Part IV - The Priority, The Power, & The Practice of Prayer in Missions

“Since I can’t do anything else, the least I can do is pray.”

Why is it that we believe that intercessory praying is the “least that we can do” rather than holding to the position that intercessory prayer is the “most we can do”?

The foundation and primary task of all mission endeavors begins and ends with prayer. Oswald Chambers aptly stated, “Prayer does not just fit us for a greater work. Prayer is the greater work.” It is through the power of prayer that strongholds are broken, closed doors are opened, and more importantly, lives are changed forever.

A close look at the New Testament reveals that of all the requests the disciples made of Jesus Christ during the three years that He walked and talked with them, it was how to pray that was asked about over and over again. They understood the priority, the power, and the practice of prayer as they moved deeper into the missions and ministry tasks they were commanded to fulfill.

The Priority of Prayer in Missions

The very first recorded prayer in Scripture is found in Genesis 4:26. “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” From the beginning of time there has been a desire of man to cry out to his Creator acknowledging his need for help. Prayer has in fact altered the course of history and has brought salvation to countless millions since the beginning of time.

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the One True Living God not only taught us to pray, He modeled for us the habit and practice of prayer. Mark 1:35, 6:41, 46 -- Herbert Lockyer, in his classic work, All The Prayers of the Bible, best describes Jesus’ position on prayer when he states, “Jesus believed prayer to be a working force, a dynamic, rather than a doctrine, in the life of the believer. To Him, prayer was not a sentiment or theory or presumption to the soul owning its reality. To Christ, prayer persists because of the proof of its efficiency.”

In Luke chapter 10, Jesus is preparing to send out 70, volunteers perhaps, to go ahead of Him and prepare the hearts and souls of men, women, boys, and girls for the coming Messiah, for the message of salvation. It is interesting to note that the first words uttered by our Lord to this group was to pray. What were they to pray for, for more workers. Warren Wiersebe notes, “. . . that it is laborers, not spectators, who pray for more laborers.” Prayer was a priority in the life of our Lord and should be a priority in our lives as well.

The Power of Prayer in Missions

This blog cannot begin to hold the untold tens of thousands of stories of how prayer has made a difference. James, an apostle of Jesus Christ writes, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” James 5:16 The power is not found in our doing, but in our praying. Unfortunately, this is a biblical concept that seems foreign to the Western mindset. How many times have you heard it said, “I can’t do anything else so I guess the least I can do is pray”. How sad it is when we place the most powerful weapon known to heaven and earth in the category of the “least” we can do.

Faithful Praying has resulted in:

Delayed God’s judgment
Brought fire down from heaven
Stopped the rain and then restarted the rain
Prepared hearts for the coming of the Holy Spirit
Healed the sick
Raised the dead
Gave boldness to the timid and strength to the weak
Brought comfort, peace, joy, longsuffering
And the list could go on and on. But the greatest result of prayer is the impact it can have on bringing those who have yet to believe into a saving faith with Jesus Christ.

The Practice of Prayer

Missionaries around the world know that there are very specific and strategic ways in which Christians can pray that will indeed impact their work. Here are but a few examples.

1. Pray for the lost peoples of the world by people group name
2. Pray for lost individuals named by missionaries
3. Pray using the apostle Paul’s Prayer Strategy:
Colossians 4:3; Ephesians 6:19; 2 Thessalonians 1-2
4. Pray for missionaries by name
5. Pray for national Christian partners by name
6. Pray “onsite with insight” by Prayer Walking
7. Pray for new believers
8. Pray for new believers to be baptized
9. Pray that new believers will be gathered into new churches
10. Pray for the spiritual growth and training of new believers as leaders.

Our problem is that we spend more time talking about praying than actually praying.

According to the A.C. Neison Co. the average American spends 4 hours a day watching TV
The average US protestant pastor prays on average 39 minutes per day
The average missionary prays on average . . . .

Le't pray about this!

D-elayed Blogging 4 DR M Meeting

Early Sunday morning, June 25th, Patti and I will begin to make our way to the Dominican Republic for our Caribbean side M AGM. If it is like last year, I will not have Internet access which means I will not be able to post until some time during the first 3 days of July. I am going to attempt to offer one more post before Monday morning. We have to overnight in Newark, NJ Sunday night. Still one last chance to post. If not sooner, we'll get back with you next weekend.

