Being a missionary

It’s not enough to pass people and think

• “They may be going through difficulties”
• “They need Jesus”
• “Jesus can save them”
• “Jesus can give them purpose and meaning”
• “If they would call on the name of the Lord they will be saved”
• “Jesus can set them free”

Thinking these thoughts can

• Encourage us in our own faith
• Deepen our compassion
• Compel us to pray more
• Convict us of our own need to accept/receive the same
• Motivate us to proactively connect, engage and serve

But the thoughts in and of themselves do not make me a missionary

Neither do platitudes, niceties, politeness or neighborliness in and of themselves make me a missionary. Indeed being kind and compassionate, gentle and loving are non-negotiables for the Christian and inseparably intertwined with being a witness, evangelist, and missionary. However, thinking true thoughts and living a lifestyle of kindness and love does not make me a missionary.

To be a missionary, first I must hear and accept the call of God to be not only a disciple but also an apostle (which all believers are called to). I must recognize that from the beginning Jesus called disciples whom He instructed that He would make “Fishers of Men”. His training and sending took place all through His earthly ministry and culminated in a commissioning with authority and the power of the Holy Spirit to be His witnesses even to “the uttermost parts of the earth”.

Second, to be a missionary, I must begin to go to the people I am sent to. Politicians seem to understand that to know their constituents they have to actually be with them, not only talking but listening also. Doctors recognize that to help their patients they have to dialogue about the symptoms. Retailers “get it” that in order to sell their products they have to engage the people so that the transaction and exchange of money for goods can take place. It seems that only in the church do people forget that the fulfillment of our purpose entails being with God and people.

It’s not enough to talk about God, we have to talk to Him. It’s not enough to talk about people’s needs, we have to talk to them. It’s not enough to be near God, we have to be with Him. It’s not enough to observe lost people from our insulated and isolated lives we have to rub shoulders with them and furthermore engage.

So, to be a missionary, we must hear and receive God’s call and we must go to the people we have been sent to.

Thirdly, to be a missionary, we must not only understand their language and hear their stories, but we also must give them the message Jesus gave us to pass along. We are His messengers and we simply must give the message. To be missionaries it is not enough to be near people, talk about the need, know about the culture, have pity/compassion towards lost and hurting people or even pray for the community around us. We must fearlessly declare to them the gospel of Jesus Christ. If not for this we may be theologians, we may cultural anthropologists or community organizers, but we will not be missionaries. To be a missionary we must work that God’s kingdom will come on earth, amongst these lost people, as in heaven. To be a missionary we have to immerse ourselves in their culture (whilst not partaking of the sinful things) we must interact and build relationships, we must listen as much as we talk and finally, we must tell the full message of this new life.

Dear Christian, may we remember that you and I are in a country that is not our own. Our country is in heaven, we are citizens of that place, but we are here as missionaries and we must act accordingly. The glory of God (in and through us) and the salvation of the lost and broken, hurting and enslaved depend on it!

Dear Pastor/Missionary, thank you for leading the way on your knees and with actions and words in the evangelistic effort to reach the lost with the message of the gospel. Thank you for not letting any of us Christians get comfortable in our own salvation and forget about the plight of the lost. Thank you so much for showing us the missionary heart of God and showing us that even in this pluralistic, intolerant and sinful era, God is still able to use willing and available people to share His good news.

Christ is with us, Christ is in us!

Mike J

Dear pastor,

I have a confession to make. There are many times that I get all topsy-turvy regarding my value and worth as a pastor. Don’t get me wrong here, God has helped me to know that my personal identity is in Him and Him alone, but sometimes I have thought that my only value or worth as a pastor is that which I accomplish. I sometimes gauge my significance as a pastor by what can be measured regarding my contribution to the lives of people and the churches I lead.

And yet that really is not the call God has placed upon his pastors. Instead, God has called you and me to be faithful. He has called us to fearlessly declare His gospel. God has called us to walk in His love and invite others to do the same. And really the only measure of our importance or significance as a pastor or missionary is not what accomplishments can be listed on our resumes or recognized and rewarded by our fellow man. Instead, God is showing me that the most important and truly the only significant measure of our pastoring is whether we have been obedient. Not perfect, not successful by the worlds measures or standards, not applauded by our boards and congregations.

As pastors, we must remember that what matters is faithfully representing Him. Likely many more people will reject our message and push us away than those who welcome us and our message. There is an increasing likelihood that criticism, rejection and even persecution will come upon God’s prophets. But for the sake of His name and for the sake of the lost and dying, we must keep on declaring the glorious news of His amazing love and grace. Let us not concern ourselves with how successful our pastoring is and instead pour ourselves out for His glory and their salvation. God will watch over the rest.

Fellow-minister and brother/sister in the Lord, thank you for being faithful to God’s call. Thank you for planting the seed and watering it and letting God make it grow.

Christ is for us, with us and Christ is in us!

Mike J

Dear pastor, dear missionary,

Thank you for being a missionary. Here are a few thoughts about the missional call we have from God above:

Starting as a missionary, beginning missionary work in a new place

Many times we wait too long to interact and engage.

Our fear overcomes us. We somehow believe that simply being in the new place is enough.

