My friends, Justin Haigler and Bill McConathy, and my children (Jessica, David, Erica and Michael) have inspired me to be more mission minded. When I was a young Christian in the mid 1970s, "mission work" was a full-time position in foreign land. There was no one that I knew of who encouraged the average person to go on "mission."
From seeing the passion of my children who have been on mission in Mexico, Africa and China and from the passion of my friends who remind me of Christ's command to GO to ALL the nations, I have begun to understand the heart of God.
Many will say that one does not have to go across the world to be in mission. I agree! Yet, how many of us even help our neighbor in time of need, much less the homeless man living off the street or the abused family living in fear in homeless shelter? Even as I write this, I am ashamed to admit that I have been too busy to help with local missions, such as The Hub or the Shreveport Bossier Rescue Mission or the Philadelphia House.
Why? Why am I still reluctant to be on mission when I know it's the heart of God. I also know how good it is for me personally. I find that when I am focusing on the needs of Emmanuel in Africa or the work that is being done through Amigo Fiel, or even with the Native Americans or Native Canadians, then I am less concerned about my personal needs and struggles.
Honestly, how bad do I have it just because I am faced with a deadline or have not been paid as timely as I would like? I am not living in mud-hut with no plumbing. I have medical care and plenty of food. Being on mission gives me broader perspective.
I plan to go to Jaurez again this Winter to help with
Samaritan's Purse through
Amigo Fiel. Many of you know that
Juarez is one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, literally; however, we have friends in Juarez and they need help.
Also, my daughter Erica asked me to consider going to the Amazon with some of the folks from
Chapel on the Campus. This trip would be in February and I cannot think of better way to celebrated my 50th birthday than on mission in the
Amazon with my daughter. However, this trip will be very expensive. It will cost well
over $3000 to attend. I cannot do this without some help. Over the years, I have give a lot of money for others to go on mission, now I need the contributions of others to go on mission.
The following are some excellent quotes on "why missions." Perhaps, they will inspire you to stick your toe in the water for mission. If you're not quite ready to be ON mission, I would appreciate your prayers for the possible mission trips coming up for me.
"It is Surrender" –
Eric Liddell on his death-bed
Most of us only think about Eric Liddell as ‘the man who wouldn’t run on Sunday’, about whom about the Oscar winning movie ‘Chariots of Fire’ was made. Liddell achieved a greater prize than Olympic Gold later on in his life. After the Olympics, Liddell returned to China to work as a missionary. His family, originally from Scotland, worked in China during the time of the Boxer Rebellion. Liddell worked as a teacher at a school for Chinese boys at which he taught chemistry and organized sports. He married in 1934 and in 1936 China prepared for war as Communist and Nationalist tensions increased. Liddell was asked by the London Missionary Society to give up his work in Tientsin, and work as a village evangelist in Siao Chang. This was a dangerous area.
"Today Christians spend more money on dog food than missions" – Leonard Ravenhill
Born in Leeds, in Yorkshire, England, Ravenhill was educated at Cliff College in England and sat under the ministry of Samuel Chadwick. His evangelistic meetings during the Second World War drew large crowds. Many converts devoted themselves to Christian ministry and foreign missions. In 1950, Ravenhill and his family moved from Great Britain to the United States. In the 1960s they traveled within the United States, holding tent revivals and evangelistic meetings. Among others influenced by Ravenhill were Ray Comfort, Ravi Zacharias, Tommy Tenney, Steve Hill, Charles Stanley, Bill Gothard, Paul Washer, and David Wilkerson. He was a close friend of pastor and writer A. W. Tozer.
"The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed" – Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was an English missionary to China. Founded the China Inland Mission which at his death included 205 mission stations with over 800 missionaries, and 125,000 Chinese Christians.
For some time he considered the question of adopting Chinese dress, and finally decided to do so, believing he could accomplish more for the Lord in that way. He had his head shaved, leaving a little hair which would grow into a Chinese cue [hair tied at the back of the head in a braid], and with baggy trousers, white calico socks, satin shoes, and to complete the costume, a loose silk gown with wide sleeves, he attracted less attention, and won the hearts of the natives as he could not do when in English dress.
"To stay here and disobey God – I can't afford to take the consequence. I would rather go and obey God than to stay here and know that I disobeyed." – Amanda Berry Smith
Born a slave on a farm in Long Green, Maryland, about twenty miles north of Baltimore, Amanda Berry Smith (1837–1915), rose from slavery and poverty to become a world famous Methodist evangelist. A black washerwoman, she witnessed the Spirit like Christian women throughout the centuries who have been used by God.
She became a legend in her own time, as a result partially by her correspondence published in Wesleyan/Holiness, Methodist Episcopal, and African-American Methodist periodicals from the 1870s until her death and the publication of her book An Autobiography: The Story of the Lord's Dealings with Mrs. Amanda Smith, the Colored Evangelist: Containing an Account of Her Life Work of Faith, and Her Travels in America, England, Ireland, Scotland, India, and Africa as an Independent Missionary. Chicago: Meyer & Brother Publishers, 1893 -- which sold widely and has been republished several times.
