tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89294518210955450972024-02-02T16:31:13.808-08:00Missions - a Sovereign Grace PerspectiveA practical blog exploring missiological issues and how you can get more involved in missions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-53288085015029737182014-01-23T19:51:00.001-08:002014-01-23T19:51:20.387-08:00Avoiding Several Sovereign Grace Pitfalls<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoE7q5cmk4fiIzDa8mU0GDKXHsZWdzQcWlkoQ8APLqfNLciJWQIq8d15URmLscpV42mzjB0I6JMfUAPINgC2s8H2D8dWdVNXa2LiCTb1smLuv5uGKVTLLnY_UXA7lOddC2MMpl1dmV3M/s1600/bible+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkoE7q5cmk4fiIzDa8mU0GDKXHsZWdzQcWlkoQ8APLqfNLciJWQIq8d15URmLscpV42mzjB0I6JMfUAPINgC2s8H2D8dWdVNXa2LiCTb1smLuv5uGKVTLLnY_UXA7lOddC2MMpl1dmV3M/s1600/bible+1.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Among those
Christians affirming the sovereign grace of God in salvation, there are several
in-house discussions and friendly disagreements about topics such as the
Sabbath/Lord’s Day and the nature of the New Covenant. There is a variety of
opinions about elders, Bible versions, and worship styles. Charity and
brotherly love should be exercised regarding secondary issues, even as we encourage
deeper dialogue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The reason
for my writing, however, concerns several unhealthy pitfalls centering on the
central doctrines of regeneration, justification and faith. In an effort to
stress sovereign grace and the truth of election, a minority have fallen into
some unbiblical beliefs concerning these core doctrines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Most of
these soteriological errors bear the marks of Hyper-Calvinism. Sadly, the
majority of hyper-Calvinists have not historically been Confessional Presbyterians
or the Reformed, but have largely been Baptists. Hardshellism is mostly a
Baptist error. Therefore, as a Calvinistic Baptist missionary, I want to warn
you of several of these pitfalls below. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Eternal justification:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">
As people discover that God foreordains all things whatsoever that comes
to pass, many come to marvel that we, as Children of God, are predestined from
before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4,5). Some who are zealous to
stress God’s eternal purposes, however, forget that God’s decreed things come
to fruition in time. Enamored with the work of God from all eternity some
believe erroneously in “eternal justification” – asserting that God not only
decrees to justify His Elect from all eternity but also actually does so,
justifying the Elect before time began. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The truth,
however, is this: God has decreed to justify His Elect from all eternity, and
yet He does so in time. The Elect, too, were once, “children of wrath even as
others” (Ephesians 2:1-3). God’s children “were once darkness, but now are
light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8, c.f., I Peter 2:9-10). God quickened us at a
point in time and declared us “not guilty” at that point, imputing the
righteousness of Christ to us whereas before we were unsaved, unjustified, and
guilty before a Righteous God. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This belief
in Eternal Justification, or Justification from Eternity, is a dangerous soteriological
error into which some Calvinistic Baptists have fallen. In a zeal to stress
God’s works from eternity, some ignore God’s works in time. God’s decrees are
sure and are guaranteed to come to pass. However, a decreed thing of God does
not actually come to pass in time until its own specific pre-ordained temporal
moment arrives. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Again, God
has decreed to justify His Elect from all eternity, and yet He actually does so
at a moment in time. We are predestined eternally in order to be justified and
saved in time. Beware of this first pitfall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The denial of duty-faith:</span></u></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Another common error is
misunderstanding the role of human response to the Gospel. Many rightly affirm
that we can do nothing pleasing to God in the flesh. However, though natural ability
lacks, sinful man still stands obliged to obey the Gospel and believe savingly
in Jesus Christ. God everywhere in Scripture commands what man cannot supply.
We can only pray as Augustine did, “Demand what You will, O Lord, and give what
You demand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Some Calvinistic
Baptists deny this truth. Some have accused me of holding to “Duty-Faith” and
others have called me a “Fullerite” and a “hypo-Calvinist” for vigorously
stressing that God commands men everywhere to turn away from their evil ways
and embrace the Gospel (Acts 17:30). We
cannot peer into the eternal counsels of God and see clearly, but we can
vigorously attempt all which God clearly and explicitly commands in His Word,
praying all the while for God’s enabling power in the performance of these same
commands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The deniers
of duty-faith reason thusly: How can God command faith if natural man is unable
to provide it? If Faith is a gift, how can it also be a duty? If faith is a
duty, then how is faith not a condition placed upon free grace? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Immediate regeneration:</span></u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Closely
related to the denial of “duty-faith,” many Calvinistic Baptists have fallen
into the severe error of “immediate regeneration” whereby God saves men without
any means, to include the instrumentality of the Word of God and the
instrumentality of faith. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Fost2YSIfgzW656RWe7PHsOG5YQm5PJMIzuelbR4L0IWc5NupoHQ7r6TfSP8jrQwTz_a_yDGzRdX0A6OFkhyphenhyphenxRAhf6lRrsbNxlqX4gW_UD03a6qlfhUNRYHkuGtfYZDhNAD0YZ5vKnY/s1600/Bible+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Fost2YSIfgzW656RWe7PHsOG5YQm5PJMIzuelbR4L0IWc5NupoHQ7r6TfSP8jrQwTz_a_yDGzRdX0A6OFkhyphenhyphenxRAhf6lRrsbNxlqX4gW_UD03a6qlfhUNRYHkuGtfYZDhNAD0YZ5vKnY/s1600/Bible+2.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The instrumentality of the Word of
God:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The truth is
that God ordains that the Elect should ordinarily be saved through faith, upon
the hearing of the Gospel. Infants and the mentally infirm constitute
extraordinary cases, yet ordinarily the witness of Scripture states the
following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">“Ye are already clean
because of [or through] the word I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3).</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">“Of His own will he
brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits
of His creatures.”(James 1:18).</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-indent: -0.25in;">"...knowing,
beloved brethren, your election by God. For our gospel did not come to you in
word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much
assurance." (1 Thess 1:4, 5).</span></b></li>
</ul>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; display: none; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-hide: all;">·</span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; display: none; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">“But you must continue in the things
which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have
learned them, and that from childhood
you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (II Timothy 3:14).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmY1Sr2K9zenraBrFTb78o2utvwmlUEHQEgS-W0wB7gCQMHCWnxCw7nh2R1k7mV927aD0_O7_NJ7wdftfdfz8YtvFN65xtApUjKFK3Ixl3c6loLEyEZulUV3w8B4E8_0xBUtkbk3ti7So/s1600/John_Gill_by_Vertue.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmY1Sr2K9zenraBrFTb78o2utvwmlUEHQEgS-W0wB7gCQMHCWnxCw7nh2R1k7mV927aD0_O7_NJ7wdftfdfz8YtvFN65xtApUjKFK3Ixl3c6loLEyEZulUV3w8B4E8_0xBUtkbk3ti7So/s1600/John_Gill_by_Vertue.png" height="320" width="197" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Many who deny the instrumentality of
the Word are often admirers of John Gill, and yet not even Gill supports their
claims of “immediate regeneration.” Gill affirms, on page 534 of his <i>Body of Divinity,</i> the instrumentality of
the Word:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">"Though
after all it seems plain, that the ministry of the word is the vehicle in which
the Spirit of God conveys himself and his grace into the hearts of men; which
is done when the word comes not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy
Ghost; and works effectually, and is the power of God unto salvation; then
faith comes by hearing, and ministers are instruments by whom, at least, men
are encouraged to believe: 'received ye the Spirit', says the apostle, 'by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith': Ga 3:2 that is, by the preaching
of the law, or by the preaching of the gospel? by the latter, no doubt."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; display: none; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hide: all;">The same God who has ordained the ends
of all things, has also ordained the means. God works through His Word. Chapter
14 of the Westminster Confession, as well as the 1689 Baptist Confession of
Faith, states that saving faith “is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their
hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word” and the Second
Helvetic Confession quoting Romans 10:17 on this point asserts, “Faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (16:2).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The instrumentality of Faith</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Chapter 14,
“Of Saving Faith”, in both the Westminster Confession of Faith as well as the
1689 Confession of Faith, summarizes the role of faith as an instrument through
which God saves the Elect: "The grace of faith, whereby the elect are
enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of
Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the
Word..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The Belgic
Confession (Article 2) explains further:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Therefore
we justly say with Paul, that we are justified by faith alone, or by faith
without works. However, to speak more clearly, we do not mean that faith itself
justifies us, for it is only an instrument with which we embrace Christ our
Righteousness. But Jesus Christ, imputing to us all His merits, and so many
holy works which He hath done for us and in our stead, is our Righteousness.
And faith is an instrument that keeps us in communion with Him in all His
benefits…” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Below is an explanation concerning the instrumentality of
faith that I sent to one Primitive Baptist man who vigorously denied this truth,
calling it a form of “works-righteousness.” Examine my explanation yourself to
see if it accords with Scripture:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i>“The Elect are justified by or through faith (Rom. 1:17;
3:25, 28, 30; 5:1; Eph. 2:8; Gal. 2:16; 3:11, 24; Phil 3:9). </i></div>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Faith is not the reason or ultimate grounds for the Elect’s
justification. We are not saved because of our faith or on the grounds of our
faith, as if we can produce a certain sufficient measure of this substance from
within ourselves which God would then honor and allow us into heaven. This would be to make faith into a
meritorious act and our work of producing enough faith of sufficient quality to
be a work of righteousness, able to commend us before God. This would be yet
another form of works-righteousness. </i></div>
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<i>This may be part of your zeal in denying
“duty-faith” – your legitimate desire to guard against any form of
“works-righteousness.”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>However, though we are not saved because of our faith, faith
is the instrument through which God’s Elect are united to Christ. The
expressions are thus—dia pisteos, ek pisteos, and pistei, which can all be
translated as “by means of” or “through” faith. </i></div>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Faith is the instrument which lays hold of Jesus. God,
through free grace, enables a person to believe. It is a gift of grace, yet God
does not believe for the man; the man must believe. </i></div>
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<i>Therefore, being an
instrument and channel, faith does not come at some later time after a person
is united to Christ, but a person is united to Christ by faith itself.
Therefore, though it is proper to speak of a logical priority of regeneration
over faith/conversion, God monergistically taking initiative to move the man,
let us not mistake a logical priority with a chronological one; there is no
perceptible chronological gap in time, nor are there any who are regenerate but
who have yet to exercise saving faith. Everywhere we see faith we will see the
new birth, and where we see the new birth we will see faith. </i></div>
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<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i>Again, Ek pisteos (“by” or “from” or “out of” faith)
describes faith as that which logically precedes a person’s justification.
Faith is the gift of God which is given to us so that we may cling to Christ,
though it is never the efficient or ultimate cause of justification, the dative
use of the noun pistis being used in an instrumental sense (see also Rom.
3:28).”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Likewise,
not only faith but repentance as well, is an essential grace-gift that the
Elect must possess for salvation. Though faith and repentance are not produced
within ourselves by our own merits, we still must possess these gifts of grace,
wrought by the work of Christ for His Elect on the Cross, for us to see heaven. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The Westminster Confession of Faith guards us from error in regard to the
necessity of repentance:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">"Although
repentance be not to be rested in as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of
the pardon thereof, which is the act of God's free grace in Christ; yet is it
of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it.” (The Westminster Confession of Faith,
15:1-3).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Thus, we see that an “instrument” is not
the effective cause of a thing, and that God unites us to Christ by the
instrumentality of faith upon the hearing of the Word. To believe these things
is not “works-righteousness” but are truths defended both biblically and
historically. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Placing regeneration chronologically
prior to faith: </span></u></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Placing regeneration at some point in
chronological time prior to faith is the 3<sup>rd</sup> sovereign grace
soteriological pitfall.<b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Perhaps this
error is an understandable reaction to the prevalent error in many churches
today. Many falsely believe that mankind summons up some measure of
man-produced faith, which then commends them to God in such a way that God then
grants them the new birth. Thus, our faith produced from within causes God to
regenerate us in a synergistic cooperation. Thus, man’s initiative is critical
in salvation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This common
view is contrary to Scripture, which speak of a divine monergism, whereby God
is the one who initiates the work as well as completes it (Philippians 1:6).
Thus, the new birth, regeneration, is the cause and not the effect of our
faith. Thus, many sovereign grace theologians rightly defend the logical
priority of regeneration over faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">However,
some have mistaken a logical priority with a chronological one. Instead of seeing
regeneration/conversion as a “package deal” even as God takes the initiative,
some have defended a scheme of salvation whereby regeneration occurs
chronologically first and then faith comes later (in time). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The truth is
this: There are no regenerated people walking around that lack faith. We should
not expect to encounter faithless persons who nonetheless possess regenerate
souls. God moves the wheel, yet all the
spokes of the wheel turn at once. A logical priority does not necessitate a gap
in chronological time. Some Primitive Baptists speak of regenerate people
walking around that just need to know that they are already regenerate.
