Faithful Soldiers

I lose track of North American holidays when I’m overseas. One of the engines of the U.S. economy is the once-a-month special days (Mothers, Fathers, Valentines, Labor, etc.). This weekend is the Memorial holiday, a good day to reflect on those who gave their lives in the service to our country. I’m not sure how many people will actually think about the meaning of the day, I don’t personally know of anyone who has died in combat in the last fifty years. I do think, however, that it’s right and fitting, especially with our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, that we set aside a special day for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice of service.

As I traveled to the airport this morning I was thinking about some “other” fallen soldiers. These soldiers died this past year in their service for Christ. I think of my friend Bill Ashton, board member of LCCTI, who succumbed to cancer at the age of 56. Bill’s role in life was that of an organizer and accountant. In the past several years he was Pastor of Administration in a church in South Carolina. Bill was forever telling corny jokes, and he had a ton of them. He died at his post early in life and I miss him.

John Buma was a giant of man. He stood over six feet six inches and his hands were like ham hocks. His tattered second-hand jackets never did fit him, always at least two inches short. John was one of my early students in Kenya and became the pastor of a church in a village a long distance from running water or electricity. No one really knows what Buma died of, probably malaria related. I talked with his widow, Beatrice, last December and she is managing just okay with her four kids.

Lewis Smedes defined faithfulness as finding out "what you are here to take care of, and then give it your best shot." I think of the service of Bill and John and conclude that they gave the Master their best shot. They weren’t trying to win awards or the Medal of Honor; they just faithfully did their job the best they could each day.

Indeed, this is a good day to remember and honor those who faithfully served in the great battle for the souls of men. It’s a good day to remember those serving today. Some serve on the front lines, others quietly serve in support roles, but all are a part of the Good News effort. The great crowd of witnesses that have gone on before cheer us on to take care of why we are here and give it our best.

Missions: Project or Process?

Should missions be project or process based?

Dave Dougherty of OMF defines the difference in approach:

Mission as process: This is the ongoing activity of traditional agencies, churches, and training institutions. They focus on fulfilling the Great Commission in every nation and among every people group.

Missions as project: This is the new outreach of mobilization organizations, churches, and individuals. They focus primarily on the unreached, or the least reached people groups.

As a career missionary you might assume that I am opposed to missions as project, but I am not. I believe that missionary projects, which include short-term trips and programs, can be significant in the global outreach. The reason that missions as project is popular today is two-fold. First, many people who are interested in world missions have become bored with missions as usual, i.e. missions as process. Supporting career missionaries to do the work of the Great Commission is not very exciting. Second, the desire to be personally involved rather than just sending career people to the field gives a feeling of being personally engaged, to have ownership as well as experiencing first hand the work of working cross-culturally. Missions as project provides things this generation longs for…instant gratification and a feeling they are doing something.

While I applaud the mission as project approach, it must be critically analyzed, as is missions as process. The downside of mission as project is that it is not always missiologically sound. Missiologists wrestle with issues of contextualization, indigenousness (new term is organic), self-governing as well as self-sustaining. Few mission as project programs wrestle with these concerns.

In addition, mission as project operate in terms of event not time. Miles Delos comments, “Church growth is a process, not an event.” Certainly this is true also of evangelism and church planting in a cross-cultural context. In missions, like language learning, there are no short cuts to success. Brewster wrote, “Learning a culture is the process of learning what its people know.”

Jay Gary, missiologist, states the church needs to take the long view. “To finish evangelizing the 25 percent of world population which remains unevangelized will likely take two or three generations…This is an area where those who sow may never know those who reap." By the year 2033, we will realize that we must measure our progress in world missions by centuries, not just decades.”

Whether we are engaged in missions through project or process, it must be current in thought, focused and strategic.

The Greater God - Conversations at C-543

“I want you to read a book and after you’ve finished with it we will discuss it,” Mr. J said to me one evening.

My old neighbor then hobbled into his bedroom and came out with a copy of Billy Graham’s book, Peace With God.

“This was given to my son before he died. I don’t know who this Graham person is, but I have a problem with his writings.”

I dutifully read portions of the book, noticing that on every page someone had underlined key phrases. Sometime later I asked Mr. J., “What is it that you want to discuss about in the book?”

“Well,” he began, “I have a problem with the writer elevating his religion above other religions. He seems to be saying his God is superior to my gods.”

Mr. J is a cultural Hindu who has probably been more of an agnostic throughout his life than a practicing follower of his religion. The argument against a superior Being is standard for the secularist whose philosophy is that there is not just one road to heaven but many. To suggest that Jesus is greater than Buddha, Shiva or Mohammed and that the path to salvation is limited to only one way is repugnant and ludicrous.

Though it was not easy to talk to Mr. J about Jesus being the only means of salvation for man, it’s not a new challenge. Throughout history, revealed through archeology as well as ancient documents, man has worshipped deities ranging from the animal kingdom to celestial bodies. Most religions have an animistic base with veneration to the sun, moon, stars, birds, rocks, trees, rivers as well as to ancestors and gods made of wood or stone. The first commandment Jehovah gave to Moses was, “Thou shall not have any other gods before me…You shall not make for yourself an image, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Our unbelieving forefathers resisted the exclusive claim of one true God as my old friend does today. He cannot accept a faith that is exclusive.

My discussion with Mr. J was two fold. One, all religions exclusive and, two, in spite of postmodern thought, there are absolutes.

Those who are opposed exclusive claims of Christ usually have their own exclusive claims. Whether it is Islam, Jainism or secularism, everyone claims his or her religion or theory of life is solely valid.

Those of us who are followers of Christ do so because we believe in the historical writings of the Bible, both Old and New Testament. For us there is an unfolding eternal plan for this world and mankind, which began at creation and culminates with end of time and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom. The people of the Book, which Islamists call Christians, recognize that throughout human history man has consistently followed lesser gods. We have been consistently exclusive throughout the chronicles of time and see that as positive, not negative.

