“Thinking Like a Missionary” – Part V
Pr. Michael W. Wilson
INTRODUCTION:
Here we are in the 5th instalment of a 6-part teaching series that I have entitled, “Thinking Like a Missionary.” As I have explained in each study, my goal is to help us begin to see ourselves as real missionaries, commissioned by God to bring the Gospel to this very real mission field, which for purposes of this make-believe scenario we are calling Ourtownistan. As an aid to renewing our thinking and breaking out of some old thought patterns I have invented an imaginary scenario and have invited all of you to enter the story.
The story goes like this: We are a team of missionaries, sent out under the sponsorship of a mission agency called the New Life Mission. Our mission leaders have sent us here to this tiny country of Ourtownistan to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to make disciples, and to plant healthy, self-governing, self-propagating, self-supporting local churches. We have recently arrived and are just beginning the process of evaluating our mission field to put together a workable strategy to begin to fulfil our mission here. That mission, in short, is… “To win people to Jesus Christ and help them grow to be like Him.”
We are a diverse team—a variety of ages, some married and some not, some with children, having varying levels of education and ministry experience, as well as a broad spectrum of spiritual gifts, talents, and skills. However, we are all part of the same team with the same heart and mind to win the Ourtownians to Jesus Christ. We love one another, respect one another, and rely on one another in our commitment to get this job done. We are all very conscious of God’s sovereign divine call on our lives and we know that if we are to be successful here it will only be by faith in Him and in the strength of His might.
TRANSITION:
I have been telling you that missionaries the world over have long been characterized by a set of 15 principles that govern their lives and ministries. So far, we have looked at the first 9 of those. Let’s review those briefly.
Principle #1 is that missionaries own the Great Commission individually. They believe that Christ’s order to “go out and make disciples” applies directly to them. They do not wait for the rest of the church to get on board.
Principle
#2 is that missionaries embrace God’s
call personally.
They do not wait to be hit by a bolt of lightning. They recognize that missions
is all about obedience, not about waiting for some mystical experience to
confirm God’s call. That call already came, 2000 years ago. The question is, “Are we going to obey that call?”
Principle #3 is that missionaries identify God as their source of strength and acknowledge their personal weaknesses. They understand that on their own they are nothing, but with God they are “more than conquerors.” They rely not on programs and tricky methods but upon the Holy Spirit to open doors, to touch hearts, to empower the message, and to prepare the harvest.
Principle #4 is that missionaries know that they are dependent on a support team of “rope holders.” Not everyone stands on the front line at the same time. Mission also depends on faithful people doing the unglamorous behind-the-scenes work. That is because mission is about teamwork. We are all called to be God’s missionaries, and we all have a role to play in completing the mission.
Principle
#5 is that missionaries are committed
to go where the people live rather than wait for the people to come to them.
Principle #6 is that missionaries invest the time and effort to survey their mission field so that they can locate the “entry points,” the places where they can begin to make contacts, build relationships, and eventually earn the right to share their faith in Christ.
Principe #7 is that missionaries make the commitment to learn the heart language of the people so that they can communicate the Gospel in ways that touch the felt needs of the people. We discussed the fact that by “language” we mean more than just the words in a particular idiom. I gave the example that Ireland, Pakistan, and the Philippines all use English as their official language, but that does not mean they really speak the same heart language.
Principle #8 is that good missionaries love the people genuinely. In 2 Corinthians 6:6 Paul speaks of “unfeigned love” being one of the hallmarks of a true Christian. Likewise, in Romans 12:9 Paul writes, “Let love be without hypocrisy.” People can see through phony love, and phony love turns people off—to us, to our message, and to our Lord.
