RTIM Blog

The Best Missiology Textbook on the Market

2012-01-20T10:41:00.006-05:00

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

2012-01-01T17:22:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-31T12:02:00.004-05:00

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

2011-12-24T23:32:00.019-05:00

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

2011-10-30T23:42:00.004-04:00

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

2011-09-28T21:59:00.005-04:00

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 . . .

2011-08-24T19:52:00.004-04:00

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?

2011-08-07T19:19:00.009-04:00

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.

Around the World

2011-06-18T14:52:00.010-04:00

Around the world and back again, what goes around comes around, everything goes full circle… phrases I have heard all of my life, and am old enough to find them true. I have just finished teaching 8 and 12 hour days for the last three weeks—two weeks of Ph.D. seminars and a week teaching Comunicación en Culturas Orales for our Hispanic M.Div. program. Another academic year comes to a close, marking 8 ½ years for me teaching Missions and Cultural Anthropology at Southern Seminary. Long enough to see students, faculty, and administration come and go, recognize the patterns of the cycles, and be thankful for God’s grace shown me in so many ways there—not least of which is being full professor with tenure in an endowed chair and directing several programs under the leadership of R. Albert Mohler, Jr. and serving with the faculty he has amassed. This is a gift of God’s grace and He has been so good.

Another cycle in my life that has come full circle is the publication of another book. The latest one, Reaching and Teaching the Highland Quichuas: Ministry in Animistic Oral Cultures, is the result of about twenty years of field research, reading, and ministry that will be published by Biblica. Other publishing projects that came to completion in this academic year were chapters submitted to several edited books, an article for SBTS’s Journal of Theology, and Introducción a la Misiología that I wrote with Hayward Armstrong and Mark McClellan. This one was the first book published through RTIM Publishers.

Now that the semester is over, I am packing today to take a team from SBTS to Costa Rica where we will teach pastors and lead local churches in evangelistic outreach to their communities. While there I will see my son and daughter-in-law, Christopher and Carol, and my grandchildren, Abraham and Anna Beth. I will get to meet Anna Beth for the first time as she was just born a month ago. I reflected today on the fact that sometimes it seems only yesterday that I was there worshiping in Villas de Ayarco Baptist Church with my wife and son and daughter. Now I am taking a team to work with the same pastor in Villas de Ayarco and will worship there with my son and his wife and son and daughter. God's gracious, faithful, and sovereign hand of providence is so rich to us.

I saw in the news that the ash from the volcano eruption in Chile has now gone around the world and returned where it started –in less than two weeks! It should not surprise us when things go full circle, but it always does. When we should be amazed, we sometimes yawn. The Lord Jesus gave us the Great Commission two thousand years ago, and since then we have had this command of God, the promises of God, the presence of God, the people of God, and the grace of God, but we still have not spread the gospel all over the world and back.

Untold millions are still untold. Thousands of people groups sit in darkness, many of whom have never even heard Jesus’ name, much less a culturally understandable presentation of the Gospel. At the most recent annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, David Platt hit another out-of-the-park, grand slam sermon, challenging SBC churches to be busy reaching the unreached. Certainly we must be active doing so. Let us also remember that if we make Jesus’ last command our first priority we will also seek to teach them all that He commanded us. Someone has said, “The great challenge of the world is not that it is unreached, but that it is undiscipled.” This phrase embraces the crucial need to reach the lost, but points out that reaching them without discipling and teaching them is not enough—indeed it is only half of the Great Commission, one side of the coin.

The Great Commission Center of Southern Seminary is sending a team of seven for the next two weeks to teach pastors, train lay leaders in churches, and equip church members in Bible doctrines, pastoral ministry skills, evangelism, and community outreach. Costa Rica was once rising in evangelical percentage to the degree that missionaries began to relocate to lesser-reached countries. However, there has been widespread desertion of evangelical Christianity throughout Latin America since the mid-1980s. Indeed, Costa Rica has more ex-evangelicals than evangelicals today. This spiritually hungry country is another statistic among the wreckage of places reached but not taught. Please pray for us as we go forth, led and sent by God, to disciple disciplers, equip equippers, train trainers, and teach teachers.

Please pray for us in this next week:
1. Traveling mercies and all luggage to arrive as planned.
2. Health and energy in a very full schedule for two weeks.
3. Open hearts, prepared minds, and divine appointments among the nationals.
4. Team unity and a Christian witness in the way we interact with each other.
5. For God to reveal or confirm His missionary call on team members’ lives.
6. For a powerful sense of God’s Spirit in us, guiding all we are, say, and do.
7. To grow in grace and return safely at the end of the trip having done our best.

As the world goes full circle and as “what goes around comes around,” may we see the gospel teaching and ministry that we take in our heads, hearts, and hands coming back around as Costa Rican brothers and sisters continue teaching the truths they are taught during this trip. (2 Timothy 2:2)

AP- Arabian Peninsula, Amazing Place

2011-05-27T01:39:00.015-04:00

God has graciously granted me another first, a phenomenal experience, and a fulfillment of a long-time goal. As many of you know, I love traveling to new places and I love to learn—it’s my hobby really. Prior to my most recent international trip, I think my trip to Cuba was the one on which I had the steepest learning curve. My most recent trip was to the Arabian Peninsula, specifically to the United Arab Emirates.

When a church friend, who is now a tentmaker there with his family, invited me to come to teach and preach for a week, I merely tucked it away in a mental file folder called, “O yeah, that would be nice”—I was not certain it would really happen. By God’s grace it did happen and I was mesmerized by all that I experienced. I returned home after an amazing ministry-filled week with a greater understanding of Arab Muslim culture, deeper appreciation for those who are laboring in less than open areas, and profound admiration for what has been accomplished in that part of the Arabian Peninsula—in only forty years or so.

I found myself saying “Wow!” over and over. The UAE is a concentration of the biggest, best, fastest, and most amazing that the world has to offer. Someone said that the Guinness Book of World Records has probably set a new world record for how many times they have traveled to the UAE to measure new world records. The world's fastest roller coaster, the world's tallest building, the world's only seven star hotel, the indoor aquarium with the biggest continuous glass front, a mall with an indoor ski slope, an indoor parachuting venue, a man-made palm tree-shaped peninsula that houses luxury homes and hotels, and a project to create islands in the shape of the continents of the world so that a world map would be seen from the air, the world’s largest mall, etc., etc., etc. And all of this grew out of the desert floor—out of sand and rocks—and Bedouin tribal areas in less than my lifetime. As we drove down smooth five lane highways, illuminated by lampposts in perfectly straight lines for kilometers on end, irrigated palm trees on either side, I marveled that none of this was here just a few short decades ago. Now there are masterpieces of fine art masquerading as sail-shaped buildings, multistory disc-shaped office buildings, sky-scraping spires, and many of the buildings had a twin right next to it—as if one wonder were not enough, they duplicated it, just because they could. The sheiks want the country to be the best that the world has to offer so that no one would ever have to leave to do or see anything. In addition to thoroughbred camel races, they have ice hockey teams! Some said that the UAE posted a debt last year of hundreds of millions of dollars, but it wasn’t alarming because it was just a number. They have more wealth than they can count.

One of the most interesting missiological realities is that although there are about seven million people there, only about one million are citizens, and no one who is not a citizen will ever be one (even those who are born there). The UAE has so much money that its citizens get a check simply for being Emiratis. They have brought in six million expatriates to do the work that no one wants to do. Guards, clerks, waiters, maintenance people, construction workers, and virtually every level of society below the highest rung of the ladder, has been brought in to run the place. The expatriates, who serve the Emiratis, live in labor camps that are much like apartment complexes, although some are little more than blocks of buildings with bedrooms holding four or five bunk beds in each small room. The companies that recruit and import the workers provide their salaries, living quarters, a bus to get them to and from work, and the essentials of life. In some cases, night shift workers come home to sleep in the same beds that the day shift employees slept in during the night. Of course, those who do make decent salaries and have money are free to rent a place from an Emirati. Yes, rent, because with the exception of a very few small designated locales, only the Emiratis can own property.

My hosts told me that every business must have an Emirati who holds at least 51% ownership; no foreigner can come in and establish a business without Emirati involvement. Since the Emiratis are only one out of every seven people within the country and are at the top of this pyramid, the odds are pretty good that Emiratis can simply live the good life of driving SUVs to the coffee shop to visit with friends every day. Emiratis have had to learn English, even though Arabic is their mother tongue, because the workers in the coffee shops, dry cleaners, stores, and gas stations are often expatriates who may speak only English. Still, aside from having to learn English, it is a pretty good deal for the Emiratis. They do not wait in lines; if a line of foreigners is waiting to order at a fast food place, an Emirati simply walks to the front of the line and is immediately waited on ahead of the others. Indeed, at markets and stores, it was common to see Emiratis drive up in nice cars and honk the horn until some harried clerk came running out to ask them what they want and then run back in to buy it for them and bring it out to their car. Some Emiratis were discussing the revolutions and unrest in other Arab countries and someone asked whether anything like that would ever happen in the UAE. Another answered without hesitation that it would never happen there, “Because we are too lazy! We might hire someone to do it for us, but we would not march in the streets and revolt.”

Another fascinating element that was new for me was the absence of petty crime. When the heat reached 110-115, I noticed that many people would simply leave their car running when they ran into the store, so that the car would not heat back up with the AC turned off. Someone told me that his wife accidentally left a large amount of cash in her purse at the car wash, only for it to be discovered by the attendant and returned when she picked up the car. At Starbucks or the pool, you can run to the washroom or walk away to visit with a friend, leaving your keys, iPhone, laptop up and running, with your wallet sitting next to it and all will still be there when you return. Amazing. But why steal? They have no need for anything, and what we have is probably not as nice as what they already have. The poorer expatriates may be tempted to steal, but they risk strict jail terms followed by deportation. Crime is virtually nonexistent compared with many other countries I have visited, including my own.

The threat of crime is so low because the people really have no needs. However, evangelistic efforts have found little success there; partly for the same reason. Very little fruit has been harvested among the citizens, even though many are sowing. There are estimated to be only 10-12 Emirati Christians in the entire UAE and these are secret believers. Many of the tentmakers working in the UAE are as active in ministry as they dare to be, but realize that the areas of greatest promise are among the expatriates who are from dozens of countries all over Latin America, Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, USA, and more.

I was there to teach chapter 15 of the Perspectives course and preach a few times. In the few evangelical churches that have a building, there were between 15 and 30 different language group congregations that shared the same building every week. When we finished our second English service, the Filipino congregation walked in behind us and began to set up for their service. It was so exciting to see all of these languages worshiping the Lord in culturally appropriate ways, seamlessly coordinating the use of a single structure, in a country where they were watched closely. Wow! God is truly up to something there.

The UAE is a place where you can stand still and reach the world by stretching out your arms. Perhaps our best creative access would be to concentrate on reaching and teaching the millions of expatriates, and then train them to reach and teach others around them there, as well as back home when they return. I was thrilled to think what else could grow out of that spot in the desert. And just like the marvel that the UAE has become, it could happen in our lifetime. Wow! 

East Africa

2011-05-18T10:03:00.007-04:00

One of the greatest joys in my life is meeting and spending time with missionaries, preaching biblical challenges, and discussing missiology with them. Another joy for me is traveling internationally and learning new cultures and contexts. Add one more, that of going to places I have never been, and you have the makings of a trip of a lifetime for me. That is what my recent trip to Kenya was.

The East Africa cluster of the IMB invited me to preach for their Annual Group Meeting worship services, teach through my book Reaching and Teaching, and lead workshops on critical contextualization. The missionaries of Southern Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya were in attendance and the atmosphere was the unique blend of family reunion and professional annual business meeting that every IMB missionary knows. The missionaries were so encouraging, both in their thankfulness for my teaching and the reports of the ministries they are leading in their countries. I am always encouraged by the quality of the IMB missionaries, but these servants exceeded anything I was expecting. The leadership of the East Africa cluster is not only efficient and wise it is visionary. The insights of the leader (a former MK!) and his team of missionaries enabled them to stand their ground amid pressures to relinquish certain strategies a few years ago. “Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” Great blessing to East Africa and beyond will be the legacy of those who made hard decisions and stuck by them when they were not popular.

Being with these missionaries reminded me of our annual mission meetings and year-end retreats in Ecuador. I miss those times, those missionaries, and those memories are some of my most precious treasures. I am so thankful for the time I was able to share with these missionaries in Nairobi and to share with them in the memory building. Some of the missionaries were in their first year on the field and were going through the struggles of culture shock and adjustment. Others received 30-year pins and one of those couples was honored with a retirement tea. No one will forget the week.

We celebrated the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection while I was there. On Good Friday evening I was honored to share in the Lord’s Supper with these choice servants of the Lord. On Resurrection Sunday we began the day with a sunrise service and continued to meet at other times during the day to worship and praise the One who called us to Himself just as He also called us together to celebrate such a rich time. My prayer is that the missionaries were half as encouraged as I was. They challenged, taught, inspired, convicted, and invigorated me. Thank you!

After a thoroughly encouraging week, David Crane made sure I was sent home in style. As if all that had happened were not enough of a blessing, David arranged to take me on safari to a game park before dropping me off at the airport. We saw giraffes, rhinos, water buffalo, baboons, impalas, wildebeests, etc. etc. etc. It was phenomenal, and totally unexpected; I did not have that on my agenda. Yet, like all of the other blessings of the week, God has a way of blessing beyond what we could ask or imagine. Whenever you are in the presence of serious-minded, Christ-focused, missionaries who love the Lord and the life He has given us, remarkable things happen. I think I was made for reaching and teaching the world and enabling others to do the same. I am never more alive than when I am doing so. Thank you, IMB East Africa Cluster, for a wonderful week at the paradise that Brackenhurst is and the choice servants of the Lord that you are. Thank you, Mary, for your encouragement in this ministry. And thank you, Lord, for all of this and heaven, too.

15 People, 7 Days, and 3 Defining Points

2011-04-20T20:23:00.014-04:00

15 people, 5 different ministries, and one week to serve. Just seeing it typed out is overwhelming. How in the world can so few people impact so many ministries in such a short amount of time? And did I mention that only 1 of the 15 even spoke the language of the people to whom they were ministering? This is clearly not a ministry plan anyone would devise and approve as a recipe for success. And yet, it is exactly what I, along with 14 others, sought to do a few weeks ago on a short-term trip to Ecuador. The team varied in age, stage of life, gender, marital status, gifting, vocation, and calling. It was a great team. Each and every individual contributed in accordance with his or her gifting and everyone was flexible and open to what God had for us as the week progressed.

We spent the mornings working in a school with children from elementary through high school age. Half of the team held two assemblies for large groups of students each morning while the other half of the team provided basketball clinics and visited various classrooms. Both groups shared the Gospel in each encounter as well as taught a discipleship lesson. The afternoons were spent with the women on the team teaching a Bible Study for a group of women from our partner church while those gifted in basketball (of whom I was not one!) held basketball clinics coupled with evangelistic presentations at the church. Then, each evening the men on the team taught an introductory Bible course for the school of ministry that the church launched with our team. In the course of the week we provided an overview of every book of the Bible. It was a marathon pace with 12-14 hour days, with much encouragement from the Lord to sustain us.

As with every team I’ve taken, certain themes stand out and tend to be the things that define the trip in the days and years to come. One defining point for this trip really was the team. All of the teams I have led have had the hand of the Lord on them and I am grateful for His sovereignty in forming the groups. However, this particular team was especially suited for this week of ministry and served with such faithfulness and humility. The substance of their service and the way in which they manifested it were all testimonies to the God who sent us.

A second defining point of this trip was ministering to people with such an earnest desire for the things of the Lord. We were ministering to a people who had so many spiritual needs. Most did not know the Gospel. Those who did had very little biblical knowledge beyond the most basic elements of the Gospel. They were often without hope which left them open to hear and spiritually needy. We were humbled by the commitment of the nationals who attended our teaching to hear our testimonies and learn more about the Bible. For instance, on the first night of the School of Ministry Panoramic Survey of the Bible, there was a heavy downpour of rain. A few minutes into the teaching on the Pentateuch, the power went out in the church. With several hours of teaching to go, candles were quickly found and team members with small flashlights hopped onto the platform to help illuminate the teacher’s notes so the teaching could continue. Several hours later, when the night’s teaching was complete, the power came on right in the middle of the closing prayer. All had sat faithfully seeking to know more of the Bible, despite the fact the night was stormy, they would have hours of travel to get back home, and there was no light. It was not only the church leaders seeking a biblical education who were engaged. Many children in the school were as well. In fact, one middle school age girl, confronted with the Gospel, asked a question we must all consider, “What does God see when He looks at us?” She listened intently as a team member shared about the sin that consumes us apart from Christ and the perfection of Christ that covers us when we trust in Him. And not only did she listen, but so did her ten friends who were gathered around asking questions and engaging with the elements of the Gospel.

Finally, I was struck on this trip with the significance of ministry partners. RTIM sent out this trip in partnership with multiple congregations in the United States. Once we were on the ground, we were able to partner with Ecuadorian missionary, Joselito Orellana who facilitated many of the ministry logistics that allowed us to maximize our time of service. The partnership also allowed us to minister throughout the week, being faithful to our specific tasks but with the assurance of the follow-up that would come through his ministry as well as that of Iglesia Bautista Universitaria.

Some question the validity of short-term missions, but I’m more convinced than ever in the Kingdom value of such ministries. One team member estimated that at least 60 Gospel presentations or Bible teaching presentations were made by the group in addition to one on one conversations throughout the week. I’m certain that hundreds were exposed to biblical teaching through the work of this team who would not have otherwise been so. And, I’m certain that 15 individuals were more closely conformed to the image of Christ as a result of serving Him for 7 days among the people of Ecuador. To Him be the glory.

Disasters – Natural and Otherwise

2011-03-14T16:43:00.009-04:00

Natural Disasters
The strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history, and the fifth strongest ever recorded, has just struck with devastating ferocity. In our age of instant global news, the watching world is horrified and saddened by the destruction. Now, the emerging threat of nuclear accident could make the initial blow pale in comparison. We are sobered by the disaster—but not as shocked as many in the world since our Lord warned us of coming natural disasters. None of these catch God off-guard or require Him to call an emergency session to respond. Yet, it seems that either these disasters are coming in greater frequency or they are more pronounced in their impact. Most of us can name the natural disasters of late—Japan, Haiti, Katrina, and the Asian tsunami just to name a few. When so many lose their lives in so brief a time, we are shaken, both by how puny man is in relation to nature’s forces as well as because of the scale of destruction. It is right that we should drop what we are doing and race to help Japan in every way we can. The ministries with which I am associated will strive to do our part—just as we have in every one of the aforementioned disasters.

Yet, we should not let the global news networks dictate our agendas or priorities. The preceding, but still recent, natural disasters now evoke barely more than a yawn. Lives are still shattered from previous disasters, but when the news networks have saturated the interest level of viewers, they move on to newer topics, and very often, so do many Christians.

Unnatural Disasters
In addition, there are unnatural disasters that wreak devastation day in and day out that are hardly noticed. Space does not permit the recounting of the nauseating numbers affected by slavery, abortion, the flesh trafficking of the sex trade, or the tens of thousands who die daily because they lack food and potable water. Many faithful missionaries are laboring daily to rescue those they can, and to overturn the oppressive systems that perpetuate these disasters. Yet, unfortunately, many Christians do not even recognize their efforts as mission work, much less promote and join in the work. Another unnatural disaster are the many wars being fought, which the Lord Jesus also warned us to expect. The revolutionary nature of our world is becoming accepted as normative. Terrorism only truly alarms us when it happens in places we might be, otherwise we simply consider it another terrorist act like the countless others we have heard and read about in recent times.

Spiritual Disasters
Many reading this blog are haunted daily by the spiritual disaster in our world. Over a third of the world’s population has never heard the gospel; many of them have never even heard Jesus’ name. That represents about half of the world’s people groups that are lost without the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ. Of the more than 2 billion sitting in darkness, about 50,000 die every day and go into a Christless eternity—and there are untold millions still untold. Besides the unreached, unengaged, and completely uncontacted peoples of the world, there is the disaster of those who have heard a semblance of the gospel message, but have heard little else. They have indicated a willingness to follow Christ, but are not totally sure who He is, or how His message differs from the only religions they have ever known—and they have no way to find out. The missionaries who were so burdened to get the gospel to them remained burdened to get the gospel to yet others, and so they moved on leaving no one to disciple them or train pastors and teach teachers. The spiritual disaster of lostness is not only that it leads countless millions to hell and robs God of the glory due His name, but is seen in some of the world’s most despicable sins.

The persecution and murder of people because they have embraced Christianity is increasing in frequency and speed. Some mission agencies work to rescue the oppressed and persecuted and make their plight known to the world. Recently, when a government’s anti-blasphemy laws threatened a new believer with death for leaving Islam, news of the impending martyrdom rallied the world’s Christian faithful to prayer, fasting, tweeting, facebooking, and political action. The hand of the persecutors was stayed and the believer avoided martyrdom. Other Christians so threatened in the world did not. Another spiritual disaster occurred shortly after the rescue of the other. Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti was ambushed, dragged out of his car, and gunned down. He had stated, “I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us. I know what is the meaning of the cross, and I'm following the cross - and I'm ready to die for a cause. I'm living for my community and suffering people, and I will die to defend their rights." Let us not forget those so threatened or allow the media to drive us to other interests. This spiritual disaster should be in our prayers daily.

A Lesson from Japan
Let’s ask a question that we are used to asking on a regular basis in our culture, “How will this affect me?” I don’t want to help anyone to make this all about you, but knowing that some will anyway, what can you learn from this? One of the lessons we can learn is from looking at the devastating destruction and loss of life in Haiti’s earthquake and compare it to what we see in Japan. The earthquake-resistant architecture and engineering that has gone into the building codes of Japan for years are paying rich dividends right now. Of course, Japan has had repeated earth shakes for years in which the value of their stringent efforts have paid off, but nothing like we see in these days. For such a highly populated region to be so shaken and result in less than absolute decimation is amazing. Yet, the Japanese have known that they were vulnerable and have sought to prepare for the threat of the “big one.” After a major quake that resulted in more wreckage than they anticipated, Japanese engineers went to the Andes to study the Inca ruins. These ruins have stood the test of time. Massive stones fitted together without the benefit of mortar remain so tightly together that a knife blade cannot be put between them after 500 years of Andean earthquakes that have demolished the towns and cities of others built all around them. The techniques they learned were incorporated into Japanese designs and helped them be more prepared.

The natural disaster in Japan this week is tragic and I pray that you will all seek to be of help to this island nation in their time of need. I am thankful for their foresight into the probability of the natural disaster and planning for it. How might each of us help others plan to avoid the spiritual disaster that is coming? Hebrews 9:27 assures us that after death comes the judgment. That is not a probability; that is a certainty. Let us take the lesson from God’s Word and His people, and reach and teach the nations before that day comes, when the disaster for them will not just be devastating, it will be complete destruction.

Sabbatical Reflections

2011-02-08T08:39:00.003-05:00

My Fall 2010 sabbatical is now officially over with the start of the Spring 2011 classes. As I reflect on the last six months, I am overwhelmed with gratitude to my bride and kids for their patience with my globetrotting and writing that dominated my waking (and sometimes sleeping) hours. I am also very thankful to the SBTS trustees and administration for the sabbatical leave, to the IMB and field missionaries who hosted me, and to my staff at Reaching & Teaching International Ministries for coordinating all my travels, hotels, and planes, trains, & automobiles.

In addition to teaching pastors and leaders in jungles and mountains, rural and urban settings, and leading orientation for churches and missionaries in the USA and in South America, I have seen some significant personal milestones as well. On December 10, my son, daughter-in-law, and daughter all graduated with Masters degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—I think we set a record that day for most graduates from one family in the same ceremony. The very next day, my daughter married a godly young man, who thankfully will keep her close-by for a few years as he is one of our PhD students at SBTS. We then learned the bitter part of the bittersweet as our kids spent Christmas with their in-laws and Mary and I made our way to Mississippi for our first Christmas without kids in over 27 years.

