I do not see those with two legs going, so I must." "

From Wickapedia's entry for Stott.

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See also this moving youtube clip about another one-legged evangelist.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJeERJ7GF0

DON’T GEORGE MUELLER ME!

2011-02-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

A MISSIONARY'S PLEA FOR UNDERSTANDING

INTRODUCTION:

George Mueller (1805-1898) is a model of faith for many. Moving from Prussia to Bristol, England in 1832, Mueller ministered as a pastor, started schools and orphanages, and sacrificed unceasingly for others. Many of the sins of his early life were associated with money. After conversion, however, a marked change occurred, and Mueller developed several strong convictions about his own use of funds.

Some of Mueller’s convictions were (1) to never have a fixed income, (2) to never appeal for funds, (3) to never have any savings, but to spend all extra on the poor, and (4) to owe no man anything. Mueller never made an appeal for funds, but prayed to God for the means to support the orphans under his care. And, the funds came in! His lifestyle greatly impacted missions and Hudson Taylor of China and C.T. Studd, among other missionaries, adopted his principles as well. Today, as missionaries train and prepare to go out into the missionary harvest fields, many of them become acquainted with George Mueller’s name.

A MISSIONARY ASKS FOR UNDERSTANDING:

I love and admire George Mueller, but I have this to say: Please, don’t George Mueller me!

Some well-meaning church-folk admire Mueller to the point of exhorting all missionaries to live by his private standards. Some are not aware of all the details regarding Mueller’s convictions but merely want their missionaries to model the faith of Mueller. Fair enough. Others believe, however, that his methodologies and convictions ought to be made normative for all, or at least, for those who really trust the Lord.

PRODUCING FALSE DICHOTOMIES IN THE NAME OF RELYING ON GOD:

I have no doubt that many folks are very well-intentioned in taking a Mueller-like stand in their ministries or urging others to do so. However, in advocating their stance to others, these false dichotomies often abound:

• We are not going to raise support; we are going to go on faith!
• We are not trusting in the means of man, we are trusting in God who gives us our daily bread.
• God is enough; we are not relying on men.
• When we receive unsolicited funds we give God all the glory.
• We should seek God alone in financing this ministry.
• We do not make our appeals to men; we trust in God alone.

So, let me get this straight? Somehow planning and trying to budget for a sustainable yearly schedule is not relying on God, is not going in faith, and is not believing in the sufficiency of God? Those who receive funds through God’s people do not give God all the glory and are not trusting in God alone?

THE SPECIFIC CALLING OF ONE SHOULD NOT BE MADE NORMATIVE FOR ALL

George Mueller's calling was a specific one. We should not, therefore, make it into a normative pattern for every missionary. While Mueller’s faith is to be greatly admired, his methodologies should be examined carefully before being adopted or suggested to others. To hide one’s needs is not necessarily an extra measure of holiness. Going by faith doesn't mean that a missionary does not or should not budget and plan and let supporters know of his or her needs. There is no greater holiness in suffering due to poor planning.

NOT SOLICITING FUNDS CAN BECOME PRETTY CONSPICOUS AT TIMES:

I know several ministers who make much of the fact that they never solicit supporters for funds. And they remind you of it. Often. In fact, they do this so frequently that it almost becomes a sort of solicitation in itself. I believe in very clear and direct reporting of missions news and needs, and have no hesitancy to ask supporters to pray about meeting true needs which arise, but I mention money much less than many who hold these strong Mueller-esque convictions about never mentioning money. In fact, some mention not mentioning money more than I ever have… (mentioned money, that is)!

HAVING YOUR OWN STORE OF CASH MAKES YOU LESS OF A NUISANCE, AND IS MORE STRATEGIC:

Four examples below illustrate why a fixed missionary “salary” coupled with wise savings and the practice of clearly communicating needs is preferred:
First: One pastor told me that he at first admired those following Mueller’s methodology of never asking for funds. At least until this pastor took a short vacation with a follower of Mueller’s methodology. At every stop which cost money, this follower of George Mueller lacked the funds and often mentioned something to the effect of, “If the Lord wants me to go [to this park, event, etc.] he will provide the means.” His travelling buddies ended up being this man’s “means” at every stop. The pastor remarked to me later that, “I would have much preferred that this man receive a set salary that was sufficient and enabled him to pay his own way instead of constantly needing to remind us, ‘if the Lord wills for me to go, he will provide a way’ at every stop.”

Second: Many missionary families I know have suffered severe illnesses which come on quickly. If a missionary family on the mission field suffers a medical emergency, I would much prefer that they communicate this need immediately and, even better, have an ample supply of ready cash stowed away for just such an occasion.

Third: One missionary family I know with Mueller-esque leanings spent most of an entire term (4 years) chronically under-supported and short of funds. This frayed their nerves, their marriage was strained, and the missionary was distressed because he saw so many opportunities for service and yet did not feel the freedom to “advertise” or “solicit” funds to meet these needs and exploit the open doors that the Lord appeared to be opening to him. At the end of their term, this missionary family went home exhausted. When they explained their convictions about finances to several churches, they were approached several times afterwards and were told, “Why did you suffer all that, we would have been only too glad to help?” or, “We were waiting for clear information on just how best to help you. Why didn’t you communicate more clearly with us?”

Fourth: A few missionaries and pastors I know have had many ideas for new projects, but no savings to initiate any of them. Their methodology of work was as follows: as they mentioned their plans to supporters (being careful, of course, not to make any solicitations) they then, sometimes, received particular funds for a particular project. This was then taken as God’s way of affirming which projects gained priority and which ones got set on the back-burner. If the Lord wills it, then the Lord will support it was one pastor’s favorite justification for this practice of prioritizing projects. However, I have observed that many less visible but seemingly more effective projects often got delayed or cancelled as more visible projects gained quicker support from supporting churches. Whereas the missionary ought to have been setting the priorities based on his knowledge of the local context and conditions, he, instead, prioritized based on designations from churches operating thousands of miles away. Not a strategic move.

A better way would be to prioritize, and then raise support and monies based on these prioritizations, or at least set aside undesignated savings for such projects. To limit one’s actions on the mission field to, first, never soliciting funds, and then, second, never betraying a designation (but never properly informing would-be supporters which designations should take priority) is to be a poor steward of time and funds.

A GOOD RELATIONSHIP MEANS FULL DISCLOSURE, INCLUDING NEEDS:

A missionary-supporter relationship should never be primarily about funds. But financial giving does play a part. Each partner has a role; the missionary goes and the sender sends. Therefore, to be sent well and to send well necessitates lots of communication that is direct, clear, frank, and frequent. Financial support and financial needs are topics which should not be hidden.

DISCLOSING NEEDS ALLOWS FULL AND INFORMED PARTICIPATION:

By hiding one’s needs or failing to fully disclose all aspects of one’s missionary labor (i.e., including funding and finances) a missionary is denying the blessing of full participation in the work of missions to many who could otherwise be included. After all, if it is more blessed to give than to receive then the missionary’s offering of an opportunity to give towards gospel work is an offer to bless folks by allowing them to give. Participation in the Great Commission is a blessing; and participation in missions for those who cannot go usually takes the form of prayer and financial support. Missionaries who admire Mueller, please listen! Disclosing needs allows full and informed participation by the larger Body of Christ in world evangelization.

If your attitude towards missionary-supporter relations is that the missionary is a beggar, then of course, you might gain a negative attitude about the relationship. But if your attitude is that the whole church engages in missions, and that some go and others send, and if that sending is done through prayer and support, then why should we deny missions-senders vital news about one major element of the work?

Yes, God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply, but how does God bless and supply his workers? Through other believers, the Church. How are we to pray intelligently or use our resources smartly if the facts are not known? God does not ordinarily call or move folks without using information and knowledge; God moves others based on news and knowledge of the needs.

Bless your supporters by allowing them the privilege of participation in a work that really matters in this world. Many cannot go. Therefore, praying and supporting missionaries is the means by which they take an active role in world evangelization. Including them is not begging, but blessing them by giving them an active role. And an intelligently informed role is preferable to trying to act in the absence of clear information about needs.

MOST OF MUELLER’S PRACTICES ARE NOT REQUIRED BY SCRIPTURE

I simply see no prohibition in Scripture against “advertising” one’s needs. Paul’s letter to the Romans (chapter 15) comes to mind here: “I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.” In II Corinthians 8-9, Paul encourages the church there to give generously, and I Corinthians 16 contains instructions on how to gather these gifts. Paul is fairly direct about giving towards the poor saints in Jerusalem.

If a Christian is privately convicted with a specific burden to add extra measures of strictness to their own daily religious life, that is fine. If one’s sin largely occurred in the area of money, as in Mueller’s case, we can sympathize with such strong post-conversion convictions regarding finances. But to require extra measures of strictness for others which are not demanded in Scripture is usually unwarranted, and is not an evidence of a greater level of holiness or a greater legitimacy of their appointed work. I see nowhere in Mueller’s writings any indication that he expected his own private standards to become normative for all Christians everywhere.

THERE IS NO VIRTUE IN SUFFERING NEEDLESSLY

There are enough strains and stresses on the mission field without adding extra measures which may add to one’s challenges. We sympathize with missionaries who catch tropical diseases, but our sympathies would dwindle if that missionary was afforded the means of alleviating one’s danger and refused those legitimate means. In like manner, those who suffer needless want on the mission field and lack the means to care for their own families or initiate new projects due to extra-biblical convictions about not reporting their needs are not somehow more praiseworthy because they are suffering more, but their suffering can be linked, in part, to their needless convictions. Unless one is powerfully and specifically called otherwise, frequent communication about one’s missionary labors and all aspects of that labor (including finances) is the recommended action so that hardships are reduced to those that are absolutely essential to the spread of the Gospel.

CONSISTENT AND RELIABLE FUNDING AS IT RELATES TO MISSIONARY ATTRITION:

Responsible budgeting, saving, and reporting keeps missionaries on the field. The ground-breaking REMAP I and II Studies on missionary attrition interviewed thousands of missionaries and numerous missionary agencies representing 40% of the Protestant world mission workforce. Their goal? Searching for the causes of unwanted missionary departure from the field. The books Worth Keeping and Too Valuable to Lose were published in order to make known these findings and determine those missionary practices which best serve to sustain the missionary harvest force.

One of the findings was that regular and consistent financial support is highly correlated with high rates of long-term missionary sustainability on the field. Therefore, one of the “best practices” suggested by the REMAP Studies was for missionaries to maintain consistent and sufficient levels of support. Quite simply, there are plenty of other things to worry about in missions without the added stress of going broke every month. Having a network of supporters giving consistent and sufficient funding allows a missionary to sustain present ministries, fix a monthly salary, plan for future steps, save for new initiatives, and to save one’s emotional turmoils for more important battles.

Missionaries who lack consistent funding go home early. Again, George Mueller’s individual and specific call to never solicit funds or have a “fixed income” is not a normative pattern for all Christian workers and may, in fact, be a destructive practice if it were to become a prescriptive practice among missionaries.

SOME SOLID PRINCIPLES WE CAN LEARN FROM MUELLER:

Mueller’s conviction was that he ought not to have a fixed salary, nor should he ever communicate his financial needs. My conviction is that missionaries, unless specifically and powerfully called otherwise, should strive for a predictable and relatively consistent rate of support and in all their correspondences with supporters should strive for clear, direct and frequent communications about all pertinent matters regarding their missionary labors (and one such relevant matter is, indeed, money and finances).

Despite my frustration at church-folks who tell me how I “should” be doing missions and my slight irritation at some of the publications of those who do follow Mueller’s methodology and remind readers of this fact, below are some of Mueller’s other principles concerning money that are very wise for any missionary:

For instance, Mueller scrupulously receipted funds and ensured that designated funds were only to be used according to their designations. While it would be hard to maintain a ministry if 100% of supporters designated that 100% of all their funds were only to be used for direct evangelism and not used for the other costs associated with missions-sending, such as food, clothes, housing for missionary families, mailing costs, etc., Mueller’s principles in this regard are solid. In fact, most evangelical missionary societies diligently honor designated funds and also scrupulously receipt those funds.

Also, Mueller diligently checked receipts and reviewed financial matters regularly using the highest standards possible in order to ensure the utmost honesty and transparency in the use of those funds given to him. Most missionary organizations do the same, employing outside auditors such as the ECFA (The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) to annually audit their funds and ensure solid stewardship.

Also, Mueller held that donors are to be thanked privately and not publically. While hospitals dedicate wards and benches to their donors, missionaries ought to love their supporters enough to guard them from any temptation of pride that may result from public exhibitions of charity. This seems a wise general practice.

Debt was to be strictly avoided. A book could be written on this principle. Many aspiring missionary candidates see missionary service put off by years as they attempt to pay down a debt ironically accrued through gaining an education that would presumably help them towards the field. While an occasional credit card expense may be justified, Mueller’s principle of avoiding debt is sound.

In all of the above matters, I give Mueller’s convictions a hearty amen.

THE REASON MUELLER IS ATTRACTIVE

The power of prayer shone bright in Mueller’s life. Who would not want to emulate that? Also, many ministries appear downright pushy, manipulative and even deceptive in their schemes to gain money. Many televangelists appear to live lavishly. All of these reasons make Mueller an inspiration to us and cause many to desire to either imitate him personally or desire the missionaries that they know to begin to become more like Mueller.

FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW MUELLER’S SPECIFIC METHODOLOGIES:

If you are so convicted to follow George Mueller’s particular convictions and are led to make them your own, please bear with these following suggestions,

(1) Remember, again, that a private calling cannot be made normative for all Christians or all missionaries.

(2) If you say you follow Mueller, also seek to follow him in his fervency of prayer.

(3) A suggestion would also be to keep diligent accounts of how your needs were actually met and to publish those. If you are going to deny supporters information about your needs, at least bless them with retroactive notices of how your recent past needs were met. Mueller published large lists containing hundreds of prayer requests that were answered and the means by which they were answered. Good communication is a must as missionaries strive to bless those interested in their work. Adopting Mueller’s practices is no excuse for poor correspondence. In fact, if you follow Mueller’s specific convictions, then you must be even more diligent to communicate with supporters the blessed and specific ways in which God has blessed you through them, even without asking.

CONCLUSION:

George Mueller is a faithful example of dependence and trust in God, a servant of God who followed an individual and specific calling that inspires us even today. As you encounter missionaries seeking to go out to plant the Gospel in other lands, introduce them to the wonderful story of George Mueller and urge them to follow the prayer life of this great man. But, please, please, don’t George Mueller them.

Testimony from a Christian North Korean Student

2011-01-21T05:27:00.000-08:00

At the 3rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, 2010.

Helen Roseveare - A Living Sacrifice

2011-01-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

A great book for all missionaries and especially for candidates preparing for the field.

Dr. Roseveare was a medical doctor in the Congo from 1953-1973 and endured many hardships and writes with special candor regarding the emotional aspects and even the interpersonal strains of missionary service.

The subtitle (Willing to be whittled as an arrow) refers to the Africans' practice of whittling down a stick so that it can be a useful instrument as an arrow....and this is what God does in our lives. The whittling does not feel good, but God does it out of love.

Link:

www.amazon.com/Living-Sacrifice-Willing-Whittled-Living/dp/1845502949/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295614247&sr=1-1-spell

and here,

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/who-is-helen-roseveare

Please read this and Helen Roseveare's other books as well. She nows travels as a speaker for missions. Here is an excerpt:

Since 1973, I have been living in the United Kingdom, and seeking to present the desperate need of the three thousand million people, alive today, who have never yet heard of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the redemption He wrought for them at Calvary. These are the “hidden peoples” in more than ten thousand ethnic groups around our world. As I try to present their needs, I pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit will stir hearts to make a response. It seems so obvious to me that Christian young people…should rise up and go….

Why is the response so poor?…

Is it that we Christians today have an inadequate understanding of God’s holiness and therefore of his wrath against sin and of the awfulness of a Christless eternity? If we were gripped by the two facts–of the necessity for judgment of sin because God is holy; and of the necessity of holiness in the Christian that he may represent such a God to others–would we not “hunger and thirst after righteousness” whatever the cost, and would not others then see Christ in us, and be drawn to Him?

In other words, if we [understood] the Scriptural teaching on the need of Holiness in the life of every believer, we should not need to plead for missionaries. (From Helen Roseveare’s book Living Holiness, pg. 32; cited by Noel Piper, Faithful Women And Their Extraordinary God pg. 168)

2010-12-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

Please use me as a missionary resource.

I know of many open doors and opportunities that I cannot exploit because there is simply not the workers to run through the open doors.

"UNFIT FOR SERVICE" TYPIFIES MANY US CHURCH-GOERS!

I recently attended a seminar which focused on mobilization and training new workers for the field. The situation in America came up.

Many Americans my age are
-(1) in delayed adolescence,
-(2) have a sense of entitlement,
-(3) lack perseverance,
-(4) lack biblical literacy, and
-(5) are eyeball deep in debt,
-----i.e., unfit for missionary service.

HOWEVER, DEAR READERS FROM GRACE CHURCHES.....

Many youth in our grace churches are solidly biblically fed and are just good solid youth.

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MY DESIRE:

My desire is that we intentionally engage and mobilize these young men and women!

This is not only my open invitation but also my plea for you pastors to approach these most promising youth and challenge them to consider missions. Please take the initiative and ask some to pray and seriously consider missions. If you want practical info on logistics or training for the field, please give them my email. I am willing to correspond with anyone who is interested.

It is my pleasure to reflect that God not only saved me, not only called me into missions, but also allows me to bless others who may also be called into missions. Please bless me by connecting me and linking me up with those desiring info on missionary work. Use me as a resource person.

NEEDS:

We need pastors, bible teachers, school teachers, literacy workers, nurses, development workers, English teachers. Single women are also useful in engaging tribal women, a group often closed off to men. There are enough potential scenarios that we can find a fit for God-called servants.

email me at oct31st1517 at hotmail.

PIC: Paul's Macedonian Call

Muslim Hyper-Contextualization: The New Missiological Fad

2010-12-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

DEFINITION OF CONTEXTUALIZATION:
We must never compromise biblical truth. We must, however, express this truth to widely varying cultures. Contextualization is this bridging process. The missionary seeks to impart the meaning of the Gospel in a meaningful way to a new audience. He leaves behind his cultural biases and even adapts the form of his message to provide better points of commonality between the Gospel and his target audience

While trying to stress the positives of cultural accomodation

1. Avoiding the foreign-ness of a Gospel dressed in foreign clothes.
2. Communicating the Gospel in clear and meaningful ways.
3. Avoiding Western ethnocentrism and monoculturalism.
4. Taking cultural differences seriously.
5. Affirming the right of every country and society to be free from Western domination),

I have outlined my apprehensions about high-end Muslim contextualization below:

DANGERS OF HIGH-END MUSLIM CONTEXTUALIZATION

Introduction:

In recent years, some missionaries are advocating strategies of Muslim Evangelism which include saying the Shahada, calling Muhammad a Prophet and referring to the Qur'an as the Word of God as well as calling themselves "Muslims".

Also, they group their ministry "fruit" into small groups that are cut off from the wider Body of Christ, they delay baptism and are slow to take on the name of Christ for fear of being thrust out of their communities and as a strategy of keeping these new "believers" in their own communities. I have met missionaries who call themselves Muslims, have said the Shahada and have provided goats for the Idul-Adha sacrifice, all the while claiming to work for Christ yet having no contact with the wider Christian community that live just doors down from them.

Below are several bullet points against these practices of hyper-contextualization:

POINTS TO CONSIDER AGAINST HYPER-CONTEXTUALIZATION

---Paul’s becoming all things to all peoples is not a blank check.

---The missionary can be secretive, if there is real danger, but should not call himself a Muslim to avoid that danger.

---To love Jesus is to love his followers, and seek broader fellowship when possible.

---The level of persecution experienced in the New Testament was, in general, more severe than in the Indonesian context, a key area where C5 strategies were developed.

---In Hebrews, believers are not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. Some C5 believers, in contrast, are encouraged to stay separate from other Christians.

---Christians, even sometimes during heavy persecution, generally “owned” the name of Christ and tried to fellowship with the broader community.

---Jesus says that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before our Father in heaven.

---Excessive delay or the ignoring of baptism is disobedience.

---C5 proponents err in their argumentation. Most of their arguments for C5 are brilliant defenses of C4 and do not support their C5 claims.

---Saying the Shahada, doing the Sholat, calling Muhammad a Prophet, and referring to the Qur’an as an authority are bridges too far. Western missionaries engaging in such activities err greatly.

---Using the Qur’an as a bridge is permissible. Just remember: bridges are made to be crossed. Get people reading Scriptures asap.

---Some “high end” contextualization strategies are Western driven and often locals don’t agree. Ironically, contextualization is not contextual in many local contexts.

---A perfectly contextualized strategy still does not guarantee converts. There is no Golden Key to evangelism.

---Some cultures are fed up with Islam. Why try to make Christianity wear Muslim clothes in these contexts?

---If C5 was a mere descriptive phenomenon, more sympathy could be gained as these followers of Jesus untangled themselves from Islam. However, it is being promoted as a strategy and deserves balanced critique rather than mere sympathy.

---If C5 communities ever mature, they must slide down the scale.

---The issue of identity is key. Do C5 communities see themselves as belonging to Jesus? And if so, they will want to follow him even if their communities reject them.

---Despite this critique of C5, we should pray for these Muslims who have partial light.

Defenses of high-end contextualization have taken over evangelical missions. I think it is time for a push-back and a defense of the radical change that the Gospel makes.

For more information:

---See Timothy Tennent's, "Followers of Jesus in Isa Mosques" to see the best critique of the C5 movement published yet.

---Also see Roger Dixon's article "Identity Theft" in the EMQ (The Evangelical Missions Quarterly" about efforts to re-translate the references to Jesus as the "Son of God" becuase it offends Muslim sensibilities.

