Intolerance, the Dali Lama, and the Bible

No one is more known for peace and tolerance than the Dali Lama.  At least that’s what the world at large thinks of him.  A Tibetan Buddhist, he crusades for world peace and harmony.

Sunday at our church, one of the leaders of an Indian church planting organization (directed and funded by Indians primarily, he did not ask for or even tell us how to give money) told a fascinating story about the Dali Lama.

A 17 year old girl from Australia felt that God had laid it on her heart to give a Bible to the Dali Lama.  Not to witness to him or anything dramatic, but just to place a Bible in his hands.  She came to India and visited this mission and went on a short term trip with them near where the Lama lives.  She found a way to stay in that region longer than the others she was with and found a 15 minute audience with the Dali Lama.

She gave the Bible to him, encouraging him to read it as it will help him rule his people better and make wise decisions.  The Dali Lama examined the book for a while and when he noticed it was a Bible he became furious.  He said he would never allow that book into his kingdom.  He felt it was responsible for many of the world’s problems.  He then tossed it into one of the incense burning bins near his elaborate seat (almost like a throne).

But he did more than just insult the Holy Bible and the Christian God.  He had this Australian girl thrown in prison without notifying the Australian embassy.  Members of the Indian Christian mission mentioned above, regularly visited the prisons in that area seeking to provide help to any who needed it.  They found the girl and heard this story as her explanation for why she was in prision.  It was almost like a dungeon cell, and she was in poor physical shape, too.

They contacted the Embassy for her and she was soon released.  Although she never can return to India and see the Lama again, her testimony has had an impact.  The Indian leader said they have had more Tibetans come to know Christ Jesus in the past 2 years then ever before in their 30 years of ministry.

Praise God for those who follow His leading and hold forth His word.

“…in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life….”  (Phil. 2:15b-16a)

~~posted by Bob

Sowers of the Gospel as Rich Men or Starving

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to read a book I wish to soon reread, Roland Allen’s Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? (Wm. B Eerdmans Pub Co., 1962). Writing in the middle of last century, Allen, an Anglican missionary to North China, spoke ahead of his time on issues of control and indigenization. He calls his readers to abandon paternalistic snobbishness in the missionary movement for a deeper faith in the ability of the Spirit of God to build His Church and indwell national leaders to successfully own the work entrusted to them. It’s a worthy read. One particularly rich statement in the book has stuck with me. Allen writes:

We have not understood that the members of the Body of Christ are scattered in all lands, and that we, without them, are not made perfect. We have thought of the Temple of the Lord as complete in us, of the Body of Christ as consisting of us, and we have thought of the conversion of the heathen as the extension of the body of which we are members. Consequently, we have preached the Gospel from the point of view of the wealthy man who casts a mite into the lap of a beggar, rather than from the point of view of the husbandman who casts his seed into the earth, knowing that his own life and the lives of all connected with him depend upon the crop which will result from his labour (142-3).

Is Allen exaggerating here? Do our lives really depend on the gathering in of more sons and daughters of God in Christ from the far corners of the earth? If one considers that there is a fuller insight gained on the creative and all-encompassing wisdom of God with each new tribe and tongue redeemed, and that the final redemption of the people of God will not transpire until the last of the elect enter the Kingdom, Allen’s striking and bold vocabulary is worthy, I believe. May there be in us an increase of godly “selfishness” in the work of calling out a people for God from East, West, North and South, because without them we are not complete!

~~posted by Ambassador

The Christian Mission: An Overview (part 3)

continued from part 2

These problems, and many others like them, pose no little difficulty to the completion of the great commission. It is the burden of this article that they may be overcome, in God’s grace, only by an intentional and widespread examination of the entire biblical corpus as it pertains to the great mission of the Church. If we would begin to see the winds of change beginning to stir up another great missionary thrust into the final bastions of Satan in this world which must ultimately be brought before the throne of Christ, then let us labor to undergird our efforts with the foundations derived from a rigorous biblical-theological perspective on the world mission movement. And let us seek these foundational principles in true humility and fervent prayer. In order to lay the groundwork for such a monumental quest, I have compiled for consideration the following five underlying biblical principles, which I believe should motivate our shared goal of world-evangelization.

1. The accomplishment of redemption is the focal point of world-history.

As we begin to look for the single biblical principle which gives a proper perspective to all of history, we can find no more all-encompassing truth than the following: everything that God does, he does for his own glory. This is true both of his initial creation (Revelation 4:11, Isaiah 43:7), and of his ongoing governance of history (Isaiah 46:9-13). Because God is by his very nature glorious, we may reshape this principle into the following: everything God does, he does to display who he is (for example, see the oft-repeated purpose statement of Ezekiel, following an innumerable array of God’s proposed acts, namely, “then you shall know that I am the Lord” [Ezekiel 6:7,10,13,14; 7:4,9,27,etc.]). Now, it is equally clear that the greatest display of who God is occurred in the incarnation of Christ, and his subsequent accomplishment of redemption (Hebrews 1:1-3; John 1:18; John 12:27). If all of history is designed to display who God is; and if Christ’s work of redemption is the ultimate display of who God is; then the work of redemption must be the focal point and pinnacle of all history. It must be that for which all of history was designed, and co-terminus with the glorification of God.