While truth can, and is, often elusive, we maintain it takes more faith not to believe in absolutes. I weary with the endless arguments by some against the notion of intelligent design in creation, or the discussion what is or isn’t morality. Between the intelligentsia insisting that we must accept every scientific explanation of how we came into being and how we are genetically coded to be, to the suicide bomber who believes it is morally and religiously acceptable to destroy the innocent, there is a longing for a message that is not diluted with supposition and conjecture. Jesus was an absolutist in his claim that he was the Son of God. Those who accept his assertion, by default, must also embrace his absolute claim.

For Mr. J, and the millions who are like him, the thought of a greater God is too confining. My friend is not certain about his faith; he faces death with a hope that his cultural upbringing will sort things out for him. He may have another life, he may be ushered into heaven, he’s not sure. He’s willing to risk his eternal life on a cultural belief system, which, to me, is the greatest risk of all.

Making A Negative A Positive

The other day I attended a denominational national meeting. I chatted with the Missions Director and he was telling me about the missionaries that would be appointed that week.

“We have four couples who will be approved as career missionaries, eight missionaries who will be approved for short term internship.”

He then went on to explain their short-term program, which is a two-year assignment, is designed to give missionaries hands on experience.

“Sixty-percent of those who complete this internship program go on to become career missionaries,” he added.

What the Director did not talk about, which I thought was significant, is the forty-percent who come home after the two year project and who do not sign up for career service.

For many years I have argued for equipping people better for those going to the mission field. From the time a missionary family is approved or appointed by their mission board, the two years it takes for them raise their support, living in a country for one term (traditionally four years), the financial investment is approximately $500,000. In some organizations, where the standard of acceptance and screening is low, the attrition rate among first term missionaries averages between twenty and forty percent. With an investment of a half-million dollars, or more, you’d think that mission agencies and sending churches would seek ways to insure that their financial investment was not in vain. Yet, there are very few sending agencies that require any training or internship for those who venture out into career cross-cultural work.

The forty percent interns who do not sign up for career missions reveals what is obvious -- some people are just not cut out to live overseas for a long period of time. It may be because of family matters, personal issues, lack of culture adjustment, not finding their niche in ministry overseas or a host of other reasons for not re-signing for longer than a two year service.

Being able to live overseas does not an effective missionary make. The best internship program will include focused training and hands-on coaching. Though successfully living overseas for two years is helpful, it is only half the battle. Did the interns learn language, culture and do the research necessary to have a long lasting impact are the questions needed for an effective internship program. And for the forty percent not re-upping as missionaries, a thorough exit evaluation of why would enhance the internship program in making it a more valuable program in the future. Counseling for the forty on their “next step” should also be a part of the program in helping those people readjust into their local community and church.

I do not see the forty as a negative, but a positive in this internship project. If more agencies would offer similar programs it would no doubt help reduce missionary attrition and save money in the process.

Chosen Hardship

The greatest challenge for any person is self-control. Take any subject: work, study, prayer, personal health, time management, family relationships, etc., you name the area of concern and self-control is probably a key component of success or failure. Those who can “rein in” themselves, their appetites, their lust, their tendencies for idleness, will succeed. Those who fail in self-control are doomed to, at best, meritocracy, or, at worse, poverty.

I recognize that the issue of discipline/self-control is not a profound revelation. I’ve been reading the Proverbs all my life and often hear Solomon’s words of admonishment ringing in my ears -- “Take note of the ant, thou sluggard…” or “A little folding of the hands, a little slumber and your fields will grow over with weeds.” Coupled with the fact that I grew up in a family where “work” is defined as a physical activity, I can hardly sit down and read a book, write, study for future training without the feeling that I’m not worthy to eat. Though guilt should not be a motivator, the issue of self-control is still an issue that every person should give heed.

Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwhick defines discipline as chosen hardship. One chooses the hardship of not having a second helping of mashed potatoes, to turn off the computer and quit surfing the net, to get up early to study God’s Word, to keeping your mouth shut when you have a good piece of gossip or advice you’d like to pass on. The hardship one chooses varies, but it all falls under the category of discipline.

In the day we live, if one is not self-controlled they are probably a victim. In India one is a victim of dharma (born into the wrong caste determined by the works of a former life). In America the obese are victims of skewed thyroids, criminals are victims of a bad childhood, the divorced are victims of not being loved, the poor are victims of an unjust government system. To be sure there are social inequities, physiological and physical deficiencies, but, for the most part, the lack of self-control is the major culprit. The ant cannot make an appeal for his marginal insectness…it’s still a bug that, notwithstanding, must gather food for the winter. Insects instinctively are disciplined to work or they will die. It’s only the higher form of animal that must notice the lesser to gain lessons on the importance of chosen hardships.

The challenge for me, and I suspect anyone who takes time to read this blog, is identifying the discipline needed and then be active in that chosen hardship? It’s not always the upfront work is that is most needed, but usually the mundane tasks that determine success or failure. In the book, “The Shaping Of Things To Come,” the author’s write about the importance of the task before the task.

“If we think about fishing during Jesus’ time the key to successful fishing wasn’t in the technical details of tides and weather patterns, but in the strength of the nets. For this reason, Jesus’ fishing disciples spent most of their working day, not out on the lakes’ surface, but on shore, mending nets.”

Mending nets is a chosen hardship. So, too, may be sitting with your child or spouse and listening to their stories. Writing three hours a day, walking around the track for an hour, or trying to figure out a computer program. I often hear new missionaries talk about how they aren’t doing ministry yet, but are just learning language. I remind that language learning is ministry and it falls in the category of mending nets, which is the task before the task.

The chosen hardship is valid when it points to a goal, but the goal can be subtle and surely cannot be judged by others. Whatever our chosen hardships are, without discipline or self-control the goal will never be realized and most certainly the weeds of an undisciplined life will one day take over.