A Plea to boldly move forward and serve

2010-10-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Or you a sender or a goer, by John Piper

2010-07-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

Local Evangelism and Frontier Missions

2010-07-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

Let's not do either/or but both/and...and do so 10-fold our present endeavors.

How can I go overseas when there are so many needs here at home?

2010-06-07T08:16:00.001-07:00

“Some retorted upon me, `There are heathen at home; let us seek and save, first of all, the lost ones perishing at our doors.”’ We must evangelize our home front first, before we worry about the rest of the world. Aren’t there millions of sinners living all around us? Isn’t it logical and right to preach to them first?...’

“This I felt to be most true, and an appalling fact; but I unfailingly observed that those who made this retort neglected those home heathen themselves. They would ungrudgingly spend more on a fashionable party at dinner or tea, on concert or ball or theatre, or on some ostentatious display, or worldly or selfish indulgence, ten times more, perhaps in a single day, than they would give in a year, or in half a lifetime, for the conversion of the whole heathen world, either at home or abroad.”

-John Paton, Missionary from Scotland to the South Sea Islands”

--

--

"It has been objected that there are multitudes in our own nation, and within our immediate spheres of action, who are as ignorant as the South-Sea savages, and that therefore we have work enough at home, without going into other countries.

That there are thousands in our own land as far from God as possible, I readily grant, and that this ought to excite us to ten-fold diligence in our work, And in attempts to spread divine knowledge amongst them is a certain fact; but that it ought to supersede all attempts to spread the gospel in foreign parts seems to want proof.

Our own countrymen have the means of grace, and may attend on the word preached if they choose it. They have the means of knowing the truth, and faithful ministers are placed in almost every part of the land, whose spheres of action might be much extended if their congregations were but more hearty and active in the cause: but with them the case is widely different, who have no Bible, no written language, (which many of them have not,) no ministers, no good civil government, nor any of those advantages which we have.

Pity therefore, humanity, and much more Christianity, call loudly for every possible exertion to introduce the gospel amongst them.

--William Carey, Section one of Enquiry into the Use of Means in the Propagation of the Gospel Among the Heathen.

Have we no rights? by Mabel Williamson

2010-05-29T02:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Mabel-Williamson-Rights-Discussion-Missionaries/dp/1451572921/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275123297&sr=1-1-spell

This is a classic; one of the most impactful books that I could recommend for new missionaries.

Thoughts on Supporting Indigenous Evangelists

2010-05-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

SENDING OUT OUR OWN
AND
SUPPORTING INDIGENOUS EVANGELISTS –
(We can increase both efforts. Tenfold!)

“Should we support Western missionaries or, instead, support only native evangelists?”

This query has been posed to me at least three dozen times this year alone. After wincing and wondering whether I should gently remind the enquirer that, “We don’t call them natives anymore – they are indigenous evangelists” I then usually rehash some of the very thoughts that I have now put into writing below.

The vital role of indigenous partners
Involvement with indigenous believers is essential –if there are any. If an unreached people group has any believers at all, even a handful, Western mission efforts should seek not to bypass these local believers but should do all in their power to include, equip and advance the ministries of these local Christians.

Here is a little secret: missionaries are often painfully unproductive. Western missionaries, especially those pioneering new efforts among the least-reached, often struggle for years trying to light that first spark of the Gospel into a new cross-cultural context. And those first tendrils of new flame in a dark region are hard to start. But once the flame of the Gospel flickers alive among an unreached people group, it is usually not the foreign missionary that continues the spread of this fire. It is, instead, some of those first indigenous converts who then spread the Gospel like wildfire. The missionary is often the spark. Local indigenous workers are often the gasoline by which the fire quickly spreads.

Western missionaries get much of the credit for overseas missions successes. Keep in mind, however, that missions history books and biographies are largely written by Westerners. The Western missionary often gets the credit for not only his own works and successes, but also the successes of everyone tied to his efforts. His name is easier to pronounce after all, and focusing on one person to whom Western readers are personally invested in is easier then learning the names of dozens of local workers. Churches back home in America may be intrigued by the roles that “the natives” play in the work, but many largely see their own Western missionary only in the command role, and all efforts and new initiatives are assumed to spring (even after a local church has been established and local leadership raised up) from his sole leadership alone. All new converts, whether those arising from his own labors or those new converts added to the church through the efforts of other indigenous workers all get added to the missionary’s own tally.

Speaking as a missionary working with indigenous evangelists, I know that their successes often get counted as our successes. This is fine in one sense because we are all batting for the same team, after all. The inverse, however, is often forgotten, that our successes, too, are successes which belong to the whole indigenous contingent with which we co-labor – our successes are theirs, too.

Again, the role of the Western missionary who is engaged in pioneering work among a frontier group consists often in struggling to light that initial flame of the Gospel and gaining that initial breakthrough. Then, once the wall is breached and the initial flame is lit, our job is then to feed the growing flame as national workers go out and spread the fire. As this occurs, we often move from roles of direct evangelism to roles of leadership development and coaching/training of key persons possessing an evangelistic/teaching gift who can then continue the spread of the Gospel far and wide. We feed this growing Gospel flame by equipping nationals with teaching, but also by equipping evangelists with materials as needed, including the means (even monetary) for new outreaches, to do the work which the Lord has called them to do. Involvement with indigenous believers is of utmost importance, and as we bless them, they can then bless others with the Gospel. Therefore, supporting indigenous evangelists and indigenous movements toward Christ is of vital importance to the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

Advantages of supporting indigenous workers:

There are many reasons why we should seek to support our Christian brothers and sister engaged in Gospel work overseas:

• First, we should support their work because they are Christian brothers. And, seeing the Global Church as One Body, if we are willing to support white-skinned Western missionaries with monetary funding, why would we not also desire to gift our overseas brothers and sisters in Christ in the same manner?

Also, pragmatically, there are a variety of reasons as well

• Indigenous workers do not need furloughs back to the States.
• They won’t puke when the locals give them salt fish, snails, grub worms or dog to eat.
• Indigenous workers won’t distract their listeners with inappropriate postures and social blunders like using the “impolite hand” to eat, calling the “village head” the “village coconut” or showing the soles of one’s feet as one sits and eats with locals.
• Locals usually don’t talk with distracting and funny dialects.
• Indigenous workers may be better able of actually “plant” a local church rather than “transplant” a Western church onto foreign soil. A church must not be seen as a foreign import, and Christianity must spread as a native plant growing on native soil; not as a North American pine wilting in the tropics. Though the Gospel condemns aspects of every culture that it encounters, there are also points of contact and open windows of understanding by which local believers can work from the known to the unknown in order to facilitate communication and receptivity and use bridges of understanding when teaching the Gospel, rather than beating one’s head against closed doors due to a lack of properly contextualizing the unchanging Word of God into variable human cultures.
• Local and personal ownership of the Gospel is vital. A people must own God as their own God and know that God is not merely the God of the ___(fill in the nationality or ethnic group). One need not become a Westerner in order to become a Christian, and indigenous evangelists can best model this truth. They are living proof.
• With the rise of radical Islam and the closing of many countries, indigenous evangelists may be the only possible missions strategy in many areas. Also, in countries with past histories of colonialism and racism, locals may associate the Christian faith with the sins of those who have come from “Christian lands.” In these contexts, indigenous evangelists may meet with much more success to their message due to the greater openness of the people to the indigenous messengers.

Some pitfalls of supporting indigenous evangelists

Supporting indigenous efforts in the wrong way can actually hinder the spread of the Gospel in the following ways:

• By making local evangelists trust us, instead of the Lord, as the source and fuel for their efforts.
• Poor indigenous churches may neglect to support their own pastors if they are supported fully by “rich” foreigners. We may impede the instilling of sound principles of stewardship and sacrificial giving.
• We may unduly encourage a sense of pity for poor Christians, who must also learn to give sacrificially. Paul, speaking to the Corinthians, described them giving generously even out of their “extreme poverty” –so let’s not feel sorry for Third World Churches nor encourage their own sense of self-pity or retard their growth in grace by saying, “We’ll handle this issue of tithing for you since you contribute so little anyway and it really just isn’t worth your effort.”.

Also, let us in the West increase in generosity ourselves, remembering the example of the early church, who distributed to all who were in need and even sold properties for the sake of the Gospel rather than merely giving a leftover portion of what they could “afford” to “sacrifice” without curtailing their affluent lifestyles. People, give up your TIVO and HDTV and adopt two new missionaries to support this year! If you prize sacrifice in your missionaries and admire the sacrifice of Third World Christians, then seek to sacrifice in your own daily lives as well.
• Jealousy often arises between indigenous co-workers when the “Have-Nots” who have no source of outside funding work beside the “Haves” who are supported totally by American churches.
• Paid workers often stop doing the voluntary work which they once did for free (why do it, if there’s no money in it?). We may encourage a mercenary spirit.
• Many Western Christians have never truly learned to “freely give.” Many desire to control nationals by the purse-strings. Many falsely use the term “accountability” to dictate specific local strategies and specific local priorities, rather than merely insuring the general trustworthy use of funds. Some American churches will see nothing at all amiss in preaching against hirelings in one breath and then demanding obedience from indigenous evangelists in very specific local decision-making processes, something better left to the people knowing the cultural milieu of ministry on-site.

Churches may even seek to dominate the Western missionaries that they support by instilling very specific restrictions upon the usage of their funds. Note the subtle difference between the statement, “I will give you this, if you do this…” and the healthier response of, “I hear that you would like to do this in your ministry, here are the means to make that a possibility.” The latter is a stance of support and trust in the supported missionary. The former response is a means of using others to implement your own agendas rather than supporting the missionary’s own locally-informed vision. Giving as a means to control strategy specifics which should be field-determined is not generosity but is using church money as “bait” in order to lure poor evangelists and Western missionaries into spiritual servitude. If you trust someone enough to support them, then you should invest that person with the freedom to make semi-autonomous field-based decision based on the situation on the ground.

I have, thankfully, only ever had one church try to dictate field specifics to me, basing their right to do so on their financial gifts to me. Missions, however, cannot be governed from 1,000 miles away, and 100 bucks per month doesn’t give you the right to “strongly suggest - based on our support of you” that I should implement this or that very specific teaching. This one solitary occurrence still sticks in my craw. I can only imagine how indigenous evangelists are made to feel through repeated and regular incidents such as this.
• Many indigenous believers, even those (and perhaps especially those) receiving our funding may actually come to resent our money and resent us for the feelings of inferiority and subservience arising from our relationship. If our relationship departs from a partnership relationship, or even a patron-client relationship and, instead, becomes an employer-employee arrangement, resentment is a certainty.
• Many indigenous evangelists feel pressed into implementing imported Western programs that they know will not work, but they do not want to protest too loudly lest they disappoint donors. Instead of being able to critique and objectively discuss strategies of evangelization, indigenous paid evangelists become the implementers of the decisions made by ill-informed Westerners. Or they feel forced into situations that they know are not ideal, but they “go with the flow” in order to humor their Western counter-parts. One Indonesian evangelist that I know admitted to laboring for 2-3 years on a Western-led evangelistic program that he knew would not be effective. He was not given a voice nor was he asked about how he thought his own kinsmen would receive the teachings, he was just paid to carry out the program. He justified the situation by saying, “Oh well, I do my own evangelism at night and on weekends and I treat this other effort as merely a job, even though I don’t use its methods in my own witnessing. Hey, I need to feed my children and pay their school bills.”
• Local converts, paid by Western churches, are often seen by local communities as paid agents of Western powers and this breeds distrust. These local converts can be seen as “sell-outs” and some are even asked, “How much did they pay you to convert?”
• Paid workers sometimes become puffed up and arrogant.
• Others, seeing locals being paid for church service, often begin to join themselves to the church for false motives (“rice Christians”).
• Paid local indigenous workers often do not feel free to personally develop their own theology. As the Gospel penetrates every new culture, there are major issues of self-theologizing that indigenous workers must settle. Non-Western theologians are needed in order to settle vital issues of how the Gospel intersects with their own local cultural practices. A local evangelist may desire to try to better fit God’s unchanging universal Word into his own particular human culture, but expectations or pressures from Western donors (many of whom mix their own cultural trappings with the Gospel and read the Bible through very Western lenses) may discourage this process. Instead, many local believers, getting no encouragement from Western donors who are not present locally and who are ignorant of the local culture, feel stymied in their attempts to answer the longing in their hearts for a locally-relevant theology and these locals then fall prey to the errors of syncretism and liberation theology, which allow greater freedom of local expression.
• Many missiologists assert that everything that Western missionaries teach and model for new believers overseas should be replicable on a local level. The model of supporting indigenous evangelists very rarely can be. Locals, seeing us model this system might think, “Well, we cannot really do evangelism because we cannot do it like the Westerners.”
• Without eyes on the ground and people to see the indigenous work that is being supported and to interact with some degree of cultural knowledge with the indigenous evangelists being supported, there is much potential for abuse. Abuse does take place. I have heard and read accounts of larger churches branching into two smaller groups because two small groups (i.e., two churches) got paid twice instead of once. I have heard of Indian evangelists gathering relatives and buying a banner for a photo opportunity in order to "plant” a new church and receive Western funds.

Also, local evangelists are, indeed, spreading a message, but what message? Without boots on the ground in the form of culturally-informed Western missionaries, how do we check to see if their message is actually the Gospel or a counterfeit? I have met Third World evangelists whom themselves did not know the Gospel and who, as far as I could tell, were not saved. Yet, these unsaved evangelists were travelling far and wide and making “converts.” In fact, the largest evangelistic successes I have had so far in my own mission work have been among the already churched!

What about indigeneity?

Missionaries want to plant indigenous churches. Usually the marks of an indigenous church are listed according to the formula of John L. Nevius, great missiologist of the past (1829-1893), using the moniker, “The Three-Self Paradigm.” Indigenous churches are to be self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating. When these marks are reached (and the possible addition of a 4th “self” – “self-theologizing” that is currently receiving a lot of emphasis) then a planted church has truly reached the praiseworthy status of being indigenous.

Some assert, therefore, that all aid to indigenous evangelists and indigenous evangelism efforts stymy indigeneity and always breeds dependency. As shocking as it sounds, some missionaries – on principle – oppose all aid to foreign churches.

And certainly dependency can and does occur. Abuses are a real possibility whenever any charity is given (remember: this applies even to western missionaries, not just our Third World brothers). Western churches have, indeed, been guilty of building structures dependant on continual western aid and have used these structures to control foreign churches, the locals never being able to rise to full partnership with their Western church “bosses,” who control all aspects of funding and decision-making.

However, we should be reminded that independency is not our ultimate goal. No Christian, and no church, is ultimately independent within the Body of Christ. We are instead knit together, every part being inter-dependant and needing every other part.

We are also reminded that the Jerusalem church in the New Testament was an indigenous church and yet was pleased to receive the generous gift from the Gentile churches brought by the hand of Paul. It is possible for a church or an evangelistic team to receive outside aid and still be indigenous and God-honoring.

Also, Nevius and his philosophical successor Henry Venn, both champions of the 3-Self Formula, both advocated indigenous aid and relief, and Venn was involved in generous national church funding under the Native Church Fund of the Church Mission Society. Generous funding and relief was advocated even by the strongest champions of the 3-Self Formula, though care was taken so that Western missionaries did not control all minor aspects of this distribution but, instead, local foreign churches were able to control funding and strategic decisions once a basic level of accountability was established.

Finally, it should be remembered that, for the most part, the Western missionaries who are sounding the one-sided trumpet call against indigenous support in the name of discouraging dependency are themselves usually funded by Western donors. Apparently, the double-standard is okay, Westerners are responsible enough to withstand the dangers of dependency but poor, brown overseas brothers need our protection against the dangers that our generosity brings.

Other thoughts:

“Should we support Western missionaries or, instead, support only native evangelists?”

When Western churches take an Either/Or approach and support indigenous evangelists INSTEAD of sending out Western missionaries we may call this “partnering” with indigenous believers –but it is not. When U.S. phone companies do not want to spend the money necessary to hire Americans for their customer service and they, instead use customer service personnel from Bombay or Calcutta this is called “out-sourcing.” If we take an Either-Or approach rather than a Both/And approach and fail to send out our own missionaries, instead employing cheaper labor to do our job for us, we are not “Partnering with Nationals” at all. Instead, we are guilty of “Outsourcing” our Great Commission responsibilities for the sake of cost and personal sacrifice.

The West needs Western missionaries to go and suffer to keep us in the game. Throwing money at a problem without personal cost or commitment is the American way in so many other areas, but it cannot be so with the Gospel. We need people willing to go and suffer personally, and bear personal witness to the cost of the Great Commission.

The Great Commission tells us to GO.

In the Civil War there were those that paid others, substitute soldiers, to take their place in the firing line. For a fee, the rich could hire someone to enlist on their behalf, and thus avoid personal sacrifice and danger themselves. This practice, however, is inexcusable for those who have been called to pick up the Cross and follow Jesus.

A better way

Instead of the Either/Or approach which pits sending Western missionaries against supporting indigenous evangelists, I would propose that we increase our efforts by ten-fold on both fronts.

Many give only their leftovers to missions. What if the Church were to give its first-fruits to missions? What if we nurtured and cultivated our young people to actually go? What if we strove to give a portion of people as well as money to our Great Cause?

What if this following ethos pervaded our churches: If you can actually go, do not be content merely to support; and if you can support, do not be content merely to pray; if you can pray, do not be content merely to watch. Be as involved as you can be!

I advocate that we strive to send out 10 times our present number of missionaries to the field. Then, once on the field, they will cultivate a healthy respect for indigenous brothers in Christ and partner in their efforts as well, avoiding dependency, yet remembering that all members of the Body of Christ are mutually inter-dependant, one on another, and that we all must contribute as much as we are able. Thus, we would not be choosing between the support of either indigenous evangelists or Western missionaries, but we would be sending out frontline troops to partner with and aid indigenous efforts, teaming up with indigenous partners for the multiplication of the work of the Great Commission – the whole church sending the whole Gospel to the whole world.

Some sound principles to use when funding indigenous efforts:

When supporting indigenous efforts, what are some governing principles to use?

Seek to work where God is already at work:

If an indigenous Christian is not evangelistic, he might appear to increase in productivity in exchange for a little bit of pay, but this is poor fuel for long-term evangelistic fire.

In areas of P___ , the missionaries paid the evangelists from the very beginning. When the missionaries left, their pay left too, and a large number of their evangelists stopped evangelizing. The main motivation of these indigenous evangelists soon became clear.

When funding indigenous evangelistic efforts, make sure the effort is already moving without you. Make sure that you are, therefore, working where God is already working and not artificially creating activity that appears evangelistic. You are to be a force-multiplier, enhancing already-existing local efforts that are borne out of local initiative, not hiring others to implement your own agenda. If a local evangelist is called of God, he will continue his work with or without you. Therefore seek to support those who are already engaged in their work and who have already had some measure of success before meeting you. Seek to make sure that their motivation comes from God alone and that your money is only fuel to help them do what they are already doing anyway.

We want God-called evangelists, not paid mercenaries!

Many times in missions, it is the Western missionary that picks the local leaders and funds them. Then the Western missionary is shocked at the high rate of moral failure and departures from the work once financial incentives dry up. Western missionaries, therefore, should never pick local leaders, but only recognize those that are already rising to the top due to being picked by God. I think that this is the reason that the Apostle Paul preached at many places and then moved on, only later returning to ordain elders. As the Gospel spread and believers were assembled, there was a need for time to produce and show the young churches who their natural leaders were and allow them to rise to the top for later ordination once their leadership was made clear.

Remember that each part of the Body of Christ must contribute what they can

Another principle to use when funding local efforts is that local evangelists that are worthy of support are not out to get a free ride, but only desire to supplement their own strenuous efforts. Local evangelists worthy of support are willing to sacrifice and are glad for funds, and these funds do not significantly reduce their own levels of sacrifice, but only provide fuel for new aggressive and expansive efforts.

For example, as I have helped N__ in W J and have recruited others as well to help N__’s efforts, his normal lifestyle has not dramatically increased, nor has the strenuous pace of his efforts slowed. Aside from finally being able to squirrel away enough personal money for his first family vacation in a decade, N__’s personal manner of living has not changed at all. However, the number of miles on his ministry vehicle continually increases as extra funding allows him to circulate through the villages all the more and to make inroads into several new villages to initiate new efforts. Also, the number of needy Christian children he has sponsored for Christian schools has increased as well and new gifts have been used for new, aggressive efforts to expand the reach of N__’s team for the sake of the Gospel.

The Widow’s mite - proportional giving: I made a recent trip with two leaders from the M___ River region, Yulianus and Martinus. The M___ River churches, however, could not provide the total funding. So, they gave all that they could, totalling about 1/4th of the cost of the plane tickets. Western donors provided the rest. Thus, the M__ River Region provided their widow’s mite, a proportion of the cost based on their ability. They did not receive a free ride, but were also expected to sacrifice as well, in accord with their ability to give.

Remember that each part of the Body of Christ must contribute what they can.

Heartcry Missionary Society’s efforts in W J

Indigenous evangelists or Western Missionaries?

The best of both worlds is this scenario, Western missionaries pairing up with solid local evangelists in true partnership and, together, further looking to support solid Gospel efforts.

One such effort is Heartcry Missionary Society’s entrance into W J. In this effort, a western missionary family – M and A Glass – will live locally, learning the language and culture of W J and partnering with Team A P. This would be a true partnership typified by mutual aid, and, together, they would not only reach out towards the local S__ People but would also help identify other worthy indigenous Christian efforts to support as well, utilizing M’s growing cultural knowledge and N__’s superior cultural expertise to help guide decision-making as a solid network of supported indigenous efforts develops throughout W J and beyond. In this way, N__ can see his vision for increased S__ People evangelism realized and M Glass, acting on behalf of a missionary society dedicated to the support of indigenous evangelists, can more effectively search out, screen and track where God is already working in SE Asia, aided by his local presence and by the advise and expertise of local, trusted indigenous partners.

