Common Threads

God gives me wonderful opportunities to teach eager students who are sharpening their minds and shaping their missions vision for future ministries. He also gives me incredible opportunities to travel the world to visit and encourage them on the field, lead orientation for mission agencies, preach missions conferences, conduct ethnographic research to assist missionaries understand their contexts, assess their pastoral training programs, and lead mission teams to teach pastors and leaders through Reaching & Teaching. Just in April and May I am doing all of the above in London, Atlanta, Edmond, Belize, Houston, Brownsville, and Nepal. Whew!

Some people get tired just looking over my schedule and itineraries, but when I do I get so energized that it’s hard to sit still. In addition to all this, I get to meet my heroes, the most interesting people on the planet: missionaries! An added blessing is getting to know and work with the agencies that send them out. Their administrators and leaders are also like-minded folks who run on the same fuel I do and share a common goal of seeing the nations glorify God in New Testament churches with biblically qualified, trained leaders discipling the nations. Some of those I have had the privilege to interact with recently are Darren Carlson at Training Leaders International, Pete Gibson at Global Outreach, Chuck Lawless, Ron Wilson, and Gordon Fort at the International Mission Board, AJ Gibson at To Every Tribe Ministries, Jim Teasdale and David Blackney of The Master’s Mission, and Randy Gardner at Bible Training Centre for Pastors. Each mission agency brings its own unique contribution to the overall task of reaching and teaching the nations and I am thankful to count on their partnership as we work together in this essential task that God has entrusted to us.

In recent months God has been multiplying the opportunities before me at an accelerated pace, in ever increasing places around the world. I currently have in my Reaching & Teaching inbox email invitations to help with ministry needs in Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Belize, Romania, Togo, Uganda, China, and Indonesia. Added to these are standing invitations from places in Europe, India, Pakistan, Burma, Tanzania, and Kenya. There is rarely a day to go by that another invitation doesn’t come from missionaries, national pastors, stateside churches, missionary candidates, or an agency that wants to find out how they can partner with Reaching & Teaching to do what we do or ask for help to train their people. In the absence of cloning devices, how do you manage it all? How do you know the balance?

As I examine the burgeoning ministry God has given, I see some common threads running through them all that may provide some guidance. One is the repeated encouragement I receive from people who have read my books, The Missionary Call and Reaching and Teaching. I regularly hear from people who are on the field as a result of reading them when they were trying to discern their own call. Other missionaries who were faltering because of perceived pressure to promote kinds of ministries they weren’t sure were biblical have thanked me over and over for helping them think through the issues. Many have seen that our Reaching & Teaching vision resonates with their own, so they want to join with us as we join God in what he is doing in the world.

Teaching at SBTS has given me the privilege to teach, shape, mentor, and get to know hundreds of students. In my twenty semesters of teaching there I have known some students who wanted to be prepared to serve overseas—and now they do. Others were just as convinced that missions was NOT for them, but while taking our classes a light bulb came on in their minds and a fire was started in their hearts. Now I get to visit them in the countries where they serve around the world.

Speaking at missions conferences and leading orientation for other agencies allows me to get to know many who are just on the verge of getting on the plane. The things I share are often the last instructions they hear as they leave to begin their ministries on the field. Sometimes they return to SBTS to continue their missions studies and we are able to hear of the impact their education or a missions conference has had in their ministries. Conversations and emails such as these are what spur me on as I teach classes, preach conferences, lead teams, and provide orientation for new missionaries, teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded us so that they can do the same on the field.

The common threads through all of this stand out as well. The growing awareness of missionaries that they cannot train oral cultures the same way they were trained at home is resulting in more frequent requests for training to help them with this challenge. In fact, I get so many requests for this training that I have published a new resource, Reaching and Teaching the Highland Quichuas: Ministry in Animistic Oral Cultures to assist those who are reaching the oral majority of the world’s peoples.

Biblical illiteracy and syncretism is virtually the norm around many mission fields of the world. Certainly there have been some very faithful missionaries who planted their lives among the peoples God called them to serve, poured their lives and wisdom into them, formed faithful churches, and raised up discipled believers. However, in areas where a minimalist approach has driven missions efforts, weak churches, syncretism, heresy, or health-and-wealth ministries often characterize the churches. Missionaries and national churches alike are seeing that the crucial need is for assisting national churches with theological studies, pastoral education, and deep discipleship.

As I mentioned, God has been blessing us at Reaching & Teaching with increasing contacts, invitations, and opportunities to partner with others. God’s incredible hand of blessing is on us, and working to bring all of this together. I see Him doing the same in many of the other ministries I mentioned above. I believe it is because we are seeking to study God’s Word, obey it, and teach others to do the same. (Ezra 7:10)

I am so thankful to know these leaders, missionaries, and ministries and to make all of these connections to network for the nations. I confess to being confused, overjoyed, bewildered, thankful, and wondering why God is moving as He is all at the same time, but we are committed to seizing the day—and days to come. We need your prayers. Please pray with us that we will have wisdom and God’s leadership to recognize the doors that He is opening and have boldness to walk through them for the advance of His kingdom and glory to His name.

If you would like to join the fun and talk about how you can be involved reaching and teaching the nations with us, call, email, Facebook, or message me on Twitter. There are unlimited ways that you could help and we can use every willing hand on deck.

Remembering a Missionary Call

I returned to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for a missions consortium last weekend and was overwhelmed by refreshing memories of my formational years in missions. I went last weekend as a missions professor from Southern Seminary to meet with my colleagues from our other SBC seminaries along with the leadership of the International Mission Board. It was an exceptionally good meeting. We were so thankful to hear encouraging reports from the IMB regarding new emphases and developments under Dr. Tom Elliff’s amazing leadership. The team he sent to NOBTS was informative and accommodating, helping us to understand what is going on in Richmond and around the IMB missions world. My peers from the other seminaries were a blessing also, reminding me how iron sharpens iron. In addition to the missions-minded fellowship, being at NOBTS again blessed me in other ways.