2. The work of redemption was powerful enough to secure all of its intended effects.

We have already determined that world history is defined by the accomplishment of the work of redemption. Now, we must make the corollary point that Christ’s work of redemption was powerful enough to secure all of its intended effects. There is no room for potentiality in the reality of a blood-bought throng of worshipers from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation as a consequent to the reality of Christ’s completed redemption. Redemption in all of its intended effects is a certain thing from the foundation of the world, and as sure as the immutable word of God: those whom he foreknew, he unfailingly predestinated, called, justified, and glorified (Romans 8:28-31). This consideration has the effect of assuring us that all of history is indeed the divinely planned and unassailable movement toward the perfect accomplishment and application of redemption. History is not an often-frustrated attempt to prepare for, accomplish, and spread the great work of redemption; on the contrary, it is the actual progression, in every detail, of that mighty unfolding plan. Hence, even evil, in all of its ugly manifestations, is perfectly within the will of God, and is used by him to achieve a greater glory for his name, in the person of Jesus Christ. Of which truth, the most striking reality is that God’s plan to accomplish redemption was carried out by the humans means of wicked hands and motives (Acts 2:22-24; 4:26-28). So then, all of history is in very fact the divinely planned advance of the work of redemption, from the stage of preparation and foreshadowing, on to the actual accomplishment, and then on to the final securing of its every intended effect. It is vital that we keep this in mind: for when we understand this, we are able to make sense of all the obstacles and seeming failures in the Christian mission movement. Every setback is in fact working for a greater victory than could have been won without it. Indeed, it is impossible to understand any event of history, whether biblical or that which is commonly perceived to be secular, without relating it to its function in the advance of the work of redemption.

3. Christian Mission has as its goal the actual realization of the full effects of Christ’s great work of redemption.

When Christ left us on the earth, it was with the explicit task of carrying the message of his accomplished redemption to every nation on earth (Matthew 28:18-20). As we have just seen, the accomplishment of this task is the purpose of God in history. Therefore, we are laboring to accomplish what God is in certain actuality accomplishing through us. This means that, in our pursuit of missions, we are actually pursuing, first, God’s glory, or the worldwide display of who he is; and second, man’s good, or the fulfillment of his divinely intended purpose of enjoying everlasting fellowship with him. Christian mission, therefore, is the attempt to actualize the original purpose of man, as stated in the Westminster Catechism: to glorify God and enjoy him forever. This gives us a perspective on mission which is universal and fundamental to all of reality.

4. Christian mission is the all-encompassing task of believers on the earth.

It is instructive that Christ left us with the command, not merely to evangelize the nations, but to disciple them. The purpose of the church is to display the glory of God by reflecting his own holiness and the image of his Son (I Peter 1:15-16; 2:9; II Corinthians 3:18); and also, to gather together all the elect throughout the world, so that they too might display his glory. The Christian mission, then, involves, not only the calling of the nations to repentance, but also working towards a greater Christlikeness both in them and in us. Hence, every Christian discipline is rooted in Christian mission: evangelization has as its goal the ingathering of a multitude who will reflect his worth and sing his praises, and is thus in pursuit of the realization of the necessary effects of redemption. But furthermore, the laboring for doctrinal precision and practical purity is also in pursuit of the realization of the effects of redemption, and may therefore be subsumed under the general heading of mission. In other words, the Christian mission is one and the same thing as the pursuit of the blood-bought effects of redemption, and is an all-encompassing task. This has clear implications for how we go about the task of spreading the gospel: edification is as fundamental an aspect of mission as evangelization.

5. The Christian mission must ultimately be successful.

This final principle is very clearly derived from those which precede it. But as obvious as it is, it is easy to lose sight of; and a failure to keep it in the forefront of one’s mind has been the occasion of much discouragement and despair. As we prepare to labor for the task of Christian missions, we must ever be mindful of the fact that it is the work which God has determined to accomplish, and that its ultimate success is grounded in his purpose and not our own efforts. This should afford the greatest consolation to those who are laboring in difficult and resistant fields. No matter how grim the battle may at times appear, the outcome is certain. Even by means of apparent failures – martyrdoms, apostasies, political oppositions, and so on – God is working a great and irreversible triumph. As God exhorted the apostle Paul, let us take courage: for he certainly has many sheep in the very difficult and hostile unreached peoples among whom we labor (Acts 18:9-10). We may not see them in this lifetime, but we will surely meet them some day, and learn how our seemingly wasted labors were being used to accomplish a great in-breaking of the eternal Kingdom of Christ.