In this way, the Western missionary would provide the “eyes on”- so needed when funding indigenous efforts to ensure that it is actually the Gospel being funded - and solid, trusted local evangelists can help evaluate new prospective indigenous efforts. This scenario would function so much better than the occasional Western visitor, or western support from afar without personal contact. Anyone can look good when entertaining a guest, but a permanent local presence among a people is vital when supporting large-scale indigenous evangelism efforts.

My own example:

I am a Western-sent missionary. The generous support of Western churches supports my family. Because of this generous support I am enabled – as I work locally, to see the daily faithfulness of indigenous workers, and to help support some of these indigenous efforts. At various times, the missionary support channeled through me has enabled the support of nearly two dozen worthy indigenous efforts at once, to include new outreaches, Christian schooling for new believers, scholarships to seminaries, travel costs, medicine and hospital costs for the sick, and basic necessities such as salt and soap for evangelists who work in extreme interior locations and face significant health hazards and hardship.

Some Western churches may consider it a mark of a good missionary to cost very little and subsist on meager support without complaining, but consider this analogy. If frontier missions is likened to frontline wartime service, and missionaries are to possess longevity despite hardship, they will need to be highly trained and highly equipped. Generous funding means more bullets to shoot at the enemy. Also, missionaries, seeing first-hand the local indigenous efforts in a region, are in a prime spot to equip their brothers-in-arms as well with bullets to shoot at the enemy.

Conclusion - War-time allies:

John Rowell, in his thought-provoking book To Give or Not to Give? paints this analogy for us; indigenous support is not global welfare but is, instead “Global Warfare.” He advocates a “Missionary Marshall Plan” and urges us not to see Third World Christians as a “band of beggars seeking alms” but as “a band of brothers seeking arms.” God has given the West a sizeable war chest for the spread of the Gospel and to our brothers-in-arms, the indigenous evangelists, we must show them that they are not alone in the struggle. We must not only be generous as we equip them for Gospel warfare but, we should seek to struggle alongside them at the front.

Can I go into missions without a college degree?

2010-03-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

Elinor Young - missionary hero

2010-03-08T03:44:00.000-08:00

PSALM 147:

He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

(this is a rough draft by a co-worker of the biography of Elinor Young, an inspiring story)

Elinor Young – biography

Elinor Young was born in Spokane, Washington, USA, on November 5, 1946. Her parents were Alfred Earl and Rosetta Young. Al (sometimes called Earl) was a “range manager” there in Washington state, helping farmers with many aspects of their raising of cattle.

In December, 1951, Elinor contracted polio. She was in a hospital in Spokane, Washington, for seven months, then spent two years in out-patient therapy. Between the ages of 9 and 14, she was hospitalized in Shriner’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington, several times.

Elinor had committed herself to finding and following the Lord’s will from the age of 9! And as Elinor’s physical situation improved, she eventually became interested in working as a missionary overseas. After being accepted by RBMU (Regions Beyond Missionary Union – now called World Team), and raising her ministry support, at the age of 27, Elinor was able to begin her work in the Korupun (or Kimyal) tribe in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

She spent 17 years in Irian Jaya. In that remote interior mountain tribe, she did linguistic and translation work. She analyzed and learned the Kimyal language and began Bible translation, but, of necessity in such a mission setting, did various types of medical work (including tube feeding some babies), used the SSB radio to communicate with friends and mission leaders, as well as for air traffic with MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship), the link through small Cessna aircraft with the outside world for supplies, etc. (There were not – and still are not – any roads in that rugged mountainous area.) These formerly Stone Age people were transitioning from a barter economy to using currency, so Elinor was inevitably an economic consultant as well!

In 1991, with her translation work far from completed, Elinor had a major PPS (Post Polio Syndrome) attack, and had to return to the States for major medical treatment. Her condition deteriorated for some time, precluding any hope of returning to minister in Irian Jaya. By late 1996 she could walk only a few feet, needed a respirator 18 hours out of 24. with no more than four consecutive hours free from it, struggled through thick chronic brain fatigue, and needed prescription pain relievers and sleep aids. Every few months measured new decline.

Then, near the end of 1996, she did receive help through treatment by Futures Unlimited, Inc., and improved to the point that she began a ministry to other polio victims, primarily through writing and the internet. She was so thankful to the Lord for allowing her this new freedom and ability to minister! In May, 1998, she wrote: “Yes, I am enjoying to the hilt my new greater level of strength and health. I relish the ability it gives me to be involved in the kinds of things I was made for. I thrill at the prospect of fulfilled dreams.”

In time, Elinor became more involved in various state-side ministries with her mission, World Team. Though officially retired due to disability, she remains as active as her limited energy will allow. She loves mentoring future missionaries, editing the Great Commission Kids magazine, speaking about missions, and trying to help God's people catch the passion of God's heart for the world.

Now, in March, 2010, she has made a return trip to Irian Jaya (now called Papua, Indonesia), to attend the dedication of the Korupun New Testament, which her colleague, Rosa Kidd, and a team of Korupun nationals, have finished translating.

Based on what we have seen of her life so far, we believe that Elinor will continue to serve the Lord with all the energy and strength He gives her, though far less than most other people enjoy. She will continue to be an inspiration to many! She will continue to be delighted whenever she hears that her life, and her trust in the Lord to use her despite her stringent limitations, has, in some small or great way, had an impact on others! She wants to encourage more involvement in every way possible, to get God’s Word to needy people at the very ends of the earth!

BOOK REVIEW - Apostolic Function in 21st Century Missions by Alan R. Johnson (William Carey Publishers).

2010-01-23T21:09:00.001-08:00

Apostolic Function in 21st Century Missions by Alan R. Johnson (William Carey Publishers).

Church historian Stephen Neill once remarked, “When everything is mission, nothing is mission.” Alan R. Johnson heartily agrees. Johnson, a missionary in Thailand, advocates a renewed focus on the “where” question of missions, and a renewed prioritization of frontier missions among the least-reached.

Don’t let the term “apostolic” fool you. Johnson is not advocating the return to the office of Apostle, using the term, instead, in a functional sense. Being “apostolic” means to “function in the manner of the Apostles” in our ever-outward, pioneering compulsion. As God’s “sent out ones,” we drive forward, intent on crossing every ethno-linguistic boundary with the Gospel. While pastoring existing churches might be needed until indigenous leadership can be raised up, the great need in missions consists of going to where the church has not yet been established and planting – for the first time – local manifestations of Christ’s universal Church within unreached “nations” -ethne - mentioned in our Lord’s Commission.

The apostolic role of the missionary is reflected in the very term itself, the Latin missio being derived from the Greek apostello, denoting a “sent-out one.” Missionaries, thus, are not merely those who go. They are those who are sent, emissaries of the Gospel, sent out for a special cause, the outward and propulsive impulse towards the uttermost parts of the earth.

While canned food drives and local crisis pregnancy centers deserve our help, too, these serve as poor replacements for our primary drive towards the ends of the earth and to all the nations. Our task is to find the darkest holes and to stick ourselves in them. All barriers to the Gospel must be crossed and every dark region lit with a Gospel witness.

While many US churches are advocating becoming more “missional” those churches most closely aligning themselves with this newly coined adjective are often the last to send workers overseas to the least-reached, instead, preferring local missions and – in consequence – failing to have anything but a local mindset, enslaved to the winds of culture.

While many opportunities exist for Western pastors to play roles in established Third World Churches, we must be careful not to fall into the trap of viewing missions through the lens of the pastoral ministry, white Anglo pastors pastoring brown Third World Churches. We must strive always to be passing the baton, in the manner of II Timothy 2:2, to faithful local men in a replicational, multiplicational way – making disciples that can make disciples, reaching the lost to reach the lost..

For this reason, We must prioritize frontier missions and we must also value the principle of indigeneity, attempting, in all that we do, to equip local believers, pass the baton, and see the Gospel blossom on native soil.. What we need in missions is not exported pastorates among already “churched” areas, but apostolic pioneers to the very edges of Gospel accessibility.

I love this book, The Apostolic Function, and I give it away to many pastor friends. If you don’t read this book, but merely study the articles mentioned in Johnson’s footnotes, this by itself would be a mini-course in missiology.

From a Papuan tribal ministry context, I highly suggest studying Johnson’s interaction with the people-group concept and the phrase panta ta ethne (all the nations) contained in the Great Commission (pages 121-126). Are we to prioritize reaching merely the maximum number of individuals with the Gospel, or is there also a warrant for reaching the maximum number of peoples (note the plural) with the Gospel, such that we desire to plant a beachhead of Truth across every geographical and ethno-linguistic boundary where Christ is not known? Read the book and decide for yourself.

This is a book well worth its price ($ 14.39 at the William Carey Library, www.missionbooks.org), and well worth the cost of gifting this volume to your key supporting pastors.

Trevor Johnson, World Team Papua

Member Care Resources - books for the emotional transitions of missionary life

2010-01-21T01:06:00.000-08:00

To you who are preparing to serve as missionaries!

Know this:

During your preparation, you may be tempted to focus on the cognitive/academic/intellectual preparation that you need. But, there are significant emotional aspects of going into missions that you need to consider as well.

Missions = stress on steroids. How will YOU cope?

Member Care is the part of missionary agencies that cares for the well-being of its missionaries. Most mission organizations have some sort of Member Care services.

Also, take a look at these helpful books:

Books about General Missionary Life, Work and Career Progression

Career-Defining Crises in Mission: Navigating the Major Decisions of Cross-Cultural Service by Paul Keidel (William Carey Library, 2005), 209 pages.

On Being a Missionary by Thomas Hale (William Carey Library, 1995), 422 pages.

Give Up Your Small Ambitions by Michael C. Griffiths (Moody Press, 1971), 160 pages.

Books about Member Care in General

Missionary Care: Counting the Cost for World Evangelization by Kelly O’Donnell (William Carey Library, 1995), 360 pages.

Caring for the Harvest Force in the New Millennium, edited by Tom Steffen and F. Douglas Pennoyer (EMS Series Number 9, William Carey Library 2001), 261 pages.

Books about Crossing Cultures, Bonding and intercultural relationship and Re-Entry

Bonding, and the Missionary Task by E. Thomas and Elizabeth S. Brewster (Lingua House, 1998), 27 pages.

Language Learning IS Communication – IS Ministry by E. Thomas and Elizabeth S. Brewster (Lingua House, 1998), 18 pages.

Books for Sending Churches about Caring for their Missionaries

The Home Front Handbook: How to Support Missions Behind the Lines by Woodrow Kroll (The Good News Broadcasting Association, 1994), 69 pages.

Serving as Senders by Neal Pirolo (Operation Mobilization, 1990), 207 pages.

Books about Missionary Stress, Adjustment, and Attrition

Too Valuable to Lose; Exploring the Causes and Cures of Missionary Attrition edited by William D. Taylor (William Carey Library, 1997), 380 pages.

Psychology of Missionary Adjustment by Marge Jones (Gospel Publishing House, 1995), 172 pages.

“Have We No Right –“: A Missionary Asks Some Questions by Mabel Williamson (Moody Press, 1957), 126 pages.

Honorably Wounded: Stress among Christian Workers by Marjory F. Foyle (Monarch Books, 2001), 288 pages.

Books about Missionary Kids and Family Issues of Missionaries

Compendium of the ICMK (International Conference on Missionary Kids) - New Directions in Missions: Implication for MKs edited by Beth A. Tetzel and Patricia Mortenson (ICMK, 1984), 488 pages.

Children of the Call: Issues Missionaries’ Kids Face by Charlene J. Gray (New Hope, 1995), 118 pages.

Deprived or Privileged by Marilyn Schlitt (OMF International, 1995), 76 pages.

Raising Resilient MKs: Resources for Caregivers, Parents, and Teachers, edited by Joyce M. Bowers (Association of Christian Schools International, 1998), 510 pages.

The Holy Spirit in Missions

2010-01-20T15:12:00.001-08:00

THE HOLY SPIRIT IN MISSIONS AND EVANGELISM

In times past God spoke with an audible voice through the prophets (Hebrews 1). In these last days, God has spoken to us by His own Son. This Son once walked the earth, God’s presence among men.

What could get better than that?

The Spirit! Now, believers possess the Spirit; and are also owned by that same Spirit. We are our Father’s prized possessions, kept and preserved by God Himself who gives us the Spirit as our seal – our arrabon – an earnest or pledge, an engagement ring for a wedding that can never be cancelled and for a marriage feast that will last forever (Ephesians 1:14; Revelation 19:7-10)!

We should not, therefore, long for some “good old days” when we could see Jesus with physical eyes and hear God’s voice with physical ears. Sight and hearing occur across distance. The Spirit, however, is too close for that. He indwells us (I Corinthians 3:16)!

Jesus Himself said that it was needful that He should go away so that the Spirit could come (John 14). The purposes of God did not take a step backward when the Spirit replaced Jesus’ ministry on earth. Jesus spoke of this as an advance. Jesus spoke of this as even a greater benefit than His very presence among men during His earthly ministry.

The Holy Spirit is the presence of God. The Spirit bears witness to Christ. The Spirit makes the work of Christ effectual. He applies it to us. The Spirit makes the Lord “our Lord.” He makes the historical Christ a living personal presence. The Holy Spirit makes the Gospel the Gospel for us.

We have no mere religion of facts or rituals. Our faith is not so much religion at all but relationship. And this relationship is so deep that is does not merely involve closeness; it involves actual indwelling! Not only is the Holy Spirit the presence of God among men; He is God’s presence living in men who believe! Whereas in times past, the Spirit fell “upon” men (Ezekiel 11:5; Judges 6:34; I Samuel 10:10) now the Spirit is “in” all who believe (Romans 8:1-11; Hebrews 10:16; John 14:17).

The basics we all agree on

Before we speak about the Holy Spirit’s role in missions, let’s cover the basics again:

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God of very God, and a personal one at that. He is not some impersonal force (Acts 5:3-4, 1 Cor. 3:16). He is omnipotent (Micah 3:8; Acts 1:8, Rom. 15:13,19), omniscient (Isaiah 40:13-14; 1 Cor. 2:10-11), and omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). He is not the privilege of some higher class of Christians, but inhabits all believers (Rom.8:9-16, Gal. 4:6, I Jn 3:24, I Jn 4:13).

In this article, I want to concisely speak of the Holy Spirit’s role in the great advance of the Gospel throughout the whole earth, the Holy Spirit’s role in missions and evangelism.

We need the Holy Spirit to bring us to salvation and then to lead us continually. We often forget, however, the role of the Spirit in missions, in bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. That, too, is His job. It is not as if Jesus died to bring some in and the Spirit is merely the mother that nurses her own.

The Holy Spirit, on the contrary is God’s great missionary. He is that “Lord of the harvest” in Matthew 9 that sends forth the labourers into the fields. He commissions, sets apart, equips and sends. Furthermore, once He sends people to do the work, He accompanies that work to make it effectual and is already there working in the hearts of the recipients once the Gospel is preached.

At all stages, beginning, progress, and end – missions belongs to the Holy Spirit. He saves. He calls. He sets apart. He sends. He directs. He is everywhere in the process and on both sides of the witness. He places words in the mouths of his sent out ones and He is already in the ears of the hearer, opening them to the truth. He commands us to go and yet He goes with us. If in our witness, we are dragged before heathen courts, the Spirit will even place the words in our mouths (Matthew 10:20). And when we arrive at our place of witness, the Spirit who has sent us has not only gone alongside of us (such as a paraclete would) but has also preceded us and is there waiting on us to announce those precious Words of Life.

A Concise biography the of Holy Spirit

From eternity past the Spirit fellowshipped in perfect harmony with the Father and the Son. At creation it was the Spirit that brooded over the face of the deep (Genesis 1:2) and gives life to all that live (Psalm 104:30). If the Spirit withdrew in all senses of the word, all life would cease (Job 34:14-15). Despite the Fall, sin and the Flood, the Spirit did not withdraw totally. The Spirit, instead, equipped those in the Old Testament for service (Numbers 27:18, Judges 3:10; I Samuel 16:13) and caused His prophets to speak of the Savior to come (II Peter 1:21).

It was the Holy Spirit that fell upon Jesus at His baptism, commissioning Him for service (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). The Spirit compelled Jesus into the wilderness for His divine conflict with Satan (Luke 4), and afterward Jesus emerged victorious in the power of the Spirit. The Spirit also empowered Jesus to perform miracles. In fact, the Spirit came and remained on Jesus “without measure” (John 3:34-25; John 1:32) throughout His earthly ministry.

As Jesus prepared to complete His task and go away, He promised the Spirit to his disciples. True to that promise, the Spirit came in power to those in Jerusalem with a view not to stop there but to go to the whole world. The Holy Spirit led the steps of these first ministers and directed their outreach. The Spirit authenticated His Word with signs and wonders (Mark 16:20; Acts 2:22; Acts 8:6).

The Holy Spirit even settled disputes; when conflict arose over whether one needed to adopt Jewish cultural forms in order to become Christians, the verdict that was handed down was one which “pleased the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:28). As Paul and his apostolic ministry team aimed to minister in new unreached areas, the Spirit even diverted their travel trajectory west into Europe rather than east into Asia (Acts 16:6).

We read much of this work of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament book called the Acts of the Apostles. This account of the “Acts of the Apostles” however, might more accurately be thought of as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” Peter and Paul, after all, are not the main characters at all! The Spirit is the hero. He moves, energizes, equips and enlarges the New Testament church and deserves all the credit.

From the very first verses of Scripture (Genesis 1:2) to the very last (Revelation 22:17), the Spirit is present and working. Below are some specific ways He works, with a focus on the spread of the Gospel to the whole world.

The Spirit is our missions mobilizer

The descent of the Holy Spirit was the causative factor in the first great movement towards the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8: " But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Thus, like the pistol shot signaling the beginning of a marathon, the descent of the Spirit precipitated a rush towards the ends of the earth, a race that has been ongoing now for two millennia. Not only did a mighty rush of wind signal the Spirit’s descent but a mighty rush of souls into the kingdom followed. The Spirit was poured out in order to gather in some from every corner of the earth.

In Acts 8:29, the Spirit initiates another new outreach – to an Ethiopian eunuch. The Spirit tells Philip, “Go!”...and Philip runs to the chariot. Oh, what obedience to the call! After Philip’s divine appointment is completed, (v. 39) Philip is then “caught away” by the Spirit for further witness.

The Spirit labors to make men labor

Active and energetic human effort is always involved in great movements of the Spirit. Look again at the example of Philip above. He trekked to the desert and then ran after a chariot in order to witness to someone.

We cannot sit idly by and hope for the Spirit’s work. When was the last time we chased any chariots! However, we also cannot merely stir up a lot of activity without prayer or due regard for Scripture and call this revival. We are not to be idle in the means, nor are we to make an idol out of the means.

God moves, and then we move. This could be called “cooperation,” but such terminology contains baggage. I prefer to call it “us working because God works in us” (Philippians 2) or “walking in the good works that God has already ordained for us” (Ephesians 2). God works so that we will work. The Spirit labors in us to make us labor in the Spirit. Let us therefore engage in some holy sweat!

Notice the interplay in Acts 13 between those called by God, the larger corporate body and the Holy Spirit:

Acts 13:1-4: As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

From Acts 13, and also from Acts 15:22-28 we see that when the Spirit moves, His church moves. The Spirit approved. God’s sent ones approved, and the whole church approved such that this new effort “seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 15:28).

The Spirit equips and empowers

The Spirit fell on select individuals in the Old Testament for special service (Numbers 27:18, Judges 3:10; I Samuel 16:13). The anointing with oil was symbolic of this. In this New Testament “fullness of time” how much more this is true. The Holy Spirit gifts the whole church with power and anoints each one of us with individual giftings (Romans 12; I Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4; I Peter 4:10). The Spirit empowers each and every believer to grow in the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The church, indeed, is “charismatic” in that it possesses the charismata, the giftings of the Spirit. These gifts of the Spirit need not be loud and visible, but they are real nonetheless. Believers, full of the Spirit, have bellies full of not just springs but “rivers” of living water (John 7).

Some Christians are called to special tasks. Often when these are called, they are usually overwhelmed with self-doubt and fears of inadequacy. There is much comfort in the fact that the Spirit is the one who calls; and those whom He calls He will surely equip and empower.

The Spirit gives the message of missions

The Spirit not only calls and equips people to witness, the Spirit is the one who gives the message to preach. The Spirit thus gives not only the motivation but the meat of missions. The message of missions is given by the Spirit, who moved in holy men of old to pen the Scriptures (II Peter 1:21).

The Spirit directs missions

Again, already mentioned above are clear examples of how the Holy Spirit guides missions and even directs new initiatives. How does the Spirit guide? The Spirit leads us to do His will by the Scripture, by legitimate desires (“if a man desires the office of a bishop...” I Timothy 3:1), and by the corporate decision of his church (Acts 15:28, “it seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit”). During the era of the writing of the New Testament the Spirit also directed by vision and prophecy.

The Spirit gives the fruit of missions

Finally, the Spirit is the one who blesses and determines the yield of our labor. Some plant and some water, but it is the Lord that gives the increase (I Corinthians 3:6). If it is Spirit that applies the work of Christ for salvation... then it is the Spirit that applies the work of Christ for salvation (John 3:5). Full stop. The Holy Spirit is not merely an aid and an advantage to mission; but an absolute necessity. The Spirit is not one ingredient among many, but the main ingredient that has no substitutes.

The Holy Spirit is the one who births new souls into life by regeneration (Titus 3:5) and thus we are “born of the Spirit” when we are saved (John 3). Thus it is “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). How much we need the Spirit’s leading every day!

Conclusion

This article is nowhere near exhaustive. Reader, please search the Scriptures yourself. Use this article not as an authority but as a jumping off point to research the richness of the Biblical record concerning our “Lord of the Harvest”- the Holy Spirit.

Revelation chapter 22 is at the very end of the Scriptures and these last verses of this last chapter are appropriate to become my last words on this subject of the Holy Spirit’s role in missions and outreach.