The campus was more beautiful than I have ever seen it and so many memories flooded back into my mind as I strolled its streets and sidewalks. I reflected on how that campus was a key part of our family’s pilgrimage in missions. The Lord saved Mary and me in our mid-twenties. We were new parents of a baby boy, no church, and few Christian friends. We began attending and soon joined a little Baptist church where the pastor was leaving to be a missionary in Ecuador. There we grew in the Lord and biblical understanding quickly with Dr. Tom Nettles as our interim pastor during our first year in the faith. We became very involved in church life as we grew, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, working with the Youth, teaching singles, and eventually I even began to preach occasionally. Soon I felt called to ministry and enrolled at Belhaven University to major in Biblical Studies (running back and forth between classes and my work downtown). During those days we also went on several mission trips with our church (to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Ecuador) and felt God calling us to missions. God soon made it clear that it was somewhere in Latin America, and then on a 1989 trip to Ambato, Ecuador, we knew we had gone home for the first time—that was the place He was calling us. We returned to the USA, sold our house, bought a place in New Orleans, and moved within a few weeks after returning from that trip.

I had begun pastoring a small Baptist church in the country during my senior year of college. While we felt led to continue there, I also knew that I needed to finish seminary as soon as possible to pursue appointment with the Foreign Mission Board. We definitely had the “carrot on the stick.” The FMB missionaries in Ecuador had written a job description and submitted it to the FMB with our names on it. However, in those days the FMB required an MDiv from an SBC seminary and two years of ministry experience prior to appointment. So off we went to NOBTS, driving 3 ½ hours back to the church each Saturday, and returning on Sunday night after I preached the evening service. Arriving home in New Orleans at midnight was not a huge sacrifice for most of us since the kids could sleep on the drive back and I had Monday’s off; Mary paid the highest price since she worked full time.

In addition to pastoring and full time classes at seminary, I worked part time while we were in New Orleans. Yet, there always seemed to be time for family, friends, and profound conversations with God. There I would run everyday, walk & pray, teach my son to ride a bicycle, and spend every lunch with my preschool daughter, cracking and eating pecans we picked up on our walks. We tried our hand at frying plátanos and making something like chicken tortillas at least once a week. We learned worship choruses in Spanish and prayed through the nations in our family devotions every night. The FMB had published a book that listed all of the countries where they worked and briefly described some of the work they did there and opportunities available. Although we went to seminary believing that His place for us was Ecuador, we prayed through this little “Operation World for Baptists” type book every night earnestly asking God to redirect us if He desired. I also went on a seminary mission trip to Mexico to see if I sensed anything similar to the electrifying life-change I had known on my mission trips to Ecuador. Through all of these experiences and a thousand more, we grew as a family and in our missionary call while at seminary.

I remember whenever I had an hour or so between classes or before chapel, I would go into the stacks of the library and read through 1950s copies of the FMB’s The Commission magazine virtually memorizing everything from the early days of Baptist missions in Ecuador. At my night job, I befriended a co-worker who had escaped civil war in Nicaragua, sharing the gospel and practicing my growing Spanish vocabulary. I read every missions biography and “missions living” book I could find—especially those about Ecuador—though none impacted me as deeply as Through Gates of Splendor.

The long awaited day finally arrived, the day we had longed and prayed for, no not graduation, but word from our candidate consultant that the trustee committee had approved us for appointment. I had been in the cafeteria with a friend a couple of weeks before discussing plans after graduation. After describing his plans he asked me about mine. I probably way overestimated his interest as I launched into my dream to serve as an FMB missionary in Ecuador. He expressed awe and admiration for such sacrifice and dedication. I was taken aback. When it dawned on me that he was serious I explained to him that he had it all backwards; for us the sacrifice would be if the trustees rejected us and closed that door to missions service. We were so eager and excited about serving in Ecuador.

We were finally appointed by the FMB in Baltimore, MD. The Maryland-Delaware Baptists hosted the appointment service there April 6, 1991, I graduated in May, and we left for orientation in June. Steve and Carol Thompson, our friends and future co-laborers in Ecuador, were on furlough and came to celebrate graduation with us. I still have the Spanish Thompson Chain reference Bible they gave me for the occasion. We finished orientation in Virginia and arrived in Costa Rica for language school on August 21, 1991. Eight months later we traveled from Spanish Language Institute to Ecuador on same plane with the Hooper family, our new best friends and also FMB missionaries to Ecuador, to begin the ride of our lives.

Many twists and turns have led us to the place we are serving now, but I think of those days often. I am teaching missions in what I believe to be the best seminary in the world and live in an ideal situation—we have both kids nearby, grandkids right here, a wonderful church, a beautiful campus, a great dean, and eager students. Still, there has not been a single day that I have not thought about those days, wishing I were still a missionary in Ecuador. We are in a season of life now that has had us here, but if God ever calls us back to service in Baptist missions or to serve in some way on the mission field, He will not have to call twice.

Being back in New Orleans last week, walking and praying on the NOBTS campus, and breathing the humid perfume of that place brought back a thousand memories—by His grace, all good. I was humbled to be in the same room with SBC missions professor colleagues and our IMB leadership. Being on that campus where our call had matured so much, remembering all the eager longings to serve as missionaries, and now sitting in on such meetings, truly humbled me to tears. God has been so good to us.

Thank You, Lord, for the privilege to share in that meeting, to have the influence You have given me, and for the opportunity to walk down that path again . . . to remember. Stir my heart again to burn brightly for the nations and to walk by faith in service. Others may call it a sacrifice, but that is my heart’s desire.