~~posted by Zioneer

The Christian Mission: An Overview (part 2)

continued from part 1

The second problem, a narrowness of perspective, may be viewed from two different angles: historical and geographical. With respect to the first, it is easy to lose the clarity of vision that may be gained by perceiving our era of mission as the culmination and continuation of a history-long movement which defines and gives impetus to our current task. When we are diligent to keep in mind the history of the gospel’s spread from the days of the apostles to our own, we are better equipped to sort out the greatest remaining needs; to see how the historical mission movement has gone forward, and how we might derive impetus from the inertial forces which are currently at play; and finally, to be instructed as to what basic approaches and ideals are likely to be successfully employed by the enabling grace of God. But even beyond this two-thousand year perspective, we must be able to place the post-ascension missionary effort in a broader context of the movement of redemptive history from the first gospel promise of Genesis 3:15. A fundamental presupposition that should instruct our efforts is that all of history is a unified and divinely-planned movement towards the final realization of the full effects of Christ’s great work of redemption, which was prepared for and foreshadowed from earliest times. When we have this world-history-encompassing perspective, we are enabled to deal more intelligently with the purposes and approaches peculiar to this era; and furthermore, we have a philosophical license to be instructed in our mission efforts by the Old Testament examples of Israel, whose history in many ways foreshadowed the history of spiritual Israel in this age, and by the examples of whom we, “upon whom the end of the ages has come,” are able to be admonished (I Corinthians 10:11).

The second area in which we may be benefited by a broadened perspective is that of geography, and the forces at play in the worldwide Church. If a missionary feels that he is called to reach out to a certain people, but is ignorant of the vision and work of the Church in other places, he may be cutting himself off needlessly from much helpful collaboration and synergy. For example, suppose an American Christian desires to evangelize an unreached people of Central Asia. If he is pursuing a worldwide perspective of the movements of the Church in other geographical venues, he may learn of the “Back to Jerusalem” vision of the persecuted Chinese Church, and, upon consideration, may find it a more valuable strategy for him to partner with this Chinese Church, bringing to them logistical assistance and theological training, and otherwise facilitating them to reach out to this particular people with whom they might have more cultural and linguistic affinity. Hence, he might be better able to labor for the spread of the gospel in Central Asia by working in China than by going to the target people on his own. Or even if he decided to go to the target people, he would at least be familiar with a different geographical sector of the Church which is also targeting this people, and be able to start thinking about how they could support and sustain each other on their common field of service. When every isolated segment of Christianity is pursuing a task with respect to its vision alone, much helpful co-operation might be lost; hence, a worldwide geographical perspective may prove invaluable for shaping how we go about the particular task that the Lord has laid upon our hearts.

Our final problem is closely related to the former: and that is, the essential fragmentation of the universal Church as she pursues her mission. If, as Christ proclaimed, the unity and loving inter-relationship of all Christians is a non-negotiable apologetic and testimony to the world of Christ (John 13:34-35), then the myopic point of view which chooses to interact only with other Christians of the same denomination and philosophical orientation is a tragic obstacle to the completion of the great commission. Denominationalism and fragmentation are among the great evils plaguing the Church in this day. This is a problem which holds forth immense difficulties; for many professing Christians are false teachers, spreading doctrines of the devil (I Timothy 4:1), and many are insincere professors, holding to an orthodox formulation of the faith in lip-service only (I John 2:19). Furthermore, many genuine believers are plagued by doctrinal errors of such import that evangelistic co-operation may prove more detrimental than anything else. However, as we pursue our Church-wide task, it is imperative that we seek to overcome this hurdle by humbly confessing the sin which is the cause of our division; by seeking great discernment in knowing who to condemn as false prophets and who to admonish as weaker brothers; and by laboring to partner together with true believers in spite of secondary doctrinal differences, attempting to teach those who have doctrinal errors and humbly submitting to be taught by those who have been enabled to see the doctrinal errors which we ourselves retain. If all humble, evangelical believers, even in this country alone, were motivated to work strategically together, instead of each particular group operating within the confines of its own little kingdom, I am convinced that God would be pleased to multiply our fruits exponentially.

to be concluded Monday

~~posted by Zioneer

The Christian Mission: An Overview (part 1)

part 1 of 3

As we approach the point which marks a two-thousand year lapse of time since our Savior left us on earth with a great task to accomplish, namely, the evangelism of the nations, it is imperative that we pause to consider what precisely we are striving to accomplish; how far we have advanced on our goal; and what strategies we have in place for the continuation and ultimate completion of our mission. Is it possible that, in all our zeal for the work of the Kingdom, we are hindered at points by a lack of essential clarity on exactly what that work entails, and how we might best go about it? It would seem, simply by the fact of the overwhelming diversity of ways in which various Christian churches and organizations would answer these questions that the answer must at least in some cases be yes. If this lack of unity and vision in the worldwide Church poses certain obstacles to the accomplishment of the great commission, then how might we take a definite step towards overcoming those obstacles, and equipping the Church to pour out her energies in a united effort to reach the world? I would propose that we must first acknowledge the problems which inhere in our current situation, and then construct a full-orbed biblical theology of Christian mission; by which we may hope to address those problems which we have already recognized to be detrimental to our evangelistic efforts. This series of posts does not presume to be that biblical theology of mission; but it is my desire that they may at least serve to highlight a need for more extensive work in that area, as well as provide a few rough ideas for a direction to pursue toward that end.