In Revelation 22:17 we read: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

The Holy Spirit and the bride of Christ, the church itself, invites sinners to drink of the water of life. Being the Spirit-filled body of Christ that we are, let us now be true to this Scripture and invite the lost around us to drink deeply.

Paul Washer - Some Missions Conferences make me sick!

2009-12-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

Missions Sending: America is Dying -- Piper

2009-12-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

John Piper on Unreached People-Groups

2009-12-05T01:55:00.000-08:00

Paul Washer Video

2009-12-04T22:10:00.000-08:00

I'm Not worthy to serve as a missionary!

2009-11-20T12:38:00.000-08:00

Of course you are not!

AND...

You are even more unworthy than you think.

SERVE ANYWAY!

Remember that: Whereas the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin for our good, The Accuser prods us with our sins to defeat us, make us hopeless and to deflate our boldness in serving God.

Has Satan deflated your boldness and crushed your spiritual ambitions?

Don't let him. Pray, prepare and serve.

A Particular Baptist Missionary Learns from William Carey

2009-11-19T16:05:00.000-08:00

A PARTICULAR BAPTIST MISSIONARY LEARNS FROM WILLIAM CAREY

The Lord in His sovereign grace has saved me for service in His kingdom. For this I praise Him. I also praise God for the godly influence of others in my life. I would love to be able to mention all who have blessed me and taught me in the Word. Here, however, I want to more narrowly focus my thanksgiving on the impact of one man – the missionary William Carey.

William Carey, called the “Father of Modern Missions” was a Christian who believed both in the absolute sovereignty of God, and also baptistic principles. Carey was a Particular Baptist. As a believer in that same grand tradition, Carey has influenced me greatly.

Below, I desire to concisely list some of the lessons William Carey has taught me concerning missions.

William Carey taught me the importance of hard work and perseverance despite hardship:

“I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.”

William Carey was “God’s Plodder.” Raised in poverty, lacking any of the advantages that wealth and social status often bring, Carey persevered despite hardship. Carey knew that he was invested in eternal business, and this drove him on through crushing failures, agonizing hindrances, lack of support, opposition at home and local situations fraught with disease and discomfort.

William Carey taught me the centrality and the comfort of knowing the sovereignty of God:

Despite the charge that Calvinism leads to the death of missions, Carey was a five-point Calvinist, and his Serampore Compact of 1805 reflects this, as does this letter of advice to a young missionary:

Remember three things. First, that it is your duty to preach the Gospel to every creature; second, remember that God has declared that His word shall accomplish that for which it was sent; third, that He can easily remove the present seemingly formidable obstacles as we can move the smallest particles of dust.

Carey taught me that God’s sovereignty motivates us to action:

Carey grieves for this fallen world. Carey writes that even the “Christian lands” present, “a dreadful scene of ignorance, hypocrisy, and profligacy,” and that, “every method that the enemy can invent is employed to undermine the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And yet, this dire state of affairs is not an excuse for hunkering down on the defensive. Rather, Carey, in the face of adversity, urges even more vigorous Gospel endeavors. In “Section Three” of his famous tome (with the very long title), An Enquiry into the Obligations of. Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens, Carey calls us to vigorous action despite hardship and obstacles: “All these things are loud calls to Christians, and especially to ministers, to exert themselves to the utmost.”

Carey’s writing throbs with urgency. One can feel the beat of his great heart. Examine, for instance, the Serampore Compact of 1805, which fixed the principles of action for Carey’s small missionary band:

We are firmly persuaded that Paul might plant and Apollos water, in vain, in any part of the world, did not God give the increase. We are sure that only those ordained to eternal life will believe, and that God alone can add to the church such as shall be saved. Nevertheless we cannot but observe with admiration that Paul, the great champion for the glorious doctrine of free and sovereign grace, was the most conspicuous for his personal zeal in the word of persuading men to be reconciled to God. In this respect he is a noble example for our imitation. Our Lord intimated to those of His apostles who were fishermen, that he would make them fishers of men, intimating that in all weathers, and amidst every disappointment they were to aim at drawing men to the shores of eternal life. Solomon says: "He that winneth souls is wise," implying, no doubt, that the work of gaining over men to the side of God, was to be done by winning methods, and that it required the greatest wisdom to do it with success.

Carey, above, is passionately pouring out his soul. Even while trusting in a Sovereign God who foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, Carey begs for action! And these two things are not in the least bit contradictory.

Here is a great reminder for us - the evangelization of the world is not a cause for detached stoicism. A trust in God’s sovereignty is no excuse for detached coldness of heart concerning the state of those who do not know Christ. The Apostle Paul wept for his kinsman. The Lord Jesus wept for Jerusalem. Are we too sophisticated and refined to be driven to tears by the desperate peril of the unsaved? If we truly ponder the state of the world and the condition of poor souls, and if these concerns were ever-present and heavy on our minds such that we would give up our former lives and go to them, not only out of compassion for the lost but out of love for the Saviour, is this then a mark of fanaticism, or rather a mark of very sane and logical priorities? William Carey has taught me the sober sanity of that strange compulsion called the missionary call.

William Carey taught me that I should have a vigorous theology regarding the use of means:

In Carey’s “Introduction” to his Enquiry, he urged his readers to “use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his Name.” Carey was not a pragmatist, but he was a practical innovator within the limits of Scripture. Carey was not merely academic but activistic. He did not merely theorize and defend missions with his pen, he initiated new efforts. He urged “fervent and united prayer” and encouraged the continuation of the Concert of Prayer. He tabulated all the known people-groups of the world and their state of existence in “Section Three” of his Enquiry, so that he could both pray for them, and so that others might become aware of these teeming masses of unevangelized humanity and efforts could be made to reach them. This extraordinary effort in “people-group mapping” predated modern missiological efforts like the Joshua Project and Operation World by 200 years. He wrote extensively in an effort to promote missions and also advocated “penny subscriptions” to fund the work of mission societies.

Carey taught me not to fear missionary societies:

In “Section Five” of his Enquiry, Carey proposes the following:

Suppose a company of serious Christians, ministers and private persons, were to form themselves into a society, and make a number of rules respecting the regulation of the plan, and the persons who are to be employed as missionaries, the means of defraying the expense, &c.&c. This society must consist of persons whose hearts are in the work, men of serious religion, and possessing a spirit of perseverance; there must be a determination not to admit any person who is not of this description, or to retain him longer than he answers to it.
From such a society a committee might be appointed, whose business it should be to procure all the information they could upon the subject, to receive contributions, to enquire into the characters, tempers, abilities and religious views of the missionaries, and also to provide them with necessaries for their undertakings.

And then he concludes;

I would therefore propose that such a society and committee should be formed amongst the particular baptist denomination.

In 1792, The Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen was formed, and within the lifetime of Carey, dozens of missionary societies sprang into being, giving legs to local churches. An explosion of missionary sending resulted.

This formation of missionary societies should not be viewed as a totally new and unbiblical innovation. In the book of Acts we see the highly fluid advancement of the Gospel and the itinerant nature of many of the missionary bands, to include the Apostle Paul and his “fellow-workers.” We see churches forming, and yet we see these apostolic bands being sent out from the churches to plant new churches, voluntary associations of sent-out Christians laboring together in the specialized task of planting new churches and taking the Gospel to The Nations. Throughout the centuries, as the life and doctrine of the Church morphed into the corrupt Leviathan of Catholic Medieval Christianity, the content of the Gospel was corrupted, and yet something of the apostolic function of these early missionary bands was preserved in the Catholic missionary orders, and these orders acted as sending structures which spread Catholicism as far as India, China and Japan, long before William Carey was even born.

I want to ask you a question: Why is William Carey hailed as the “Father of Modern Missions?”

He was not even the first to go out. The Moravians went out many decades before Carey. Carey was not even the first missionary to India. And the Catholics, with the Holy Orders as their “legs” of proselytization, had already preceded the Protestants to India and China by hundreds of years and even used the lack of Protestant missionary sending as a proof of the spiritual bankruptcy of the Reformation. So what makes Carey distinctive?

William Carey is the “Father of Modern Missions” because he helped to promote the use of “means” in reaching the heathen. He helped put feet to the Gospel and helped revive a sending structure for missions. Carey did combat the Hyper-Calvinism of his day, that is true, but Carey went further than merely promoting a motivation for missions; Carey also advanced a methodology of missions, specialized bands of sent-out-ones, mirroring the example of the missionary bands found in the book of Acts in their outward expansion towards the Uttermost Parts of the World. Carey is the “Father of Modern Missions” because he restored the outward impulse of Christianity by advancing the idea that voluntary associations of missionaries could be sent out from local churches and then, once on the field, could work together for the advance of the Gospel in small and specialized teams.

If trading companies could organize to travel to far flung shores, Carey reasoned, surely our charter is much greater.

Carey exulted in Gospel success – no matter by whose hand the Lord wrought it:

The mark of Christian maturity is seen in one’s degree of love and charity towards others, especially to fellow Christians. William Carey was a Particular Baptist, and yet his close identification with this branch of Christianity in no way marred his happiness over the Gospel success of other Christians. From “Section Five” of the Enquiry, we see Carey’s generous spirit:

I wish with all my heart, that everyone who loves our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, would in some way or other engage in it [his proposed missions endeavors]…There is room enough for us all, without interfering with each other; and if no unfriendly interference took place, each denomination would bear good will to the other, and wish, and pray for its success, considering it as upon the whole friendly to the great cause of true religion...”

Carey was a well-wisher to all Christians who were engaged in world missions.

Carey taught me that needs at home should never become an excuse for the neglect of needs overseas:

In Section One of his Enquiry, Carey deals with this very common hindrance to missions:

It has been objected that there are multitudes in our own nation, and within our immediate spheres of action, who are as ignorant as the South-Sea savages, and that therefore we have work enough at home, without going into other countries.

Carey answers deftly:

That there are thousands in our own land as far from God as possible, I readily grant, and that this ought to excite us to ten-fold diligence in our work, And in attempts to spread divine knowledge amongst them is a certain fact; but that it ought to supersede all attempts to spread the gospel in foreign parts seems to want proof. Our own countrymen have the means of grace, and may attend on the word preached if they choose it. They have the means of knowing the truth, and faithful ministers are placed in almost every part of the land, whose spheres of action might be much extended if their congregations were but more hearty and active in the cause: but with them the case is widely different, who have no Bible, no written language, (which many of them have not,) no ministers, no good civil government, nor any of those advantages which we have. Pity therefore, humanity, and much more Christianity, call loudly for every possible exertion to introduce the gospel amongst them.

Oh, how I wish with William Carey that we could gain a “ten-fold diligence” both at home and abroad!

Carey taught me that we are never to separate Good Words from Good Works:

For Carey there was no dichotomy between preaching and humanitarian labors. Fear of the Social Gospel has led many Christians to falsely dichotomize preaching the Gospel versus doing good works. Yet the example of Christ was that he went to all the villages, teaching and healing the people (Matthew 9). This pattern of Christ was also reflected in the life of William Carey, who was a missionary, linguist, humanitarian, moral reformer, and educator. He not only preached and translated the Scriptures, but also helped to outlaw infanticide in 1802 and then end the horrible practice of Sati, widow burning, after 25 long years of struggle in 1829. Even before he reached the mission field, Carey also strongly supported the efforts of Wilberforce to end the evil slave trade, and once in India he helped establish schools for females. True religion entails proclaiming the Gospel, but also entails caring for the widow and orphan, opening your mouth for the helpless, and practicing justice and mercy.

Carey had a large heart and sought not only the best for all persons, and also desired the best for all aspects of that person, both body and soul.

Carey taught me to evaluate culture in light of Scripture, and to be free from race prejudice:

Carey was compelled to reach distant shores because of the overwhelmingly good news of the free grace of God, the only thing on earth which makes men to differ. Some of his countrymen, motivated by colonial gain, had a dim view regarding the innate intelligence and morality of indigenous peoples. Because they were more cunning in their pursuit of filthy lucre and trade, they often assessed the Indians as their inferiors. Carey, due to Scripture, could escape the trap of merely judging one culture by the standards of another fallible culture, and could shine the light of Scripture on all cultures.

Again, from his Enquiry:

Barbarous as these poor heathens are, they appear to be as capable of knowledge as we are; and in many places, at least, have discovered uncommon genius and tractableness; and I greatly question whether most of the barbarities practised by them, have not originated in some real or supposed affront, and are therefore, more properly, acts of self-defence, than proofs of inhuman and blood-thirsty dispositions.

Carey sympathized with local populations and even bemoaned the evils caused to them by his own Countrymen:

It is also a melancholy fact, that the vices of Europeans have been communicated wherever they themselves have been; so that the religious state of even heathens has been rendered worse by intercourse with them!

Carey was clearly not an agent of cultural oppression, nor a purveyor of mere Victorian values. He sought to elevate the dignity of all people, and he bemoaned the sins of all, especially the sins of those who would hinder the salvation of Indian souls by living a life in contradiction to their profession:
Nay, in general the heathen have showed a willingness to hear the word; and have principally expressed their hatred of Christianity on account of the vices of nominal Christians.

As we engage foreign cultures with the Gospel, we must be ever mindful of Carey’s words. Foreign sins can seem much more hideous than our own due to their “foreign-ness,” while our all-too-familiar local sins, which we hug to our bosoms, have become tame in appearance by comparison. We must remember that we are to be emissaries of a heavenly kingdom.

Carey taught me to be intellectually curious about even non-theological matters:

Carey was a never-tiring hunter of information about the world in which he lived. He was not afraid of science or the cultures around him. As a boy, and even now, I am captivated by reports on indigenous cultures and exotic landscapes; I love National Geographic. William Carey’s heart, likewise, thrilled at the accounts of Captain Cook’s voyage, just as my own heart thrilled as I read of remote Indonesian villages. Carey immersed himself in botany, languages, and in local Indian culture. He was a demographer, producing one of the first tables of statistics regarding world population, contained in “Section Three” of His Enquiry. He established lending libraries in India, wrote articles on forestry, introduced modern printing to India. His interests were wide-ranging. When Carey’s son Jabez visited the East Indies, Carey begged him by letter, “Send me…live birds…small quadrupeds, monkeys, etc. Beetles, lizards, frogs, serpents…" Here is a man to whom I can relate!

God has given us two books; the book of Nature and the Book of Scripture, and we should delight in both, never being too heavenly to consider the heavens, nor thinking it too earthy to delight in the creatures that God has created here below; the excellencies of God being manifest in that He would create such a world as ours, and that it is so wonderful even in its fallen state. How glorious will the renewal of all thing be when the Creation can finally cease from its groaning (Romans 8:22)!

William Carey taught me to be spiritually ambitious:

“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

Carey was ambitious for the Lord. Though some ridiculed him as an “enthusiast,” Carey would not be outdone by the zeal of the Papists, the greedy energies of the traders, or even the good example of the Moravians. His enthusiasm was godly, and can be seen even in the first section of his Enquiry.

Natural impossibility can never be pleaded so long as facts exist to prove the contrary. Have not the popish missionaries surmounted all those difficulties which we have generally thought to be insuperable? Have not the missionaries of the Unitas Fratrum, or Moravian Brethren, encountered the scorching heat of Abyssinia, and the frozen climes of Greenland, and Labrador, their difficult languages, and savage manners? Or have not English traders, for the sake of gain, surmounted all those things which have generally been counted insurmountable obstacles in the way of preaching the gospel? Witness the trade to Persia, the East-Indies, China, and Greenland, yea even the accursed Slave-Trade on the coasts of Africa. Men can insinuate themselves into the favour of the most barbarous clans, and uncultivated tribes, for the sake of gain; and how different soever the circumstances of trading and preaching are, yet this will prove the possibility of ministers being introduced there; and if this is but thought a sufficient reason to make the experiment, my point is gained.

Carey pointed to these exploits above and asked, “Why not us!” If traders can do all of this for greedy gain, and the Papists for a lie, why can’t our group of Particular Baptist Churches do the same?

As a Sovereign Grace Baptist believer in the theological tradition of Carey, I ask the same question, “Why not us! Why can’t we send even more than these?”

William Carey taught me that optimism is the correct attitude towards our missionary task:

“The future is as bright as the promises of God”

The Harvest is plenteous! When people ask whether I am amillenial, postmillennial or premillenial, I usually respond that my eschatological position is one of “optimism.” I heartily endorse Carey’s hopefulness when he writes, in “Section One” of the Enquiry, “God has promised the most glorious things to the heathen world by sending his gospel to them.”

Hear Carey’s enthusiasm one more time as we close:

“Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on that sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph!”

GO! And make disciples!

2009-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

The Prosperity Gospel is NOT the Gospel

2009-10-29T20:27:00.001-07:00

2009-10-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT ON MATTHEW 9:

Compassion and it’s results

36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

INTRODUCTION:

• A brother preached on this a week back, and it has stuck with me since. I cannot get away from it, and so I bring it to you.

What stuck?

This brother asked thw simple question, “Jesus saw the multitudes….DO YOU see the multitudes?”

SEEING THE MULTITUDES:

Let’s talk for a few minutes about really seeing the multitudes.

I know we speak of many of the unsaved as having eyes but not seeing and ears but not hearing. But could the same be applied to us concerning the unsaved? As we hurry about, as we drive, as we pass fellow men – each with a never-dying soul – are we really “seeing the multitudes?”

It is unnerving if we stop and sit, and watch and study the faces of those that we pass. Each one is a soul, each one has an eternal fate, each one’s days are quickly burning away like a candle. We are mists and vapors upon this earth.

I’ve travelled much this last month. How many cars have I passed on the highway? They have become merely competitors for my space on the road. How many people have I spent in close, close proximity to on airplanes – TOO close in fact to many of them. Each one of these passengers that I have sat next to possesses thoughts on eternity, religion, God. Each one will cease to breathe one day. Each one will answer to God. Every time the airplane ascends over St Louis, the view within my eyes encompasses a great area of land, the place of birth and the place of death to several hundred thousand people. And that number increases every day.

In W Jva, a heavily Mslm region, I climbed to the top of a mountain – a mountain that was on top of a mountain. The city of Bndng sits in a bowl that is in the highlands. There is a rim of higher ground around this bowl. And there are tall peaks all along the north side of the lip of this bowl of Bndng. (I took my friend Paul there. We crashed our motorcycle on the muddy mountainside trail…at least it didn’t roll over me like the time before. How dignified, heh?) Well, I climbed up there one day to escape – I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. A city of 2 million people amongst a people group of 34 million, with less than ½ of one percent professing Christ. Let me repeat that again: 34 million people, and less than one-half of one percent profess Christ. So, I sat up on that peak and looked down on this bowl containing 2 million people. And then… the peel of the mosque rang out; muffled but still clear, ALLAHU AKBAR, there is no God but God and Mhmd is His prophet. Hardly an inch of land in Jva where this sound does not reach 5 times a day. A bowl of 2 million people and the sound of dozens of mosques floating up like an odor to my mountain perch. Even here I could not escape.

I broke down and wept.

JESUS HAD COMPASSION: Me, being a person who is often hard-hearted and un-sympathetic was moved to tears when I truly grasped the enormity of the task, the urgency of the need, and my own smallness at this overwhelming feat. If a flawed person such as I can feel compassion for the lost, imagine what was in that great heart of our Loving Saviour as he beheld the multitudes. He had compassion.

I pray that we can be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ in this, and I would pray that God would cause us pain. I pray that God would cause us to weep as we truly realize how dire the situation is. The sovereignty of God should not be used to dry our tears. That predestinarian the Apostle Paul himself cried out and could even wish himself accursed for the sake of his kinsmen whom he loved. Jesus could weep over Jerusalem, knowing full well that that city must drink the cup of wrath to the uttermost. How I wish my stony heart could be moved like that.

PRAY THEREFORE: Jesus did not leave us without a remedy. Jesus did not merely leave us in our tears. Jesus tells us to pray.

In fact, Jesus tells us to beg. Jesus tells us to beseech, to plead to the Lord of the Harvest to thrust forth laborers. The manner of our prayer is to be fervent, forceful, heartfelt, from the bottom of our hearts. Our prayers should be desperate pleadings upon the mercy of God. This is no milquetoast prayer. Forceful language is used. BEG the Lord to thrust out laborers. BESEECH the Lord of the Harvest, PLEAD. This is the force of this expression. SOS! Emergency. Souls are at stake. The situation is urgent. Lord help.

Pray that the Lord will thrust out laborers: Equally forceful is what we are to pray for. We are to pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send forth laborers. Will thrust out laborers, Will ekballo, will throw out, eject with force, laborers for the Harvest. This is more than hoping that some will come in; this is going out to them. This is an outward thrust. This is our searching for sinners, this is us, as a church body, sending out those to gather in the Harvest. This is not being content with local concerns but always looking outward. Send forth laborers

This prayer results in action:

Notice how this prayer results in action. In the very next chapter we notice that many of those who themselves prayed in chapter 9, were sent out to work these Harvest fields in chapter 10. How can we pray and then not act? Prayer is the beginning of action, not an excuse for inaction. We have not because we ask not. But, surely the Lord is pleased to answer this prayer, which He Himself commanded us to pray.

The Lord is pleased to answer our prayers. And He answers through His church. Again, many of those who themselves prayed in chapter 9, were sent out to work these Harvest fields in chapter 10. They did not merely hope for some to wander into the fold. They did not wait for souls to come to them. Workers were sent out.

Many of them, themselves, were sent out in answer to their OWN prayers!

I would pray that this very thing would happen in our churches. Lord, mobilize us for missions. Let us pray for workers, and then let our churches become the answer to those very same prayer requests.

We have a promise that the Harvest is plenteous. Let us pray, and act, so that the truth may be thrust forth out from our midst into every dark place that still remain on this globe.

AMEN.

Christians are made for missions

2009-10-08T17:11:00.000-07:00

You Were Made for Global Missions

John Piper - Is it safe to raise my kids on the mission field?

