Advice to Missionaries (and All of Us)

May 29, 2008 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

As I was working on the fifth volume of The Swans are Not Silent series about the lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John G. Paton, I found a letter written by Judson from Burma on June 25, 1832 with sobering counsel to missionaries.

Actually, these are hard and good words for all of us. Here are five of his points:

Fourthly. It may be profitable to bear in mind, that a large proportion of those who come out on a mission to the East die within five years after leaving their native land. Walk softly, therefore; death is narrowly watching your steps...

Sixthly. Beware of the greater reaction which will take place after you have acquired the language, and become fatigued and worn out with preaching the gospel to a disobedient and gainsaying people. You will sometimes long for a quiet retreat, where you can find a respite from the tug of toiling at native work—the incessant, intolerable friction of the missionary grindstone. And Satan will sympathize with you in this matter; and he will present some chapel of ease, in which to officiate in your native tongue, some government situation, some professorship or editorship, some literary or scientific pursuit, some supernumerary translation, or, at least, some system of schools; anything, in a word, that will help you, without much surrender of character, to slip out of real missionary work. Such a temptation will form the crisis of your disease. If your spiritual constitution can sustain it, you recover; if not, you die...

Eighthly. Never lay up money for yourselves or your families. Trust in God from day to day, and verily you shall be fed.

Ninthly. Beware of that indolence which leads to a neglect of bodily exercise. The poor health and premature death of most Europeans in the East must be eminently ascribed to the most wanton neglect of bodily exercise.

Tenthly. Beware of genteel living. Maintain as little intercourse as possible with fashionable European society. The mode of living adopted by many missionaries in the East is quite inconsistent with that familiar intercourse with the natives which is essential to a missionary.

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another walk

another walk

via i am probably overthinking this by Ben on 5/29/08

Took a walk along the East Side Gallery (the longest still-standing section of the Wall) yesterday. Here's a nice shiny new slideshow for your enjoyment (click on the slideshow window to go to the album and look through at your own pace).

From John Piper's Blog.....

When Iain Murray gives an account of the “rise of the missionary spirit” in Scotland in the 1800's he comments that “a new zeal to take the gospel to the world was born out of a new experience of its power.” Then he draws attention to the connection between the renewed homelife and the missionary upsurge:

Friends, parents, neighbors first it will embrace
Our country next, and next the human race.

The Gospel does affect homes first. In Scotland it led to a type of home life and family religion fitted to produce young men and women whose great interest was the service of Christ.... [John Paton’s] autobiography provides an unforgettable account of the prayerfulness of his father...

The Lowland cotter’s lad cherished and guarded in his heart the spell of his father’s habit of communion with God, and the vision of his mother’s absorbed passion to win her children to see fear and love the Most High. These were his main equipment in life. No science can produce them; no money can purchase them.

One of the most remembered sounds of Paton’s childhood was his father’s voice, at family worship, as “he poured out his whole soul with tears for the conversion of the heathen world to the service of Jesus.” The thatched cottage of the Patons was only one of many such nurseries. Most of the Scottish missionaries came from homes and backgrounds where simple living, hard work, many sacrifices and earnest devotion were the every day experiences of youth. (A Scottish Christian Heritage, 222-223)

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Bananas for breakfast

Bananas for breakfast

via Life Without a Recipe by angi on 5/18/08

Every morning, there are always a ton of people sitting outside our office. I think they work in the office next door, but they usually sit in front of our office. They don't ever seem to have a lot going on, so whenever I'm hungry I ask them to do me a favor...send the kids with bananas my way. There's always kids walking around with various things on their heads...bananas, peanuts, fried doughnuts, avocados and mangos when they're in season.
This particular time, I bought an avocado, 6 bananas, and a capful of peanuts for about 35 cents. I've quit worrying about eating breakfast in the morning because I know I can always get a banana at work.

10 Reminders for Faithful Evangelism

10 Reminders for Faithful Evangelism

via Irish Calvinist by erik on 5/14/08

As glorious as the message of the gospel is many of us still have trouble with faithful and fervent proclamation of it. There are many explanations as to why each of us may struggle with being as faithful as we ought in this discipline; however, the scope of these posts is simply to offer ways in which to encourage more faithfulness in the area of personal evangelism.

What follows are biblical helps that aim to stimulate further evangelistic faithfulness in your life. I will cover a total of 10 over the next several days. There are a total of ten here but honestly we could look at fifty or sixty. Some are longer than others so we'll break them up as needed.