On 31 December, Christopher, Carol, grandson Abraham, and unborn granddaughter Anna Beth, left the USA for language school in Costa Rica. I have often thought of how proud I would be (and am) that one of my children would follow in our missions footprints, but hugging Abraham for the last time and sending them on their way was and is the hardest thing I have ever done. I now believe that I have never made or known any sacrifice in missions until now. It has made me a better missionary, missions professor, and missions mobilizer to now know first-hand what grandchildren, children, parents, and grandparents go through when missionaries follow their call. It is a radically different experience from the excitement of being the one going to being the one saying goodbye and staying behind with full a heart in an empty nest.

Another change that has come about over the last six months is that while Reaching & Teaching International Ministries will continue to send short-term teams and coordinate training programs overseas, we will not be actually sending out our own missionaries. Instead, RTIM will focus its work on theological education, deep discipleship, and pastoral training with missionaries from a myriad of agencies such as IMB, Global Outreach, Training Leaders International, etc. These agencies will handle the logistics and heavy-lifting of sending and supporting the missionaries while RTIM will help them with the connections, opportunities, and resources the Lord has given us.

The newest development at Reaching & Teaching is our launch into the world of publishing. From the very beginning, RTIM has had the writing, publishing, and distribution of training literature as a core element of our vision. This month marks the release of a new textbook written in Spanish for Spanish speakers. It is an introduction to missiology written by Dr. Hayward Armstrong of SBTS, Dr. Mark McClellan of Oklahoma Baptist University, and myself. Details will follow soon for those of you who would like to order this latest tool for missions training among Spanish speakers.

Finally, thank you so much for praying for me as I traveled to teach, counseled, preached, wrote, and mentored around the Americas during these last six months. Since so many have asked repeatedly, “Where are you this week?” and “Where will you be next week?” and “Are you getting enough rest?” I am appending a list of the highlights on the last six months. Thank you for praying and please do not stop. Pray for Reaching & Teaching International Ministries, pray for our family, and pray for the International Mission Board as they seek a new President in this crucial era of world history. Stay tuned . . . .

Sabbatical Travel/Speaking

May 15, 2010- Orality Seminar, Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, KY
May 24-29, 2010- REAP South Summer Missions Training, Lima, Peru
June 13, 2010- Ninth and O Baptist Church, Louisville, KY (Missions)
June 15-16, 2010- Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL
June 26-July 3, 2010- Ecuador Baptist Theological Seminary, Quito, Ecuador
July 17-26, 2010- Ninth and O Baptist Church, Louisville, KY (Missions)
August 3-6, 2010- REAP South Church Partner Training, Atlanta, GA
August 8-15, 2010- Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ecuador
August 15-21, 2010- MATSIL/IMB Program Course, Lima, Peru
August 21-September 6, 2010- Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ecuador
September 12, 2010- Boone’s Creek Baptist Church, Boones Creek, KY (Missions)
September 13, 2010- Jefferson County, IN Missions Conference, Madison, IN
September 25-October 10, 2010- Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary, Quito, Ecuador
October 15, 2010- SBTS Preview Conference, Louisville, KY
October 23-30, 2010- Spiritual Emphasis Week, Spanish Language Institute, San Jose, Costa Rica
November 8-22, 2010- Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary, Quito, Ecuador
November 28, 2010- Vann Avenue Baptist Church, Evansville, IN (Missions)
November 28, 2010- Ninth and O Baptist Church, Louisville, KY (Missions)
December 1, 2010- Crestwood Baptist Church, Crestwood, KY (Orality lecture)
December 5, 2010- Oak Park Baptist Church, Jeffersonville, IN (Missions)
December 17-19, 2010- Bull Street Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia (Missions)
January 9, 2010- Grace Baptist Church, Paragould, AR (Missions)
January 16-21, 2010- Center for Pioneer Church Planting, Harlingen, TX (Contextualization)
January 23-30, 2010- Ingleside Baptist Church Mission Trip/IMB REAP North Pastors Conference, Huaraz, Peru

Latin America: Mission Field, Mission Force

2010-11-19T09:59:00.005-05:00

I have had the great privilege and challenge of traveling and ministering throughout Latin America over the last eight months. I normally take four to six trips per year to teach or lead mission teams in Ecuador or Peru, but my fall sabbatical has afforded me the rich opportunity to spend some concentrated time in Central and South America. Many thanks to the trustees and administration of SBTS for the sabbatical. Thanks also to the International Mission Board for the Professors Abroad program that provided a month-long trip to teach in Ecuador and for hosting me in Lima, Peru as I taught some IMB missionaries there. The Spanish Language Institute in San José, Costa Rica honored Mary and me by inviting us again to lead Spiritual Emphasis week for the missionaries preparing for service in Latin America. Today I am finishing a two-week teaching stint in Ecuador and must return to the USA on Monday.

This concentrated and extended time in Latin America has shown me a great many things about the state of the church here and the region’s needs, challenges, and opportunities. Reading what much of the missions literature says about Latin America and traveling and ministering here makes me wonder whether we are talking about the same place. So often, Latin America is presented as yesterday’s mission field, a place that is now reached, so missionaries can turn their sights elsewhere. However, there are significant problems with this misinformation. First, is it is not reached. The International Mission Board estimates that there are 999 people groups in the Americas, and of that number, 690 of them are among the least reached people groups with less than 2% of their population being evangelicals. In addition, 356 of those groups are not only among the least reached, they are unengaged, which means that no one has been trying to reach and plant churches among them for at least over the last two years. Furthermore, 85 of those groups are also completely uncontacted; in many cases, missionaries simply know that they are, but not necessarily where they are or very much about them. There is much to do to reach all of the peoples of Latin American countries with the gospel. However, even though I’m advocating for the unreached of Latin America, please be very careful not to buy the lie that missions equals reaching the unreached. Yes, reaching the unreached is biblical and necessary, but the Great Commission is much broader and deeper than that, it is to make disciples among the nations (ethnic groups), baptize them, and teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded.

The argument that Latin America is reached (which it is not) and therefore we should leave it with the national brothers and move on is misguided. Jesus did not send His church to reach and leave the nations, but to reach and teach them—everything He has commanded us. That remains to be done throughout the jungles, mountains, farmlands, banana republics, modern urban megacities, and seaport cities of that beautiful, resource-rich, and spiritually challenging area of the world that we call Latin America. Countless groups of indigenous peoples, mestizo Latinos, Asians, Arab peoples, Afro-Americans, and Jews live lost lives in a land that is counted as Christian because of the cultural Christianity surface statistics claim.

Another challenge in Latin America is the vast biblical illiteracy. Certainly, some of the most godly pastors, most well-equipped academicians, and most gifted Christian writers are Latin American brothers and sisters. However, they are faithfully serving in their ministries that demand as much of their time as the ministries of their USA counterparts do. They are both overwhelmed in the ministries they serve and are far too few in number for the task before them. Missionaries never concentrated their work on training more like them. The majority of pastors I meet acknowledge that they need training and they plead for it. It saddens me that pastors regularly ask me heartbreaking questions such as, Was Jesus saved before or after His resurrection? Which woman was it that saved Him? Is it okay for Christians to continue to venerate the earth goddess? Many churches here are steeped in animism but meet in buildings with crosses on the top so missiologists and researchers count them as Christian. I recently preached in an indigenous church that has been meeting together for 25 years. A mission agency built them a building 25 years ago, but they never returned to disciple the congregants, teach the leaders, or even to preach—they never set foot in the community again. It is no wonder that the church members still practice their traditional witchcraft and sorcery; they say that they never even knew that it was wrong to do so.

Many regions of Latin America that we have scratched off our lists as “reached” are Christian in name only; they have never been discipled but rather simply joined a church. Since the Spaniards, conquistadors, and Catholic missionaries came in the late 1400s, Latin America is the recipient of a form of Catholicism that is not only the product of the Spanish Inquisition, but is also pre-Reformational since the Reformation did not begin until 1517. And since the Reformation never made it south of the Pyrenees, even subsequent waves of Catholic missionaries were never tempered with the truth of Grace and the Solas. They imposed the harsh Catholicism that they brought with the point of a sword. Indigenous peoples became very adept at embracing the outward forms of new religions for personal gain and protection.

Reading my blog and Facebook posts about my travels in Latin America has prompted many new friends to email me about their call to the peoples of the Western hemisphere and express their frustration at not finding ministry opportunities. Indeed, many traditional mission agencies are redirecting their efforts to other areas of the world. In hard economic times, they are following the donor dollars that are more interested in the least reached places on the planet. Everyone would hopefully agree that we must reached the least reached and preach the gospel to every person as soon as possible. However, we must also conserve the hard-won advances we have made by discipling and teaching the believers that we have reached. The effort to reach the least reached would be better served by training up a host of evangelists and missionaries whom God is calling from the traditional fields we have served so long, who can go before us and go with us to serve alongside us.

I always tell those called to Latin America but who find themselves frustrated by various mission boards, that they must follow God’s call on their lives, not God’s call on the agency. As a friend of mine often says, “The board is not the Lord.” Never compare your call with another’s to decide the right course of action. I have seen many Christians drawn away from their duty and calling by comparing themselves and their lot with others. I preached not long ago on the four kinds of men in the world: a man’s man, a ladies’ man, a selfish man, and God’s man. Each of those seeks to please someone, either other manly men, the ladies, self, or God. Whom will you serve?

Sometimes the emails I get are asking what kinds of missions opportunities are available in Latin America. A short list of some of the greatest needs would include theological education, pastoral training, university ministry, youth ministry, MK teachers, orphanages, hospital ministry, physicians, dentists, water-wells, health education, evangelism, discipleship, guesthouse ministry, vocational training, rescuing streetchildren, Christian camps, publishing, bookstores and literature ministry, reaching the influential segments of society, intercultural training and missionary orientation, church planting, and whatever the Holy Spirit has called and gifted you to do. The highest and best use of your life is to do what God calls you to do in the place He calls you to do it. Never apologize about your call. If God has given it, He knows why and He knows that you are the perfect person for the job and the perfect place for you to glorify Him.

Some of the mission agencies that have continued to maintain a strong focus on Latin America are increasingly my heroes. I could write a book on each one of them and the contributions they have made, and are committed to continue in Latin America. Some of the brighter lights in the harbor are Latin America Mission, South America Mission, CAM International, and Global Outreach International. Of course, major missions agencies like the International Mission Board, Avant, and HCJB that have made such a great impact here will very likely always have a presence, though it is rapidly diminishing. If you share my burden for Latin America, why not write an email to those agencies focusing on Latin America and thank them for their commitment to this vital region. If you have influence in the agencies that are diminishing their efforts here, why not exercise it to encourage them to stay the course and refocus on new challenges and opportunities rather than abandon the region. The needs are so great, the opportunities are so numerous, and the time is now to seize the day for Christ’s glory and the advance of His kingdom.

I would add a word of caution to the agencies that are drastically reducing their missionary personnel and resources to Latin America. I have seen several major traditional missions agencies’ offices and guesthouse properties for sale in the last few months, evidence of a dramatic drawdown. Be aware that as evangelicals leave, Muslims are coming in behind us. One brother in the USA told me a sad tale of going to Latin America to help an ailing missionary pack up and move home. He said as they pulled out of town, they noticed two young Mormon missionaries moving in. Well, the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are still coming in increasing numbers, but Islam is also firmly established and still coming. While missiologists debate the exact population figures, a missionary who concentrates his ministry to reach Muslims in South America estimates that their numbers are around 21 million and growing. Leftist governments in Latin America are eager for Muslim governments’ economic resources. We have a proverb that he who pays the piper calls the tune. We dare not abandon Latin America to untrained brothers and sisters who acknowledge the threat and their need and are requesting our aid.

Rather than leave, our ministries should change. We must train theologians, prepare pastors, teach teachers, and disciple disciplers (2 Timothy 2:2). As we train them, we are ensuring their protection from the cults and false religions that will seek to deceive and win them. As Latin Americans feel called to reach, teach, and preach in their own and neighboring countries, let us train them for the work. They will do it better than we ever could once their heads, hearts, and hands are prepared for the work. We should train those called to go to the world to be the best missionaries they can be. They will be able to reach and teach in many areas much better than we could and with much easier access since they do not carry a USA passport that garners scrutinizing examination from increasing numbers of USA-hostile governments. We talk a lot about creative access, especially to Arab lands. Perhaps the most creative access of all is to stay and train Latin Americans to go to those with whom they shared the Iberian Peninsula for almost 800 years.

The Spanish Language Institute

2010-11-01T10:22:00.008-04:00

I have just finished a fantastic week in San José, Costa Rica with Mary both ministering to and being ministered to by some of the most amazing people. This week has been one of my favorite ministry experiences. I love missionaries! I love meeting them, hearing their missionary call, learning about their pilgrimage to the mission field from virtually every walk of life, and seeing them serving with their children. I love ministering to them, encouraging them to keep on in tough times, and teaching them from God’s Word.

The last time we had this privilege was in 2008 and it was so encouraging to us that we were very thankful for another opportunity when Julie Chamberlain, Director of the Spanish Language Institute, invited Mary and me to do so again this year. Our week began on Saturday with an easy 2-hour flight from Louisville to Houston, and then a 3-hour leg from Houston to San José. Friends from Kentucky who are studying at the Institute met us at the airport in Costa Rica and took us to a room reserved for us at the AMCA guesthouse. We attended church Sunday morning with James and Heather Tieman and kids—friends from our home church in Louisville who are preparing to serve with the IMB among the Highland Quichuas in Ecuador. I preached twice a day to the missionary student body Monday through Friday. A different missionary family hosted us for every lunch and supper. What a joy it was to enjoy such delicious food and sweet fellowship. Mary and I were able to visit with the missionary families and both encourage them and be encouraged by them.

I knew that it was too good to last, but being in Latin America, spending time with missionaries, teaching the Bible, counseling, advising, and helping in the effort to reach and teach was as good as it gets. I would have loved to push the pause button to be able to enjoy that for a long time.

Another exciting part of the week was meeting the missionaries who will be part of the lives of Christopher, Carol, Abraham, and the yet to be born baby Sills very soon. My son will be taking his family to the Spanish Language Institute in January for Carol to study Spanish in preparation for serving in Ecuador with Global Outreach International. Check out this link to learn more about their vision and ministry. Mary and I were able to investigate several options for apartments and help in the selection process. Envisioning our kids in all the places we went made this second ministry opportunity at the Institute all the more exciting. The hospitality we experienced gives me great peace about them going there to serve.

I will pray for these missionaries and the Spanish Language Institute every day— and for the next time that God allows me to serve with them.

Training amidst Coups, Confusion, and Chaos

2010-10-12T20:32:00.017-04:00

“The government has just fallen into the hands of rebels!” was the news that greeted us when students returned to the classroom after lunch break on Thursday. The news was so unexpected and startling that I stood speechless for a full minute processing it. As we prayed for the country and its leaders, I began to think through the possible ramifications and consequences that this could have for my team members who were scheduled to leave and return to the USA in the next 48 hours. I also realized that I would need to get word to the team that was just about to travel to Ecuador to join me for the second week of training.*

The week started with relative calm as the first Reaching & Teaching short-term missionaries, Mark Bass and Mike Kessler, taught indigenous pastors on Cults and the History of Christianity. Late Thursday morning, I received by email the US Embassy’s Warden Message informing US citizens in Ecuador to take safety precautions due to a nation-wide strike that would close the highways and major airports. I was not terribly concerned as country-paralyzing strikes had occurred all too often during our years as missionaries in Ecuador. However, this time it was reported to be the national police who were protesting and putting the stranglehold on the country. I shared the news with the indigenous pastors as we ate our soup and rice for lunch. Their faces registered mild shock as they heard the news. When I obviously did not share their concern, they explained that the police involvement could only mean that a coup was about to take place, but even then I was hesitant to believe that it would go that far. The news of a developing coup broke as we were returning to the class for the afternoon teaching—the national police had attacked and kidnapped the President and were holding him hostage.

The major cities of the country fell into absolute chaos with rampant looting, sacking banks, and other crimes as the police refused to patrol the streets or respond to calls. To add to the confusion, the head of the congress was calling for a national revolution to free and restore the President. While all of this was unfolding, the President contacted the national television station—which had taken over all broadcasting—via his cell phone and declared that the nation was in a state of siege. He also declared that he would only leave the place where he was being held as a corpse or as President, refusing to negotiate. I knew we were safe and I had seen political turmoil while abroad numerous times, but my poor team members were watching all of this unfold without those same experiences. I was so thankful that they are mature, godly men who knew the Scriptures and the God who inspired them. Mike and Mark communicated with their wives what was going on and then trusted that the Lord who brought them there was in complete control.

The entire coup began that morning about 10:00 AM and was virtually over by 10:00 that night. The military had announced solidarity with the President, launched a military strike and fire-fight to free him, resulting in five dead and many wounded, the airports had reopened, and the President was back at the presidential palace addressing the nation and adoring throngs of waiting admirers. What a day!

I was able to get the Reaching & Teaching team back to Quito to fly home over the weekend and the second team from Ninth & O Baptist Church came as planned. They arrived Saturday evening, just as the last team member from the previous week departed, and we flew early Sunday to Cuenca. The drive to Tambo where they would teach included a stop to let them see a shrine that demonstrates how Roman Catholicism in Ecuador blinds people, holding them captive in superstitious idol-worship. We also made a second stop, at the site of one of the best-preserved Inca ruins in Ecuador, so they could learn about the animistic fears that rule the lives of so many Quichuas. They were also able to learn about the hundreds of years that more powerful peoples have conquered and dominated the Highland Quichuas. The mixture of Catholicism and traditional religion still saturates the Quichuas with its unique ChristiAnimism that continues to lead untold thousands to a Christ-less eternity. I knew that it would make the team members better teachers to have this glimpse into the worldviews of their students.

The second team came to teach for a week on the doctrines of the Trinity, Scriptures, Salvation, Church, Christ, and Providence, as well as paint one of the indigenous church buildings. The eight subjects that the two teams taught over two weeks were fascinating to the pastors. One of them said very appreciatively that in all the years he has been a Christian he had never heard the beautiful truths that they taught. The confusion that had reigned in their biblical ignorance and had so clouded their minds began to disperse in the light of God’s Word explained and they poured forth questions that had long concerned them. Some of the questions were similar to questions I receive from seminary students. Other questions revealed how vast the need for training really is; Was Jesus baptized before or after the resurrection? When was Jesus’ conversion? Which woman was it that converted Him? On and on these kinds of questions came, breaking our hearts, and giving us abundant reasons to thank God that He had allowed us to come and teach these brothers. Such lack of knowledge would be deplorable among any discipled Christian in the West, but these men were pastors and leaders of churches, some leading 2-4 churches each. They treated us like a biblical Google search engine, peppering the teachers with questions that were often off the topic of the moment but crucially important for these pastors and their churches to know.

One brother was totally blind, having been blinded by cheap alcohol thirty-five years ago at the age of twenty-two. He played the accordion to make a living for himself, his wife and four children. He had the sweetest spirit and was so earnest to learn about the Bible. While he did not understand it all, he had memorized large portions of the Bible, citing chapter and verse and correcting “seeing” students when they referred to verse 16, for instance, and he knew that they had actually quoted verse 17 of a particular chapter. He used a stencil and a punch for taking notes in Braille, which he used along with an old cassette recorder to make sure he did not miss anything. He had made a copy of the Gospels and all of the Pauline epistles using his Braille stencil, punching them into the pages of notebooks as his daughter read to him from a Spanish Bible. Still, he had very little knowledge about how to understand and apply the little he had, and he expressed great thanks again and again for our team coming to teach him. Imagine his joy when I told him that we had ordered him a complete Spanish Bible in Braille. It consists of 40 volumes of spiral-bound notebooks that require five feet of shelf space. It made me wince to think how I whined to carry my “heavy” Study Bible around!

The two weeks of teaching were a study in contrasts. The first week was the inaugural Reaching & Teaching short-term teaching trip. A pastor serving in Tennessee and a pastor serving in Japan made their way to Ecuador to teach pastors of Quichua churches there. The second week was a much larger team from a local church and taught six subjects each day. We witnessed a bloody coup attempt, but found peace and order in confusion and chaos. We ate cuy (guinea pig), corn and KFC, traveled in pickups, buses, and airplanes. We marveled at God’s creation and reveled in the beauty of the Andes, but wept at the depravity of fallen men serving and imitating their father to steal, and kill, and destroy. We also saw both Catholic idol worship and Andean animism at its core, but in the middle of it all, we were blessed to see Christ revealing Himself to thankful pastors. As always, God ministered to me through the team members and the national pastors much more than I was able to minister to anyone else.

I will be announcing very soon the next Reaching & Teaching short-term teaching trip and I pray that you will go with me to teach these and others some of what God has taught you. They are eager to learn and deeply thankful for your effort. I cannot promise you a perfectly peaceful or uneventful trip, but I can assure you that God will bless you with His presence as you go to minister in Christ’s name and service. Remember, peace is not the absence of crisis, but the presence of Christ. Amen.

* For more information on the attempted coup, see a first person account on Baptist Press, CNN video coverage, or Fox News' summary of the day's events. Riot photo courtesy of Associated Press.

International Teaching and Travels of Late

2010-09-24T15:19:00.006-04:00

I always smile when one of my students tells me that he can’t wait until he graduates and can read only what he wants to read. That day never comes. I know that he has this image of free time, rest, and endless days with his only major decision being which game to watch, or which book to read. Unfortunately, for those in any ministry, reality always maintains a demanding stack of books and articles that must be read. Sorry, but that’s how it is. I even imagine people walking into heaven and receiving a stack of books to read (no, not really . . . but then again, it wouldn’t surprise me). All that to say, imagined free time is usually simply that, imagined.

I am on my first sabbatical this semester. For the last seven years, I think I imagined being able to spend it holed up in a cabin in the mountains, fly fishing in the early mornings, writing during the days, and taking Mary to local restaurants in the evenings (or eating some of the trout I caught that morning!). At least, that’s how I imagined it. The actual reality is not terrible, but it has not been anywhere near the slow lane in a mountain retreat that I imagined.

In the last few months I have led a mission team to the Peruvian Andes, mentored pastors in the Ecuadorian jungle and mountains, taught IMB missionaries in Lima, taught Ecuadorian national pastors in Patate, taught IMB strategy-coordinator REAP churches, led BSU summer missionary orientation in Peru, finished writing Ministering among Animistic Oral Cultures: Reaching and Teaching the Highland Quichuas, and tried to exhort, edify, and encourage missionaries.

I leave again on Saturday for two more weeks. Two pastors will be joining me in Ecuador as we travel to a predominately indigenous area of Ecuador to teach them basic Bible and Church history courses. The next week they will return to the USA and a team from my home church will come to pick up the teaching where those brothers leave off, teaching the basics of systematic theology to these brothers who are so prone to aberrant doctrine and syncretism. Thanks to Jeff Love and his team, each of the brothers will receive study Bibles. And thanks to Desiring God International Outreach, they will also receive three of John Piper’s books in Spanish. More than that, they will receive the fellowship and edification that always comes when God’s people gather in His name to worship and praise Him.

After a couple of weeks there, I will return home to my bride (of 33 years this past week!), my precious daughter who is getting married in December, and my son, daughter-in-law, and the smartest, handsomest, most wonderful grandson in the world. After two weeks of spoiling them all, I will travel with Mary to Costa Rica to lead Spiritual Emphasis week at the Spanish Language Institute. I am so looking forward to preaching and mentoring during their Spiritual Emphasis week again this year; they encourage me more than I ever could them. I will only have one day at home when we return to the USA before I head back to Ecuador to teach national pastors for two weeks to then arrive home a couple days before Thanksgiving.

Some have said to me, “Hasn’t been much of a sabbatical, has it?” Others have said, “You haven’t been able to rest much, huh?” In one sense, it reminds me of the delusion that you can read only what you want after graduation. Don’t count on it.