“Deléitate en el Señor, y él te concederá los deseos de tu corazón.” Salmos 37:4

North Meets South

In missions history God has worked in different ways at different times. When God’s people have failed to obey the Great Commission, He often allowed judgment in the form of persecution, invasions, or even martyrdom—all of which served to fuel kingdom advance. Yet in other periods of history the times changed and missionaries changed with them, adjusting strategies and methodologies. William Carey is an example of this and for this he is called the “father of modern missions.” Likewise, Hudson Taylor innovated changes that earned him the title “father of faith missions.” Ralph Winter combined the insights of Donald McGavran and Cameron Townsend and promoted people group thinking that revolutionized missions thinking. More recently, missiologists have begun recognizing the value of implementing strategies and methodologies for reaching and teaching the oral cultures of the world.

I believe that in at least one other way, we are at a crucial juncture in missions history that we dare not overlook. We live in a day when many Western mission agencies struggle to recruit missionaries and ministry funds. Church members are giving a smaller percentage of their income to churches and ministries than they gave during the Great Depression. These realities exist alongside the fact that there are more Christians in the Global South than in the North. The term Global South (primarily Latin America, Africa, and Asia) refers to that part of the world we once called the Third World, then the Two-thirds World, and then the Majority World. Philip Jenkins has pointed out the inexorable shift of the world’s center of economic gravity to the Global South. He and others have pointed out the fact that the church in the North now sits in the shadow of its bigger little brother in the Global South.

This is certainly reason for thanksgiving. We have prayed, worked, sacrificed, and longed for this throughout modern missions history. In addition to that reality, we also now watch as the Global South sends out more missionaries than Western Europe and North America combined. Brazil has just been announced as the second largest missions sending force, with only the USA being greater. While the day of the Western missionary is far from over, our role may need to be adjusted to remain in step with what God is doing. What is it that we can bring to the table?

The vision of Reaching & Teaching International Ministries has always been, All of God's people going into all the world faithfully obeying all of the Great Commission. In addition to training pastors and leaders, a key component of our vision is equipping and empowering a worldwide missionary force, from the Global North and the Global South, to reach and teach the unreached peoples of the world.

We provide orientation, field experience, and mentoring for our team members in short-term mission trips, showing them how God can use their gifts and skills, sharing the vision God has given us with hundreds of volunteers. No one comes back the same way they left. God uses these trips to call people into missions, give them a global vision, and to reach and teach leaders, pastors, and future missionaries.

God is moving in the hearts of national believers and churches throughout the Global South, giving them a passion for missions and a desire to be on mission with God in His world. They, like many of their Northern counterparts, have felt God stirring their hearts for missions, giving them a burden to reach the unreached and disciple the believers, plant churches, and train pastors to serve them—but they realize that they need training and guidance before they go to the nations.

Many countries where the least reached peoples of the world live require creative access for missionaries to get in to share the Truth. Some go in as English teachers, business consultants, or relief workers so that they may live legally in the country to build relationships and share their faith. This we must do! We dare not allow pagan governments dictate where the Gospel may or may not go. Jesus said, “ALL authority has been given to ME,” and the One with all authority has said to go. However, missionaries from the USA may find that their most creative access is equipping and empowering believers in the Global South countries to go to the countries where our dark blue passports attract greater scrutiny.

Why do we have to be the only missionaries? Certainly we help our missionaries to go where the Spirit calls them, so there will probably always be Western missionaries in some form in all the world. But perhaps they can be trainers, teachers, administrators, and facilitators helping to raise up nationals to reach the rest of their own nations, and also to go to the nations. Not having a USA passport enables others to go places we cannot go, and to operate under the radar in ways that would bring a USA citizen constant scrutiny.

God is bringing many to Himself in Latin America and calling them to international missions. As we have seen, Brazil is the #2 sending nation for missionaries. One wonders how they are able to send so many missionaries. It seems that missionaries from those countries are able to live on much less than many missionaries from the North. I heard the story of four Christian secretaries in Mexico who shared a heart for missions. One began to feel that God was calling her to go as a career missionary, but how? The other three voluntarily reduced their living standard by 25% and each donated 25% to the fourth. She was then able to go to the field as a missionary with 75% of her former salary while each of her three friends lived on 75% of their former salary. There is always a way.

I have seen the need for theological education and pastoral training repeatedly in my travels throughout the Global South. In addition to this need, those who will be serving as missionaries need intercultural training as well.

The Back-to-Jerusalem Movement that began in China sought to take the Gospel around the world. It began with great zeal, but has fallen on hard times. Many went out with zeal without knowledge—of theology, the Bible, intercultural skills, or world religions. One dear Chinese brother shared that he planned to go to a Middle Eastern country and serve as a missionary. When asked how he would support himself, he shared that he would start and run a stand to sell pork noodles. When told that Muslims do not eat pork, he would not be denied. He smiled, and exclaimed, “But just wait until they taste them!” That story did not have a happy ending.

A few years ago in Bolivia some pastors asked me how they could better train the missionaries they planned to send out. They shared that they had only sent one, to the Middle East, and she wrote back to resign after only a matter of months on the field. She said that she could not accept any more of their kind support as she had converted to Islam! A pastor in Venezuela told me that every missionary they had sent to China had also returned in a matter of months. We must be faithful to disciple those we reach so that they hear and obey the call of God to serve the Kingdom. Then, when those we disciple are called out—whether here or in other countries, we must faithfully train them to be effective as cross cultural workers for the Kingdom.

The day of the Western missionary is not over, but in a changing world, perhaps we should pause to ask how our role is changing in order to continue being relevant and have the greatest impact. My vision for missions is for all of God's people to go into all the world and faithfully obey all of the Great Commission. This includes equipping and empowering a worldwide missionary force from the Global North and the Global South, reaching and teaching the world’s unreached peoples.

For additional resources, see the following articles:

“Hispanos Alcanzando al Mundo,” The Tie, Winter 2007.