God's Grace At C-543

“One of my greatest regrets,” my eighty-six year old friend, Mr. J., confessed to me, “is that we didn’t have more children. I bought into the notion that our country is over-populated and that it would be better for us as a nation, as well as for each family, if we everyone had fewer children. We terminated a couple of pregnancies which, now, I realize was a mistake.”

In the Indian society nothing is more important than family. Almost every Bollywood movie has a family theme – father/son conflicts, daughter-in-law/husband difficulties, etc. The largest segment in the Sunday paper is the matrimonial section where want ads are placed by parents looking for suitable partners for their son or daughter. Daily there are news reports of daughter-in-laws that have either committed suicide or murdered because of dowry demands; female infanticide is common. Family in the Indian society is not just the outgrowth of a biological union, it’s the heart and soul of their very existence.

The J’s had two children, the eldest a daughter, the second born a son. As in many developing countries, daughters are not as “prized” as sons. The girl, in reality, is a bit of a burden to the social framework. Dowry, the system where the family of the girl pays the family of the boy to get married, is a hardship for the poor. When a girl does get married she basically leaves her father and mother’s family and becomes a part of the husband’s family. To be quite honest, a girl is a liability.

Having a son is like stock and bonds. The boy will contribute to the family unit economy throughout his lifetime and even in marriage will add to the household workforce. In Mr. J’s thinking he was doing the right things by not having more children after their son was born…he had contributed to society as a whole, plus his son insured him security in his old age, or so he assumed.

When my wife and I met the J’s we didn’t realize we were the first tenants to live in their deceased son’s apartment. Tragically, their son died of leukemia five years before. The daughter-in-law and grand-daughter moved out (according to her, asked to leave) a few months after his death. The apartment remained empty and each December 5th held a puja (Hindu prayer service) for their son.

Overtime in my conversations with Mr. J. I gained insights into his worldview as it relates to the death of his son. He partly blames his daughter-in-law for his demise, as superstition by some in that culture accuse the widow for the source of misfortune. Mr. J. believes he is probably the reason of his son’s death and suggests it is the sins of his former life as the reason the god’s took his only son.

Because our friendship has grown over the years, I have become almost a surrogate son to Mr. J. Certainly not in a legal or financial sense, but my visits with him each evening provide a solace for a lonely old man who is dying without much family. Though Mr. J. does not know the God I know and often speaks harshly of a God who would make him suffer, I marvel at God’s grace on my dear friend. Knowing that it is the goodness of God that draws people to Himself, there is a reason I dwell on the first floor of C-543.

Conversations At C-543

In December 2003 my wife and I made a rental contract with a man I will refer to as Mr. J. The apartment is less that a 1000 sq. ft has two bedrooms, sitting room and two bathrooms. There is neither hot nor cold and running water, just a pipe that runs from the water tank on the roof. Daytime temperatures determine whether our bucket baths are hot or cold. C-543, a section of the city where we live, is a typical flat of 1960’s construction, which includes a kitchen that is the size of a walk-in-closet in the states.

When we met Mr. J. for the first time he was wearing a white khadi kurta and a Nehru hat. He was a pleasant man with impeccable English and, as we quickly found out, opinionated.

“Are you a Muslim,” he asked?

“No,” I replied, “I’m a Christian from America. Is that a problem?”

“Being an American is not too much of a problem. I usually don’t rent to Americans as they are fussy and make too many demands to rent the apartment,” he said. Then he added, “I never rent to Muslims.”

Through tea and biscuits (cookies) we learned more about each other. The J’s were in their early 80’s, Punjabi’s originally from Lahore (Pakistan) who was forced out of their home at the time of partition (when India and Pakistan divided into two countries after independence from Britain in 1948). Since being displaced from his homeland Mr. J. has a disdain from Muslims and thus the reason for his question about my religion. He told me that with my beard I looked like a mullah, a Muslim teacher. If I have had been an American Muslim he probably wouldn’t have rented to us.

The J’s are not in good health. Mrs. J is a plumb woman with diabetes. She is a kind woman who is a practicing Hindu who prays each morning before her god and is a strict vegetarian. Mr. J. has diseased esophagus and can only drink soup six times a day. Mr. J is an educated man with a PhD in economics and before retirement worked for the government. Mr. J is a cultural Hindu who has never been a religious person; probably an agonistic at best and I suspect much of his life he was an atheist.

We have lived above the J’s nearly four years. Mr. J. is now bedfast and only with great effort is he able to go to the toilet. His days and nights are spent in bed wishing to die. Last week my wife and I recently returned to the states for the summer and as I said goodbye to my eighty-six year old friend, who now weighs less than eighty pounds, I wonder if he will be alive when I return to India in July?

Each evening when I am in town I visit this dear old man and we discuss everything from the price of papaya to politics to religion. Mr. J. has given me many insights into the Indian culture, especially the worldview of a past generation. In the next few posts I will be sharing my conversations with my landlord at C-543 who has become a good friend whom I have learned to love. The great mystery to me is why God would orchestrate us finding each other? In a city of 12 million people our relationship is not by chance, though I do not see our relationship having any eternal value. Whatever the reason for our relationship I hope you will enjoy some of the insights gained in the conversation at C-543.

Sharing Life

You can have a ton of money, be top in your professional field and receive accolades from others. You can circle the globe and see the Seven Wonders of the World, and more, but if you can’t share your of life with others, it all seems hollow and empty.

This past month my wife and I have had the privilege to have our eldest daughter, Becky, and our first grandchild, Molly, share the experience of living in India. From the wonderful colors of the bazaar to the taste of achari paneer; from the elephant ride up to Nahargarh Fort in Rajahstan to auto rickshaws in the congested city of Delhi we have experienced a slice of life together. In between our work and daily chores we schedule one more trip to a museum or a Hindi movie while suffering through the 105 degree heat. At the end of day, exhausted, I wonder if it’s worth it and even a bit guilty that I am not doing more work, you know, the really important things of life? I catch myself in mid-thought, reminding myself that the work will always be there but the chance to share this part of my life with my children and grandchildren is a one-time deal.


