Recently, I decided to reread a testimony of a well-known missionary, who was a pillar of the Christian faith. Every single time I read his testimony, I asked myself, “Why in the world would someone subject himself to such a disaster and then brags about Jesus like no other?” In the world we live in today, you cannot explain logically nor is it common sense for any sane person to subject himself to such treatment, yet I know of so many who do until this present day. Here’s what this missionary wrote:
“I’ve been shipwrecked three times and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day. In hard traveling year in and year out, I’ve had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I’ve been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers. I’ve known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather. And that’s not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches. When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut. If I have to “brag” about myself, I’ll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus. The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I’m not lying.”
This testimony, of course, is familiar to you because it’s an excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, specifically 2 Corinthians 11: 23- 33 MSG. Paul wrote his testimony 1,969 years ago, yet it reads like a current event that so many missionaries worldwide are experiencing. The reality is, if Paul did not make this sacrifice, Christianity would not exist in the way it exists today. Many benevolent and developmental works pioneered by Christians historically, would not be functioning today. Furthermore, the gospel of Jesus that brought hope to many hurting and marginalized societies would not have been preached. Paul and many other followers of Jesus from the first century to today were instrumental in spreading the hope of Jesus to the dark places of this world, including this country.
I go back to the question I asked earlier, “Why in the world would someone subject himself to such a disaster and then brags about Jesus like no other?” To answer this question, I will refer back to Paul who said this, “But I have used none of these privileges, nor am I writing this [to suggest] that any such provision be made for me now. For it would be better for me to die than to have anyone deprive me of my boast [in this matter of financial support]. For if I [merely] preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for I am compelled [that is, absolutely obligated to do it]. Woe to me if I do not preach the good news [of salvation]! For if I do this work of my own free will, then I have a reward; but if it is not of my will [but by God’s choosing], I have been entrusted with a [sacred] stewardship” (1 Cor. 9: 15- 17 AMP). In a nutshell, speaking about missionaries and pastors, they do what they do because they are 1) compelled and 2) it is their sacred stewardship of the message of Jesus to the world.
Let’s face it, if no one answers the call, this earth would be a much darker place morally and spiritually. No one will be safe and free. As followers of Jesus, we are all mandated to be a light unto the world. We are called to imitate Him and be like Him. If this is the case, then what is Jesus all about? He said this about His mission, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (Luke 4: 18- 19 NASB 1995). As Christians, should this not be our mission statement for our lives? It's not our denominations, programs, or buildings that changed the world, but the love of Jesus delivered sacrificially by followers of Jesus to sinners that they might be saved. Throughout Christian history, the church of Jesus thrived and outshone the world during very difficult times, such as persecutions, tribulations, wars, and natural disasters. No one better delivers the message of the gospel of Jesus and acts so selflessly out of love than the church of Jesus. The gospel message of Jesus and His mission is more relevant now than anytime in world history.
This mission mandated by Jesus on Luke 4: 18- 19 is so needed today as the time when Jesus delivered that message for the first time to His people. The world needs this message, and we need this message too. We need this message so bad that foreign missionaries are coming to the United States to preach the unadulterated gospel of Jesus to us. Yet, in all humility, this does not excuse us from the mandate of Jesus to send missionaries worldwide. But several myths need to be debunked if we are to continue being effective light bearers to the world. Myth #1, only a chosen few are called to be missionaries. Scripturally, this is a fallacy, if we take seriously, the mandate of God to Israel in the Old Testament, and the great commission of Jesus to all His followers in Matthew 28: 18- 20, all believers in Jesus are called to be a light and to be missionaries. Now it may be, that some are called to go forth to the outermost parts of the world, but all Christians are missionaries to the world, which may be our local neighborhood.
Myth # 2, discipleship is an option. This is another fallacy. Jesus never called us to be Christians, but He did say in Matthew 28 that we are disciples of Jesus who disciple others to Jesus. The word “Christianity” is a label used by pagans to identify the followers of Jesus, so if you are a Christian, it is not an option, you must live a life of discipleship.
Myth # 3, we must live a flawless life. This belief is so damaging that it is running the missionary community and our churches amok, ruining people’s lives. The very nature of the message of the gospel is that we are all sinners saved only by grace, therefore our response should be grace and compassion instead of holding people to a standard that no one could attain. Don’t misinterpret this statement as condoning sin, but we as disciples of Jesus should be more restorative of those who fall short, including ourselves, especially the family of God. We are called to be wounded healers rather than perfect judges. Finally, Myth # 4, missionaries and pastors are superhuman and superspiritual. My heart aches for many good leaders, men and women, who were put unjustly on top of a pedestal with impossible expectations. So much pressure is put on them that they burn out because they do not feel they could be humans. What is even more painful to witness, when they fall from the top because of these false expectations, sadly, they are simply discarded, local pastors and missionaries alike.
If we are to carry out the mandate of Jesus to make disciples of all nations, then we have to change the way we do missions locally and abroad. We have to go back to the basics, back to the source of our lives and the blueprint of how we should live- back to the gospel. Our foundation impacts our concept of success, the value of relationships, model of ministry, and example of leadership. We need to courageously reexamine our foundation, and these four underpinnings of our faith, see the fruit for what it is, and put them under the microscope of the gospel. Are we living out the life Jesus showed us? Are we “Abiding in Him” or burning out ourselves and other missionaries for a questionable concept of success? Are we compulsively trying to keep up an organizational structure at the cost of our global workers and the people they are ministering to, rather than truly loving and caring for them? The gospel at the time of its delivery by Jesus in the first century was a paradigm shift. Jesus challenged the institution devoted to God, but lost in trying to uphold an organization at the cost of their people and converts.
It was no accident that Jesus spent most of His time ministering to the Pharisaical community (including the sinners: outcasts of the Pharasaical system). The rabbis and scribes were devoted to God, but Jesus confronted them on one thing...they lacked compassion. Instead, they put their policies and politics first before caring for and loving people. Mental health issues, disorders, relational, and life dysfunctions plague our society and institutions today. If we are to healthily move forward to carry out the mandate of Jesus to make disciples of all nations, then we need to look further than just reconnecting the lost of the world to God. But to facilitate the Holy Spirit to have their lives transformed from dysfunctionality to a life of thriving. We need to go back to the paradigm that Jesus showed us for ourselves, the foundation of the gospel: Love God with all our heart, all our soul, and with all our might, and love others as ourselves. That means instead of shooting our own because of their failures, whether vocational or moral, we need to learn the Godly skills (not organizational policies) of restoration.
We need to care more for our global workers, local ministers, and lay volunteers, rather than the organization itself. We as leaders need to reexamine our concept of success, the value of relationships, model of ministry, and example of leadership. We owe it to ourselves, and the people who God sends to us, because they are compelled and they accepted sacrificially their sacred stewardship of the gospel of Jesus. It is our sacred duty to love and care for these Christian workers, and not use and abuse them for our goals. We need Jesus to do a paradigm shift once more to our institution and our community.
“Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another. For each one will bear his own load.”
Gal. 6: 1- 5 NASB 1995
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