The OT and Christian Missions

 Christopher Wright’s The Mission of God is an outstanding contribution to the fields of hermeneutics, biblical theology, missions, and evangelism (among others).  It is a unique and amazing resource for pastors, church planters, missionaries, and any Christian interested in a detailed yet readable study of the mission of our Triune God.  Here’s one short quote that I highlighted as I read through it last year.  It comes in the chapter entitled, “God and the Nations in Old Testament Vision.”

“All stand under YHWH’s judgment.  All can turn to YHWH and find his mercy.  This surely has to be one of the most foundational elements of the Old Testament contribution to our theology of mission.”

“1) If it were not the case that all nations stand under the impending judgment of God, there would be no need to proclaim the gospel.”

“2) But if it were not for the fact that God deals in mercy and forgiveness with all who repent, there would be no gospel to proclaim.”

Christopher Wright, The Mission of God (Downers Grove: IVP, 2006), 462.

rev. shane lems

Missionaries and the Mission Field: On Leaving

As I’ve mentioned before, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? by Roland Allen is an absolute must-read for missionaries, evangelists, church planters, and others involved in mission work.  Though it might be a bit dated, the content is more than a little valuable.  For example, near the end of the book Allen talks about how a missionary should – following the Apostle Paul’s example – prepare the way for his retirement right from the outset of his work.  “Retire” in this context means “leave a particular mission work.”  Here’s Allen:

“He [the missionary] can live his live amongst his people and deal with them as though he would have no successor.  He should remember that he is the least permanent element in the church.  He may fall sick and go home, or he may die, or he may be called elsewhere.  He disappears, the church remains.  The native Christians are the permanent element.”

How can a missionary practice this type of retirement?  Here is some of his advice (edited/abridged for the purpose of this blog).

“He can associate the people with himself in all that he does and so make them thoroughly understand the nature of the work. …He can educate the whole congregation.  What is needful is to begin from the bottom.  Leaders must be thrown up by the community, not dragged up by the missionary.  It is necessary to make the whole body realize its unity and common responsibility.”

Allen also says the missionary should teach the congregation about finances/stewardship, Christian baptism and discipleship, appointing church leaders, and administering church discipline.  The missionary should do these things so the church can carry on without him.

A missionary can train them for his retirement by retiring.  He can retire in two ways, physically or morally.  He can retire morally by leaving things more and more in their hands, by avoiding to press his opinion, by refusing to give it lest he should, as is often the case, lead them to accept his opinion simply because it is his.  He can retire physically.  He can go away on missionary tours of longer and longer duration, leaving the whole work of the station to be carried on without any foreign direction for a month or two.  He can do this openly and advisedly because he trusts his people.  Only by retirement can he prepare the way for real independence.”

Obviously there is more to the discussion – you’ll have to read the entire section for the rest of Allen’s helpful counsel (it is in chapter 13).  Again, if you are involved in missions of any sort, be sure this one is on your list of study materials: Missionary Methods: St Paul’s or Ours?

shane lems

Church Planting Teams

There are several different methods of church planting.  One method worth discussing is church planting teams.  Craig Ott and Gene Wilson have a helpful chapter on this topic in their book Global Church Planting.  Here are a few highlights from that chapter.

“A team is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose and work together in agreed-upon ways to achieve that purpose, holding each other fully and jointly accountable for the team’s results. …A church planting team is a group of Christians who work together purposefully, under Christ, to start one or more new churches.”

“Multicultural teams counteract the perception of cultural superiority, favor mutual learning, model unity and diversity in the body of Christ, and can open doors to diverse communities in urban settings.  A broader pool of resources can be brought to the task.  They send the message that Christianity is not a Western religion.  Furthermore, members from different backgrounds bring broader perspectives to decision-making and can relate in different ways to the local people.  Multicultural teams can also decrease suspicion.”

In this chapter, Ott and Wilson also discuss some of the problems church planting teams face as well as ways to avoid problems in a team.  Here are a few ways they suggest to keep a church planting team strong and unified (I’ve edited it a bit).

1) Have regular meetings.  During these meetings (up to 4 times per month), the team members can pray for one another, discuss church related items, and make plans and decisions together.  This would be something like a weekly prayer and fellowship meeting.

2) Have enjoyable social gatherings from time to time.  For example, take turns hosting meals and a game night, birthday parties, or holiday parties.  A gathering like this would tighten the relationships among the families on the team.

3) Have team workshops at least once per year.  This would be the time to discuss in-depth church planting items, including finances, visitors, counseling situations, outreach, and so forth.  It would also be the time for prayer and further training in church planting.

4) Have visits to members of the team.  In other words, the team leader (the pastor, elder, or missionary) should personally meet with the various team members from time to time.  They would pray, talk about life, health, frustrations, joys, and so forth. In other words, in doing this, the pastor would be shepherding the team.