Becky (and our youngest daughter, Sara who is scheduled to visit us in August), were blessed/cursed to be born to nomadic parents. Unlike many families in the world, where people settle in and around the extended family, in the nearly thirty-nine years of marriage Sandy and I have never lived near our parents, siblings, and now, children. What is interesting about our roving life is that we are one of the closest families in our kinship clan. Though we are seldom together in one place, when we are it’s like we have never been apart and we pick up where we left off the last time we saw each other.

Sharing life with my wife and daughters is special, but God has allowed me to live long enough to share life experiences with my grandchildren. I regret that my grandson, Collin, couldn’t make this trip, but blessed that Molly could take time away from school to make this trek to India. When Doc and Grammy are no longer anymore she perhaps will recount her adventure to her grandchildren. Perhaps the memory of our existence on this earth will go beyond two generations. I wonder which of our grandchildren will follow the nomadic lifestyle of their grandparents?

As we all know, life is but a shadow. With all thy getting, get some time, share some time with others. Blessed is the man or woman who can live well and can slice off part of that life with others to experience.

Maybe I Just Ain't That Smart

I get some interesting mail sometimes. Recently a friend of mine in California, who has been reading my blog, sent this note:

“Enjoy your thinking - How come you don't sound that smart when we are together?!

My answer to him was that (a) maybe he’s not listening or (b) he’s talking so much I can’t get a word in edgewise.

Or, I could quote from Goody’s book, The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society, “In the context of both intellectual and practical developments, it is important to stress that a significant attribute of writing is the ability to communicate not only with others but with oneself.” Maybe that’s what blogging is all about, talking to yourself.

Probably my best defense is in the old saying that good writers are seldom good speakers, as good speakers are seldom good writers. I don’t have a speech impediment, but I do process things differently when at the keyboard than before a microphone. I would never be good in a debate and I hate being a keynote speaker. The other day I was viewing a video of me speaking to a large delegation in Korea. If you think I’m tedious in person magnify that by going through an interpreter!

In my own defense as a tongue-tied spokesman, I’m in pretty good company. Moses told God he wasn’t articulate enough to speak for the people of Israel but he did a pretty good job as a technical writer in penning the Pentateuch (I realize scholars are divided on how much he did write, but he no doubt had a part). Paul was criticized for not being a polished orator as Apollos, but he churned out some rather heavy tomes in the New Testament. I may not be in their league, but they allow me to justify my writing as having influence through the written word. Though I do wish I could verbalize my thoughts better before a crowd, I’d rather be a quite writer than a big talker. I am much more comfortable in a classroom setting as prepared lesson notes are kin to writing.

My answer to my friend was also (c) maybe I just ain’t that smart. Either way, Rick, keep reading and I will keep writing.

Does The Church Care?

About a year ago I met with a young Christian professional who works in Mumbai (Bombay). I’m not a business guy, I’m a culture guy, but I am interested in encouraging the member s of the Body of Christ where God has gifted them...in the workplace. Moving away from the emphasis on the institution of Christianity and more to the incarnational face of a follower of Christ, we need to think of ways we can support those outside the professional role of ministry. It is my belief that the incarnational church is made up of those who do not draw their “daily bread” from the coffers of the non-profits, but instead their salaries are derived from the marketplace.

I want to restate my position; I am neither against the institutional church nor the role of career pastors or missionaries as they play an important role in God’s Divine purpose. It has been vocational pastors, teachers and missionaries of the past that is responsible for many fine churches and schools established throughout the world, provided social programs for the poorest of the poor and made Bible study and theology truly the queen of the sciences. I have a hard time thinking of what the world would be like today if it were not for those who gave up lucrative careers to serve others, many with meager means. However, increasingly the professional clergy and ministries are becoming a part of the problem in putting the emphasis of the local church (ecclesiocentric) rather than the Great Commission of reaching the community with the message of Christ.

One role of the local body is to equip the saints for ministry. The other functions of the local assembly are worship and instruction in God’s word. The institutional church does a good job, generally, in the latter two areas of function but usually not very strong on outreach or equipping. The equipping of the saints has given way to equipping the church staff to do the work of evangelism and the theory is if we can pour enough resources into making the local church attractive, the not yet followers of Jesus will be drawn in. At least that’s the theory.

Meanwhile, the saints (I’d call him Joe six pack, but the saints are to be teetotalers), feels he has no place in God’s grand scheme except to show up for church, volunteer for the church focused activities and underwrite programs with their tithes and offerings. Saint Joe is seldom guided, coached or equipped to do ministry in his community, workplace, and school. In my reading I came across a quote, made by a businessman thirty years ago. His comments are profound as well as convicting. William Diehl, sales manager of a major overseas steel corporation writes:

In the almost thirty years of my professional career, my church has never once suggested that there be any type of accounting of my on-the-job ministry to others. My church has never once offered to improve those skills which could make me a better minister, nor has it ever asked if I needed any kind of support in what I was doing. There has never been an inquiry into the types of ethical decisions I must face, or whether I seek to communicate the faith to my coworkers. I have e never been in a congregation where there was any type of public affirmation of a ministry in my career. In short, I must conclude that my church really doesn’t have the least interest whether or how I minister in my daily work (1976: Christianity and Real Life).

I believe Diehl would be pleased with the emerging churches that are addressing the need of workplace ministry today. Through small group interest groups believers are encouraged to be involved in non-Christian workplace functions and organizations, not necessarily to convert, but to be salt and light in places where people interact on every level of life. Through special interest grouping the topics the institutional assembly never addressed for Diehl’s ministry needs are dealt with as “real life,” issues.