Principle #9 is that successful missionaries adopt the culture and history of their host country to become one with the people. They know that to win the nationals to Christ, they first must sell themselves. To win a hearing we must live out the Gospel as we proclaim the Gospel. In other words, before we can share the Good News, we must be good news to the people we are hoping to win to Christ. Theodore Roosevelt is credited with saying, “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” That is certainly true of our desire to share the Gospel. If we want to win the Ourtownians to Jesus Christ, we must be willing to become part of their world. We must find ways to go to them, rather than expect them to come to us.
The HEART of the MATTER:
…Which brings me to something I told you at the end of the last study. Do you remember back when you were in school and at the beginning of the day you would have “Show and Tell”? You would take something to school to demonstrate to the class, or you would talk about some experience or adventure that you had had. Well, it’s time for Show and Tell.
After returning to the US from missionary service in Brazil, I pastored a Baptist church in Portland, OR for over 20 years. One Sunday morning, I told the congregation that I had decided to do something kind of wild and crazy, at least for a Baptist preacher. I had been urging all of them to get out of their ruts and comfort zones to meet new people and make friends in the community. I decided it was time for me to begin taking my own advice. So, I told them what I planned to do.
Two days later, on Tuesday at noon I drove down and parked in front of the Penguin Tavern & Eatery, just a few blocks from the church. For months I had been observing their sign out front that advertised “Taco Tuesday.” That sounded good to me, so I went in and sat at the bar next to three other guys who were already deep in tacos and conversation. The barkeep was a nice young woman who was very friendly and welcoming. I visited with her for a few minutes then ordered a soda and a couple of tacos. The food was good, and the people there seemed genuinely glad to see me. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered another soda and two more tacos and made three new friends. When I got ready to leave the girl told me to be sure and come back. I assured her that I would be back next Tuesday for some more of her tacos.
Since I had given the congregation a heads-up about what I was planning to do I thought I should give them a report about how it went. Nobody got saved. On that first Taco Tuesday I didn’t even tell anybody who I was or invite anybody to church. I was just concentrating on getting to know some new people who would probably never walk through the church doors, so instead, I walked through their doors. I think that is what Jesus would do. I went back quite a few times to visit my new friends at the Penguin. And I did some other crazy stuff like that too. I told the congregation, “If that bothers you, call me up and we’ll get together for a chat and some prayer. Better yet, I’ll take you out for tacos and a brew and introduce you to my new friends.” I got a standing ovation!
Principle #10 is that missionaries must learn to feel the needs of the people and to sincerely empathize with them. This is a topic that has led to much conflict among Christians. On the one hand there are those who emphasize what has been dubbed “the social gospel.” That expression usually refers to the idea that if we just meet the physical needs of people, they will come around sooner or later to understand our underlying motives and will eventually want to know about our Christian faith. On the other end of the spectrum are those hard-liners who say, “Just give them the Word. Preach the Gospel and let God worry about their other problems. We will just concentrate on getting them saved.” The truth is somewhere in the middle.
Humans have needs. They need food, shelter, companionship, medicine, clothing, etc. And we must remember that even Jesus fed the multitudes and healed many of their sicknesses and diseases. He was concerned about all their needs. We must be also.
Principle #11 is that
missionaries find ways to contextualize the Gospel and to proclaim it in
culturally relevant ways. This is not only important for modern missionaries, but it
was also a constant concern of the apostle Paul, and I can prove it. Check out
Colossians 4:2-6 (as well as Ephesians 6:19-20). In the Colossians passage Paul
sincerely asks the believers in Colossae to pray for him, and his prayer
request is five-fold:
1.
That
God will give him open doors to proclaim the Gospel
2.
That
he will have the courage to speak it boldly (lit. to herald it)
3.
That
he might be able to make the message clear
4.
That
he might make the most of every God-given opportunity
5. That he might know exactly how best to speak to each person
The Ourtownians have their own cultural grid through which they will filter everything they hear us say. Therefore, we must make sure that we do nothing to plug up their filters and keep the Gospel from getting through.
