Pray for Korean Mission Workers

To my limited readership, let us join in continued prayer for the safe return of Korean mission workers held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

"No matter what issues currently occupy Christians in the U.S., they should shift their focus to Afghanistan right now and join the churches in South Korea in vigilant prayer for the remaining hostages." -- Faith McDonnell, Institute on Religion and Democracy

http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=26193
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=26183
http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?ei=UTF-8&p=taliban+korean+hostages

Advice for Next Year's Mission Trip

My kids started back to school today, and so for our family, the summer season has officially come to an end. With the end of the summer comes the end of the mission trip season as well. Now is the time to begin planning for next spring and summer’s mission trips (as well as getting a passport if you need one). Having both hosted mission teams as a church planter and planned trips for churches of which I have been a part, I have a few ideas (in the realm of “my personal opinion”) about avoiding some of the common pitfalls of sending and receiving mission teams. The following are a few tips for both the mission team planners and the host missionary:

Tips for Mission Team Planners. There are several pitfalls associated with mission teams. One of the big draws of mission trips is the benefit these trips have for the sending church. Because of these benefits, some churches send mission teams merely to provide an experience for their church or group and do not look at things from the host missionary’s perspective. While an uplifting experience is certainly one goal of m-trips, it should not be the most important one. Other churches come with a preconceived idea of what will work (usually a variation of what they are doing in their home church) with no knowledge of or regard to the cultural difference of the host culture, basic missiological principles, or the current goals of the missionary. Some groups arrive with their own agenda which has not been communicated and is often in conflict with the strategy goals of the missionary. Any of these scenarios can have serious consequences. At best these can lead to a reduced effectiveness of the mission team. At worst, the team can cause real problems or can even be detrimental to host missionaries and their work.

These pitfalls can be avoided, however, if the group approaches their planning with the proper attitude and perspective. Groups that wish to go overseas should do so with an attitude of humility and a servant's heart. They should be teachable and be willing to follow the lead of the missionary. They should seek and follow the advice of the missionary concerning cultural and contextual information needed in planning the trip. Additionally, churches need to make sure that the needs of the missionary shape the agenda of the trip. Team leaders should be in close communication with the missionary before the trip so that their visit is of mutual benefit to the m-trip group and the host missionary. In a mission-board model, part of this problem is addressed by having the missionary on the field request specific mission projects to be done by those teams. Churches who wish to take a group then are connected with missionaries requesting a team, etc. In an independent missionary model, or for “home” mission trips, churches should contact various missionaries to find out what their needs are and coordinate trips that are a help to them, allowing the missionary to take the lead. In all cases, team leaders should do their best to make sure the needs and goals of both the team and the missionary are a good fit. Finally, team leaders should do all they can to be as self-sufficient as possible during the trip. The less the missionary must be responsible for in terms of meals, lodging, transportation and other logistics, the better (obviously this will vary depending on the context).

Tips for Host Missionaries. Missionaries who do receive mission teams also have a responsibility if they agree to host a team. The missionary needs to realize that for an effective relationship, there must be a mutual benefit. Many mission teams have come home discouraged after investing their vacation time and financial resources on a domestic or overseas trip where the host missionary was disinterested, unorganized, or did not effectively use the team. Nothing is more discouraging for a mission team than to travel a great distance to sit around and do nothing for a missionary who is unprepared, or worse, really does not want them there (this does actually happen sometimes).

To be effective, the missionary can do several things. First, do your best to incorporate mission teams into your overall strategy rather than adding them on and trying to make them fit. This keeps the missionary from seeing mission teams as a distraction, but as an essential part of the plan. There are several things that mission teams can do well and that can be a real asset to the missionary. Second, recruit teams whose ministry goals meet the goals of the missionary. If a mission team is not a fit, it is better to acknowledge that before the trip is planned than after the team is on the field. Third, make sure the team has any essential information they need about the culture and how their trip fits in your overall strategy so they can orient themselves before they leave their home. Finally, see the hosting of the mission team as a ministry to that group. When done well, mission trips can result in significant spiritual growth of the participants, increased fellowship, and avid missions supporters.

These are just a few ideas. As always, there is certainly much more that can be said about the issue. I for one have an earnest desire to discover ways to mobilize churches toward effective partnerships with missionaries for the mutual benefit of both, for the advancement of God's kingdom.