My Mumbai friend and I have created a network of Christian professionals throughout India. What is interesting to me is that some career pastors have joined the group, but the network is steering the discussion away from institutional topics (theology, outreach programs, etc.), to workplace subjects, such as ethics and how to be a relevant witness of Christ as a member of a minority religion. It’s my belief the institutional church does care about the needs of their membership including equipping them to be functional in the world, it’s just they don’t know how to do it. Stuck in a 1,700 year model that focuses on how to be separated apart from the world, they have forgotten how to be holy within the world. How to change directions will not be easy and probably not widely accepted.

Church Planting Challenge

I’m presently working through a book entitled, “The Shaping Of Things To Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church.” I think most people like books if they (a) are not redundant of common themes, (b) provide new insights and (c) are generally in the same ballpark of their own philosophy or thinking. This current reading coincides with my own thoughts on the institutional church and the traditional church-planting model.

As I stated in a recent post, sometimes I believe that the church and missionaries are stuck with the old paradigm of CP, i.e. evangelism, collecting the believers in one locality, buying land, building a structure, filling those structures with church stuff, etc. Authors Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch label this the “attractional” model: build it to attract outsiders and they will come (also know at the Field of Dreams syndrome). The author’s, in contrast, suggest a better way, the “incarnational” model, which begins with reaching people with the message of Christ and from that a fellowship of believers group together, which may not look anything like the institutional church today.

Most missiologist understand the concept of incarnation and/or indigenous principles. The problem is that many, in spite of supporting the incarnational philosophy, seldom execute this model and instead revert back to the traditional CP of the past. Why?

Church planters feel a need to quantify what they do as a defined by ministry activity. When I moved to Kenya I raised support as a pioneer church planter. Following the pattern of the traditional way, I sent reports to our donors on our activities. I learned language, visited people in the villages, found a meeting place for Sunday services and eventually churches were planted. Accountability is important and people who support traditional missions expect there be a return on investment. We bought land, erected church buildings (mud or concrete blocks) established a training program and we were very successful. I was the epitome of a classic pioneer church planter.

In my role today I teach in traditional schools and training programs. My students are equipped with theology, evangelism methods and discipleship programs and at the end of their training are sent out, expected to plant churches using the attractional model. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Every national I have ever taught feel that their greatest need is having enough funds to build it (church, school, orphanage), so they (the lost) will come. In spite of my best efforts to convince otherwise they are stuck in that model? Again, why?

I think it’s partly due to the fact that no one quite understands how to organize an incarnational church plant. The truth is, it can’t be done. It’s my belief, and I would think Frost and Hirsch world agree, that a truly incarnational church shouldn’t be organized, at least not in the traditional sense. Once the leadership tries to harness a movement it loses the dynamics of being indigenous. Let me give you an example.

Several years ago I was invited to speak at a large church in Cleveland. I was impressed with the facilities…forty acres of land, large meeting place for corporate worship, etc. The pastor gave me the history of the church and said that he was a drug addict when he was introduced to the Gospel message. He told me that after his conversion he and his girlfriend started telling others in the inner city about this Jesus who had transformed their lives. He told me that for years they were just a rag-tag group of converted addicts and prostitutes telling others about the Savior. One day they incorporated and he told me, over 15 years ago, that he was worried that they had lost their edge. I’ve heard that over the years the congregation has struggled with the same things that plague every traditional church -- finances, personnel problems, transfer of membership, etc. This group of redeemed potheads started out incarnational, they became one of many traditional congregations trying to attract others into their assembly. Ministry to the inner city became organized outreach rather than spontaneous and incarnational telling others about Christ.


The church today is a business enterprise and has all the trappings of product. Whether it is books to market, discipleship material to promote or capital campaigns to finance a new and improved worship center, going into all the world requires a business plan. The secret disciples of Christ in a Tajikistan village cannot be measured; the underground church in Laos cannot be identified. Somehow, it is thought, we must rescue these people from anonymity, expose them, promote them, and put up a building for them. It’s only when the product is packaged appropriately that it can truly be called church planting.

No Regrets...Future Focused

The evening I sent out my last post I was “chatting” with my brother in the states. He wanted to know if I was depressed or remorseful that prompted my writing about “Turning Back The Clock”? My brother knows me better than anyone else in this world (he preceded me in life by five minutes), and I do have moments of introspection. But my last post was not one of those times…it was in context with what I have been writing about as it relates to missions today as well as the future. If my brother misunderstood the meaning of the post, maybe others did as well.

The truth of the matter is, my generation of x-cultural workers is stuck in the institutional mission thinking. I believe most churches are stuck, or somehow can’t break out, of doing ministry as usual. I’m coming to the conclusion that church planting and church planters are part of the problem with the mission enterprise, and it has affected the national church around the world. The church planting paradigm necessitates structure, which includes formal theological studies, support for people to go out and plant (like a corn) churches, erect a meeting place, fill the building with church stuff (seats, pulpit, baptistery, sound systems, etc.), have small groups, build another theological school and-on-and-on-and-on. In the meantime one-third of the world has never heard the Savior’s Name and ninety percent of the worldwide outreach effort is doing missions with the old fashion way to one third of the population who have already heard the Gospel!

Having said all of that, I have a very strong belief in the Sovereignty of God. I believe He has used the efforts of the past, which I have played a role, as He is using the traditional Christendom today. My prayer is, however, that I personally won’t fossilize nor will I make sacred the methods of the past. I’d like to die thinking about how to serve Christ in the future rather than talk about the good old days of my past. The buzz trends of “saturation church planting,” “people group movements” and even “business as mission,” remains the brainchild of the institutions. Helpful, yes, but still tethered to program that is often cumbersome and limited.

Someone said to me, “Richard, don’t just give theories, people want answers, they want to know what to do.” Well, my last post was an attempt to do that; it wasn’t just an old guy regretting life.

If I were thirty years younger and just starting out on life’s journey I’d do things differently today. Sadly, most missionaries starting out today are stuck in yesterday’s model spurred on by the institutional church that is mired in tradition that demands structure. My point is, let’s keep pushing the edge even if it doesn’t quite fit into the old mold.

