Missions

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IN THAT DAY

Stanley L. Derickson

Many are asking in our day if the attitude in the American church has changed in recent years.

We hear of great things going on in missions around the world and hear of the workers going out to the field.

We hear of the burdens of others to go to the field that they have been unable to reach due to finances.

We hear discussions about how to raise support for missions.

We hear discussions about the cost effectiveness of missions.

We hear facts such as, over 3000 lost souls slip into hell every hour on planet earth, yet it has little effect on many Christians. Why? The fact that they see that many people blown away on television in a month or two of viewing may well relate to the indifference.

How about it average American Christian? Are you as committed to missions as you were 15 years ago? Are you giving as much to missions as you did 15 years ago? Has your own attitude toward missions changed?

In a day when pastors are upset about one of their friend's receiving a bigger and better "pay package" from their new church than they did - in a day when Billy Graham declares on nationwide television that we have almost reached the world (Syracuse, NY crusade, 6-9-1989) - in a day when we are building 3 million dollar gyms for our churches - in a day when some missionaries take longer to raise their support than they do to receive their college training - in a day when Christians can go out of church stating how good the sermon was when the preacher observed their sleeping habits during the service - in a day when the average church goer gives less than the price of a cup of coffee at the local fast food place to missions - in a day when --- why continue? I'm sure you have the idea. We have picked on pastors and church goers that are thankfully in a minority. We might also add that there are some missionaries doing things that could well be added to our list.

Anyone that has lived through the last 20 years in fundamental churches will probably recognize that there have been some changes of attitude. If you haven't then praise God for your church's continuing support of missions, or else shame on you for your lack of observation.

Now we must consider from whence those changes came. I suspect that as most attitude changes came through history, the progression be it theological or otherwise, is from the schools that train the men, to the men that train the church goers, to the church goer that train the children and from the children that weren't properly challenged and now are adults, to more children that won't be trained and challenged. We are reaping much of our problem today from a lack of training and challenge to the people that need to be behind the missions effort.

Are our schools challenging our pastoral students adequately with missions? It seems that the pastoral - missions division in many schools tends to train professionals in one area or the other and fails to teach that the two are very completely interrelated. I fear this not only leaves us with pastors that are not challenged with missions, but with missionaries that have no idea what the pastor is up against. Indeed we have missionary church planters going out to plant churches that they have not been trained to pastor.

Relax if you are up tight about what can be done! The answer is simple!

Every individual, every church, every movement, every organization that comes into contact with information that would strengthen the missions effort - pass that information on. Do it by word of mouth, do it by copying materials that have no copyright for distribution, do it by supplying all the information you can, as cheaply as you can. If we are really interested in doing the Lord's work we should be willing to do so in a not for profit manner!

If we as individuals wait to see if George Smith or his church is going to start doing right with missions, then we will not start addressing the problem.

We as individuals, churches, movements and organizations must commit ourselves and our resources to getting the job done. If we wait for the next guy or church to do it, we will only wait - wait as the lost wait for the message that can free them!