“Islam in Latin America” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Summer 2011, Volume 15, Number 2. (coauthor)

2012 Peru Pastor's Conference

“Brother, please come out to the jungle and teach our pastors!” Wilmer implored during a break from my teaching sessions. He is a Peruvian pastor who has served for several years in the jungle. He grimaced embarrassingly as he shared the sad plight of pastors and churches in the area where he served, explaining that many simply used dreams to interpret the Bible, or to know what to preach in their small congregations. He and his wife were faithfully in attendance each day of the pastors conference in Huaraz, Peru last week. I am very thankful to have been invited again by Ingleside Baptist Church of Macon, Georgia to lead the teaching in this conference. Missionary Tommy Smith of the IMB (and fellow Mississippian!) did a fantastic job of coordinating all of the logistics and getting the conference prepared. I was also overjoyed that they invited my Ecuadorian co-worker Joselito Orellana to come and teach the afternoon sessions each day. A gifted team from Ingleside provided a children’s ministry at the Centro Bautista (Baptist Center Evangelical Church) as well as prayer and counseling for the pastors and their wives. The IMB’s REAP missionaries helped with translation and their team of bilingual Peruvians made it all come together. Although the attendance was down a bit from last year since the Peruvian Baptist Convention was meeting during this week in another part of the country, the attitudes and aptitudes made it a delight.

Huaraz is a beautiful part of the snowcapped Andes, and the spirits of the dear brothers in the conference matched the beauty of the countryside. Pastor Jaime is a dear Quechua brother who has suffered much persecution at the hands of those who prefer traditional religions and drunkenness to the change that Christ makes in the lives of those who love Him. We were overjoyed that he invited us to attend the baptism of a humble couple from his church. He baptized them at the Centro Bautista since they were attending the conference and were ready for baptism. I was freezing just standing in the unheated masonry church building, but when I put my hand in the water to check its temperature, I literally shivered. He and his church members, along with one of the brothers from the stateside group, stepped into the water without hesitation, gave brief testimonies, and celebrated in the waters of baptism what Christ had done in their lives. I reflected on the day that Dr. Tom Nettles baptized my wife and me together in the baptistery of Briarwood Drive Baptist Church almost thirty years ago. It was very moving to see and hear the powerful testimony of these Quechua believers. Since this sanctuary was the “dormitory” of many of those attending the conference (they slept on the floor that week), their bedrolls were still along the walls. I was truly humbled to see that one had a copy of The Missionary Call in Spanish by his pillow on his bedroll.

These brothers are so hungry for truth, so desperate to know how to apply the Word to their families and churches. Some said they had traveled for three days to get to the conference. A fellow conference speaker asked me to clarify that this was indeed their seventh annual conference. When I confirmed that it was, he was dismayed. “They know so little! What have they been learning?” By the end of the week he realized that they were drinking it in like sponges, but you can only share so much in a few hours a day over four days.

Someone asked me recently whether I get tired going on these international trips to train pastors. Yes I do! I get very tired of seeing genuine believers pastoring other genuine believers without any of them knowing what God’s Word actually teaches. I get tired of hearing heresy and every bizarre, aberrant doctrine touted by those who are sincere, but who just don’t know any better. I get tired of the prosperity “gospel” sending thousands to hell after so many embrace it, clutching at what they hope may be true, but who remain lost, poor, and worse off than before, thinking they are now saved and so quit listening to the preacher. I get tired of having to get on a plane and come back home to my sweet comfort zone, working at the greatest theological seminary in the world with the best professors in every Christian discipline, knowing that those brothers watch our plane lift off, and then return to their churches—a little better off, but still so hungry, so thirsty, and so eager to learn more.

Pastor Wilmer was moved almost to tears when I told him, “Yes, Reaching & Teaching International Ministries will seek to recruit, orient, and bring a team to teach his pastors within this next year.” I went on to tell him that if it works as we planned it, that it would not be our only trip. We will continue to come and bring training to those who so desperately need it. I am both thrilled and startled at the increasing numbers of church members, students, pastors, and churches that are asking to join us on a trip to minister to these dear folks. I am also wondering what God is up to as missionaries and more and more nationals are pleading, “Come over here and teach us!” I have not been back to the USA from Peru even one week now, and I have already had three more requests, “Come over here and help us!” Who will go?

View additional photos from the conference by clicking here.

The Best Missiology Textbook on the Market

Missiology professors are constantly looking for good missions textbooks, largely because the field is growing and continues developing at a rapid pace. Keep in mind that whenever there are major events in the news and pews there are missiologists scratching their heads to find a strategic response to the challenge. For instance, a major game changer was 9/11 and the concomitant dynamics of international travel, new visa restrictions, and a burgeoning awareness among evangelicals of Islam in its multifaceted manifestations. Globalization and urbanization each lend their own contributions to the difficulties of missionary effectiveness. Among our own members in many churches, the increase in international adoptions brings a new front to global-minded Christians. Sadly, one of the most rapidly growing industries on a global scale is human trafficking. Reports have revealed that some criminals are abandoning drug cartels and gun running in favor of the profits of sex slavery trade both because more money can be made more quickly, and so far there are fewer laws on the books to prosecute them when caught. Natural disasters occur all over the globe but they play out in our living rooms on big screen TVs. All of these events challenge missiologists and missionaries to find methodologies that will enable them to do what Jesus has called them to do in the places where He calls them. The church in the Global South (Latin America, Africa, and Asia) is growing exponentially. Indeed, believers in the North sit in the shadow of our younger “big” brother in the Southern Church. However, the aberrant theology, heresies, and syncretism that abound in much of that reality burdens many in the USA to facilitate deep discipleship, pastoral training, and theological education around the world. As rapidly as the news agencies shift from one breaking news story to the next, missionaries are scrambling to meet needs, reach, and teach the nations in new and changing ways. The search for the best introduction to missions textbooks continues, and so far none of the new ones scratches where it itches.

However, I find that the Bible is at once ancient and as fresh as this morning’s newspaper. The Bible is not only the best commentary on the Bible itself, it is the best missiology textbook. Recently I was reading and studying through Acts 18 and smiled to myself at its relevancy for what some are calling modern missiological dilemmas. This single chapter is a great passage for illustrating missiological principles at work today.