Going to China and sitting in the airport is not enough. Neither is settling into a nice apartment or hotel room in a new city in France. Being near is not the same as being with. It is far too easy to allow fears to cripple any outward activity to be a missionary.

Missionary work is hard. It is intentionally with the unreached. It is on purpose with the lost. It is distinctively for the people who are sinning, worshiping false gods, addicted, broken and hopeless. It is for people who don’t look like us. It is for people who are making unwise choices and possibly (probably) won’t make our lives easier or better in the short run. When we begin work as a missionary it is all giving out and very little receiving back.

Missionary work is slow, must be intentional and furthermore faces many obstacles. For one a missionary is interjecting themselves into a place, culture, group, etc sometimes without prior invitation. There is a “presumptive” behavior chosen by the missionary to decide to show up to another person’s “family reunion” with the idea of bringing something that they need (and that they might not want or even know that they need).

Missionary work is about building trust. It is about earning the right to be heard. We must as missionaries be with the people, we must connect, interact, fellowship, build bridges of trust and become a safe place for people to be heard, loved and affirmed. Missionaries truly have to consider running a marathon not running a 100-yard dash. The dash leaves people feeling used, pushed around and abused. A pastor or missionary who is always in a hurry may seem not only preoccupied and unnecessarily consumed with their own importance but also will convey a disingenuous feeling to the people. A missionary has to be intentional and take their time to communicate the value the people are to God and themselves and that the help they offer the individual is of equal importance to the help offered the corporate body.

Missionary work is full of love and of course the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionary work is availing oneself to the culture you are embedded in, cooperatively sharing stories, ideas, differences and similarities in order to develop a relationship wherein the eternal story of God’s salvation may be told, retold, unpacked and received but also where a new human story may be written which launches out from “Before Christ” into “In the year(s) of (serving) our Lord” (Anno Domini).

Furthermore, missionary work is about trusting God to do what only He can do. It is about relying on His Spirit promptings and supernatural power. Missionary work is remembering that it is the Spirit who gives life not we ourselves, it is the Lord who draws people to Himself, it is the Lord who saves, grows and gives the increase. Missionary work is about utter and complete dependence on the Lord for everything!

Thank you for being a missionary! Thank you for caring for the lost. Thank you for taking the time necessary and not allowing the frustrations, hurdles, weariness or setbacks to deter your call to see God’s kingdom come on earth as in heaven.

*I am certain of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it on to completion and that you who stand firm to the end will not only be saved but will also help to save your hearers!

*See Philippians 1:6, Matthew 24:13 and 1 Timothy 4:16

So grateful that Christ is with us and Christ is in us!

Mike J

Dear Pastor,

Yours is a difficult task.

It is difficult for many reasons not the least of which is that people don’t want to be reminded of their shortcomings.

Ministry is about helping us to turn to the One who is able to deliver us from all things but we must admit our need for deliverance and wisdom and provision. For a pastor to be heard the hearers must admit their own failures and insufficiencies.

To communicate this whilst not also condemning is no easy thing. The world and the enemy love to condemn. Accusations, outrage, and guilt are things thrown quite easily as arrows meant to pierce, injure, maim or even kill. It could be quite easy to add our voice to the clamor of so many other ones who merely pass judgment on sin.

Or on the other hand, it might be equally tempting to merely say nice and beautiful things to make others feel better about themselves which sadly may only result in further bondage and defeat.

And so pastors and missionaries have a difficult task.

We must help people realize the dilemma of their own situation and yet simultaneously help them to know the love of God and the power of God. We must declare that we all are sinners and that our sin is deserving of death. We must proclaim that by ourselves we can do nothing and that all of our efforts as righteousness are but filthy rags. Pastors and missionaries must assert that there is nothing and no one good except God (even and especially us!) and then we must lead people to a place of surrendering everything seen and unseen in their lives to an unseen God.

No wonder many are tempted (and perhaps even give in!) to simply say things that make people feel better about themselves. No wonder the temptation is to gloss over the hard truths of the Bible. Sadly, many Christians and even pastors may give in to the temptation to remain silent about uncomfortable warnings and judgments in the Bible.

But we cannot remain silent! For far too many and far too long, silence and fear have won out over faith and proclamation and thousands, perhaps millions have suffered for it. We may think that our silence hurts no one, but the addict, the lonely, the forgotten, the despondent, the depressed and the oppressed would beg to differ. If we remain silent many people will leave this world and head for a devil’s hell. If we remain silent people far and wide will remain enslaved.

We must declare fearlessly the gospel of Jesus Christ! The only hope of this world is the all-sufficient sacrifice and work of Jesus Christ. The apathetic, ignorant, lethargic, luke-warm, antagonistic and agnostic all need to hear. Certainly, they get to choose whether they will believe and obey. But they must hear. And how will they hear unless we tell them? So yes, we have a difficult task. But aren’t you glad that someone decided your need was more important than the difficulty? Aren’t you glad that God’s power is greater than the difficulty? Isn’t it a great and glorious thing that Jesus persevered, knowing that the difficulty and pain and suffering were nothing compared to the eternal glory that was to come both for Himself but also for all who heard and believed?

Thank you for declaring fearlessly His wonderful good news. How beautiful are your feet!

Christ is with us, Christ is in us

Mike J