In pursuance of our first proposed step, what may we adduce as more specific examples of the doctrinal or practical errors in the modern conception of mission? Of many possible answers, I will highlight three that seem to me more pervasive and damaging than most of the other problems we might bring up. These are, first, a man-centered view of evangelization; second, a narrowness of perspective in the evangelistic task; and third, an essential and practical fragmentation of the worldwide Church, as she pursues her global mission. In the remainder of this article, I will address in a little more detail what these problems involve, and lay out five foundational principles that should govern our attempts to seek a biblical-theological solution to the errors which confront us.

Under the heading “man-centeredness”, I intend to include two basic errors: the first is the tendency to make the good of man the supreme motivational force for our pursuit of evangelism. It is certainly true that, apart from the gospel, man is utterly wretched, and hopeless of any lasting good. Furthermore, it is true that, in the example of Christ, we are constrained to love our fellow men, and seek their good over our own. As the love of Christ fills our hearts, it must necessarily work itself out in a selfless pursuit of laboring for the salvation of the world of men who are in desperate straits, pitiably scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:35-38). But if this motivation, as commendable as it is, is not grounded in a more foundational motivation to make much of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, it will prove inadequate to prepare us for the vast sacrifices which a life of abandonment to the ministry of reconciliation involves. If our only reason for evangelism is that men are in need, we will surely buckle under the immense pressures of the task, when the Serpent hurls his venom at us. But if our love for fellow-men derives from a deeper love of Christ, and if our most foundational motivation is the recognition that the Lamb who purchased us with his own blood, so that we might show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (I Peter 2:9), is worthy of worshipers from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation (Revelation 5:9-14); then the greatness of our vision and the God-centeredness of our motivation will be an immovable rock in the face of innumerable difficulties.

The second, more fundamental, aspect of the problem of man-centeredness is this: in effect, it places the worth and value of man on a higher plane than the glory of God – which is basically idolatry. If the need of man is of more practical concern than the glory of God – if man’s salvation is not rather one great means to magnify the glory of God’s free love and sovereign grace – then we have failed to recognize the biblical truth that redemption is ultimately designed for the universal display of God’s kindness toward us in the person of Christ (Romans 9:23-24; Ephesians 2:7), under whom he has purposed to bring all creatures, and in whom he has purposed to sum up all things (Ephesians 1:9-12, 20-23). If our evangelism is motivated by a subtle idolatry, how can we expect God to bless and empower our efforts?

—to be continued

~~posted by Zioneer

Empty Boats

“Don’t be so hard on yourself…”

“Come on, man, walk in victory, not defeat!”

More than one missionary friend has tried to convince me that any form of self-demeaning is foolish and needless. After all, we’ve been “raised with Christ”!

And certainly we have, we who lean on Jesus alone for our righteousness. We are free indeed, and have prepared for us an inheritance that is infinitely durable and gloriously unspeakable.

Yet, the Bible presents us with a Gospel paradox that is vital not to miss. Though fully forgiven, Paul still refers to himself as the “chief of sinners.” Though raised with Christ, we continue to carry about in our bodies the “dying” of the Lord Jesus. Though approaching God with confidence, the blessed must remain “poor in spirit.”

The missionary heavyweights of history got it. William Carey, Adoniram Judson, David Brainerd, David Livingstone, Henry Martyn, Robert Moffat—all of them were quick to loathe themselves as miserable sinners and wretched worms. Read them.

My, the grief they would get if they were around today! Many a church or mission would label them as woefully lacking in self-esteem. Accordingly, they might not even be recommended as “fit” for the rigors of overseas service! Can you imagine?

Our missionary heroes were perpetually awe-stricken by mercy. They never got over grace so free and so amazing lavished upon ones so foul and so undeserving. The Gospel that healed never ceased to humble. They weren’t joyless or morose. This wasn’t feigned pride or despair. Just a deep and wild and never-ending astonishment.

They knew that to entertain anything but the most lowly self-thoughts and self-descriptions was contradictory to the very Gospel they preached. Ignoring the “we are worthless servants” (Luke 17:10) texts, they reasoned, breeds only pride and presumption, however subtle or unconscious. They would’ve never stomached all of our self-congratulating and self-cajoling. Like Jesus’ cousin, they thought that “decreasing” was a good thing. Success meant running down the ladder, not up it.