So, here we go, 10 Reminders to help you become more faithful in personal evangelism…

1. Don't forget the mandate

matt 28.18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

We sometimes forget the context of this revolutionary decree. Jesus is not in the stocks or awaiting trial, instead he is the risen King of everything. His signet ring is glaring, almost blinding, as he gives this royal decree. He is alive from the dead, the victor over death, sin and Satan. When he says he has "all authority" he means it.

But notice what his authoritative command is to do. It is a call to invade the planet with the message of his accomplishments while declaring his own sovereign rule over everything and everyone. Notice what Jesus says, "make disciples of all nations". The word translated nations is ethnos where we get our English word 'ethnic'. This mandate, quite frankly, is a call to ignore apparent social, ethnic, cultural, or demographic barriers and proclaim that this risen Jesus is in fact the only sovereign King and that he must be worshipped exclusively. Jesus' command for the reach of his gospel extends to every soul whom he has the right to declare obedience and worship from. Therefore we go.

And Jesus is not just pro-birth here but he is pro-life. He wants disciples; this is the main verb in the passage (the going is assumed…so, as you go…make disciples). That is followers, mature, growing Christians. The Great Commission is not all about the box score after folks go out and evangelize, but rather it is about bringing about the obedience of faith through the heralded word of truth. This posture of obedience starts by submitting to Christ as Lord at conversion and then proceeds to characterize the believer's life. The evangelist must not only proclaim the message of the King but also work to teach these disciples "all that I have commanded you…"

This is a high calling that we cannot overemphasize. Jesus is the sovereign ruler, he commands obedient proclamation of his supremacy to all nations and peoples, and through this heralding of his greatness we are to be teaching his followers the statutes of the King.

As an added bit of encouragement or intimidation (take it however you need it), Jesus drops the omnipresence card on his followers: "and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." This could either be indicting or encouraging.

If you are a mute Christian it stings your heart for you know that you have been silent while the King is even right there.

If you have been shaving off the pointy edges of the gospel this will also be a tough theological pill to swallow, for the King is there, even when you appear to be ashamed of those distasteful divine perfections (like holiness or judgment) and they are ignored.

If you have been faithful and you have encountered persecution, then this is truly comforting and further incentive to dig in and be faithful.

The King is in fact with us, even to the end of the age.

>we'll keep this going in the days ahead. Tomorrow's key is Don't forget the Message.

Tags: 10 Keys to Faithful Evangelism, Evangelism, Gospel

MTW Minuteman Appeal For Myanmar

Dear Minuteman,

Horrifying and harrowing stories are emerging in the aftermath of the catastrophic tropical cyclone that devastated much of already poverty-striken Myanmar. Reuters News is reporting an estimate of one million people left homeless. No one really knows how high the death toll—now reported at 25,000—will rise, but estimates are still being revised upwards. The military government has not responded quickly, and relief agencies have been initially frustrated by delays in receiving emergency visas. Assistance has only begun to trickle in. Many areas are almost inaccessible, and early reports from survivors describe terror and devastating loss of loved ones. The urgency of the crisis increases almost hourly.

The area hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis is Myanmar’s fertile Irrawaddy delta region known as the Rice Bowl. Rice plants die quickly when completely submerged in water, and much of the area is still underwater. Of course, this means that the rice crop, upon which the country depends, is almost certain to be entirely lost. So, even those areas of Myanmar that did not take a direct hit from the storm will be deeply affected, possibly catastrophically. And as is always the case, children and the elderly will suffer the most from lack of shelter, water, and food. If circumstances continue unchecked, disease will almost surely follow.

Our assessment team will leave as soon as visas are issued, and after that we hope to move quickly with disaster response teams and perhaps longer-term assistance. The crisis will not pass quickly. Although our national partner, Dr. Tial Tanga, is believed to be in an area not directly hit by the cyclone, phone and email communications are down, presumably throughout the country, so we have been unable to reach him. We expect Dr. Tanga, a graduate of Reformed Seminary, to be directly involved in MTW’s efforts.

To make a donation by check, please make your check payable to Mission to the World and write” 93985-MMMM08WEB” on the memo line. To give online, click here. And would you pray as well as give? We expect to face many challenges.

Sincerely in Christ,

Paul D. Kooistra, Coordinator

PS: Any funds not used in the current appeal will be used for similar appeals.

PPS: If you would like to receive Minuteman appeals by email, please send a message to minuteman@mtw.org with the subject line “Add to Email List.”

