Project North Africa

Not long ago an super secret missionary in China (stats: 0 disciples, 0 churches, 100’s of English teachers recruited) made a comment about my friend Jake (stats: training 4-6 men for ministry, 2 churches, few English teachers recruited), also a missionary in China: “You may be impressed now but his ministry will be short lived doing things that openly as he is.”

Pastor Austin Gardner brought up a great illustration during a retreat last week when he responded to that criticism: “Jesus only stayed in Gadara for one day, made one disciple, and was summarily kicked out (Mark 5:17). That disciple preached Jesus and made him famous throughout ten cities (Mark 5:20).”

I had never thought of that example in connection with missions to places where missionaries are making strategies based on how they can stay the longest. If that were the only example it would be insufficient but a book would be needed to explain and apply the stories of Luke 10:11, Matt 10:14, the jailor of Philipi (Acts 16:39), Jason of Thessalonica (Acts 17), Paul at Achaia (Acts 18:16-17), and the great uproar at Ephesus (Acts 19).

If Jesus and Paul had listened to popular thought from modern missiologists I am sure they would have been much more effective.

Beware lest you are found to argue against God.

The Power of a Man Set Free

Taken from last weeks idea, I wonder what it would have looked like if the disciples at the mount of ascension had responded to the command to take the Gospel to the uttermost the same way we do?

(I understand that the disciples didn’t obey completely and I understand that we don’t disobey completely. This is just for kicks…so relax and think.)

1. The twelve would have waited for the Spirit of God to actually make someone to feel like going.

2. Once one of them felt like it the others would have organized themselves in supportive roles (pastor, board of deacons, missions committee, committee on missionary correspondence, trustee(s), businessmen to give big bucks, etc).

3. They would have set themselves all in a certain town in Galilee fairly central to all of their mother-in-laws so Christmas and even weekly date nights would be possible (after all, we need good marriages, right?)

4. They would have ended up needed to form a Christian day school complete with a full sports program to handle all of their congregated children to keep them away from the soiling influence of the world.

5. Result #4 would have given rise for Thomas to become the athletic director and basketball coach for the newly organized Christian school. (The real Thomas went to India…but don’t we need athletic directors and good Christian coaches?)

6. Oh yeah, and there’d be a church in Judea just like the church they planted in Galilee. Sadly though, it would be the only other one in the world.

7. The movement would have died out within a generation or two.

I am speaking right now at a Bible college and the typical question comes to me after students hear and understand the implications of the Great Commission: “We can’t all go, right?”

I started thinking seriously about the implications if we all, today, just decided that we would obey they Great Command by leaving our Gospel saturated field in favor of a Gospel barren field by comparison barring any unmovable obstacles (ex: Married to a spouse who won’t, strapped with extreme debt, health, or other serious issues). I am talking about everybody from the recent college graduate to the youth pastor to the pastor to the retiree. So here is a list of possible outcomes I came up with:

1. The people of the church who couldn’t go would have to step up and fill in leadership positions evacuated by those who have left.

2. Those who have family members leaving may get more involved in financially supporting them. After all, money flows nowhere as generously as it does in a family.

3. Missions budgets would be way past strapped and alternative methods of funding would be invented. (ex. Through businesses, through employment on the foreign field, and a million ideas we haven’t NEEDED to come up with yet.)

4. Missionaries would tighten their budgets to include only the necessary expenses (I don’t think they’d be complaining, though).

5. The category of unreached and unengaged, numbering 2 million souls, would disappear from the missions chart.

6. The new believers and new congregations that would be started would begin to give thus supporting their under supported missionaries (think Paul and the church of Macedonia and Phillippi) and send support to the struggling churches back at the sending base (think Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem).

7. Christian schools would close down with a lack of qualified teachers or students to pay the tuition forcing Christian families to actually be the salt of the world again (this is my favorite one).

OK. I admit. I’m thinking a bit one-sided but…it’s worth the thought to get college students to stop using that ridiculous scenario as their excuse, don’t you think?

I’d love to hear your additions to this list!