In missions today, are we really imparting the untarnished gospel of grace to the nations, or merely transporting a God shell with the hot air of man-worship inside? Empty boats ferrying balloons of self-esteem? Or vessels full of the iron ore of truth?

I get this “empty boat” terminology from Spurgeon’s reading for this morning (though I confess to mixing the metaphor). And since his thoughts express what I am trying to say far better than I ever will, I’ll close by reproducing his mediation, which pertains so powerfully to today’s missionaries, indeed to today’s Church as a whole:

August 29 Morning

“Have mercy upon me, O God”
Psalm 51:1

When one of God’s choice servants, William Carey was suffering from a dangerous illness, the inquiry was made, “If this sickness should prove fatal, what passage would you select as the text for your funeral sermon?” He replied, “Oh, I feel that such a poor sinful creature is unworthy to have anything said about him; but if a funeral sermon must be preached, let it be from the words, ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions’.” In the same spirit of humility he directed in his will that the following inscription and nothing more should be cut on his gravestone:


WILLIAM CAREY, BORN AUGUST 17th, 1761: DIED-
“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm
On Thy kind arms I fall.”

Only on the footing of free grace can the most experienced and most honored of the saints approach their God. The best of men are conscious above all others that they are men at best. Empty boats float high, but heavily laden vessels are low in the water; mere professors can boast, but true children of God cry for mercy upon their unprofitableness. We need the Lord to have mercy upon our good works, our prayers, our preachings, our offerings, and our living sacrifices. The blood was not only sprinkled on the doorposts of Israel’s houses, but upon the sanctuary, the mercy-seat, and the altar, because as sin intrudes upon our holiest things, the blood of Jesus is needed to purify them from defilement. If mercy is needed to be exercised towards our duties, what shall be said of our sins? How sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is waiting to be gracious to us, restore our backslidings, and make our broken bones rejoice!

—From Morning & Evening by Chrales Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg (Crossway, 2003)

~~posted by Jack

A Challenge from the Third World

Yesterday’s post stressed that we Westerners should not abandon our involvement in cross-cultural missions. Yes the “Third World” is more and more doing a fantastic job in spreading the Gospel of Christ.

Today I thought we could ponder the fact that the “Third World” should challenge us in the West. We are so comfortable and so blessed monetarily, that we easily become complacent.

Recently I came across an excerpt from a book by K.P. Yohannan of Gospel for Asia. The book is The Road to Reality, and the excerpt was entitled “K.P. Yohannan on Shallow Commitment vs. Biblical Christianity”. It will be fitting for us to meditate on these words from a native Indian who is transforming India through indigenous missions.

All too often, we are willing to be “students of Christianity”, rather than disciples of Christ. The fact is that most are substituting “learning” and “information” for practical obedience. Never in history has there been a society with so much “information” about God, but so little real knowledge of the Holy One. Right doctrine without right living is worthless in the sight of God.

Obviously, the gap between Biblical Christianity and the way we live today is a very big one. The amount of time the average believer spends before a television, reading worldly novels, and in recreation, is amazing.

We don’t accept “the nail” because it would mean death to our “self.” We demand instead the pleasure our desires for self gratification. And we have found “shepherds” and Bible teachers who will give us a “feel good theology” to match and justify our lives of sinful rebellion. Much of this “Santa Claus religion” is centered around a horrible distortion of Bible doctrine. It denies the demands of the Gospel and says, “You can have the good life NOW, and heaven besides!” It tickles our ears to hear this religion taught. It promises us the services of a god who exists to solve all our problems; making us happy, healthy, popular, successful and rich. This sounds like the false promises of Baal or the idol gods of paganism.

It is obvious that Jesus will have no one among His followers who is wanting to put comfort, family ties or security in this world, ahead of His kingdom. Jesus is saying in effect, “I offer you what I have; hardship, hunger; labor, loneliness rejection, sweat, tears and death. I’m a stranger and pilgrim in this world, and if you follow Me you will have to break away from the clinging attachments of this present life.” There is no place in His band for those who are not willing to accept inconvenience, sufferings, and uncertainty. This is still the price of following Christ today, just as it was then.

How many of us need to confess our adulterous love affair with the world? I fear for the nation and people whose Christian churches have forsaken holiness, and separation from sin and the world. The “spiritual thermometer” of most churches is so low, that a new believer has to become a backslider to feel at home. When the Lord calls you away from this mess of lukewarm, half hearted, plastic Christianity, you can be sure that many will say you are an idiot.