However, if you are saved, you surely know it – now – through faith in Christ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h3>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Conclusion:<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> I love the
doctrine of God’s sovereignty. To know that all things work for God’s glory and
His People’s good is a great comfort during times of trial. The knowledge that
God has a People that He will unfailingly call to salvation motivates my
missionary activities. God’s eternal decrees and His works from eternity cause
us to marvel, as does God’s free grace in salvation apart from human
contribution. However, in our zeal to defend these great doctrines, let us also
remember the instrumentalities that God ordains and that God’s eternal decrees
are decreed to unfold in time. Let us beware of these pitfalls above.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-46402770757455334752013-12-13T03:55:00.002-08:002013-12-13T03:55:50.949-08:00MOTHERHOOD IS MINISTRY <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h2>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> By Teresa Johnson</span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bM_afxeM9WJr9VUmU8NczbhEKcSJphbG_e2P-VwkmzI9ruUBlYCb1Q14OKFFi-h1VlyZ9GiBUPZWtyGabd-syJ7NEAGRamOuyvW995ed1PndlnIHzyWJcra4V-2lsm92omugzJGq3XU/s1600/mom+and+perpetch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bM_afxeM9WJr9VUmU8NczbhEKcSJphbG_e2P-VwkmzI9ruUBlYCb1Q14OKFFi-h1VlyZ9GiBUPZWtyGabd-syJ7NEAGRamOuyvW995ed1PndlnIHzyWJcra4V-2lsm92omugzJGq3XU/s1600/mom+and+perpetch.jpg" /></a></div>
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“<i>The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world”</i> –William Ross Wallace<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">As Trevor and I researched going into missions, I still remember one well-meaning representative from an evangelical missions agency asking me this awkward question: “<i>Okay, now what will be <u>your</u> ministry on the field?”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">"<i>Um…my family?"</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The lady was not satisfied, but persisted, "<i>I mean what else, like…um...like what <b>ministry </b></i>[enunciating <i>that</i> word]...<i>will you be doing?</i>" <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">What? I was at a loss as to what to tell her. We wanted to safe-guard my future priorities at home, having no children at that point, but planning big! We asked ourselves, would our family choices be embraced by this missionary organization?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPw2Uhqkx76gYFSjtDHgyZdQOWsRJdCO4nVQyj6P3DOUTrsKKmleYHNAoM7Kb-Vs28TH3-D8-J15IECMT6ug01UB8pDrrckRhtlKUtZxXhx6scHDYMLC0M7zYxPa7VCCniFQPkaMBzuI8/s1600/Heartcry+pic+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPw2Uhqkx76gYFSjtDHgyZdQOWsRJdCO4nVQyj6P3DOUTrsKKmleYHNAoM7Kb-Vs28TH3-D8-J15IECMT6ug01UB8pDrrckRhtlKUtZxXhx6scHDYMLC0M7zYxPa7VCCniFQPkaMBzuI8/s320/Heartcry+pic+12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sometimes mothers feel guilty for not doing more. But, during those “Little Years” of one’s children, your family needs you the most. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">There’s no need for remorse when prioritizing family.</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Motherhood
doesn’t limit one on the mission field – but shows the Gospel in action.</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ministry is not merely what we do; ministry
flows out of being. What we do out of the home flows naturally from what is
done in the home. Home-life and ministry
life are interconnected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many folks who will not read Scripture
will ‘read’ Christians every day. Let
them read the whole weighty tome of an entire Christian family! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To plant the
church deeply in the world, plant it first deeply in the home. Marriage and family are tools of sanctification.
We daily learn to die to self and live for others. Christ humbled himself. Likewise, many
mothers remain unknown to the world and yet have blessed the world more than
most of the famous have ever done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9wcD24TZ0vFpQ0Uko9dq8MqO8ZyPYwXcDFsEnltVt06hfyPBSxwPFhgjYMGv9D0FLyIv7gGl4H9-cNlT3MW87L0t5XZlksHqxRmkwKQkqltgsdGxtcKg7198NtYaGZWY9MuhzMvvaPE/s1600/40690_451036885675_775400675_6403906_3526253_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu9wcD24TZ0vFpQ0Uko9dq8MqO8ZyPYwXcDFsEnltVt06hfyPBSxwPFhgjYMGv9D0FLyIv7gGl4H9-cNlT3MW87L0t5XZlksHqxRmkwKQkqltgsdGxtcKg7198NtYaGZWY9MuhzMvvaPE/s320/40690_451036885675_775400675_6403906_3526253_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Modeling
a Christian home is ministry</span></u></b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span></u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
family is in crisis in Papua. The faith is not being passed on. Even families of church leaders suffer much
sinful dysfunction. Modeling a Christian
family, showing how the Gospel impacts motherhood , marriage, and child-rearing,
is vital. Mirror the Gospel. This is ministry!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Often, Papuans comment on our home-life
(I’m glad somebody thinks our family is orderly . . . it seems so chaotic </span><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">at times). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">One evangelist commented to Trevor, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“<i>We know you must really know God because we
see your family and your children . . . they are so smart and obedient . . . and
we would like to know more as well so that we can also teach our children.” </i>Another grieved, “<i>We teach our children to hunt from a young age, because we ourselves
know how to hunt. We teach our children to make boats from the time they are
small, because we know about these things. But our children are not learning
the Gospel from us – maybe this means that we do not know it ourselves. We want
to know it more.</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdDrKfXkzzCi3JVP9G9QfoiNHllRrtRKSp_1XQ-rncdK_IMkWQ1C-sdLh50xpnaDESr8jSk7RqNjk3RkkR4zArXKbIam6CePiskco5nRg5tS_-Dacd8e6ktCMrLdm6zTwD4A2_Rbs8NU/s1600/mommy+and+petch+almost+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdDrKfXkzzCi3JVP9G9QfoiNHllRrtRKSp_1XQ-rncdK_IMkWQ1C-sdLh50xpnaDESr8jSk7RqNjk3RkkR4zArXKbIam6CePiskco5nRg5tS_-Dacd8e6ktCMrLdm6zTwD4A2_Rbs8NU/s320/mommy+and+petch+almost+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">What is my
normal day like? Not entirely unlike the normal day of other moms. We are
normal people serving an extraordinary God. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I rise early like many parents. I homeschool
- but so do many non-missionary parents.
Around 9 am, school begins. I
find myself quite busy with school, making lunch, providing food for Trevor’s
language helpers, more schooling, preparing dinner, cleaning and keeping home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jungle living does bring its differences,
however. People stare through our windows
much of the day. I feed many guests, even at odd hours when evangelists or
tribal peoples need to urgently speak with Trevor, often from afar. We treat the occasional case of malaria or
dengue in our family or in the village.
I wash laundry in the river, chase the occasional rat, stomp the more
than occasional cockroach. Yes, it can be different. But God’s grace is sufficient for raising
three small children - even in remote jungle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><b><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Are
my children deprived?</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not at all! Their experiences are richer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">They have three rivers to choose from; their
usual dilemma is, “<i>Where do I swim now?”</i> They play soccer, climb trees, hunt bugs (collecting
more than I would like to see). They shoot bows and arrows, attend school at
home, get dirty and then visit the river again (wash, rinse, and repeat). They
fall into bed at night, usually exhausted from having fun. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rather than entitlement and ingratitude, a
sense of thankfulness and an awareness of blessing develops. They see how the
less fortunate live. They help me treat the sick who come to our porch. They
see both the good and evil of multiple cultures and can weigh and question
these worldviews. There is added risk, yes, but all lives are fragile, all
plans uncertain, and no place in this fallen world is truly safe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
hope for this article:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Mothers, feel free to be who God made you! A stay-at-home mom, supporting her busy
husband and raising her family to the glory of God is a great calling! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Trevor and Teresa serve in Papua among
the Korowai people. Their three children
are Noah, age 8; Alethea, age 5; and Perpetua, 15 months. Check out their blog at:
www.tandtfamily.blogspot.com.</span></i><span style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 1pt none black; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 10pt; padding: 0in;"> </span><i><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-56738438039691768722012-03-18T23:10:00.000-07:002012-03-18T23:17:50.902-07:00Local churches - get active in missions!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> A Solid Port and a Steady Wind to Speed Seaworthy Vessels to the World. </span></b></div>
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<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Introduction:</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
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A missionary can be likened to a sailing vessel, the missionary’s journey to a great sea voyage. The sweat of many brows and many calloused hands make the vessel seaworthy. Then, the sails are hoisted, farewells are given, and the vessel debarks, often crossing vast spaces and reaching lands far different from home. Sails which are full and rounded with the wind drive the ship onward towards its destination.<br />
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<b>The importance of the local church in missions:</b><br />
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Without a solid launching port, the missionary vessel often founders or is lost at sea. One’s local sending church is such a port, a harbor from which to launch the missionary vessel in zealous obedience to the biblical mandate. Much peril was faced by trading companies reaching precious spices in days of old; how much greater is our charter, how much more regal our sending King, and how much more vital the goal of our journey.<br />
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<b>While plenty of legitimate helps exist to aid us, the task is still ours! </b><br />
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Local churches may rightly delegate authority, utilize outside agencies, or band together to help her complete her task. However, such delegation is not abdication and local churches, especially sending churches, must stay involved.<br />
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While we remain thankful for seminaries, tract and bible societies, and missionary organizations, these are mere servants who walk beside local churches, not substitutes who take the lead. These helps are complementary in nature and are not competitors, having the common goal of seeing Christ glorified and His Church multiplied.<br />
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Kennedy Space Center takes successful space launches seriously. Their Launch Complex 39, just north of Cape Canaveral, is a mammoth construction. To get a rocket into space, the average depth of the concrete on just the pathway heading to the launch pad is seven feet deep. Local churches must be similar to this launching pad if we are to launch the Gospel to the world, with deep foundations grounded firmly in the truth.<br />
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<b>Highlights from Acts 13:</b><br />
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The book of Acts illustrates deep local church involvement in evangelizing the world:<br />
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<i>Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.</i></blockquote>
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<u>First, a church’s missionary vigor is usually derived from the leadership: </u>Churches that are missionary-minded are usually led by missionary-minded leaders who set the tone. In Acts 13 we witness five key spiritual leaders seeking the Lord’s will in unity. Church leaders are divinely appointed shepherds who must cast the vision, spread the passion, and create a climate for missionary-sending.<br />
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<u>Those sent were already recognized leaders in the church, actively exercising their gifts:</u> In the midst of local service these first missionaries were called out for global work. These men were already serving when the Lord called them into greater acts of service. The reward of Christian service is often opportunity for greater acts of service (Luke 19:11-27), thus we pray not for lighter tasks but for the Lord to give us stronger shoulders to carry even more.<br />
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Acts 11:25-26:</blockquote>
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“<i>Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people…</i>”</blockquote>
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These men were not inert at home while hoping to suddenly become active overseas. Crossing oceans does not make someone more effective in evangelism; it makes them far less effective due to the stresses and barriers involved.<br />
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<u>The local church is a hot-house and nursery for the task of planting in the rest of the world:</u> Small tender plants are often raised in a greenhouse, and small trees are often matured first in a nursery. There, tender shoots are strengthened and readied for the world. The church functions in just such a way. Believers are matured and readied for service out in the world. Greenhouse buds are not prepped merely for more long-term residence living in the greenhouse; likewise, our goal in church attendance is not merely to attend more church, but to become well-nourished and prepared as one of God’s roses to make the world more beautiful and sweet. Whether standing tall or crushed underfoot we are to be a sweet savor to the world.<br />
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<u>These in Acts 13 were intentionally fasting, praying, and seeking the Lord’s will:</u> We need intentionality. We should be begging God (Luke 10:2) to give us missionaries to send, all the while identifying those persons of high potential, praying with them about possibly going, training and nurturing their gifts, and then sending and supporting them!<br />
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Regarding new missionaries perhaps we have not because we ask not. The Lord himself commands us to pray the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers, and it appears that God will be pleased to answer prayers that are commanded such as this – if His People actually do pray for such things. Our Father does, indeed, seem pleased to answer the prayers of his people (Matthew 7:7-11;18:19; 21:22; Luke 11:9; John 14:13; 15:7,16; 16:23-24; Philippians 4:6; Philippians 4:19; James 1:5; 4:2;1 John 3:22;5:14), how much more ready will He be to answer prayers resulting from an explicit request of His Son.<br />
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I am greatly encouraged by Brother Larry Dean’s recent calls for intentional prayer for spiritual awakening, and I know that such prayer precedes true awakening. May the Lord be pleased once more to have mercy on our land and so fill our spiritual wells such that we may not only deeply drink but still have enough to carry to other dry lands!<br />
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<u>These did not leave the task to others - they were themselves deeply involved:</u> Strive to be as involved as possible in missions!<br />
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If you can support missionaries by prayer, don’t be content to merely read missionary newsletters. If you can support missionaries financially, don’t be content merely to support missionaries by prayer. If you can support missionaries sent out by your own church, don’t be content merely to support those sent out by other churches. If you yourself can go out, don‘t be content merely to support others whom your church sends. Be as involved as possible! As the Church charges the battlements of the enemy, press as far forward into the front lines as possible!<br />
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In Acts 13, there were five prophets and teachers named; two of these five were sent. Also, in Matthew 9, those who were told to pray for laborers were themselves sent out in the very next chapter. Having a heart ready to pray for more laborers often leads to a heart ready to go labor.<br />
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<u>Released for service - not bound by the cords of control:</u> In Acts 13 the Holy Spirit set apart these men and the local church recognized this call and released them for service. The Holy Spirit commanded the church to separate (aphorisate, to severe, to place apart) Paul and Barnabas to the work that the Spirit had called them (proskeklemai, a call to a special task) and the church released these from their present church obligations and sent them off or sent them away. The term used here is apoluo, used elsewhere to denote the pardon of prisoners and even divorce, Matthew 27:15; Acts 3:13; Matthew 1:9; Luke 16:18.<br />