However, in another sense, it really is restful and renewing. For me it is such a blessing to travel internationally and help folks to fulfill God’s call on their lives, to meet missionaries and listen to their stories, encourage the hurting, challenge the complacent, remind the downcast of God’s promises, and hold out hope to those who so desperately need it. I find I am animated, refreshed, and constantly reminded of the greatest needs everywhere I go—to evangelize evangelists, disciple disciplers, teach teachers, and train trainers. A strong church makes for a prepared mission force that can reach, plant churches, teach, and lock arms to fan out into the world with God’s Word held high as our banner.

Pray for me and those who send me, go with me, and welcome me back home at the end of each trip. I’d love to take each of you with me to see and meet the many needs around the world, but you only have enough time to do what God wants you to do. What is that? Are you doing it? You’re either a sender or a goer. Whichever God has called you to be, do it with all your might, as unto the Lord. Grace and peace. 

Missions Realities

2010-08-05T20:55:00.010-04:00

The Great Commission Resurgence among Southern Baptists has called for individuals and churches to be more involved in missions even as economic limitations and strategic considerations have resulted in an international mission board that will be limited to 5,000 missionaries. No one doubts that God is calling many more Southern Baptists to international missions than will find opportunities to go through traditional means. Many of us are encouraged that the IMB and the GCR has called on churches to go to the nations and fulfill the Great Commission via non-traditional means. In fact, the IMB has branded their commitment to this challenge with a new official name, “imb-connecting,” which emphasizes their passion to connect Southern Baptists with international missions opportunities. With less than a couple of hundred imb-connecting job opportunity slots for missions opportunities each year for the 16 million Southern Baptists and thousands of SBC seminarians, competition for these jobs is understandably stiff. Many God-called, qualified missionary candidates will have to find other avenues for service, or be sent directly from their churches—and this is increasingly the reality.

In addition to the limitation of a high ratio of mission candidates to each job opening, other candidates feel called to serve in an area or to a ministry that is not considered strategic. For instance, many churches involved in the REAP program or a similar program as strategy-coordinator churches send yearly teams to their adopted areas. When church members sense God’s missionary call to serve there full-time as pastors, disciplers, or teachers, they learn that this is not an option through traditional means, and so their home church must send and support them.

Churches are grappling with the challenge to identify the called and qualified missionary candidates in their churches, get them oriented and equipped, and send and sustain them on mission fields around the world. In the process, many of these churches are repeatedly reinventing the wheel—virtually creating a myriad of tiny mission agencies. The cumulative effort of so many sending their own missionaries creates an economic hardship for churches that have historically given to SBC missions efforts. Traditional missions giving will be increasingly impacted as churches direct funds to their own missionaries serving their adopted people groups, resulting in diminishing amounts being given to CP and Lottie Moon.

The SBC’s imb-connecting is arguably the best mission agency on the planet, and no one takes better care of their missionaries. Their research efforts for identifying, locating, and strategizing to reach the unreached people groups of the world are unparalleled. In addition to sheer numbers and the global scope of their work, their strength is their sustained focus on this crucial need. Their work of researching to identify and reach the unreached must continue until all have heard, but there are other crucial needs that God is calling many Southern Baptists to meet. He is calling many to work alongside and come behind them to disciple, teach, rescue those trapped in flesh trafficking, drill water wells, start schools and orphanages, train pastors, and organize churches.

Let us never forget the reality that if all the peoples of the world are to hear the gospel and be taught all that Jesus commanded us, all the Christians around the world will have to help. God has given all of us His Great Commission. God is calling our brothers and sisters from the international Southern Church to join us in missions to reach and teach the world. Unfortunately, too few of our efforts focus on identifying, training, organizing, sending, and supporting international missionaries. The global church must spend and be spent to enable all of God’s people to go into all the world to faithfully obey all of the Great Commission.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." - Matthew 29:19-20 (ESV)

Reaching and Teaching International Ministries- And You

2010-07-09T21:21:00.012-04:00

You may have noticed that churches are sending teams out on mission trips in ever increasing numbers, especially during this time of year. The churches that aren’t yet sending mission teams are eager to get started. A recent book on short-term mission trips reports that over 2 million church members are going on such trips every year—and the number is growing. As I travel the world to teach and train, I see groups of people in airports all wearing the same color t-shirts with their church name, a Bible verse, and the country of this particular mission trip emblazoned on the front (Honduras, Costa Rica, Peru, etc.). Christians are going all over the world on short-term mission trips and in increasing numbers. Many well-planned trips ensure that team members receive cultural orientation, trip preparation, and that a field missionary is waiting to receive and utilize them in a way that will benefit and advance his ministry. Other mission trips often lack such foresight, are really more of a vacation-with-a-purpose, and sometimes do more harm than good. For instance, when individualistic, direct communicators travel to indirect communicator, group-oriented cultures insisting on a decision for Christ with intimidating tactics in every encounter, the result is sometimes slash-and-burn evangelism that the missionary must clean up for months after the trip.

For the tens of thousands of churches that desire to send teams on mission trips every year, there is the challenge of knowing where to go, with whom to work, and what kind of ministry to do. Working with doctrinally sound missionaries who are faithfully serving Christ and laboring daily in humble circumstances can educate church members about missions in unparalleled ways. Working with no missionary, or a missionary with wildly divergent theological views, ecclesiology, missiology, or questionable methodology can sour a church toward the needs of the nations how they interpret the Great Commission for many years to come. One of the greatest needs in the world today is for pastors and the teachers in a church to go and teach lay leaders and uneducated pastors on the mission fields. The challenge is finding opportunities to do that.

I talk to and consult for more and more churches who are sending their own church members to be missionaries. This is often because their traditional sending agency is not in a position to send church members where the Holy Spirit is calling them, or to do what they feel called and gifted to do. When a church sends teams to build relationships, evangelize, disciple, and plant churches to the same region of the world for years, it is not uncommon for some of those church members to feel God’s call to serve in that ministry in that place. However, finding frustration with the openings to do so, many turn to their pastor for help. As a result, many churches are having to send their own members to the places they feel called to serve. This is not the place to discuss the way to correct that, the fact is that is the circumstance with which we are now faced. How then do these churches send their people, provide for them, orient them, train them in methodologies, strategies, and missiology? How do they handle the logistics for their members who go forth as missionaries? Many are learning and piecing together a program that works for them, but they are repeatedly reinventing the wheel.

As missionaries serve the Lord by evangelizing, discipling, training, planting churches, and developing leaders in them, the Holy Spirit calls out national believers just as He called the missionaries who went to them. He sometimes calls them to serve as missionaries to remote areas in the countries where we serve, or even to go to other parts of the world, and thankfully growing numbers of them want to answer the call and go. Latin Americans are responding to the missionary call and are serving in the Muslim world in amazing numbers. Chinese believers have launched a “Back to Jerusalem” movement, desiring to go forth as missionaries and continue the spread of the gospel around the world all the way back to Jerusalem.

Yet, all is not well. While I was in Bolivia, some of my Baptist brothers asked me how to train missionaries and more effectively prepare them for the mission field. They explained that their first missionary had gone out to the Middle East and after a few months wrote to thank them for their support, but to kindly stop sending it as she had converted to Islam. Likewise, the Back to Jerusalem movement among our Chinese brethren has seen some tragic failures of different kinds resulting from the lack of training for the missionaries involved. No matter where they come from or where they go, missionaries need theological training, intercultural interaction skills, and other missionary orientation that would enable them to anticipate the challenges with the necessary preparation to minister effectively.

I spoke with another missionary not long ago about the commonalities I had noticed between the Highland Quichuas of Andean South America and the Tibetans. He related similar insights, and we wondered how a discipled Quichua believer would fare as a missionary in Tibet. He would have advantages that North American missionaries lack, owing to the anthropometric, cultural, linguistic, and social-marginalization that Quichuas and Tibetans hold in common. I spoke with Quichua believers in New York while preaching at a church of over 500 Quichuas in Queens who begged me to investigate the possibility of sending them a Quichua pastor-missionary from Ecuador to come serve them in New York. Recently, I read where some Highland Quichua believers were following Western missionaries to South India to be missionaries there. I winced as I realized that they would have none of the administrative assistance, intercultural orientation, linguistic training, theological education, or missionary preparation that the Westerners they were following would have had. Their courage to step out and go both encourages and challenges me, but I am more concerned that we have not developed missionary training schools to prepare the nationals who go as missionaries and their churches that send them. This must change, for Christ’s sake it must change.

For quite some time I have believed that a missions agency must be formed to facilitate local churches to orient, send, and support their short-term mission teams in biblically responsible and culturally appropriate ways. These teams must reach and teach in areas where local missionaries or national pastors are close enough to prepare for their coming and follow up until they can return. A missions agency is needed to send all God-called, biblically qualified missionaries to the places where God calls them to serve—no matter where in the world that is—to do the ministry that God has gifted and called them to do—not simply a narrow slice of missionary methodology that an agency has adopted. A missions agency should be developed that can assist in identifying national believers whom God is calling, prepare them for the missionary task, train them theologically, missiologically, and interculturally, and provide administrative oversight until they are in place and able to stand on their own. By God’s grace and for His glory, such a missions agency is now serving churches, missionaries, and God-called national missionaries: Reaching & Teaching International Ministries.

Reaching & Teaching has a God-sized vision: All of God’s people going into all the world faithfully obeying all of the Great Commission. Please pray about helping us do the will of God for His church in His world for His glory. Reaching & Teaching does not compete, but rather cooperates, it does not criticize, but rather complements. Reaching & Teaching stands on the sovereignty of God and desires nothing more than to glorify Christ, extend His kingdom, and obey the Great Commission, the Great Commandments, and manifest Christ’s Great Compassion. Please pray about joining with us. The time is now. All of us must re-examine our lives to see how we should give and live as He has called us, going or sending, spending and being spent. Please pray for God’s hand of favor and blessing to be on this effort, and to God alone be the glory. Amen.

Reaching and Teaching International Ministries

2010-06-19T17:05:00.006-04:00

Over the past several months the Lord has been faithful to reveal His will through a new ministry opportunity as I continue to serve at SBTS. It has always been my prayer that the Lord would allow me to exercise my sense of calling through the classroom, but to also stay engaged on the mission field and in the front-line needs of the unreached and untaught. The Lord continues to be faithful to do just that. Earlier today, I sent out the letter below to friends and those among whom we have served to update them on a new ministry development in the life of our family. And yet, this news is not just for us, but rather, I pray, for many more who will now be able to join with us in faithfully obeying the Great Commission…

As you may know, my wife, Mary and I served in Ecuador with both the IMB and then Global Outreach after my doctoral work until I accepted the call to be Professor of Missions and Cultural Anthropology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, KY. Mary teaches ESL to adult refugees in Louisville through a joint effort of our public schools and Catholic Charities. Our son Christopher came to study here when he graduated from Ole Miss and met Carol. They married in 2008 and gave us our first grandchild, Abraham, a year later. Our daughter Molly also came to study here when she graduated from Union University. God has blessed our family so richly. All three of our SBTS students should graduate with master’s degrees in December.   
This fall I will be taking half of my first teaching sabbatical from SBTS and will be teaching in Ecuador and Peru the majority of the time. The Spanish Language Institute in Costa Rica invited Mary and me to return and lead Spiritual Emphasis week again so we will spend two weeks there in October. God has truly blessed us more than we could have asked or imagined. However, the exciting news is what He is just beginning.  

 While it has been one of the most precious seasons of our lives to have our kids back with us, to welcome Carol into our family, and now to enjoy our grandson, God is showering us with a new blessing. God has graciously allowed me to continue to travel around the world to teach and lead teams. As I’ve done so, He has shown me the great need for deep discipleship, pastoral preparation, leadership training, and theological education. The resulting burden led me to write The Missionary Call to help people find their place in God’s plan for the world. Most recently, I wrote Reaching and Teaching: A Call to Great Commission Obedience. The encouraging response from God’s people has been overwhelming. I am so thankful to hear from so many people who share this heartbeat for both reaching and teaching the nations. Now God is leading us to take another step. 

 God has led Mary and me to incorporate this vision into an international missions non-profit organization, Reaching & Teaching International Ministries (RTIM) and our first missionaries have already stepped up to go serve with us—Christopher and Carol Sills! What a joy it is for our son and daughter-in-law surrender to God’s call on their lives and to see their eager commitment to lead the way for the ministry. They will be going to Costa Rica around the third week of August for eight months of Spanish language school before moving to serve in Ecuador as Reaching and Teaching missionaries. They are in the process of raising their financial support and recruiting prayer partners. Please contact me if you are interested in being updated on the work of RTIM and/or being part of Christopher & Carol’s support team. They need to not only raise the funds necessary for language school and living expenses, but also travel to the field. All donations are tax-deductible and may be sent to: Reaching & Teaching International Ministries, P.O. Box 206115, Louisville, KY 40250-6115.

Additionally, should you be interested in learning more about RTIM and opportunities to go short-term or career, or send missionaries through individual or church partnerships, please contact me so that we can join you in prayerful consideration about your place as a part of Reaching and Teaching International Ministries. In addition to sending missionaries, we will continue to partner with local churches that desire to take short-term trips to reach, preach, and teach around the world so that all of God’s people are faithfully obeying all of the Great Commission.   

Thank you for your love, prayers, friendship, and support through the years. We pray that you will feel led to partner with us, and that your reward for sacrificial giving and prayer support will be a prophet’s portion.  

 We would love to hear from you also to know how we may pray for you. Please join with us in this ministry by praying, giving, and casting the vision to go and give, spend and be spent, and reach and teach the nations.    

Grace and peace,  
David

Cultures

2010-06-10T11:11:00.013-04:00

The globalization and urbanization of our world is bringing peoples together and deepening awareness of others more than ever before. University and seminary degree programs proliferate to enable those who will engage the world’s peoples to minister in culturally appropriate and effective ways. New disciplines that populate academic catalogues include ethnohermeneutics, ethnology, ethnodoxology, ethnomusicology, ethnography, ethnocognition, etc.; the list goes on and on. The common element that these terms share reveals that each one addresses the interface of that discipline with ethno—people groups.

Missionaries are people who intentionally cross boundaries, engaging in intercultural interaction for the purpose of sharing the gospel, discipling believers, training leadership, and planting churches. The boundaries they cross may be linguistic, geopolitical, socioeconomic, or cultural. Simply crossing these boundaries would make any communication and ministry difficult, but the problem is greatly exacerbated when you factor in the truth that the global movement of peoples today results in multi cultural contexts in all the places they go. Missionaries must to be able to recognize and understand cultural dynamics to be effective in their work. Indeed, linguist and translation specialist Eugene Nida said that good missionaries have always been good anthropologists. Others have argued that field missionaries were the first field anthropologists. Early missionaries may not have had ethnographic research training for their work, which made it much harder to do, but they eventually learned the cultures.

Additionally, the growing awareness that oral cultures make up over 70% of the target mission fields is changing the way missionaries engage lost people in those areas. Orality is a growing field that recognizes that the oral majority of the world has a different system for processing information and accepting truth. For oral culture, face-to-face, group-oriented peoples, truth equals relationship plus experience.

Ultimately, communication is not as easy as merely learning the language of your target audience, it requires understanding their culture and worldview, too. In any city of the USA, you find conferences to help managers communicate with their employees or parents with their teenagers. Additionally, marriage counselors stress the need for spouses to maintain open lines of communication. Even though all the managers, employees, parents, teenagers, and spouses all grew up in the same town, went to the same schools, and speak the same language, they do not always communicate effectively. How much more difficult is clear communication when we add in the dynamics of cultural differences. There are over a dozen different systems every culture uses to communicate in addition to language-- time, space between speakers, tone or volume of voice, facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, etc. Every culture uses these systems in their own unique ways just as they have their own unique languages, which makes clear and effective communication very challenging.

The study of cultural anthropology enables ministers to understand the people they are trying to reach, teach, preach to, and live among. Understanding the people, what they believe, fear, aspire to, and hope for is absolutely essential for clear and effective communication of the gospel and establishing Christianity. No one would assume that Mandarin speakers understand a sermon preached in English. Neither should you assume that they will understand your preaching and teaching if all you have changed is the language you are speaking. It is painstaking labor to endure culture shock and learn the language and culture well enough to clearly communicate the gospel and establish a culturally appropriate form of Christianity. But the ability of the church you plant to stand on its own, perpetuating and propagating a pure New Testament church and Christianity, is worth all the effort.

For those of you who feel the burden of trying to understand the cultures you work among, let me suggest a couple of resources that I have found helpful.

Stephen Grunlan and Marvin Mayers, Cultural Anthropology: A Christian Perspective
Sarah Lanier, Foreign to Familiar
Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries

Perhaps, others of you recognize that your high literacy teaching techniques are not effective-- even though you have learned the language very well. Let me suggest a couple of resources for you.

ION, Making Disciples of Primary Oral Learners
Daniel Sheard, An Orality Primer for Missionaries

If you are interested in additional resources, please go to my website where you will find bibliographies and links to help you engage the cultures to whom God has called you. Please let me know if I can ever help you in all you do to reach and teach the nations.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you as you do.

International Church

2010-05-25T23:14:00.010-04:00

The Church takes many forms around the world. We understand this intellectually, yet emotionally there is an image that comes to mind when we hear the word “church” that seems right, proper, and biblical. It doesn’t matter whether you could find it in the Scriptures or not, anything else seems wrong or sinful. Of course, such egocentrism is true for many of our ideas. When I say the word “apple,” what comes to your mind? Is it a green apple or a red delicious apple? Or do you think of a computer? Some people’s idea of a “church” includes multipurpose buildings, gothic cathedrals, rented storefronts, businesses’ break rooms, or living rooms. Of course, these are just places where a church might meet. An open area under a tree on the African savannah would work just as well. I first began to ponder the possibilities when serving as a missionary in Quito. The capital city was home then to around two million people but there were only a little over twenty Baptist churches at the time, each of which only averaged about 100 people on Sundays. Obviously, the city needed many more churches. In addition to the needed city churches, the Highland Quichua people we were working with needed hundreds of churches immediately just to serve the existing believers who had none.

As I began each day before sunrise, reading the Scriptures and praying in my study, I would look down into the valley of Quito and see the millions of lights. I prayed that a church would be planted in all of the apartment buildings, homes, and businesses since it was obvious that we would never be able to provide a building for every needed church. Indeed, to require every legitimate church to have a building would have virtually shut down the work of church planting. So, while none of the missionaries required it, the constant challenge was that the Ecuadorian believers in Quito insisted upon having a building for their church. This was not only because all the other Baptist churches had a building, but because the Catholics always provided buildings for their churches. Any religious group that met in a home was often suspected of being a cult. Thankfully, that perspective is changing, slowly but surely, among hesitant nationals and reluctant missionaries alike.

International churches enjoy diverse worship expressions as well. The expected decorum and comportment in church varies from place to place and denomination to denomination. While some are staid, austere, and worship God with almost stoical emotional detachment, others are singing with hands raised and hips swaying to the music or even with the clapping and dancing reminiscent of a rock concert. And the denominations do not always follow the patterns of their sending bodies. I once preached in a Presbyterian church in Bolivia where the worshipers were “helicoptering” in the aisles during the singing. Some churches sing 17th century hymns with pipe organs or full orchestras while others worship with beautiful Andean melodies and harmonies accompanied by traditional string and wind instruments. Unfortunately, many of these churches have thrown aside their traditional music to embrace high volume electronic noisemakers and full drum sets. These instruments would be fine for worship in the hands of those skilled to play them, but some misled musicians apparently believe that God will accept this worship as better simply because they heard them on the latest praise CD.

Clothing communicates different things to different people in worship. Some prefer suits and nice dresses. Others seem to worship just as well in t-shirts and jeans, and if they really want to dress up, they wear a black t-shirt. I increasingly see shorts worn to church. I even worshiped in a church in Miami once where various members of the congregation wore all of the above in the same service -- and in addition, others in this same crowd were wearing bikinis! We seem to be relaxing the standards even within our own culture. This causes lots of angst among the more traditional, but those who embrace diverse forms of church find it easier to embrace differing styles of church around God’s world. Worship looks different around the world, but I think God inhabits the praise of His people no matter what language they sing, what instruments they use, where they meet, or how they dress. What is important is all that the New Testament requires a church to be, not necessarily ensuring that every church looks like your home church looks. The Baptist Faith and Message succinctly describes the essence of a New Testament church for those who wonder what elements should be insisted upon.

I am leading orientation for summer missionaries in Peru this week. They will fan out into the countryside and encounter diverse forms of church and worship styles, and I pray that God will bless them to start churches and lead worship in many others. May He broaden their minds and ours to embrace all those who embrace Him.

Congratulations Grads!

2010-05-14T21:20:00.009-04:00

I know that you are greatly relieved that this time has finally come and also know that you have worked hard to get here. I have been blessed to know you and to share a part of your pilgrimage. Many of you served churches, worked, and cared for spouses and children in addition to all of your schoolwork. Some of you had to cram your three years at seminary into four or five due to extended schedules when you married, had kids, or the car broke down. You now join the ranks of the graduated. Congrats! Good job! Way to go! We’re proud of you!

Of course, all of you know that you didn’t do it. I always tell students that they will learn a lot at seminary—and some of it will even be in your classes! The seminary experience seems to carry along with it many life changes—from getting married, to having children, to buying houses or cars, to beginning ministry experiences. In these experiences and in classes, God teaches that He is in control and has promised to care for His children, answering their prayers, and guiding them to and through all that He calls them to do. You arrived at seminary wondering whether you could do it, and now that you have, you realize that it wasn’t really you after all. Throughout the rest of your life you will be able to face hard times and remember how faithful God was then—and He never changes.

Many of you know what the next step for you will be, and you’re anxious to get started. The church has called you, the ministry has opened the door, your PhD program acceptance letter hangs framed in your study, or the IMB has given you the green light. This next step is before you and it you are anxious in every meaning of the word. You are eager to get started, but you are also nervous about it. Your application of all you learned is no longer for a grade, but rather for the fulfillment of your calling.

Others of you do not know the next step yet, and you’re anxious about that. Remember that God knows that you are graduating, and He also knows that the church hasn’t called back yet. The pressure you feel to find the next step has built to dream bursting proportions. Your pleas to know God’s direction have been met with silence, and the silence is deafening. He knows, and He has a reason for it. A wise man has said that God knows we have truly grown when He trusts us with His silence. Learning from and about God doesn’t stop with the awarding of an M.Div. Sometimes His delay in showing the next step is simply more post-graduate studies to build faith and wisdom, trust and peace.

Remember that God’s call and the guidance to fulfill it are not the same. His call on our lives may be to missions, and yet the ways that He guides us to fulfill that call may vary throughout our lives. You can only know and do God’s will by faithfully walking with Him.

This is a big milestone in your life and we celebrate it with you. We thank God for His faithfulness to you throughout this season. Your hard work, reading, and writing, has finally come to a pause. Although you have gotten lots of advice in the last few years, let me summarize a few suggestions as you move forward:

Strive to fulfill the Great Commission, the Great Commandments, and the Great Compassion. Seek to live so that all who know you will know that you love the Lord and the lost. Get as close to Jesus as you can—and stay there. You will hear many other words to graduates and plenty of wise advice. Listen to it, follow what is sound, but above all, walk closely with the Lord in communion with His Spirit.

By His grace, there will be many more milestones along the way. Stay faithful, remember all you learned, learn what you did not, and stay awake. Mark 13:32-37.

Great Commission, Commandments, and Compassion Resurgence

2010-04-16T22:03:00.007-04:00

I am very thankful for the refocused attention and renewed efforts of Southern Baptists toward faithfulness in the Great Commission. Certainly, this resurgence is necessary and pleasing to God. I pray that the GCR will become increasingly evident in our actions, and that we will speak more to others about Christ than we talk about the need to do so. However, I also pray that we remember Christ’s admonitions regarding all that is essential in the process. Jesus commanded us in the Great Commission to go and make disciples all over the world (panta ta ethne). He told us to do so partially by baptizing (a teaching ordinance of the church which requires church planting in the places we go). Ultimately, His direct command to us was to teach them everything that He has commanded. That’s a lot and will require a vast investment of resources—time, money, and people. If we are really going to get serious about a Great Commission resurgence, we’re going to also have to get serious about investing time, money, and people.