Let me give you a painful example. Years ago, Oregonians were asked to vote on Measure 36, which was about the definition of marriage, as between one man and one woman. Our church like nearly every other evangelical church in the state believed that we needed to step up to the plate and encourage Christians to cast their vote for biblical marriage to hold back the onslaught of immorality in the form of homosexuality. So, we handed out signs and bumper stickers to our members. We also allowed the Oregon Family Council to put up a big sign on our church lawn out that said, “Vote YES on Measure 36.”
The sign was torn down 4 times by angry protesters. We even ended up on the television news as being one of the churches targeted. But that was not the real damage. The real damage came in the form of closed hearts and closed minds to anything else we had to say because the liberal, open-minded, pro-gay people of our very “woke” left-wing progressive community came to the conclusion that we were only one step removed from Westboro Baptist Church, that “other” Baptist church they had heard about, the one that used to picket at gay funerals with signs that said, “God Hates Fags!” and “Turn or burn!” You know the church I am talking about, the one that also demonstrated at funerals of soldiers killed-in-action with signs saying, “This is God’s punishment for not killing the homosexuals,” etc.
We did what we thought was right at the time, but looking back, I think we shot ourselves in the foot for sharing the Gospel with that very liberal community. We played catch-up for years after that debacle. We allowed a political issue that was secondary from an eternal perspective, to get in the way of keeping the door open to the community to present Jesus as Savior and Redeemer. I still grieve over that whole sad disaster.
Principle #12 is that missionaries work hard to develop friendships that last, rather than mere surface relationships. The Bible says in Proverbs 17:17, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” That principle is true in all times, in all places, and in all cultures. Genuine friendship is a transferable concept. But friendships do not just happen automatically. They require hard work. They require an investment of time spent together, values in common, and shared adversity, sacrifice, and loyalty. If we want to have an impact here in Ourtownistan we must form strong, lasting, genuine friendships with the people here. If they see us as just-passin’-through to lay a little religion on them, then they are not going to be willing to listen to what we want to share. We must be willing to take the time and put in the effort to invest in people’s lives.
Principle
#13 is that missionaries understand the concept of conserving the harvest. Several times in the New
Testament evangelism and disciple-making are likened to farming. Let’s look at
the steps:
ü
First, after choosing a promising-looking field the farmer prepares
the soil. He does that by removing rocks, cutting down trees and scrub
brush, pulling up roots, burning the stumps and slash, and tilling and
fertilizing the soil. For us here in Ourtownistan we may need to undo
some bad impressions from the past. We also need to invest in preparing the
ground by building friendships, establishing social networks, and getting to
know people.
ü
Second, the farmer carefully plants the best seed he can
afford. We too are in the seed-planting business, but our seed is the Word of
God and the truths about Him, and no better seed exists anywhere. It is living
seed filled with power and potential, and God promises that it will never
return without bearing fruit. Sometimes that seed is best couched inside our
own personal testimony of God’s life-changing grace. That is one form of
seed-planting.
ü
Third, the farmer weeds the field, in faith, and waters the
rows even though there is no visible sign of coming success. We do the same
thing. We must keep doing the right things and reaching out in faith, even if
we are not seeing visible signs of new life. The sprouts will come!
ü
Fourth, when the tiny shoots first start to appear, the farmer fends
off the birds that would steal the seedlings and destroy the harvest. We must
do the same thing. Satan and his cronies will come along to try and steal the
grain, pluck up the shoots, and sow tares in our field. But we must never
forget that “greater is He who is in us
than he who is in the world” and “we
are more than conquerors through Him who loved us and give Himself for us.”
We must stand firmly against the wiles of the devil clothed in the power of
Christ.
ü
Fifth, when the grain is full-grown the farmer sets aside every
other obligation to prepare for the harvest. When the time of reaping comes the
farmer works day and night to get the crop in before the rains come. Farmers
tend to be tightly focused people, driven to produce a healthy harvest.