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Thus, we see that a call to missions is a divine call (they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed…), a call which the Church is duty-bound to recognize, and a call which may cause separation and sending away (after all, if we are commanded to reach all nations, we must first go to all nations).<br />
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Let us train well, but let us also<i> “release well.</i>” One church I know never released a qualified young man who longed to go into missions, because, “We need him here at home still.” And I suspect they always will.<br />
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We must train our missionaries adequately. We must put pre-field training requirements into place to prevent premature sending. We must maintain close fellowship such that we weep at the thought of losing them. Yet, we must be ready to release.<br />
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<u>They were commissioned:</u> Next, we see a commissioning service in Acts 13, a laying on of hands. This wasn’t ordination, but a formal recognition and separation for the task.<br />
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The Apostle Paul was already a missionary, but now the Antioch church gives him formal recognition and authority unto this new task. Acts 13 wasn‘t Paul‘s ordination service, but a formal declaration that he was to be sent forth with a mission. Such an act confirms the local church‘s commendation of the missionary. It is their seal of approval, a transfer of authority, granting the missionary the right to act in the name of the church for the sake of the Glory of Jesus. When a church lays on hands this is a testimony that they recognize the fittedness and the preparedness of the missionary to serve in that cross-cultural capacity for which they were commissioned.<br />
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It is an affirmation of suitability and, therefore, not a light or casual event. As eager as local churches are to send one of their own to the field, such a serious step should give pause to churches lest they risk turning their ugly ducklings into swans and confirm one who should not be sent. Many commissioning services include a charge both to the missionary and also to the sending church body, reminding them of their mutual obligations.<br />
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Such a laying on of hands is an evidence that the missionary is not merely one who runs forward on his own, but is one who is sent. He is not laying hands on himself, but the larger body of Christ is testifying that the missionary is truly, indeed, a “sent-out one.”<br />
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<u>They were sent out with a purpose: </u> At the end of Acts chapter 14 those sent out returned to Antioch, “for the work that they fulfilled.” There was a designated work to be done and they fulfilled it. Mission accomplished. They reunited and celebrated together.<br />
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<u>Support personnel are needed:</u> John also went to minister to them, possibly as an assistant, “and they had also John to their minister.” Paul, elsewhere, lists many fellow-workers in his epistles, both male and female. We are to conclude that not all of these were elder-qualified preachers, nor did they all exercise ecclesiastical control nor administer the Gospel ordinances of baptism and the Lord‘s supper. Yet these are said to share the work with Paul, indicating that we may freely send many to the field. A person contemplating missions does not need to be an ordained theologian, but must, indeed, be and think theologically correct. So, if you want to come and push the Gospel plow, there are ample opportunities for a multitude of persons with a variety of gifts to offer.<br />
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Afterward:<br />
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<u>The Pauline missionary band was field-led, they didn’t clear every decision through Antioch:</u> In the chapters following Acts 13, we see the manner in which Paul labored once he was on the field. Paul and his band made field-based semi-autonomous decisions. In other words, Paul was not micro-managed by a missionary council sitting 1,000 miles away. Paul even recruited others without first asking Antioch for permission regarding every Timothy and Titus raised up. Paul appears to have made determinations of location, strategy and partners while on the field.<br />
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On several occasions I (Trevor) have needed advice regarding issues encountered on the field, and I have called Bible Baptist for help. What impressed me was the manner of Brother Tom Henry, always thoughtful in his responses and yet frequently reminding me, “We sent you out, we trust you. You know the situation on the ground.” He was always non-intrusive in his guidance and non-oppressive in his oversight, yet always deeply involved and helpful, elucidating practical biblical principles applicable to every situation. Oversight and accountability are to be maintained, yet many churches with good intentions can become overbearing; but if you don’t trust someone enough for them to make field decisions without your constant supervision, don’t send them out.<br />
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<u>Paul went back to his home church and stayed there for a while</u>: In Acts 14:26-28 we read the following;<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>…And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the disciples.</i></blockquote>
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Paul returned home to Antioch and resumed a close relationship with his home church, cheering their hearts and encouraging them by reports of the work. His ministry did not cease once he arrived back home. The missionary ought not to seek merely to bless his target people “over there.” He should seek to bless the “home folks” as well.<br />
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Some literature speaks of Paul returning to Antioch in order to “report back” to his authority, but I think this misses the point. Paul wasn’t merely dutifully reporting to his boss; instead, he was celebrating with family! He rejoiced with the church, stayed with them for quite some time, resumed his old teaching and leadership duties, and even engaged in deep theological controversy with the Judaizers in the very next chapter. Paul wanted to celebrate with his Antiochan family because the missionary task is not a “one man show.” This was their mutual work.<br />
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Likewise, we (Trevor and Paul) are deeply aware that missions is not about the Johnsons and the Snider’s, but about all of us. Together, we actively obey the command to “make disciples” by you saying to us, “We want you to go, because we want them to be saved.” Missions is a state of total war; not all go far away to fight, but all labor on behalf of the war effort.<br />
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Let Paul’s attitude in Romans 10:1 be ours, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” Furthermore, let Paul’s reminder several verses later stir us to new action, “…And how can they preach, except they be sent.” What a pleasure when beautiful feet which bring glad tidings of good things have their origin in your local churches and are shod by the loving care of your own people!<br />
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Finally, they recognized that success was due to God’s power:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“…They rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.” </i></blockquote>
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Paul was a very active worker, and yet Acts 14 speaks of all that God was doing. The entire world is the stage, yet God is the main actor in missions; we merely fill bit parts (and we usually stutter our lines). God is the bringer of results. God plants the Church.<br />
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William Carey and co-workers recognized this truth in their Serampore Covenant:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“We are firmly persuaded that Paul might plant and Apollos water, in vain, in any part of the world, did not God give the increase. We are sure that only those ordained to eternal life will believe, and that God alone can add to the church such as shall be saved. Nevertheless we cannot but observe with admiration that Paul, the great champion for the glorious doctrine of free and sovereign grace, was the most conspicuous for his personal zeal in the word of persuading men to be reconciled to God. In this respect he is a noble example for our imitation. Our Lord intimated to those of His apostles who were fishermen, that he would make them fishers of men, intimating that in all weathers, and amidst every disappointment they were to aim at drawing men to the shores of eternal life. Solomon says: “He that winneth souls is wise,” implying, no doubt, that the work of gaining over men to the side of God, was to be done by winning methods, and that it required the greatest wisdom to do it with success.” </i></blockquote>
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<b>Bible Baptist Church of Maplewood, Missouri and their example</b>:</div>
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Bible Baptist Church launched me well and I (Trevor) would like to thank them publicly here.<br />
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<b>First</b>, Bible Baptist Church (hereafter called BBC) was instrumental in identifying any missionary potential that I possessed. Brother Moore gifted me with the missionary book, Through Gates of Splendour upon college graduation. The spark of missionary desire was there, and he fanned the flame. He did not merely wait for me to take initiative, for I didn’t even know where to begin.<br />
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<b>Second</b>, BBC groomed me and gave me opportunities to serve. Pastor Moore, again taking the initiative, requested that I bring a devotion to the youth shortly after my graduation. It was just a small informal meeting, but it was a start. Then on Wednesday nights and then later on Sunday nights I began to periodically preach. I suppose I was started out on Wednesday nights where I could do the least damage. My gifts were tested and developed locally and Pastor Moore gave much helpful advice and even critique in an encouraging way without crushing my spirits.<br />
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<b>Third</b>, BBC actively participated in my missions planning. BBC even hosted a representative from World Team who flew out from Pennsylvania to attend our services and talk to our leadership afterwards.<br />
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<b>Fourth</b>, BBC endorsed me and gave me their seal of approval at the appropriate time. Pastors Moore and Henry wrote letters and called other churches on my behalf. My ordination, my missionary commissioning service, and the formal start of my missionary support raising occurred simultaneously. Several churches supported me “right out of the chute” even before visiting them, giving me confidence and a certain “momentum” towards the field.<br />
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<b>Fifth</b>, BBC continued to manage communications and to campaign on my behalf even after I was overseas. I have received new support from strangers because Brother Tom Henry talked to them; “Yes, your church told me all about you and they think a lot of your work. Therefore, we now support you.”<br />
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<b>Sixth</b>, BBC has cleared up misunderstandings on my behalf, acting as my advocate. When I carelessly mentioned “women evangelists” in one prayer letter, Bible Baptist clarified that I was not, in fact, talking about women pastors, but rather referring to female Christians evangelizing women and children in segregated Muslim contexts. Bible Baptist acted as my champion and defender of my cause, even defending me from myself and from my own careless phraseology.<br />
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<b>Seventh</b>, BBC takes care of a lot of logistics. They are like mission control. They have duplicated or mailed thousands of letters, special articles, and videos of my ministry. The church (especially Jeannie Henry) has managed the Quilt Project, selling Indonesian-made quilts to support indigenous believers, in such a smooth, low-maintenance manner that I often forget about it totally.<br />
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<b>Eighth</b>, BBC offers emotional support. They have always been there to take our calls, to follow up, even to find and send small comfort items that we cannot find here. <br />
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<b>Rosemont Baptist’s intentional spiritual development for the Great Commission:</b></div>
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Below is Paul Snider’s testimony of how their home church at that time, Rosemont Baptist Church of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, helped prepare them to launch.<br />
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Through God’s sovereign design, Trish and I (Paul) received a call after our conversion from Pastor Mark Reed to come and worship with them. Little did I know God’s blessings in store for us through this local body. Pastor Reed was intentional in discipleship right from the start. He invested his time to see me grow in my faith and modeled selfless and intentional discipleship for me to see.<br />
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This was not an overnight process, but a deep, committed effort of mentoring, grooming, and teaching. At every meeting Pastor Mark encouraged me in evangelism, bible study, and teaching, even helping me in my prayer life and as a husband and father. Growing through discipleship is never over, but “teaching others to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2), making disciples who can then make disciples, is achievable in even small local assemblies. When this happens, new generations of zealous and engaged disciples will take up the Cross and follow Christ to the nations.<br />
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As if it were yesterday, I still vividly remember Pastor Reed approaching and asking me to preach at the Saturday night nursing home service. Without delay I enthusiastically agreed, although I could feel my stomach churn with nervousness. This first Saturday message was 15 minutes. Pastor Reed was always there to give feedback and instruction, mentoring me both in preparation and delivery. This process was continual. Seeing my love for teaching, he continued sharpening my tools by having me lead the teenage Sunday school class and speaking at the church services occasionally. He was always intentional, purposely fanning the flames of my growing desire for greater future ministry where my gifts could be used for the glory of God.<br />
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Throughout my time at Rosemont Baptist I never lacked accountability, intentional discipleship, nor encouragement. Where would I be if God had not placed such a church with such a shepherd in my path! I consider Rosemont Baptist Church our second sending church. There we were groomed from young believers to missionaries ready for launch. Now as we prepare to leave, our sending church Bethany Bible Church, where my father pastors, has taken up the baton. Praise God for such churches. Praise God for such leaders.<br />
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<b>Best Practices for Missions Engagement</b></div>
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Below are some tips for churches trying to increase missions engagement:<br />
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<u>Do you have plan? </u> Is it action-oriented? One of the biggest challenges for many would-be missionaries is translating theoretical missionary aspirations into actionable plans.<br />
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<u>Is your church living up to its claims?</u> Every church I know claims to be missions-minded, but the proof is in the pudding. What missions are you financing? How often do you mention the missionary plans of the church from the pulpit or newsletter or elsewhere? Can your church membership name your missionaries and their locations (has missions knowledge disseminated to every person)? What is your commitment beyond money?<br />
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<u>Is your missions vision led from the top and supported at all levels? </u><br />
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<u>Is there a route for the implementation of missionary plans?</u> I often read about “why” we should do missions, but less frequently about “how” we should do missions or prepare for missions. What steps of training should missionaries take? Do you have a list of good training centers or schools that are recommendable to interested parties? Can you point the aspiring missionary to helpful courses of study and to missionary organizations that would be acceptable and approved by your church? Can your church leadership meet regularly with the aspiring missionary and will their schedule accommodate such a feat and see it as a priority?<br />
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<u>Is missions visible in your church?</u> Advertise missions. Hold a missions conference, create a missions bulletin board, have a “missions moment’ every week from the pulpit, have a missions focus month, devote one sermon in 10 to a missionary theme. Email your missionaries! Ask specifics as to what to pray for.<br />
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<u>Does regular prayer and financial support help “fill the sails” of your missionaries?</u><br />
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<i>Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,</i></div>
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<i>‘Twas sad as sad could be ; </i></div>
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<i>And we did speak only to break</i></div>
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<i>The silence of the sea !</i></div>