Tentmaking and Creative Access Strategies
Paul left Athens and went to Corinth where he met Priscilla and Aquila. He stayed with them since they all were tentmakers. Joining in with them gave Paul not just companionship, a place to sleep, and a place to take meals, but also income, immediate legitimacy in society, and value in the community. However, even though he was a tentmaker and had to work as such in actual fact (not just a job title to put on his visa application or business card), Paul “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Acts 18 also says “Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.” Yes, he was a tentmaker, but he did not allow that to zap all of his time on one extreme, nor was it merely a cover story at the other. He modeled the balance.

Insider Movements and C-5 Strategy
We also find an absolute lack of sympathy with the Insider Movement or C-5 approach in Paul’s ministry. For those unfamiliar with these terms, they can be summarized (or some would say unfairly caricatured) as “putting a cross on top of what people were already doing before the gospel arrived.” Rather, in Paul’s ministry we see him leaving the rejecting Jews, shaking the dust out of his coat and telling them that their blood was on their own head. There was no room for an insider movement. I think Paul would agree with the trustees of the missions sending organization of my own denomination that says “C-4 and no more.” In fact, the Bible repeatedly emphasizes repentance from what one was trusting in prior to the preaching of the gospel, whether the rich young ruler and his money or the idol-makers in Ephesus and the goddess Artemis.

Leadership Training and Theological Education
When Paul returns to Antioch he stops at Ephesus where he leaves Priscilla and Aquila and headed home alone. There the missionary couple encountered Apollos speaking boldly for the Lord. He had been instructed some in the way of the Lord, but lacked thorough teaching. “He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.” They took him aside and taught him further before sending him on. When you consider all Apollos had right, it seems a trivial matter that they felt needed to be corrected. However, they rightly understood the crucial need for theological education if he would be able to provide clear, accurate, and precise preaching and teaching. Yes, he had fervency, as well as competency in much of the Scriptures and was a bold speaker, but he lacked the whole Truth. He was already at the level many missionaries wish their national partners would attain. Yet, Priscilla and Aquila rightly judged that the establishing of doctrinally sounds churches requires sound teachers. When you think about it, how much heresy is okay and how much is too much? What would you choose for your own church and family’s pastor?

We have these great examples and models in one single chapter of one book of the New Testament. Of course, there is an ongoing need for new missions textbooks to address modern phenomena and the myriad of challenges facing us today, but we must never overlook the helpfulness of the Bible when read through the modern missiological lens.

The modern missiological arguments and dilemmas that leave many stumbling, mumbling, and grumbling today could be addressed quite easily by shining the light of God’s Word on them. After all, there is nothing new under the sun.

A New Year

I love that the first day of this new year was the Lord’s Day, allowing us to make the most important thing we do the first family activity of the year. We met for worship with our church family and then gathered around our table for a delicious meal, prepared by my bride, and were entertained by grandchildren until naptime. We do that every Sunday. The fact that today was no different, that God has graced my family with hearts that long to worship Him and a deep love for each other made me all the more thankful. Yet, we have had some changes in our family this last year that made it even more meaningful. One year ago today we were filled with bittersweet emotions since our son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and unborn granddaughter had just left on New Years Eve for language school in Costa Rica. We were painfully aware last year on New Years Day that our table was emptier, but still thankful that they were seeking to serve Jesus on the mission field. They are home now, raising support to live and serve Him in Ecuador so we had all of us together today. We also had the blessing of attending an ultrasound appointment with my daughter and son-in-law yesterday. We saw our newest grandchild moving around and stretching, and learned that she is a little girl. God is increasing our tribe and blessing us so richly. Last night we ended the year with what has become a family tradition for us—burning the “old man.” The people in Ecuador end every year with the burning of Paper Mache figures representing all the problems and ills of the past year, symbolically saying goodbye to the past and anticipating a fresh new year. We learned that practice from our friends in the Ecuadorian culture, practiced it with our mission family, and have continued it as a family tradition ever since we returned from Ecuador nine years ago. Of course, we realize that this is merely a fun tradition and that there is nothing substantial in the symbolism. We know that the One who controls every detail of our lives—past, present, and future—is the One we worship every day, especially the first day of the week. All of us have traditions of some kind. One of the most common New Years traditions is the making and breaking of resolutions. Our pastor announced today that he is tired of not getting out of January without breaking his resolutions, so he intentionally made some resolutions to break in the first week so he could have some success in the matter! You read a lot of bloggers and columnists who announce resolutions this time of year. I never read them, not at this time of year anyway—maybe if they were written at the end of the year to announce what resolutions they had made and actually kept all year long. At the end of the day, the most important activity of life, the chief end of man, is to know Christ and make Him known. To exalt Christ, to glorify the Lord Jesus, to make him famous all over His world is what I resolve to do. I know I will break this resolution, but I resolve to return to it when I do. I want to finish well, and the best way to finish well is to begin again every single day. That’s what I loved about New Years Day this year. We started with the end in mind, doing what we will do for eternity. We worship You, King Jesus, and by Your grace and for Your glory, we always will.

Time Like a River

We put away the Christmas decorations yesterday. Another year winds down and goes in the books. The river of time seems to move much more swiftly with each passing day, and the increase in the river’s depth and speed of movement is so gradual that it is almost imperceptible. For most of us it is only when the water’s violent swirling, or the hard knocks of the rapids, or the roar of an approaching waterfall begin do we realize that this is no longer the placid pool we timidly dipped our toes into as little children—and by then we are so caught up in the movement that we cannot change. Or at least, most people do not change. We convince ourselves that there is a more peaceful stretch of water just around the bend, and we settle into the flow . . . praying for peace and quiet along the way. But for those who stay in the stream, riding the current to the natural end of things, there is no peace. Never ever. I pray that I will always fight the current and point others to do the same. The hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote, “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream dies at the opening day.” There is a river of life and death, and the struggle upstream is the way to peace. The hymn writer David wrote, “He leads me beside still waters.” We all need that kind of water, and it is there to be found. Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” Turn around in midstream and come to Him.