2009-10-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Missionaries Will Understand This

2009-10-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Below is an excerpt from John Piper....good answers to objections about going into missions (link provided below).

Also, see John Piper's "Doing Missions When Dying is Gain", also linked below after the excerpt:

Answers to Objections to Going into Missions

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By John Piper November 3, 2005

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1. “I am not smart enough.”

“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:20-21)

“Consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-27)

2. “My body and my personality are not strong enough.”

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)

“[Christ] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

3. “I am not a good speaker.”

“Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” (1 Corinthians 1:17)

“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:10-12)

4. “I am afraid of the horrors I read about in the newspapers.”

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore (katartisei—“mend” or “repair” your horribly disfigured body when the lions in the coliseum are through with you), confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:8-10)

5. “I am afraid I won’t be fruitful”

Your responsibility is not to be fruitful but to be faithful.

“And [Jesus] said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

6. “There is plenty to do here.”

True, but there is a division of labor and God calls some to MISSIONS, not just evangelism. The difference is seen in Romans 15:19-24:

“So that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I [Paul] have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named. . . Now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions . . . I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain.”

How could Paul say there was no room for work when there were millions in that region to be evangelized? Because evangelism is not missions.

7. “I am not married.”

The best spouse is found on the path of obedience.

“An excellent wife [or husband!] who can find? She [and he!] is far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10).

The finding is exceedingly hard. It will happen on the road of obedience.

8. “I fear that when I get there it might turn out I made a mistake and will come home with shame.”

Which is worse, shame for having endeavored to follow Christ in missions, or fear to venture? Shame before others for making a mistake will not hurt you; it will humble you and can make you more useful in a new situation. But fear will make you useless everywhere.

Consider Ecclesiastes 11:4 and what it says about risk:

“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.”

Meaning: without taking the risk of sowing when the seed might be blown away and reaping when the rain might ruin the harvest, you will starve.

Oh, how precious is the freeing word of God,

Pastor John

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2005/1312_Answers_to_Objections_to_Going_into_Missions/

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/1996/1813_Doing_Missions_When_Dying_Is_Gain/

THE UPWARD SPIRAL - How missions zeal leads to missions zeal, which leads to missions zeal

2009-08-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Missions zeal leads to missions sending, which leads to missions news and missionary visits, which leads to missions zeal

A zeal for missions in local churches leads to churches sending missionaries. This leads to churches supporting and then sending missionaries themselves. This leads to missions news and visits by missionaries and a heartfelt commitment by local congregations as they personally “own” the missionary task. This leads to missions zeal, which, again, leads to missions sending….
An upward spiral!

There is a truth in missions history, and it is this: God often calls missionaries by means of other missionaries. God often draws people into involvement in missions by means of involvement in missions.

Because of this, I have been very busy on the road!

As a missionary passes through local congregations, speaks and makes missions real to people, God often chooses this particular time to plant the missionary call in the listener’s soul. God often implants the missionary call into a soul after exposure to another missionary – like a virus!

I have a goal to mobilize and recruit more missionaries. I long to help fill some of the vast needs that I see every day overseas. My heart aches and I have wept over things that I have seen. I want you to come and weep with me; and also work!

I am aware that God works by means. One means by which God calls missionaries into service is by bringing a real, live missionary to talk to a church. For some reason, there are many Christians who want to serve in missions, but their ideas about possible missions service floats in their minds in a fuzzy way that is not actionable until a real, live missionary can be consulted. It often seems that, to make missions actionable, it takes the presence of a missionary, someone who people can see, hear, and ask questions to. Then, missions becomes real, tangible and doable.

I know that I am not eloquent or flashy. I think these deficiencies are actually advantageous to my task. How? This lack of smoothness allows people to see me for who I am, an imperfect servant whom God is using to advance His Kingdom. These deficiencies that others see in me might, in fact, embolden others to serve in missions; “If he can serve, certainly I can serve too.” And if the Lord is pleased to use even this aspect of my service, then I rejoice.

So, please join this upward spiral with me. Tell people about missions. Send me your questions. Let me speak to your group about missions. Put people into contact with me. If they are not impressed with me, then so much the better because, if I can serve, maybe they can too!

Good missions quote by Jim Elliot

2009-08-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

“It makes me boil when I think of the power we profess and the utter impotency of our action. Believers who know one-tenth as much as we do are doing one hundred times more for God, with His blessing and our criticism.”

Lecrae - Send Me

2009-08-29T17:51:00.001-07:00

I am an Ozark Hillbilly. I don't like rap. But I heard about Lecrae and I checked out his video, and I can praise God for it. He has solid lyrics and has been on the Al Mohler show and does a good inner-city work in Memphis I believe.

Below are the words. The beat might stretch some out of their comfort zones, but I guess the piano and Fanny Crosby might as well in some cultures.

I was drawn to the words and the passion and I will add this: I would love to see the black churches in the US make a reversal out of their predominantly bad theology and begin to once again engage in missions on the levels that they did prior to the Civil War, when many, many went to Liberia and other places in Africa as missionaries. Now, blacks make up 13% of the US population but only a fraction of the foreign missionary force. I would love for God to reverse this trend and I pray that God would mobilize this demographic:

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

i seen it with my own two,
there's no way i can show you
a perfectly poverty stricken people with no view.
And i bet you can't believe this,
they never heard of jesus.
Heard young butler, lil wayne, and young jeezy.

No one's signing up to go on missions this summa.
Rather sit at home and watch exibit pimp in a humma
while a nine year old is shot down.
No one's screaming 'stop now!'
no bridge illustrations for criminals who on lock down.

People deep in africa
looking for an answer bra'.
In china man,
they're dieing man,
until they know who died for sins.
So look what grace did.
Not for us to stay here
inside our comfort zones
at home in mama's basement.

Get out on the grind y'all.
Ain't no better time doll.
I know y'all read the great commission.
Let me just remind y'all:
make disciples of the nations.
Teach'm to obey the lord.
Have to lead someone to christ before i face the lord.

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

hey! After, 1,000 years in the west and the churches
get'n bigger daily without understand'n worship. (say what?)
Some regenerate but a lot ain't saved.
You walk outside and be surprised cuz the block ain't changed.
And the numbers they be get'n me.
Something just ain't hit'n them.
America ain't christian they practice'n the ritual.
That's why we should be missional.
Hey, what you think i'm spit'n for?
The united states is die'n
and in the east is looking pitiful.

Some places if they catch you
they'll arrest you.
They'll serve you,
but they still need the word too.
The gospel should be heard too.
We claim we ain't ashamed,
but we ain't hit the block up.
Were in our christian bubble,
while our brotha's get'n locked up.
Lord i wanna stock up,
pack a bag and walk up
in a country where my faith may get me shot up
anywhere i go, whether my city or far abroad,
i just wanna show' christ the risen holy god.

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

i know they're die'n in the streets over in the middle east.
Some kids sink in piece
others hold'n up a piece.
If the violence doesn't cease,
then at least the deceased
might know jesus as their savior as their bodies hit the streets.
And i know this is a graphic view.
And i pray that it's attack'n you.
Track'n you to act and do
what you see in the back illusion.
Mathew twenty-four and fourteen.
We should read it twice
before we think that life is just a battle
see we free in christ!
Look dawg! Life is more than church work and football!
What if you were dead and seen that christians overlooked y'all!
This is why we leave the couch
and leave the comforts of our house
to show a die'n world a god they'll probably never read about.

The great commission says make disciples of all nations.
Have we even made them in our own nation?
Come on christians!
Missions exist because worship doesn't.
People don't worship the god who made them.
We're ambassadors.
Let's go!

Send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
send me I'll go,
lemme go lemme go!
(repeat x4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbVstiSoweA

A good video about missions and evangelistic motivation

2009-08-29T17:22:00.000-07:00

Books on Spiritual Warfare - a very important missionary topic

2009-08-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

The devil is real, is active, and is vicious.

We need not fall into Christo-animistic ritualism, fear, or the addressing of any spirits.

We rely on prayer, addressed to God, and in the normal means of grace.

Here are some books on the subject of spiritual warfare, a subject that is popular of late and also very important in missions.

VIDEO - Make History!

2009-08-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Make History from Acts1v8 on Vimeo.

VIDEO - What is an Unreached People Group?

2009-08-07T20:47:00.000-07:00

What is an Unreached People Group? from Acts1v8 on Vimeo.

VIDEO - BEAUTIFUL FEET

2009-08-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Feet from Acts1v8 on Vimeo.

VIDEO - Tears of the Saints

2009-08-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

A powerful short film about the urgency of our Task.

Tears of the Saints from Acts1v8 on Vimeo.

Must all missionaries be pastors? An appeal for women workers.

2009-08-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

The crying need today in missions is more elder-qualified long-term resident missionaries.

However, in our zeal to increase trained clergy and to send out pastor-educated men, let us not forget the great contributions of women in missions.

I have actually had people tell me that there is no role for women in missions except for in the role of a missionary wife.

I have actually had churches introduce my family as "Missionary T...J... and his wife....Teresa" - and it seems the impetus for this phaseology was the refusal to refer to a woman as a missionary.

THAT IS JUST SILLY!

If you eliminated all women from the mission field you would be eliminating well over 60% of the missions labor-force. YES, the MAJORITY of missionaries are of the female gender. The right man for the job turns out often to be a woman.

I suppose that Aquila should have just left his wife Priscilla at home and she deserves a rebuke rather than commendation for helping Apollos learn greater Gospel truth.

While only men should exercise ecclesiastical authority, why must we stress the restrictive verses of Scripture?

Why do we want to highlight what women cannot do, rather than all that they can do?

Okay, women cannot be pastors of churches, but they can teach women and children, many have done great work in literacy and translation, many have exercised compassion in medical ministries, schools and orphanages. Under the male ecclesiastical authority of a church, a women can fill a great number of roles. Are we enabling them to do so? Are we being more restrictive than Scripture in helping every member of Christ's Body to serve Him in their fullest capacity?

Here is one huge need right here:

Seeing that women in the Mslm world are often unable to be reached by male missionaries, missionary women may be the key to reach this large demographic of the world's population - Mslm women - perhaps a BILLION souls!

Prayer as a missionary warfare weapon

2009-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

"Until you believe that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for."

- John Piper

"The number one reason why prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is that they try to turn a wartime walkie-talkie into a domestic intercom."

- John Piper.

A Wartime Lifestyle

2009-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from "Commitment to a Wartime Lifestyle" by Ralph Winter

The Queen Mary, lying in repose in the harbor at Long Beach, California, is a fascinating museum of the past. Used both as a luxury liner in peacetime and a troop transport during the Second World War, its present status as a museum the length of three football fields affords a stunning contrast between the lifestyles appropriate in peace and war.

...On one side of a partition you see the dining room reconstructed to depict the peacetime table setting that was appropriate to the wealthy patrons of high culture for whom a dazzling array of knives and forks and spoons held no mysteries. On the other side of the partition the evidences of wartime austerities are in sharp contrast. One metal tray with indentations replaces fifteen plates and saucers. Bunks eight tiers high explain how the peacetime capacity of 3,000 gave way to 15,000 on board in wartime.

How repugnant to the peacetime masters this transformation must have been! To do it took a national emergency, of course. The survival of a nation depended on it. The essence of the Great Commission today is that the survival of many millions of people depends on its fulfillment.

But obedience to the Great Commission has more consistently been poisoned by affluence than by anything else. The antidote for affluence is reconsecration. Consecration is by definition the "setting apart of things for holy use." Affluence did not keep Bordon of Yale from giving his life in Egypt. Affluence didn't stop Francis of Assisi from moving against the tide of his time.

Will wartime priorities work?

The missionary tradition has always stressed a practical measure of austerity and simplicity, as well as a parity of level of consumption within its missionary ranks. But the same lifestyle is often seen as impractical among people back home. Widespread reconsecration to a reformed lifestyle with wartime priorities is not likely to be successful among homefront believers:

---so long as the Great Commission is thought of as impossible to fulfill

---so long as we think that the problems of the world are hopeless or that, conversely, they can be solved merely by politics or technology

---so long as our home problems loom larger to us than anyone else's

---so long as people enamored of western culture do not understand that Chinese and Muslims can become evangelical Christians without abandoning their cultural systems--just as the Greeks did in Paul's day

---so long as modern believers, like the ancient Hebrews, think that God's sole concern is the blessing of our nation

---so long as well-paid evangelicals, both pastors and people, consider their money a gift from God to spend however they wish on themselves rather than a responsibility from God to help others in spiritual and economic need

---so long as we do not understand that he who would seek to save his life shall lose it.

Ours is a save-yourself society if there ever was one. But does it really work?

Underdeveloped societies suffer from one set of diseases: tuberculosis, malnutrition, pneumonia, parasites, typhoid, cholera, and so on. Affluent North

America has virtually invented a whole new set of diseases: obesity, arteriosclerosis, heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, venereal diseases, cirrhosis of the liver, etc. And we're more than ever plagued with the social diseases of drug addiction, alcoholism, divorce, battered children, suicide and murder. Take your choice. Our divorce courts, prisons, psychiatric offices and mental institutions are flooded. In saving ourselves, we have nearly lost ourselves. How hard have we tried to save others?

The 20,000 members of the Friends Missionary Prayer Band of South India support 500 fulltime missionaries in North India. If my denomination (with its unbelievably greater wealth per person) were to do that well, we would not be sending 500 missionaries but 65,000. In spite of their true poverty, these Indian believers are proportionately sending over 130 times more cross-cultural missionaries than we are!

The statistics are always embarrassing: We spend as much on chewing gum annually as we do on missions. Our annual giving to foreign missions is equal to the amount we spend in a 52-day period on pet food. The comparisons aren't fair, of course, since fewer of our society are giving to the fulfillment of the Great Commission than are buying pet food.

But the pattern of our society is clear - we're much like Ezekiel's listeners:

"They come as though they are sincere and sit before you listening. But they have no intention of doing what I tell them to; they talk very sweetly about loving the Lord, but with their hearts they are loving money. . .

"My sheep wandered through the mountains and hills and over the face of the earth, and there was no one to search for them or care about them. . .

" 'As I live,' says the Lord God, '. . . you were no real shepherds at all, for you didn't search for them [my flock]. You fed yourselves and let them starve . . . Therefore,' the Lord God says: 'I will surely judge between these fat shepherds and their scrawny sheep . . . and I will notice which is plump and which is thin, and why!' "
Ezekiel 33:31; 34:36; 34:8,20,22b

God is speaking here of more than just food for the hungry; our whole lives may be "plump" while others' are "scrawny." We must learn that Jesus meant it when He said, "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required."

I believe that God cannot expect less from us in our Christian duty to save other nations than we in wartime require of ourselves to save our own nation.

This article first appeared in the September/October 1994 issue of Mission Frontiers, U.S. Center for World Mission.

What are you doing TODAY to get to your goals in 3-5 years?

2009-08-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

The journey of 1,000 miles begins with you getting off your butt and taking action.

Waiting on the Lord does not involve laziness or inaction. We are to be vigorous, aggressive and incessant as we wait. This waiting involves preparation, research, and prayer.

If you want to go into missions, what are you doing right now about it?

Suggestions: (1) pray about it, (2) talk to your elders about it, (3) take the Perspectives Course, (4) Read current missions books, (5) read about the needs of the world, (5) Research the doctrines and philosophies of ministry for various mission boards (start with World Team, www.worldteam.org),

and,

(6) realize that you will not leave the field a week after you decide for missions....the process of becoming a missionary takes several years.

There are many preliminary mountains to climb before you even reach that final summit.

You had better start preparing now.

The sin of letting past sin make you hesitant for future service

2009-08-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you were a sinner before you were saved.

GET OVER IT!

Some people are not bold to serve the Lord because they feel as if past sin has taken the wind out of their sails.

This is a tool of the devil for making you idle, lazy and timid in doing great things for God.

If you boldly sinned before conversion, you should twice as boldly serve after conversion

Remember, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin to save us and put us into service; Satan accuses us to cripple us and defeat us.

WHO ARE YOU LISTENING TO?

Listen to William Gurnall's advice on how to be a Christian in Complete Armor:

His [the devil's] aim is to discredit not the sins but the saints. Here his chief tactic is to deliver his accusations as if they are an act of the Holy Spirit. He knows a charge from God’s cannon wounds deeply; therefore, when he accuses a conscientious Christian, he forges God’s name on the missile before he fires it. Suppose a child were conscious of gravely displeasing his father, and some spiteful person, to harass him, wrote and sent him a counterfeit letter full of harsh and threatening accusations, copying the father’s name at the bottom. The poor child, already painfully aware of his sins and not knowing the scheme, would be overcome with grief. Here is real heartache stemming from a false premise - just the kind of thing Satan relishes.

Satan is a clever investigator. He closely observes the relationship between you and God. Sooner or later he will catch you tardy in some duty or faulty in a service. He knows you are conscious of your shortcomings and that the Spirit of God will also show distaste for them. So he draws up a lengthy indictment, raking up all the aggravations he can think of, then serves this warrant on you as though sent from God.

Re-read the Scriptures:

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him be said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.”

Zechariah 3:1-5.

4 bad reasons why people drop out of the pursuit of missions

2009-08-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Many investigate missions but few actually go. Here are some bad reasons why people drop out of the process:

(1) THEY NEVER TRANSFORM THEIR THOUGHTS ABOUT GOING INTO MISSIONS INTO CONCRETE, PRACTICAL ACTION-STEPS:

Many think about becoming missionaries but never do any more. If you want to be a missionary, begin with action...NOW. Talk to your elders, talk to sending agencies, begin to pray for people-groups throughout the world, and begin to cultivate a lifestyle that is consistent with missions.

(2) DEBT:

Many people are saddled with debt and the thought of paying off that debt to go to the field becomes too burdensome for them. Many young people, with good intentions, go to a bible school to equip themselves for missions and then, ironically, the fees for this equipping process becomes a major hindrance to them actually getting on the field.

(3) SPOUSES:

The prospect of serving as a single missionary is too much for some people. Many people think that once they land a spouse then they will go into missions, and then they discover that their spouse doesn't hold an intense desire to go to the field, thus disqualifying them from service.

Often a cute female will express missionary intent to a suitor and then .... ZAP! ... the man will suddenly become interested in missions...until love has blossomed and plans of marriage are solidified. This suitor may even believe themselves to desire missions, but what they truly desire is the love of this cute girl and the desire for missions wanes once the girl is landed.

Or a man will desire missions but may worry about his sexual purity or loneliness. Since it is better to marry than burn, he will find a spouse, hoping that this will enable him to live purer and fight lonelines so that he can then concentrate on the mission field. Yet, this wife comes with many family obligations, hesitations, or health issues, thus keeping him from the field. As the man pushes toward the field, he begins to resent her and she him.

(4) I AM NOT SURE THAT GOD IS CALLING ME

I had one friend vigorously repeat his missionary desires, but wasn't sure that God was calling him into missions. In fact, this friend regularly prayed that God would call him into missions because he so much desired to go...and yet he never went.

Why?

Because he had an overly mystical false view of the call. He never imagined that his intense desire was an evidence of that call and he never took practical action steps once he felt that desire. He never talked to his church leaders, he never investigated missionary organizations, he just harbored his private desires and prayed without doing any legwork - all in the name of "waiting on the Lord."

SOLUTIONS:

If you want to go into missions, take practical action steps. Know that a big part of the missionary call is your desire. Contact your church leaders and let them know and ask for advice and mentoring. Stay out of debt. Stay single or marry someone who is already preparing to go into missions (beginning your missions training now and attending missionary preparation courses is an excellent way of meeting other potential spouses who are already in the process of training for missions and of a like mind).

The Missionary Nature of the Church

2009-08-01T13:09:00.000-07:00

“The Church is by nature missionary to the extent that, if it ceases to be missionary, it has not just failed in one of its tasks, it has ceased being Church.”

~J. Andrew Kirk

Missions is not something that the church DOES - it is something that the Church IS, and if a church stops being missionary than it is betraying its very identity.

Many define the marks of a church as, where the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments are rightly administered, yet the church's missionary nature must be part of this definition.

Five more essential books for missionary research

2009-08-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Three books for fitting in cross-culturally

2009-08-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Missions is evangelism, but it has a cross-cultural component. Missions entails crossing an ethno-linguistic barrier with the Gospel.

Therefore, a missionary must not only understand theology, they must be able to adapt in another culture and understand how theology applies across cultural barriers (all too often we export American theology without adequately understanding how much of what we value and do is actually culture and not Gospel). A missionary must not only be solid theologically, they must be a hearty and adaptable individual in order to be effective despite the rigors of culture shock and culture stress.

Here are 3 books to help one cope cross-culturally.

Cross-Cultural Connections by Duane Elmer,

Cross-Cultural Servanthood by Duane Elmer

and,

Ministering Cross-Culturally by Sherwood Lingenfelter.

Three more books for people considering missionary service

2009-08-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Church is Bigger than you Think, by Patrick Johnstone, as well as Johnstone's Operation World and Bryant Myers Exploring World Missions.

These are essential books in showing the worldwise spread of the church and just how global our task is. Want to become a world Christian? Start by reading these books.

Books for people considering missions service

2009-07-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

Missiology edited by John Mark Terry is a very packed book full of articles about missions. Not a first book for those wanting to serve, but a very good book for internediate research into missions.

Philip Jenkins' The Next Christendom gives a good overview of the current situation of Christianity in the world today. The faith is becoming less Western, for one thing and the majority of those that call themselves Christian in the world now are from Africa and Asia.

Thomas Hale's "On Being a Missionary" is a very good book for any wanting to go into missions.

John Piper's Let the Nations be Glad is a must read for all people considering missions.

More books will be added later.

MISSIO DEI - Whose mission is it anyway?

2009-07-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Now hear this!

Missions is not merely something that God’s people do. The Bible’s grand narrative is of a sending God, who has sent His Son into the world and who, with the Son, now sends us the Spirit, by which we ourselves are sent forth into the world. It is not “all about us,” missions is something God does.