Remember that Jesus also gave us the Great Commandments: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When we love God and those around us to this degree, we cannot help but share the gospel. The resurgence will be a natural outgrowth of our love. I think He knew that.

Jesus also said, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Jesus should be our ministry model, and He modeled for us both the Great Commandments and the Great Compassion that He loves to see in His disciples.

Mark 6:34 says, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” The initial need of these straggling sheep that drew forth Jesus’ compassion was that they had no shepherd to lead them and so He Himself began to teach them many things. It is encouraging to me that when I see this need as I travel around the world, it draws forth my compassion for them, too, and it burdens me to teach them—many things—in fact, all that He has commanded us. Jesus had compassion because they had no one to teach and pastor them, so He Himself taught them.

Would you meditate on that for a little while today? Ask God to break your heart and burden you with Jesus’ compassion. And then ask Him, “What is it that is not being done that ought to be done and that I could do, and if it were done, it would result in greater glory to God and advance of His kingdom?” And then ask for boldness to do it?

But notice that Jesus’ compassion went beyond teaching; He also met their physical need. In 6:37, He tells his disciples to give the people something to eat. Perhaps you have seen this passage countless times and heard sermons emphasizing mercy ministries stressing this verse, but don’t stop there; notice the end of the story. So often, we think that if we involve ourselves in ministry to others—other nations or other neighborhoods—we will not have enough for ourselves. Mark 6:34-43 teaches that when we minister to others out of our lack, we end up with more than we had to begin with. I am not talking about prosperity preaching or any of that seed-money-miracle health and wealth ilk; this is biblical truth. The Bible teaches that when you minister to the least of these, you cannot out-give God. Do not let your fear of lack or others labeling you with a best-life-now reputation keep you from giving or challenging others to give.

I have just returned from a short mission trip Ecuador, and as short-term mission trips go, this one was even shorter than most. We left the day after Easter and returned the following Lord’s Day. We went to work with an orphanage. Disaster struck while we were there with heavy rains causing landslides and floods. Being typical North Americans, the damage most noticeable to us at first was the disruption of our travel plans. When news began to filter out of the affected valley up to the mountains where we waited to drive toward the orphanage, we learned of homes and churches destroyed by the flooding, bridges washed out, people missing, and children who died. The landslides cut people off from supply lines of food and as we traveled we saw the remnants of homes washed over waterfalls by raging rivers and smashed to bits on the rocks below.

The small orphanage where we went to work was not directly affected by the flooding, but their challenges were just as real. About sixty children live in a home ideally suited for about a tenth that many in a residential neighborhood. Most of the kids have special needs that are physical, mental, emotional, and relational. Some are adoptable and need homes; others were abandoned to the orphanage’s care until their medical needs have been met and then parents will reclaim them. No heart on our team remained unmoved with a great compassion. The flooding changed our travel plans and shortened the time we had to work on the new orphanage building. I found myself praying as I worked . . . for the kids who would live in the room where I was working, for the house-parents who would care for them, and for the donors who would make it financially possible.

As we returned to Quito at the end of the week, we noticed the destruction caused by the flooding, the families living in humble homes, the struggles of the area’s residents, and the commitment of missionaries who have given their lives to help. One such servant of Christ was with us through the week, our brother Joselito. Leaving his family in Quito, he came to spend the week with us to help in any way he could. I just got an email from him last night. Someone has obtained his banking information and stolen over $1000 from his family’s all—half of that was a loan from his sister for him and his family to live on and the other half was ministry funds. I am not sure why things like that happen, but it draws forth compassion from me. Does it do the same to you? Could that be why?

As we refocus our attention on the Great Commission, I pray that more and more of us will refocus our attention also on the Great Commandments and the Great Compassion. If we will do so, there is no way that we will fail to be faithful to the Great Commission. It’s the only hope any of us has.

The Balance of Search and Harvest

2010-03-18T20:56:00.019-04:00

The tragedy of those who depart this life without hope in Christ is a horror beyond description. Indeed, their eternal condition is an unending nightmare of despair and torment, made worse by the knowledge that it did not have to be. God has commanded everyone everywhere to repent and believe the good news. God has sent us into His world with the saving good news of the gospel, proclaiming forgiveness and eternal life for all who will repent of their sins and turn to our Christ. It is therefore essential that we go and preach, and that they hear and repent, for there is salvation in no one else and without hearing the gospel and being born again there is no hope in this life or the one to come.

Our awareness of this truth and sensitivity to the biblical command to take the gospel to everyone on the planet spurs us on to rescue the perishing and care for the dying, as it should. But our zeal to reach them all as quickly as possible must be tempered with knowledge; we must do as we have been instructed. Yes, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But, what is it to call upon the Lord? What is the difference between hearing/acknowledging and understanding/believing? The Lord knows, and He is the only who can make the saving difference. He uses the preached word, so we must reach and preach. But the Spirit who inspired the Word illumines the hearts of hearers to understand it as we make disciples, teaching them to observe all He has commanded us. So we must reach them, but we must also teach them.

 A friend recently pointed out the importance of reaching the lost who have never heard the gospel, and doing so as quickly as possible, by reminding me that over 200,000 souls passed into a Christless eternity when the tsunami struck Asia. These unreached people had never heard the gospel. Their eternal lostness is painfully clear. Some would argue that God would not send them to hell if they had never heard the gospel and rejected Christ. But, no one ever went to hell for rejecting Christ. People go to hell because they are sinners and their sinful rebellion has separated them from a holy God. We all start out at that point. The only way back to Him is through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one way that they can be saved. He has sent us to the world to reach and preach this good news, without which no one can be saved. We must reach them as quickly as we can.

However, as I thought about the staggering reality of that v ast number of souls who perished in one day, feeling the temptation to strategize to reach the rest of the world to give them at least John 3:16, I remembered something else. Virtually the same number of people died in one day in Haiti, a country that is considered Christian by almost any modern standard. Indeed, even CNN coverage noted those who were praying and singing hymns in the rubble. They also pointed out the broken cathedrals and their scattered faithful amid the ruins. Haiti was deemed reached and left in the hands of the nationals, while many missionaries turned their attention to the unreached areas of the world.

Yet, missiologists report that about 90% of Haiti’s population adheres to Voodoo. During the colonial era, French Catholic missionaries sought to Christianize the African slaves working the sugar plantations. Yet they were unaware and unconcerned that the slaves were very religious people who had brought traditional African religious beliefs and worship of spirits with them. As long as the slaves appeared to be worshiping according to the tenets and teachings of Catholicism, all was well. The resulting Christo-paganism that was born in Haiti is called Voodoo today. It incorporates many Christian elements, adding Jesus to the pantheon of spirits that address all needs, fears, or concerns of life. Appeasing or manipulating spirits drives this pagan religion. A recently returned observer reports that many Haitians are very upset about the mass graves, not so much because this precludes the closure our culture would prefer, but because the dead will be unhappy about the way they were treated in death. The animistic Haitians fear spiritual retaliation.

There are many sincere Evangelical Christians among the Haitian population, godly men and women who are burdened by the syncretism they see everyday. There are countless more whom we have considered to be believers, but who are deceived by Voodoo and blinded by demonic forces. The same number of people died in Haiti in one day as died in the tsunami in one day. One group was never reached, the other was never taught what it means to truly know Christ, turn away from the old, repent and be born again. Which is the greater tragedy? Can we begin to measure which one would be worse? Are they not both unbearable?

Perhaps the Haitian disaster is too fresh for us to be objective. Look back a few more years, to what was arguably the most reached country in Africa, with over 90% of the population being baptized Christians. Yet, while the West blinked, almost one million were hacked to death by, or themselves hacked to death, their “Christian” brothers. Between 800,000 to a million people died in a matter of months in the worst genocide we have known—among “Christians.” They called themselves reached Christians; we called them that, too. Now, on the other side of that nightmare, Christian leaders among them say that they had the Bible before the genocide but they did not live according to it, they had the name Christian, but no one had ever taught them what that meant. Another has said that the nominal Christianity that existed before the genocide was bankrupt, useless, and mere whitewash.

Yes, we must reach the people in this world who have never heard the gospel; there is absolutely no hope for them without it, and we must do so as quickly as we can. But, we must also remember that Jesus has commissioned us not merely to reach them, but to make disciples and teach them all that He has commanded us. When Jesus gave the instructions in Acts 1:8 to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world, He was not giving us a geographic model. That is, He was not saying to win everyone in Jerusalem first, then move on to Judea, and then Samaria, and when everybody is won and discipled, then move on to the rest of the world. You would never finish the work in your hometown. Rather, He was saying that we should be His witnesses everywhere always. When He gave the Great Commission, He was not saying to go to the ends of the earth with the gospel, then go back and make disciples, and then go back to teach them all that He has commanded. He has told us to do His will by doing it all. That will slow us down, but the sluggish pace should haunt us and spur us on to send more workers, give more, pray to the Lord of the harvest with more fervency but not reduce the marching orders to what can be done more quickly.

There should be no dichotomy between search and harvest, as if one is more biblical than the other, as if one is essential, crucial, imperative, and urgent while the other is the next step, less important, or for when we have the luxury of time. Reaching the unreached is an absolute necessity and unquestionably the Christ-given task of the church. Teaching the reached is its twin duty—equal in importance, urgency, and biblical origin. Some will be called and equipped by God to emphasize reaching, others will be called and equipped by God to disciple and teach, but we should all do both as much as we can and value both as we go. Reaching and teaching is the task of missions.

SBC Great Commission Resurgence

2010-03-11T23:19:00.012-05:00

My daily Bible study has had me in Numbers for the last week or so. It is always interesting to see how the Lord takes seemingly unrelated passages and uses them to speak to me about my life and the world around me. As I study about the exodus from Egypt and the miraculous story of God’s deliverance, I marvel that the delivered ones whine and gripe so much – and even doubt His provision and love for them. I shake my head, smiling in amazement -- until I realize that I am reading about me, and the way that I typically react to my contemporary parallels. As the Israelites wandered through the wilderness, they came to a crucial moment for them to fulfill God’s command by entering and taking the Promised Land. This would be a blessing to them as they would finally live in a land flowing with milk and honey, but God would also bless them for being obedient to His desires and demands, then came Kadesh Barnea.

In Numbers 13:1-24, we see that when the Israelites arrived at Kadesh Barnea they sent spies in to research the land, to determine whether the people were strong or weak, whether they were many or few, whether the land was good or bad, whether there were trees, and whether they lived in camps or fortified cities.

In Numbers 13:25-14:12, the Bible says that when the spies returned, the majority of them gave a bad report and frightened the rest into rebellious inactivity. They had reached the destination for the wandering tribes, and then refused to take the land. They preferred the known comfort of wilderness wanderings and even outright disobedience to the word of God than to risk the radical changes and threats that taking the land might bring. God said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” (14:11)

The people of Israel sinned in two ways. First, in their rebellion, they refused to take the land as God said; second, they attempted to take it in their own strength and in their own way. (14:39-45) Refusing the water that God provides and digging our own wells against His will are both sinful. Sadly, we see that their sin brought judgment and death; all of that generation died in the wilderness. The advance of the kingdom had to wait for a new generation before they finally went in to take the land. The generation that received the first command to take it, failed to do so. God let them all die in the wilderness and He waited to use another generation who would do His will. (26:63-64)

I recently spoke with a Baptist brother while I was teaching in another country. This godly man has been an “SBC-observer” for many years. He asked me how the convention in the USA was doing. I gave him the most glowing report I could honestly give. He listened respectfully and then remarked, “As I have watched SBC developments unfold for a few decades, it seems to me that Southern Baptists have lost their way. They seem to be wandering. There are indeed some leaders, but each one is shouting for the others to follow him, gathering his own loyal followers.” His voice trailed off as he did not want to venture into disrespect, but the silence hung in the air over our meal. He meant that the common goal of the Great Commission that once defined us has been pushed to the periphery.

God has very clearly called all believers to the Great Commission. We are to preach the gospel to every person, make disciples of all people groups, teach them everything Jesus commanded us, plant New Testament churches, and train biblically qualified leaders. These commands are not optional. The zeal and emphasis to glorify God among the nations, rescue the perishing, and make disciples of every people once defined Southern Baptists; but the surge spent itself and is ebbing. Some have argued for resurgence, and countless others have shouted AMEN!

This June, we come to a decisive moment as a convention, and it will be, in a very real sense, our Kadesh Barnea. What will we decide? Will this generation choose to take the land as He has commanded, or will we continue to prefer our comfort zone of wilderness wanderings? Will the taking of the land have to wait for a future generation that finally chooses to obey?

In Numbers 14:20-23, we see that there is no doubt about the fact that God will indeed bring His will to pass. He says in 14:21, “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.” The prophecy of Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” is absolutely certain. The nations will be glad! (Psalm 67:4; Matt 24:14)

O may we be the generation that stands to fight, and goes forth in His name, for His glory to the salvation of the nations. Do it through us. Begin with me.

Missionaries Are My Heroes

2010-02-15T17:11:00.014-05:00

Joselito Orellana

Missionaries are my heroes, godly men and women working as hard as anyone at home, but doing so in other languages, suffering homesickness, culture shock, and unstable governments, leaving the comforts of home to live amidst persecution, tropical diseases, and violence, compelled by the love of Christ and His missionary call. Missionaries follow the Lord’s calling on their lives, faithfully employing their unique gifts in the places where He calls them to serve. They increasingly must devise creative access to the countries closing their doors to missionaries every year, balancing ethical concerns with gospel need. I am thankful for mission agencies and missionaries who are aggressively engaging unreached, unengaged, and uncontacted people groups that are often in the most gospel-hostile parts of the world. I am equally thankful for mission agencies and missionaries continuing to disciple, teach, and minister in other fields.

I would like to introduce you to a missionary who is the real deal, a godly man who denies himself to serve the Lord faithfully every single day. Anyone who has followed my ministry in Ecuador has heard the name Joselito Orellana, but many of you do not know that much about him. Joselito was a young pastor and seminary professor during my tenure in Ecuador and the woman who became his wife was one of my seminary students. Joselito and Anita are two of the most faithful Christian servants I know.

Joselito grew up in a rural tropical area on the western slopes of Ecuador’s Andes, the son of a humble carpenter, and came to know and love Jesus as a child. He is the product of the ministry of faithful Baptist missionaries who taught him to love God and His Word. He holds these missionaries in the highest esteem to this day, and although his theological education now surpasses theirs, he still considers them as his spiritual parents and mentors. Joselito was blessed to attend the Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary during what he calls the “golden age” in Ecuador, when there was a wonderful facility, degreed faculty, a student body, dorm life, and thorough training for ministers of the gospel. After graduation, Joselito continued to take advantage of every educational opportunity he could find, earning several masters degrees and even a PhD along the way.

When my family left Ecuador, he became the new Rector of the Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary in addition to holding a fulltime job and pastoring a local church. As he assumed new roles in ministry, he quickly saw that his job as chaplain at a missionary hospital, a much-coveted position for Ecuadorian pastors who often work without pay, would prevent him from fulfilling the work God was calling him to do. He and Anita prayed it through, and then he resigned his chaplaincy so they would be free to step out in faith as full-time missionaries to serve as God led them. This would be terrifying to anyone reasoning in the flesh. The rectorship of the seminary does not pay any salary. He has never been to the USA to speak in churches and raise support as most missionaries do, and the Ecuadorian economy makes it virtually impossible for churches or their members to help. Still, God so led, and they were faithful to follow.

An English proverb states “the cream rises to the top,” meaning that quality is recognized no matter what the situation. That is certainly the case for Joselito. While many aspiring writers cobble together proposals and lobby countless publishers vainly trying to get their work in print, Spanish publishers come to Joselito. He has been asked to write commentaries and the study notes for a Study Bible and he has provided excellent resources for the Hispanic church. With his degrees and resume, he could find a job that pays him enough to provide for his family and enjoy an easier life, but God continues to provide ministry opportunities to help meet the staggering needs that he sees on a daily basis, and he cannot walk away.

Some things you would never know about Joselito from a casual conversation are humbling and convicting to me. For instance, from the meager support that he receives, he and Anita help local pastors and believers in times of crisis. When cancer cut short his sister’s life a few years ago, he invited her daughter to live with he and Anita and their three daughters. She is older than his girls and is a precious girl whom anyone would be proud to have as a daughter, but it certainly adds a new dynamic to a struggling family with a full house already. Her brother is deaf and must attend a special school, so Joselito and Anita help with him as much as they can and welcome him into their small home when he has breaks from school. His mother-in-law lives on the coast and is suffering from brain cancer, requiring Anita to travel back and forth on the buses alone to care for her when necessary, while he stays home with the family and assumes the responsibilities of both parents. His 92- year-old dad just passed away after a long healthy life (he went to the doctor for the first time in his life when he was 82!). Sadly, the last few months of his life were horrendous months of acute illness requiring hospitalization and major operations. Joselito had to care for him through this and then make the arrangements when he died, amidst his own grieving and all the other responsibilities he has.

As far as I have ever heard from Joselito, these duties are pure joy, not a burden in any way. The only burdens he mentions are the angst he feels not being able to provide for his family as he desires and the strain of so many who plead for pastoral training that keep him running nonstop—and never gaining on it. In addition to serving as the seminary rector and co-pastor of one of Quito’s largest Baptist churches, he spends his days training poor and indigenous pastors, serving Ecuador’s churches with countless workshops, counseling young families, and writing. I also see the heavy weight he feels holding such a high view of Scripture and oftentimes being the lone voice defending the Baptist and biblical position on issues that are developing in his ministry context—issues regarding ecclesiology, women as senior pastors, and corrupt leadership in some situations. In many ways, he has his own downgrade controversy, and standing firm takes a toll.

I admire Joselito and Anita so much for their faithfulness to God’s calling on their lives, especially when he could easily escape the pressures by chucking it all and taking some ministry position out of the fray with manageable parameters. But the calls keep coming, and he keeps answering, trusting that God will provide the energy, resources, finances, and strength to do all He desires.

Joselito and Anita are missionary heroes, serving through Global Outreach International, daily toiling away in anonymity, buried in obscurity, making do with very little, and serving the lowest and least. They exemplify those who are faithful to the great commission, obeying the great commandments, and serving with great compassion.

If you are a “pray-er,” will you commit to pray for Joselito and Anita? Why not write to tell him that you will be? That would be such an encouragement to him.

If you are a “sender,” will you pray about supporting them financially? Why not send them some financial assistance? No amount is too small to be of great help to them.

If you are a “goer,” will you go with me on a trip to serve with them for a week or two and help him teach those humble pastors who are pleading for help to know and do the will of God? Write me and let me know if you are willing to go.

Read about Joselito's Commentary
Read Joselito's blog
Contact Global Outreach to support Joselito

Helping in Haiti

2010-01-16T13:47:00.012-05:00

The news out of Haiti is staggering. I repeatedly find myself watching the nightmarish scenes unfold, mouth agape, eyes brimming with tears, often realizing that I haven’t breathed for seconds at a time. The eleven year old girl being rescued from the rubble after two days, perishing from her severe injuries and inadequate medical care, having uttered the final words, “Mommy, don’t let me die,” will haunt every parent’s thoughts forever as they recall this tragedy. We saw her trapped and then rescued because the world’s eyes and television cameras are fixed on Haiti. They should be; this is the worst natural disaster to hit this poorest nation in the western hemisphere in 200 years and tens of thousands of lives hang in the balance. In fact, humanly speaking, the world’s attention is what gives hope to many Haitians and many in the watching world.

Not only is the world watching and responding, the Church is watching and responding. Many missionaries who have been faithfully serving Christ by serving in Haiti in virtual anonymity, often buried in obscurity are providentially strategically placed to lead and assist in the rescue and relief. In addition, their mission agencies and countless others are rallying human and financial resources to help them help the victims in Haiti.

The current and former U.S. presidents have promised that the USA will respond. Other nations are responding. Christians of every stripe and denomination are responding. Southern Baptist churches and their International Mission Board are responding. Mission agencies and NGO’s around the world are responding. The world has seen the disaster and the resulting nightmare and is focused upon it, promising and delivering desperately needed help. I am committed to lead our Great Commission Center at SBTS to respond in any and every appropriate way. God allowed SBTS and the GCC to be used in the tsunami and hurricane Katrina relief efforts, and our administration, faculty, staff, and students are looking to Haiti now, wondering when, how, and how much we can help.

I would love to lead an organization of kingdom-minded, radically committed, sin hating, God fearing missionaries involved reaching and teaching the peoples of the world for Christ's sake that would also be prepared and designed to respond at a moment’s notice to times of crisis and need in times like these. As all of us are watching events unfold in Haiti our hearts are breaking and our arms are aching. We want to help. This is as it should be. God will work this out for His glory and for the good of His people. I pray that it results in an out-pouring of His Spirit and an awakening among the Haitians. I pray that while the watching world witnesses it the awakening will spread to every corner of His globe.

But, if you can believe it, there is a sadder reality than what we see on the television and Internet news. Right now, the world is blinded to most of the horror and tragedy in this world and the next. Most people only consider what their eyes can see and the news cameras record. Unfortunately, the secular media informs the church’s worldview instead of vice-versa. Yes, we are all grieving over the mind-numbing horror that in one day perhaps as many as 50,000 people died in Haiti’s earthquake. And while our sorrow and shock is appropriate, I am at least thankful that it is motivating many to go help, and give, and rescue, and pray—many helping others for the first time.

I pray that the church will open its eyes to a broader truth that is even more staggering. Every day the same number of people in lands that have little or no access to the gospel message die and go into a Christless eternity. 50,000 the day before yesterday, 50,000 yesterday, 50,000 today, 50,000 tomorrow, 50,000 the day after tomorrow, and so on until the Church sees the horror and hears His Great Commission call to go, give, rescue, and pray. Our task is to do so until the church and glory of Christ expand around the globe and the knowledge of the Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.

The Valley of Vision devotional prayer book records a Puritan prayer that ends, “Let us live out of the world as to its spirit, maxim, manners, but live in it as the sphere of our action and usefulness; may we be alive to every call of duty, accepting without question thy determination of our circumstances and our service.” Another prayer includes, “Grant me to rest on thy power and faithfulness, and to know that there are two things worth living for: to further thy cause in the world, and to do good to the bodies and souls of men; this is my ministry, my life, my prayer, my end. Grant me grace that I shall not fail.” Amen.

Church, Haiti needs our aid. It is time for action. Go! Give! Rescue! Pray! Your divinely guided circumstances in God’s providence will help you discern which to do for Haiti’s need right now. Discern it and do it with all your might to His glory. And then, lift your eyes to the horizon. There is a world where another 50,000 will perish today. Go! Give! Rescue! Pray!

post-earthquake photos from CNN

Ecuador, Quichuas, and SBTS Students. . . It doesn’t get any better than this.

2009-12-24T15:13:00.017-05:00

I told someone half jesting and half joking last week that I was headed to Ecuador with twenty of Southern Seminary’s finest, but it turned out to be an accurate description of one of the best teams I have ever led. We arrived in Ecuador late Saturday night carrying our suitcases, 110 pounds of SS books for a church I used to pastor, and a starter for a local pastor’s truck. We arrived late that night for a short night’s sleep at a hostal I have trusted dozens of times. After church and lunch on Sunday we returned to get our bags at the hostal and headed to Camp Chacauco a few hours south.