Supplemental Blog Worth Reading

I want to encourage you to go to David Roger's blog, "Love Each Stone" and read his thoughts entitled, "Ripe for Harvest". It is an excellent, thought provoking view on why we are not seeing the level of harvest in parts of the world that we would like to see.

Part III - It's Not About Us!

“It’s not about US”
“It’s all about HIM”
“Then, it’s about THEM”

The task of taking the Gospel to every tongue, every tribe, and every nation may indeed rest on our ability to shift our thinking from what I will get out of missions to what impact will my efforts have on those who still need to hear, understand, and respond. There is not doubt that each of us who participate in the missionary task of sharing the Gospel, planting new multiplying churches, and developing leaders do benefit greatly from the experience. However, this cannot and should not be our defining purpose for our participation. It’s not about us!

It’s all about Him! We find our selves going to the nations simply because as an act of worship we do it for Him, our Father, our Lord, our Savior. It is from a grateful heart of what He has already done for us that we eagerly obey His call. The focus of our worship is Him. The focus of our service is to please Him. In the words of John Piper, "Missions exists becasue worship doesn't." It's all about Him!

Because it’s all about Him, then, it’s then about Them, those who have yet to hear the good news message of salvation found only through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself stated, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost.” Luke 19:10 If this was the focus of our Lord, does it not seem reasonable that it would be our focus as well? When we make it all about Him, His heart becomes our heart and points us to them, those who are lost, like sheep without a Shepard.

Lostness

There are 6.3 billion people living in the world today.

More than one half of all of the people who have ever been born in the history of the world are alive today.

More of these people have access to a bottle of Coca-Cola than they do the salvation message of Jesus Christ.

9 out of 10 people walking the face of this earth today are lost and are destined for hell.

So, what does it mean to be lost? Many studies have shown that the longer a person is a Christian the less likely they are to associate with lost people at a level where they are able to share their testimony and the Gospel. Recent SBC studies show that the majority of Southern Baptists 92 – 98 out of 100 will never share their faith with a lost person before they die. One reason for this startling statistic is that maybe we have forgotten what it means or what it feels like to be lost.

Ephesians 2:12 states:

“remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

“remember, that you were at that time separate from Christ”

Those who are separated from Christ are those who do not know Christ has Savior and Lord destined for an eternity in hell. Over 1.65 billion people in the world today have never heard the name of Jesus for the first time. Lost people live all around the world and they also live all around us. Unfortunately, most Christians today have either chosen to ignore have forgotten this fact. We have forgotten what it feels like to be lost.

Millions upon millions of people are waking up today without any hope of hearing the good news message of Jesus Christ. They just do not have any access to the Gospel. This means that they have a better chance of drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola than they do to hearing about Jesus. They are truly separated from Christ.

“excluded from the commonwealth of Israel,”

Not only do they not have access to the Gospel, they do not know anyone who knows about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even if they happen to hear the name Jesus, they would not know anyone who could answer the question, Who is Jesus?. In fact, the response could very well be, what is a Jesus?

Research and experience has shown that the longer a person is a Christian, the less likely they are to regularly interact with lost people around them in hope of witnessing to them. Taking the Gospel to those who have never heard or understood is an intentional act. Whether we cross oceans to witness in another culture or cross the street to witness to a neighbor, it is the task of Christ’s disciples to be witnesses.

“and strangers to the covenants of the promise,”

Not only do they not know who Christ is, or know someone who does know who Christ is, they do not have access to Scripture. Either the Bible has not been translated into their heart language or for 2/3’s of the world they would be unable to read it even if there was a translation. The Bible says in Romans 10:17 that, “faith comes from hearing”. But how will these people hear, understand, and respond without access to God’s Word?

Scripture is a powerful tool in the heart of one of Christ’s disciples. However, so many in the world today still do not have access. According to the Joshua Project, “There are about 6,800 living languages in the world, . . . 4,019 are without Scripture portions available, with some 450,000,000 speakers. They are strangers to God’s Word and His promises.