God is, after all, the one constant. Read any missions history book. Man passes from the earth like grass, like vapor. The old hymn writer depicts the human condition this way, “We blossom and flourish as leaves on a tree, then wither and perish – but naught changeth Thee.” We are but supporting actors. We are but extras summoned for a brief moment in order to better display the character of the lead starring role.

God, who is the author of the production, stars Himself as the main character. It is our purpose to magnify Him and His work so that when the final credits roll only one name appears, the Name above all others who deserves all the glory, Revelation 7:10, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

I desire to briefly sketch two truths in this brief article:

• First, God is not following our lead, but is leading us. Let us not think we are doing grand things for God by going forth into the fields or by “holding the ropes” of those who do. God is doing grand things by leading us and allowing us to even take a small part.

• Second, God is not a God who merely engages in missions. God is, on the contrary, a missionary God. Missions is not merely one activity among many that our God engages in, missions flows from His very Being.

Now, let’s dig deeper into these truths.

First, God is not following our lead. He is out front.

If missions depended upon us, what a pitiful state! What a pitiful God! What a pitiful future! If God waited for our initiative or relied upon our strength, the situation would be hopeless.

I once heard a Baptist missionary proclaim that God needed us to save the heathen. He stated that the salvation of those who had never heard rested upon us. The missionary call had been given to all of us; the question was whether or not we were going to obey it.

Hear this! God is not frail, He marches on. And He marches only to His own drum, whose beat is neither late nor rushed. The pace may appear slow to us, but God is covering the whole earth with His glory like the waters that cover the seas.

God reaches outward with the spreading fingers of His bright glory like the sun reaching through clefts of mountain at daybreak, the dawning light changing from sharp slivers of isolated light to a general enveloping brightness, slowly engulfing everything in its wake. His wonderful name is lighting the last jungle tribes of Irian Jaya, and will yet penetrate the dark deserts of Arabia.

Isaac Watts paints this glory in a paraphrase of Psalm 72, my favorite hymn:

Jesus shall reign wher’er the Sun,
doth its successive journeys run.
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
till moons shall wax and wane no more.

God is the one spreading His glory. When a church sends a missionary, God is not in their debt. God is pleased when someone steps out in service to Him, but this pleasure is not the relieved pleasure of a General in wartime, thankful for a few more recruits to throw at the frontline. This is the pleasure of a Father who delights to include his children in His own work. The church that sends a missionary merely gains the privilege of fellowship and participation in the work of this sending God.

Jesus describes the situation thusly, “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (John 20:21). Worshipping this sending God, we become a sending people.

Second, God does not merely “do” missions; He is Himself missionary

God takes the supreme place as the first and greatest missionary. God is the one who does mission and this “doing” springs from His “being,” and we are not so much “doers” of missions at all but “witnesses” (Acts 1:8) to what God is doing. God does not merely have a mission for His church. On the contrary, God has a church for His mission. Likewise, the Bible does not merely contain information about missions. It is, itself, a missionary document. Forget about the question about whether there is a “Biblical basis for missions” or not. There is, instead, a missionary basis for the Bible, that record of God’s self-revealing mission.

Let’s be clear, God does not merely “do missions,” God is a God who is missionary in His being. The very being of God throbs with a missional pulse, a constant willful self-revealing of His glory. God delights in blessing the nations and in spreading His glory. Why else did God create the world? Out of loneliness? God forbid! His love bubbled over and could not be contained. He is the All-Glorious who created the universe as a stage to display that glory.

It is comforting to know that missionary work has a Trinitarian basis! God is a Trinitarian being, who sends and is sent and God’s people, being filled with the Spirit of God, likewise reflect this nature. God the Father sends the Son and the Father and Son jointly send the Spirit which is poured into the church, who is then sent out into the world. God is a missionary who loves His people, whose Son veiled His glory in human flesh to become first an example and then an adequate sacrifice for His People. And now God has sent His Spirit to indwell this same People to empower us to go out into the world as witnesses, sent out to be blessings to still yet others.

Let me sketch another analogy of missions as Trinitarian involvement:

Imagine a father killing a snake loitering on the front door. This father then gives the stick to his young child so that the child, too, can take a few whacks at the dying snake. “Good job!” encourages the father. If the child’s hands waver, the father is there to steady them. Though the parent is the one who has accomplished the final victory, the father delights to include his children whom he loves, for the pleasure of the parent and the furtherance of the teaching of the child.

Praise God! We can participate! Though it is God’s mission, He gives us a part. He has won the victory and has crushed the Serpent’s head but still allows us to tread Satan under our feet.

God has conquered through the sending of his Son and now sends us to gather the spoil. God gives us the Spirit to steady weak arms and through God’s inclusion of us into His own mission, we learn more about our Sending God and His Son Jesus Christ, the Sent-Out one who includes us in His work by the Spirit.

God, by the death of His Son, reconciles the world to Himself and sends us forth, giving us the message of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:19).

A FINAL PRAYER:

Dear Father,

Ultimately, you send us to reap wherein we have bestowed no labor. Another has done the work, and yet we take part in His labors. We look at the fields white for harvest and we pray for the privilege of participation in gathering in this precious wheat. Oh Lord, thank you that we together, You who plant and we who are allowed to harvest, are able to share in this joy together.

Thank you Lord for allowing us to reap the fruit of your labors.

FIVE CURRENT TRENDS IN MISSIONS

2009-07-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

As we move into the Third Millennium since Jesus first gave us our marching orders, what are some current trends and concerns in missions? We still rejoice in the biographies of Adoniram Judson, David Brainerd and John G Paton, even while we recognize our need to keep abreast of the dizzying flood of worldwide changes just within the last 4 decades. While our Lord is the same in every generation, the world is much-changed.

I summarize a list of current missiological trends below. Please use this list as a starting point for further research.

Current missiological trends:

Trend 1. - The changing context of mission - the shifting center of Christianity:

A Shift Towards the non-Western world:

Missions is no longer “From the West to the Rest.” Those that profess a broadly evangelical faith now have their majority in the non-Western world. Latin America, Africa and Asia are blooming even while North America and Europe are withering and decaying. In 1945 over 80% of the non-Western world was dominated by the West. By 1974 this became less than 5%. During this same period church attendance in the Anglican Church in Britain decreased by 14% in Britain even while the membership rolls in Sudan increased by 633%! African bishops from the “Global South” are now sending missionaries to bolster the apostatizing Anglican Church in the West against increasing defection from the faith. Christianity is no longer a Western religion; the center has shifted.

Missions – increasingly urban, Asian, and in partnership with national Christian bodies:

While rural, tribal missions may excite the fascinations of many, the future of missions may not be the Auca Story in Through Gates of Splendor or even the Sawi story in Don Richardson’s Peacechild. The future of missions is largely to be urban and Asian, and among highly refined cultures holding to Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism, rather than scattered “primitive” animistic tribes. The need for missionaries to Asian cities is great. For example, think on this: while the US has about 9 cities with a population over 1 million, China has close to 150 cities of a million or more.

I freely admit that my own missions scenario in Papua, focusing on a remote tribe, is not the wave of the future. But it affords me close strategic involvement with the national church denomination, Gereja Injili di Indonesia (GIDI), the Evangelical Church in Indonesia, which consists of over 400,000 members and is led by 40,000 evangelists and pastors. My local team of highland evangelists, laboring among my tribal group, consists of 20 evangelists and I am able to influence GIDI as a whole through my involvement in this effort.

This brings us to another shift in missions within the last 50-100 years. Missions now must be done, and should be done, in increasing partnering with national Christians. Why bypass those that the Lord has providentially raised up? Enabling indigenous believers and mobilizing local bodies of believers to reach others in their own region of the world is a strategic and God-honoring priority. Partnership is the watchword for missions today in many regions of the world.

The West is no longer the center of mission-sending. Vital hubs of missionary sending are springing up across the world, islands of vital Christianity in a sea of darkness. No longer content to receive missionaries only, these “new sending countries” are striving to send out their own missionaries. For instance, South Korea is on the verge of overtaking the U.S. as the top missions sending nation. I work with one man from the country of Papua New Guinea, the other side of the island here, who felt the Lord calling him to cross the border and labor among his less fortunate brothers in Indonesia.

Our task today as Western missionaries is not merely in going alone to the dark places of the world ourselves, but our task lays also in enabling vital pockets of Non-Western Christians to also reach those dark areas closest to them. We multiply ourselves, becoming catalysts, when we help mobilize national Christians. Right now, there are highland Papuan tribal believers, like the Dani and the Yali, that are being trained to take the Gospel to lowland tribes. Not only that, but there are also Papuan evangelists being trained to be sent to the other islands in Indonesia, and even out of their own country into PNG and also among the Australian aborigines. Missions now has become a global enterprise, the Gospel from everywhere to everywhere.

For further research:
• Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002).
• Martin I. Klauber and Scott M. Manetsch, editors, The Great Commission: Evangelicals and the History of World Missions (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2008).
• Bryant L. Myers, The New Context of World Missions (Monrovia, California: MARC, 1996).

Trend 2. The changing focus of mission: The modern People-group focus:

If you have read John Piper’s Let the Nations be Glad (second edition, pages 155-200) you will be familiar with the concept of people-groups. Whereas by the 1950’s the Gospel had penetrated every country (nation state) on earth, there were still billions without the Gospel. Thousands of ethnic groups were not only not being reached, but were not even being targeted.

One high-level missions strategy coordinator revealed to me how his missions board for years colored the entire country of India red, meaning that his particular mission agency had a “missionary presence” in that nation. In reality, there was one lone single female missionary for a country possessing around 2,500 ethno-linguistically distinct people-groups and almost a billion people! He laughed when he told me this and stated how thankful he was that missions had caught onto the concept of people-group thinking.

How did the concept of “unreached people-groups” come about? Ralph Winter, the founder of the William Carey Library and the U.S. Center of World Missions, working through the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization, championed the concept of “unreached people-groups” in the late 70’s and 80’s. He asserted that the ethne of Scripture that we are supposed to reach are not political nation-states at all. They are, instead, cultures within those countries, possessing ethnic and linguistic identities distinct from others.

John Piper points out the firm theological basis for the people-group focus of Scripture. The Apostle Paul in Romans 15:18-21 speaks of having “fully preached” the Gospel from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. Paul claims to have “fulfilled” (peplerokenai) the Gospel in that whole region. This does not mean that he preached to every single soul in that region, nor does it mean that Paul did not believe that further workers were needed in this mission field; Paul, after all, placed Timothy in Ephesus (I Tim. 1:3) and Titus in Crete (Titus 1:5) to mature the work. Paul’s phrase “fulfilled the Gospel” means this; Paul had a people-group focus. Paul desired to focus on pioneer areas to win many peoples rather than merely as many people as possible, so that God would be praised by all peoples (Romans 15:11), Abraham would be the father of many nations (Romans 4:17), and the name of Christ would be understood in every people group where He is not known (Romans 15:21).

Our goal in discipling the nations is not merely to win people, but to win peoples. Our task is not merely to gain the maximum quantity of people, winning more and more people to Christ, but in winning more and more peoples, ethno-linguistic groups, some from every tongue, tribe and nation. Our goal goes beyond winning as many souls or planting as many churches as possible, our goal is to win souls and plant churches in as many unreached peoples as possible and to cross every existing barrier with the Gospel.

Psalm 22:27:

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.

Churches and sending agencies now make tremendous efforts to find and research the various people-groups of the world and intentionally target them. This has led to a broadly evangelical ecumenism in cooperative efforts such as the Joshua Project and Caleb Project, whereby unreached people-groups have been listed, quantified, and, as much as able, prioritized so that new workers need not replicate services but can allocate resources most effectively to speed the Great Commission. The people-group concept, therefore, has encouraged cooperativeness across denominational lines and has also promoted an openness to the social sciences as research and statistics on various demographics across the globe are gathered and sent out to churches in order to promote missions, mobilize workers and to fill identified needs.

Many will pooh-pooh this use of anthropology, statistics and the social sciences in dividing up the earth and trying to prioritize the lost. This is both a matter of theological priority, however, and also simple stewardship. A lost soul in Atlanta, Georgia is just as lost as a lost soul in the remote jungle, after all, but why should the lost in Atlanta, Georgia be able to squander thousands upon thousands of opportunities while I must walk two days through muddy swamp in order to tell some about Jesus? This research helps our stewardship. We honor God by finding the darkest hole in which to plant ourselves.

Keep in mind, also, that this research is nothing more than what William Carey himself did in his famous Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen, whereby he gathered the most current data of his day about every group of people under the sun in an effort to aid research about where to send missionaries and how best to pray for world evangelization. Narrow, local thinking is insufficient for the global task before us.

My own use of the people-group concept to inform my decision-making: Why did I choose to go to SE Asia? How did I pick the tribe that I would go to? My decisions were informed by my people-group thinking.

My country of service possesses 127 unreached-people groups, not even including the 274 listed languages in Papua (I know several more languages not yet listed). Of these 274-plus Papuan language-groups, i.e. ethne, about 70 have at least Scripture portions, leaving about 200 without the Scripture. Of these, the most unreached are scattered into 14 Daerah Terpencil, the “14 most isolated areas,” of which my area makes up one of the largest of these areas, and possessing the most unreached tribes. I chose my ministry place based on which groups suffered the highest geographic and linguistic barriers to the Gospel. I prioritized the lost in a sort of missiological triage.

For further research:

• John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003).
• John Piper, “The Supremacy of God among ‘All the Nations,’ ” International Journal of Frontier Missions, 13:1, January-March 1996, 16.
• R. Showalter, “All the Clans, All the Peoples,” International Journal of Frontier Missions, 13:1 (January-March 1996):12.
• Frank Severn, “Some Thoughts on the Meaning of ‘All the Nations,’ ” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, October 1997, 415.
• Harley Schreck and David Barrett , eds., Unreached Peoples: Clarifying the Task (Monrovia, California: MARC, 1987), 44-56.
• Patrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1998), 89-93.

Trend 3. The current trend of Short-term missions:

Short-term mission trips have emerged as one of the most significant current trends in missions. Missiologists are divided as to whether this trend is a healthy one or one fraught with dangers.

Some point out statistics demonstrating that short-term trips generate long-term missionaries, most long-term missionaries having been on at least 2 short-term trips prior to committing to long-term “career” missions. Others doubt these statistics and show that as the number of short-term trips has risen, there has failed to be a concurrent rise in long-term missionaries. Instead, the number of long-term missionaries is on the decline and long-term missionaries increasingly fall short in finding enough missionary support to maintain them, even while American churches spend millions on short-term trips. The Masters Mission, for example writes that, on average, a single two-week short-term missions trip costs more than generously funding one long-term family on the field for one whole year.

In addition, as God raises up maturing Third World churches and leaders, imagine the reaction of these African and Asian men of God as they are met by minimally-trained American high-schoolers, presuming to be able to teach these national Christians about the things of God. Imagine such a group, wearing their clothes from the Gap and toting I-pods, taking two weeks off to teach persecuted Sundanese believers about the Biblical doctrine of suffering and persecution? Preposterous!

In this day of modern air travel and quick access to most places on the globe, I would hate to discourage anyone from seeing places in the world that may still be legitimately called “the mission field.” I long to see visitors here who are open to missions, who want to see the beauty of Indonesia, and who are open to the possibility of coming back to serve full-time. With proper preparation, short-term missions can be a wonderful recruiting tool to give home churches a taste of overseas ministry. Through short-term missions, Western churches can make strategic partnerships with solid Third-World believers so that these American churches may aid missions through already-established local bodies. Also, in highly technical fields of expertise, short term missionaries are a major blessing in areas such as well-digging, water purification, mobile cataract surgery clinics, first-aid courses, farming aid, computer care and even seminars on select doctrinal and leadership topics.

I would like to stress, however, that years of language learning and a living long-term presence among a people is often necessary for the Gospel to enter deeply enough into a culture to transform it. Short-term missions are fine, but please do not make them an end unto themselves. They are a means to an end; the recruitment of long-term workers and the initiation of long-term partnerships. One colleague here in Papua, serving in a remote tribe, labored for 10 years before the Lord gave him the spiritual fruit of one believer. Another missionary, after 20 years, had only one person believe in their village - and he died this year! The tribe that I am laboring among are very ignorant of the Gospel and the work may take just as long or longer.

There is, now more than ever, a need for long-term workers.

For further research:

• Dan McDonough and Roger Peterson, Can Short-Term Mission Really Create Long-term Missionaries? (Stem Press, 1999).
• The Master’s Mission, “Avoiding the Pitfalls of Short-term Missions,” Pastor’s Journal 5, accessed at www.mastersmission.org.

Trend 4. Healthier attempts towards broad, cooperative evangelical efforts are now replacing unhealthy ecumenism

Ecumenism has almost become a bad word among the faithful due to the poor showing of past efforts at broad cooperation, such as heresies promoted by some in the World Council of Churches. New efforts at ecumenicity, however, are on the rise and are now more strongly undergirded by basic evangelical doctrinal safeguards.

At the end of the last century, a rising tide of missions zeal contributed to the formation of the Student Volunteer Movement. With its watchword as, “The evangelization of the world in this generation” the SVM helped to mobilize thousands into missions across denominational lines. This zeal peaked in a world missionary conference in 1910 at Edinburgh. This worldwide conference was not a new idea at all, but originated in the forward-thinking mind of William Carey, who hoped himself to see a “general association of all denominations of Christians” meet about every 10 years, beginning in 1810. His dream was realized 100 years late.

Despite great beginnings, these efforts at broad cooperation steered more and more off-course, sacrificing doctrinal purity to gain greater organizational unity. As the World Council of Churches grew into the main voice for ecumenism during the mid-20th Century, doctrines such as the uniqueness of Christ and justification by faith were minimized. In response, many of the faithful fled from ecumenical missions efforts altogether and grew suspicious of all cooperative efforts, growing isolative and critical of any who desired to seek broader partnership.

Recently, however, missions has experienced a resurgence in efforts towards shared resources, broad cooperation, the avoidance of duplication of services, and a decrease in interdenominational infighting among evangelical Protestants. In July of 1974, the International Congress on World Evangelization was held in Lausanne, Switzerland, and this led to the ongoing Lausanne Committee on World Evangelization, with worldwide meetings about every decade. The majority of the delegates were non-Western and over 150 countries attended. A basic evangelical doctrinal statement was adopted.

Also, within the past two decades, collaborative evangelical efforts such as the Joshua Project, the Caleb Project, Operation World and Operation Mobilization have all emerged to better research and allocate resources for missions. These groups are broadly evangelical and serve to compile data and better our stewardship of limited missions resources. I myself have submitted data to the Joshua Project to help enlarge their database on Papuan tribes.

Despite the dangers involved, this cooperativeness must be seen as a positive development. While each individual effort must be weighed accordingly and accepted or rejected on its own merits, broad cooperation being only possible with those sharing solid doctrinal foundations, these current efforts at research and information-sharing are laudable and I myself have utilized much of this research in investigating and surveying needs in Indonesia.

For further research:

• Roth Rowse, “William Carey’s ‘Pleasing Dream,’” International Review of Missions, volume 38 (1949), 181.

Trend 5. Persecution, the demise of colonialism, and the return to Pre-Constantinianism

Pre-Constantinianism? What do I mean by this term?

This term attempts to characterize how the church operated prior to the contaminating influences of the era of Constantine on the early church. Pre-Constantinianism includes two main thoughts, (1) that missions is now being done in the face of the disappearance of Western colonial power and in a manner more reflective of New Testament practice, and (2) Pre-Constantinianism is an attempt to show that missions is now increasingly being done in places where there is a rise in persecution, without the protection of Western governments.

The early church, an oppressed minority, spread like wildfire. From the fringes of power rather than the center, poor and persecuted Christians multiplied despite having no civil backing and little wealth, spreading not only despite persecution but often because of persecution. With Constantinian preference, the church and the civil state married into an unholy matrimony that not even the Protestant Reformation remedied. Christianity spread only with the spread of the civil state. The fiction of “Christendom” crept in. The Protestant Reformation did not expunge these faults and the new Protestant States continued these errors with the policy of, “cuius regio eius religio,” stating that whoever’s region it was, that also was the religion, the political powers fixing religion.
The Moravians were the first to send out missionaries not associated with the colonizing powers; and what a great example of missionary devotion they continue to be, even selling themselves as slaves to evangelize poor plantation workers. The Moravian Church sent out missionaries at a rate of 1 in every 12, a virtual tithe of church members into missions, and inspired William Carey, who proposed that voluntary associations of private Christians, i.e., missionary societies, be formed to reach the world for Christ, an idea that launched the Modern Missions Movement.
Missions is almost entirely done now by groups not wedded to the State and missionaries are increasingly finding ways into hostile regions where persecution is not merely a possibility, but an expectation. There has never been a time when more Muslims are turning to Christ. In North Africa, the small embers of churches that have long been almost stamped into extinction are now beginning to blaze anew, despite renewed persecution.
In Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, there is periodic violence against Christians and hundreds have been killed, and hundreds of churches have been burned or closed. Despite all of this, the official statistics regarding Christians are constantly in need of revision as perhaps over 20 million Christians now exist in this beleaguered country.
A case study: Indonesia is a wonderful illustration of the blessings of this current trend. During the Dutch Colonization, evangelism was slow going and national Christians succeeded where many Western mission efforts failed. Many Dutch mission efforts failed altogether, most Javanese thinking that to become Christian was to model the overly rigid Dutch Reformed patterns of ecclesiology and even adopt Dutch dress. National identity and religion merged into one amorphous mass. Islam and Christianity actually entered the interior of Java at about the same general time period and yet, due to hatred of the Dutch colonizers, more and more Javanese turned to Islam until it became the clear majority all throughout the region, despite “Christian” powers being in control and despite vigorous efforts by Dutch missionaries, who rode the colonial ships over to land on the mission field and lived besides tea plantation masters. Since Merdeka (Independence), and especially since Islamic fundamentalism has begun to gain power, Christianity has spread like wildfire.