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<i>…Day after day, day after day,</i></div>
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<i>We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;</i></div>
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<i>As idle as a painted ship</i></div>
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<i>Upon a painted ocean… </i> </div>
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-Samuel Coleridge Taylor, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.<br />
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Doldrums were the fear of sailing men of ages past, being stuck on a still and painted ocean until provisions ran out and the crew slowly succumbed to slow weakening and death.<br />
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The book <i>Too Valuable to Lose</i> analyzes data drawn from thousands of cases of “negative missionary attrition,” i.e., premature and preventable departure from the mission field. Loneliness and emotional factors rank highest, as well as inadequate support. A third reason, an inadequate sense of call, will be dealt with shortly below.<br />
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Don’t let your missionary get caught in the doldrums! Fill their sails with contact, loving affirmation, and enough material support to keep them on their voyage.<br />
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<u>Own not only your missionary but your missionary’s burden:</u> We must become more missions-focused rather than merely missionary-focused. To be missionary-focused is merely to care for your own personal missionary. A good thing, yes. To become missions-focused is to expand that care beyond just your individually-supported missionary and to embrace the people and the country your missionary serves. If a church is missions-focused rather than merely being missionary-focused, that church has a greater tendency to raise up future teams of multiple people to the same region. Love not only your missionaries, but also love the people they serve.<br />
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<u>Be able to distinguish kinds of missionary labor: </u> Types of missionary service differ. From pioneering to pastoral leadership to discipleship, to development and relief, to medical, to leadership training, etc. Become acquainted with each kind of labor and what is needed to be effective in all kinds of work. Don’t needlessly disparage any of these sub-types of missionary labor, but please do familiarize yourself how these labors differ, and what different demands and preparations these types of labors call for.<br />
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<u>Re-affirm the missionary call:</u> I have known missionaries who have undergone stress almost to the breaking point. These stressed-out missionaries have then gotten well-intentioned emails from church folks back home suggesting that the missionary come home if things got too bad. Please be careful in this area.<br />
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You can love your missionary best by encouraging them to do their best. Love pushes people through the hard times and doesn’t allow people to quit. Be like a supportive but firm coach, <i>“Get back in there, you are doing great. Yes, your opponent is tough, but hang in there.</i>” Affirm your missionary’s sense of call to keep him on the field. Remind him, <i>“We affirmed your call when we commissioned you; we trust that these trials will pass and you will stick by your post and that God will reward your faithfulness.” </i>A church’s firm affirmation through ordination and/or missionary commissioning grounds a missionary with a more firm confidence when all of his own confidence has drained. A solid sense of the missionary call is an anchor in rough seas and comes, in large part, from one’s home church.<br />
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<u>Be active, not passive:</u> There is nothing wrong with pastors approaching church members of high potential and asking them to fast and pray specifically about whether the Lord would call them into missions. God works through His Body and one way in which the missionary call may become manifest in a church member is through a pastor or fellow church-member burdening them to pray and seek whether missions might be for them.<br />
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<u>Sending your own doesn’t mean denying help from others: </u>Utilize the larger body of Christ for training. Take the Perspectives Course (www.perspectives.org), utilize missionary prayer letter services, work with a missionary agency to help launch your missionary. The independency of the local church does not mean isolation; we are all interdependent in Christ and can utilize outside resources and band together for the sake of large enterprises such as fulfilling the Great Commission, training future leaders, or publishing Gospel materials.<br />
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Be encouraged. It is not our seating capacity but our sending and praying capacity that counts: Some hesitate to act because they fear that they cannot make a difference. However, the majority of the support that we receive comes from small churches, and a great number of missionaries are sent out from small churches. Small churches are disproportionately impacting the world!<br />
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We count it all joy to serve Christ in a needy land and pray that God would raise up a wave of new workers that will break upon pagan shores and sweep away their idolatry. <br />
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Join us in the work! Connect with us. Use us as missionary resources. Give us the privilege to help you fan the flame for missions in your own local church.<br />
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Trevor Johnson - sovereigngracemissionary at gmail dot com<br />
Paul Snider - smile0979 at aol dot com<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-26184271602445121112012-01-06T05:28:00.000-08:002012-01-06T05:28:59.595-08:00Sign this petition: Lost In Translation: Keep "Father" & "Son" in the Bible<strong>Here is the link: <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/lost-in-translation-keep-father-son-in-the-bible">http://www.change.org/petitions/lost-in-translation-keep-father-son-in-the-bible</a></strong><br />
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<strong>And here is the text:</strong><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Western missions agencies Wycliffe, Frontiers and SIL are producing Bibles that remove <em>Father</em>, <em>Son</em> and <em>Son of God</em> because these terms are offensive to Muslims.<br />
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<a href="http://www.reformation21.org/Towards%20A%20Faithful%20Witness.pdf">Some examples</a>: </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
• Wycliffe/SIL produced <em>Stories of the Prophets</em>, an Arabic Bible that uses “Lord” instead of “Father” and “Messiah” instead of “Son.” </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
• Frontiers worked with an SIL consultant to produce <em>True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ</em>, an Arabic translation which removes "Father" in reference to God, and removes or redefines "Son." </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
• Frontiers produced a Turkish translation of Matthew, distributed by SIL, that uses “guardian” for “Father” and “representative” or “proxy” for “Son.” </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
• SIL consulted on the Bengali <em>Injil Sharif</em>, advising that “Son” be translated as “God’s Uniquely Intimate Beloved Chosen One.”<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
By removing Father and Son, these translations fail to portray God as who he is: the familial, eternal, loving God the Father, Son and Spirit. The deity of Jesus is obscured, and thus the self-sacrifice of God on our behalf. In June 2011, the <a href="http://www.pcaac.org/2011GeneralAssembly/Overture%209%20Potomac%20Faithful%20Witness%203-31-11.pdf">Presbyterian Church of America</a> explicitly declared such translations as “unfaithful to God’s revealed Word” because they “compromise the doctrines of the Trinity, Scripture, and the person and work of Jesus.” <a href="http://biblicalmissiology.org/2011/12/05/john-pipers-church-takes-a-stand-on-contextualization/">John Piper</a>, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, said that “it is not biblically justified to . . . remove or replace ‘Father’ and ‘Son of God’ in translating Biblical revelation of God and Jesus Christ in any language.”<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Perhaps most importantly, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPK93pI65I">national Christians</a> say these translations are harming their work. Yet Western proponents condone removing <em>Father</em> or <em>Son</em> because they say Muslims can only see sexual connotations to these terms. Numerous missionaries and national believers, however, strongly assert this is not the case. Further, Christian churches in places like <a href="http://www.sonofgodcrisis.com/blog.html">Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Middle East, Turkey, and Malaysia</a> have asked these agencies to stop producing these translations, but to no avail.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Adding fuel to the fire, these agencies have raised millions of dollars for these projects, yet <a href="http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17944">donors are unaware</a> their gifts are being used for translations that remove <em>Father</em>, <em>Son</em> and <em>Son of God</em> from the text.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
A member of the SIL board indicated that while “a few objections” over these translations would be “dismissable,” SIL would need to respond when the “man in the pew” created a “backlash.” By signing this petition, you are letting these agencies know that your convictions, and the integrity of God’s own Word, can’t be dismissed. Instead, you are asking for a written commitment from Wycliffe, Frontiers and SIL not to remove <em>Father</em>, <em>Son</em> or <em>Son of God</em> from the text of Scripture.</blockquote>
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Consider going to the link and signing this petition, as well as checking out what missions your church supports and whether or not you are helping misguided missionaries to muslims reinterpret the bible when they should only be translating it.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-72556219085113901922011-11-18T09:42:00.001-08:002012-01-06T05:21:41.563-08:00The High Privilege of Mobilizing for Missions<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Hebrews 10:24:</strong><em>And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works</em></div>
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The joy of introducing friends to my Lord Jesus! What can compare?<br />
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Well, perhaps this - introducing a friend to the joy of missions and seeing God at work in their growing commitment to follow his calling.<br />
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David Livingstone’s proclamation rings true: "<i>If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?”</i> Our missionary labor is not duty or sacrifice so much as it is God’s gift to us – an invitation into joy.<br />
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I marvel that God has saved me. Furthermore, He has called me into service and into a hard place among the unreached. His kindness to me overflows. To have the further privilege of introducing others to the joy of missionary service takes my breath away.<br />
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To not only be caught by the grace of Christ, but also to become a fisher of men is great - but to further become a <u>fisher of fishers of men</u> is an astonishing blessing. Ralph Winter put it well, “If you see a roaring fire, you can grab your bucket, run to the stream, then run to the fire and pour water on it—and you can do that repeatedly. Or you could wake 100 sleeping firemen.<br />
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Believers in community bless one another by provoking one another to love and good works by arousing, stirring up, and calling one another to action. Deep Christian fellowship fuses hearts together with a contagious holy ardor that desires to see Christ magnified and which longs for others to desire this as well. One coal alone easily cools; but coals lumped together burn all the hotter. Let us ignite one another to glow brighter and burn hotter for Jesus!<br />
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Believers are not only blessed to exercise “love and good deeds,” but are further gifted with the privilege of stimulating <u>others</u> to good works. God grants us the gift of not only serving Him but also being fuel and catalysts to help others achieve high and holy ambitions as well.<br />
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This is multiplication! As we stir up others who in turn do the same, including the invitation and challenge to join us in missionary service, we become multiplicational mobilizers as well as multiplicational church-planters. As we pray for church planting movements to occur among people-groups around the world, we can also work to initiate mobilization movements among our own circles of support as we each fish from the ponds which God has providentially provided for us.<br />
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Intentionality is commanded. The word “consider” demonstrates thoughtful planning in our quest. We are to conspire and plot to bless others lavishly! We bless others by seeking their good, recruiting them into greater levels of service. We love them by helping them reach their full potential. We have but one arrow of life to shoot, let us charge our friends to aim well! As such, mobilization is an act of love.<br />
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We pray for what we value. My personal prayer is this: <i>“Lord, every year may you grant me the ongoing privilege of serving on the field. Please also give me the privilege of significantly helping at least one other single person or family move towards the field.”</i><br />
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If God has saved a dear soul and is now calling them into missionary service . . . Oh Lord, what a blessed gift to be able to aid them towards the field of their calling! Give us the privilege of helping other brothers and sisters move forward.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJf4sdBpkSXCjBv4IHayjb5cj25W8v1gt07ODD3pXfkwqfpngCOXeK0KABBB_-xwnPzUdK0sCYEp_1Ruk1Hz-p8ZMHpfcVESs-RNnIcJ-mK2qB6LZbYcmlP0zm4QO2a6QwMDlG3YYchtg/s1600/hvn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJf4sdBpkSXCjBv4IHayjb5cj25W8v1gt07ODD3pXfkwqfpngCOXeK0KABBB_-xwnPzUdK0sCYEp_1Ruk1Hz-p8ZMHpfcVESs-RNnIcJ-mK2qB6LZbYcmlP0zm4QO2a6QwMDlG3YYchtg/s320/hvn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-35960953089096335032011-09-26T03:59:00.000-07:002011-09-26T03:59:07.588-07:00Why Christians should do more than others?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkr71TEZYz4D2rVuSYP0UcSQuagFEVFmrQ7v4peVML_uWN4Wja263oitEw7uLPDiQRaRR2GMjGp5leHPYcvxhPjqbJlFyu_9SZtIbr3OulBDYM4ZAyiQ3HJioigV1ud92gwFrkIo9RQs/s1600/sower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDkr71TEZYz4D2rVuSYP0UcSQuagFEVFmrQ7v4peVML_uWN4Wja263oitEw7uLPDiQRaRR2GMjGp5leHPYcvxhPjqbJlFyu_9SZtIbr3OulBDYM4ZAyiQ3HJioigV1ud92gwFrkIo9RQs/s1600/sower.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
EIGHT REASONS WHY A CHRISTIAN SHOULD DO MORE THAN OTHERS:<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
1. Because more is done FOR him than for others.<br />
2. Because he is more nearly RELATED to God than others.<br />
3. Because he PROFESSES more than others.<br />
4. Because he is inwardly CONFORMED to the Redeemer more than others.<br />
5. Because he is WATCHED more than others.<br />
6. Because if he DOES no more than others - it will appear that he IS no more than others.<br />
7. Because he is appointed to be a JUDGE of others.<br />
8. Because he EXPECTS more than others.<br />
<br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>As the disciples of Christ <em>are</em> more than others - so the disciples of Christ <em>do</em> more than others.</strong></div>
<br /><br />
Where there is an overabundance of privilege - there should be an overabundance of practice.<br />
<br /><br />
To whom much is given - of them much shall be required.<br />
<br />
Those should bless most - who are the most blessed. <br />
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<br />
<br />
---From William Secker's <em>Nonsuch Professor</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-23211220450326120822011-09-21T06:09:00.000-07:002011-09-21T06:10:02.471-07:00Carrying the Grand Banner of Christ, not just your own little denominational flag<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(thanks C. Poe for alerting me to this fine Spurgeon quote)</span></div>
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Here's the nutshell if you've no time to read the full quotation:</div>
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<blockquote>
<em> </em><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><em><strong>"We do not regard it to be soul-winning to steal members out of churches already established, and train them to utter our peculiar Shibboleth: we aim rather at bringing souls to Christ.....<br /> <br /> ..... Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterwards to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes, is a suitable labour for Pharisees: to beget men unto God, is the honourable aim of ministers of Christ."</strong></em></span><br />
