23 Facing the Facts

23

Facing the Facts

In the task of world evangelization, we are faced everywhere by the need for more workers. The need is never for more open doors. In fact, we are blessed with amazing open doors in so many nations and so many people groups, but nothing is straightforward, and we should never be willing to compromise. Here are a few thoughts from my heart as a result of what I have seen and read over these past 50 years. Luke 14:28 tells us to be realistic and count the cost.

We need to be realistic about the complexities and obstacles that we face. We must resist the temptation to tell wonderful stories and give wrong impression about the true situation. We need a realistic view of the church. There is a huge variety of local churches with a wide range of opinions and ideas about missions and sending out workers. We should never presume that we are all of one mind.

Churches that were major sending-churches for the last few decades in some cases now cannot keep up with their commitments; in some cases congregations have shrunk or internal problems have consumed time and money. We need to understand that churches are changing.

Some very popular churches have made it known that they don’t send out long-term missionaries. They have no money in their budget for missions. They may encourage mission trips in which people pay their own way, or they may pray and give money for projects, or in some cases national workers. Sadly, some even defend their policy by spreading negative stories about the high cost and ineffectiveness of longer term and career missionaries; or they make sure missionary speakers do not get into their pulpits, especially Sunday morning when the people are actually there.

With strong emphasis on the local church, combined with the Western emphasis on paid staff or professionalism, large churches often have large numbers of full time, and paid staff, leaving little money to send out workers.

I am continually stunned by the size of salaries that many pastors receive. This leads to affluent lifestyles and enormous financial demands on the congregation. Though the USA is the heart of this philosophy, it has been for 50 years spreading throughout the world. In my own view this is a great hindrance to world evangelization.

It seems that there is little willingness to sacrifice or forsake anything for the sake of world evangelization. Emphasis on grace and freedom has led to the abuse of grace and a lack of obedience and discipline. We have failed to keep the balance— and I include myself.

I believe that many of our colleges and seminaries have teachers who no longer actually believe that the unreached are actually lost. Various kinds of zeal-killing universalism are on the increase. In fact, in our preaching and teaching today, we seem to hear very little about hell. That is a huge hindrance to mobilizing new missionaries.

Attempts have been made to marry Reconstruction Theology with prosperity teaching to form a new spiritual cocktail, and it is dangerous. Even more balanced holistic messages have led to a de-emphasis of the importance of giving people the salvation message. Many people don’t want to give finance, unless it is helping peoples’ physical needs. Huge amounts of money go into relief and development (we are speaking of hundreds of millions) while missionaries are held back due to a lack of support. I strongly believe in ministry to whole person, but we need balance.

The truth is that most mission work is carried out where the church already exists. These areas are still crying out for more workers. Only a small percentage of people are working among the unreached or where the church is non-existent. How can this be changed? For 20 years now we have had the great “Unreached Peoples Group Challenge.” We thank God for all that has been done, but what about 25 percent of the world’s population who have not heard or read the Gospel? We have a long way to go.

Whether it is the “Acts 13 Breakthrough Vision” or something similar or even quite different we long and pray for the church to move into a greater pro-active position in regard to the unreached. We long for trained, anointed and equipped workers to be sent out.

We are in contact with church and mission agencies all over the world and the one thing they all have in common is that they need workers. Most are even praying for those who will come short term and help in the task. The bigger demand is for long-term workers of some level of maturity.

We are in touch with those working in the 10/40 Window and it is clear that thousands of workers are needed there, including those who will go as tentmakers. Most people expected many more to be there by now. I am sometimes asked the question, “Why are there not more workers, particularly among the more unreached peoples?”

As we have attempted to work with people around the world, we have discovered many reasons why we are not seeing more workers, especially long-term workers. In my book, Out of the Comfort Zone, I speak more extensively on this subject, but I want to briefly list here some of the obstacles. I believe this will help us to better “count the cost” as we are told in Luke 14:25-33 and it will enable us to act and pray more intelligently.

1. Lack of Vision

Only a few seem to actually have the vision in the first place, both of the need as well as the amazing opportunities. Others don’t have a vision to send out workers, from their own church.

2. Lack of Prayer

Matthew 9:35-38 makes the command about prayer very clear. Despite all the talk and statistics about prayer and some wonderful prayer events and movements, we have to admit that the average church is not a praying church. They may boast of a prayer meeting, but usually only a few people attend and there is often very little prayer for workers and the unreached. It seems that few leaders and believers, and even missionaries, have a disciplined prayer life and ministry. Praise God for every exception and I hope you are one of them, but I am referring to the overall average. Prayer movements have also been invaded by ridiculous and extreme ideas, which have brought division and discouragement to many. Unrealistic expectations created by certain brands of extremism have also left many confused and discouraged. Praise God for his mercy and the way he keeps working in the midst of all the mess.