Other trends briefly explained:

Space does not allow a full treatment of all the current trends in missions, but below are a few more current missiological trends to consider as we end this article:

• -Missions giving is steadily decreasing.

• -Also those activities supported under the title of “missions” continues to increasingly involve things other than frontier church-planting among the least-reached peoples of the world.

• -Smaller missions are ceasing to exist, mission societies are merging together and more local churches are trying to directly send out missionaries. While this is positive in regards to local church involvement, many of these churches, ignorant of global concerns and well-tried methods, fall into the same or greater errors than the missionary societies that they are trying to replace.

• -Missions is increasingly becoming full of “niche” ministries. Specialization in small technical areas such as aviation, computers, and health work is increasingly becoming more common. Missionary “generalists,” those not possessing some unique trade besides theological preparation, are increasingly becoming rarer.

• -Finally, one last healthy trend is this: churches and agencies are increasingly becoming more “missions focused” rather than “missionary focused.” This means that churches are catching a vision to strategically reach peoples rather than merely supporting their own missionaries.

Whole books could be written, and are being written about the ramifications of such trends. In this short article, such deep analysis is impossible. If you would like to discuss any of these points further, please feel free to email me at oct31st1517@hotmail.com.

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART VIII - FINAL PART, Suggestions for Best Practice

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Suggestions for Best Practice

Sending agencies should utilize the missionary call as a close ally and friend. From the very beginning of the screening process the missionary call has immense member care implications.

Here are a few suggestions for best practice.

First, the missionary call is powerful. Most definitions of the missionary call use the adjectives “intense” or “passionate” in their attempts to show the power that this call has upon a person’s life. This intensity should not be discouraged. It is a wind to fill the sails of the missionary embarking towards the Nations.

Second, remember that the missionary call is not merely a solitary call. It involves the larger body of Christ. The best verification of the missionary call is not a mystical feeling, but is a desire that follows the Word of God and is seconded by the larger body of Christ. Gung-ho missionary candidates, lest they “run without being sent” should be patient and heed this advice, “Be open to take time to let others be convinced of [your] call.”

Third, there is no real conflict regarding the missionary call and aggressive recruiting. Agencies and mission boards should continue to aggressively recruit candidates, even while being willing to exercise due caution so that those sent by the agency are those sent by God. Churches who have an infectious passion for missions and pastors who closely mentor and disciple their people may be the means by which the Lord implants a growing call into their people. Churches that give opportunities to exercise spiritual gifts and confirm those gifts empower their people to further explore what God may be calling them into.

Fourth, note that the missionary call plays a vital role not only in recruiting missionaries, but in screening candidates as well. If a candidate lacks a clear sense of call, or if this call is not seconded and confirmed by the larger body of Christ, agencies should take note and exercise caution. One of the largest reasons for negative missionary attrition is a “lack of call.” The solution is to screen more carefully to determine the presence of this sustaining ingredient from the very beginning.

Fifth, organizations should “test the call” through various internship programs, training programs, camps, and candidate schools. A missionary call will not only last through stress and hardship; it will make the candidate last through stress and hardship. Though hard to define and far from objective and measurable, one way in which organizations can screen candidates for this missionary call is to allow a testing period and to provide a testing program. Such testing is a very positive thing and should be encouraged and not merely seen as a trap to “weed people out.” It is, instead, a tool of stewardship used by the larger body of Christ to bless a candidate by helping them discern God’s will.

Sixth, the missionary call is one of the most powerful forces in retaining missionaries on the field. When times get tough, having a clear call is sometimes all that retains missionaries in some settings. When positive results and ministry fruits do not occur, the call is a powerful motivator for perseverance. When money fails, health fails and relationships fail, a missionary driven by a strong sense of call can endure until better days come.

Many missionaries have reported over a decade of wearisome labor before God finally converts the first soul in their people-group, and some labor even longer. A sense of strong and clear calling provides the missionary with persevering strength. It communicates, “God is the one that has called me here. I will stay and persevere because I am exactly where He would have me.”

Also, when a missionary possesses a clear call this is usually seconded by a multitude of other voices, such as friends, home church, and agency. All of these parties affirm the missionary’s call and can act as invaluable sources of social support from which the hurting missionary can draw strength. Agencies and churches should utilize the missionary call as a tool in counseling. Counselors can affirm the call and encourage perseverance by reminding the missionary, “Even though things are rough right now, we are confident that God has brought you here and will sustain you in your God-ordained work; we are behind you!”

The missionary call gives tenacity and perseverance in the midst of trials. There is an inverse relationship between a clear missionary call and attrition and those missionaries who have a clear call have lower rates of attrition.

The analogy comparing the missionary call to a wind that fills the sails of the missionary has already been given. This divine wind fills the sails and propels the missionary across cultures. Also, in times of trouble, consider this analogy. The power of the missionary call as an anchor that fixes the missionary’s vessel in place when adverse winds blow. The call not only moves the missionary into service, but it fixes the missionary in place once they arrive at their God-ordained destination.

CONCLUSION

Despite many differences regarding its exact nature, the missionary call is real and does, in fact, exist. This call is of vital importance related to issues of member care. Finally, this missionary call can be a vital ally that can be utilized in gaining quality missionaries and retaining them. Those focusing on the care of missionaries would do well to adapt their procedures to take full advantage of this ally. Let us give the missionary call its due place of honor.

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART VII - Some negatives about the missionary call

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The negative aspects of the missionary call

A strong sense of missionary call is largely a positive factor. There are, however, two aspects in which a strong sense of call is negative. First, a false call can be used to manipulate other people. Second, a “totalitarian call” can consume all of a missionary’s life and lead to missionary burnout.

False Calls:

First, false “missionary calls” can be used as a manipulative tool. A person may claim to be “sure” that the Holy Spirit is leading them in a particular direction and yet wreak havoc on their lives and the lives of others. Pronouncements of “God’s calling” may, in fact, be used as a manipulative tool so that a person may further their own agenda. After all, who can argue with the call of God?

Frank Allen muses that, “Ralph Winter once remarked that the words, "The Lord is leading me," are probably one of the greatest obstacles to effective missionary work.”

Such people often are not the best team players. Agencies and churches, therefore, should screen wisely for past and present relationship patterns of dysfunction. These people may be quite persuasive and may even convince others of this call. Self-confidence and assertion opens many doors. Egocentric personalities that utilize spiritual matters for personal gain, for enhancement of reputation and status, or as a means of social control over others must be screened out.

Marge Jones writes about “the pedestal” of missionary service and how this serves to humble us and yet, at the same time, set us apart into a unique category of people based upon our call. Even for truly called missionaries this may prove to be snare.

Jones warns us:

Individuals placed on a pedestal because of their call to the mission field need to understand how much this treatment has influenced their thoughts and actions and how detrimental the results can be when they arrive overseas.

The All-Consuming Call:

Second, another danger is that the missionary call may become a tyrant instead of a friend and ally.

It may consume the missionary’s whole life.

While a strong sense of missionary call and urgency is often what drives candidates to the field and sustains them, it can also eat them alive.

Gregory Waddell calls this the “totalitarian call” and describes it this way:

Any job can become your entire life if you let it. Missionaries and pastors are especially prone to this scenario because their job is their life. It could be argued that the two should not be separated; ministry, after all, is a divine calling. This temptation to allow the mission to absorb everything we are and everything we do is harmful both to the missionary and to his or her family.

Thus, while the missionary call is a strong motivator and sustainer in missions, it can also drive the missionary to exhaustion. If left unchecked all other aspects of the missionary’s life can become pushed to the side leading to attrition. Thus, an intense and urgent sense of calling can become a case of “too much of a good thing.”

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART VI - a call may change over time

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The call of God may change over time

Discussing the call of God in relation to missionary attrition may lead one to the mistaken notion that the call of God never changes and that all cases of missionaries leaving a field of service are unfortunate events.

Here is a disclaimer: the call of God may change over time.

God may call us to a field for a limited time and even call us away from a field. Tom Steffen writes about older missionary assumptions, that these often possessed a “no turning back mindset.” A return home before one was rendered too old or too ill for service meant “turning your back on God’s will.”

Steffen then contrasts this older view with present realities:

Today much has changed...Missionaries who spend their lives in a single place have become far and few between. Even if they serve with the same mission agency for their entire career, they are likely to have a variety of assignments and serve in more than one culture.

Perhaps this disclaimer makes an already ambiguous topic even more ambiguous, but it is a needed addition to any discussion about the call of God. Transitions are common in ministry and we cannot count all of these transitions as examples of failures or “negative attrition.”

God may call us to perform certain time-limited tasks and then that call may end and another may begin. Most would not propose that a missionary can never retire. Sensing the call of God on one’s life is not a one-time event at the beginning of one’s missionary career, but a continual process of checking one’s life not only against the Scripture, but also one’s desires and situations in life. God’s call is what helps get missionaries to the mission field, sustain them on the mission field, but can also draw them from that field into another work.

Some would disagree, however, with this assertion. As recently as October of 2008 the Evangelical Missions Quarterly published these words by Abhijit Nayak:

The ministry has become more career-oriented than call-oriented. As far as scripture is concerned, in ministry there is no retirement. God’s servant has no relief from the ministry; he or she is committed until his or her last breath.

A full scale theological treatment of every facet of the missionary call is not possible in this short paper. Suffice it to say, however, that the above statement by Mr. Nayak may either prove to exhibit the true grit that exemplifies a called missionary, or it may inflict needless guilt on those missionaries transitioning to different roles or retiring due to health or old age.

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART V - The Call as a factor in sustaining missionaries

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The Missionary Call as a Factor in Sustaining Missionaries

The missionary call is vital in recruiting and screening missionaries. The missionary call is also invaluable in sustaining missionaries. The missionary call is an ally which may be utilized to strengthen and preserve the troubled missionary, as Kelly O’ Donnell advises:

If a missionary becomes dysfunctional or struggles excessively with ministry issues, it may be wise to review his/her present walk with God and the original call from God concerning missionary work.

The original call, being what compelled the believer to enter missionary service originally, can also be a member care tool to keep them there. Since a clear call will have clear confirmations by the larger body of Christ, the troubled missionary should never lack a wide array of affirmation and support. If the missionary’s initial call was confirmed by the larger body of Christ and the sending agency, even if that missionary has his own momentary doubts about his calling, a large number of supportive believers can strengthen that weary missionary from many sides.

The following illustrates this dynamic well:

Paul and Barnabas were confirmed in their missionary call by the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1-4). Many ministers, including missionaries, have had churches confirm their call to ministry because they had watched how they developed a lifestyle of obedience. It is a further confirmation when they support the missionaries in prayer as they go to the mission field. There is also the confirmation that comes through a sending body which affirms that they are gifted for this kind of ministry...When missionaries go to the field, they become aware of the value of having such a “call” from the Lord. When they are asked what difference the call has made to them, the characteristic response is that it has functioned as a stabilizer in their lives during times of crisis. It has a stabilizing effect when the missionaries sense that God has equipped them spiritually with the gifts necessary to carry out a task, and in crisis times the Lord is guiding them. Missionaries sense a stability just knowing that others believe in them.

A steady supplement of, “We believe in you, we affirmed your calling, we attest that God’s gifts are upon you, and we support you,” can do wonders for the missionary in times of stress. It is an invigorating tonic.

Neal Pirolo illustrates the immense moral support that comes from the larger body of Christ:

The church, the home fellowship, the missions fellowship, the prayer group, the college and career class – some group besides the ones wanting to go need to hear the Holy Spirit say, “Separate unto Me [the Barnabas and Saul from your fellowship] for the task to which I have called them.” This confirmation provides tremendous moral support! It is one thing for your missionary to think the Lord has directed him. It is incredibly more reassuring to know He has confirmed it in the hearts of others as well.

The support of the body of Christ towards a missionary rarely ends with mere affirmation. When a missionary call is confirmed by the larger body of Christ, moral support is far from the only thing provided. Multiplied prayers ascend to heaven on behalf of the beleaguered. Material support is more easily attained when the larger body of Christ stamps a missionary with their own seal of approval. Special aid, material assistance and added resources can all serve to buttress the struggling missionary in times of need. Like a frontline soldier amply supplied with the “beans and bullets” needed to sustain the war effort, the missionary is sent forth by the multiplied efforts of many.

The REMAP II study writes the following:

The committed endorsement of the pastor and local church may have an added contribution for retention beyond confirming the call of the candidate. If the church and pastor confirm the call to the mission agency it seems likely that the church would feel greater obligation or responsibility to support in prayer and finances.

A true missionary call results in a missionary being sent, and the one who is sent is sent by a community. The blessings provided by this sending community do not end once the missionary is sent, but can be tapped in times of need as a source of strength, affirmation and comfort.

A Clear Missionary Call and Missionary Attrition: an Inverse Relationship

Two things are striking regarding the correlation between the missionary call and missionary attrition. First, a clear call is one of the most important factors in missionary longevity. Second, the perception by the missionary that he lacks a call or has lost his call are major factors impacting missionary attrition.

The missionary call - one of the top factors in missionary retention.

In the ReMAP II study on missionary attrition, a strong sense of calling possessed, “a strong correlation with retention.” In fact, a clear calling rated as a higher factor in retention than even prior ministry experience. The verdict is clear; a strong sense of calling prevents negative missionary attrition.

The Association of Foreign Missions, meeting in 1998, focused on the topic of missionary “survival” and found that “a definite call to cross-cultural service” was a key ingredient in all of the successful case studies examined.

A “determination to dig in your heels no matter how tough it gets, based on the conviction that you are in the exact place God wants you, ministerially as well as geographically” is vital to missionary longevity.

Doubts about one’s call, or a sense of loss or lack of call is devastating

The World Evangelical Fellowship conducted a study of missionary attrition in the 1990’s consisting of findings from 14 nations, broken down into OSC’s (Old Sending Countries) and NSC’s (New Sending Countries). This landmark ReMAP I study (Reducing Missionary Attrition Project I) interviewed personnel from 453 sending agencies, the total number of these missionary interviews was approximately 31,000, or 1/5th of the known global evangelism force.

The results of ReMAP I were analyzed and published in the book Too Valuable to Lose, edited by Dr. Bill Taylor. ReMAP I’s results encouraged further research. ReMAP II, focusing on obtaining best practices for retention, was completed at the end of 2003 and its results were published in the book Worth Keeping.

The WEF study found that the category “lack of call” influenced an average of 4.1% of missionaries who attritted. Of the NSC’s (new sending countries) fully 8% of attritting missionary personnel listed “lack of call” as the main reason for their attrition.

Finally, the WEF found that “the most important factor in preventing attrition was reported to be the missionary having a clear call.” Asked to list all the top reasons for leaving the field, fully 23% of missionaries from the New Sending Nations marked “Yes” for the reason “Lack of a clear call.” This 23% response is shared with the response “Lack of Home support” as the top reason for negative missionary attrition.

The Southern Baptist International Mission Board (IMB) has one of the lowest attrition rates on record. However, of that very low rate of attrition issues centering on “the call” figured prominently:

The most common reason cited for leaving missionary appointment last year was a change in understanding of God's call. That explanation accounted for 25 percent of all departures. "Fifty-eight individuals resigned because of a change of call; six resigned because they felt they were never really called; and four resigned because their families in the U.S. did not affirm their call," noted an executive summary of the study presented to trustees.

It is evident, therefore, that a clear missionary call, seconded by the larger body of Christ who affirms and supports that call is key to improving member care.

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART IV - Recruiting and Screening Missionaries

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The missionary call as a factor in recruiting and screening potential missionaries

The missionary call is one of the most important considerations in the screening of missionaries.

A strong missionary call correlates to longer missionary careers and lower rates of preventable missionary attrition. A clear calling has been consistently reported as more important than regular financial support, family support, relationships with other missionaries and even the maintenance of one’s own personal, spiritual life. Even if the definitions of the missionary call vary by candidate, what is of prime importance is that they feel that they have been called.

In fact, “It appears to matter little (as far as retention is concerned) what the call is to and what it consists of,” the important thing is that a candidate has intensely thought-out what they feel God’s call is for them so that they may develop a tenacity in their resolve to serve even in hard times due to this personal ownership of what they believe that God has called them to.

Testing the call

Due to the unsoundness of many churches and even entire denominations, sadly, mission agencies must not take a candidate’s word or even his home church’s confirmation at face value. A self-report of a call, and even a confirmation by a local church must be reviewed by the missionary organization. It is the responsibility of any sending agency, therefore, to “test the call.” If a missionary call is present, it will manifest itself as a persistent and tenacious trait that will not disappear during a short, trial period, camp, or training program. Virtually every missionary agency has instituted some sort of candidating program, training camp, internship or training program as a matter of good stewardship for all parties involved. Missionary candidates and sending churches should not balk at such requirements. Valuable lessons are learned, practice in endurance is given and the candidate’s call and the church’s confirmation of that call are usually verified by successful completion of these programs.

The missionary call and aggressive recruitment – is there a conflict?

Missions mobilizers use such slogans as, “The need is the call,” and “You don’t have a call? The call came 2,000 years ago in the form of the Great Commission – what are you waiting for?” Another slogan claims that “everyone should head towards the mission field unless God stops them.” These missions mottoes may highlight the need for personnel, but just how biblical are they?

If the missionary call is a special and exclusive divine calling, should we recruit for missions? If we recruit for missions, how should it be done? As David Hesselgrave phrases it, is this a matter of “a call for missionaries or a Divine calling?” Is there a conflict between aggressive missionary recruiting and in “waiting on the Divine Call?”

Hesselgrave reflects:

In the first place, there is no general call for missionary volunteers in the New Testament. All New Testament missionaries were personally conscripted by Christ, his apostles and their representatives, or by the Holy Spirited-directed churches.

It is my conviction that appealing for workers and waiting on the call are not mutually exclusive. We need not fall into a false dilemma on this topic. Let us seek to aggressively recruit those whom the Lord is calling.

There are dangers, however, in aggressive missionary recruiting. A longing to see more workers cannot excuse a lowering of standards. Mission agencies and churches run the risk of allowing people to “run” who are not “sent” if proper screening and training are not corporate values. Some may be attracted to the “sales appeal” of missionary promotionals and push through the missionary selection process due to magnetic personalities, and yet possess bad motives and troubling theologies that are only discovered in their first term on the field, after significant damage has already been done. Abhijit Nayak bemoans the fact that often, “Present-day ministers decide by themselves whether or not to go into ministry.”

We must always remember that the missionary call normally occurs in the context of a believer in close relation with the larger corporate body of Christ. This larger corporate body can confirm the call based upon observed confirmation of requisite gifting and character. Missions is a body of Christ effort. Recruiting for missions should be the same. Displaying needs and aggressively making known those needs might be the God-ordained means by which the Lord moves individuals and churches to send some of their own, and if the Lord is moving then He is not going to speak to one party exclusively. As Neal Pirolo stresses, “The local fellowship of believers must take the initiative in the missionary process by identifying the cross-cultural parts of the Body and allowing them to exercise their gifts.” The missionary call involves a lot of people.

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART III - The Missionary Call is not a loner

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The missionary call is not a loner – it involves the larger body of Christ.

Regarding this missionary call, it is not a hidden call. It does not happen in isolation from the larger body of Christ and confirmation by one’s home church and agency is vital.

How can one be sure that they are called by God if other Christians do not recognize this calling?

J. Herbert Kane laments that this aspect of the call (confirmation by the larger body of Christ) was, “prominent in the New Testament but is almost completely missing in church life today.”

The Apostle Paul, (Romans 10:15), asks rhetorically, “How shall they [go] preach unless they are sent.”

Michael Griffiths reflects further:

When certain men of Cyprus and Cyrene started evangelizing Greeks in Syrian Antioch, news of it came to the church in Jerusalem and the account states baldly “they sent Barnabas” (Ac 11:22, NASB). We are told nothing of calls for volunteers, nothing of Barnabas’ own personal sense of call (we need not infer from this that he did not have one). We simply learn that the church “sent” him.

The larger body of Christ bore an active role in selecting or choosing others for service. The example of Barnabas above illustrates this. The Apostle Paul confirms this as well, being brought by Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:26). The Antioch church (Acts 13) owned their responsibility by fasting and praying before confirming and releasing Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. The emphasis in the New Testament regarding the selection of “sent out ones” is not mainly on the individual, but on those that sent the individual. Griffiths points out:

In all the four instances, then, of sending out Barnabas, Saul, Silas and Timothy, what the New Testament emphasizes is not the initiative of the individual, nor his own subjective sense of call, but always the initiative of others, either of a congregation or of other Christians already active in such a work.

Michael C. Griffiths gives us three well-formed phrases to better understand this aspect of the missionary call. First he reminds us that “availability bears little relation to suitability.” Also, he speaks of the “subjective call, objectively confirmed.” Finally, he speaks of the “individual call, corporately confirmed.”

The interplay between the voluntarism of the individual and the voice of the larger church is summed up by Griffiths this way, “the most that an individual can do is express his willingness. Others must determine his worthiness.”

The chief aspect of being a missionary is “sent-ness.” The meaning of the word “missionary” comes from the Latin Mitto which means “to send” which is drawn from the Greek “apostello.” Being sent by another on their authority to convey a message is at the heart of defining what it is to be a missionary. Hesselgrave reminds us again, “A missionary is not just someone who goes, but someone who is sent.” This matter is not mere theological trivia, but is immensely practical.

Of course, requesting confirmation from the larger corporate body is not a magic bullet. It minimizes, but does not always guarantee, a proper assessment of the “called-ness” of a missionary candidate. Smaller churches may be so happy to send a candidate that the candidate’s lack of fitness is glossed over. In New Sending Countries (NSC), where relationship is valued more highly as a cultural trait, this might pose special problems. Whereas character references and the endorsement of one’s local church is highly correlated with retention in the Old Sending Countries (OSC), “Some colleagues from NSC have suggested that references hold little value for them as people often write what the candidate would want written rather than an accurate assessment of their character.”