(Disclaimer: This is advice for working with an existing missionary. New models are emerging for churches to make long term commitments to engage unreached people groups for which this advice may or may not apply. But that will have to wait for another post . : -)

An Encounter with "Feel Good" Theology

While on vacation this week, My wife and I are visiting friends in another state. We were blessed to be able to worship with them and meet their pastor. Despite our denominational differences, the pastor and I hit it off as we were like-minded in our passion for the gospel. A couple of comments during the Bible study, however, (we were in Romans 3) caused a moment of concern. It had nothing to do with eternal security, the gift of tongues, or ecclesiology (though we likely differ on all of those). It wasn’t that he said something that bothered my Baptist sensibilities. In fact, I have heard the same thing said in Baptist churches. The belief he expressed has become widespread among evangelicals even though it has no real biblical support. It is an attractive belief -- real "feel good" theology. The pastor introduced the idea with the phrase “the Bible teaches that . . . .” At the end of the Bible study, when the floor was open for questions, a young woman (also a visitor) asked eagerly where she could find that in the Bible. She was not challenging the pastor as I would have been doing had I asked the question. Rather, she had never heard this idea before but really liked it and wanted the “proof text” to confirm it. The pastor could not come up with a verse on the spot (I whispered to my wife, “that’s because it’s not in there”) but he assured her that this was the Bible’s teaching.

This belief to which I am referring is the belief that all people in the world will have an equal chance to accept Christ. That is, because God is loving and fair, God will give everyone a chance to become a Christian. I understand the desire to have such a belief. For one, it helps resolve the tension in the question “What happens to those who have never heard.?” I helps us solve the dilemma of the fairness of God given the present situation in the world. There are several problems with this reasoning, however. Below are a few of those problems as I see it in the early morning before anyone else in the house is awake an functioning:

1. This is not the Bible’s teaching. There is no suggestion in the Bible that salvation is available to any without the preaching, hearing and responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact the book of Romans expresses this in chapter 10:

¹³ For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." ¹⁴ How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!" ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our report?" ¹⁷ So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:13-17 (NKJV) cf. 1 Cor 1:21. There is no other biblical way. People must hear and believe the gospel to be saved.

Some try to explain away this lack of biblical support by saying that the Bible is silent about the fate of the unevangelized and claim that God is free to do whatever he wants. We don’t have to know HOW he will give everyone an equal chance, we don’t even have biblical precedence, we only have to know that God is loving and fair and fairness demands that everyone have a chance to believe. The problem here is two-fold. a. We are on dangerous ground when we say that go beyond what God has revealed in his word. We have enough statements about salvation and evangelism to rule out such a scenario. b. God already addresses the question of those who have not heard the gospel. God has already given revelation through creation, and even this light has been rejected. No one can say at the judgment “We never heard the message.” They are without excuse (Rom 1:18-20). Others approach the problem a different way by saying that is someone truly seeks God, God in his faithfulness will send a messenger. This scenario is also ruled out in Romans since “no one seeks God”(Rom 3:11).

2. In effect, this view undermines mission and evangelism. No longer burdened by the fate of those who do not hear the gospel, we lose our urgency for evangelism and missions. We may feel some guilt for lack of involvement in missions and evangelism, but the guilt is now only from not obeying a command of Scripture. Add that to the list of things I need to work on in my own personal spiritual development. Since God is fair, my lack of involvement puts no one’s ultimate destiny at stake. The urgency for missions and evangelism is lost.

3. Finally, such a view does not take our own depravity seriously. I say this because the idea of God’s fairness really reflects our own doubts about the seriousness of sin. The reality is that I deserve death and hell as does every person in the world. I am no better than the person who has never heard the gospel Without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for my sins, I too would be condemned. When people die of a disease, it is not the lack of a cure that kills them, it is the disease itself. When God condemns sinners, whether or not they hear the gospel, they are condemned for their sin and nothing else. We have the cure, we must take it to them. Without the gospel, we too would be condemned.

I could take up much more space discussing this subject and really have not done it justice here. I bring it up because it is becoming such a popular view among otherwise bible-believing Christians. In any case, that’s all I can do while on vacation. My family is getting up and soon will be ready to get going on fun vacation stuff. There is much more to say on this subject. Feel free to add your comments.