“Dear Lord, we acknowledge that our commitment to You is so shallow. We say we love You, but our actions betray us. Open our eyes so that we see time and eternity as You see them. Forgive us for forgetting we are only strangers and pilgrims on this earth. How foolish we are, O Lord, to store up treasures on this earth and fight to save our lives and preserve them, when You tell us we will lose our lives if we try to do that. We ask You, dear Lord, to forgive us and help us to walk in Your footsteps; forsaking all, denying ourselves, carrying our crosses daily and loving You supremely so Your causes might be furthered in this dark and dying world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

A final note: you can request a free book: Revolution in World Missions from GFA’s website. The book will challenge you anew in regards to missions, and it reveals Yohannan’s passion to equip the Indian church to reach the many unreached groups within India itself.

~~posted by Bob

The Validity of Crossing Cultures in the Work of the Great Commission

The missionary advance of the gospel can no longer be mistaken as a Western enterprise alone. More and more nations from the two-thirds world are sending their own workers, and, not surprisingly, without American passports and unaccustomed to Western comforts, they are getting into some of the most difficult and limited access regions of the world. Believing nationals from within under-evangelized countries are mobilizing for the spread of the church among their own and neighboring peoples. In many regards, a new day has dawned in the epic of the great ingathering, and some of the rules have changed. They have changed so drastically, in fact, that some argue there is little or no place for traditional Western missionaries to do the long-term task of planting churches among the unreached. The expense and trouble involved in transplanting an American or Western European family overseas makes it, according to some, unwise, unstrategic, and a poor stewardship of resources when six or more national pastors can be funded for the same price. Perhaps the traditional model has run its course. Is the role of the Western Church now only to fund nationals, operate training hubs, and perform short-term services?

The church should most definitely give consideration to these things. National believers are, in many regards, the best equipped to carry on the work of church-planting in their own contexts. In too many cases, expatriate workers have over-stayed themselves. Their lack of a clear exit strategy and/or distrust of national believers has done damage to the health and mission of the national church. But I do not believe it is true that there is no longer a place for long-term goers who do the hard work of leaving home and learning a new language and culture with the goal of establishing the church in new contexts. The following is a beginning defense of why:

First, there are still places in the world where there is no national church capable of reaching its own without outside help. In these places, the call of Christ must involve someone crossing cultural and linguistic barriers – it is inherent in the task (Rom. 10:14-15; Matt. 28:18-20). I suggest that it would be in keeping with the thrust of the New Testament for the sending Church to focus on these least-reached areas in the commissioning of workers (Rom. 15:20-21). There are no doubt places where, indeed, the best thing foreign workers can do is pack their bags and leave in a timely fashion to enable the Church of Christ to come to maturity in its own context and shoulder the burden of mission to neighboring tribes and peoples. But this is not the case everywhere. As long as there are peoples with no witness for Christ, as long as there are places where no foundation has been laid, there will be the need for some to do the costly, difficult, Jesus-ordained work of going.

Second, supporting national pastors long term with Western dollars is not an ideal scenario. Of course, there is biblical precedent for the church in one place giving to the church in another. The account of the church in Antioch taking up a collection for the church in Jerusalem in Acts 11:27-30 would be one familiar instance. But this is an example of a one-time gift to relieve a crisis, which is far from parallel to indefinitely underwriting the salaries of foreign pastors and church-planters. Where the goal is indigenous communities of worshipers, the subsidizing of national elders leaves an unmistakable foreign influence. It may work to mark benefiting pastors as belonging to a separate class, it may make them vulnerable to attacks of greed (Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:2), and it may discourage the national church from supporting her own Christian workers and having a sense of ownership and autonomy. As long as Western donors hold the purse-strings, they are going to want to exercise some form of control over the recipients of their gifts, which in the long-run almost necessarily hampers indigenization. On the other hand, where Western dollars are behind Western missionaries, as messy and expensive as that can be, the dollars will leave with the missionaries. Both are temporary. The dollars along with the expatriate say: “something is not right here. Christ’s church is not living here. We must live among you for a time, to bless you with the Word of the Cross, and then we will go.”

Third, I don’t believe it would ever be suitable for the Western Church’s only form of “partnership” with the Church in the East to be financial support and training institutions. Might God be pleased by a fuller partnership and interdependence between us? For an affluent society such as our own, writing checks is one level of commitment to the commission of Christ and our brothers and sisters in the two thirds world. Sending our sons and daughters is another. God has allowed the Western Church (mainly owing to lack of persecution) to progress far in the development of doctrine and resources – something we should not disregard or conceal. While we must encourage new church plants toward mission to surrounding peoples, we should not assume that in every case infant churches will be ready to fulfill the Great Commission in their own countries without partnership. The task is still pretty gigantic, and we will not necessarily be robbing opportunities from churches in least-reached regions by continuing to do our own sending, especially when in partnership and consultation with any local believers that may exist. Of course, partnership is a two way street, and we need our brothers and sisters in the East as greatly or more so than they need us. Let us pose the question: who might have the most effective voice for revival in America? In spite of all our resources, heritage and education, might it not be a Chinese house church elder who has suffered for Christ and has come over to learn our language and give us a message from God? There is a rich effect when not everyone “blooms where they are planted.”