</blockquote>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>WHAT IS IT TO WIN A SOUL?</strong></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://onepilgrimsprogress.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/spurgn38.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-856" height="248" src="http://onepilgrimsprogress.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/spurgn38.jpg?w=152&h=248" title="spurgn38" width="152" /></a> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This may be instructively answered by describing what it is not. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">We do not regard it to be soul-winning to steal members out of churches already established, and train them to utter our peculiar Shibboleth: we aim rather at bringing souls to Christ than at making converts to our synagogue. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are sheep-stealers abroad, concerning whom I will say nothing except that they are not <em>“brethren”,</em> or, at least, they do not act in a brotherly fashion. To their own Master they must stand or fall. We count it utter meanness to build up our own house with the ruins of our neighbours’ mansions; we infinitely prefer to quarry for ourselves. I hope we all sympathize in the largehearted spirit of Dr. Chalmers, who, when it was said that such and such an effort would not be beneficial to the special interests of the Free Church of Scotland, although it might promote the general religion of the land, said, “What is the Free Church compared with the Christian good of the people of Scotland?” What, indeed, is any church, or what are all the churches put together, as mere organizations, if they stand in conflict with the moral and spiritual advantage of the nation, or if they impede the kingdom of Christ? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It is because God blesses men through the churches that we desire to see them prosper, and not merely for the sake of the churches themselves. There is such a thing as selfishness in our eagerness for the aggrandisement of our own party; and from this evil spirit may grace deliver us! The increase of the kingdom is more to be desired than the growth of a clan. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We would do a great deal to make a Paedobaptist brother into a Baptist, for we value our Lord’s ordinances; we would labour earnestly to raise a believer in salvation by free-will into a believer in salvation by grace, for we long to see all religious teaching built upon the solid rock of truth, and not upon the sand of imagination; but, at the same time, our grand object is not the revision of opinions, but the regeneration of natures. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We would bring men to <em>Christ</em> and not to our own peculiar views of Christianity. Our first care must be that the sheep should be gathered to the great Shepherd; there will be time enough afterwards to secure them for our various folds. To make proselytes, is a suitable labour for Pharisees: to beget men unto God, is the honourable aim of ministers of Christ.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlyMxq0LeIUKlWhan_MGzlALMQFBENTlqxTtkJJJrGKyT5SNFU0pVufIFY_2TsJ-4xOZ7rBZcqJp32j41qSfgefKO1etm8no8FJytiT_mis7-iQIFFhgS1We0CP9SniXzQGckqP6Qgkc/s1600/spurgeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmlyMxq0LeIUKlWhan_MGzlALMQFBENTlqxTtkJJJrGKyT5SNFU0pVufIFY_2TsJ-4xOZ7rBZcqJp32j41qSfgefKO1etm8no8FJytiT_mis7-iQIFFhgS1We0CP9SniXzQGckqP6Qgkc/s1600/spurgeon.jpg" /></a></div>
C.H. Spurgeon, <em>The Soul Winner, </em>p. 11-12, Pilgrim Publications, 2007.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-84605720715592348122011-09-13T09:44:00.000-07:002011-09-13T09:44:58.189-07:00Are we asking?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvP52__nijrdJlME4ItBKVWJHiNYIULSprMEBGfWwT8mQ3bn_kKaNpdnVe6dczAAx6BUuy2njLUIqeR5rsc1bLUoJryR0_1VZLeAOFP55zQ7XI1CVsECbJYLo5yJl-pC0cqxODGyLX-E/s1600/picture-0551.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzvP52__nijrdJlME4ItBKVWJHiNYIULSprMEBGfWwT8mQ3bn_kKaNpdnVe6dczAAx6BUuy2njLUIqeR5rsc1bLUoJryR0_1VZLeAOFP55zQ7XI1CVsECbJYLo5yJl-pC0cqxODGyLX-E/s1600/picture-0551.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Regarding new missionaries...</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">perhaps we have not because we ask not. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Lord himself commands us to pray
the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers, and it appears that God will be
pleased to answer prayers that are commanded such as this – if His People
actually do pray for such things. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our Father does, indeed, seem pleased to
answer the prayers of his people (Matthew 7:7-11;18:19; 21:22; Luke 11:9; John
14:13; 15:7,16; 16:23-24; Philippians 4:6; Philippians 4:19; James 1:5; 4:2;1
John 3:22;5:14), how much more ready will He be to answer prayers resulting
from an explicit request of His Son. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkPcfasdoabahFCBArZbxveFSp3M1mD6Eo_0njxI7_aTsTk6ZSKnDnIZl4vMQxDBYnAs7YWeqs5J1pKZtQUcuA7S9dwtBSTCEbTePBrXwqMo7q7i_zpEjDdM306ppxwVArAZQT6sOlbU/s1600/hvn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkPcfasdoabahFCBArZbxveFSp3M1mD6Eo_0njxI7_aTsTk6ZSKnDnIZl4vMQxDBYnAs7YWeqs5J1pKZtQUcuA7S9dwtBSTCEbTePBrXwqMo7q7i_zpEjDdM306ppxwVArAZQT6sOlbU/s320/hvn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-18371986613242090672011-09-13T09:08:00.000-07:002011-09-13T09:08:47.073-07:00Not merely running; being sent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOuCtxpXz9VP9WLpg5RVyqE0Neo5DNXAZnoeRjek3tegEvsmFu38potNPDA18wOGkqTAJ_tQ2fpe5hWBJEbNdY-RTrMG1cSnZcNunAtq5P9O2zjy0bRa10Kf0vND-FjWjtex9fhOjDJv0/s1600/acts+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOuCtxpXz9VP9WLpg5RVyqE0Neo5DNXAZnoeRjek3tegEvsmFu38potNPDA18wOGkqTAJ_tQ2fpe5hWBJEbNdY-RTrMG1cSnZcNunAtq5P9O2zjy0bRa10Kf0vND-FjWjtex9fhOjDJv0/s320/acts+13.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">They were
commissioned:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 14.0pt;"><em>As they ministered to
the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for
the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them away. </em></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We witness here a commissioning service in Acts 13, a
laying on of hands. This wasn’t ordination, but a formal recognition and
separation for a special task.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Apostle Paul was already
a missionary, but now the Antioch church gives him formal recognition and
authority unto this new task. Acts 13 wasn‘t Paul‘s ordination service, but a
formal declaration that he was to be sent forth with a mission. Such an act
confirms the local church‘s commendation of the missionary. It is their seal of
approval, a transfer of authority, granting the missionary the right to act in
the name of the church for the sake of the Glory of Jesus. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">When a church lays
on hands this is a testimony that they recognize the fittedness and the
preparedness of the missionary to serve in that cross-cultural capacity for
which they were commissioned. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">It is an affirmation of suitability
and, therefore, not a light or casual event. As eager as local churches are to
send one of their own to the field, such a serious step should give pause to
churches lest they risk turning their ugly ducklings into swans and confirm one
who should not be sent. Many commissioning services include a charge both to
the missionary and also to the sending church body, reminding them of their
mutual obligations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Such a laying on of hands is
an evidence that the missionary is not merely one who runs forward on his own,
but is one who is sent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not laying
hands on himself, but the larger body of Christ is testifying that the
missionary is truly, indeed, a “sent-out one.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-45911648788363975782011-09-13T08:46:00.000-07:002011-09-13T08:46:49.343-07:00The Apostle Paul returned to Antioch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzX7raFMLZvw7CCeixTMd3wHuLMxh-pcfDm8dQ6pW3naF6S-edyumm6Z5-z7q68rrs1IUzJxKgChTn_PI_oa878-HYCIAyfRnZbm8ndf1vzPfqwxvstJsfAQtBoWw-l5wtQn14-zBbhM/s1600/Paul%252520Stirs%252520up%252520Antioch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXzX7raFMLZvw7CCeixTMd3wHuLMxh-pcfDm8dQ6pW3naF6S-edyumm6Z5-z7q68rrs1IUzJxKgChTn_PI_oa878-HYCIAyfRnZbm8ndf1vzPfqwxvstJsfAQtBoWw-l5wtQn14-zBbhM/s320/Paul%252520Stirs%252520up%252520Antioch.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong>Paul went back to his home church and stayed there for a while:</strong></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Acts 14:26-28 we read the following;<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0.3in 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-size: 11pt;">…And
thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of
God for the work which they fulfilled. And when they were come, and had
gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them,
and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. And there they abode
long time with the disciples.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Paul returned home to Antioch
and resumed a close relationship with his home church, cheering their hearts
and encouraging them by reports of the work. His ministry did not cease once he
arrived back home. The missionary ought not to seek merely to bless his target
people “over there.” He should seek to bless the “home folks” as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Some literature speaks of
Paul returning to Antioch in order to “report back” to his authority, but I
think this misses the point. Paul wasn’t merely dutifully reporting to his
boss; instead, he was celebrating with family! He rejoiced with the church,
stayed with them for quite some time, resumed his old teaching and leadership
duties, and even engaged in deep theological controversy with the Judaizers in
the very next chapter. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">P</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">aul wanted to celebrate with his Antiochan family because
the missionary task is not a “one man show.” This was their mutual work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Missions is a state of total war; not all go far away to fight, but all labor
on behalf of the war effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What a
pleasure when beautiful feet which bring glad tidings of good things have their
origin in your local churches and are shod by the loving care of your own
people! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-60391942761047235212011-09-13T08:26:00.000-07:002011-09-13T08:26:31.946-07:00The local church - hot-house and nursery for the task of planting in the world<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNVMRhIRgS4hhjtIXZCjlEC60g-IhFBF4_bnda0SqANDc1tK6jHbLbQFGZ9bXagh82l10EXF5uMJTg-gLLEcKc-TNrMs57XTKVZJA0lSNOgckMOzZcW59VmGQAXeL5iJmZ3nUvMWOozY/s1600/greenouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNVMRhIRgS4hhjtIXZCjlEC60g-IhFBF4_bnda0SqANDc1tK6jHbLbQFGZ9bXagh82l10EXF5uMJTg-gLLEcKc-TNrMs57XTKVZJA0lSNOgckMOzZcW59VmGQAXeL5iJmZ3nUvMWOozY/s1600/greenouse.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Small tender plants are often raised in a greenhouse,
and small trees are often matured first in a nursery. There, tender shoots are
strengthened and readied for the world. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The church functions in just such a
way. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Believers are matured and readied for service out in the world. Greenhouse
buds are not prepped merely for more long-term residence living in the
greenhouse; likewise, our goal in church attendance is not merely to attend
more church, but to become well-nourished and prepared as one of God’s roses to
make the world more beautiful and sweet. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Whether standing tall or crushed
underfoot we are to sweeten the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-68184167378692224312011-09-13T08:10:00.000-07:002011-09-13T08:10:58.936-07:00A Solid Port and Steady Winds for the Missionary Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-KM-FX5oNq7g2oY1yMjkOrttQbooRSzOfvwgJbFSBk4UXgitKor6HS4ZDsfHJLKzKea7-_-0i76EohptnPRRnPN7Nfab76J9SMn_38-JrmJdB7Z33zFgpq0IMKvnpImChImeS9InnLU/s1600/Sailing+Vessel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH-KM-FX5oNq7g2oY1yMjkOrttQbooRSzOfvwgJbFSBk4UXgitKor6HS4ZDsfHJLKzKea7-_-0i76EohptnPRRnPN7Nfab76J9SMn_38-JrmJdB7Z33zFgpq0IMKvnpImChImeS9InnLU/s1600/Sailing+Vessel.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A missionary can be likened
to a sailing vessel, the missionary’s journey to a great sea voyage. The sweat
of many brows and many calloused hands make the vessel seaworthy. Then, the
sails are hoisted, farewells are given, and the vessel debarks, often crossing
vast spaces and reaching lands far different from home. Sails which are full
and rounded with the wind drive the ship onward towards its destination.<span style="color: red;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Without a solid launching
port, the missionary vessel often founders or is lost at sea. One’s local
sending church is such a port, a harbor from which to launch the missionary
vessel in zealous obedience to the biblical mandate. Much peril was faced by
trading companies reaching precious spices in days of old; how much greater is
our charter, how much more regal our sending King, and how much more vital the
goal of our journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe30Z4NdCVmHVzaiDUZeq1pRA4aK0UhClbXn1vLkhuYNyretCtW2s6JtEkW8I6RckSG_2aHAsx-PojWpRd0n7C5KDD1kNRx7Fa9cJbGXm0jSGyEA8xZYCfpyvR3U_Pt0WTGn2BZ-wxWM/s1600/ship-in-sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVe30Z4NdCVmHVzaiDUZeq1pRA4aK0UhClbXn1vLkhuYNyretCtW2s6JtEkW8I6RckSG_2aHAsx-PojWpRd0n7C5KDD1kNRx7Fa9cJbGXm0jSGyEA8xZYCfpyvR3U_Pt0WTGn2BZ-wxWM/s1600/ship-in-sun.jpg" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Does regular prayer and
financial support help “fill the sails” of your missionaries?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,<br />
‘Twas sad as sad could be ;<br />
And we did speak only to break<br />
The silence of the sea !<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">…Day after day, day after day,<br />
We stuck, nor breath nor motion ;<br />
As idle as a painted ship<br />
Upon a painted ocean…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>-Samuel
Coleridge Taylor, <i>The Rime of the Ancient Mariner</i><span style="color: red;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Doldrums were the fear of
sailing men of ages past, being stuck on a still and painted ocean until
provisions ran out and the crew slowly succumbed to slow weakening and death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Don’t let your missionary get
caught in the doldrums! Fill their sails with contact, loving affirmation, and
enough material support to keep them on their voyage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-61772690027900435662011-09-13T07:42:00.000-07:002011-09-13T07:42:43.944-07:00God is the one who plants the Church<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvP0Sga8uNb0cASOPHwyH4TNO-kF1p7kRrLidhLEU6IdtWX0K1graIwY2UX5PoRU6wW8cv-6pVEP84eg5csfv4c2Uj0Y72rONvSGGv00FIlKDTqzqGKtapJra_ueK5k-Dj8hCq8DXL8I/s1600/paul+preaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgvP0Sga8uNb0cASOPHwyH4TNO-kF1p7kRrLidhLEU6IdtWX0K1graIwY2UX5PoRU6wW8cv-6pVEP84eg5csfv4c2Uj0Y72rONvSGGv00FIlKDTqzqGKtapJra_ueK5k-Dj8hCq8DXL8I/s320/paul+preaching.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>“…They rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.”</em>
</div>
<br />
----------Acts 14
<br />
<br />
Paul was a very active worker, and yet Acts 14 speaks of all that God was doing. <br />
<br />
The entire world is the stage, yet God is the main actor in missions; we merely fill bit parts (and we usually stutter our lines). God is the bringer of results. God plants the Church.
<br />
<br />
William Carey and co-workers recognized this truth in their Serampore Covenant:
<br />
<br />
<em>“We are firmly persuaded that Paul might plant and Apollos water, in vain, in any part of the world, did not God give the increase.
We are sure that only those ordained to eternal life will believe, and that God alone can add to the church such as shall be saved.
</em><br />
<br />
<em>Nevertheless we cannot but observe with admiration that Paul, the great champion for the glorious doctrine of free and sovereign grace, was the most conspicuous for his personal zeal in the word of persuading men to be reconciled to God. In this respect he is a noble example for our imitation.
</em><br />
<br />
<em>Our Lord intimated to those of His apostles who were fishermen, that he would make them fishers of men, intimating that in all weathers, and amidst every disappointment they were to aim at drawing men to the shores of eternal life.
</em><br />
<br />
<em>Solomon says: “He that winneth souls is wise,” implying, no doubt, that the work of gaining over men to the side of God, was to be done by winning methods, and that it required the greatest wisdom to do it with success.”</em>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-22722153871134409972011-09-13T07:27:00.000-07:002011-09-13T07:27:09.963-07:00Strive to be as involved as possible<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6OpfdIb2MOkxtoeyUQvVLl1fO3ni3pfTRzIxRxYPunfaDsUPSjVJESdJfYQ7hbF21sif0mn1xKquGdVNWIPUZtRYjhGVVe3wsZi9TZxgw9UQqkKDfuUSaAcsz5wOGybHQzvNRtAfB2s/s1600/trevor+pnt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6OpfdIb2MOkxtoeyUQvVLl1fO3ni3pfTRzIxRxYPunfaDsUPSjVJESdJfYQ7hbF21sif0mn1xKquGdVNWIPUZtRYjhGVVe3wsZi9TZxgw9UQqkKDfuUSaAcsz5wOGybHQzvNRtAfB2s/s400/trevor+pnt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5651849210365550658" /></a>
If you can support missionaries by prayer, don’t be content to merely read missionary newsletters.
If you can support missionaries financially, don’t be content merely to support missionaries by prayer.
If you can support missionaries sent out by your own church, don’t be content merely to support those sent out by other churches.
If you yourself can go out, don‘t be content merely to support others whom your church sends.
Be as involved as possible!