If I Could Turn Back The Clock

If I could turn back the clock I’d do things differently in reaching the unreached with the message of Christ.

* If I were an engineer I would get a job with a company that works overseas.

* If I were in college today I would study international business.

* If I was graduating from college this spring I would take a civil service test, apply for a State Department job and try to get an overseas assignment with the U.S. embassy.

* If I were a history, english or math teacher I would apply to teach at international school in the Middle East.

* At 23 years of age and single I would join the Peace Corp, Red Cross or some other international agency.

* If I were a chef I’d open a hamburger joint in Jordon.

Whatever a person is good at, they can live, work and serve Christ overseas.

For a local church to be involved in M3 ministry they only have to look as far as their local college or university as students from M3 nations are in your town.

In almost every community there are cultural blocks of people. In my hometown in northwest Arkansas of 45,000 people, there is a significant Hispanic population, but also a considerable number, between 15 and 20 percent, of immigrants from the Marshall Islands. One does not need to abandon their local church to reach out to students or immigrants; they merely have to look for ways to interact with others.

If I could turn back the clock I probably would still teach intercultural studies, but rather than following the traditional mission track of working within the established church I would look for ways to serve Christ in the secular workplace. I can’t turn back the clock and I’m too old to start over, but I can encourage others to think about doing missions differently in this age of globalization and post-Christendom.

He Is Risen, Not Reborn

My landlord has never understood the resurrection. As a cultural Hindu, he understands enough of his religion to be confused, not enough to truly have a deep faith. So, when it comes to Christ, the god of the Christian, Mr. J. can’t grasp the meaning of the Good Friday (the death of Jesus) and Easter (His resurrection). Every years he asks, “Now, this is the day Christians believe Jesus was reborn?”

“No,” I patiently explain, “Jesus rose from death, He was not reborn in a different form but demonstrated His power over death by rising the third day.”

There’s not much reason to explain to Mr. J. that the during the three days after His crucifixion Jesus was indeed alive, in a different spirit world establishing His victory over the last enemy of all mankind, death. His death, which means separation, was brief as Christ was separated from the Father and separated from His body. But, like all men, the spirit does not die, it is just separated from the physical. The meaning of the resurrection of Jesus was that He has the power over the physical and for those who believe in Him, one day, we too, will have power over the limitations of the physical. Those who are not followers of Jesus will always be separated, both from God and the physical. This is called the second death.

Whew, no wonder my landlord doesn’t understand the resurrection, it’s a bit confusing to even those who place their faith in Him. But, unlike other faiths, which place their trust in their own good works or in or mortal gurus, our faith hinges on the resurrection. The gods of others possess fantastic stories, as confusing and meaningless as to those who are not followers of the faith of Christ. The difference is that no other faith claims the resurrection. Some would say Christians are duped by historical fiction. Others will see this day as mere ritual of another religion.

Those who are followers of the Christ celebrate this day for the One who gave His life as a sacrifice for all men, rejoice that Jesus did not die a martyr’s death. It was not a death that was an ending, but a death that announces a beginning of eternal life. He is risen, He is not reborn!

Cut To The Chase

In the past couple of posts I ‘ve been pontificating on the need to make missions better. To cut to the chase, what would I do, how would I approach missions if I were a pastor in the U.S.? Whether my congregation was 50 or 500 here is what how I would pastor my flock in the world of global outreach.

1. I would begin a yearlong educational program so that our membership was informed. I’ve talked about this issue over the past two posts, so no need to repeat myself here. I would subscribe to monthly journals, have a reading list, attend at least two seminars on missions and would invite a missions consultant to meet with our people. I WOULD NOT invite a missionary or national to visit my church during that year. The reason is obvious; they have a work and an agenda. That’s not bad, but you should build relationships and partnerships AFTER research.

2. I would create a purpose statement that reflected Acts 1:8, i.e., outreach to Jerusalem (my city), Judea (my region or country), Samaria (similar belief countries) and, uttermost parts of the world (the unreached). I would define missions as outreach outside my local congregation. (I define any outreach for the benefit of our congregation as evangelism, but for the sake of category would identify local outreach as M0). True missions, therefore, would have with these classifications:

a. M1 – Regional outreach. This may mean giving to a Hispanic ministry in the city, supporting a new church plant among the Iranian’s in Dallas, campus ministry to international students, drug intervention program, etc.

An M1 mission is not VBS, short-term mission trips to Mexico. Though important, these projects promotes and benefits the local assembly, therefore would be M0 evangelism.

b. M2 – Outreach to the Reached. Missions and missionaries (Western or National) to people and countries who already have access to the Gospel. I am well aware that the people in Mexico City, Stockholm and Pusan are not yet Christian centers and those who serve in those areas are important and some do have significant ministries. If I were a pastor, those serving in M2 missions would need to get my attention if our church is to partner with them.

c. M3 – Outreach to the Unreached. One third of the world’s population has no viable Gospel witness. They live in the restricted countries where politically it’s impossible to openly declare the message of Christ; they are religiously resistant (Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Animist). An M3 mission is ministry in hard-ground among hard people and the fruit of the ministry may not be seen in our lifetime.

3. I would institute a 70/30 budget…70% for Jerusalem/Judea (M0) and 30% for Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world (M1, M2, and M3). Of the 30% to missions I would dedicate 10% to M1 and M2 and 20% to M3.

To make this budget work the congregation must be diligent to protect the integrity of its purpose. If the teen-agers want to have a Bible club in New Orleans; if the mission committee wants to take a fact-finding trip to Moldova; if a missionary comes by for lunch, monies for such activities should either come out of the M0 budget or paid for out of a persons own pocket.