There is, of course, more to this chapter.  I’m simply highlighting a few things here because I think that as we plant solid Christian churches – even in the United States – church planting teams is one tool in the toolkit we can utilize with good results.  For one thing, it would fight against the rugged individualism in some church planting circles.  A church planting team would also be a big blessing to the pastor/planter, since he would have others to help him through the burdens and blessings of church planting.  I could go on!  I recommend this book (Global Church Planting), and this chapter specifically, if you want to think more about church planting teams.

shane lems

R. Morrison: Pioneer of the Gospel to China

 Robert Morrison (d. 1834) arrived in China on September 7, 1807 as “the pioneer of the gospel to nearly a quarter of the world’s population.”  Here’s how Bob Davey describes Morrison’s story in his excellent book, The Power to Save: A History of the Gospel in China. 

“Robert Morrison had been sent to China by the London Missionary Society with the task of learning the Chinese language in order to translate the Bible into Chinese.  He was also to compile a Chinese grammar and an Anglo-Chinese dictionary. …[They] had intended to send two or three men with him, but it had proved impossible to them.”

In the early 19th Century, China was a closed country that did not want any foreign “barbarians” to live in the country; it was even illegal for a Chinese person to teach the language to a foreigner.  So when Robert Morrison arrived in 1807 he well knew he might be dead within months.  But in going to China, Morrison wasn’t just following some inner burning or whisper.  He was a man gifted in languages, passionate for the gospel, and encouraged by the London Missionary Society to be a missionary to China.  On top of that, in God’s providence, Morrison crossed paths with a minister in the London area who had been working to form a society that would undertake the translation of the Bible into Chinese.  This man, Dr. W. W. Moseley, also introduced Morrison to a Chinese man living in London who was willing to teach him the language.  Before even setting foot in China, Morrison knew quite a bit about the language – a language which very few non-Chinese people understood in the early 19th century.   

Morrison did eventually translate the Bible during his 27 years in China.  Though his initial work resulted in just a handful of Chinese converts, his translation and mission work opened the door for the gospel to go forth in China.  In fact, one of his prayers has been answered directly.  After one of the few baptisms he administered (a man named Xai Afu), he prayed this: “May he be the first fruits of a great harvest – one of millions who shall come and be saved on the day of wrath to come.”  Another great piece of this story is that his son, John, continued his father’s gospel work as an interpreter, translator, and printer.

At one point after his wife died Morrison wrote the following.

“I have been fifteen years in this country and one-half of these hears quite alone, but God has borne with my infirmities and has blessed the labour of my hands.  I did not at first suppose I should live as long as I have.  I hope I, too, shall die at my post.”

Of course there is more to this edifying story; I’ve given a summary.  The rest of it is found in chapter three of The Power to Save.  Do yourself a favor and buy this book soon.  I really can’t recommend it enough.  There are helpful maps, illustrations, and photos along with some helpful appendices.  This book is a great reminder of the power of the gospel; I couldn’t set it down.  I’m sure it will encourage many in the areas of missions, church planting, evangelism, and the comforting truth that Jesus is still rescuing people from darkness and bringing them into his marvelous light.

shane lems

Missions in North America: The Hard Post-Christian Soil

 In many ways, Lesslie Newbigin has helped me think through the implications of the gospel in Western culture.  He well noted that Christianity in the West has, for the most part, been domesticated into one religion among many – a private religion a person can “use” if it helps him through life.  What’s the outcome of this privatized pluralism?

“The result is not, as we once imagined, a secular society.  It is a pagan society, and its paganism, having been born out of the rejection of Christianity, is far more resistant to the gospel than the pre-Christian paganism with which cross-cultural missions have been familiar.  Here, surely, is the most challenging missionary frontier of our time.”

This is an utterly brilliant statement.  The post-Christian paganism of Western culture is harder soil than the pre-Christian paganism in which foreign missionaries ordinarily work.  In the United States, for example, Christianity used to dominate the religious landscape but now it does not.  Furthermore, in our land of pragmatism, individualism, materialism, and consumerism historic Christianity is being abandoned by many because it is completely opposite of these “isms.”  On top of this problem, many churches are catering to the departing masses (in order to keep the pews full) by giving in to many of these “isms,” with the disastrous result that Christianity is being watered down in ways too numerous to mention here.  Solid evangelism is almost impossible because most people will not listen if it isn’t entertaining, useful, or if there is no cash value in the message.  What is more, there are scores of Americans who have background in these watered down churches, so all they know about Christianity is a far cry from what the Bible actually teaches.  We could probably describe this American soil in even severer terms than “burned over.”

I believe solid, historic Christian churches in the U.S. should continue to send out foreign missionaries.  At the same time, we should not forget the mission field in our own towns and cities.  We don’t have to go overseas to bring the message of Jesus to every tribe, tongue, and nation.  The field exists here in North America!  Newbigin was right: “Here, surely, is the most challenging missionary frontier of our time.”

The above Newbigin quote was taken from page 20 of Foolishness to the Greeks.  Side note: if you’re a subscriber to Modern Reformation, you can see a longer version of this discussion here.

shane lems