When we unpacked our bags on arrival we discovered that someone at the hostal in Quito had gone through our bags and stolen a number of items including a digital camera. However, no one on the team let it upset them and ruin the week. During the week, we went to the indigenous community where my family and I worked when we lived there. The team was made up of students who had studied Communication in Oral Cultures with me during the semester. They had chosen and crafted stories based on the Quichua worldview that told the Bible’s redemptive narrative from Creation to the Cross. We divided into two teams and went into two Quichua villages each night for the students to tell their stories through an interpreter. Some of our hearers were completely oral while others were able to read a little; some were believers and others were not. However, even among those who could read a little was one man who thanked the team for telling stories. He said that they hear the weekly sermons but don’t always understand them. The stories helped him to understand and remember the Bible. At the end of the week we were able to give small bags of candies and cookies to the 150 Quichua kids in the two villages—the only Christmas present they will receive.

We are thankful for Global Outreach missionaries Steve and Carol Thompson who run the camp where we stayed. They have a wonderful staff that cared for us (thanks Esteban!), fed us (thanks Rosa!), chauffeured us (thanks Gilbert!), and arranged for plenty of activities between storying sessions. One of those in particular was a great blessing for me. We went down to Shell where Nate and Marg Saint lived before Nate was martyred along with Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Ed McCulley, and Pete Fleming. We were able to go into and tour the Saint home. It was very emotional to stand in the kitchen where the widows sat to hear the details of their husband’s deaths. MAF has also maintained the radio room where Marg stayed in contact with Nate as he flew his missions of mercy around the Ecuadorian Oriente. To think that the men and women whose story was used to change the trajectory of my life once stood, prayed, laughed, and fellowshipped in this very home was quite frankly overwhelming to me.

Another great blessing of this trip was to have my daughter with me. Being one of the students in the class this semester, she came along to fulfill her field practicum project of storying in an indigenous oral community. She also was coming home since she spent a lot of her growing up years in Ambato and Quito. I was so proud of her as she shared her story in her Ecuadorian-accented Spanish and heard folks marvel that she didn’t speak like a gringa. While she missed folks back in the USA—one in particular!—she really enjoyed the week back “home.” I really enjoyed being there with her since Dads never know how long daughters her age will be at home. Hiking the waterfall trails together, reacquainting ourselves with the country’s beauty, eating the national foods, and seeing Ecuadorian mountains and friends that were a part of her childhood gave me great joy and even a sense of closure and rightness.

The SBTS team was great. There is usually one who is homesick and whines about it, hates the food and doesn’t mind offending the nationals who sacrificed to make it, complains about the schedule, or refuses to mix with the nationals. But, not on this team. Everyone pulled their weight and more. Even in the midst of a virus that made its way through the ranks, we loved and ministered to each other, and plodded on. On the final night in the village, after the team was served the traditional Quichua meal of potatoes, corn, haba beans, cheese, and guinea pigs, one of the nationals walked down the table to inspect their plates. I smiled at the astonished look on his face when he saw that they had actually eaten it. He asked me if I had told them they had to eat it all. I told him I had only said that it was important to eat what you could. He was amazed and amused since most USA teams turn their noses up at eating a household pet served with the feet still on; I was thankful for my students and proud of them.

When we returned to Quito, I went back to the hostal where our belongings had been stolen. I did not think it would do any good, but I felt the need to do so. After a fairly animated confrontation in which the manager and owner refused to accept either responsibility or the reality that the thefts had occurred in their hostal, we left to stay elsewhere. He had offered us a reduced rate as remuneration for lost items after I explained we would need a police report for insurance purposes and would have to tell other groups about our experience there. When I refused to accept, he offered a free night for us if we would drop it and keep quiet, but I had lost confidence in them and their staff and could not place my team’s safety in their hands after all that had happened. When we checked into another hostal where we had reserved enough rooms to accommodate our group, we learned that it was owned by the same man and shared the same staff with the other. “Great,” I thought. I briefly entertained the idea of deducting our losses from the final bill at checkout time– or at least stopping up the plumbing in our rooms before we left (Relax, I would never do that . . . probably.) In fact, I was already wondering whether my disagreement with the management had been a poor testimony.

However, after our return to the USA, I got an email from my Ecuadorian friend Joselito Orellana telling me that the hostal manager had called him and apologized profusely. He even thanked us for the confrontation. It had caused him to investigate and find not only the “negative element” on their staff, but also the stolen items. He dismissed the thief and is returning our stuff by mail—including the digital camera. Joselito knew it was mine because it only had two pictures on it. One was a picture I had taken of my daughter; the other picture was of the thief. He had apparently taken his own picture to test whether the camera worked. The manager also sent me a letter explaining both his embarrassment and how this had shaken him. He thanked us for our Christian attitude at both hostals where we stayed and said that this had caused him to examine his own life and soul’s condition. He said he realizes that he needs to return to the Lord and get his life right. I realized afresh how God is able to redeem people and situations in ways that we never imagine or expect.

I am thankful for my team, Camp Chacauco, MAF in Shell, the communities of Apátug and Angahuana Alto, and my daughter for a memorable trip. But I am mostly thankful to God for His indescribable Gift whose incarnation we celebrate tomorrow – and how He constantly works through even me.

Postman's Body Syndrome

2009-11-14T10:04:00.007-05:00

I heard not long ago that the average American citizen gains eight pounds over the holidays, but then loses only about four of them. That adds up over the years, leaving a lot of us wishing we could lose some of that weight. We know that if we could stop snacking and eat only at appointed mealtimes we might start to lose some of those unwanted pounds. If we should get serious about it and add about five miles of walking every day, we could really drop the weight. But, what about people who do both things, but don’t seem to lose weight?

I read an article in a running magazine about mail carriers whose jobs require them to follow this regimen but who are still overweight. They called it the postman’s body syndrome. The explanation for the phenomenon is that our bodies become very efficient at performing repetitive tasks. The amount of effort that our bodies expend in the beginning of an exercise program diminishes as we get in shape. The article was explaining why runners must change their routines, get out of their comfort zones, and challenge their endurance levels if they want to continue setting personal records and improving overall fitness. The runner who logs four miles every day on the same course can initially get in good shape, but then actually lose some of his fitness over time instead of continuing to lose weight, increase aerobic endurance, or build muscle.

I see the spiritual equivalent of this principle regularly – in me and in some around me. When a new believer begins to grow in Christ and practices spiritual disciplines, pursues godliness, and seeks to deny himself for Christ and His kingdom, great personal changes and advances are made. Yet after a while, these disciplines become such a part of his daily routine that very little effort is required to maintain them. In fact, it may be more of a bother to him when he misses them for some schedule-wrecking reason. His life’s comfort zone now includes prayer, Bible reading, and wearing outward Christianity wherever he goes.

Over time, the absence of any true exertion, challenge, self-denial, and fresh experience with Christ yields a spiritually flabby, easily winded disciple. This helps explain why we may be a little disappointed when we meet one of our Christian heroes. Perhaps there was a time when they led the charge, won great battles, shut the mouths of lions, or opened some mission field, but they have coasted since then. I think Paul saw the danger when he wrote, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” Philippians 3:13-16

When a Bible college or seminary professor is rude, when a pastor sins, or when a trusted friend who discipled you acts hypocritically, be patient and pray for them. In many cases, they sacrificed and served with radical commitment to Christ’s causes, and people idolized them and put them on a pedestal. They started to believe the wonderful things people said about them—as if they made it happen. They now find great comfort being around people who confirm what they had suspected all along—that they are specially gifted, choice servants that God has given the world. The difficulty is that there is much truth in what people say about them, but they have done it so well for so long that it requires little effort to keep the plate spinning on top of the stick. And so they coast.

I pray that I will never be satisfied with the spiritual equivalent of eating only at appointed mealtimes and carrying a mailbag four or five miles a day. I want to advance in godliness, pursue holiness, and develop spiritual fitness. I don’t want to rest merely in having attained what is admirable to those who are just beginning their race. And, to the degree that I have already done so, I repent. Pray for me, as I will for you.

Pray for the Persecuted Church

2009-11-08T08:20:00.010-05:00

This time of year, many evangelical churches turn their attention to the international mission fields. There are several reasons for this renewal of missions awareness. Southern Baptists begin to promote and receive donations for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and send every penny of it to their international missionaries. This is also the time of year that US citizens begin to think of charitable donations on their annual tax returns and giving to missionaries before the year ends. In addition, November 8 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church and we remember that some people are truly suffering for Christ today.

The Southern Church is growing and as it does so, light is shining into some dark places. The devil hates the advance of the gospel into areas that he has kept blinded for so long and so he fights hard to resist it. Yet, the gates of hell cannot prevail against the onslaughts of those who storm them in Jesus’ name. But, the hard-won advance comes at a high price. A missionary who serves in North Africa told me that as far as he knows, every Muslim he has won to the Lord has been martyred. He also told me that in one North African country the life expectancy of a new believer is forty-five days. This is not news to the new believers; they know that this is a possible outcome when they pray to receive Christ.

We hear such reports and we are sobered. We shake our heads in wonder and horror that such could be the case. Our mission agencies seek strategies and methodologies to protect their missionaries and the new converts. We do so because we live in such luxury, security, and ease that suffering for Jesus sake is virtually inconceivable. We react with grief to news of martyrdom as if it were an unforeseen, unimaginable tragedy.

We apparently have forgotten that Paul told Timothy, “In fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Or that Jesus Himself said, “In the world you will have tribulation.” We haven’t time to rehearse all the passages that describe how God’s people throughout the Bible suffered for being His. Yet our lives are so isolated from the New Testament expectations for Christianity that when we see others faithfully serving and suffering for it, we tend to think that they brought it on themselves for being so radical. Hebrews 10 commends those who stood with the suffering believers during their hour of persecution. May we join the ranks of the suffering – or the ranks of those who identify with those who do – however the Lord chooses.

There is a great tragedy in suffering, tribulation, and persecution for Christ’s sake. However, the tragedy is not what we normally think it is. The greatest tragedy of suffering, tribulation, and persecution for Christ is that we are strangers to it. “In fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Memorial Day- September 21, 2009

2009-09-22T18:16:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was one of those travel days you hope to avoid, and once you’re in the middle of one, you hope to forget it as soon as possible. At least it started out that way. I was trying to fly through Atlanta to make it home to see my bride and catch a bit of sleep before an early class today. My first indication of plans gone awry was the long lines and grumbling passengers when I arrived at the tiny but congested airport where I began my journey homeward. Terrific thunderstorms around the country coupled with resulting flooding in Atlanta had canceled my flight, but I was able to get rebooked on the 1:00 PM Atlanta flight- which left at 6:00 PM! I arrived in Atlanta after a kidney-punching flight and walked into an airport that resembled a scene from a made-for-TV disaster movie. Of course, all outbound flights were delayed for hours and while we waited, I slipped into my anthropologist role to study the people.

Five young men who would be flying to Louisville with me really caught my eye. They seemed both nervous and excited as they met and became friends, and with just cause, as they had just enlisted in the Army and were on their way to basic training and their military careers. I remember those days of Air Force basic training with all of its emotions and trials. Their young lives were about to radically change. At last, we all boarded and, while the atmosphere was thick with the tension of road-weary travelers, everyone behaved and kept their sanctification. Some even joked good-naturedly to ease the stress of those around them although no one could manage more than a slight smile at the effort.

Just before we pushed back from the gate, the captain came into the passenger cabin and informed us that our plane was carrying a fallen soldier home. He explained that the military escort was on the plane with us and said, “I know that you are tired and that this has been a long and trying day for all of you. However, I would like to ask that when we get to the gate in Louisville, if you would be so kind, please allow the escort to leave the plane first so he can deliver the body to the waiting military detail on the tarmac for a short ceremony.” Everyone seemed stunned and sobered by the news. No one spoke. Suddenly, in the time it took the captain to speak those words, our terrible travel experiences were put in perspective. All of the frivolity of returning vacationers, stress of tired passengers, and timetables of business people paled into insignificance. Below us in the plane was the body of a man who had gone into harm’s way and died serving our country.

The total and tacit agreement of respect was obvious and demonstrated as no one moved when the arrival chime sounded the clearance for us to gather carry-on bags and leave the plane. The escort left to fulfill his duty and responsibility, and then we began to deplane. As we did so, we noticed that the ramp outside was illuminated by a dozen patrol vehicles with their lights flashing, flanked by uniformed police officers standing at attention. One by one, the disembarking passengers stopped and gathered at the terminal’s glass wall to watch and “participate” in the ceremony to honor this fallen hero. The military detail marched to the plane to receive the flag-draped casket and then marched away to a respectful distance as two private vehicles drove up bearing family and friends. Our hearts were in our throats as we watched the family approach the casket that waited in darkness on the ramp. They reached up and placed their hands on it. Some reached hands under the flag, as if to get as close as they could. I wondered whether denial made them want to open it to prove that some horrible mistake of identity had occurred. I could not help but imagine the last time they would have seen him—all smiles and excitement as he was deployed. I wonder whether he suspected he might come home this way. I also wondered what the new recruits who were just beginning their military careers must have been thinking—surely this would not be the first time they considered this as a possibility. All of us have read news accounts of the many soldiers earning our freedom who came home this way.

Still, when you see it in the middle of the night, in the middle of an airport, amid the normally racing and rushing crowd now in seeming suspended animation, it shakes you. When you hear your heart pounding and breaking for a man and a family you never knew, in a vacuum of profound silence that you are sharing with yet other strangers in such an unplanned and unforeseen somber gathering, it grips you. It reorders your priorities. It reminds you of what is important.

We watched the precise and formal military detail complete their duties to receive this fallen soldier with the honor that he deserved . . . that he earned. Some rough and tough-as-nails-types watched with hearts full and eyes brimming. Others wept. Others waited until we got home.

When the hearse door was closed, we began to disperse . . . one by one. The move to go home was not en masse, but one at a time. It seemed that each one was praying before they left, or making a mental note about something important, or remembering a promise they thought they would never forget. Unfortunately, this kind of ceremony and the receiving of a loved one’s earthly remains happen often, but this seemed unique somehow. Surely, it was not just I who felt that God was near and moving. We went home, but not the same. We had each been changed by what we witnessed.

September 21 did not start out to be Memorial Day, but it was.

To all of you who are serving our country and willingly stepping into harm’s way for our sake, Thank You.

To all of you who have sent your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, and moms and dads, Thank You.

And, to those of you who have received your precious one back in such a solemn ceremony, and now pass the days remembering, Thank You.

It may not help, but I promise to remember, too.

Great Commission Resurgence

2009-09-16T20:52:00.019-04:00

An advertisement for Ligonier Academy in Table Talk magazine reports that 16,000 pastors leave the ministry every year. Is that a staggering statistic to you, too? In addition to the ones who leave the ministry, think about the number of men who are forced out of churches, or those who remain but are burned- out while serving them. So many men have lost their focus or they serve in churches that have. This same phenomenon occurs in missions and denominational ministry as well. Some missionaries, and often the administrators who serve them, are tired of ministering in gospel-hostile places or of trying to convince others of the wisdom of a course of action. Some find themselves in poorly defined ministries with fuzzy objectives, yet taking the heat for not producing as others expect, and it is taking its toll. It might be funny in the comic strip Dilbert but it’s not in ministry.

We Southern Baptists are praying for the Great Commission Resurgence in our churches. We are praying for those on the task force whom we have charged with finding a way for us to be more faithful to the commission Christ has given us. Frankly, we all see that with the passage of time the structure of our convention is at best dysfunctional in some aspects and counter-productive to stated goals in others. An air of cautious excitement is blowing. We wonder whether we dare to hope that under God and by His blessing, our combined numbers, dollars, and efforts could cooperate to reach and teach the nations, as we should. I am one who dares to so hope and believe that the prompting for this renewed emphasis has a divine origin. The changes that will allow us to be more faithful to the Great Commission in the USA and the world will not be minor. Almost certainly, the changes brought by time will inform the way we divide tithes and offerings, organize ourselves by state and/or associational structures, and even organize our mission boards. I am not suggesting here what those changes should be, only that they seem inevitable.

In recent days, I have noticed an element that I had not sufficiently understood and appreciated in my zeal for needed change. It is patently obvious, and most of you are surely ahead of me in this. I have thought more of the ministers and families who are hanging on tenterhooks. While I believe that the resurgence and the changes it will require are essential and must be carried out, I am praying for many men and their families as well. I am praying for the families who know that Dad’s job is tentative at best. Many also know that Dad is at a point in his career when another ministry hiring him is not as likely as it once was, and that the current economic situation in our country only exacerbates their concerns.

Sadly, some talk about the changes saying, “It is time that the fruitless tree gets the axe.” Is it possible that the lack of fruit is due to the poorly defined ministry objectives they were given, or more likely, the fact that they are ministering in systems and structures that are no longer pertinent or viable in our times? Indeed, this is the very argument we are making to change them.

Of course, I am not arguing against the Great Commission Resurgence, rather I am arguing and praying for it. I am praying for its success and God’s blessing on those who seek to facilitate it. I am simply calling us to be sensitive to and pray for all those in state conventions or mission boards who have lost their jobs in these times or whose livelihoods are threatened by changes that are sure to come. Imagine the burden that the provider feels to not only meet the threat, but also to guard himself and his family from the root of bitterness toward those who threaten. This burden seems too heavy for them to bear alone, so the Word tells us to “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal. 6:2

I pray that the inevitable changes will not cause a spike in the 16,000 who leave the ministry annually. I hope it doesn’t sound too Pollyanna to say that I pray we can find places of ministry for those serving in positions that are changed or eliminated. I pray that God will show us how to incorporate every soldier into the effort – perhaps with new divisions, new deployments, and new leaders, or changes I cannot even imagine – but with us all still together for the glory of Christ and the advance of His kingdom.

Tweet Tweet

2009-08-13T08:01:00.013-04:00

Who is the most godly Christian you know? Do you know anyone whom the New Testament would commend as an example for twenty-first century Christians? Is it one of those we consider to be the Christian superstars? Nope, not for me either. Although we are told to imitate Christ, it seems that some modern Evangelicals have exchanged the biblical expectations and guidelines for their own – even as they judge the secular world for having done the same. Consider Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Suffering Servant, our Teacher and Model for this life and the next. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and also the meekest example of humility and holiness. Can you honestly imagine Him walking the talk of many modern ministry-heavyweight-wannabe’s?

Like many of you, I reluctantly entered into the world of virtual social networking, primarily swayed by the argument that it would be a good way to stay in touch with friends and family. However, reading the Facebook updates and Twitter tweets that inundate the web through the day makes me suspect that their primary purpose is self promotion. Increasing numbers of Christians seem to be in a race to plaster their names across the Internet along with any clever thoughts that pop into their heads during the day. Does anyone really believe that these men just spontaneously decide to tweet or update that their wife is the greatest thing since night baseball, makes the best tacos, is a Supermom, or is a Proverbs 31 woman? Especially when they sound so remarkably similar to other tweets that just appeared from their colleagues? Perhaps I am just suspicious by nature, but I wonder whom they are really trying to convince or impress? I mean, honestly.

If we really concentrate, we might possibly be able to imagine a world where it would be okay to let our closest friends and family members know what we are eating tonight, what we are listening to, or relate something funny that we just saw. But many of the nervous Twitterers and frequent Facebookers have thousands of people in their networks. Could there be a crowd of several thousand people that really needs to know whether or not you are going to make this flight and how you feel about that, or what you and your wife will do on your date-night this week? Don’t get me wrong, I think we need to celebrate the achievements of our brothers and sisters, even beyond our close friends and family, and give honor and congratulations to the deserving. But where is the Christian virtue of humility?

Someone has said that humility is not thinking less of yourself, just thinking of yourself less. Enter Twitter and Facebook. Humility used to guide believers to wait and let others praise them and not do it themselves. The heroes of yesteryear who reluctantly received the crowd’s adulation have been replaced with shameless personal promoters who peddle their self-made brand to as many as possible by all means possible—under the guise of social networking. I will admit that these folks seem to be larger than life superstars with all the news that’s fit to tweet, if it’s all true, but seriously, all this genuflecting is making my pants baggy.

It seems that many of them have begun to believe their press clippings and book blurbs. It seems that many followers and “friends” have been sucked in, too. Recently, a ministry super leader tweeted about a speech he had made and folks began to chime in to congratulate him on his wisdom, citing sound bites from “his” speech that were well-known quotations from past Christian leaders. Sadly, there was no correction of the mistaken attribution. The only sounds were the echoing accolades, “one greater than Moses is among us.”

Even sadder is the growing number of young men and women who are wannabe’s. They actually seek counsel regarding how they can create and promote their personal brand. One young student recently asked me how often and what topics of his life he should tweet. Really?

Remember Jesus? I have tried to imagine Jesus tweeting and sending Facebook updates like many that I see.

“Just healed a blind man.”

“Lunching today with chief tax man in Jericho @Zacchaeus.”

“Walked on water this evening, disciples amazed I could calm a storm. lol.”

“Fed 5,000 men and their families with a boy’s lunch today.”

“Washed the disciples feet. Being intentional to exercise and model humility.”

“Check my reviews from the crowds last Friday. #Jerusalem”

Yet again, I see the vast gap between what I know about me and what I know about Jesus. I too have occasionally fallen into the pattern of tweeting every thought that flitted through my head and shared good news that was really more of a way to brag about how great or show how clever I am. I hope that the painfully slow progressive sanctification of my life has reached a level where I can put that to death and edify others, glorify Christ, and seek first His kingdom and righteousness.

He's Here, but I'm Not. I'm Here and Not There.

2009-07-14T18:59:00.008-04:00

I am in Iqaluit, Nunavut near the Arctic Circle in Canada leading an ethnographic research team from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. A NAMB missionary to Prince Edward Island has come with us for the week and he tells me that this is the very first Southern Baptist witness and intentional ministry effort in Nunavut. Nunavut was carved out of the Northwest Territory about ten years ago and represents about a fifth of the land mass of Canada, although it has only 29,300 people in an area the size of Western Europe. It is also home to the Inuit people, who were traditionally known as the Eskimos. I have a great interest in indigenous peoples and animism, and this place is ground zero for studying both. Much of what we know about animism was learned from the shamanism of this part of the world. You would think that I would be about as excited as I could get, but something even more exciting is going on elsewhere.

Sunday night, July 12 at 10:23, a red-haired, blue-eyed, 7 pound 12 ounce, 20 inch baby boy was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His name is Abraham Michael Sills and he is my first grandchild. It was hard to be here and not there to welcome him when he arrived. But being here and away from all the excitement and high fives also gave me sanctuary. I spent time in prayer and the Scriptures waiting for emails to come through giving me updates along the way. What a thrill it was to finally get the message from my daughter that he was here and healthy and beautiful. Bittersweet does not begin to express the emotions of the joy and pain.

I pray that God will bless him, keep him, save him in His perfect time, and use him mightily to advance the kingdom. I also pray that this week will be used by God to begin a work here that will swell to awakening throughout the Inuit people and beyond. Please join me in praying for both.

Waiting for Abraham

2009-07-10T13:04:00.013-04:00

As is true in all aspects of life, blessings are bittersweet. So many new believers who rejoiced in their salvation have also reflected sadly on the family members who have died without Christ. Job promotions with pay raises often come with responsibilities that keep Dad from home as much as he was before. Young men who make the football team realize that it comes with two-a-day practices in the heat of the year. And the greatest blessings parents have are their children, who also bring pain and a strain along the way. My career allows me to influence pastors, missionaries, churches, and non-Christians all over the world. I get to travel to places that most people only dream about, but it also keeps me away from home more than I would choose.

Right now, I am about to pack for another trip. This time it is to Nunavut, Canada in the Inuit country of the far northeast. It will be the first Southern Baptist excursion into the territory. Iqaluit is almost to the Arctic Circle—a place where polar bears hunt people and where the true Eskimo people live (although the people prefer Inuit to Eskimo).

As fun as all that sounds, much bittersweet comes with it. My son and daughter-in-law are expecting my first grandchild, Abraham Michael. Although he is officially due the day I return, he could come any day now. I pray that he will wait until his Papi gets back, but I pray even more that his Mom will be safe and healthy and that Abraham will be normal and perfect—and that he will arrive to us in God’s perfect time, no matter what day that happens to be. Please pray with me that all will go well. I assure you that I will be with them in hourly prayer no matter where I am geographically, but how sweet it would be to be there when he comes.