2011 Reflections

2011 has been a year of tremendous fruit and blessing for my family and ministry. A year ago at this time, Mary and I were experiencing our first Christmas as empty nesters and preparing for the departure of our son, daughter in law, and his family who were moving to Costa Rica. Just weeks before Christmas 2010, our son, daughter in law, and daughter all graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where I am on faculty. That same evening, we held the rehearsal for our daughter, Molly, who married Daniel the following day.

Within a matter of weeks, Mary and I had gone from living in our very full home to a very empty nest and found the holiday season upon us. It was a sad season, yet we were grateful to God for the circumstances that had emptied our nest—in fact, we had prayed for exactly this—desiring for our son and his family to be enabled to be obedient to their missionary call and for God to give our daughter, in whom we saw so many gifts fitting for a wife, a godly husband.

The new year brought even more blessings. Mary and I were able to enjoy spending more time with one another. Christopher, Carol, and Abraham settled into Costa Rican life and gave us 2011’s most precious gift, granddaughter Anna Elizabeth Sills. Molly and Daniel began their life together and we were able to watch our daughter thrive as a wife. In addition to God’s faithfulness shown through my family, He has also overwhelmed me with blessings in ministry. 2011 saw many opportunities to serve Him through my role at SBTS as well as RTIM. His blessings included the honor of preaching at churches and conferences in the United States, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Kenya and as far away as the United Arab Emirates. I am still amazed by the special privileges allowed to me personally such as speaking at the 2011 Desiring God National Conference and leading pastoral and missionary training classes through several organizations on four different continents.

When we left the mission field and returned to the United States nine years ago for me to join the faculty of SBTS, I was concerned that I would not be able to stay fresh with what was happening on the field and wanted to ensure that I was still being faithful to my missionary call. One of the things for which I am most thankful is that God has given me the opportunity to stay involved in what is happening around the world. I had the opportunity to serve overseas on eight separate trips this year and have been blessed to see my students graduating and going out to every corner of the earth. I am thrilled that at least one couple who went with me on a mission trip this year, and who had zero interest in missions prior to that trip, felt God’s missionary call during that week and are now on their way to the mission field.

As a new believer a few decades ago, I would often steal away on my lunch hour to read the Bible at the city library or pray in the open sanctuary of a downtown church. I was hungry for Truth and eager to believe that the years I had squandered living for the world could be overcome with years of radical, faithful service to the Kingdom. Since that time I have always been driven by that sense of commitment. Yet, with all things there should be balance. And if I had to identify one key change I am making for 2012, it is that I am in search of balance. I still want to be as faithful to serve the Kingdom as I have always been, but realize that wisdom and faithfulness means that I must strive for not just quantity, but quality. I realized somewhere in the midst of teaching an extension class in Jackson, TN along with my regular class load, recent promotion to Associate Dean, and all my other administrative roles at SBTS, while also traveling to preach, speak, and serve that I was doing a lot—sometimes too much—and often I barely had time to breathe.

2011 saw many new beginnings for my family and after a season of experiencing this new normal, I’m launching a new beginning of my own! I’ll continue to do all God has called me to do, but I am going to try to ensure that this includes a healthy balance of service, personal growth, family, and leisure (I’m still trying to figure out what leisure is, though!). Along these lines, we are always looking for additional volunteers to help with the work of RTIM, so please let us know if you are in a position to offer some of your time or services to help us as we seek to be obedient to the task to which we have been called. I receive requests for RTIM teams to come teach and minister in other countries, from stateside believers who want to serve on a team, or from churches who want to get started with RTIM virtually every week. RTIM could be a full time job with more opportunities than any single person could handle. We need and welcome your help to grow and respond to all that God is bringing our way.

The desire for balance is coming just as more changes are on the way for our family in 2012. Christopher, Carol, Abraham, and Anna Beth are raising support to move to Ecuador and hope to be there in a matter of months. Then, in June, we are expecting our third grandchild, this time a little baby Patterson, due to our daughter Molly and her husband, Daniel. I think of my grandchildren (who are cuter and smarter than yours, just in case you are wondering) and marvel at the incredible family and rewarding ministry He has given me. I want my grandchildren to know that their Papi loved them and served the Lord, and served Him wisely every day. I want them to see that a crucial part of that kind of life is making decisions to grow in fruitful ministry every year. May it be for each of us this year and next. Soli Deo Gloria!

Seasons

The blazing colors God has used to paint the fall foliage this year seems more brilliant than ever. Of course, I think that every year. I miss the live oaks and pine trees that dominated my native Mississippi, but the hardwoods of Kentucky and Tennessee make for a spectacular show every October and November. I am driving through both states this fall to teach at Union University every week and have really enjoyed the breathtaking views these past couple of weeks. Some of the trees seem to have their own light within them while others make me think that God invented colors just for this time of year. I suppose that part of my family’s love for the fall season is that changing seasons are one of the things we missed most during the years we lived on the equator in South America.

The seasons of the year and the seasons of life come and go at fairly predictable intervals, but they still seem to sneak up on me every year. When the weather changes I suddenly realize that I have to put away summer clothes and get out my sweaters and coats. Some of my summer weather activities, such as mowing the lawn, running without looking at the thermometer first, and fly fishing when I have a free day, yield to leaf raking, which in turn soon gives way to snow shoveling.

Our family has been experiencing some season of life changes, some as breathtakingly delightful as the spring flowers and fall colors, and some as startling in their change as the summer heat or the winter ice storms. In recent years, we have seen our kids graduate from college and seminary, marry, and have children of their own. We have also known the painful season of sending Christopher, Carol, and Abraham to Costa Rica, only to discover the joy of a beautiful flower named Anna Beth that was born there in season. I knew winter in my heart when my baby girl graduated, married, and left home all in one weekend, but this turned to the joyful season of seeing her godly husband care for her as I prayed all her life she would be. In the midst of our empty nest season, God first gave Mary and me a precious season of enjoying our love and each other’s company again, and then to add joy to joy, He has mercifully filled our nest again for another season.