When I think of budget, I am thinking of ALL monies that are raised through the church. If my church needs a million dollar expansion, we should think about how to raise $300K for M1-M3 missions. I realize I lose most of my audience at this point, but I contend that there needs to be radical shift from centripetal ecclesiastical centered congregations to centrifugal missional assemblies. If the reason for our church existence is to compete with other congregations so we can survive I’m not convinced we have a right purpose. If our purpose is to reach the world with the message of hope in Christ, then a spirit of sacrifice of must prevail within the assembly. If a group of believers of people can’t function on 70% of its income, it seems to me, our priorities are a bit out of kilter. Real radicals might suggest a 60/40 budget.

To go 70/30 and to budget toward M3 ministry is a process that will be difficult for the institutional church. Denominational intuitionalism will make it even more challenging. The larger and older the congregation the more the “choke law” of innovation becomes evident. If I were a pastor of an established program I would set a five-year goal, beginning with education, in moving toward a 70/30 M3 mission plan. Those with the newer congregations or who do not have a defined mission strategy can move much quicker toward the reality of a missional church.

Idealistic? Perhaps. One thing is certain, churches throughout the world are captivated with church growth and what it takes to become more attractive in their community. Though half of the churches in our region could die tomorrow and Christ would still have an adequate witness, we can’t or won’t realign our outreach that is more outward and less inward focus. To cut to the chase, we need to revaluate how we do missions and to those who have never heard His Name.

Get Understanding

Os Guiness asked,

How are we to be wise and understanding, not simpy well-informed with a surplus of facts and figures? How are we to be always timely, never trendy? How are we to be redefined -- in the right way?

An increase in mission knowledge doesn’t make one an expert, it’s merely a tool to go to the next level in developing a purposeful purpose statement and a strategic plan for ministry. Without relevant and current information we don’t have a prayer (no pun intended) in creating world outreach program for our churches that will have a meaningful impact. Missions, as I've argued before, should not be “a thing we do,” but rather “the thing we are about.” To go to the next level in global outreach the local church must be purpose driven (that’s a catchy phrase, don’t you think) with in-depth research on the state of the world need.

Ed Dayton outlines the importance of doing research.

1. Research is an effort to supply missing information. If you know what you need to know you don't need research.

I am making the assumption that the average church does not have all the information needed to make well informed decisions about global missions. What does your church know about:

* The percentage of the church budget goes to missions? Five, ten, twenty percent?
* Of the money that goes to missions, how much of that money actually gets out of the country? (That does not mean buying lunch in the states for a missionary who works in the 10/40 window or a "fact finding mission" to Mongolia.)
* Of that money that actually gets overseas, how much of that goes to reaching the most unreached (two billion) people of the world? (Companion question: who are the unreached, where do they live and why are they unreached?)
* Of the missionaries your church supports, how many of them are actually a part of reaching those without a gospel witness?

2. How much research do you need? Just enough. Just enough to be able to make adequate plans at the level you are now working.

It’s true, we live in an age of information overload. There is more information in a daily issue of the New York Times than a seventeenth century Britisher would encounter in a lifetime. It’s also true that it’s impossible to attain all the facts; that we can be afflicted with analysis paralysis and never get anything done because we are still studying the problem. But in reality, information overload is not the problem I see in most churches. Most congregations are not looking for information and what little they have is either outdated or irrelevant to the task at hand.

3. If you don't intend to plan, don't worry about doing research. Any road will get you there.

And this seems to be the situation with so many. Churches plan on how they will conduct their worship service, they will plan on their next building program, heck, they will even plan for this summer’s softball league, but they have no plans for reaching the world. The mission project is most often an annual conference, showing a clip of starving kids and orphans, throwing money at the best presentation -- but plan? Not a chance.

The Preacher said, “With all your getting, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7)

Here are some resources to begin the process for research and information:

www.missionbooks.com
www.missionfrontiers.org
www.perspectives.org
www.asmweb.org
www.emqonline.com

A "D" Is Not A Passing Grade

Recently I read about a “movement” of sorts. Though small in number, this movement is made up of educators who are disturbed by the American educational grading system. Their concern is about high school graduates who do not have the basic tools of math, science and reading skills to compete in a global market. This has spurred these educators to challenge the status quo. Their mantra is:

A “D” is not a passing grade.

Their argument is that giving a student a “D,” and some even argue against a “C” is rewarding, maybe even encouraging, students to just get by. By passing kids to the next level in school with an average or below average grade, our school system is encouraging mediocrity. Our children, they contend, should only be allowed to move forward when their scores are above average.

When I think of missions, the local sending church and worldwide outreach, I wonder if part of the harvest problem isn’t due to having a “D” mentality. Getting by seems to be sufficient. Missions is not an integral part of the local church purpose but merely a part of their portfolio -- ministry things they do. To raise the bar in missions, to go beyond minimum requirements for the Great Commission (GC), I am suggesting there be a focus on three things: Information, Purpose, Plan (strategy, tactic, etc.).

In some ways I think Purpose should go before Information. The problem, however, is that without proper information a purpose is often created in a vacuum. There are many churches that have a purpose statement that says little to nothing about its role in the GC. When a local congregation is properly informed it can create an informed and focused purpose. So, here is a list of things the church needs to be educated about for global outreach.

* The Need – Two-thirds of the world population are not followers of Christ, one-third without a Gospel witness.

* People Group Thinking – Overseas and in your local community.

* Balanced Allocation of Funds – 70/30 plan….70% of resources for Jerusalem, Judea, Samara (Ac. 1:8) ministry, 30% to the utter most part of the (unreached) world.

Information is the engine for both Purpose and Strategy. It’s tempting to start making a mission plan on everything from partnering with national’s in reaching the unreached to creating a short-term mission projects before becoming well informed. But being partially informed in missions is part of the problem with “C” mission outreach in today’s church. We have too many churches who have just enough knowledge to be dangerous but not helpful. Much of their knowledge is based on half-hearted research and following the trends or flavor of the month mission strategy. Before launching into a tactic consider this:

Begin a year’s study of missions which includes, setting up a reading list, find a study program (like a Perspectives class) in your area, create a committee, enlist a consultant to walk your church through the process.