Pray for the team I am taking, pray for Christopher and Carol, and pray for young Abraham.

Short Term Missions

2009-06-01T19:20:00.004-04:00

I just returned from leading orientation for 100 IMB summer missionaries. These young people will be serving throughout the Peruvian Andes to extend the footprint of the IMB presence in Peru, represent their churches, and glorify God by extending His kingdom. While our orientation covered issues such as the worldview of oral cultures, spiritual warfare, Andean animism, and syncretism, the theme of the week was the missionary call.

Virtually every student there indicated a desire to surrender to completely God’s will. But they were also uncertain what that would look like. When I asked these radically committed young people how many knew that God had called them to serve as an overseas missionary and live in another country the rest of their career, only one or two raised their hands. Increasingly, young people see short-term missions as a viable option in their lives. I regularly hear young people expressing a desire to go for only a couple of years. Is that okay?

Two truths are at work in the answer. One, there is no substitution for the career field missionary. The missionary who knows the language, culture, laws, customs, worldview, and churches and testimonies of local believers is an essential and invaluable resource for short term missionaries. Two, short term missionaries are like the sunrise; it is going to happen every day until Jesus comes back whether you like it or not. Rather than debate about whether short term missionaries are the best utilization of human and financial resources, we need to strategize how best to employ them.

God educates short term missionaries and exposes them to cultures and worldviews in ways that would have been impossible in their home contexts. This exposure is often how God begins to reveal to them His missionary call on their lives. The late Ralph Winter said, “God cannot lead you based on information you do not have.” The information gained on short term missions experiences guides some to career service on foreign fields, others to return to the USA to pastor missions-minded churches, and still others to ministries mobilizing the church for missions.

As I point out in The Missionary Call, there is no biblical example of career missionary service if that means going to serve in one place for the rest of one’s life; rather the missionary call is dynamic and always developing. But I strongly affirm the wise stewardship of the career missionary model. Several of our seminary presidents have challenged their students to consider short term missions—especially while young and less encumbered. At least one well-known church in our convention encourages their high school grads to spend a year on the mission field before college. In this way, young people can see and consider the claims of Christ in their lives before their adult years and responsibilities begin to cloud their vision. Of course, this is also a legitimate way to serve Christ in itself. While the missionary call is a life-long call, the guidance for fulfilling that call may lead to the field for a time, to the pastorate, to a missions minister position, to missions mobilization, or to being a prayer warrior for missions.

I was so encouraged by the character and commitment of the summer missionaries that I met in Peru last week. I am also thankful for the SBC, IMB, and their missionaries to Peru who make short term missions possible for all these summer workers. I hope that they will keep the flame of missions zeal at a white hot fever pitch all of their lives, no matter where and how God leads them to fulfill it.

Reclaiming Contextualization

2009-05-12T10:32:00.011-04:00

New missionaries often struggle to communicate God’s Word faithfully to other cultures—or at least they should. Some cultures have seven primary colors, others recognize only four, and some only have the ideas of shiny and dull. Given these realities, how would you translate Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” in a culture that doesn’t have scarlet, white, red, snow or wool? Which word best describes Jesus going to Emmaus, or Jesus walking on water in Zulu which has 120 words for walking? The Malagasy-speaking peoples of Madagascar distinguish over 200 kinds of noises and recognize over 100 colors. One missionary in the Congo consistently used a phrase for “crying out” to describe John the Baptist or the Old Testament prophets until one day he discovered that this referred to the kind of crying that little babies did in their cribs. We must acknowledge that faithfully rendering God’s Word in another culture and language is not an easy task.

Preachers and missionaries must continually strive to communicate the gospel so their hearers may understand the message and embrace Christ as their only hope of salvation. Effective gospel communicators take into consideration their cultural context, especially when preaching to the unreached or unchurched. Today, a controversial debate, pitting brother against brother, is brewing, and threatens to boil over. John MacArthur, Phil Johnson, and others speak of contextualization negatively and believe that it obscures the gospel. Mark Driscoll and others advocate what they call contextualization as the only way to make the gospel relative to people today. Unfortunately, the rhetoric swirls around the use of foul language and sexual references in the pulpit. The result is an inaccurate use of the term contextualization that threatens this essential tool of Christian communicators.

When someone argues that Paul never contextualized the gospel and so they do not either, it is obvious that someone has redefined the term contextualization. They have labeled the other extreme’s use of foul language or sexual themes in sermons as contextualization, and have thrown the baby out with the bath water. The reality is that these very detractors contextualize every Sunday. They preach in English, not Greek or Hebrew, they wear suits and ties, not robes or togas, and they illustrate their sermons with modern life, not from daily life of ancient biblical times. If we forbid contextualization as a threat to the gospel, we will be allowing ourselves the luxury of having something that our hearers may never have—a gospel that they can understand. When detractors of contextualization travel, even then they “contextualize” by eating available local foods, using the national currency, or driving on the left hand side of the road. When they preach or teach those with lower levels of academic attainment, they simplify the same sermon that they preached to a more advanced congregation back home. The problem is not the practice of contextualization; it is a misunderstanding of what the word means.

Some mistakenly believe that contextualization means making Christianity look just like the culture. However, contextualization is simply the process of making the gospel understood. The only reason to utilize filthy language or to reference explicit sexual behavior would be if the local culture communicated used filthy language in every conversation so much that no message would make sense without it. Television programs without such language would require subtitles for them, as they would not understand the message without filthy language and sexual anecdotes. Of course, this is not the case. In fact, much of what many call contextualization is simply an effort to be trendy and edgy. It may be effective, it may attract a hearing, it may not be offensive to the hearers, but that is not contextualization; that is marketing.

When these brothers are invited to preach in a traditional church or conference where all the other preachers wear coats and ties, they often refuse to “fit in” and insist on T-shirts, jeans, flip flops or sneakers. They hope to communicate that they are not “your dad’s old preacher” but rather they are in step with the culture. However, several truths are at work here. While suits and ties are not biblical, in certain venues they communicate respect for God’s Word and God’s presence. In another cultural context, a guayabera shirt could do the same, or even the casual clothes that they prefer. However, when they wear inappropriate clothing in another’s worship context, they communicate the opposite and seem disrespectful. When they utilize what many consider filthy language in their home ministries, they may make a case that it is the most appropriate and effective. However, when they communicate in a national forum—print or preaching—they are no longer in their home context and such language is inappropriate. It should not surprise them that it is both offensive and ineffective.

What kind of language and ministry communicates respect for God’s Word, recognizes His presence, and honors Him in how we worship? In one culture, suits and ties may be necessary while in another Hawaiian shirts may communicate the same. Among Anabaptist brethren, beards may be seen as essential for godly men. However, they must make some adjustment when contextualizing the gospel among many indigenous people who cannot grow facial hair. Some Christian traditions prefer to worship God by singing metrical psalms, but their missionaries must make adjustments or risk communicating that this is the only way to worship God.

Both sides of this burgeoning debate have sound theology, but they are presenting it in radically different ways. One defends controversial methods by citing the need to contextualize. The other responds by saying that contextualization is not only unnecessary, it is offensive, dishonoring to God, and brings reproach on biblical ministry. Sadly, none of the players in this ongoing, very public debate seems to understand the term. The resulting controversy and side-taking has led many to agree with their favorite in the fight and to embrace irresponsible “contextualization” or to reject the notion of contextualization altogether.

Paul wrote in Romans 10:13-15 that all who call on the Lord may be saved and then went on to ask a series of questions that point out the importance of hearing the gospel for salvation. Ultimately, he asked, “How shall they hear?” It would be pointless to preach the gospel in English to monolingual Mandarin speakers. Instead, we must preach the gospel in culturally appropriate ways that are faithful to God’s Word.

Years ago, another controversy surrounded this idea of contextualization. One camp argued that the local cultures should be allowed to determine what the content of the gospel should be and what Christianity should look like. The other side rightly argued that the Bible speaks to all cultures and is over them—informing all cultures and informed by none. No culture may change the gospel or any biblical instruction because they think it would be culturally preferable to do so. Yet, effective gospel communicators must take into account the target culture as they preach the gospel.

Because no missionary or preacher would ever want to change the gospel message in any way, many shrink back from the hard work of contextualization. However, if you do not contextualize, you are doing just that—changing the gospel. You become a modern-day Judaizer. You are in effect telling your hearers that they must become like you to be saved. While we do not want to remove the skandalon of the gospel, we do not want to add to the gospel our extrabiblical requirements. I have written elsewhere of a humble, illiterate indigenous believer in Peru who feared for her salvation because she had always been taught that literacy was required for church membership. She equated this with salvation and believed that her inability to read would send her to hell when she died.

When missionaries, and preachers, seek to contextualize the gospel, they may wonder how far is far enough and how far is too far. Paul gives us those guidelines. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 that he made adjustments in every lawful way so as to relate the gospel to his hearers in ways they could understand. He also gave the parameters in verse 23 where he wrote, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel.” The glory of God and reverence for His revelation should guide us in the limits of contextualization so that we never say or do anything that would bring reproach on Him or alter the gospel message. The goal of contextualization is to be culturally relevant and faithful to God’s Word.

Cultural relativism is another misunderstood term that helps us understand the process of contextualization. When secular anthropologists study cultures, they often see them as silos, distinct from others and as a universe in themselves. With such a mindset, they say that the culture that kills the second twin is not committing murder if the culture does not see it as such. This perspective is often called cultural relativism since these secular anthropologists believe that no culture can be fairly compared to another. Obviously, Christians do not embrace such nonsense; there is a God who has clearly communicated what is sin and what is not in every culture—no matter what the local culture may think.

However, in the extrabiblical matters, those aspects of life that God does not address with moral import, we have freedom. All things being equal, it is not more or less sinful to live in a house made of wood, bricks, bamboo, or mud. Nor does it matter to God whether we wear leather shoes, tennis shoes, wooden shoes, or no shoes. We can enter other cultures and communicate the gospel in ways that they can readily understand, making the adjustments that are necessary for them to “hear it”—especially regarding extrabiblical matters. Aspects that missionaries should contextualize include language, music style, musical instruments, and clothing style. Contextualization adjusts extrabiblical aspects in response to the culture; the message never changes.

The term glocalization refers to the ways that multinational corporations carry on the same business in many countries but with subtly nuanced changes. McDonalds still sells hamburgers in Malaysia but the girls behind the counter wear their little paper hats on top of their head-coverings and they call their product “beefburgers,” not hamburgers, to avoid offending the Muslims who would never eat ham. We don’t eat ham on our burgers either, but the culturally offensive name prevents Muslims from getting near enough to find that out. It is the exact same product but clothed in a culturally sensitive form. Contextualization is essential, not simply trendy or stylish, and it does not water down Christ’s message.

Critical contextualization provides the needed balance. On one hand, failure to contextualize at all adds extrabiblical requirements to salvation. On the other hand, allowing the culture to contextualize with no theological or biblical limits results in syncretism and aberrant expressions of Christianity. Preaching the gospel to people with a pagan worldview results in confusion. Preaching John 3:16 to a people who worship a tree or stars or ancestors with no biblical understanding of sin may result in a show of hands at the invitation, but they will not have understood the gospel and need for Christ.

Many missionaries provide a biblical worldview by teaching the grand narrative of God’s revelation through chronological Bible story telling. Some detractors of contextualization believe that we need only preach the gospel as we do back “home,” and this will be sufficient. However, in matriarchal societies, for instance, the mother is the most important figure. Women run the home, serve as rulers, and inherit from their female family members. If the father is even known, he is viewed as a biological necessity and not as an important person in life. When there is an important male figure, it will be the mother’s brother. How will we present the gospel here? Without studying to know the culture to contextualize the gospel, a sermon on God the Father would leave the hearers with a deficient view of God. In such cases, should we allow the culture to contextualize at will and preach God the Mother? Or, should we strike a compromise and preach God the Uncle? Of course, none of these would result in a biblical understanding of the gospel. The missionary preacher who has studied the culture must recognize the challenges and teach the culture the biblical view of God as Father. While such a practice flies in the face of modern anthropology, it is the biblical approach to properly contextualizing the gospel and Christianity among a people.

This is where the hermeneutical community brings the needed balance. As the believers in a culture have come to know the Lord, they join the preacher in studying the Bible to know how to contextualize it among them. Too many missionaries in the past have gone to both extremes, allowing sinful behaviors or forbidding neutral practices in cultures they did not understand. The discipled nationals can see sin that the missionary is unaware of and may never see, and they bring this cultural knowledge to the table. The theologically educated missionary can bring the parameters that 2,000 years of theological and biblical reflection provide—the fence around the process. Together the missionaries and the discipled nationals will find God-honoring, biblically faithful, and culturally appropriate expressions of Christianity for the culture. When studying a passage of Scripture, and how it comes to bear on a cultural practice, the hermeneutical community will see areas needing change and find functional substitutes to address the needs.

A truth in human interaction is “you cannot not communicate.” This awkward construction emphasizes that all our messages are interpreted and assigned meanings by the receiver. Failure to consider the local worldview and culture results in miscommunication. This is easily seen when a missionary asks a Hindu if he wants to be born again or have eternal life. The Hindu believes that he is trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnations and wants to cease his endless rebirths. The Hindu spurns the missionary’s invitation and he chalks it up to a hard heart. In fact, the hearer was interpreting the missionary’s message in a culture and worldview that the missionary did not take into account. To effectively communicate among culturally diverse others, we must learn their cultures and contextualize the gospel among them.

When the preacher or missionary does not understand the culture, language, or rules of the game in a society, his presentation of the gospel is often offensive for all the wrong reasons. When hearers reject the cultural misfit who does not understand them or their cultural heritage, they also reject the gospel without even knowing it.

The current debate between dear brothers in Christ—each of whom is defending what he believes to be the responsible approach to preaching the gospel—could be left for them to sort out since it need not involve us. However, the debate has grown beyond their two camps and is not happening in a corner; increasing numbers are listening, choosing sides, and shaping their own ministries to mimic their chosen champion. Undoubtedly, the edgy language proponents push the limits of preaching and influence demographic segments of the USA population that desperately need the gospel while the other side wants to preserve the sanctity of the gospel and pulpit ministry.

An East African proverb states, “When two elephants fight, the grass gets hurt.” Similarly, there are potential victims in this current struggle that are at risk, and we dare not overlook the danger. One is the pure gospel message. I am not arguing for the merits of presenting the gospel by using what my Bible-belt upbringing would call foul and filthy language. Neither am I jumping on a bandwagon going to the other extreme and pretending that the way I preach the gospel and what I wear when I do so ought to be fine for the entire world. My concern is presenting the gospel in culturally sensitive ways that are faithful to God’s Word. When the gospel is offensive for the wrong reasons, many people will reject it without ever hearing and understanding it. Another potential victim is the unity that Christ called us to maintain. Jesus said that this testimony of unity would proclaim to the world that the Father sent Him and loves us. (John 17:23) A final potential victim is the missiological method of critical contextualization. Preachers and missionaries must present the gospel in culturally appropriate ways or people will never understand the gospel message Christ sent us to proclaim.

As I taught on the exclusivity of the gospel in the Andean community of San Agustín, the elderly brother who invited me asked about his parents and grandparents. He explained that they believed in traditional religions and the syncretism of animism with Catholicism. Although their small village did not have a priest, one would come once a year or so to perform a mass. He told me that everything was in Latin and that his parents did not even speak Spanish, much less Latin. Then he asked me what happened to his parents when they died. “Where did they go?” I humbly explained that as I understand God’s Word, they did not go to heaven if they had not heard the gospel and been born again. He thought for a moment and responded, “I believe that those priests will have a lot to answer for one day.” I felt so superior and vindicated until God brought to my mind on my drive back home how many times I had preached the gospel in ways that made sense to me with little thought as to how well the people were understanding my message.

Of course, we must contextualize the gospel message so that our hearers can properly understand it. Shame on us if we ever debate that. The current debate may be over marketing techniques but let us never sacrifice the necessity of critical contextualization.

A Stream of Missional Consciousness

2009-04-26T08:04:00.017-04:00

What’s in a name? New words and terminologies arise with increasing frequency these days. Five years ago, the word blog was a typo. Words, especially new words, are necessary tools of communication in a changing world. Every discipline must have a taxonomy that it uses to share ideas. The field of law is filled with legalese, both terms that date back centuries and those that are new. The worlds of music and medicine each have specific terms that enable communication and education. Missions is no different. However, the field of missiology is comparatively new and is as rapidly changing and developing as the world that it addresses. It is likely that the global dynamics characterizing our lives this month will be considered historical trends before they are fully developed. Globalization pushes the world toward a global village mentality even though it retains its mosaic of cultures. The burgeoning urbanization of the world creates many other challenges facing missionaries today. Not only are these dynamics more prevalent, they are constantly morphing. Moreover, the principle of acceleration means that information overload is an increasing threat to missionaries’ sanity—or what passes for sanity! Although the world of missions races to keep up, some terms simply cannot keep pace.

Someone has said, “Words do not have meaning, they have usage.” Learning the terminology utilized by practitioners in any ever-changing field is like trying to nail Jell-o to the wall. Consider the word cross-cultural. Years ago, we used this term to refer to crossing from one culture into another, whether that was a missionary or an idea. As the field continued to develop, missiologists needed terms of greater precision. Intercultural was coined to refer to interaction between cultures, and cross-cultural referred to those aspects that cross cultural lines, i.e. found in many cultures. For instance, a mother’s love for her children is a cross-cultural truth, but I participate in intercultural ministry when I reach out to the Quichua people. Confusion reigns where some use these terms synonymously. As missiology continues to develop, change, and subdivide in a world that is itself constantly changing, it is not surprising to see new words appear along the way.

One word that has been awkward throughout the years is the word missionary. Is it an adjective? Most Baptist churches prefer to describe themselves as missions-minded rather than missionary, because Missionary Baptist is a distinct Baptist denomination. Or, is it a noun referring to the one engaging interculturally in gospel ministry? In more gospel hostile parts of the world, some, who formerly would have gone by the term missionary, prefer “Christian worker.” Other times, “Christian worker” is preferred to avoid the negative, extra-biblical baggage that the word “missionary” connotes. What is the verb form of missionary, “to mish?” Whether due to its age, awkwardness, or negative baggage, the word missionary seems to be out among the trendsetters in the “hip”-set, and the new word missional is all the rage.

Missional is certainly not a new term, but the trendy use of it is. We once spoke of a missionary as one who was sent out by a missions-minded church to go to other cultures and do missions. (I still like that, but I have my own age, awkwardness, and negative baggage.) Those days are apparently long gone. Now, Christian workers go out from missional churches to engage in intercultural ministry—or something similar. In past years, some used the term missioner for the noun for missionary and missional to connote the adjectival form of missionary. Today, these usages are out of vogue but missional is back in. So, what does it mean? It depends on whom you ask.

Some have written in-depth, explanatory treatments of the proper understanding and use of the term missional to define precisely what they understand the term to mean, but it continues to mean different things to different people. Emotionally-charged labels, like liberal, are defined by the labelers and where they stand on the conservative to moderate continuum. Just as with countless other words in the English language whose meaning and usage change with time, missional is also a word that can be used verbally or adjectivally. For instance, some words like paint or glue can be verbs or nouns. Other words, such as hit, can be nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The missional madness is closely related to the endless emersions of emerging and emergent as a noun, verb, and adjective. I mean, really.

I do wonder what some of these “churches” emerged out of and whether they intend to remerge. Of course, it could also be that emerging emergents never actually emerged, as I understand the word. In fact, it could also be that emerging is a noun. I mean, a “church” could be an “emerging” in the same that my children are “birthings.” Where does it end? Or, does it ever end? From all I can tell, for the most part, many missional emergents, are theologically sound evangelicals. They love the Lord and His people, seek to advance His kingdom and bring glory to His name in the USA and around the world. I am not disparaging them; I only wish that their dictionary would settle down and that all of them would read it. However, other missional emergents define the church in terms that the New Testament would never recognize. The terms missional and emergent seem to mean everything and nothing, are defined nowhere, and are readily understood by those who are “really with it.” The emperor has new clothes.

When missionaries need new terms to communicate clearly, for the proclamation of the gospel, and the advance of Christ’s kingdom, we should coin them and embrace them. However, when some desire trendy, “hip” jargon simply to distance themselves from old-school missionaries who thought that tattoos were tribal markings and piercings were what jungle tribes sometimes did to missionaries, I hesitate to jump on the bandwagon. Call me a late adopter, but I am still thankful for missionaries who reach and teach the people groups of the world, proclaiming the gospel, planting churches, and teaching the Bible.

Axioms For A Great Commission Resurgence- Acts 1:4-8

2009-04-16T16:32:00.018-04:00

By: Daniel L. Akin, President
SEBTS- Wake Forest, NC
From the April 16, 2009 Chapel Message

I. We must commit ourselves to the total and absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of our lives (Col 3:16, 17, 23-24).

II. We must be gospel centered in all our endeavors for the glory of God (Rom 1:16).

III. We must take our stand on the firm foundation of the inerrant and infallible Word of God affirming it’s sufficiency in all matters (Matt 5:17-18; John 10:35; 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

IV. We must devote ourselves to a radical pursuit of the Great Commission in the context of obeying the Great Commandments (Matt 28:16-20; 22:37-40).

V. We must affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as a healthy and sufficient guide for building a theological consensus for partnership in the gospel, refusing to be sidetracked by theological agendas that distract us from our Lord’s Commission (1 Tim 6:3-4).

VI. We must dedicate ourselves to a passionate pursuit of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus across our nation and to all nations answering the call to go, disciple, baptize and teach all that the Lord commanded (Matt 28:16-20; Acts 1:8; Rom 1:5; 15:20).

VII. We must covenant to build gospel saturated homes that see children as a gift from God and as our first and primary mission field (Deut 6:1-9; Psalm 127; 128; Eph 6:4).

VIII. We must recognize the need to rethink our Convention structure and identity so that we maximize our energy and resources for the fulfilling of the Great Commission (1 Cor 10:31).

IX. We must see the necessity for pastors to be faithful Bible preachers who teach us both the content of the Scriptures and the theology embedded in the Scriptures (2 Tim 4:1-5).

X. We must encourage pastors to see themselves as the head of a gospel missions agency who will lead the way in calling out the called for international assignments but also equip and train all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of where they live (Eph 4:11-16).

XI. We must pledge ourselves to a renewed cooperation that is gospel centered and built around a biblical and theological core and not methodological consensus or agreement (Phil 2:1-5; 4:2-9).

XII. We must accept our constant need to humble ourselves and repent of pride, arrogance, jealousy, hatred, contentions, lying, selfish ambitions, laziness, complacency, idolatries and other sins of the flesh; pleading with our Lord to do what only He can do in us and through us and all for His glory (Gal 5:22-26; James 4:1-10).

(visit Dr. Akin's website to download the audio, sermon manuscript, or powerpoint)

Amen. Thank you, Dr. Akin.

Spring Break 2009- Ecuador

2009-04-09T21:29:00.017-04:00

I just returned from a trip to Calderón, Ecuador. My wife and I took a short-term mission team from Ninth & O Baptist Church, Louisville, KY to minister there during Spring Break. One of the greatest blessings of the trip was being able to take my daughter-in-law Carol and my grandson Abraham. He wasn’t able to enjoy the trip in the same way as the rest of us since he is not born yet, but at least he didn’t have to stress about luggage and where to sit on the plane.

It is always wonderful to be back in Ecuador, and this time was no different. We worked with a small mission that we helped to plant last July. They now have a place to meet and many in the community are beginning to attend regularly. We taught the believers New Testament classes, focusing on the “I Am” sayings of Jesus in John’s Gospel and the timeline and significant events of Holy Week. We also taught them about Mormons and protecting the flock from cults. It was great to see them begin to grow and to show them how God’s Word speaks so clearly to their lives. We held evangelistic services in the evenings with praise and worship led by our brother Joselito. Some team members walked around the community inviting people to come to the services while others conducted a medical clinic. The children’s ministry touched our hearts as always, and on the last day, we were able to give out Samaritan’s Purse shoeboxes filled with gifts sent from believers in the USA.

