Recently I had the privilege of teaching a lesson on international missions at my church here in Carrollton, Georgia. The lesson itself was on missions going on in Thailand. In many of the international missions lessons in local churches congregations learn about the demographics of the country, they hear about a few specific missionaries, and then they are told how they can pray for those missionaries specifically. While there is nothing wrong with this method, and in fact there is a lot of very useful information to be learned from this method of teaching, I decided to take the lesson in a different direction. My goal in the lesson was not simply that the congregation would learn facts about Thailand, but that they would understand that Thailand is not that different from Carrollton, and that international missions is not just something "over there," but that it affects us here at home, and what we do here at home affects international missions.
This post is a follow up to that lesson. The fact is international missions ought not be some foreign concept or idea. International missions should flow directly from home missions, from local missions, and from every Christian's personal mission in the world. International missions is the spread of Christianity to every tribe, people, tongue, and nation, fulfilling the command of Christ to go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:18-20) Therefore, the mindset of international missions should be part of every Christian, as we strive to be faithful to what our Lord has called us to do.
There are two specific reasons I want to address as to what International missions is not foreign: people, and Scripture. If we understand the reality of who we are serving, and who we have a mission to reach, we will understand that these are not just people who live thousands of miles away, but they are brothers and sisters, and no matter how far away family may be, family is not foreign. Likewise, if we understand Scripture, then we will understand how what we are to minister is never foreign, it is the wonderful Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that all men might be reconciled to God, redeemed from sin and free to live to the glory of God. The message is not foreign, and the people are not foreign, even if the culture is totally alien to us.
It may seem like a bit of a contradiction to say that the people are not foreign if the culture is foreign, but people are not just their culture. Specifically, in terms of international missions, every person is exactly the same. What I mean is that what Paul says about humans, he says about all of us, he makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, Greek and barbarian. Paul says, "As it is written:
'None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.'
'Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.'
'The venom of asps is under their lips.'
'Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.'
'Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.'
'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'
Every human has sinned. No one fears God naturally. Not one of us is innocent, and all of us are condemned before God, according to what Paul says here. Therefore, when we go to minister to humans in any place, any time, and any culture, we are ministering to sinners. Just as you, if you are a Christian, were a sinner who received the Gospel from someone who ministered to you, so they are sinners in need of ministers who will bring the gospel to them. There is nothing foreign in sin, we who walk in the light know the ways of sin, because we walked in sin ourselves.
But, not only are people the same, Scripture is the same. Yes, translation is an art and a science. And yes, there may be challenges in bringing Scripture to different cultures. Due to linguistic barriers and the lack of a written language, it may be very hard to explain Scripture or make it widely accessible to certain peoples. But, despite these challenges, Scripture itself does not change.
The reason Scripture does not change is because God does not change. Scripture is the personal revelation of a personal God. Unless God changes, his revelation will not change, and God has said of himself that he does not change. (Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6, James 1:17) Therefore, in every culture we minister the same Scripture, the same message, and the same God, that all men may know of the Lord who made them and desires that they should come and fellowship with him. This Gospel does not change, because it is the same to everyone, no matter who they are or where they are.
There are a lot of things that can be foreign in international missions, from language and culture, to location and climate. But, the things that really matter, the needs of people and means of addressing those needs, do not change. Every person needs to be reconciled to the God who made them, who requires worship from them. And the only means of reconciliation is faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, international missions may involve going to foreign places, eating foreign food, learning foreign languages, and living under foreign shelters, but there should be nothing closer to home than the ministering of the gospel to those who desperately need to know of the hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.
Have you ever gone on an international mission trip? If so, where? What did you do?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI could give you a whole list of reasons, but no, I have not gone on an international missions trip. I have always focused more on local missions. I will say this though, I only became a supporter of international missions in the last 4 or 5 years. Prior to that, because every time I heard the word, "missions" at church it was related to international missions, I felt that international missions was something that only mattered to those who were called to go to places like Africa, Saudi Arabia, China, and other comparatively far away countries. Unfortunately, as I grew up, I never made the connection between international and local missions, I never heard any church talk about how what we do at home matters around the world, and how what is done around the world should really matter to me.
