Ron Crow, Disaster Relief Director, Kentucky Baptist Convention
Here we are in the middle of summer, and everyone is busy going here and there. Vacations are happening. Ball games are in full force. School is out, all the while preparations are being made for the return to school. Home repairs and upgrades are in full swing. Birthday parties. Celebrations. And the list goes on and on.
We all get so busy doing what we have to do. And of course, there is a list of those things we want to do. There are even those extra things we are asked to do. And before you know it, our time is gone.
But there are always needs. There is always someone who needs help. I was so encouraged a few weeks ago when one of our Kentucky disaster relief volunteers said to me, “I had planned to go fishing all week. I had nothing planned, so was looking forward to relaxing and fishing. But then there was a call to help those who had been affected by the floods in West Virginia.” And he realized that the need for those hurting was more important than the need to go fishing. What a testimony!
And the reality is, when you help someone else, you are a blessing to them, but you also receive a blessing. Above all, Christ is honored.
You don’t always have to give up a full week to “be on mission.” It might take you only a few minutes, a few hours, a full day or even more, but the Lord is just waiting on people to say, “I can help with that!”
We should live every day on mission looking for large and small opportunities to say, “I can help with that!” From a kind word or deed that brings a smile, to helping someone one with something that they simply cannot do it without help, “I can help with that!”
I’m reminded of the words of Paul to the Galatians, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9.
So, look around. Who do you see? What do you see? And can you say, “I can help with that!”
Thinking like a missionary is a reasonable service proposition (Romans 12:1). It is not extreme in light of what Christ has done for us. Following Jesus might seem radical or extreme at the outset, but once the initial step has been made the missionary mindset follows naturally.
Following Jesus re-wires our thinking. It changes every facet of our worldview. Christ is the light of the world, and His light enlightens us (John 1:4; 8:12). Far too often as Christians, we exaggerate the difficultly of choices that are normalized in the Scripture, i.e., sharing the gospel as a regular part of our daily walk with the Lord.
Life as kingdom citizens is joyfully different than the status quo. We get to live with a perspective focused on “things above.” For example, Hebrews 12:2 says, “Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross…” As our Lord and Savior, Jesus modeled this kind of mindset for every believer. As born-again believers, God has filled us with the Holy Spirit, so that we might walk in His ways. Remember, it is Christ in us and not Christ and us!
We could try to identify the bottom-line indicators of the missionary mindset in a number of ways, but perhaps the simplest way is to look at a missionary’s priorities.
Missionaries are mission-oriented Jesus followers. They find joy in prioritizing gospel-mission over their own comfort. A believer with a missionary mindset makes decisions based on gospel-mission objectives.
Mission-oriented Jesus followers will answer life questions like “where should I live?” or “how should I spend my income?” in radically different ways than those living out the status quo for American citizens. However, these decisions will not seem radical to them. Far too often, a Jesus follower living in light of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission will hear “I could never do that” from other believers as they observe their mission-oriented decision-making process. For the missionary, the life choices they have made seem joyful, fulfilling, and reasonable.
A natural and vital reprioritization is especially important if we are to fulfill our calling to make disciples who make disciples. If we are going to disciple others to lead, we must become leaders who intentionally live open and accessible lives. We must ask ourselves, am I willing to live a life that follows Christ at all costs? Is my identity in Christ and Christ alone? Do others see Christ in me?
Leaders must bring their disciples into their lives in a way that allows them to observe, learn and practice the same decision-making process that they live by. The new disciple must learn to see the world from a kingdom perspective. They must be led to apply the example of Christ’s life to every aspect of their own. If we are living for Christ and sensing the joy of a life lived on mission, we will invite other disciples into our lives and teach them to do the same. This will become the DNA that is passed on to second, third and fourth-generation believers. This does not mean that we will never face challenges, but that we will model, teach, and learn how to keep our identity in Christ in the midst of our sufferings.
Prayerfully, many of our kids and the next generation will not think that the missionary mindset is so “radical.” After all, it is a reasonable service in light of the good news. It is our joy to follow Jesus!
Here are some questions/thoughts to explore:
Would choosing to live in a specific neighborhood because of their need for the gospel seem like a strange choice to you?
Would accepting a particular work assignment because of the way it would position you strategically for gospel mission seem weird to you?
Would inviting someone to live with you or have free access to “private areas” of your life with the objective of discipling a new leader seem odd to you?
Add-on: Read the June 15 Blog Post below, “Key Missional Skill: Think Like a Missionary”, for some practical first steps to take as you seek to live on mission for Christ.
Moses had gathered 12 of his finest, most loyal men to spy out the land. God had brought them out of Egypt by his mighty hand. He had parted the Red Sea, led them by a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. God fed them manna from the dew and quail from the sky. He even gave them water out of rocks. God told Moses the land He was leading the people to was their land. They would receive what they had never worked for—God would provide them a home, a land for themselves.
So, as they gathered themselves on the edge of this promised land, God told Moses to send these 12 spies to check it out. In stealth mode, they go through the land spying it out—they check out the land, the people of the land and the numbers of people throughout the land. They return from their 40-day scouting expedition with their report for Moses. He and the people are gathered to hear the news…10 say nay and 2 say yay!
In summary, the 10 nays win the day and convince the people not to take the land—a land already promised to them. The result of the people’s disobedience is they must wonder in the desert for 40 years, to see the land from a distance yet not be able to enter it.
Forty years has passed by the time we come to Joshua 6. A new leader is on the scene because Moses has died. Joshua is the new commander and was part of the original 12 who had spied out the land over 40 years prior. Joshua is one of the original 2 who said Israel can take the land.
God has prepared Joshua for this role of leadership and after his Moses-like parting of the Jordan River experience (Joshua 3), he faces his first obstacle in the Promised Land—the impenetrable stone-walled city of Jericho. But here is what we find in the book of Joshua that is a theme woven throughout the Bible. God often does the unimaginable, so that He gets the glory and not ourselves.
You know the story (Joshua 6). God tells Joshua to gather his military, seven priests, and the ark. They are to march around the city one time for six days and go back to camp not saying a word. The priests will blow seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark each time. Then on day seven, they will march around the city seven times, blow the trumpets, and all the people will shout and the walls will come tumblin’ down! Sounds pretty crazy! But that’s just it. God loves to do the unimaginable, so that He gets the glory and not ourselves.
The book of Joshua is about conquest. By the time we get to the New Testament, the theme of conquest continues to reverberate through the pages of Scripture. However, the conquest at this point is not with military might, trumpets, or an ark. Rather, the greater reality of conquest in the Bible is accomplished through the life, death, and resurrection of One who is greater than Moses and Joshua as well as even the kings and prophets. Jesus came not to tear down stone walls, but to crush stone hearts. Interestingly, He does this stone-crushing by using ordinary soldiers to take the good news of His life, death, and resurrection to their neighbors and the nations.
How could this be possible? The world is so large and the opposition to the gospel of Jesus is so hardening. But that’s just it. God loves to do the unimaginable, so that He gets the glory and not ourselves. Will you spend your life for this unimaginable, but God glorifying cause and watch the walls come tumblin’ down?