We also went into Quito and ministered in the Women’s prison one day. It was so sad to see that many babies and little children must live there with their imprisoned moms since there is nowhere else for them to go.

The spiritual needs in Ecuador are vast and overwhelming when considering the task with human eyes. As we walked around our mission’s community and lifted our eyes to the houses packing the hillsides in all directions, we were saddened to hear Joselito explain that there is no evangelical work in this area. So many people need to hear the gospel and those who have heard need churches and trained leaders to teach them. Even our burgeoning little mission in the rapidly growing area outside the capital city holds challenges for those of us who long to see a healthy New Testament church there. Who will pastor this work and disciple the believers? Sadly, this is not a solitary situation. We went up on top of Pichincha volcano and had a breathtaking 13,500 feet above sea-level bird’s eye view of the city sprawling through the valley below. As we looked down on Quito with its 2 million people, we were sobered to think that there are very few evangelical churches, and many have no pastor.

One day we drove up to Otavalo and toured the countryside of Imbabura province. While we reflected on the natural beauty there, Joselito remarked once again about the dearth of evangelical work and witness. Ecuador boasts some of the most beautiful country in the world, peopled with some of the most beautiful people, yet they sit in darkness, steeped in ChristiAnimism and superstition. The cults are eating away at the soft underbelly of their animistic fears, easily ensnaring them in hell-bound systems of lies. Most of you reading this blog could go and teach and never come to the point of exhausting all you know about the Bible to ready and willing listeners.

On the last day of the children’s Bible club, we gave out Samaritan’s Purse Christmas shoeboxes. We were a little frustrated to learn that $1.00 had to be paid for each box since the brother in charge of distributing them throughout the country was forced to reroute trucks all over due to highway problems. Still, the kids’ reaction was worth the effort and expense. The kids were so thrilled to get the shoeboxes and many wrote thank-you notes. One little girl named Stefany wrote a note for me to send “to the United States.” It said, “Thank you for this gift. I am six years old and I like the gift that you sent very much. I live at this address . . .” At this point, she drew a picture of the street where she lives and where her little house is located on it. Her simple request and note captures the essence of her naïve innocence and the way she sees the world.

During the activities and worship, I looked around the tent we were using for a sanctuary at all of the children’s faces. Even through their smiles and singing, you could tell that many of them had already suffered some of the horrors that this fallen world offers. I could not help but reflect on the hard life that awaits most of them, even in the best-case scenarios of harsh poverty. I also thought about Stefany’s note with her address being a simple map showing the house where she lived. I wonder, what kind of map will she draw for where she lives one hundred years from now . . . or a million years . . . or a billion years? Will it be a house on a street paved with gold or in the fires of hell, amidst unutterable suffering? If she is in glory with most of the people who read blogs like this, will she be there because you went to tell her about Jesus or sent others who could? If she is in hell, will it be because you did not? Do not hide behind the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. No one believes that doctrine more strongly than I do, but He has chosen to use means, and we are those means. He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” There’s the command. Jesus tells us where to go and what to do. You have the map to her house; I’ll meet you there.

No Mere Mortals

2009-03-13T17:43:00.012-04:00

As I teach Cultural Anthropology and Intercultural Communication to students, missionaries, and missionary candidates, I always stress the interface of the discipline with the Great Commission. Along the pathway of learning about other cultures and worldviews, students learn a lot about their own home culture. I repeatedly remind them to consider the “in-group” they belong to and what it has taught them to think about all of the “out-groups” in the world. In essence, how do they see other people? The scripts your “in-group” taught you to use in everyday life situations subconsciously color all you think, do, and say to others. This is why some believers who are well on their way in many areas of their progressive sanctification can still act like snobs and jerks to others in lower social or economic stations of life, and be totally unaware that they are doing so.

Anthropologists have devised systems for categorizing the cultures of the world. In the same way that we might describe a person as an extrovert or introvert, as a poet or an engineer, or as an optimist or pessimist in order to give another person a general idea of their personality, we can also use terms to describe cultures. Most systems for describing cultures use a series of continua and refer to aspects such as clock-conscious or event conscious, direct or indirect communicators, crisis or non-crisis oriented, etc. Cultures will be placed somewhere along the continuum so that the outsider can understand how the general population tends to be. Of course, individuals in each culture will be more or less in line with each general descriptor. Another anthropologist has described the cultures of the world as linear-actives (Westerners), multi-actives (Hispanics), and reactives (Asians). This author has placed all the cultures of the world along the legs of the triangle formed by these three as they are more or less in between two of the corners. It is a very helpful model for people to see the general “culturality” of other people groups or countries.

Yet, another anthropologist divided the world according to the ways cultures view other people. In this approach, they divide cultures by how those cultures view others. Think of your own experience. You are going on an exotic cruise. Along the way, the ship docks and allows you and the other passengers to go ashore and see the sights, hike the land, and buy your trinkets. How do you view the indigenous nationals of those lands? This system teaches that we tend to view people as landscape, machines, or individuals capable of relationships. Of the three, of course, seeing people as people would be the most Christian. Yet some look upon the nationals, wearing their native dress and going about their culturally appropriate daily activities, as simply part of the landscape– mountains, huts, rickshaws, unintelligible writing on the signs, and people. Others see people as machines; there are waiters to give me what I want to eat, hotel clerks to give me a room with a bed, and store clerks who dispense what I want to buy. Some cultures in the world see people as individuals who have feelings, preferences, values, languages, religions, worldviews . . . and worth. In the business world, the three cultures can be seen easily. Landscape cultures do not see the workers, only the company; the people who work there simply play their part in harmony with the rest. Machine cultures see workers as valuable but only to the degree that they can perform; if a new computer system or technology leaves a 60 year old worker behind, he is expendable, dismissed and a newer model is brought in to do the job. People cultures see the workers more as children in a big family who are to be cared for according to their individual preferences, abilities, and unique contributions. I know, it’s sloppy; but which would be more in line with the New Testament’s ethical teachings?

How do you view (and treat) the people you encounter on a daily basis? Do you see right through them? Is he simply the guy who gives you the cup of coffee and takes your money? Do you view people as personal labor saving devices like a washing machine, car, or computer? Or do you see them as individuals made in the image of God—either born again and striving after sanctification just like you, or as lost as you once were and in desperate need of the gospel?

C.S. Lewis wrote, “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.” C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Please allow me to use this forum, as public as it is, to apologize and ask your forgiveness for ever treating you as a mere mortal. I also pray that we will grow in Christlikeness to see in each other, not what is, but what can be, and will be. And, I pray that we will be like Paul who confessed, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

I hope that when I see you next, I will see you differently. I pray that I will view you and treat you here, as I will when we meet There, and that my first concern with unknown folks will not be how they treat me, but how I can serve Christ by how I treat them. Grace, mercy, and peace to you.

A World of Believers

2009-02-28T11:46:00.005-05:00

I hear these questions a lot. In the middle of a very sincere conversation at a church, conference, or after a seminary class, the questioner will assume a very serious, matter of fact tone and ask a question like: What’s your most memorable missions experience? What is the weirdest thing you have ever eaten? What is your favorite country to visit? What is the most beautiful place you have ever been? What’s your favorite Bible verse? All of these are great questions. It’s too bad none of them have an answer. I think I could answer for an hour on any one of the questions by qualifying dozens of answers to every single question and explaining why each one of them is the superlative response depending on a hundred different things.

Folks sometimes seem shocked when I cannot answer right away, or at least they suspect I’m not as smart as they were led to believe! Of course, I am seriously flattered that anyone would care what my answers are to those questions. I recognize that it is evidence that the Lord has given me a platform to speak for international missions in a lot of places. The problem is that there are so many possible answers—and each one is vividly etched in my memory. I have been to some beautiful places (and I have been some places where I made sure I left nothing behind so I wouldn’t have to return anytime soon.)

The more I think about it, though, I think I will be ready the next time someone asks me what is it that never fails to amaze me. I have seen some very strange sights in my travels, encountered some bizarre customs, and enjoyed God’s richest blessings all over His world. However, the recurrent experience that causes me to pause and marvel wherever I go in this world is the kindness and warmth of fellow believers.

Pastors always ask me to bring a word of greeting or even preach when they learn that I am a visiting believer. Families rearrange their lives to provide a bed, a meal, or a ride to the next stop on my journey. On jungle trips, Christian villages have provided platforms for sleeping above the jungle floor (where bad things can happen to good people), food, fishing, and fellowship. In Africa, I was protected and fed like a king. In Nepal, I was welcomed into a family circle and treated like a long lost cousin.

I love both asking and getting the question, “So, brother, how did you come to know the Lord?” The fellowship that we share creates a bond that supersedes politics, language, or cultural barriers. After many years of traveling the world meeting so many brothers and sisters, and learning hundreds of names in dozens of countries, the faces begin to blur together in my memory. I think that’s because the light of Christ is the same wherever you find it. I pray that I will always shine that light and that I will always be ready to offer hospitality without grumbling, as our brother Peter exhorted us.

I am in the airport right now in Mexico City. On the way here, I was trying to maneuver the conversation with the taxi driver to a place where I could share the gospel. After hearing about my wife, kids, career, and all that God has done for me, he asked, “So how did you come to follow the Lord?” How cool is that?

It's What Really Matters

2009-01-20T11:30:00.013-05:00

It was snowing when we left church Sunday night, not a heavy snowstorm, just a light snow in very cold temps. Since the next day was a holiday, I decided to get up and head to the squirrel woods before daylight. The woods were deafeningly quiet as they always are with snow on the ground. I parked my truck, put three shells in my gun, and walked below the power lines 100 yards or so before I turned into the woods. I cradled my gun in the crook of my arm and just contented myself with enjoying the beauty of God’s creation as I slowly meandered through the newly decorated trees.

After half a mile or so, I was surprised to come upon a cemetery right in the middle of the woods. The dates on the headstones all pre-dated the War of Northern Aggression. I stood beside one that simply said, “Abner Collins, born 1800, died 1846.” I wondered what kind of life he had lived. What had brought about his death at 46 years of age? Who had been standing around this open grave at the ceremony 163 years ago? Was it an accident on a farm, a feud between landowners, or a sickness that snuffed out his life? Was he a believer who is now enjoying the bliss of heaven, or has he been in torment for over a century and a half of earthly years now… with eternity still to go? Did family and friends love him and mourn his passing? Did he have a wife and children? How did they make out after his death? How did he? I know these are silly questions for a man to ponder the middle of a snowy wood in freezing weather. Still, my mind tends to work that way.

As I walked on and left Abner Collins’ earthly remains to continue in peace, whether he is or not, I soon came upon a manmade earth entrenchment. We have a lot of those in Mississippi in and around the battlefields from the 1860s. I wondered whether these might be the same, and then remembered where I was. I thought about that great struggle between brothers in our country all those years ago, as I have so many times, and I sighed heavily to think of the tens of thousands who died.

The events of this world cause us such angst, righteous indignation, and embittered frustration when we see evil triumph. When we see thousands or millions murdered for being in the way of someone more powerful, we grieve. There are so many wrongs, from our Evangelical perspective, that are not only allowed, but reveled in and celebrated in our day. Two things are certain: one, they will continue and increase; and two, those who bring them about will give an answer to the One before Whom all things are uncovered and laid bare.

I read recently that in the thirteenth century Cardinal Bonaventure taught the Catholic church of his day to replace the word Lord with Our Lady in the reading of the Psalms, thus asking the same of Mary that David did of God. I imagine that this must have caused angst and anfechtung in the hearts of many for a couple of centuries before any lasting push back could be accomplished. Yet, here we are today reading the Psalms the way they were written and intended to be read.

Bonaventure’s heretical readings of God’s Word are marveled at by godly people, but thankfully, they are not followed. All of the pain and suffering, loss of freedom, rights, and property that so many suffered in Uncivil War are in the past. All of the daily worries, concerns, and struggles that Abner Collins may have suffered are no longer any concern to him. The only thing that matters to him now is the only thing that should matter to us now. At the end of it all, our primary concern should be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. He is the sovereign Ruler of His universe, and that includes every detail in it.

Events happening in our day may cause righteous hearts to wince and grieve. Indeed, may our hearts always break with the things that break the heart of God. Yet, let us leave those things in God’s hands and do what falls to us—to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness—and all other things will fall into their place. When we feel powerless and those with other agendas are more powerful, let us rest in the One who is all-powerful. Let us get as close to Jesus as we can get and stay there.

No matter where Abner wound up, I can assure you that this would be his admonishment to every one of us. It’s what really matters.

This is Our Version of It

2008-12-06T19:55:00.016-05:00

When we arrived in Ecuador, we were pleasantly surprised to find that some US brands had arrived before we did. One familiar sight on the grocery store shelves was the Nabisco label. I grew up across the street from a Nabisco salesman who was always passing along sample boxes and bags of their treats, so this seemed to be a welcome and delicious stroke of providence. The problem was that everything that the local Nabisco Company made tasted like ginger snaps. I suppose that would be great if you liked ginger snaps, but me… not so much. The company had arrived with the products, packaging, and marketing strategy, and then left the Ecuadorians on their own. I mean, how hard could it be?

The same thing has happened around the world with other products; automobiles, Coca-Cola, Doritos, mattresses, jeans, running shoes, etc. In fact, virtually every product found in the West and desired by the rest found itself knocked off in record time. Unfortunately, the quality control gurus must have been considered superfluous non-essentials.

I remember when my first mission trip to Ecuador was over and we were back in a nice hotel in the major coastal city the night before we flew home. I wandered down to the hotel’s café and sat at the counter. I picked up the menu and began to peruse the offerings, painfully aware of my hunger and the fact that I could not read or speak Spanish. The great thing about this menu was that it had pictures. I pointed to the banana split and sat back in eager anticipation. The sad thing about this menu was that it had been merely copied from some menu in the States. No one knew how to make the “banana split” concoction I had just ordered. However, thanks to their ingenuity and desire to please, the waiter soon brought my dessert. While it resembled the picture in the menu, I was shocked and disappointed when I found out that the whipped cream had been replaced by sour cream. I mean, really. This story and others become humorous with the passage of time and we could multiply them by the thousands through the experiences of other international travelers.

Humorous or not, they are testimonies of human ingenuity, resourcefulness, and the desire to render a local version of the “real thing.” Sometimes, the imitation is out of pure necessity because the genuine article is not accessible or the quality is unattainable. Consumers may bewail their misfortune and complain about the local fare, but there is an even sadder truth behind this reality. Oftentimes, the products arrived with well-meaning salesmen who hoped to create a desire and demand for ongoing sales of the original. But, the nationals could not, or would not, afford to do that or they preferred a local variation of the original. The result is what we find there today.

So it is with many national churches. The missionaries arrived with a wonderful church that resembled their home churches. In the midst of bamboo huts or mud houses the missionaries built red brick church buildings with bricks brought in from the capital. They had pews made of forest mahogany, imported stained glass windows, and brought a piano or pump organ to accompany hymns translated from the home church hymnal. Sunday School began at 9:30 and the worship service at 11:00. A little sign behind the pulpit announced how many were in Sunday School and brought their Bible. The missionaries meant well. The problem is that they brought potted plants instead of the pure seed of the gospel to plant in the soil of the target culture.

Unable to attain such a level of church buildings, or the seminary trained missionary-pastors, and the Western-style organization and leadership, the nationals have made their own version. Local ingredients were added to replace more expensive imported components, and often, local tastes rather than quality control determined the resulting product. There was no guided critical contextualization, merely indigenization without concern for content.At first, missionaries were pleased to see the nationals developing their own forms of church that were not dependent on missionary outsiders. How pleasing it was to drive around the country and see the little Baptist Church signs on buildings in the villages. Even more encouraging was the fact that they seemed to be proliferating on their own. Finally, the missionaries thought, they had fulfilled their goal of introducing Evangelical Christianity to this area. As a parting gesture of encouragement and thanksgiving, they visited every church in the area as they prepared to return home.

How sad it was to find that although all the brand names were spelled correctly and all the components had the right form, everything tasted like ginger snaps. Left to their own devices, the nationals tried to copy the forms the missionaries brought, unintentionally replaced essential ingredients with locally available beliefs, and mixed it all together. They had imported their old traditional religion and customs to fill the gaps of what they had not yet been taught about Christianity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit would exist alongside the local spirits and deities they already worshiped and appeased. Prayer would live side by side with magic and sorcery. The witchdoctor would serve as the pastor since he was already the spiritual leader in their culture. The missionaries reacted with shock and dismay and explained again what the Bible taught and what a church is. The nationals defended their local church with a shrug and proclaimed, “This is our version of it.”

The goal of missions is not to export brand names around the world (Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, or Methodist). Nor is it to create a desire for something with no intention to follow through—leaving them to their own devices to scratch the itch. Instead, we must desire and labor to see critically contextualized, local manifestations of the church that pass the quality control of the New Testament. We must spend the time and effort necessary to present the gospel in culturally appropriate ways and train the nationals until we have trained trainers. We must go forth to faithfully proclaim the gospel to the nations until they do too.

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T11:24:00.006-05:00

It’s the fourth Thursday of November and the calendar says we should be giving thanks today. The culture says we should be eating everything that doesn’t move and watching television until we are lulled into afternoon naps. But I would be thankful today whether the calendar reminded me to be or not. God has been so good.

In the angst and turmoil of what was arguably the most important election of our time, the news of immense persecution of Christians in India, and a depressed economy, I am thankful that God is sovereign. He has a perfect plan a powerful hand and will do all His holy will. While not everything is good in and of itself, He will work it together for our good and His glory. Yet, as always, God has been so good to me and mine.

Since the last Thanksgiving Day, my son has married a beautiful and godly wife. Welcome Carol; you are a precious addition to our lives and I am so thankful to have you in our family. My baby girl has graduated from college and is now back home. All three of them are seminary students preparing themselves for God’s plan for their lives. What more could a father desire?

My book The Missionary Call was released in late June, and is about to go into the third printing already. Moody Publishers has extended another contract to write a second book for them. It is to be called Reaching and Teaching: The Task of International Missions. Additionally, God has allowed me to be in numerous countries around the world and all over the United States reaching and teaching and mobilizing for the task of international missions.

God has also taught me the wisdom of balancing life. He has given me one of my hardest challenges so far—learning to say no. So many opportunities are coming my way to speak, teach, preach and lead teams, that I cannot and should not accept them all. I ask for your prayers that I may learn how and when to say no. However, lest those of you who have counseled me to work in some down time to “sharpen my axe” and “recharge my batteries” should despair, I am learning that, too. God has reminded me of my old love for hunting, fishing, and the outdoors, and I am allowing myself to step back into that world—with great joy and peace.

I have gone deer hunting a couple of times this year with friends and former students. I got a deer last weekend in Western Kentucky. I did not realize how much I had let that part of me go until people began to express shock and surprise upon learning that I am a hunter. However, the funniest response came when I told my assistant Reid that I had shot a five-pointer and put it in the freezer that weekend. He said, “I didn’t know you were a hunter . . . or, wait, you’re not talking about a Calvinist are you?”

The coming year will bring with it many challenges to Evangelical Christians. We will add to the challenge of reaching and teaching a lost world, the challenge of doing so from a base of operations where we are now feeling threatened by our own leadership—all while trying to be the best citizens in the country. Certainly, some response will be made to the Muslims and Hindus who are trying to exterminate Christians in places like India.

Let us remember that we serve a sovereign God and that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea, in His time and in His way. I predict that next Thanksgiving, Christians will find reason for giving thanks again—no matter what the headlines say. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 will still be in the Bible, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

In the midst of the Thirty Years War, Pastor Martin Rinkart’s parish was enduring over fifty funerals a day. Amid times of great crisis and on the verge of despair, he wrote a poem that for us is a hymn of trust in God.

“Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next!

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest Heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and Heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.”

Give thanks, with a grateful heart, no matter what.

Happy Reformation Day in a Land that Desperately Needs a Day of Reformation

2008-10-31T11:01:00.007-04:00

“Reading departures; I’m in some big airport; reminds me of some places I’ve been . . .” So goes the line in an old Jimmy Buffet song. In the same way, I get nostalgic when I think of all the places I have been, the people I have met, churches where I have preached, stories I have heard, food I have eaten, non-food I have eaten, and homes I have lived in. In Jimmy Buffet’s song, he sings that the memory of all those places, “. . . makes me want to go back again.” Me, too.

I remember very fondly a country where I lived once. Of course, while memories are never faithful to entire historical reality, certain facts are undeniable. One of the best things about that place was that it mattered what you believed—especially about God, so much so, that even political candidates made sure that voters understood where they stood on matters of faith and their religious convictions. Laws that prohibited certain kinds of businesses from opening on Sundays were enforced… or at least enforced in theory. In actual practice, no one needed to enforce them because the business owners were in church.

Sins and lifestyles that are “culturally appropriate” in our land today—homosexuality, drug addiction, disposable marriages—were not even mentioned in polite society there. If someone fell into such sins, they were only mentioned in hushed tones among the neighbors, who expressed genuine pity for all the ones the tragedy affected. In that country, when kids got into serious trouble at school, the principal called their parents and their pastor in the same hour. What you believed truly mattered in all of life.

I remember that the President of that country went to church—quite publicly, in fact. Periodically, especially when the country faced crises, key religious leaders were brought in to meet with the President for biblical and spiritual counsel. The country took great comfort in the knowledge that their wisdom was sought and valued. The President could call a national day of prayer and fasting without a full-scale debate in the press about why it was legitimate for a political leader to do so.

I started to miss that country recently when I read that Chile has just declared Reformation Day a national holiday. The new Chilean holiday is officially known as “Dia Nacional de las Iglesias Evangélicas y Protestantes,” or “National Day of Evangelical and Protestant Churches” and will be celebrated on October 31. How amazing is that?! And how sad is it that citizens of the United States of America find it amazing? In some countries where I have been, it is still illegal to get a divorce or an abortion. I know, I know, that is way over the top, right? I mean, honestly. However, the beliefs of the citizens in these countries have influenced their laws profoundly and unapologetically. Amazingly, they do not have a state church nor have they slipped into the cracks of destruction and doom that we are told such a connection will ensure.

I miss that country where the citizens genuinely and unashamedly prayed in public, where the President regularly asked, assured that all were agreeing with him, “God bless America.” Please God. Again.

Pray for HCJB Global and Wayne Pederson

2008-10-14T14:15:00.008-04:00

Join me in praying for the ministry and future direction of HCJB Global and their new president, Wayne Pederson. He has served as vice-president of Moody Broadcasting and will now become HCJB’s seventh president as the 77-year-old agency looks to the future. HCJB began in 1931 when Clarence Jones launched the Christian missionary radio station with an eye to a worldwide reach. Within a very few years, HCJB added hospitals and clinics, and a seminary of the airwaves to its vast scope of ministries.

The three-legged stool of HCJB Global, consisting of Christian radio, healthcare, and leadership training, faces the dilemma of the missionary enterprise today. At our recent Evangelical Missiological Society national meeting in Denver, Ralph D. Winter noted that mercy ministries had grown exponentially in numbers of missionaries and donor giving. He contrasted this with the agencies that have traditionally concentrated on evangelism and church planting. These agencies are struggling with decreased ranks as older missionaries retire and younger replacements are wanting, and especially as donations for such agencies have stagnated. He pointed out that the donors and the missionary candidates have a marked preference for hands-on ministries of mercy rather than the traditional model. In other words, it appears that they are motivated more by the Great Commandments than the Great Commission.