As the Church charges the battlements of the enemy, press as far forward into the front lines as possible!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-20904798352032413192011-08-28T10:57:00.000-07:002011-08-28T15:42:12.605-07:00Did the Apostle Paul make his material needs known?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjQWt1Me5J_UxU0D6KhnTwsOwGf5Sj9DnjjLNrDavD5vP8Y8SplxxCg10ZKftgXJsWJEWV10qR4hT_kfM6EfES0WA3gPLXuv-iMN-KuccrPGUd9_EG1qMo1wvbnPbs7laOnS46ue5Yvo/s1600/the+apostle+paul.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyjQWt1Me5J_UxU0D6KhnTwsOwGf5Sj9DnjjLNrDavD5vP8Y8SplxxCg10ZKftgXJsWJEWV10qR4hT_kfM6EfES0WA3gPLXuv-iMN-KuccrPGUd9_EG1qMo1wvbnPbs7laOnS46ue5Yvo/s400/the+apostle+paul.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645960641892697538" /></a>
<br />Did the Apostle Paul, as our model missionary, make his needs known on the mission field? Furthermore, did he expect a response to those expressed needs?
<br />
<br /><strong>I Corinthians 1:15-16:</strong><blockquote><em>15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;
<br />
<br /> 16And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, <strong>and of you to be brought on my way </strong>toward Judaea. </em>
<br /></blockquote>
<br />And again,
<br /><strong>Romans 15:24:</strong>
<br /><blockquote>
<br /><em>24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and <strong>to be brought on my way thitherward by you</strong>,</em>
<br /></blockquote>
<br />Paul expected help in being sent on his way. What does that mean?
<br />
<br />The greek word (sorry, I've got no Greek font here) is <em>propemfthenai</em>, derived from <em>propempo</em>, and Baur and other Greek scholars state that this word denotes an expectation of "help on one's journey with food, money, by arranging for companions, means of travel, etc." Thus, Paul is stating an expectation that the church will provide for him materially as he goes out beyond them with the Gospel.
<br />
<br />What is more, Paul had never even personally visited this Roman church before, and still has the audacity to expect help from them as he continues westward!
<br />
<br />Furthermore, Paul is so bold as to assert, in Philippians 4:15-17, <blockquote>Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
<br />
<br />For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
<br />
<br /><strong>Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account</strong>.
<br /></blockquote>Paul wants the Philippians to give in order that they may be blessed by giving.
<br />
<br />Furthermore, though he desired not to appear like the travelling paid teachers (sophists) and so personally made tents, the Apostle Paul did vigorously defend the right of other servants of God to be recompensed; "the laborer is worthy of his hire."
<br />-
<br />-
<br />I have heard some missionaries pride themselves on not "begging like other missionaries," meaning that they either never vocalize their needs or else never ask supporters to give towards those needs. They, in contrast, were just "praying and trusting in God."
<br />
<br />Wow, now imagine how that makes this missionary feel? I, after all, always make it a policy to be very open and transparent about all my needs? I have never thought of myself as a begger before. And the last I checked, I am still "praying and trusting God" also; I merely add the common-sensical and permissible means of informing supporters of those needs, since the normal means by which the church moves is through known information.
<br />
<br />Concerning personal views regarding missionary support raising, my wish is that we allow the same measure of freedom that the Apostle Paul allows for (and which the Apostle even practices on occasion, making known his hope of material support on the occasions quoted above) when it concerns this thorny issue of missions and money.
<br />
<br />George Muller does not trump the Great Apostle, and Muller's personal calling should not be made normative for all missionaries.
<br />
<br />Missionaries are not beggers, but we are extensions of the established church who are sent out to do the work of missions in the name of the church.
<br />
<br />May I be so bold as to say that, when I communicate missionary needs on the field, I am not at all begging, but giving churches the opportunity to be blessed. After all, if I am truly working towards the spread of the Gospel and following the Apostle Paul's motives, then I, too, "...seek a profit which increases to your account" (Phil. 4:17).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-69014225891161271482011-06-29T23:00:00.000-07:002011-07-01T22:36:56.691-07:00C.T. Studd on the "Romance" of Missions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpv5PSvl9FGhzZo_TBb23Mozb05e_wKWF-GERvH2udjsjXN5J8Zob2-HNRnqZbVmEZW9T9hR_H_J1fAQLTZXu-pNzE9epNrtAFm2zXZx22435d_kgfv5V9pOXFUFdJcO_kjql9H3QeYro/s1600/ct+studd.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 152px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpv5PSvl9FGhzZo_TBb23Mozb05e_wKWF-GERvH2udjsjXN5J8Zob2-HNRnqZbVmEZW9T9hR_H_J1fAQLTZXu-pNzE9epNrtAFm2zXZx22435d_kgfv5V9pOXFUFdJcO_kjql9H3QeYro/s400/ct+studd.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624623399493979794" /></a><br /><blockquote><br /><br /><br /><em>"The "romance" of a missionary is often made up of monotony and drudgery; there often is no glamor in it; it doesn't stir a man's spirit or blood. <br /><br />So don't come out to be a missionary as an experiment, for that is useless and dangerous. Only come if you feel you would rather die than not come. <br /><br />Lord Wolsey was right: "A missionary ought to be a fanatic or he encumbers the ground." There are many trials and hardships. Disappointments are numerous and the time of learning the language is especially trying. Don't come if you want to make a great name or want to live long. Only come if you feel there is no greater honor, after living for Christ, than to die for Him. That does the trick in the end. <br /><br />It's not the flash in the pan, but the steady giving forth of light and the shining on and on that we need out here. Our job is to make all hear the Word and God's job is to give penetration to His Word."</em><br /><br /><br /></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-18540901696507114112011-06-25T22:31:00.000-07:002011-06-25T22:42:58.474-07:00The PCA General Assembly (overture 9) to address the issue of Muslim Insider Movements<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfOsj0jJan2GKBSoqTpWTdjtshBNbt1E-uO3cbn4z079LAVqqozJh_kmmPxKrUokl0PREjgzCM36ESIPBpBKd1xvaKcuMibMu56Y5ZZZ3_swLbUUOpEofn7PPYIV-sGSJRrYCAWCbG88/s1600/indo+mslm+kids.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfOsj0jJan2GKBSoqTpWTdjtshBNbt1E-uO3cbn4z079LAVqqozJh_kmmPxKrUokl0PREjgzCM36ESIPBpBKd1xvaKcuMibMu56Y5ZZZ3_swLbUUOpEofn7PPYIV-sGSJRrYCAWCbG88/s400/indo+mslm+kids.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622399466414139810" /></a><br /><br /><em>"Overture 9 from the PCA's Potomac Presbytery expresses grave concern concerning the practices of the “Insider Movement” regarding their translation practices..." <br /><br />"The issue comes to the fore in the matter of Bible translating...they want to translate “son” as “messiah” in reference to Jesus because it is offensive to Muslims."</em><br /><br />The Sonship of Jesus is more than a mere minor linguistic concern, but is central to Christian Trinitarian theology. <em>Huios Tou Theou</em> should not be rendered Messiah rather than "Son of God" based on audience preference.<br /><br />Praise God for the PCA who is making a stand against radical contextualization.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-59299165468033409922011-05-20T14:09:00.000-07:002011-05-20T15:15:05.698-07:00"A Common Word" between Christians and Muslims?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6d6bBpwjZon6OOw-ITAE_Xsryf6CMDpMgEaxHw32lfG8m1L7VUXhiJOxL0K25XbPblxiBWnuVjXeh-FuMJ4HLxyhwgXUgYHqZgZRvbtBCcyVXNzapRGmSeZyrz_a6IDpOCAVQlSCImxQ/s1600/common+word.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 90px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6d6bBpwjZon6OOw-ITAE_Xsryf6CMDpMgEaxHw32lfG8m1L7VUXhiJOxL0K25XbPblxiBWnuVjXeh-FuMJ4HLxyhwgXUgYHqZgZRvbtBCcyVXNzapRGmSeZyrz_a6IDpOCAVQlSCImxQ/s400/common+word.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608913173472632706" /></a><br /><br />“A Common Word Between Us and You” is a letter sent to Christian leaders everywhere on October 13th, 2007, by 138 Muslim scholars.<br /><br />This document states that Muslims and Christians enjoy common ground in several areas, such as our "love of God" and our "love of neighbor."<br /><br /><br />However, can a false religion that denies the Trinity and denies the substitutionary atonement of Christ for sinners really be said to love the true God? Can a religion that allows for Jihad really be said to be one which cultivates love towards all their neighbors (including the khafir)?<br /><br />This trend towards focusing on "common ground" rather than contending for legitimate points of difference is a hallmark of modern evangelical missions towards Muslims. We may look for legitimate "open windows" rather than beating on closed doors, but let us never do so at the expense of truth.<br /><br />We are in the midst of several dangerous trends regarding missions to muslims, such as: <br /><br />-Radical contextualization, <br />-Re-translating the Greek "Hiuos Tou Theou" the Son of God into "less offensive" renderings and similar "dynamic equivalence" offenses against the Scriptures, <br />--Some western missionaries refer to themselves as Muslims and have said the Shahada,<br />--There is a concerted effort by Western missionaries not to have local believers take the name of "Christian" or join an established church. Some "believers" remain unbaptized, use the name "Muslim" and take part in mosque worship, long after they have "confessed Christ."<br /><br />While using the Qur'an as a bridge to the Bible might be permissible (if that bridge is quickly crossed and does not become a parking lot), many are misleading Muslims regarding the content of the Qur'an. Look at this quote from the popular book on missionary methodology among Muslims, referred to as "The Camel Method":<br /><br /><em>"Barrier #4: What Do You Say about Mohammed? This is the big question. Muslims take great offense at those who would profane their prophet. The best bridge to overcome the barrier of Mohammed is to simply say: "I agree with what the Qur'an says about Mohammed."</em> -<em> The Camel </em>(2007), 144. (Note: I believe later editions of the Camel Method may have revised this paragraph, hopefully)<br /><br />This is the methodology that new missionaries to the Muslim world are being taught today. <br /><br /><br />In the past, it is granted that missionaries went out to the muslim world without adequate anthropological knowledge and often merely exported external forms of the institutional church. But what we are seeing today is not merely anthropological deficiency, but major doctrinal and theological betrayals.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />See John Piper on the youtube link below to hear his critique:<br /><br /><a href="www.youtu.be/rTY-9FY13kw"></a><br /><br />http://youtu.be/rTY-9FY13kwUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-74521977249499780252011-05-20T11:19:00.000-07:002011-05-20T12:19:14.630-07:00Offering Yourself For Missions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9INrYzxjasYsc-kSPjO38jklqk0kVT40eGRc_eM2J4_FHbwMpnjAYmolYwEZfURGt_EfeHY2xjq3luiErjE2FVqQJUcdORBlSKdHgssDUwWj-o000_eljlzFIvwOF-_zXVJf-HFFIHSA/s1600/Indonesia+google+map.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9INrYzxjasYsc-kSPjO38jklqk0kVT40eGRc_eM2J4_FHbwMpnjAYmolYwEZfURGt_EfeHY2xjq3luiErjE2FVqQJUcdORBlSKdHgssDUwWj-o000_eljlzFIvwOF-_zXVJf-HFFIHSA/s400/Indonesia+google+map.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608879485737584082" /></a><br /><br /><strong>Willing to Go</strong><br /><br />More than a century ago, a missionary meeting was held in the First Baptist church, Richmond, Virginia. When the offering for missions was taken, the people gave generously and sacrificially.<br /><br />When the ushers were counting the offering, they found in one basket a card on which was written the word <em><strong>Myself</strong></em>. It was signed, <strong><em>"John Lewis Shuck."</em></strong><br /><br />The card was immediately carried to the pastor. With deep feeling he read it to the congregation.<br /><br />John Lewis Shuck had heard God‘s call: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" and he had responded, "Here am I; send me" (Isa. 6:8). He was the first Southern Baptist missionary to go to China.<br /><br />The gift which God wants most of all from us is the gift of self: "I seek not yours, but you." (2 Cor. 12:14)<br /><br /><br />(Taken from the newsletter of the Spurgeon Baptist Association of Churches, www.sbaoc.org).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Since not every Christian is able to go, those of us who are, indeed, able should ask the question, "Should I go?"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-39418704439821852172011-05-13T15:30:00.000-07:002011-05-13T22:24:02.883-07:00Generosity and Dependency in Missions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkID2P5oeBTYKZQmB-zQDwevpifBdGgswkJgaxBaYk5gZCACJNeWBNk6oO9-qDbX2zxwPRqvqHw_WENXlI96yLpKPPXQFp4kSf92OKfhNrR0tUEh3GZxyI7a_qAGnVU6hTq7S9h97Sv0/s1600/hwne+helping+hurts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkID2P5oeBTYKZQmB-zQDwevpifBdGgswkJgaxBaYk5gZCACJNeWBNk6oO9-qDbX2zxwPRqvqHw_WENXlI96yLpKPPXQFp4kSf92OKfhNrR0tUEh3GZxyI7a_qAGnVU6hTq7S9h97Sv0/s400/hwne+helping+hurts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606430236044697618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YdEIlTcwJWFKu70cjWgBSOOIct8Cqt-sVSF-_rPLJxk4nB-1IMtP3m0pdF6G_C6DxLHNW8aAbsy9qaWaqUYQ89PpyKx5ghNamIEGAFxGl7CRUsydcIL9w7sI_GtFQv9Lhoy6GVmlQGQ/s1600/give.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2YdEIlTcwJWFKu70cjWgBSOOIct8Cqt-sVSF-_rPLJxk4nB-1IMtP3m0pdF6G_C6DxLHNW8aAbsy9qaWaqUYQ89PpyKx5ghNamIEGAFxGl7CRUsydcIL9w7sI_GtFQv9Lhoy6GVmlQGQ/s400/give.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606430232443927522" /></a><br /> <br /><br />Many mission fields are very poor. Many missionaries come from very rich nations. <br /><br />Even if many missionaries live below an "average" economic baseline when compared to their own countrymen, we must realize that the average "poor" missionary from America is still often a "rich" man overseas. <br /><br />This economic disparity creates a ripe breeding ground for dependency.<br /><br /><strong>What is dependency?</strong> <br /><br />Dependency is the loss of local initiative and ownership that can unintentionally result from our giving. People are given a hand-out instead of a hand-up. Or they are given help only based on certain conditions which serve to disempower them. The recipient becomes "stuck" - and is left feeling helpless - in a state of having his identity defined as being merely a pitiable recipient of the charity of others, rather than a person of dignity who is providing for his own family and determining his own future. Motivation and initiative is thus squelched. Resentment may even arise in the hearts of some recipients because such giving is an insult to their dignity and self-worth. <br /><br />It is not merely the fact that we give that is important. HOW we give is also important. We are not loving others if, by our giving, we are demeaning their self worth.<br /><br />We do not want our generosity to produce unintended negative consequences, such as enabling idleness, stealing local ownership or communicating a message that defines others only through their poverty and need.<br /><br />Imagine yourself as a father and breadwinner unable to feed your own family. Imagine the shame of having others provide where you have failed. Imagine having to endure such charity regularly. Imagine being the object of someone else's prayer letter or blog back home; your existence and identity being defined by your want and your privation rather than by your achievements and successes. Imagine the cumulative toll and the hopelessness and despair that such a situation could provoke.