“having no hope and without God in the world.”

So how does Paul describe people who characterize one or all of these descriptions? He states that they are hopeless and do not have God in their world. Can you remember what it was like to live your life without hope, or without having God in your world? Remember, 9 out of every 10 people walking the face of this earth today are living hopelessly, without God being any part of their world.

Paul was reminding the church in Ephesus of the life that they once lived. His words should serve as a reminder for us as well today. We must regularly remind ourselves what it is like to be lost. This is the fuel that keeps the evangelistic fire burning in our soul.

Part II - Personal Holiness Matters Most

Several years ago during an annual meeting of missionaries, Dr. John Marshall, pastor of the incredibly missions focused, Second Baptist Church, Springfield, MO, spoke 4 words that have forever changed my view of life and as I strive to approach missionary task! He simply stated, "above all else, personal holiness matters most."

When the average career missionary or volunteer begins to think about their participation in the missionary task, thoughts typically race to what am I going to do and how am I going to do it. However, if our strategy and plans are not an overflow of how God is working in our life, we will only be going through the motions, feeling empty and unfulfilled as we work harder and harder in our own power desperately seeking to see more only to come face to face with less. Take it from one who has been there way too many times, personal holiness does matter most.

To be perfectly honest with you, I seriously doubt any of you will read here anything that you do not already know. And to continue with the honesty, if you are like me, I still need to be reminded of the basics from time to time. What I am about to share comes from a fellow traveler and not from one who has arrived. Just ask those who know me.

"I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. The the nations will know that I am the Lord", declares the Lord God, "when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight." Ezekiel 36:23

Are you living your life in such a way that God can indeed reveal His holiness through you? If God is going to use you or us in His work to bring a lost world into fellowship with Him, our lives will need to reflect His Holiness and His Character. In 1 Peter 1:16 Paul reminds us of God’s words to Israel found in the book of Leviticus, that we are, “to be holy because God is holy.” Unfortunately, we are living in a world today where the distinction between those chosen by God and those yet in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is harder and harder to distinguish. Consider the following results from surveys done by George Barna of Barna Research Group:

1. When youth were asked to comment on their church experience, the least common outcome among churched young people was that they had not understood enough of the Bible so that every decision you make is based on biblical principles.

2. Many Christians today are more concerned about looking silly or stupid more than they are about acting sinfully. More and more Christian lives are lived using “God language” but void of Biblical content. Research done by George Barna indicathat that less than 6% of evangelical Christiansinthe U.S. live with a biblical worldview. This means that they are making their decisions based upon something other than the principles of God’s Word.

In recent years, even our own agency has faced a significant increase in the number of forced terminations of missionaries for moral failures. Add to this the known increase of those who claim some addiction addction to Internet pornography and we soon realize that we only see the tip of the iceberg.

So what does it mean to live a life that reveals the holiness of God to the nations? Have we profaned the name of God before our people group, just as Israel did in days of old? What makes the Christian life different from those who have yet to believe? Does personal holiness matter? Believing that personal holiness does matter, let’s look at five habits that lead us to being more holy in our daily life.

Five Habits of People Who Strive to Live Holy Lives:
There are no secret formulas or magical phrases you can say that make your life a holy life. However, the life of Christ as read in the pages of the New Testament reveals and models habits that we can incorporate into our lives that will lead us to holy living. Let’s look at 5 habits of Christ that can begin to change your life immediately if you incorporate them and practice them. The basic outline and thoughts were taken from Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges' book, The Servant Leader, highlighted in blue. My personal thoughts are intermingled.

1—Solitude
Spending time alone with God in a quiet place. Jesus, on a regular basis withdrew from the crowds and sometimes even from his disciples to be alone with God, His Father. This habit is essential if we desire to experience spiritual renewal and refreshment.

When did Christ do this?

