Modern Missions II
Considering now the other arena of thought: the calling to reach out cross-culturally in the name of Jesus.
When one feels called by God to do anything - and I mean anything - one should be very skeptical until the matter is clear. God may speak in a gentle voice (the "still small voice" of scripture) but his marching orders are almost exclusively revealed in an unmistakeable fashion: whether the angel of the Lord, the buring bush, the pillar of couds, etc., it's hard to miss. And there is this great comfort that is apparent in the subtlety of scripture: God will find someone else if you miss the message. Check out what he said about the rocks crying out in Luke 19:40. If it must be done, God will see it done. You can get over yourself.
So the matter is one of clear signals, and also some intense instrospection. I agree with something I once heard Chuck Swindoll say in the days before he got grouchy. It was something like this: If you think you may be called by God to go into full-time ministry and if you feel like you could also do something else and also be reasonably at peace, then you are probably not called to be in full-time ministry. What he is driving at is that too many people "feel the call" when in they are not called. And the uncalled in ministry really muck it up.
Consider it another way. We are all given the mantle of ministry. It is the evolution of our society that has, for the most part, given rise to the vocation and industry of ministry, including foreign missions. It is now as much a career choice to be a minister/missionary as it is to be a teacher/attorney/architect/computer programmer. That dichotomy is deadly to a much better personal model of ministry. Whatever you are doing, you are a minister/missionary/ambassador of Jesus.
You should absolutely integrate whatever you do with ministry. That is your responsibility as a follower of Jesus. The idea that this must also be vocational pursuit is the product of our societal evolution and has given us a system of ministry/missions that is more like a deptarment store chain than a revolutionary idea to make disciples.
That said, there are times when a supported missionary is just what is needed. Particularly when the intended recipients of practical assistance (and their society) are unable to provide vocational support for the minister/missionary.
But the ones called to such pursuits are, in my experience and opinion, a very rare breed. The passion is present, personal, unmistakable and uncomfortable. Present is self-explanatory. Personal means a passion for the people rather than the country, the adventure, then escape, the challenge, etc. Lots of people have passion but not a passion for a particulare people group. Unmistakeable is a product of the signal and introspection. Uncomfortable is that effect the minister/missionary's passion has on those who are in contact with that person in their home (sending country). You can meet those people and their passion for a particular people group makes you slightly uncomfortable in your secure and orndinary existence. That is a rare passion, but it is really real in the really called.
So that is most of my thought on being called. There is one further distinction that I will address in the next post: The lack of personal stasis juxtaposed with determination of a calling and the resultant and often erroneous pressure to act.
When one feels called by God to do anything - and I mean anything - one should be very skeptical until the matter is clear. God may speak in a gentle voice (the "still small voice" of scripture) but his marching orders are almost exclusively revealed in an unmistakeable fashion: whether the angel of the Lord, the buring bush, the pillar of couds, etc., it's hard to miss. And there is this great comfort that is apparent in the subtlety of scripture: God will find someone else if you miss the message. Check out what he said about the rocks crying out in Luke 19:40. If it must be done, God will see it done. You can get over yourself.
So the matter is one of clear signals, and also some intense instrospection. I agree with something I once heard Chuck Swindoll say in the days before he got grouchy. It was something like this: If you think you may be called by God to go into full-time ministry and if you feel like you could also do something else and also be reasonably at peace, then you are probably not called to be in full-time ministry. What he is driving at is that too many people "feel the call" when in they are not called. And the uncalled in ministry really muck it up.
Consider it another way. We are all given the mantle of ministry. It is the evolution of our society that has, for the most part, given rise to the vocation and industry of ministry, including foreign missions. It is now as much a career choice to be a minister/missionary as it is to be a teacher/attorney/architect/computer programmer. That dichotomy is deadly to a much better personal model of ministry. Whatever you are doing, you are a minister/missionary/ambassador of Jesus.
You should absolutely integrate whatever you do with ministry. That is your responsibility as a follower of Jesus. The idea that this must also be vocational pursuit is the product of our societal evolution and has given us a system of ministry/missions that is more like a deptarment store chain than a revolutionary idea to make disciples.
That said, there are times when a supported missionary is just what is needed. Particularly when the intended recipients of practical assistance (and their society) are unable to provide vocational support for the minister/missionary.
But the ones called to such pursuits are, in my experience and opinion, a very rare breed. The passion is present, personal, unmistakable and uncomfortable. Present is self-explanatory. Personal means a passion for the people rather than the country, the adventure, then escape, the challenge, etc. Lots of people have passion but not a passion for a particulare people group. Unmistakeable is a product of the signal and introspection. Uncomfortable is that effect the minister/missionary's passion has on those who are in contact with that person in their home (sending country). You can meet those people and their passion for a particular people group makes you slightly uncomfortable in your secure and orndinary existence. That is a rare passion, but it is really real in the really called.
So that is most of my thought on being called. There is one further distinction that I will address in the next post: The lack of personal stasis juxtaposed with determination of a calling and the resultant and often erroneous pressure to act.
posted by TT | 8:32 PM
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