Perhaps this is due to the news coverage of recent wars, tsunamis, earthquakes, pandemics, and genocide; we are more aware of the physical needs of our neighbors. However, should the world’s felt-needs drive us away from their deepest need? Is the level of giving and volunteering a clear indicator of the will of God in the future of missions? Some suggested in break time hallway discussions that those agencies that do not want to be left behind should be quick to change gears and adopt a more mercy-ministry approach. Others expressed concern that we should remain faithful to our historic mission statements and original purpose, no matter what donors or candidates choose to do.

When I was in college in the 80s, one would often hear the question, “Should we go as missionaries to evangelize the lost, or to minister to the needs of the hurting, hungry, oppressed, and abused?” The way in which you answered that question determined whether you were a liberal or fundamentalist. By God’s grace, not long afterwards, missionaries began to ask that question, and the answer became, “Yes, we should do both.” Of course, we should. Jesus did, and He should be our model in all things. Just as tens of thousands of people die and go into a Christless eternity everyday who never heard the gospel, so tens of thousands of people die everyday because they lack food or clean water—and many times, they are in both groups. The work of missions is not either/or, but both/and.

Recently, HCJB World Radio went through a name change and rebranding. They are now HCJB Global—to emphasize the fact that they are not only worldwide but also multifaceted in their ministry. Amen, props, kudos, and way-to-go! This is the kind of thinking that the world needs. We need mission agencies and missionaries who are concerned with the Great Commission, the great commandments, and Jesus’ great compassion. Please join me in praying for God’s blessing to be on HCJB Global and Wayne Pederson. May their brightest years and greatest blessings be just around the corner.

You Can Go Home Again

2008-10-07T13:17:00.017-04:00

It is Fall Break and I am home in Mississippi for a few days. It is always good to see family again and enjoy some of my favorite things. I have always heard “you cannot go home again.” Friends will often share that sentiment in an attempt to encourage someone who is suffering the disillusioning experience of thinking they would find everything at home exactly as they left it. I remind my missions students of this truth to prepare them for reverse culture shock when they come home from the field for stateside assignment. Of course, it won’t be exactly the same; we all know that. Five hundred years before Christ, Heraclitus said, "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man." A more succinct and contemporary version was offered in the 20th century by Thomas Wolfe, “You cannot go home again.”

However, I disagree; you CAN go home again, as long as you go with understanding. We are back home for the first time in almost a year. It is wonderful to go visit the places that were dear to me for the first thirty years of my life. Many of the places are worse for wear after all the years. I remember experiencing the sadness of that when we first came back from the mission field and saw these places—not as they had been when we left and still remained in our memories—but as they really were. However, once the sadness of reality sets in you can prepare yourself to find what is still the same, or may have changed, but has changed for the better.

We drove down early Sunday morning under a beautiful blue sky along the undulating hills of Mississippi farmland and piney woods. We noted all the new industry as well as the familiar landmarks we had forgotten about until we saw them. We got into Jackson a little early for church, so we drove through the Belhaven College campus. It was there that I had taken violin as a youngster, where I later earned a BA in Biblical Studies, and where I taught Spanish and Old and New Testament during my PhD days at RTS. As we drove through campus, we noticed all of the additions, improvements and overall beauty of the campus. I remarked how much nicer it is now than when I was there. Then, I reflected on how great it is to be able to say that. Many people must live in the good ole “glory” days of the past. It is so good to know that Belhaven just keeps getting better.

We went to hear Dr. Ligon Duncan and to worship with the folks at First Presbyterian Jackson where RTS held graduation exercises when I earned my DMiss and PhD degrees. They have enlarged the sanctuary since our last time there, but still retained the same feel and ambiance. What a beautiful and worshipful place. We sang great hymns of the faith from the hymnal (and sang every verse, thank you). The ministers Duncan and Thomas were all that you would ever want in worship and preaching ministers. We truly felt welcomed (Southern hospitality is alive and well at FPC Jackson). In fact, the usher took the time to find out my name and remarked how his son was good friends with my cousin when they were growing up and still stayed in touch. As I walked to a pew with my family, I thought how comfortable it felt to be in a place where people know my family after spending the better part of the last two decades in places where no one knows me or mine.

We ate Sunday lunch with my wife’s family. Her mom still tells the same family stories and the menu was pretty much the same as always. We went to a birthday gathering with my side of the family about mid-afternoon. My dad came early and my sister came late—as they have always done and always will. The only exception to this was last Christmas when we told my dad that we were going to get together one hour later and my sister one hour earlier than the actual hour—they both arrived at the correct time for the first time ever. Everyone’s kids are bigger, the grown-ups are grayer, our waistlines are larger, and it was home.

I got up this morning and ran the few miles to the cemetery where we buried my mom two years and eight months ago. I always run there when we come home. Partially because it is a good distance to run, but mostly because by running I can be alone there for a few minutes. I always brush off her headstone and read her name and the dates of her birth and death, even though of course they never change—and I always wish I could erase the death date and make her come back. There is a bench near her grave. I sit there and hold my head, and pretend that I am just tired from running. I know that she is not there and cannot see me or hear me. She is looking on the face of our glorious Lord Jesus Christ and singing praises to Him with all the angelic choirs and saints in the unfathomable perfection of Paradise (unless they are letting her have a turn playing organ). And, although I know that she cannot hear me, I always say, “I love you, Mama” and I always say, “I am so sorry for not being a better son to you.” Then slowly, always reluctant to leave, I put on my hat and begin to make the run back.

Tonight we are going to enjoy the “annual cultural event of the year” that young people of all ages here (within a certain demographic) anticipate every year—the Mississippi State Fair. They will have all of the rides, livestock, jams and jellies vying for blue ribbons, and everything with a zillion calories fried and on a stick. They will have two mules walking in a circle to press the juice out of sugar cane for folks to use to make molasses, which they will give to folks conveniently packaged in the middle of a hot, buttered biscuit. I remember hearing how my sharecropper grandfather Sills had such a mill that he would use to supplement the family income in the 1930’s. I know that I will marvel how that many people who do not have their own teeth can be in one place—maybe it’s something to do with the molasses! There will be people spending $100 to win $10 stuffed animals, side bets on pig races, perfumed livestock competing in beauty contests, and slightly inebriated folks stumbling over power cables wondering where they parked their cars. How could we not go?

I think you can go home again. Of course, life goes on, people move away, friends get married and have children, old buildings are razed, and new ones are built, but home is in there somewhere. I lived in this town for the first thirty years of my life. Virtually every street name, part of town, institution, and school holds some memory for me. I went to the same elementary school from the first through the sixth grades, and graduated from high school with the same principal I had when I started first grade. Change does not have to erase the good memories. Accept change. Look for both what hasn’t changed and for what has changed for the better. You can go home again.

The World on Our Minds

2008-09-12T16:21:00.018-04:00

Yesterday, September 11, was in our thoughts. Many of us were remembering where we were seven years ago, how we first learned of the attacks, and how much the world has changed since then. That date will live in our memories for the rest of our lives as the day the world changed for us. We continue to grieve with those who grieve, remembering the fallen – not just those who fell on that day but those who fell in all the subsequent days as justice has been sought and protection has been provided. The terrorists attacked the world that day, not just the USA in New York and Washington, D.C. The list of those who perished that day includes people from dozens of nations, tongues, and people groups. We were living in Ecuador on September 11, 2001 and much was made there of the Ecuadorians who died in the towers and on the planes.

In a vastly different way, at the opposite end of the continuum, September 11 saw another world change yesterday. No, the world will not notice, there will be no mention of it on the news, and many of you will wonder about my sanity or sensitivity that I even mention this on the same page as the worst attack on our nation’s soil. Still, yesterday could very well mark the beginning of a change in our world that will result in many, many thousands more being saved than the thousands who were lost seven years ago.

Yesterday, the IMB announced the most sweeping changes in strategy and vision in over a decade. The IMB Board of trustees unanimously adopted the change in their recent meeting in Atlanta. The change propels more than 5,000 IMB missionaries into the world with the freedom to follow the Spirit’s leading and gifting in ways that were sometimes frustrated in the past. Instead of sending SBC missionaries into the world with what some termed a single solution strategy that is the “golden key” to unlock every door in the world, they are now sending them into the world with a whole key ring of strategies, methodologies, and tools. Of course, it has always been the goal of the IMB to reach the world for Christ’s sake, but they charted a new direction a little over ten years ago and adopted an approach that does not work in today’s complex, globalized world. Now, the visionary leadership of Dr. Jerry Rankin, his administrative team, Dr. Paul Chitwood and the Board of Trustees have opened the door to the world in a bold new way. In a statement released yesterday, Dr. Rankin said, “Our world is changing and we must continue to change with it. . . Ten years ago we began to formulate a vision of mobilization. Now the passion and commitment of churches to be directly involved in the Great Commission is rapidly expanding and we must leverage this massive response for impacting lostness around the world.”

The new and refocused vision statement of the IMB reflects this emphasis: “Our vision is a multitude from every language, people, tribe and nation knowing and worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ.” The press release goes on to emphasize the new paradigm with a change in the mission statement, “Likewise, the revised mission statement — Our mission is to make disciples of all peoples in fulfillment of the Great Commission — reflects that the Great Commission is the responsibility of the local church and refocuses the efforts of the agency on assisting churches to fulfill that responsibility.”

As with all such press releases, there is as much in what is not said as in what is said. Frankly, I find much encouragement in what was not there. Many will also be waiting to see how the IMB will implement these changes and exactly what they mean in every place, but it put David Sills in the “hopeful, encouraged, and thankful” category.

I am thankful to God for this new direction of the IMB for the future of missions in our world. I do not mean for the IMB of the SBC only, I believe that this direction, under God, has the potential to change the world. This new direction will free missionaries to use their gifts, skills, talents, training, churches in the USA, and other international Great Commission Christians as never before. In his blog, IMB trustee Dr. Hershael York, has written of the changes, and I draw your attention to the section of what the trustees adopted that refers to methodologies: “We affirm a continuing commitment to the basic priority of impacting lostness through:

• Evangelism, discipleship and planting reproducing churches.

• Engagement of all peoples with the gospel.

• Comprehensive, holistic strategies including but not limited to medical, media, human needs, social ministries, training and theological education.”

Thank you, Lord.

This is a new day. This is truly a bold mission thrust.

Our minds were on the world yesterday, in remembrance and sadness. I pray that we can keep our minds on the world, lift our eyes to our God, and see Him at work in His world. He has called us to go, reach, and teach (Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 10:13-15, 2 Timothy 2:2). The IMB is opening the door wider for thousands, and dare I say it, hundreds of thousands of us to go—in His grasp, by His grace, and for His glory.

photos courtesy of the IMB

The Brain Drain

2008-09-03T13:36:00.030-04:00

The brain drain takes many forms. This term refers to a phenomenon that occurs when the brightest and best individuals from one culture leave to be educated in another. This usually occurs because the recipient culture is more advanced, resulting in better educational opportunities. For decades, the flow of the brain drain has been from the developing nations in the global south to Ivy League ivory towers in the USA or to the hallowed halls of Oxford or Cambridge in Great Britain. I am not saying that the preparation and scholarship afforded in such institutions are bad things; rather they are often a great blessing. When international students receive such a stellar education and return home, they are better able to help their country and their people are blessed to have their own ministering among them. Yet sadly, many do not return home. In fact, increasingly, most do not return home. The pursuit of additional degrees or the American dream, when U.S. resident visas are granted, delay or derail the hope that they will return home.

The same brain drain dynamic occurs when missionaries offer pastoral training or seminary education in the capital cities of the nations where they serve. Many of the men who need theological and ministerial education must move to the city where the training is offered. Once there, they learn skills for survival in the city, adopt Western forms of dress, develop high levels of literacy for their studies, enroll their children in city schools, enjoy the benefits of modern medical care for their families, shop at grocery stores, and become very comfortable with city living. When they graduate, many have attained a level of education unmatched by over 95% of the people in the country. Why would they, and how could they return to the countryside, jungle, or mountains to live as subsistence farmers now that they can live as pastors in the city and get paid for preaching?

Brain drains happen in the West, too. A fascinating and encouraging movement has been growing among young evangelicals. There is a renewed zeal for sound theology, responsible exegesis of the Bible, expository preaching, and a devotional life patterned after the Puritans’ example. Young people by the thousands are attending conservative seminaries, expository preaching conferences, and are reading sound theological literature. The most interesting element of this to me has been the number of young people who tell me that they believe God is leading them to be missionary scholars. That may be a new term to you, but I assure you it is becoming commonplace. These young men and women are seeking to know God deeply and to make Him known internationally. God is stirring hearts to reach the nations. These young people are zealous for Truth and burdened for the nations.

However, when these same young men and women attend many of the conferences that claim to be a renewal of sound theology for our generation, they find these conferences being led by pastors, Bible scholars, and theologians. What is wrong with that? Nothing! As far as it goes. But where are the missionaries and missions speakers among them? When young people model their lives after these modern day heroes who promote one another's conferences and ministries, missions is left out of their plans and visions for ministry because there are no missions-minded models to follow on the platform, none among the contributors of articles, and none among those in the inner circle. Many young people leave these conferences struggling with God’s call on their life. Many times, the speakers may challenge them to consider missions, but it comes across as “do as I say, not as I do.” These young men and women look up to these leaders, admire what they have achieved, and aspire to similar ministries. The current slate of leaders are godly men—pastors, theologians, and Bible scholars, but not missionaries or missions scholars. It is amazing to me that the most eloquent Bible expositors and scholars who exegete so beautifully the missionary journeys of Paul have often never been on one themselves. They relate how Paul must have felt to preach where Christ had never been preached, to extend the reach of Christianity, and the zeal for establishing sound churches among pagan peoples, but they have not done so and have no plans to start. Missions is talked about, but not for any of the ones on the platform. They model a ministry that talks about the nations but does not walk among the nations.

One may hear an occasional sermon or read some teaching that encourages the work of missions, but always in the abstract. In actual practice, missions is something better suited for challenges and admonitions. Don’t misunderstand me, these men have lived lives that are worthy of emulation. We should indeed give honor where honor is due and learn from them. However, when none of them speaks for missions from experience and life investment, the resulting lesson is that missions is peripheral to serious ministry. When it comes down to actual practice, how serious are we about reaching the nations? Unbelievably, two of the leading evangelical publishers (one of which would arguably be the most popular publisher among the crowd of self-proclaimed missionary scholars, and the other could be) have recently remarked that they do not publish missions books. One stated the opinion that “no one buys missions books.” The other claimed that they had no missions audience, i.e. their readers are not interested in missions.

If that is really true, then I am confused. Are you? Southern Seminary is hosting this week its first Great Commission Lecture Series. Dr. David Platt, pastor of the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham. AL, has been challenging our faculty and students with God’s desire for the nations that all disciples should share. Although we do not regularly have chapel on Wednesday mornings, Dr. Platt spoke at the free hour Wednesday morning. Not only was the hall packed with workers putting out extra chairs, there were people standing around the walls during the entire hour. This is increasingly the reality among the brightest and best. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like young people care about missions.

Are you wondering what all of this has to do with the brain drain? It works like this. The brightest and best aspire to follow and emulate these godly teachers, preachers, Bible scholars, and theologians who unfortunately do not model missions as a worthy life investment. As much as young people want it to, missions does not seem to fit into any responsible, biblical expression of ministry because none of the leaders or inner circle members is missions focused in anything but talk. After a time of confused struggling, young people pack away their passion for missions as misguided zeal. Too often missions is relegated to a lesser form of ministry for the lesser gifted among us—(I mean, after all, if the missiological thinkers, speakers, and practitioners were as bright and gifted, they would be in the inner circle, right?). No one ever intends for the brain drain to happen, but it is always a waste when it does.

However, as always, God is shining a ray of hope. The most brilliant man I have ever personally met, Dr. Al Mohler, a man with sufficient responsibilities and health concerns to beg off any mission trip, is leading the challenge among his colleagues. He began this academic year with a strong challenge to embrace what he has termed a “year of living dangerously.” He has committed to go on at least one mission trip this year and has challenged us all to do the same. He reminded the congregation in convocation that the majority of them are free to do things now that they may not be free to do later. He has not stood in the pulpit this semester without challenging us to consider a missions commitment. Another man who is stepping up to the plate is my Dean, Chuck Lawless. He has just accepted the role of Global Consultant for Theological Education for the International Mission Board of the SBC. This role will require him to rearrange and reprioritize virtually every aspect of his life and ministry, but advancing the kingdom matters to him. Other professors among us are also sacrificing family time, writing opportunities, and personal plans to lead trips, teach internationally, and train pastors who are buried in obscurity in the uttermost parts of the world.

The evangelical stars among us in the circles that I am referring to are not dripping with diamonds or sitting in gold chairs with mauve hair and plastic smiles. They are not emerging or diverging. They are sound exegetes of the inerrant, infallible Word of God and they are some of the best teachers, preachers, and theologians the church has ever known. But, still 1/3 of the world has never heard the gospel and tens of thousands who have never heard Jesus’ name die and go into an eternal hell daily. In far too many lands, God is not worshiped and His Word is not taught. It is time for conferences to take the next step to challenge men and women, and to do this by example. It is time for publishers to look beyond the profit margin that grows as readers get more of what they have and read what they already know. It is time for young would-be missionary scholars to find models among their heroes, models to emulate, learn from, and live or die with on the field.

Imagine a world where God stirs a young heart with a passion for Truth, zeal to reach the nations for Christ’s sake, and a desire to be as educated as possible. This young person sees a group of teachers, preachers, authors, pastors, and leaders who share this zeal and passion. As he learns, grows, and fellowships with other like-minded believers, one element is missing. For a lack of any model to follow, missions becomes amorphous and intangible. Reaching the nations is mentioned in the same breath as feeding the hungry, freeing the oppressed, and helping the persecuted church—who are they and how does that really happen?. Missions is accepted in principle and lauded as something nice, warm and fuzzy. However, it never seems to show up in reality on the platform with flesh and bone. The best sources of sound literature will not offer anything challenging or engaging about missions until sufficient profit can be guaranteed. The conference platforms are bereft of missions-minded models to follow. Then, the concept of missionary scholar begins to seem like puppy love, an idealistic construct of the naïve young believer. The plug is pulled, when the water starts to swirl, the future’s ministers grab for like-minded models with skin on, and the rest goes down the drain. That is our world and the reality of the missiological brain drain.

There is something for us to do. For those of us who are burdened for the nations, have a high view of Scripture, love the conferences, listen to the preachers, and read what we can find. We need to find and use our voices. It is not enough to swallow what is spoonfed to us. Good stewardship of the lives and opportunities that God gives requires that we speak up and let these forces know that we want to hear godly missiologists, missionaries, and missions mobilizers who share our views on doctrine and Scripture. Jesus and Paul taught their hearers in their day about the need and command to disciple the nations. Who will teach us today? Demand the hard truth and clear teachers of it.

Summer 2008- Latin America Tour

2008-08-16T22:43:00.017-04:00

I have just returned from a summer of ministry in Latin America. It was both exhausting and exhilarating. The travels started with the blessing of being able to go and minister with Mary to the students at The Spanish Language Institute in Costa Rica. The beauty of that country and the warm hospitality of the folks at the school was a joy for us. We spent our free time reminiscing about our time there in language school. After that week, we returned and I spent a week teaching a doctoral class at SBTS.

Then I headed to Cusco, Peru for two weeks with a team from SBTS. I taught them Chronological Bible Storying in the historic heart of the Inca Empire. We learned about the Incas, toured museums, and climbed around some of the ruins they left behind. The second week of the trip we actually went out to the community of Ancahuasi where the students storied the Bible from creation to the resurrection. It was a wonderful experience to watch many of these people hearing Bible stories for the first time in their lives. Then, I waved goodbye to the Peru team at the Lima airport and sent them back to the USA.

I then boarded a plane for Quito, Ecuador where I met Mary and Molly who brought the Ninth and O team down to work with Joselito and his family in Calderón. It was fun to be back ministering in Ecuador with my family and going to our old stomping grounds in Quito (El Jardín, Quicentro, Crepes and Waffles, etc., etc., etc.!) We led in a VBS during the day and evangelistic services at night. Working with Candelaria Baptist Church, Joselito, and Anita, we launched efforts to begin a new Baptist church in an area where there is no evangelical work. It was an exhausting week but very rewarding. In addition to the great team of Jay, Liz, Katherine, Maggie, Raymond, Meghan, Rebecca, Mary, and Molly, we were blessed to have Greg Hooper with us. Greg and his wife Sara Lu were our best friends on the mission field—they were with us at appointment, in orientation, two doors down in language school, and went to Ecuador with us on the same plane. Our kids were about the same age and were great friends, too. I had not seen Greg since both of our families left Ecuador in 1996. As good friends do, we picked up right where we left off and relished our time back together. I was just sorry that his better half could not be with us (like me, Greg was married by grace and got a lot more than he deserves).

After our time there, I went to Colorado Springs for some meetings, and then to Atlanta to teach at a training conference. After one day at home, I headed to Panamá. I was invited down to the Canal Zone to preach in the 100th anniversary of the First Baptist Church Balboa Heights. That is the beautiful church on the lawn of the Panamá Canal Administration building. I also was able to go out to preach in a community called Chorrera and meet with some brothers out in the countryside.

In all these travels, I had the opportunity to preach, teach, story the Bible, counsel, encourage, and challenge. I was discouraged to see the same story over and over in every country. In fact, the same theme was so common that the names and faces began to blur together.

In Costa Rica, a missionary told me of his burden to train pastors. He told me that he had mentioned his vision to a pastor in San José. Without a moment’s hesitation that pastor told him that he could name twenty-five men off the top of his head who were pastoring without any training and who would jump at the chance to learn.

In Peru, a large denomination lacks pastors for 90% of its churches. In the area where our church works you can ride down the Pan-American highway for hours passing town after town where there are no evangelical churches. Last year I told the story of the elderly sister in Christ who thought she could not go to heaven when she died because she could not read or write. That story broke many of our hearts. This year the story from Peru that broke my heart regards another leader.

The former pastor of the little church that meets in the community where we are working had to step down years ago because his wife took the kids and ran off with another man. Even though he resigned as pastor, he has continued to lead in many ways—including leading small groups that meet in several communities around that area. In one of our last evening services, he stood and announced that he was thankful to the Lord because he and the girl he had been living with were falling in love. He then introduced her to the church since he said they did not know her. I thought I just did not understand his Spanish, so I investigated. Unfortunately, I had understood perfectly. He was living with a girl who was not his wife. I talked to him privately and explained to him that the Bible condemned such behavior, rebuked him, and told him to get out of any leadership role while he was in sin. He defended his sin and even stated that they had been getting counsel from another pastor who thought their living together would be a good way to get to know each other and test compatibility. I preached on 1 Corinthians 5 at our church the next night and explained Matthew 18. It is sad that a leader would live in open sin and praise God for it at church. It is sadder that no one at the church knew what God’s Word had to say about that. It is sadder still that many missionaries’ efforts focus on starting more churches, not training, and they justify it by saying that these people have a Bible and the Holy Spirit and He will lead them into all truth without any training.

In Ecuador, we spent the week trying to start a new church where there is no evangelical work of any kind. Who will be the leader? Where will he be trained? Without a trained leader, what will become of the ones who prayed to receive Christ during our week of ministry?

In Panamá, a place where Southern Baptists have worked for over 100 years, they told me that 70% of the 200+ churches do not have a pastor – and there are only about ten pastors in their seminary. Moreover, most of what passes for pastoral training there consists of some purpose-driven-book that seemed to work in the USA. I learned of homosexual pastors and atheological professors. Yet, by God’s grace, I also sat in the glow of some who were trying to shine light in dark places.

I came back from the Latin American tour refreshed, reflecting, repenting, resolved, recharged, responsible, and ready. I came back both discouraged and determined. I was discouraged that we have let our Southern Church brothers and sisters wallow in ignorance for so long, but determined that under God I am going to make a difference. Of course, I realize that I am nobody and that I cannot change anything, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. These problems did not get in such terrible shape overnight and a few folks won’t fix them in just a few days. Still, I am resolved to reach and teach as much as I can for the advance of the kingdom and the glory of Christ. Who will join me?