15. From Your Head to Your Heart to Your Feet
Iam here in the beautiful home of dear friends outside one of my favorite cities, Belfast, Northern Ireland. I have been here about a hundred times, counting visits to other parts of Ireland, and it’s amazing to see all that God is doing in the midst of what for decades was one of the biggest and most horrific messes in all of Europe.
All these years I have listened to criticism of the churches for not doing more about it. How easy it is to blame the church! If the church was so bad then why was the living God using the church here and saving so many people in the midst of all this? It is one of the first places in the world that gave me a wide open door to speak at one of their biggest and most important missions events. It became the most proactive part of the UK, for not only OM but dozens of other missions groups. How could God ever use a church that holds such prejudice against the Catholic population? This sad division exists to this day and I find it a great struggle … but the Living God seems to be able to handle it. God Almighty can be grieved by people and bless people at the same time. Yes, as you are now understanding, this is what I call messiology.
This is my final chapter and my heart and mind are so full of what I would like to share. You may wonder why there is not more about missions and especially the unreached people in this book, but I did not want to repeat what I have written about in my other books. There is also the official history of OM called Spiritual Revolution by Ian Randall, which expresses so much of what I believe and how God has worked in my life and in OM. There also are quite a number of books about the ship ministry, including unique books like Deborah Meroff’s Psalms from the Sea.
I want to give a final plea for you to consider becoming a career missionary. Some don’t like the word missionary, so what about a full-time ambassador of Christ to the nations? This is the decision Drena and I made before we even met, and we now look back at fifty-five years of work and service together. Even at this point in her life Drena is a full-time missionary working very long hours every day behind the scenes. We don’t believe in retirement in our service for the King. I already have a strategy for how I can stay in bed with my smartphone and laptop and carry on a good part of my work, should that become necessary.
How sad that so many churches now have ignored Acts 13 and no longer send out long-term career missionaries from their church. This includes good churches that I highly esteem. I am well aware of some of the negative stories circulated about missionaries (some of which are true) that cause even well-known Christian leaders to develop false ideas. Even so, do we have any idea of how many millions upon millions have come to Christ and are still coming to Christ because we have sent out missionaries? Some of those places don’t need so many anymore but there are other nations, at least forty, that desperately need long-term, language-learning missionaries. I believe also in tentmakers who have a job or business for income in addition to vocational ministry but, so often in my observation, their work becomes all-consuming, especially if they have a family, and there is little time left for sharing the gospel and planting a church. We rejoice over every exception.
OM has been considered one of the major organizations birthing short-term missions but that was not my original intent. From day one we have been looking for “lifers.”
We saw right away in Mexico and much more in Europe how wonderfully God could use short-term missions, which in turn became a global phenomenon bringing hundreds of thousands into the kingdom. Yes, there were lots of mistakes along the way and it’s been very messy. But also worth it.
In all of this we learned that so often the finances were harder to find than the people. We saw great answers to prayer in connection with funds and OM was considered part of the Faith Mission Movement, which was pioneered without them knowing it by people like Hudson Taylor, C. T. Studd, and many others.
George Mueller, for instance, did not outwardly ask for money, but moved his whole work mainly among orphans by faith and prayer. In the culture of his day George was a fantastic fundraiser and I decided to follow his example. Praying and finding the finance for OM and other ministries has been one of the most exciting and motivating parts of my life. The New Testament clearly shows that together with prayer we need the highest level of communication, openness, honesty, and integrity. The latest book to help me on this subject is called Gospel Patrons by John Rinehart. He shares about how the business people, who have the gift and ability to make money, are so often such a vital part of what God is doing through other anointed and gifted people.
If the message of grace, mystery, and mercy has not emanated from these pages, then I have failed. Some of you who are reading this have not yet received God’s gift of salvation by believing on the Lord Jesus that He died for your sins. You need to do that now.
Others who have had this experience of new birth and grace have not forgiven themselves. This brings ongoing dysfunction and complexity in their lives and ministry. We surely have seen that God not only works in messy situations that must grieve Him, but He can work in messy people. He wants to use you no matter how many struggles and failures you have had in your life! Maybe, due to sin and folly, you walk with a limp—but you’re still walking! He may want you walking in some other part of the world where you never expected to go. Would you at least pray about it?
Some who are reading this have not really forgiven others, especially those who have hurt, disappointed, or even betrayed them. Maybe they have forgiven them in theory but not in practice. It might be an ongoing struggle, but that step needs to be taken.
If God has spoken to you through what I have shared, I would like you to consider some other practical steps to move this message from your head down to your heart and then your feet!
Make the decision to be more positive and optimistic. Start by sharing some of the wonderful ways God is working locally and around the world.
Get involved in at least one prayer group of some kind that focuses on the nations and unreached peoples. Hopefully you’re involved in your local church prayer meeting but I would hope you can be involved in at least one other one. Or maybe just start one!
Get involved in giving out books and resources that have helped you, and especially those that include portions of Scripture. Give them to those you know or meet who don’t know the Lord. It should be obvious by now from all the books I’ve mentioned that this is one of my favorite things to do!
Go on a short-term mission trip ASAP. Try to give preference to a ministry where you will be sharing your faith and involved with people. Try to work among the poor and live in a situation where you will be stretched.
Go out of your way to meet people near you from other cultures. Start learning another language. If you have already studied a language, as I started Spanish in high school, then make a decision to continue to become fluent. Get among people who have this as their first language. Choose the difficult road on purpose.
Practice using your time more productively. “Less watching others act and more acting myself” should be our motto. Beware of the television trap, game trap, and chit-chat trap. There is room for all of these things and much more—but they should not be our priority or focus. Of course if you have children and grandchildren then that time has to increase. Also with friends who are not believers, we must remember Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:22, To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
Give thought to going to Bible college. This can even be done by distance learning or extension. We have an over fifty-three-year relationship with Capernwray Fellowship, which has short-term Bible schools in different parts of the world. One way or another, you need more time in the Word of God. I especially urge people to memorize Scripture, which has helped transform my own life even before my conversion.
Make the decision to practice being more thankful every day. Has anyone given you anything lately? Even a book, a cup of tea, or a ride to the station? Have you thanked them? I thank Jesus that He has forgiven me for the times I have not been thankful or thanked people properly with love.
Work harder at getting a good amount of exercise and sleep, and eating the right food. This has been my lifelong practice and I really recommend it. One of the most powerful passages in the New Testament for me is 1 Corinthians 9:24–27:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Make a decision to be in touch with more people. Use a good variety of methods but remember face-to-face over a coffee or tea is the best. Going out together loving, serving, and reaching others might be even better. This must be mixed with forgiveness as people may let you down or you might feel some rejection in it all. The great mistake is to fail to take the initiative. I am in touch with many people who need money and I have a fund for just such people, but guess why so many never get any money? They never ask! By the way, there are fantastic books on how to raise funds like Funding the Family Business by Myles Wilson and Friend Raising by Betty Barnett.
Try to get some kind of mentoring and accountability even if it seems imperfect. If you are married, make sure you are getting enough time with your spouse and family. Don’t expect it to be easy. As you’ve heard me say throughout this book, there’s a degree of messiness in all things. And yet, thanks to God’s sovereignty and grace, He takes our weakness and transforms it into His glory.
For me, finishing this book has been a long marathon, but I see the finishing tape ahead and I am thankful for all the help from Above along the way. I am also thankful for all the wonderful people of God who have influenced my life these seventy-six years, and I humble myself before the Lord in thanksgiving and worship.
I am hoping that some who read this book will join with us in this great vision and task. Feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I answer every email personally!
God bless you.