3. Apathy Among God’s People

I think all would agree that this is the overwhelming hindrance to what we want to do for the kingdom. This is one of the reasons, the prayer for revival movements have become such a major emphasis in some places. Occasionally, people have wondered why I sometimes get associated with some people or churches that may seem extreme, and I can only say that I am trying to stay in fellowship with the whole body of Christ. As someone once said, (I think it was Brother Andrew) “It’s easier to cool down a fanatic than to warm up a corpse!” Someone trying to bring this into balance however said, “Yes, but at least a corpse will not jump up and stab you in the back.” I must confess I am thrilled when I hear of people and churches coming alive and only hope and pray that the people will be disciplined and trained so that they go on as real marathon runners for God! I’m still convinced that a crisis without a process will become an abscess.

4. Lack of Biblical Generosity

Everyone knows that lack of funds is slowing down God’s work and certainly hindering the sending of missionaries out for field work. There are powerful exceptions, mainly when a local church wants to put up a new building. I know that many generous people are reading this and I thank God for you. I know some people are extreme as I was (some would say I still am) as I want to live on the basic essentials and pour everything into world evangelization. By the way, many people believe that without this “extreme” OM might have died in the first couple of years when so little money was coming in. Who knows? Surveys show that only a tiny percentage of money goes outside one’s own church and one’s own nation. There are powerful exceptions for relief and development when there is a huge disaster somewhere. Some even think it is better to send money rather than workers, which again is foolish because it must be both. Let’s, in the midst of this, stay grace-awakened and realize that the Lord does lead different people in different ways and let’s beware of legalistic judgmentalism.

5. Legalism

God is using his Word and many great books about grace to set people free from this; but it is a long hard road and in many parts of the world, legalism reigns supreme not only in local churches, but in whole denominations. Many feel very threatened by this movement of grace that is taking place. It seems easier to hold God’s people together (and we all need loyalty and unity) by the law and all the added “distinctives,” which are often just man-made rules and regulations than by grace, love, reality and the freedom of the Holy Spirit. We are also learning the hard way that grace without discipline can often lead to disgrace. Grace does not lay aside basic biblical commandments, but rather brings them into balance and the right priority.

6. Negative Reports

In anything as big as the modern missions movement, there will always be lots of bad news. We know that bad news travels faster than good news and we now have the Web to help. Old-fashioned gossip and misinformation still cause more harm than the Web. I personally have failed in this area and in recent decades have tried to put a greater emphasis on Spirit-controlled speech. Some churches, after sending out one worker, sometimes for only short term, have stopped sending people after their worker came back with a bad report or maybe defeated in his/her own life. It’s clear to me that without discernment, grace and forgiveness, there is no way forward.

7. Biblical Compromise

I read a book that showed the drift even on the part of missionaries and leaders away from some of the basics of God’s Word. Universalism used to be considered part of the package of liberal theologians, who did not believe in any case that the Bible was God’s Word. But now in various forms, it seems to have invaded our evangelical and biblical communities. Ignorance of the Bible in general seems to be on the increase and that doesn’t help. It is not easy as a book lover and publisher to say this, but I must say it. . . some so-called Christian books have done great harm to the work of God and world evangelization. Many seem to be overreacting to extreme brands of fundamentalism. I can sympathize, but we must always be careful of overreacting and acknowledge that because of our own weaknesses and humanness, it is not easy to be totally objective about many of these things. That is one of the reasons we know that real unity in the years to come will be in the midst of great diversity.

I hope these words will drive all of us to our knees. Don’t worry about some little thing I have said that you don’t like or agree with, but rather be pro-active and ask God what he is trying to say to you personally. We especially pray that people who read this will become more active in reaching the world with the gospel as a goer, a sender, or both. We hope you will link with us in networking with mission mobilizers around the globe.

All of us in this mobilization ministry need a lot of patience. The way ahead will not be easy! We just rejoice over each worker sent forth and each person who comes to Christ. We rejoice over each new church planted.

It is harvest time and more churches and people on the field and home are involved in missions than ever before. Of course, Satan is attacking in vicious ways on every level. Let’s, more than ever, take the shield of faith and stand against them in the power of the Holy Spirit.