The point of all of this is to remind myself, and you, that seasons of life come and go. When changes come to us they are rarely permanent; they are for a season. They do require certain changes to be made . . . but with grace and peace, please. The problem with me is that I often forget about the rotations of seasons in certain areas of my life. With regard to my walk with God, my family responsibilities, speaking, teaching, preaching, writing, traveling, leading mission teams, consulting, mentoring, etc., I often forget the lessons of the seasons. I assume that all I do in the “spring” season must continue when I add on the “summer” season’s responsibilities, and both sets of duties continue as I add on the “fall” opportunities. I assume that if they were important and had kingdom value before, then they should continue as I layer on the “winter” requirements when that season rolls around. Trying to manage the cumulative load of all the recent seasons of my life results in burnout, exhaustion, occasional depression, and doing many things poorly instead of doing well what God has for me in this season.

I grew up in a hard-working family. My grandfather went from being a poor sharecropper with eight children to feed to owning his own business. My father was a firefighter who always worked at least one other job on his off days. I won’t ever be able to equal their work ethic, but I do live with a strong aversion to ever being considered lazy. The result of that is a level of busyness that often sinfully robs my family of my time and attention, and robs God of me offering Him my best at what He wants me to do. As we enter into this beautiful fall season, I plan to spend some of it reevaluating my to-do list and my to-do life. If you tend toward a driven personality that adds task to task to the point where overload threatens, I invite you to join me laying all you do before the Lord. Ask Him to make clear what He wants you to do. Then be at peace as some other tasks go into the shed with the summer yard tools for a time. Knowing what He wants you to do is very helpful to clarify what you don’t have to do. Remember that Jesus told us what to seek first—His kingdom and righteousness—but did not say what to seek second, or third, or fourth. When we have the priority right, we will be close enough to hear His still, small voice guiding us in the rest.

Desiring God National Conference 2011 "Finish the Mission" and UUPGs

The Desiring God National Conference was probably the only place in the world last weekend where worshipers were consciously singing “How Great is Our God” in chorus with pulsars in deep space and Pacific whales (thanks to Louie Giglio!) If that sounds a little strange, go to the Desiring God website and check out his Friday night session—incredible! I was privileged to speak at Bethlehem College and Seminary on Thursday night and then at the DG National Conference on Friday. I have never been treated so graciously or seen so much attention to detail. The folks at DG truly go the extra mile to glorify God with excellence in all they do. The bookstore they assembled in the convention center was phenomenal and could have taken much more of my time and money if the rest of the conference had not equaled its quality. I was truly humbled to be invited to participate and I count the experience as one of God’s richest blessings to me. I was overwhelmed and turned to collect myself more than once as people shared how they were now serving on the mission field or headed that way because of reading my books The Missionary Call or Reaching and Teaching, or when hearing from a missionary friend tell me of the child sacrifices among the people where he works. I hope that all of the people who shared their vision, passion, and prayer requests with me will stay in touch through email, Facebook, or twitter.

I came away from the conference with a renewed passion for the least-reached areas of the world where there is no church or Gospel witness that is sufficient to reach and teach their people. While I was encouraged to meet so many who share my passion to train national pastors and leaders, I also began to burn with a zeal to train up thousands of believers in the traditional mission fields whom God is calling to go to unreached and unengaged mission fields. There are almost 4,000 people groups in the world who are not only unreached, but whom no one is targeting with a Gospel witness. That must change. There are thousands of national believers in other countries whom God is calling to go as missionaries, who have passports that would allow them easier access to places such as the 10/40 window, and who could live on much less than is required for Western missionaries, but they lack missions training. Missionaries have found that training and orientation in anthropology, missiology, orality, and intercultural communication in addition to theological and biblical training is essential for effective missions service today. In addition to providing nationals this training, our years of expertise could provide them guidance in forming international mission sending agencies designed and structured for them to administer in culturally appropriate ways.

IMB President, Tom Elliff, is calling on SBC churches to adopt and reach one of the 3,800 unreached and unengaged people groups (UUPGs) of the world. With about 46,000 SBC churches in the USA, we can do better than that. In many cases the reasons that these places are still UUPGs is because they are in the hardest to reach parts of the planet. This “extreme” dynamic attracts some churches and repels others. Stay tuned for some humble suggestions for how our families, churches, and budgets can help reach and teach these UUPGs. And since I am in a humble suggestion mode ;) a number of ideas have occurred to me that agencies could embrace to help churches, families, and individual believers embrace the vision to close this gap. All of us can do more to make Christ known and embraced in these UUPGs of the world. I know I can, and by His grace, I promise I will. We will be discussing just that over the next few weeks. I hope that you will pray for God to guide you to find your place in these plans as we do.

Please Be Careful . . .

Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost, and He commanded them to repent and believe the Good News. The Bible does not consider only blatant Satan worshipers to be lost; it also condemns those who are sincerely following the false gods of other religious systems and those moral, religious people who trust in their own righteousness. The Bible does not teach that it is sufficient for them merely to add Jesus to what they currently trust. Rather, they must renounce the shameful ways of their old religions and turn to trust Jesus only. Placing faith in your own righteousness or the salvation of another “god” is to follow a god and religion of your own making. Rendering the honor, worship, and faith that is due to God alone to anything or anyone else is idol worship. An idol is anything that takes God’s rightful place in your life. Dr. R. Albert Mohler reminded the SBTS family in opening convocation chapel on Tuesday, August 21, of the Apostle John’s warning in 1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” Dr. Mohler clearly explained many of the diverse forms that idols may take. He also included a very clear missiological application by declaring, “Idolatry is belief in a false god.” Indeed, the Bible states in Psalm 96:5, “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”

The God of the Bible is a Triune God; one God who exists in the three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is not true that adherents of all religions are worshiping the same God their own way. I have always taught that those who worship any other god than the God of the Bible are worshiping a god of their own making, and that by very definition they are idol worshipers. The cults and major world religions are not worshiping the biblically revealed true and living God, but rather a substitute of their own imaginations, i.e., an idol. The task of missionaries is to call them to repent of that, believe the Good News and place their faith in Christ alone. We do not implore them merely to add Jesus to the religion they have already followed—whether that is Hinduism, Islam, or the self-righteousness that banks salvation on a moral life and church membership. Jesus plus nothing is salvation, Jesus plus anything else equals heresy. The risk and danger inherent in insider movements, over-contextualization, and C5 forms of missions methodology is one of merely adding Jesus to existing religious systems, and the missionary may be the last one to recognize that it is happening.