Before he faced the temptations of Satan, Jesus spend 40 days and nights alone in the dessert. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Before he chose the 12 men who would follow Him for the next 3 years, he spent the entire night alone in the dessert hills. (Luke 6:12)

When he felt the need to move to another town to preach the Gospel instead of staying and healing more of the sick, he left early in the morning to a place of solitude. (Matthew 1:35)

When he heard the news concerning the death of John the Baptist, he took a boat to
a lonely place. (Matthew 14:13)

After feeding 5,000 on a hillside he retreated to another mountain alone, to be by Himself. (Matthew 14:23)

Solitude is being alone, outside the sphere of human contact and communication. We are constantly bombarded with noise of some kind. With modern technology we have lost the grandeur and the intimacy of silence in our lives. The Christian philosopher Pascal has been quoted as saying, “I have discovered that all the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they are unable to stay quiet in their room.”

One of the greatest spiritual accomplishments one can achieve is the ability to do nothing. The Psalmist stated it this way, “Be still and know that I am God….”, but don’t stop there. The rest of Psalms 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God; I wil l be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted on the earth”. All this arises from being still and quiet before a Holy God? Wow!

Ken Blanchard, the author of the best selling book, The One-Minute Manager, now a born again Christian says, “ The cure for too much to do is solitude and silence, for there you find that you are safely more than what you do. And a cure for loneliness is solitude and silence, for there you discover in how many ways you are never alone."

We need to take time every day to be alone with God, in silence. Solitude is the first step to a life of holiness.

2-- Prayer
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Simply put, prayer is listening and talking with God. I want to be sure you do not miss the listening aspect of prayer. Many times we see prayer as just us talking and God listening, however, it is more important that we listen to what He has to say to us.

Effective and meaningful praying will also incorporate other spiritual disciplines such as Scripture reading, meditation, worship, and yes, fasting, a long forgotten discipline that is essential for intimacy with our Lord.

Matthew 26:41 has Jesus saying, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” There is no holiness revealed in our life but that, which is an outflow of a deep and intimate relationship with our creator. If we would spend more time seeking God’s wisdom rather than depending on the opinions of family, friends, and co-workers, we would better know His heart and His desires for our lives. This is not to suggest that seeking the counsel of others is not needed, only a reminder that the only opinion that really counts is God’s opinion. It is His holiness we wish to capture and nothing else.

One caution: You cannot listen to God and know His leading for your life outside of Scripture. God will never tell you to do anything that is contrary to Scripture. Plus, you do not have to pray about what God has already commanded us in Scripture to do.

Knowing about prayer and talking about prayer is never a substitute for praying. Prayer will lead us to live more holy lives.

3-- Storing Up God's Word
The third habit that will lead us to a more holy life is that of storing up God’s Word, that is, Scripture memory. It is impossible to fully describe the benefits both present and future that will be yours from the habit and disciple of memorizing Scripture. In times of crisis or stress, is your first response reliance on God’s Word, or something else? When others challenge your faith, can you reply from Scripture or do you share “your” opinion?

Now many of you, like me, probably use the excuse, well you know I just don’t have the memory that I once had when I was younger and this is really difficult for me to do. Let me use a Greek word in response to this excuse. The word is “baloney”. We remember what we want to remember and where we put our time and energy to remember. What night does your favorite TV show come on and which channel? What are the lyrics to you favorite song? Can you reproduce your favorite recipe from memory? Or better yet, can you tell us your favorite joke? We remember what we want to remember, but it will take effort and work and a lot of repetition.

Storing up God’s Word in your heart and your mind, prepares you like nothing else when life squeezes you like that tube of toothpaste. What you have put in will be what comes out. Psalm 119:11 reminds us, “Thy word have hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”

If you wish to know the heart of God, read what He says in His word. If you want to know the heart of man, listen as well as to what comes forth out of his mouth. Is holiness revealed in your life and in your words?

4-- Faith in Unconditional Love
Of all of the habits that we see in the life of Jesus Christ, this one may be the toughest one of all for us to emulate. Unconditional love is like a coin that has two sides, which cannot be separated.
a. Accepting that God unconditionally loves you.
b. Unconditionally loving others as God has revealed His love to you.

How many of you who are parents love your children? Most all parents will say yes to this. Now, how many of you love your children only if they are successful? Very few parents would say yes to this question. The love for a child is unconditional and rarely depends upon what that child does or does not do in life. When we begin to place requirements for our love onto others, we have then moved away from the unconditional love God requires from us.