Thus, the role of an outside agency to assess the local church’s assessment of their candidates is of vital importance; missions works best when it involves the desires of the individual, coupled with the confirmation of a local church, which is further confirmed by the sending agency.

Even local church approval and sending agency confirmation means little unless strict standards are maintained since the temptation is to let pressing needs influence objective assessment. Often, “once a candidate ‘feels called,’ some organizations tend to assume suitability unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART II - generational differences in defining "The Call"

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The missionary call as perceived by three generations

Most Christians affirm the existence of a missionary call even if they differ concerning its exact nature.

Theological differences are not the only differences, however, which emerge when defining the missionary call. Demographic differences appear as well.

William Taylor, drawing on the statistics gained from the monumental Reducing Missionary Attrition Project I, charts how the last 3 generations of missionaries have each viewed their “calling” differently.

In his chart entitled, “A Generational Perspective on Missionary Issues,” Taylor demographically displays how three different age-groups (Boosters are over 50, the Boomers are 30-50, and the Busters are under 30) view missiological issues differently.

Taylor states that Boosters describe the missionary call as “mystical.” These Boosters, born between 1927 and 1945, “responded to a clear, definite, firmly held call by God to a specific country or people group. They went for life.”

Boomers, in contrast, would describe the missionary call as “the best job fit.” These Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are described as follows:

[They] emphasize their God-given abilities and special training and expect fulfillment in their work and continuing professional development. If these expectations are not met, they will leave the field, being deeply discouraged, frustrated and angry first-termers. They are prone to first try out missionary service as short-termers before becoming committed to it. They keep the option to return home open, should things not work out for them according to their tastes and expectations.

The Buster generation, born 1964 to the present, sees the missionary call as being influenced by relational realities. Busters assess the “best mission” as the one that is “most caring,” a place to feel valued. It is no surprise, therefore, that concepts of team ministry are growing in popularity today.

Below is a summary of inter-generational differences regarding the missionary call:

For boosters the specific, clear call by God is their chief motivation for going cross-cultural/overseas and for staying there for life, come what may. Boomers and busters don’t talk about a specific “call,” but rather making their own decisions after enquiring about the job description fitting their gifts and training best.

Another fascinating change in the perception of one’s calling is that “Calling to a geographic location, region or country is relatively rare today. Instead, calling is more often to a people group.” This change in paradigm from a country focus to-wards a people-group focus has also affected how people perceive the call of God upon their lives. Also, “Calling increasingly refers to the use of a skill or vocation, gifting or experience in God’s service, not unlike the parable of the entrusted talents (Mt. 25:14ff).” Whereas in the past, missionaries were often ordained generalists, today’s missionaries are often un-ordained pilots, mechanics, nurses, linguists, who feel called to a narrow and specific task.

In short, it is vitally important from a member care standpoint that the missionary perceives that they possess a strong missionary call, even if their definition of that missionary call varies. Missionary retention is married to missionary call.

The later REMAP II study sums it up this way:

It appears to matter little (as far as retention is concerned) what the call is to and what is consists of. What is important for retention is to have spent time (individually and with others) being certain of God’s desire for you to do something and/or go somewhere, to the extent that you can look back to that experience and hold on to it during hard times.

Kelly O’Donnell further sums up the importance of the missionary call in this way:

Missionaries, likewise, must have an unwavering trust in God and obedience to His call. Understanding and obeying one’s calling is a central issue in the missionary’s life. The experiences of veteran missionaries testify to the importance of maintaining one’s sense of call given by the Holy Spirit (Johnston, 1983).

The Missionary Call - from a Member Care Perspective PART I

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INTRODUCTION

In this paper, we will focus on the missionary call. This topic will require some theological treatment. The main focus of this paper, however, is to address the missionary call within a member care focus. This paper focuses on the question of how the missionary call affects recruitment, screening and sustainment of missionaries on the field. What is the relationship between the missionary call and missionary attrition? Finally, what best practices can sending agencies implement based on what we know about the missionary call from a member care focus?

The Missionary Call: Its Existence

I have never personally met a missionary or a church that denied the existence of the missionary call. It seems largely agreed upon that the missionary call exists. The exact nature of this missionary call, however, is often disputed. J. Herbert Kane goes so far as to muse, “No aspect of the Christian mission is more puzzling than this problem of a call.”

Writers differ in regards to this call. Even among those writers who largely agree, particular emphases emerge. Knowing that definitions of the missionary call vary, my attempt is as follows: a missionary call is a strong desire upon a believer, based on God’s Word and confirmed by the larger body of Christ, to serve full-time as one who crosses cultures and gives the Gospel to peoples, tongues and tribes that do not yet have it.

In more detail, a missionary call is the desire to serve God among peoples that do not yet have the Gospel. This usually entails cross-cultural service. While some are called as pastors to existing churches within one’s own cultural con-text, the missionary call is a special call to cross cultures with the Gospel and help establish the church where it is absent or weak. The Great Commission was given to the church to fulfill and the church fulfills this commission through her designated representatives, whose gifts are confirmed by the larger corporate body of Christ. These “sent out ones” expand the kingdom of God where the light of the Gospel has not yet been introduced or has not yet taken hold. Many other writers similarly define the missionary call. William E. Goff gives this definition:

It is feasible to conclude that the missionary call is a specific role given to some to share Christ with the unreached peoples of the world. The call to be a pastor, for example, is to shepherd a particular flock of those who have been reached; in contrast, the missionary call relates to adding to the flock those who would also be saved.

The Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions defines the missionary call in the following manner:

All Christians are called to the service of the church with every part of their lives. But the missionary call is more than this. It is a special and unique call to full-time ministry. Simply put, the missionary call is the command of God and the setting apart by the Holy Spirit of an individual Christian to serve God in a culture, a geographical location, and, very likely, in a language very different from the missionary’s own. The personal recognition of this call comes from a growing conviction that God has set the recipient apart for this service. The result of this conviction is an intense desire to obey and go wherever God leads.

Differences of opinion will become apparent in many definition of a missio-nary call. This is due to differences of opinion when answering more basic questions. For instance, “Is the call necessarily to a different culture?” some will ask. What of “home missions?” Does one need to be called to “plant new churches” or can a mis-sionary call compel one to work in church-equipping roles or advisory roles where the church is already established but still young and weak? What about linguists, pilots, mechanics, dentists and the many specialists who serve overseas? Should they be called “missionaries?” Can one be called to clean teeth as a “ministry?” Or should we maintain a distinction between “missionaries” and those that perform “missionary support” roles? What is the difference between a missionary call and the Christian doctrine of vocation? Below are several more of these points of conflicting tensions.

Do you choose to be a missionary or are you chosen?

Thomas Hale in his book On Being a Missionary begins his chapter entitled “The call” with this paragraph:

Being a missionary begins with being called. You don’t choose to be a missionary; you’re called to be one. The only choice is whether to obey.

Is this statement true, can one who is truly called into missions actually dis-obey this call? If Hale’s statement was entirely true then we would witness missionaries being accepted into agencies who did not want to be accepted as well as thousands of “missionaries” sitting in their home churches, not obedient to the call. While Hale’s intention is to show the divine initiative in the call, he errs.

A person’s desires and drives should measure largely in any definition of a missionary call. Paul, in giving the qualifications of bishops and deacons (offices that presumably require a “call”), begins with the phrase, “If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good thing” (I Timothy 3:1b). Desire, therefore, appears to be an integral part of being “called” by God. Divine initiative is perfectly met with the hu-man response of desire. God’s sovereign choice of a missionary is in perfect harmony with the desires and sometimes intense longings of a missionary who is newly aware of his calling.

Motives play a vital part. Missionary candidates are often wracked with in-tense emotions and desires. J. Verkuyl in his volume Contemporary Missiology: An Introduction lists good and bad motives for missions. He lists such good motivations as obedience, love, mercy, pity, and others. Then he lists bad motivations such as im-perialist, colonial or commercial desires. Motives that cause one to serve as a missionary can be good or bad. A comprehensive list of “good” and “bad” motives is not desired here, but what is desired is to stress that motivations play a central role in the missionary call. One is never a mere passive and disinterested recipient of this missionary call and missionaries are highly driven and goal-oriented people. Getting to the field and staying on the field, after all, requires much deliberate effort towards specific goals.

What Thomas Hale is trying to emphasize by his quote, “You don’t choose to be a missionary; you’re called to be one. The only choice is whether to obey.” is that one does not merely choose to be a missionary alone. A missionary candidate’s desire is only part of the bigger picture. He desires and chooses missions because he is chosen and because God desires that he serve. We need not create any false dilemmas here. If a person is truly “called” into missions then this person’s desires and motivations match up with God’s desires. These desires are confirmed by His Word and seconded by the larger body of Christ. If a person “runs without being sent,” and embarks on a journey into missions in his own strength without the Divine Wind of calling he will quickly faint or be stopped in his journey.

A missionary call must be full-time?

J. Herbert Kane asserts that there exists a definite call to full-time Christian service and Christ’s disciples are our examples. They left their old lives and devoted all their time to fulltime service. When Kane stresses that this calling is a calling into “full-time service,” he seems to eliminate the possibility of continuing to work at old secular employments. Since the pattern of the early church was that those called were not to leave the ministry of the Word to wait tables, J. Herbert Kane stresses this “full-time” aspect as a necessary part to this missionary call.

The question that arises with this emphasis on “full-time” service as being a necessary component of the missionary call is this; why did Paul himself make tents? How do we affirm and encourage the many “tent-makers” who endure secular em-ployments in hard countries designated as “Restricted access” in order to spread the Gospel? These “tentmakers” have not left their secular professions and yet most would report feeling a call to missions that sustains them in their work.

Scriptural examples of God calling individuals into service - normative for us?

When speaking of the “callings” of God, distinctions must be made. First, there is the “general call” of the Gospel. Wherever the Gospel goes forth men are called to repent and believe. Only those possessing the “effectual call” of God, how-ever, come to faith. In this manner, all who are new creatures in Christ are “called to be saints,” as Romans 1:7 and many other Scriptures attest. Yet not all who are called to be saints are called to exercise church office or called for individual tasks.

In Scripture we have God calling individuals to specific tasks. In the Old Tes-tament, Isaiah and other prophets heard this call. In the New Testament, Jesus Himself called the disciples. Paul also was called by the audible voice of Jesus Himself.

The audible voice of God called some. Some were called by means of visions. Most missionary candidates, however, thankfully do not claim to receive their “call” by these extraordinary means. If a missionary candidate did claim to receive a call through the audible voice of God or in a vision, this would alarm most mission agen-cies. Most Protestant mission agencies agree that the normal means by which missionaries ascertain the call of God in their lives does not involve the hearing of the audible voice of God, visions, dream or trances. A large number of books on missions, however, when explaining the missionary call, focus on these very examples of the extraordinary call of God being received through dreams, visions and God’s audible voice, reinforcing the myth that a missionary needs to have some dramatic and even supernatural encounter to show that they are called. This lack of an “extraordinary call” may reinforce missionary candidates’ fears that what they are feeling and what their home church is affirming is somehow not enough.

J. Herbert Kane echoes this suspicion of “mystical” calls when he states, “The term missionary call should never have been coined. It is not Scriptural and therefore can be harmful. Thousands of youth desiring to serve the Lord have waited for some mysterious “missionary call” that never came.”

There is no need to wait for a vision or a trance. Our desires, in accord with the Word of God and the approval of the larg-er Body of Christ confirming that the missionary candidate is, in fact, appropriate and suitable for the desired task, are the main means by which God equips the harvest force. No missionary should have his confidence eaten away because they lack some spectacular call to missions. Solid member care requires doing away with false mys-tical notions of the call which may erode a missionary’s confidence. Agencies and churches need to communicate to candidates that an “ordinary call” is good enough.

An effort at formulating a definition

The scope of this paper is limited, and so the working definition of the missio-nary call will be as simple as possible and contain two basic elements, a desire to serve and a confirmation by others that one is suitable to serve. First, a strong desire to serve God cross-culturally where there is a lack of Gospel truth is needed. Second, a confirmation by Scripture and the larger body of Christ in the form of the missionary’s home church and sending agency is also essential.

More on the missionary call - LET US DEMYSTIFY IT!

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I believe that false notions of the missionary call are a major hindrance to world missions. We need not be zapped, nor do we need to hear the audible voice of God, nor do we need to be struck by some over-powering subjective emotional perception.

WHAT THE MISSIONARY CALL IS NOT:

I have heard descriptions of the missionary call likened to the call of Isaiah or other Old Testament Prophets. This is unhelpful. If you are having visions of God, you do not need to become a missionary, you need a psychiatric evaluation.

Instead, we need (1) a desire for world missions, (2) in agreement with God's Word, and (3) confirmed by the larger Body of Christ. These factors appear essential in any definition of the "Missionary Call."

And PRAISE GOD, these factors are totally non-mystical.

YOU NEED A DESIRE TO GO:

The Apostle Paul himself tells us that if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good thing. The same applies to missionary work. If a man or woman desires to be a missionary, then this is the first evidence of a possible missionary call. If it persists and it is nurtured and the person perseveres despite difficulties, these are all further evidences.

If you are worried that God will call you into missions even though you don't want to go - DON'T. This isn't going to happen. The road to the field is long and hard, and living on the field is often harder. God is only taking the willing. So, I will pray that he does not work against your will, but, rather, gives you a will that desires to serve in the neediest areas.

YOUR DESIRE MUST BE BIBLICAL:

This desire to take the Gospel to all nations is certainly biblical (Matthew 28).

YOUR DESIRE NEEDS TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE LARGER BODY OF CHRIST:

Now, if the larger body of Christ seconds and confirms your desire, then you have good evidence that what you feel is the missionary call.

This larger body of Christ should be as large as possible. Start with your own home church. They know you best and they know if you have the gifts and the personality attributes that would allow you to go and be effective on the field.

Also, don't disdain the input of the larger body of Christ. Mission organizations are almost always much more knowledgeable than local churches regarding what it takes to thrive cross-culturally, learn a new language, and adapt to foreign environments. This confirmation from the larger Body of Christ best comes first from one's local church and then can be further confirmed by a solid missionary organization. This larger organization will be very familiar with missionary struggles, and procedures (how to obtain visas, etc) and will be an invaluable aid as your local church struggles to send one of its own to the field.

Among Sovereign Grace folks we righfully hold dear the place of the local church, and I also hold dear to the same principle. However, sometimes Sovereign Grace churches get entirely too down on missionary organizations, missionary societies, and the like. We can talk about this in later posts, but for now let this be said: a local church in no way loses its authority if it seeks outside help to accomplish a task.

SUMMARY:

So there you have it. The Missionary Call is not a Divine Zapping, nor is it a psychotic hallucination. God works through means. And the means of calling a missionary is by the giving of information, which stirs up Godly ambitions and desires in the heart of the hearer, who then ponders whether he or she wants to serve as a missionary. The Bible confirms these desires as good. And, if the larger Body of Christ, starting with one's local church and then preferably including the larger body of Christ as a whole (i.e. missionary agency), confirms that the candidate has traits and skills fitting to the task, then that one should march forward towards service without any more hindering introspection.

Do YOU have a desire to serve?

The missionary call – what is it and to whom does it belong?

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A confession

I confess, this is a partial retraction. A clarification. I have not so much been wrong, but I have been incomplete – and incompleteness regarding Scripture is often error. To give half the story is not to give the story at all.

What have I done? Virtually every month I have sent appeals such as this: “Have you ever wondered if you could be a missionary.” I have sent emails entitled, “An appeal for workers.” Very frequently I have urged individuals to look into God’s will for themselves and see if God is calling them into missions. I have been incessant.

What’s wrong with that?

Here is what is wrong: world missions is not the private and personal calling of a chosen few; it is a body of Christ decision. Missions is not the work of a separated few, but the work of the whole church.

My former appeals to individuals urging, “Pray about what God would have you to do” were well-motivated. These appeals, however, were incomplete as far as Scripture is concerned.

Incomplete? How?

In the New Testament, the calling of missionaries was much more than an individual or a married couple feeling some amorphous “call of God” and then pursuing it – informing their local church later, often as an afterthought. In contrast, the call of God was a “whole body” decision. The church called, the church separated, the church sent!

Today, here is a normal scenario: A young man desires to serve. He often waits to feel some sort of “call” to proceed. Once he feels this strange call (that presumably is more than just a firm conviction as seconded by Scripture and his home church) he applies to agencies. Sometimes during this process and oftentimes afterwards, he then informs his church – not for permission – but as part of his notification that he is now a missionary appointee. Now, in the loop, the local church begins to help and advise the appointee.

I personally knew one appointee family that were accepted and were a year and a half as appointees before their home church, presumably their sending-church-to-be, voted to support them.

What does it say about mission boards, home churches and the candidates if (1) sometimes mission organizations accept candidates who are largely unknown and untested in their local contexts, (2) potential candidates sometimes get halfway or more through the process even before informing their local church, and (3) local churches often are the last to know that God is calling someone up from among their very midst.

How does this contrast with the New Testament practice of sending?

Acts 13:2 “While they [the assembled church] were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

The assembled saints fasted, a deliberate act of preparation. The assembled saints set apart Paul and Barnabas. Later the assembled saints sent (literally, “released”) them to the Gentiles.

Paul speaks of himself as being set apart for the Gospel. He heard as much from the risen Christ in a trance (Acts 22:21) “I will send you far away to the Gentiles...” And yet, this Apostle still waited for his “home church” to send or release him. Immediately upon returning home, he also reported back to his “home church” concerning all he had seen and heard. Paul was no lone ranger. He was a servant of his church, who fulfilled the Great Commission through him.

Western Christianity has not only privatized their religion, but has also privatized the missionary call. Only now, as I have entered into another culture more communal in its worldview than my own, have I come to see this incompleteness. Wanna know about water...don’t ask a fish! He’s too close.

Missions and, indeed, all of church life is life in community. We are saved personally but are saved into the church. The Trinity, one God in three persons is our model; unity in the midst of diversity. As I labor in mission it is not I who am laboring, but it is the whole church who is laboring through me. Even more so, all this is not even accurately referred to as the mission of the church but is ultimately the mission of God Himself, the Missio Dei.

Every Christian is not a missionary, but missions is the focus of every Christian. In World War II, the whole nation worked as part of the war effort. Though the actual members of the Armed Forces were but a minority of the population as a whole, yet America was at war. The whole nation fought, through the efforts of those they sent. The nation called, the nation set apart, and the nation sent.

Many will object to what I am writing, “But Paul speaks of his own personal call; the Prophets did too.” Yes, in regards to salvation we are saved because we are called by God. Yes, in the Old Testament many prophets literally heard the audible voice of God recruiting them into service.

The same textual evidence is absent, however, regarding New Testament cross-cultural evangelism. When a “sending” occurs in the New Testament the focus is never on the person volunteering to be sent, but on those who send that person. Look at the evidence:

• Upon Judas’ betrayal and death the gathered assembly chose Matthias.

• Philip might have briefly worked alone at first, but "When the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John..." (Acts 8:14-15).

• When the conflict with the Judaizers arose, the churches sent an official delegation and these were not only "brought on their way by the church" but were also "received of the church" when they arrived (Acts 15).

• In Acts 13:1-3, as quoted above, the assembled church chose and set apart those who would serve.

• After the Jerusalem council, Paul chooses Silas and they depart, being commended by the brethren (Act 15:40).

• The very next chapter mentions that Timothy, whom Paul chooses to work with, was also well-spoken of by the brethren.

In the New Testament we do not have a volunteer system based on individual appeals at all; if forced between one extreme or another I would have to call the method of New Testament sending more like a draft!

Now what?

Okay, so I have hereby printed a clarification to my incessant appeals for more missionaries to join me. What now? Do I cease my appeals?

Not on your life!

Instead, now my appeals have more force and Biblical backing. These appeals are not merely given to lone individuals to navel gaze and try to discern some intangible missionary call. Now these appeals can be backed up by the authority of local churches!

In no way have I ceased my recruitment efforts, but I now seek a stronger ally, the key agent in the evangelization of the world – the local church!

Churches, pastors, and elders, please consider these steps. They require boldness and much prayer, yet they mirror New Testament practice. In Matthew 28 the Great Commission was given to the representatives of the church. In Acts 1, the command to go to the ends of the earth was given to the assembled representatives of the church. Churches - this command now belongs to you!

A bold plan: Churches, set apart your people!

I challenge you pastors, elders and churches, set apart those whom God is calling among you! If the early church deliberately fasted and prayed and sought God’s will in reference to this, shouldn’t we? If they were so bold as to seek, identify and set apart gifted individuals, shouldn’t we? If they owned their role in world missions aside from mere financial support, shouldn’t we?

Send me your own!

NOTE: I do not want to belittle “the missionary call,” only investigate it more and free it from being shackled to the myth that a powerful subjective certainty is its key feature. I rejoice for those who are “set in their minds” that they are called into missions; I merely want this to be backed up by the larger body of Christ. In the ReMAP study of missionary attrition it was recommended that agencies screen for “a clear missionary call” (however defined by the missionary) and those agencies that did not screen for such a call suffered twice the level of attrition (published in, Too Valuable to Lose).

Missions from a Sovereign Grace perspective - the purpose of this blog

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THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG:

WHAT ABOUT MY OTHER BLOG, AND MY EMAIL UPDATES? Many of you follow my email updates and look at my other blog. The purpose of my other blog is mainly for family, created to give friends and relatives recent pictures even while we are away.

Many of you also follow my email updates. These are field specific and contain sensitive information that I do not want to share inline.

WHY THIS BLOG?

The purpose of this blog is to explore issues in missions from my own perspective, which is calvinistic, baptistic and non-dispensational. This blog is for me to post on missiological issues.

I get asked many questions about missions. If you would like to have your (anon.) question answered here, email me at oct31st1517 at hotmail dot com.