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Stinginess is not to be our default:</strong><br /><br />Let it be noted that, in our attempts to avoid dependency, we are not to take a default position of stinginess, but that generosity and self-sacrifice ought to be clearly evident as we engage in ministry.<br /><br />Two books that I highly recommend are (1) <em>When Helping Hurts</em> by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett and also (2) <em>To Give or Not to Give: Rethinking Dependency, Restoring Generosity & Redefining Sustainability</em> by John Rowell<br /><br />-<br />-<br />Here are some further suggestions drawn from the two books above for avoiding dependency, even while exercising generosity:<br /><br />• Christians are giving people. And there are appropriate pathways to channel this generosity. In our efforts to reduce the risk of dependency, we ought never to limit generosity. Given the great needs in the world, better channels of giving, rather than reduced giving, is the better pursuit.<br /><br />• We will distinguish between relief and development. Those who are experiencing disaster may need an immediate outpouring of monetary and material aid. This can come from the outside and come with little local initiative or ownership. However, for long-term development, sustainable strategies that increase local initiative and ownership ought to be encouraged (giving a hand-up rather than a hand-out). <br /><br />In general, we are to avoid doing anything for the people which they can do for themselves and any monetary or material aid merely ought to be used as a catalyst to encourage or sustain existing locally-initiated efforts or as a bridge enabling local communities to work towards the eventual goal of self-support.<br /><br />• Money ought never to be used as a tool to dominate. We ought to avoid any giving that reduces local leadership, initiative or ownership. We should not give to enforce our wills on others, but to make possible what is agreed upon by both the mission and its indigenous partners. <br /><br />• Works of compassion are not to be treated merely as a means to an end. We help because we love. Humanitarian work is not to be used as a bait-and-switch technique to lure people to Jesus through material gain, but naturally springs forth from Christian compassion.<br /><br />• Those who will not work should not eat (II Thessalonians 2:10). We ought to ensure that our generosity does enable locals to depend on us or feign greater levels of poverty or self-pity in order to increase their dole. If someone is, in fact, working but their work is inefficient, it is permissible to give a hand to the industrious, remove barriers from the inefficiencies of work, or to help remove hindrances or even oppressive power structures which contribute to inequities and deprive the poor of the fruit of their labors.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-76702154681164188472011-05-13T15:20:00.000-07:002011-05-16T23:08:24.257-07:0023 Reasons Why YOU Should Become a Missionary<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYY0fP0LU21liQWwQES6oAx1lk2heNN6N2tEzIdMFaWqfd68McZfo9s2MfxxpZWn8aYgkT2hZ40jJ_SgQlwCEeSQ0Z07remsc4_ihn7okp8J_t8DKUjAg5PyBSf6dqSL7lBvGzQyLjww/s1600/a+new+day.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYY0fP0LU21liQWwQES6oAx1lk2heNN6N2tEzIdMFaWqfd68McZfo9s2MfxxpZWn8aYgkT2hZ40jJ_SgQlwCEeSQ0Z07remsc4_ihn7okp8J_t8DKUjAg5PyBSf6dqSL7lBvGzQyLjww/s400/a+new+day.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606330655918356226" /></a><br />#1 Because God will not leave dumb idols to steal his praise! (Isa 42.8)<br /><br />#2 Because God will not allow the usurper Satan to keep reigning (Gen 3.15; 1Jn 3.8), but Christ has bound him & is plundering his kingdom (Mt 12.28,29).<br /><br />#3 Because the Father loves his Son so much, that he honors him with an inheritance of men from all peoples (Psa 2.7,8; Jn 6.37; 17.6).<br /><br />#4 Because God, who cannot lie, promised to bless all people groups through the Messiah, the Son of Abraham (Gen 12.1-3).<br /><br />#5 Because when we multiply believers we multiply God’s praise (Psa 96).<br /><br />#6 Because one people group is too small a chorus to sing the praises of our God; He will fill the earth with his glory, and all peoples with his praise (Isa 49.6).<br /><br />#7 Because Christ has already paid the price for men of every family on earth; they are his! (Jn 12.32; 1Jn 2.2)<br /><br />#8 Because the end is certain: God shall be praised by all peoples (Rev 7.9,10; 5.9,10).<br /><br />#9 Because, to this end, God gave all authority to the resurrected Man Jesus Christ (Mt 28.19,20; Acts 5.31), making him the Lord & only Savior of men from every <br />people group (1Ti 2.5).<br /><br />#10 Because, to this end, God gave the Holy Spirit to his people (Acts 1.8), that they would be equipped to proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.<br /><br />#11 Because Christ has sent us all into the world & he fills the earth with his Kingdom through us, just as the Father sent Him into the world to take dominion over it all (Jn 20.21; 17.15-18).<br /><br />#12 Because God prepared from all eternity for us to do this work (Eph 2.10).<br /><br />#13 Because we are all slaves of Christ, and compelled by his great love for us to proclaim his greatness to others (2Co 5.14,15).<br /><br />#14 Because, by proclaiming the Gospel and reclaiming Lost Sheep, we fill heaven with joy, more than 99 Christians sitting in church (Lk 15.7).<br /><br />#15 Because there are other Sheep that Christ will bring to himself (Jn 10.14-16); and he will make one Sheepfold of all peoples, and Christ himself will be our One Shepherd (Isa 40.9-11; Eze 34.11-16,22-31).<br /><br />#16 Because the Body of Christ will not be complete without the others, who've not yet come (Heb 11.40).<br /><br />#17 Because our message really is Good News that speaks to the hearts of all men, and their lives (Lk 2.10,11,30-32).<br /><br />#18 Because without Christ, our brothers & sisters according to the flesh will perish (Rom 9.1-3).<br /><br />#19 For the joy of remitting sins (Jn 20.21-23), and defeating Satan (Mt 12.28,29).<br /><br />#20 For the joy of bringing the Good News to a people who’ve never heard of Jesus.<br /><br />#21 For the joy of working together with God in his great work (1Co 3.5-9).<br /><br />#22 Because investments in his Kingdom now, pay unimaginable dividends when Christ returns (Lk 16.1-12; 19.17; Mt 19.28,29).<br /><br />#23 Because your time is short! (Jam 4.14; Psa 103.15,16) What will your life count?<br /><br /><br />-<br />-<br />-<br />(thanks to Michael Pfleegor, missionary appointee with World Team. To help his cause, contact him at gracepreacher@hotmail.com).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-19621229571198533862011-05-03T20:39:00.000-07:002011-05-03T20:56:03.589-07:00Are we too easily deterred from attempting great things for God?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEs-reGeD5rfHZRHsJ1zsTKZ0lMgCY8V8mcCho1Td-TZfwdup5WYtntri60k3ygqk3h_uAeUE8CSGuDX_Bfma16Wky7bgqUcOrLaxFC541eyfp3D3o14lqqat1vP-0sQLZZ4vxNh69ngw/s1600/100px-George_Stott_CIM.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 144px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEs-reGeD5rfHZRHsJ1zsTKZ0lMgCY8V8mcCho1Td-TZfwdup5WYtntri60k3ygqk3h_uAeUE8CSGuDX_Bfma16Wky7bgqUcOrLaxFC541eyfp3D3o14lqqat1vP-0sQLZZ4vxNh69ngw/s400/100px-George_Stott_CIM.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602702609967044226" /></a><br /><br />George Stott was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the newly formed China Inland Mission. <br /><br />Although he was an amputee, missing his left leg, he labored for the Gospel in China for 23 years, arriving in October, 1865. <br /><br />His efforts brought Christianity to the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, where the teaching had been unknown, previously. The oldest church in the city, Chengxi Christian Church, still stands as a testimony to his work among the people that he loved. As a result of the ongoing influence of the message of Christ first brought there by Stott, Wenzhou is known today as the “Jerusalem of China” because in the entire Wenzhou Municipality, which has 6 million inhabitants, there are more than 600,000 evangelical Protestants – 10% of the population.<br /><br /><br />In accepting Mr. Stott for mission work, Hudson Taylor manifested faith, for no Society would have sent an amputee to such a country to pioneer work, and Mr. Stott often referred with gratitude to Mr. Taylor's acceptance of him. When asked why he, with only one leg, should think of going to China, his remark was,<br /><br />" I do not see those with two legs going, so I must." "<br /><br />From Wickapedia's entry for Stott.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />-<br />-<br />-<br />See also this moving youtube clip about another one-legged evangelist.<br /><br /><br />www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJeERJ7GF0Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-48610272808809738592011-02-06T15:05:00.000-08:002011-02-06T15:15:51.588-08:00DON’T GEORGE MUELLER ME!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1QQ6gWMTNdxE5RjGvAWcYVe6dl2sITxCMpv8SgeTc0AnlZ5M8veNcrPvybQ3PbTTJcJywAbMP8PGdXUO4YvgRWxKQITewgGSb6ItD3CaK30zOzd3G6E80nypXX_TtTPXxU-YzjCbYcA/s1600/George+Mueller.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1QQ6gWMTNdxE5RjGvAWcYVe6dl2sITxCMpv8SgeTc0AnlZ5M8veNcrPvybQ3PbTTJcJywAbMP8PGdXUO4YvgRWxKQITewgGSb6ItD3CaK30zOzd3G6E80nypXX_TtTPXxU-YzjCbYcA/s400/George+Mueller.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5570718810562656818" /></a><br /><strong>A MISSIONARY'S PLEA FOR UNDERSTANDING</strong><br /><br />INTRODUCTION: <br /><br />George Mueller (1805-1898) is a model of faith for many. Moving from Prussia to Bristol, England in 1832, Mueller ministered as a pastor, started schools and orphanages, and sacrificed unceasingly for others. Many of the sins of his early life were associated with money. After conversion, however, a marked change occurred, and Mueller developed several strong convictions about his own use of funds. <br /><br />Some of Mueller’s convictions were (1) to never have a fixed income, (2) to never appeal for funds, (3) to never have any savings, but to spend all extra on the poor, and (4) to owe no man anything. Mueller never made an appeal for funds, but prayed to God for the means to support the orphans under his care. And, the funds came in! His lifestyle greatly impacted missions and Hudson Taylor of China and C.T. Studd, among other missionaries, adopted his principles as well. Today, as missionaries train and prepare to go out into the missionary harvest fields, many of them become acquainted with George Mueller’s name. <br /><br /><br />A MISSIONARY ASKS FOR UNDERSTANDING: <br /><br />I love and admire George Mueller, but I have this to say: Please, don’t George Mueller me!<br /><br />Some well-meaning church-folk admire Mueller to the point of exhorting all missionaries to live by his private standards. Some are not aware of all the details regarding Mueller’s convictions but merely want their missionaries to model the faith of Mueller. Fair enough. Others believe, however, that his methodologies and convictions ought to be made normative for all, or at least, for those who really trust the Lord. <br /><br /><br />PRODUCING FALSE DICHOTOMIES IN THE NAME OF RELYING ON GOD: <br /><br />I have no doubt that many folks are very well-intentioned in taking a Mueller-like stand in their ministries or urging others to do so. However, in advocating their stance to others, these false dichotomies often abound:<br /><br />• We are not going to raise support; we are going to go on faith!<br />• We are not trusting in the means of man, we are trusting in God who gives us our daily bread.<br />• God is enough; we are not relying on men.<br />• When we receive unsolicited funds we give God all the glory.<br />• We should seek God alone in financing this ministry.<br />• We do not make our appeals to men; we trust in God alone.<br /><br />So, let me get this straight? Somehow planning and trying to budget for a sustainable yearly schedule is not relying on God, is not going in faith, and is not believing in the sufficiency of God? Those who receive funds through God’s people do not give God all the glory and are not trusting in God alone?<br /><br /><br />THE SPECIFIC CALLING OF ONE SHOULD NOT BE MADE NORMATIVE FOR ALL<br /><br />George Mueller's calling was a specific one. We should not, therefore, make it into a normative pattern for every missionary. While Mueller’s faith is to be greatly admired, his methodologies should be examined carefully before being adopted or suggested to others. To hide one’s needs is not necessarily an extra measure of holiness. Going by faith doesn't mean that a missionary does not or should not budget and plan and let supporters know of his or her needs. There is no greater holiness in suffering due to poor planning.<br /><br /><br />NOT SOLICITING FUNDS CAN BECOME PRETTY CONSPICOUS AT TIMES:<br /><br />I know several ministers who make much of the fact that they never solicit supporters for funds. And they remind you of it. Often. In fact, they do this so frequently that it almost becomes a sort of solicitation in itself. I believe in very clear and direct reporting of missions news and needs, and have no hesitancy to ask supporters to pray about meeting true needs which arise, but I mention money much less than many who hold these strong Mueller-esque convictions about never mentioning money. In fact, some mention not mentioning money more than I ever have… (mentioned money, that is)!<br /><br /><br />HAVING YOUR OWN STORE OF CASH MAKES YOU LESS OF A NUISANCE, AND IS MORE STRATEGIC:<br /><br />Four examples below illustrate why a fixed missionary “salary” coupled with wise savings and the practice of clearly communicating needs is preferred: <br />First: One pastor told me that he at first admired those following Mueller’s methodology of never asking for funds. At least until this pastor took a short vacation with a follower of Mueller’s methodology. At every stop which cost money, this follower of George Mueller lacked the funds and often mentioned something to the effect of, “If the Lord wants me to go [to this park, event, etc.] he will provide the means.” His travelling buddies ended up being this man’s “means” at every stop. The pastor remarked to me later that, “I would have much preferred that this man receive a set salary that was sufficient and enabled him to pay his own way instead of constantly needing to remind us, ‘if the Lord wills for me to go, he will provide a way’ at every stop.”<br /><br />Second: Many missionary families I know have suffered severe illnesses which come on quickly. If a missionary family on the mission field suffers a medical emergency, I would much prefer that they communicate this need immediately and, even better, have an ample supply of ready cash stowed away for just such an occasion. <br /><br />Third: One missionary family I know with Mueller-esque leanings spent most of an entire term (4 years) chronically under-supported and short of funds. This frayed their nerves, their marriage was strained, and the missionary was distressed because he saw so many opportunities for service and yet did not feel the freedom to “advertise” or “solicit” funds to meet these needs and exploit the open doors that the Lord appeared to be opening to him. At the end of their term, this missionary family went home exhausted. When they explained their convictions about finances to several churches, they were approached several times afterwards and were told, “Why did you suffer all that, we would have been only too glad to help?” or, “We were waiting for clear information on just how best to help you. Why didn’t you communicate more clearly with us?”