Until the last few years, international and local missions seemed to me to be at odds with one another. We never had local missionaries come in to church, talking about church planting across the United States, or serving as volunteers at homeless shelters, or doing any number of things that involve local missions. We never made a point of praying for a local missionary or talking about how the church in America needs prayer or revival. All of the focus was on what was going on over there, out in the exotic field, with people of different languages and cultures from our own. As such I always felt a bit of antipathy toward international missions, because I looked around me and saw a church in America where most of the members had no idea what discipleship was, or what common words used every Sunday in church really meant ("hallelujah," "amen," and even "sin" being among those words). I had, in my mind, a false dichotomy, of either we did international missions, or we did local missions and discipleship. It never entered into my mind that local discipleship could involve international missions, and that international missions was directly tied to our local outreach for Christ. (I guess you could point out that where as I was aching for someone who would focus on the importance of discipleship, I myself was in need of additional discipleship and growth.)
One of the goals I have now is to one day go on a short term missions trip, helping where I am able. I still do not feel a calling to be a long term international missionary, but I would love to get involved in helping at least one specific mission for the glory of God. I have had several friends who have been active in international missions, and I'm very proud of all of them. Even my wife has been involved in a couple of international missions trips. In the mean time, until I am able to be more directly involved in helping in international missions, I now pray for those who are serving, and seek to help through my giving at the local level, and hopefully, as others see the connection between local and international missions, they too will be challenged to do the same.
Why not take a mission trip now? Being immersed in a new culture and out of your comfort zone will only further expand your perspective on the world and the challenge of missionaries. If you seek to lead a church, you need to gain this experience. Experience breeds credibility among your peers, and more importantly, your congregation. There simply are some subjects that require more than study to develop a relevant opinion.
ReplyDeleteI have watched every episode of Cake Boss on TV. I think I have learned a lot from that show, but I would never act like I knew how to bake a cake. That is because I have never done it!
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI would love to go on an international missions trip. Right now, however, there are a few things that I need to get in line where I am now, first. Really, the list is not long, but, unfortunately, a couple of things that must be in place are outside of my immediate control. Because of the planning and commitment that must go into an international trip, even to relatively close countries such as Mexico or Canada, I cannot currently go on an international missions trip. (Believe me, such things are in view in my current plans.)
I knew someone would pull the experience card as well though. I thought about that also and I have my responses to people who would protest anyone advancing the idea of international missions by saying, "But you've never been on one!" In brief it could be well responded that it is impossible for anyone to serve in every ministry, yet that does not make any ministry not worth serving in. (Must I serve in a prison ministry, a women's ministry, a ministry to the blind, a ministry to the deaf, a ministry to AIDs sufferers, a ministry to the homeless, a ministry to orphans, a ministry to widows, a hospital ministry, and a thousand more ministries, each and every one, before I can encourage others to consider them as potential ministries to which they might be called?) More than that, I've never been in a position where sharing the Gospel could mean my death, should I thus not say anything about needing to pray for boldness for those, both indigenous and foreign, who do serve in such countries? While one day I would be happy to say I have experience in international missions, my boast is not in my experience, my wisdom, or my knowledge of the international missions field, my boast is, as Paul would say, in Christ alone, and his command is what must be preached and heeded, even though I will never measure up to the fullness of righteousness therein contained.
I do not mean to downplay experience, but it must be kept in its proper place. James notes that words alone are not sufficient for faith, there must be action too. So, I do not dismiss that a congregation should want a pastor who demonstrates his commitment to missions, I only ask that a congregation test me to see if this is true. But, that is a bridge I will cross when I come to it.