John 3:16, how precious these words, “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but will have eternal life.” Think of the people you come in contact with every day. Everyone around you needs to be heard, encouraged, forgiven, accepted, guided, loved, and the list goes on. Who in Scripture does God tell us that we have a right to ignore, despise, not forgive, avoid, or not love? Jesus taught it’s easy to love those who love you, but what about our enemies? In Luke 6:32 we read, “And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”

One way our people group and our world can see the holiness of God in our lives will be if we unconditionally love our neighbor. Jesus did not spend his time with the loved, but with those who were unloved, outcast, and rejected. They will know we are Christians by our love. We will exhibit the holiness of God when we love unconditionally.

5-- Accountability Relationships
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Ralph Neighbor We each have an intrinsic need to share our vulnerabilities, receive support and encouragement, and to be held accountable. I really like Proverbs 27:6 which says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”

We need to find people in our lives that will become “truth-tellers” for us. This one habit will have tremendous impact on your spiritual growth. It has wisely been said, “Who you will be five years from now will be directly impacted by the books you read and the people you meet.” We can take this principle even further and say how you will live and express your Christian faith five years from now will be determined by how much time you spend in Scripture and by those whom you allow to tell you the truth about your life.

We need people in our lives that help reveal to us blind spots. Too often when confronted by these people our first reaction is to kill the messenger rather than listen to the message. Probably the most dramatic Biblical example of this is found in 2 Samuel 12. In this story Nathan reveals to King David his sin with Bathsheba. How different David's life would be had Nathan tried to rationalize and smooth over what David had done.

Now obviously Jesus did not need someone to reveal to Him faults or other failings in His life. However, Jesus did model this habit by bringing close to him several of the disciples who walked with him during tough times.

So, it is really easy to see that personal holiness is the most important aspect of your life as a Christian and as a missionary. Your relationship with Christ needs constant monitoring as you face life’s challenges on daily basis. There are no short cuts, no time savers, and there is no a neutral position where you can avoid dealing with holiness issues. If we indeed want to impact a lost world, it will begin from within. Personal holiness matters most!


Next Post: Part III - "It's Not About Me!"

Part I - The "Knowing" Component

Before We Can Effectively Pray, Give, & Go
We Must Know!

For years now, the Southern Baptist missions mantra has been "Pray", "Give", & "Go". These three words have served us well and still provide a challenging reminder for our churches. However, with the advent of an ever increasing number of Christians participating in missions by going to the national and international mission fields, I am advocating that a new component needs to be added to this worthy challenge. The new component is "Knowing". Therefore, our new mantra and challenge should be Know, Pray, Give, & Go.

1. How can we pray with insight and intercession if we do not "know" specifically what to pray for? "GBM," or, "God bless the missionaries," may sound good, but either no one knows what this means or everyone has their own meaning. The truth of the matter is that effective prayer warriors pray from a mind that knows and a heart that is sensitive to God's will and purpose.

2. How will we ever learn to give sacrificially if we do not "know" how our giving impacts missions and the missionary task? An increasing number of Baptists have little to no knowledge of CP and LMCO. Fewer are aware of other additional avenues for giving. When paying for my own mission trip is now considered "missions giving", something has gone terribly wrong in our thinking.

3. How can we go strategically unless we "know" where the greatest spiritual needs exist? Close, cheap, and safe should not be our determining factor for where to send missionaries or volunteers.

Now, more than ever before this change in thinking is imperative for those who wish to engage in the task of biblical missions and take seriously both the short-term and long-term implications of their actions. The truth of the matter is that what you do not know CAN hurt you, or worse someone else.

Missions education in the Southern Baptist Convention has in recent years inverted the missions learning process from "Learn - Feel - Do" to "Do - Feel - Learn". This is a significant shift in both thinking and practice and the effect of this change is being felt literally around the world. This new practice has also shifted missions education from the classroom to the mission trip venue. Although this is not a bad thing in and of itself, it does open the door for several unintentional outcomes. However, before I go any further, let me be clear that I am not in opposition to volunteer missions and volunteer mission projects. Nor do I wish to paint every church, every mission team, or even every missionary with one broad stroke. My desire is to not only see everyone participate in the missionary task but to participate with a level of knowledge and understanding that allows for their time and efforts to truly impact lostness. It seems to me to be of greater value to have these faithful servants of God to return to their home with more than just a good feeling or great memories.