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, there is something about the message of the cross that is validated, sweetened, illustrated and adorned when it is delivered at the hands of those who have sacrificed status, economy and comfort to bring it. The widely-used term “incarnational ministry” maybe not be the most appropriate, since Christ’s taking on of human flesh was a once-for-all redemptive action in a class by itself. But He who is not ashamed to call us brothers does call us follow Him in laying aside comfort, familiarity and ease to publish the message of His incarnatory work to all the nations. In the wisdom of God, the means are appropriate to the message. The Savior has come a long distance to ransom a people for Himself. In fact, He has gone so far as to die to make our salvation a reality. He asks us, as ambassadors for the ingathering of that people for whom He died, to also condescend, identify, and if necessary die to see this message take root in the ends of the earth.

~~posted by Ambassador

Let the Nations Be Glad!

Let the Nations be Glad! is the book which we here at Kingdom Surge believe encompasses a truly Biblical view of missions. John Piper shows how our desire for God to be glorified and treasured is what should fuel all efforts to take the gospel to the lost.

If you have not heard of this book, please consider the following endorsements:

The most important book on missions for this generation. John Piper places missions where it belongs: at the heart of God’s desire to be glorified among the nations. — R. Albert Mohler Jr. (president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)

If I had to choose only one book on missions, Let the Nations be Glad! would be it. — Duane Litfin (president, Wheaton College)

This book has glorified God and helped to bring missions from the periphery to the center of the worldview of many Christians, and it is faithful to the Scriptures. — Patrick Johnstone (author of Operation World)

An invaluable resource. Missionaries, pastors, teachers, and laypeople with a thirst for God’s passion for himself and the peoples of the world will be challenged and encouraged. I offer it my highest recommendation. — A. Scott Moreau (editor, Evangelical Missions Quarterly)

The best biblical study there is on the nature of missions — Ajith Fernando (national director, Youth for Christ/Sri Lanka)

Densely packed, richly theological, faithfully biblical, thrillingly courageous, impressively thorough—Let the Nations be Glad! is the best book on missions I have ever read. — Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. (First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, GA)

I give the above recommendations to spur you toward getting and reading this book. And I want you to please go read an excellent review of the book just published by Alex Chediak. His review covers the entire book and walks through each part of it. It is an excellent summary which should whet your appetite for more. Oh, and you can read the table of contents and first chapter online for free.

~~posted by Bob

Temple-Building: Lessons for the Task of Missions

“Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” ( Eph. 2:20-22)

“For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people…’.” (2 Cor. 6:16b quoting Lev. 26:11-12)

“Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen…”. (Acts 15:14-16a quoting Amos 9:11)

“You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”. (1 Pet. 2:5)

The task of missions is in part the building up of a great temple for God. A temple made up of countless precious “living stones”. The inclusion of the Gentiles is according to James (in Acts 15) the fulfillment of prophecies concerning the rebuilding of the Temple. Indeed, we “the Israel of God” are “being built up as a spiritual house”, “the temple of the living God”. God tabernacles with us now, and ultimately our eternal abode will be with God as His people in the New Jerusalem.

In light of this explicit NT expansion of and explanation of the importance of the Temple, several lessons for today’s task of world-wide missions can be gleaned from the building of the Temple in the OT.

Revelation and Promise. In 2 Samuel 7, David desires to build God a temple. God then promises that David’s son will build a temple for God’s name. He promises that He “will be to him a father” (7:14) and further promises that His “stedfast love will not depart from him” (7:15). We learn in 1 Chron. 28 that of all David’s sons, God chose Solomon for this task. His father David promised Solomon “If you seek [God], he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.” (28:9) And he further promised that “the LORD God, even my God, is with you, He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.” (28:20)

Solomon certainly had many great and wonderful promises to attend him in his task. He even received a detailed plan from David which was “made clear to [him] in writing from the hand of the LORD, all the work to be done according to the plan” (29:19). We too have promises that the gospel “will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Christ promises that He is “with [us] always, to the end of the age” (28:20). We also have the Spirit’s power to accomplish our great task (Acts 1:8), and a blueprint for how to be Christ’s church and reach the world (the Bible).

Abundant Provision. David could not build the Temple, but he certainly provided for it. The tally of the gold, silver, bronze and iron stockpiled for the building of the Temple is absolutely staggering (see 1 Chron. 22:14). David also gave of his own wealth: “Moreover in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God” (29:3). David not only stockpiled materials, but he also organized “an abundance of workmen” and called for the leaders of Israel to help his son, and also contribute materials for the Temple (22:15-19; 29:5b). David also organized the Levites, specifically designing how they would offer continuous praise to God before the Temple. David made instruments and wrote songs to be used for the worship that was to happen in the Temple.