The missionary message seeks to present lost people with the truth that God is holy, you are separated from Him due to your sin, Jesus is the answer, and that you must repent and be born again. Islam has distinctly different beliefs from Christianity, as does Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and every other ism. Trusting in these systems and the hope they hold forth, even sincerely and faithfully, is missing the mark and practicing open rebellion to the Word of God. We do not call people to add Jesus to them, but to turn from them and trust in Him.

Advocates of insider movements argue that those who embrace Jesus while remaining in their own religious systems are often the best evangelists and most winsome witnesses to others in their socioreligious contexts who have yet to embrace Him. They also state that these “converts” will come to know and embrace Christian truth exclusively over time. I hear and understand the arguments, but please be very careful. The tendency of a fallen world is never to drift toward orthodoxy and sound doctrine, any more than a leaf that falls into the raging river floats upstream and up Niagara Falls. Polluted pools of water do not become pure on their own simply with the passage of enough time, especially if the source of the pollution remains.

Pluralism and inclusivism have proliferated in recent years due to burgeoning postmodernism and a post-9/11 desire to avoid even the appearance of arrogance or ethnocentrism. Because of this sensitivity, we may be reticent to call others to repent of their religions and trust in Christ alone. Resist this reticence! Proclaim the Good News! Salvation is found in no other! Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) The Apostle Peter declared, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) If you believe that in your missions context you must incorporate methodologies of insider movements and C5 over-contextualization, please be careful. At the beginning, middle, and end of all you do, remind them, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Who Went on a Summer Mission Trip?

Summer vacation is quickly drawing to a close and back-to-school supplies pack the store aisles and ads. The hastening approach of a new semester leaves many reflecting on their summer during the fleeting days remaining in it. Some of you who went on a mission trip this summer continue to think about the challenges and charms of the place you served. The smiles of the children and bonds created with national brothers and sisters fill your waking dreams; and you pray for them and their churches more than anything else. You wonder, “Is God calling me to serve there as a missionary?” I know you do, not only because many of you call and email me about your trip to understand what God is saying, but because I have felt it too. Every single time I go on a trip.

I was just in Ecuador with a wonderful team of dedicated believers, and I was in Costa Rica with a similar group before that, and in Peru before that. On each trip, people have felt called or confirmed in their call to missions during the trip. Afterwards, people will often talk about going back the next year, beginning a weekly prayer effort to support missions in that place, or giving more sacrificially to support the missionaries serving there. On the most recent trip I remarked that time would tell, which must have sounded cynical. However, I meant that like a youth retreat mountaintop experience, we often lose our zeal and passion when we return to the valley. Staying white-hot in missions sacrifice and zeal takes intentionality and daily focus. I read this morning what Thomas Watson wrote on 1 Samuel 15:22 concerning five ingredients of Christian obedience. It should:
1. be performed freely and cheerfully,
2. show there is love in the duty,
3. obey all of God’s commands,
4. be sincere, and
5. be constant. “True obedience is like the fire on the altar which was always kept burning.”

I think that we should apply these aspects to our missions obedience as well. When the Spirit moves you with a missionary call, it will not leave you alone and you cannot leave missions alone. If it ceases to stir you, or you can be at peace after setting it aside, either you have chilled spiritually or it wasn’t the Spirit moving.

I speak to many students and team members who feel drawn to missions, and it is sometimes to a place where they went on a short-term mission trip—and they feel guilty about that. They think that if they enjoyed the culture and loved the people and country, that God must not be in it. They may even think that it is mere emotion leading them to want to return, and of course, it may be. However, we serve a sovereign God and He was the One who determined every detail of that mission trip—the team members, whom they would witness to, where they would stay, and how everyone would be stirred because of the trip. Short-term mission trips are not only effective for the mission fields we travel to, they are also powerful “classrooms” for missions education. Many missionaries learned on a short-term trip that God was calling them to leave their old way of life and return to the place He led them to on the short-term trip to invest the rest of their lives as career missionaries.

Perhaps, you went on a mission trip this summer and feel really burdened about missions for the first time, or more than you have felt before. You may be wondering whether God is calling you there, or somewhere else, and know that a call to missions includes a call to prepare. I would love to have you in one of my classes online or on-campus as we explore missions, cultures, or intercultural communication. My colleagues in the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism at Southern Seminary teach classes every year in evangelism and church planting that will equip you to be the best missionary you can be. In addition, the courses my colleagues offer in the Theology and Church Ministries schools at SBTS are second to none. While in Louisville, you can minister to one of the 100+ people groups in our area, planting or serving a church in the culture, or a near-culture, God has called you to serve.

If you struggle with what the continuing burden for missions means for you, whether you are to be a sender or a goer (Rom. 10:13-15), or how to sort out the storm of thoughts and emotions swirling in your heart and mind, I hope you would read and consider what I have written in The Missionary Call. I wrote it with you in mind and to help people in your very situation to sort out and understand what God may be saying. I would love to visit with you and talk it through as well. Come see us in Louisville, visit the campus, and let me buy you a cup of coffee. There are thousands of people groups who have never heard an understandable Gospel, and many of them are not where you might think—they may even be in or near the place you went on a mission trip. Don’t let your stirrings from this summer’s mission trip wane without knowing what God is saying to you through them. Ralph Winter said that God cannot lead you based on information you do not have. You have a wonderful mission trip experience filled with information now, how is He leading you? Let me hear from you.