So what does the Bible have to say on this theme? I find it interesting that I am unable to find a single instance in the New Testament where the command to "go" was not immediately followed with what to do when you go. Christ never left strategy decisions in the hands of His followers, but instead, instructed them and directed them in order to achieve our Father's purposes. It seems obvious to me that instead of debating what our next project or strategy is going to be, that through serious Bible study and prayer, our Lord will do the same for us as He did in the 1st century, instruct and direct.

To this same end we train our missionaries and volunteers to first look to the Word of God for the "how to's" of their task. We use Joshua 1:8 as our starting point for this position.

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."

Jesus further develops this thought when at the end of His Great Commission He commands us "to teach them to observe everything that I have commanded you." So, to be successful we must do or, I like to use the word "obey", what we already know to do before any attempt to become creative. Even a cursory glance at the commands, the examples, and the models we find in the New Testament and, in fact, all of Scripture is enough to keep any missionary busy for many years.

Obviously, I do not have the time nor the space to say everthing that could be stated on this topic. However, to bring further clarity to what I hope I am communciating by advocating that we add a "Knowing" component into the missions learning and practice process, let me share several illustrations and, yes, the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

I am encouraged by the recent increase in training and participation by Southern Baptists in the area of evangelism. We want people sharing their faith testimony and the Gospel on a daily basis. However, being effective in evangelism in the U.S. does not automatically make someone an effective evangelist in another culture. For example, phrases we commonly use in a testimony or Gospel presentation such as, "would you like to receive Christ", does not mean the same thing to a person who grew up in a Latin Catholic culture as it might to the speaker. Do you believe that "knowing" this might affect how you plan to share the Gospel with those who live within this religious and cultural context? More on this when we discuss Gospel clarity and Biblical evangelism.

Would it make a difference in your decision making process as to how to help those in need who live in another cultural context if you "knew" in advance that your act of kindness would actually inhibit the spread of the Gospel to neighboring areas?

Would you be as excited about the number of people who raised their hands indicating that they had prayed to ask Jesus to come into their heart if you found out that prior to your arrival, this group pre-determined who would raise their hands and who would not? Or that most raised their hands as an act of kindness, not wanting the foreigners to lose face by not having many people raise their hands?

Would it make a difference in your thinking and practice if you found out that the pastor whom you wanted to financially support neglected to tell you about his other wives and kids? Or that by financially supporting he and his family the church members no longer see a need to tithe?

Would it make a difference to you to "know" in advance if the people who were going to receive the Bibles you planned to distribute throughout their community could read or if they were oral communicators?

We recently sent a missionary couple into an indigenous area to begin planting new churches. One of the first things they did was to approach the group's leadership council and ask for permission to live among them and to begin their work. What if they had just moved in and started working without "knowing" that this was a critical step in taking the Gospel to this people group?

As great of a blessing as it is to be involved in missions, we must remember that "missions is messy". It is not black or white, cut and dry, or even an easy task. As one of my dear colleagues, Gary Stone is quoted as saying on a regular basis, "If it were easy, it would have been done by now."

These are just a few of the hundreds of examples that could be listed where "knowing" is a critical component. If more and more Southern Baptists are going to accept the challenge to go, then they too need to know these and many other issues that impact their effectiveness to impact lostness.

Christians, especially Southern Baptists are big hearted, generous people. Just look at how we respond in a crisis. However, at times, good intentioned help can actually hurt. "Knowing" what kind of help accelerates the movement of the Gospel and what types of help hinder the spread of the Gospel is critical if we really believe that everyone deserves the right to hear, understand, and respond. We will look at this issue in greater detail in a future post.

This past year, 47% of Southern Baptist volunteers who were processed through the IMB went to minister to 9% of the world's population. What message are we sending to the other 91% of the world? Would "knowing" this possibly change where you took your next mission trip? Effective missions is not intuitive and does not happen without a cost attached. One of these costs is knowing what to do and what not to do.