For the most part I would give the average American church a “C-“ for their GC grade. Certainly those who do it right, and there are a few, bring the average up. The church worldwide surely gets a “D.” For those who have never heard the name of Jesus, a “D” is not a passing grade.

Is Your Church The Solution Or The Problem?

The proportion of the world’s population that is unevangelized came down dramatically last century. The proportion that had not heard a gospel presentation shrank from 50.2 per cent in 1900 to 27.5 percent in 2004. Yet there are an estimated 1.747 billion people in the world who have never heard the gospel. Their ranks are expected to increase to 1.946 billion by 2025.

In a booming, high tech-oriented economy in which personal incomes have reached a combined $8 trillion…giving to Evangelical Protestant mission agencies has remained modest at best, at around $3 billion annually. For all the current emphasis on unreached peoples, only 0.01 per cent of the average Christian family income is aimed at reaching the so-called 10/40 window.

(Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century)

After one of my talks a man came up to me and said, “Talking about missions and the vast need is like trying to comprehend the national debt. I just can’t get my arms around it.”

Like the national debt, the Church has two options as it relates to world outreach. One, ignore the statistics and just go about doing missions as usual. This passive approach is part of the reason one third of the world has never had a Gospel witness.

Two, try to do something different, creative and strategic. The enormity of the task should not deter us from trying, even in a small way, to solve the problem. The great need is for the church to begin the process of truly fulfilling the Great Commission in taking the message of Christ to those who have never heard. Here is an outline for that process, which will be expanded in future posts.

1. Informed Missional Church. Local assemblies are the gatekeepers of the GC. One third of the world’s population, if they are to have a chance to hear the message of Christ, will only have that opportunity if, and when, the local church becomes truly informed. This education process will be long and continuous.

2. Purposed Missional Church. An informed congregation is one that creates an intentional purpose for reaching those without the message of Christ.

3. Strategic Missional Church. Purpose drives the local church to know (a) the target people for outreach, (b) the people who will do the work and, (c) how the task will be accomplished through global resources.

With these three components, coupled with focused and purposed prayer, the local congregation will be in a position to break away from being the problem to becoming a part of the solution in world outreach. This progression will not be accomplished overnight, but it does not require years to implement. The key is to begin and to move consistently forward.

The Great Ecclesiastical Dilemma

Speaking before a group in a city with a population a little over 100,000 people, I asked this question? “How many churches are in this community?” A man in the class, who is also a member of the Gideon’s answered, “About 126.” I have no way of knowing if that number of congregations includes Catholic or ethnic churches, such as Hispanic or Korean assemblies. Either way, that number of assemblies represents one church for every 800 people in the area. By every standard you would have to say that the city has been reached with the Gospel.

The purpose of my talk was to point out the inequity of fulfilling the Great Commission. One third of the world’s population (now over 6 billion people) claim to be a followers of Christ. Another third of the world’s population are people groups who have never had an opportunity to even hear about Jesus. Ninety-five percent of all resources (money, human energy, programs) are to the one third who already claim to be followers of Jesus, along with the other third of the population which, though not believers, live in areas where there is an opportunity to hear the Gospel. Less than five percent of Christian resources is dedicated to the one third who have never heard the Good News.

What is interesting about this church, and typical of all congregations I visit, is that they are in phase one of a three-phase building program that will cost over a million dollars. Just about every church I visit are either already in or planning on an expansion program. Even though the class agreed with me that “If half of the churches in the city died tomorrow God would still have an adequate witness,” they couldn't possibly entertain the thought NOT to go forward with their church expansion.

Yesterday a friend was telling me about his church, one of the "first" churches in the city. They have a lousy location and are pressed by the competition of the other mega-churches in the area to do something to survive. They are now in a multi-million dollar relocation campaign because, quite honestly, they either have to compete or disband (a blasphemous thought).

Practically I cannot and do not judge these churches or pastors. To be a viable congregation the local church must think of ways to maintain their congregational size and at least marginal growth. Most of the time that reality means pouring money into upgrading everything from the nursery to sound equipment. Every congregation is at best a small business enterprise hoping to be the next super-center that is the largest congregation in the community. Falling short of that their next best hope is to survive. To reach that mega-church status will necessitate spending mega-dollars into a community that is already evangelized.

Missiologically, the inequity in allocation of resources borders on being criminal. People and nations, those who make up two-thirds of the world with little or no Gospel witness, compete for the five cents that is not consumed by the one-third over evangelized Christian population.

The ecclesiastical dilemma is trying to figure out how reach the unreached while locally staying in business. Is there an answer in solving this inequity? Yes, but it will be painful and probably not popular. We’ll look at some of the options later.

Churches Do The Darndest Things

Standing in the front row listening to the worship music, the pastor leaned over and said to me, “In a few minutes there will be a lady in our church who will present you with a gift. We have group of older women in our church who make quilts and they give them to Alzheimer patients and missionaries.”

I nodded in the affirmation, but after a few minutes I couldn’t contain myself, almost busting out loud laughing as I thought of the pastor’s comment. I leaned toward him and said, “Think about what you just said. You give gifts to Alzheimer patients and missionaries!”

The pastor didn’t miss a step as he smiled and replied, “Yeah, I think they see you as an affinity group.”

I don’t feel a need to make a point out of this incident -- I thought it was incredibly funny. I do think, however, it’s interesting that when congregations think of charities, they think of missionaries. The days of missionary barrels (used clothing for those returning to the U.S.) is still alive and well. Missionaries are kind of like God’s Goodwill project. Since I spend so much of my time trying to elevate the profession of vocational missionaries before churches, my preference would be their admiration for us be demonstrated differently than a quilt. However, these dear women in this church gave a gift that was a truly a labor of love. The message may get mixed sometimes, but the motive is genuine. Who knows, next week I may get a jar of homemade jam that is given to missionaries and convicts. Churches do the darndest things.