Likewise, missionaries do not entangle themselves in activities that have no
potential for evangelism and disciple-making. Everything they do is measured
against the straightedge of “THE MISSION.” Our mission here in Ourtownistan
is… “to win
people to Jesus Christ and help believers grow to be like Him.” We must not get caught up in non-essentials. The
Bible says, “Work for the night is coming
when no one can work.” “Redeem the
time for the days are evil.” “We will
reap if we faint not.”
ü Lastly, the farmer puts up his crop in barns and silos, rejoicing in the harvest and giving thanks to God for His mercies. The Harvest comes from God. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.” Missionaries understand that concept and they do not take credit for things that only God can do.
CONCLUSION:
At the end of the last two studies, I have left you with a homework assignment: to think about where the Ourtownians really live and what might be some possible entry points into their culture, their community, and their families. You have all been here “in country” now for a while. What have you observed? How can we get out among these folks to begin building bridges of friendship and networks of relationships? If you need me, I will be down at the Penguin Tavern & Eatery talking with my new friends about Jesus. 😊
Some Free Outreach-Opportunity Ideas:
1. Welcome new people who move in on your street
Take them some goodies and a “Welcome to the Neighborhood”
card. Just walk right over and
introduce yourself. Take the initiative! It is hard the first time but
after that it gets easier. A half-century ago, it was the social norm to
welcome new neighbors to the community. We need to revitalize this practice. It
is a wonderful way to cement new friendships.
2. Get outside
This is not going to happen much in the winter
months but spring through autumn give us many sunny days. Getting outside is a
great way to meet your neighbors. Grow a garden in your front yard, sit and
read on your front porch, and play with your kids outside. The more your neighbors
see you, the more comfortable they will feel in talking with you.
3. Take the initiative and organize something
- Set
a date to invite a couple of neighbors over to play board games or cards.
- Organize
a community book-lending library.
- Organize
a canning group for summertime canning.
- Start
a community garden on an empty lot. [Get permission first from the owner.]
- Invite
your neighbors over for coffee or evening refreshments on the patio.
- Organize
a neighborhood dinner swap.
- Start
a weekly C.S. Lewis Book Club in your home. Advertise it in the local
paper.
- Start
a weekly Chess Club or fly-tying group.
- Begin
a Neighborhood Bible Discussion group in your home. Make up a flyer and
invite all the neighbors on your street. Serve coffee and dessert.
- Join
your local Neighborhood Watch. Become a block captain. Hold the monthly
meetings at your house.
- In
April bake up a bunch of homemade chocolate-chip cookies and take a dozen
to each family on your block with a “Happy Easter” card.
4. Get some exercise
Go out for a walk or run. Walk your dogs. Go
for a bike ride. The more you can get out of your house, the more you are going
to see your neighbors. Do not make excuses, just do it. I promise the new
relationships you are going to make will be worth the effort you put into them.
5. Volunteer in the community
- Volunteer
at “Meals on wheels” to take food to elderly folks and shut-ins.
- Volunteer
to be a reading tutor at one of your local schools.
- Attend
the community meeting every month and get involved.
- Start
attending the PTA meetings at your children’s school and get involved.
- Become
a volunteer at the local library.
- Volunteer
to be a neo-natal baby cuddler at that hospital.
6. Join a club
Think about what interests you, whether it is
a sport, such as hiking or skiing or walking; or a hobby, such as reading,
gardening, investments, or photography. Most larger towns and cities have a
wide variety of clubs from which to choose. Check the local paper and websites
for upcoming events or news of clubs in the area.
7. Take a class
A great place to start looking would be at the
Community Center. Painting, languages, or even belly-dancing can not only teach
you some new skills but will help you get acquainted with people in the neighborhood.
8. Take a risk and do something totally outrageous
Drop in at the Penguin Tavern for tacos on
Tuesday. Start conversations and make friends. Or become a fan of your local
sports team and go to the games and cheer loudly.