Donations Address:

Mission to the World

P.O. Box 116284

Atlanta, GA 30368-6284

God has blessed the ministry of BEAMM greatly over the past eighteen years by sending many willing servants to the border to advance His kingdom. As you can imagine, with an area 2,000 miles long, 120,000 square miles in area, and fourteen major border cities, opportunities abound for ministry. We need servants like you to help us reach the over ten million people now living on the border with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

BEAMM serves as an "empowering" agent, providing financial, educational, and human resources to presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church in America on the United States side and presbyteries of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico on the Mexico side, so that churches may be established and cities transformed with the Gospel.

We have a wide variety of ways in which you can serve for one week, one to eleven months, two to three years, or long term as a career. Please check out the areas of service that we currently have available and then pray how God may lead you to work with our expanding team of missionaries and Mexican national church planters and pastors.

If you are interested in any of the opportunities listed below, please contact Gene Bowman, BEAMM Coordinator, at (915) 838-3747 (home), (915) 892-4778 (cell), or glbowman@beamm.org.

• BEAMM Regional Director - Eastern Region - Career
  A BEAMM Regional Director drives the work of BEAMM is his region, developing relationships with local churches, helping to recruit new workers and discover educational and financial support for these workers. He also serves as BEAMM's liaison to presbyteries on both sides of the border as well as to BEAMM Partners.

• The ideal candidate must be a mature man, fluent in both English and Spanish, with good organizational skills. Being an ordained Teaching Elder is a plus, but not a requirement. He must be able to encourage and mentor others, with good leadership development skills. He must be able to raise his own financial support as well as the support for other workers and projects within his region. He must pass an assessment process. He may live on either side of the border in the region where he is working.

• English Language Trainers - Intern, Two-Year, Career
  Many on the border are eager to learn English. For those who live in the U.S., learning English allows them to assimilate more quickly into the U.S. culture and allows them to find better employment. For those living in Mexico, learning English allows them to better their employment situation, opening up opportunities for advancement in the U.S. assembly plants located all along the border.
• The ideal candidate may be a man or a lady who is college-age or older with an aptitude for teaching and a command of the English language. English as a Second Language Training will be provided to every candidate. Supervision will be given by the BEAMM Regional Director of the area where the candidate is working. The candidate will be responsible for developing class sites, schedules, recruiting students, teaching students, and routinely evaluating their progress. The candidate will work with a local church so that the Gospel may be presented to the students and so that a relationship may be developed between the students and the local church. Fluency in Spanish is a plus. but not required for interns. Two-year and Career workers will be required to either be fluent in Spanish or be willing to learn Spanish. He must be able to raise his own financial support and pass an assessment process.

• Seminary Instructors - Two-week, Two Year, Career
  BEAMM is committed to the training of national men in areas of leadership and theology. We are doing this through local seminaries as well as extension learning. In order for these seminaries to be effective, we need mature, competent instructors to teach theological concepts along with pratical application.
• The ideal candidate should be a mature Christian, very familiar with Reformed theology and the Doctrines of Grace. He should be able to teach in a seminary environment. An M.Div. or higher is a plus, but is not required. Opportunites exist for a person to come to the border to teach a particular class within a one to three-week period. Additional opportunites exist for full-time teachers. Two-year and Career instructors must be able to raise their own financial support and must pass an assessment process.

Pastors' Vision Trip: Ukraine 2008

Darrell McIntyre, pastor of Westminster PCA, Gainesville, TX, and Craig Weaver, Associate Pastor of Christ PCA, Tulsa, OK, made a trip with Mission to the World last month to Ukraine to visit the PCA's works in L'viv, Odessa, and Kiev.

What is a vision trip?

MTW vision trips come in all shapes and sizes, but they are designed with you in mind. Some trips target one ministry or geographic area; others are wide-ranging. Although a few trips provide limited opportunity for hands-on ministry, the focus is on vision rather than participation. All, however, offer personal challenge and spiritual growth.

Vision trip participants sometimes come from churches that are exploring new sites or ministry opportunities based on the strategies and objectives of their own church. Others are already committed to particular ministries, but are exploring ways in which they and their church might deepen their involvement. Still others are seeking to develop their own church’s missions focus and strategy, so are interested in a broader ministry overview

Some who visit the field are interested in seeing personally the ministries in which they are investing, or they may be seeking where God might have them invest resources in the future. Just getting a bigger vision for missions, or even seeking direction regarding a possible call to the field, sometimes provide motivation to join a trip.

NTP's MTW Committee offers up to $1000 per minister for a vision trip (funds permitting, of course). Contact the Committee through the Presbytery's website (link at right) for more details.

Psalm 117

Our prayer is that Christ Jesus be glorified by all the peoples of the earth. Have a blessed Lord's Day.

Here's Australia's Sons of Korah and Psalm 117