Over the next several weeks we will look at a number of issues facing missionaries and what we are learning from each other's mistakes and successes. It is my hope that by now after meditating on what you have read in this post, you are already moving to the position that "knowing" is a key component to effective praying, giving, and going. I like to state it this way:

"Lostness should impact everything we do so that everything we do impacts lostness."

Let me encourage you, if you have not already done so, to go back and read two earlier posts that will help serve as a backdrop to many of the issues we will discuss:

1. The Morphing of Missions & Ministry

2. Missions & The Missionary Task

If you would like to know more about these and other issues you will face and will need to think through prior to your next mission trip, we would invite you to attend one of our Middle America & Caribbean Region's Frontliners Conferences which are held several times a year in the U.S. For more information go to www.macregion.org and click on the Frontliners link.

What All Missionaries Need to Know Introductory Post

Before we begin with this post, I want to let folks who visit this site know that I am now moving toward posting multiple times a week based upon interest and developing information. My original intent was to post once a week but I have learned from blogging experts that frequent posts are needed to retain a reading audience. So, check often and please feel free to comment pro or con.

Now, let's begin. I want to maybe surprise some people who know me and begin with an assumption I challenged in an earlier post. I want to take Steve McCoy's missional position that all born again Christians are missionaries and should be actively invovled in the missionary task as a normal expression of the Christian life. To begin with this assumption, I believe that it is imperative to address the thinking and practices all of us missionaries and to attempt to some agreement as to what it is that we all should know, be, and do, if indeed we are truly serious about fulfilling the Great Commission and Acts 1:8. It is one thing to go and do, it is quite another to go and do strategically.

Beginning with my next post I want to work through a series of posts that will serve as a Missions 101 course geared toward those who have limited or no real access to missions education or missions strategy development training and resources. This information is based upon what we train in our region as it relates to best practices of the missionary task. It may be that many of you will refer your friends and colleagues to this site as our discussion progresses if you need another voice to affirm what you already believe to be true. Or, you may think we are off our rocker and feel the need to communicate this as well. It is my desire that both volunteer missionaries as well as seasoned missiologists will respond and interact with the issues raised over the coming weeks. It is the interchange of ideas and thinking that will make us all better and more effective servants of our Lord in this task.

So, either Wednesday or Thursday, look for Part I - The "Knowing" Component, post. I'm not sure when it will be posted since I do have a day job that tends to take a good amount of my time and attention. However, if we can increase the readership and dialogue of this blog, then this too becomes part of what I am being asked to do as the Regional Training Associate for the Middle America & Caribbean Region. See you again soon and thanks for your support and encouragement of this effort.

No Whining Allowed

I want to take somewhat of a break and allow us to catch our breath from the topics of my previous posts to give all of us a moment of pause. Way back in the dark ages, which are now known as the early 70's I remember hearing a poem written by an NFL quarterback that had a significant impact on my outlook on life. I keep it handy for times when I feel myself moving into a time of self-pity. I pray that this ministers to you as it as to me for many years.

1972 Bill Wade - Quarterback for the Chicago Bears

Today upon a bus I saw a lovely maiden with golden hair.
I envied here because she was so "happy" and wished I was as fair.
But suddenly as she arose to leave,
I watched her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a brace,
but as she passed, she smiled.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine,
I've got two legs, the world is mine.

Then I stopped to buy some sweets.
The lad who sold them was so kind.
I talked to him and he said to me,
"you know it's good to talk with folks like you,
you see", said he, "I'm blind".

Oh God, forgive me when I whine,
I've got two eyes, the world is mine.

And then while walking down the street,
I saw a lad with eys of blue.
He stood and watched the others play,
and it seemed he did not know what to do.
So I said, "why don't you join the others dear?"
He looked ahead and then I knew, he could hear.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine,
I've got two ears, the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I would go.
With eyes to see the sunset glow.
With ears to hear what I want to know.

Oh God, forgive me when I whine,
I'm blessed indeed, the world is mine.