<br /><br />Fourth: A few missionaries and pastors I know have had many ideas for new projects, but no savings to initiate any of them. Their methodology of work was as follows: as they mentioned their plans to supporters (being careful, of course, not to make any solicitations) they then, sometimes, received particular funds for a particular project. This was then taken as God’s way of affirming which projects gained priority and which ones got set on the back-burner. If the Lord wills it, then the Lord will support it was one pastor’s favorite justification for this practice of prioritizing projects. However, I have observed that many less visible but seemingly more effective projects often got delayed or cancelled as more visible projects gained quicker support from supporting churches. Whereas the missionary ought to have been setting the priorities based on his knowledge of the local context and conditions, he, instead, prioritized based on designations from churches operating thousands of miles away. Not a strategic move. <br /><br />A better way would be to prioritize, and then raise support and monies based on these prioritizations, or at least set aside undesignated savings for such projects. To limit one’s actions on the mission field to, first, never soliciting funds, and then, second, never betraying a designation (but never properly informing would-be supporters which designations should take priority) is to be a poor steward of time and funds. <br /><br /><br />A GOOD RELATIONSHIP MEANS FULL DISCLOSURE, INCLUDING NEEDS:<br /><br />A missionary-supporter relationship should never be primarily about funds. But financial giving does play a part. Each partner has a role; the missionary goes and the sender sends. Therefore, to be sent well and to send well necessitates lots of communication that is direct, clear, frank, and frequent. Financial support and financial needs are topics which should not be hidden.<br /><br /><br />DISCLOSING NEEDS ALLOWS FULL AND INFORMED PARTICIPATION: <br /><br />By hiding one’s needs or failing to fully disclose all aspects of one’s missionary labor (i.e., including funding and finances) a missionary is denying the blessing of full participation in the work of missions to many who could otherwise be included. After all, if it is more blessed to give than to receive then the missionary’s offering of an opportunity to give towards gospel work is an offer to bless folks by allowing them to give. Participation in the Great Commission is a blessing; and participation in missions for those who cannot go usually takes the form of prayer and financial support. Missionaries who admire Mueller, please listen! Disclosing needs allows full and informed participation by the larger Body of Christ in world evangelization.<br /><br />If your attitude towards missionary-supporter relations is that the missionary is a beggar, then of course, you might gain a negative attitude about the relationship. But if your attitude is that the whole church engages in missions, and that some go and others send, and if that sending is done through prayer and support, then why should we deny missions-senders vital news about one major element of the work?<br /><br />Yes, God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply, but how does God bless and supply his workers? Through other believers, the Church. How are we to pray intelligently or use our resources smartly if the facts are not known? God does not ordinarily call or move folks without using information and knowledge; God moves others based on news and knowledge of the needs. <br /><br />Bless your supporters by allowing them the privilege of participation in a work that really matters in this world. Many cannot go. Therefore, praying and supporting missionaries is the means by which they take an active role in world evangelization. Including them is not begging, but blessing them by giving them an active role. And an intelligently informed role is preferable to trying to act in the absence of clear information about needs.<br /><br /><br />MOST OF MUELLER’S PRACTICES ARE NOT REQUIRED BY SCRIPTURE<br /><br />I simply see no prohibition in Scripture against “advertising” one’s needs. Paul’s letter to the Romans (chapter 15) comes to mind here: “I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.” In II Corinthians 8-9, Paul encourages the church there to give generously, and I Corinthians 16 contains instructions on how to gather these gifts. Paul is fairly direct about giving towards the poor saints in Jerusalem. <br /><br />If a Christian is privately convicted with a specific burden to add extra measures of strictness to their own daily religious life, that is fine. If one’s sin largely occurred in the area of money, as in Mueller’s case, we can sympathize with such strong post-conversion convictions regarding finances. But to require extra measures of strictness for others which are not demanded in Scripture is usually unwarranted, and is not an evidence of a greater level of holiness or a greater legitimacy of their appointed work. I see nowhere in Mueller’s writings any indication that he expected his own private standards to become normative for all Christians everywhere. <br /><br /><br />THERE IS NO VIRTUE IN SUFFERING NEEDLESSLY<br /><br />There are enough strains and stresses on the mission field without adding extra measures which may add to one’s challenges. We sympathize with missionaries who catch tropical diseases, but our sympathies would dwindle if that missionary was afforded the means of alleviating one’s danger and refused those legitimate means. In like manner, those who suffer needless want on the mission field and lack the means to care for their own families or initiate new projects due to extra-biblical convictions about not reporting their needs are not somehow more praiseworthy because they are suffering more, but their suffering can be linked, in part, to their needless convictions. Unless one is powerfully and specifically called otherwise, frequent communication about one’s missionary labors and all aspects of that labor (including finances) is the recommended action so that hardships are reduced to those that are absolutely essential to the spread of the Gospel.<br /><br /><br /><br />CONSISTENT AND RELIABLE FUNDING AS IT RELATES TO MISSIONARY ATTRITION:<br /><br />Responsible budgeting, saving, and reporting keeps missionaries on the field. The ground-breaking REMAP I and II Studies on missionary attrition interviewed thousands of missionaries and numerous missionary agencies representing 40% of the Protestant world mission workforce. Their goal? Searching for the causes of unwanted missionary departure from the field. The books Worth Keeping and Too Valuable to Lose were published in order to make known these findings and determine those missionary practices which best serve to sustain the missionary harvest force. <br /><br />One of the findings was that regular and consistent financial support is highly correlated with high rates of long-term missionary sustainability on the field. Therefore, one of the “best practices” suggested by the REMAP Studies was for missionaries to maintain consistent and sufficient levels of support. Quite simply, there are plenty of other things to worry about in missions without the added stress of going broke every month. Having a network of supporters giving consistent and sufficient funding allows a missionary to sustain present ministries, fix a monthly salary, plan for future steps, save for new initiatives, and to save one’s emotional turmoils for more important battles. <br /><br />Missionaries who lack consistent funding go home early. Again, George Mueller’s individual and specific call to never solicit funds or have a “fixed income” is not a normative pattern for all Christian workers and may, in fact, be a destructive practice if it were to become a prescriptive practice among missionaries.<br /><br /><br />SOME SOLID PRINCIPLES WE CAN LEARN FROM MUELLER:<br /><br />Mueller’s conviction was that he ought not to have a fixed salary, nor should he ever communicate his financial needs. My conviction is that missionaries, unless specifically and powerfully called otherwise, should strive for a predictable and relatively consistent rate of support and in all their correspondences with supporters should strive for clear, direct and frequent communications about all pertinent matters regarding their missionary labors (and one such relevant matter is, indeed, money and finances).<br /><br />Despite my frustration at church-folks who tell me how I “should” be doing missions and my slight irritation at some of the publications of those who do follow Mueller’s methodology and remind readers of this fact, below are some of Mueller’s other principles concerning money that are very wise for any missionary:<br /><br />For instance, Mueller scrupulously receipted funds and ensured that designated funds were only to be used according to their designations. While it would be hard to maintain a ministry if 100% of supporters designated that 100% of all their funds were only to be used for direct evangelism and not used for the other costs associated with missions-sending, such as food, clothes, housing for missionary families, mailing costs, etc., Mueller’s principles in this regard are solid. In fact, most evangelical missionary societies diligently honor designated funds and also scrupulously receipt those funds. <br /><br />Also, Mueller diligently checked receipts and reviewed financial matters regularly using the highest standards possible in order to ensure the utmost honesty and transparency in the use of those funds given to him. Most missionary organizations do the same, employing outside auditors such as the ECFA (The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) to annually audit their funds and ensure solid stewardship.<br /><br />Also, Mueller held that donors are to be thanked privately and not publically. While hospitals dedicate wards and benches to their donors, missionaries ought to love their supporters enough to guard them from any temptation of pride that may result from public exhibitions of charity. This seems a wise general practice. <br /><br />Debt was to be strictly avoided. A book could be written on this principle. Many aspiring missionary candidates see missionary service put off by years as they attempt to pay down a debt ironically accrued through gaining an education that would presumably help them towards the field. While an occasional credit card expense may be justified, Mueller’s principle of avoiding debt is sound.<br /><br />In all of the above matters, I give Mueller’s convictions a hearty amen.<br /><br /><br />THE REASON MUELLER IS ATTRACTIVE<br /><br />The power of prayer shone bright in Mueller’s life. Who would not want to emulate that? Also, many ministries appear downright pushy, manipulative and even deceptive in their schemes to gain money. Many televangelists appear to live lavishly. All of these reasons make Mueller an inspiration to us and cause many to desire to either imitate him personally or desire the missionaries that they know to begin to become more like Mueller. <br /><br /><br />FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW MUELLER’S SPECIFIC METHODOLOGIES:<br /><br />If you are so convicted to follow George Mueller’s particular convictions and are led to make them your own, please bear with these following suggestions,<br /><br />(1) Remember, again, that a private calling cannot be made normative for all Christians or all missionaries. <br /><br />(2) If you say you follow Mueller, also seek to follow him in his fervency of prayer.<br /><br />(3) A suggestion would also be to keep diligent accounts of how your needs were actually met and to publish those. If you are going to deny supporters information about your needs, at least bless them with retroactive notices of how your recent past needs were met. Mueller published large lists containing hundreds of prayer requests that were answered and the means by which they were answered. Good communication is a must as missionaries strive to bless those interested in their work. Adopting Mueller’s practices is no excuse for poor correspondence. In fact, if you follow Mueller’s specific convictions, then you must be even more diligent to communicate with supporters the blessed and specific ways in which God has blessed you through them, even without asking.<br /><br /><br />CONCLUSION:<br /><br />George Mueller is a faithful example of dependence and trust in God, a servant of God who followed an individual and specific calling that inspires us even today. As you encounter missionaries seeking to go out to plant the Gospel in other lands, introduce them to the wonderful story of George Mueller and urge them to follow the prayer life of this great man. But, please, please, don’t George Mueller them.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-92220383644015287412011-01-21T05:27:00.000-08:002011-01-21T06:07:46.308-08:00Testimony from a Christian North Korean Student<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0KEFbo2tJ_8" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />At the 3rd Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, 2010.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8929451821095545097.post-30262881432245080792011-01-21T04:43:00.000-08:002011-01-21T05:13:52.382-08:00Helen Roseveare - A Living Sacrifice<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtAUpCxXisIBQ0PVjWNnkkSVGNUIHaUck6mNZn8-RguaRrqQ6xAtIO5BqsKg8vX0JoeQucsZhsIHUMabg6-f9eUc2W0HXbDerWNHnP33knszj98wMrSqpjgG6DGasBXEB_F7iuIdCljs/s1600/living+sacrifice.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 115px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtAUpCxXisIBQ0PVjWNnkkSVGNUIHaUck6mNZn8-RguaRrqQ6xAtIO5BqsKg8vX0JoeQucsZhsIHUMabg6-f9eUc2W0HXbDerWNHnP33knszj98wMrSqpjgG6DGasBXEB_F7iuIdCljs/s400/living+sacrifice.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564624900706810322" /></a><br />A great book for all missionaries and especially for candidates preparing for the field. <br /><br />Dr. Roseveare was a medical doctor in the Congo from 1953-1973 and endured many hardships and writes with special candor regarding the emotional aspects and even the interpersonal strains of missionary service.<br /><br />The subtitle (Willing to be whittled as an arrow) refers to the Africans' practice of whittling down a stick so that it can be a useful instrument as an arrow....and this is what God does in our lives. The whittling does not feel good, but God does it out of love.<br /><br />Link: <br /><br />www.amazon.com/Living-Sacrifice-Willing-Whittled-Living/dp/1845502949/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1295614247&sr=1-1-spell<br /><br />and here,<br /><br />http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/who-is-helen-roseveare<br /><br /><br />Please read this and Helen Roseveare's other books as well. She nows travels as a speaker for missions. Here is an excerpt:<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><br /><br /><em>Since 1973, I have been living in the United Kingdom, and seeking to present the desperate need of the three thousand million people, alive today, who have never yet heard of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the redemption He wrought for them at Calvary. These are the “hidden peoples” in more than ten thousand ethnic groups around our world. As I try to present their needs, I pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit will stir hearts to make a response. It seems so obvious to me that Christian young people…should rise up and go….<br /><br />Why is the response so poor?…<br /><br />Is it that we Christians today have an inadequate understanding of God’s holiness and therefore of his wrath against sin and of the awfulness of a Christless eternity? If we were gripped by the two facts–of the necessity for judgment of sin because God is holy; and of the necessity of holiness in the Christian that he may represent such a God to others–would we not “hunger and thirst after righteousness” whatever the cost, and would not others then see Christ in us, and be drawn to Him?<br /><br />In other words, if we [understood] the Scriptural teaching on the need of Holiness in the life of every believer, we should not need to plead for missionaries.</em> (From Helen Roseveare’s book Living Holiness, pg. 32; cited by Noel Piper, Faithful Women And Their Extraordinary God pg. 168)<br /><br /><br /><br /></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0