The Beauty of Cooperation in Mission: Foundation for the Cooperative Program

Some may wonder how the Southern Baptist Convention is different from other denominations. There are many ways, but one of the most obvious is our basic structure and our funding system. From the early days of the convention, Southern Baptists looked for a structure that supported our belief in the importance of the local church while also enabling the churches to fulfill the Great Commission through many different ministries. The Cooperative Program is the result. Over the years, the details and complexity of the convention have changed, but this program has served as a key tool for our growth.

Read the entire post at the IMB.

The Ministry of Expansion: The Priesthood of the Laity [Book Review]

With the publication of The Ministry of Expansion: The Priesthood of the Laity, J.D. Payne has made two significant contributions. First, he supplied an important document to the body of missiological literature and expanded our knowledge of one of the most significant figures in missions: Roland Allen. Second, he gave contemporary pastors and missionaries a resource to guide discussions about the ministry of the church. Both contributions are to be applauded.

Read the entire review at the IMB.

Your Place Is Here & Your Time Is Now

We are living through a very difficult time in our country. Friendships are being strained. Children are begin exposed to embarrassing information. Hostility is oozing (maybe even spewing) from every pore and crack in society. Old wounds are ripped open and old enemies seem to be mounting again.

It is frustrating.

It is frightening.

It is nauseating and exhausting

AND –

It is also tempting to wish we did not have to live here or, that we were not living here, now.

This temptation leads us to search for safe places to hide until the storm is passed. We want to protect our faith, our families, our way of life. These reactions are normal and to be expected; however, I want to suggest that they are not the Christian response to our current cultural crisis. Rather than wishing for a different life in a different place and different time, let’s embrace these challenges as God’s mission field. Nothing we are enduring has voided God’s mission nor will it derail His plan. However, we are his body and his mission must advance through us.

Rather that hunkering down until the storm passes, let’s step out into the wild weather and recognize that God’s place for us is here and God’s time for us is now.

How shall we live as missionaries in this new world. Below I want to provide some lessons we teach to missionaries as they head to the mission field.

Learn the Language

Too many of us have spent our lives around people who are just like us. We know the jokes and understand the meaning of words and phrase. However, a missionary realizes that in order to communicate properly, she needs to learn how others talk. What do the words mean? We learn that, just because something sounds familiar doesn’t mean that it is the same.

Here is a we all need to ask: “What do you mean by that?”

Enjoy the differences

Not everything that is different is bad. It is easy to feel attacked when something is unfamiliar. Sometimes this is true. However, this should not be our default attitude. Enjoy meeting new people. Enjoy new conversations and new entertainment. Don’t abandon biblical convictions, but enjoy what you can.

Seek to Understand before being Understood

Examine your FaceBook or Twitter feed. Do you see how many of us are actually talking past each other? Many are forwarding, liking, sharing, retweeting, just to amplify their position or to make themselves look important. It is time for us to slow down and listen. Listening and seeking to really understand a position, even one you may disagree with, is not the same as endorsing it. It is actually obeying Jesus’s commandment to “Do to others as you would have them to do you.”

As a missionary, your credibility does not rest primarily on your being understood. Rather, it rests on you being able to relate the gospel to the real hopes, concerns, fears, dreams of the people you are talking to. This requires listening and understanding.

Embrace the chaos as a challenge and opportunity

The chaos of these times is not an invitation for Christians to run and hide or huddle in our safe-places. The gospel of Jesus is the power of God to salvation. It is light in the darkness that surrounds us and remember, in the darkness the light shines best.

The chaos of our day presents tremendous opportunities for mission minded Christians to give a reason for the hope that is within us. Run to the chaos, not away from it.

Pray

Talk to God about the confusion and difficulty of the day. Prayer is our source of strength and it is the means for applying God’s promises.

Don’t allow the strain of the day to force you to worry. Let it lead you to pray.

Share Christ regularly, creatively, and boldly

You can be sure of this: where sin abounds, grace abounds even more. In our sinful society there is a vacuum of grace. Everyone is sharing opinions and advocating for one position or another. However, only Christians have the opportunity to present the hope for the world.

Don’t be distracted or fearful. Now is not the time to shrink away. Now is the time to speak often, winsomely, and with courage.

Trust God

I challenge you to take your Bible (print or digital) and do a search of all the times it says “Fear Not” or “Do not be afraid.”

Seriously do it! Then ask yourself, what was happening at that moment when God told his followers to trust him and not be afraid.

Make a list and then ask yourself: “Why am I not able to trust God? Why am I living in fear?”

God has not abandoned us. Living as a missionary requires us to trust God for protection, success, help, and security. He is much more reliable than we are.

I like what Paul said about King David in Acts 13:36. For David, after serving in his own generation in God’s plan, fell asleep. . .”

What a challenge. David was faithful to God’s plan in his generation.

This is our generation – this is our time and this is our place. Serve God’s Plan!

WHAT CAN AN ANT TEACH US ABOUT EVANGELISM?

 have used these verses as business and personal management. This post considers the ant in relationship to the spiritual discipline of personal evangelism. Last week, I gave some simple solutions to common problems with personal evangelism. You can see that post by clicking here.

Today - let’s consider the ant!

Go to the ant, you slacker!

Observe its ways and become wise.

Without leader, administrator, or ruler,

it prepares its provisions in summer;

it gathers its food during harvest.

How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?

When will you get up from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the arms to rest,

and your poverty will come like a robber,

your need, like a bandit.

(Proverbs 6:6—11 HCSB)

1. The Ant is a Self-Initiator -

Apparently, the ant doesn’t wake up in the morning and wait to be told what to do. He knows what to do and does necessary tasks.

Many, only engage in personal evangelism when we feel guilty or when someone else plans the event or the mission trip.  This is not the pathway to success. Every successful personal evangelist I know makes a personal choice to be one. They do not wait for someone else to lead them. Most of us know we should share our faith more - what we lack is the self-discipline to do it – Consider the Ant!

2. The Ant Knows that There is an Important Day Coming -

The ant’s motivation is the internal conviction that what he does today is essential for survival later.

This is more true for evangelism. A day is coming, and no one knows the exact time, when a relationship with Jesus will make all the difference. Of course, I am thinking about the day a person dies or gives an account for before the throne of God for their life. (BTY - take some time a listen to this sermon from SEBTS chapel. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of this coming day.)

However, there are other important days coming. A relationship with Jesus will make a difference on the day a parent give answers to a questioning teenager. A personal relationship with God will give peace on the day we face heartbreak or personal tragedy. We don’t always know when, but we know an important day is coming  – Consider the Ant!

Here is a quick acrostic that can help us be ANTs in our Evangelism

A-ctive without being told

N-ow focused

T-houghtful about the Future.

Our prayer is that God will use you to make a difference