Missions & The Missionary Task

My last post dealing with who is a missionary has generated some spirited discussion on several blogs in the blog-o-sphere world. I feel it is important to follow-up the previous post with a discussion of what is the missionary task. What is it that missionaries are actually suppose to do.

First, you need to know my biblical assumptions from which I base my position:

The word "apostle" in the Greek NT means someone who is sent out or sent on a mission. It is from this term we derive our modern day word, "missionary". A missionary is one who is called, set-apart, and sent out, Acts 13:1-1-3. This designation is used once with Jesus, our Lord, Hebrews 3:1; twice with Peter, 1 Peter 1:1 & 2 Peter 1:1; and then 15 times with Paul. I'll let you look up all 15 references if you so desire. If apostle means for us today, missionary, and if the NT uses this term with Paul 15 times, more than with anyone else, could it be that God intended that we look at the life and service of the apostle Paul for our model of missions and what it means to be a missionary. I recognize that some care needs to be considered that we do not over apply this position, however, if we are going to choose someone to model our mission practices after, Paul seems the logical and biblical choice.

As Paul and others traveled on their "missionary journeys" as we have designated them, it is interesting to note that Paul, in almost every situation left behind, new believers, new churches, and developing leaders. This was his focus and his passion, Romans 15:20-22. Yes, he did return from time to time to visit the new churches started, but his drive was to keep pushing against lostness and going where Christ had yet to be preached. Why is this important? This point is critical to our perspective on missions today because in no case do we see Paul leaving behind an orphanage, or a school, hospitals, or anything else other than new believers, new churches, and developing leaders. He taught these new churches that they were responsible to care for the widows, the orphans, and those in need in their communities, not outsiders.

The Great Commission has been and continues to be the premier passage for missions and the missionary task. I would wholeheartedly agree with this interpretation and practice. However, if it is, then let's be honest in our fulfillment of what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ commanded us to do. He stated, "Go and make disciples, baptize them, and then teach them to do all I have commanded". If this is a missions verse, then a lot of "missionaries" and volunteer mission teams are falling short of this goal. Let me refer you back to my first blog on missions and ministry. Too many, I'm afraid to say, are calling what they are doing missions, when in fact it is good Christian ministry or stops with evangelism, but has little to nothing to do with fulfilling the whole missions task as described in Scripturre. This is not saying that what they are doing is bad or even a second class effort, but it does increase the level of confusion when we say that anything done outside the boundaries of our local church is called missions.

I believe that it is impossible to completely fulfill the Great Commission without including church planting and leadership development. True, these terms are not found in the passage itself, but if we look at Paul's example and what he did and what he did not do, it does not seem to be much of a leap in interpretation to make this claim. If this is not true, then we are encouraging evangelism without connecting new believers with the body of Christ, the church? If this is not true then we are going to baptize new believers outside of the support and fellowship of the church? If this is not true then how, when, and where do we teach new believers how to observe all that Christ has commanded for them to know and do? Many church growth experts throughout the past 30 to 40 years have also stated that church planting is a natural outgrowth of evangelism and fulfilling the Great Commission, but somewhere along the line we either forgot or ignored this critical point and the impact has massive.

For example, Dr. Elmer Towns in the early 80's wrote:

“The Great Commission implies that church planting is the primary method to evangelize the world. To reach lost people in every culture of the world, a church must be established in every culture to communicate the gospel and nurture those who are saved. In a simplistic observation, one of the reasons why so much foreign missions work is fruitless is because great effort is spent on winning people to Christ apart from identifying them with a New Testament church.”

He goes on to say:

“Since the purpose of the Great Commission is finalized when a New Testament church is planted, those church planters who establish a church are not doing something that is spectacular or overwhelmingly unique. They are simply carrying out the command of Jesus Christ.”

Dr. Ralph Winter in years past has aptly stated:

“Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.”

When I study the NT and look at both the Word of God and the Works of God, I see missions as those efforts focused on evangelism - discipling new believers, church planting, and leadership development so that all of these multiply pushing the gospel message to the next arena of lostness. There is a vital place for Christian ministry, however, minsitry alone cannot and should not replace Christian missions. If we allow this to happen, temporal needs are met while spiritual needs go untouched.