All these provisions were made by David, and it is from the Son of David—Jesus Christ—that all the provisions for our world-wide task of missions come. Jesus purchased everything through his death on the Cross. Jesus sent us the Spirit, and Jesus is the head of the Church. Jesus supplies each joint, nourishing the body (Eph. 4:15-16). Jesus sustains us and provides for the task. It is His Gospel we proclaim and His work we enter into. We need not fear there will not be enough supplies to finish the task; we have only to look to Christ and he will supply all our needs, according to his riches in glory (Phil. 4:19). Indeed, we can “do all things through him who strengthens [us]” (4:13).

Importance of Prayer. One of the most glorious prayers in the Bible comes at the end of David’s exhorting Solomon and all Israel to build the temple. 1 Chron. 29:11-19 records David’s prayer, and there we read: “O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own… O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon my son a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, performing all, and that he may build the palace for which I have made provision.” (29:16, 18-19). We too must be mindful of the place of prayer in our task. We are dependent on God to give us whole hearts and we must ever trust in our God to accomplish his mission through us.

A United Effort. The building of the Temple was a task that Solomon could not do on his own. All the people were exhorted to work together to accomplish the mission. David said to all the leaders of Israel: “Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not given you peace… Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God…” (1 Chron. 22:18a, 19a). Further, David exhorted all to give willingly to the cause, which they did: “Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD” (29:9a). It was not Israel alone who worked on the Temple: 153,000 resident aliens helped with the task (2 Chron. 2:17-18) and Hiram of Tyre supplied workers and wood for the task (2:11-16). So too in the great task of missions, Jew and Gentile band together to accomplish the task. Missionary or not, elder or not, all of us share the responsibility and can work together to contribute willingly to the task. Let us follow David’s advice and “Be strong and do it” (28:10).

A Glorious Completion. There is great encouragement too from the story of the Temple. The work was completed, and on a grand scale! A glorious temple was built to the praise and honor of the LORD! Upon the completion of the work, the shekinah glory of the LORD filled the Temple (2 Chron. 7:1-3), and the people had a glorious 7-day feast celebrating its completion (7:8-10). The glory of God filling the Temple is true even today, as the Spirit fills the living stones which make up the ever growing Temple today. And the joyous feast prefigures the marriage supper of the Lamb which will be celebrated upon the glorious completion of the work to build a Temple great enough and glorious enough for One so great as our God.

Let us take to heart the lessons from the building of the Temple and be encouraged to press on and realize the finishing of the great commission! And truly may we exclaim “[God] is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” (2 Chron. 7:3b).

~~posted by Bob

Book Review: Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, by Kostenberger and O’Brien

Synopsis: In light of the overwhelming abundance of materials on the practical aspects and New Testament examples of Christian mission, the relative scarcity of works intending to set forth the foundational principles of mission from the entire gamut of scriptural witness is conspicuous. This self-styled “biblical theology of mission” admirably fulfills a much-needed role in the pursuit of a rigorously biblical and redemptive-historically comprehensive framework for modern mission.

If the history of the world, and special revelation in particular, is indeed the unified account of God’s working out his eternal plan for the accomplishment of the universal mission of his Son, namely, the gathering together of a redeemed people from every nation, who will worship him forever; then an adequate vision of the purpose and significance of Christian mission, which is carried out by authorization of the Son, and in extension of his foundational mission, must begin, not with the great commission, but rather with the beginning account of God’s creation. The recognition of this vital principle is what motivated Andreas J. Kostenberger and Peter T. O’Brien to undertake their weighty endeavor. And the results could scarcely have been attended with greater success.

From the original intent of creation, the significance of Abraham’s call, the purpose of Israel as a nation of priests, the monumental covenant made with David, the grand and sweeping eschatological visions of the writing prophets; to the predominantly Jewish ministry of Christ on earth, his forecast of universal expansion following his death, and the actual outworking of that forecast in Christian history, as his disciples, empowered by the Holy Spirit, began to turn the world upside down for the sake of the Name – in short, from beginning to end of divine revelation, a thrilling picture of worldwide, salvific import begins to emerge, with a unity and complexity that is as staggering as it is beautiful. Salvation to the Ends of the Earth traces that gloriously unfolding design with a carefulness and intentionality that it makes it both a substantial contribution to modern scholarship and a rich feast for any believer. The final summary alone, entitled “Some concluding observations and implications” (pp. 262-268), is the best brief synopsis of Christian mission that one is ever likely to encounter, and worth the price of the book.

Kostenberger and O’Brien are up-to-date and thorough in their interactions with related contemporary writings. They are also well enough grounded in the universality and vastness of the theme to avoid mere novelty and speculation in their treatments. Informed throughout by a broad vision of redemptive history, and rigorously subjected to the scruples of a careful exegesis, this biblical theology of mission will undoubtedly prove to be fully adequate for a thorough grounding in the purpose and movement of Christian mission – from creation to new creation.

~~posted by Zioneer