“The whole idea of the prayers of the saints is that God’s holiness, God’s purpose, God’s ways may be brought about irrespective of who comes or goes.” – Oswald Chambers
Oswald Chambers was a prominent early twentieth century Scottish Protestant Christian minister and teacher, best known as the author of the widely-read devotional My Utmost for His Highest.
Chambers was born 24 July 1874 in Aberdeen, Scotland. He accepted Christ in his teen years. While walking home from a service conducted by Charles Spurgeon, he mentioned to his father that, had there been an opportunity, he would have become a Christian. Chambers developed quickly in his faith, but did not plan to go into ministry. An unusually gifted student, Chambers soon started teaching classes. Finally, after four years of spiritual dryness, Chambers realized that he couldn't force himself to be holy.
Once he realized that the strength and peace he was looking for was Christ himself, Christ's life in exchange for his sin, he experienced great renewal so much so that he described it as a "radiant, unspeakable emancipation." With new-found strength, Chambers traveled the world, stopping in Egypt, Japan, and America. It was on one of his trips to America that he met Gertrude Hobbs. In 1910 he was married to Hobbs, whom he affectionately called "Biddy". On 24 May 1913 Biddy gave birth to their only daughter, Kathleen.
In 1915, feeling called to the war effort (World War I), Chambers applied and was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. Chambers was assigned to Zeitoun in Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops who were later part of the disastrous Battle of Gallipoli. Chambers died 15 November 1917 in Egypt as the result of a ruptured appendix. He suffered the extreme pain of appendicitis for three days before seeking medical attention, refusing to take a hospital bed needed by wounded soldiers.
"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." – Henry Martyn, missionary to India and Persia
Henry Martyn (18 February 1781 – 16 October 1812) was an Anglican priest and m
issionary to the peoples of
India and
Persia . Martyn arrived in India in April 1806, where he preached and occupied himself in the study of linguistics. He translated the whole of the
New Testament into
Urdu, which is a register of the Hindustani language is identified with South Asian Muslims. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan . It is also largely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an official. He also translated the New Testament into Persian (modern Iran) language. On 16 October 1812 he died. He was remembered for his courage, selflessness and his religious devotion.
"He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" – Jim Elliot, missionary martyr
Many people thought it was a tragic waste of a life when Jim Elliot and the other four missionaries died trying to contact the unreached Aucas. Yet, how many Christians would risk their life for an opportunity to share the gospel? Jim Elliot, a young modern martyr, gave what he could not keep and gained what he could not lose.
A ‘missions’ statistic that profoundly challenged Jim was, “There is one Christian worker for every 50,000 people in foreign lands, while there is one to every 500 in the United States.” Early in 1952, Jim Elliot sailed for Ecuador. The plan was to locate in an old oil station that was abandoned because it was considered too dangerous for oil personnel. It was close to the Auca tribe and had a small airstrip. The Aucas were a violent and murderous tribe and had never had any contact with the outside world. Jim wanted to bring the gospel there so he started a plan which was called Operation Auca.
”I wasn’t God’s first choice for what I’ve done for China. I don’t know who it was. It must have been a man—a well–educated man. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn’t willing. And God looked down… and saw Gladys Aylward. And God said, ‘Well, she’s willing.’” – Gladys Aylward
Aylward was born on February 24, 1902, in Edmonton, in Middlesex, England, the eldest of three children of Thomas John Aylward and Rosina Florence Whiskin, the daughter of a boot maker. Aylward had only an elementary education before going to work as a store clerk, a nanny, and finally a parlor maid. Both parents believed in “active Christianity.”
In 1932, Aylward set sail for the east from Liverpool, carrying all her worldly goods: a bedroll, a kettle and saucepan, canned food, nine pence in cash, and a small book of travelers’ checks. Her parting words to her parents: “Never get me out [of China] or pay ransom for me. God is sufficient.”
After a lengthy train trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway, Aylward found Jeannie Lawson in Yangzheng, in the northern Chinese province of Shanxi. There, the two British women established a travelers’ inn for mule drivers, providing food, shelter, and free lessons on the Gospel.
In 1937, while Chinese communists and nationalists were fighting one another for ascendancy, Japan invaded China, and by 1938, Japan’s military controlled most of eastern China. Shanxi province, too, succumbed to Japan’s superior forces. In 1940, Aylward shepherded 100 children out of the occupied territory and marched with them across the Yellow River to safety. At Fufeng, Aylward collapsed from exhaustion, and she was recuperating when word reached her that the China Inland Mission, the organization that had refused to sponsor her years before, offered to buy her a round-trip ticket to London where she could continue to mend.
Aylward spent the last 12 years of her life in Taiwan (the home of Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese nationalists after the communist revolution of 1949). Still practicing active Christianity, she operated an orphanage in Taipei until her death on January 3, 1970.
“We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that He will get us involved in His plan for the answer. If we are true intercessors, we must be ready to take part in God’s work on behalf of the people for whom we pray.” – Corrie Ten Boom
“The motive is this, ‘Oh! that God could be glorified, that Jesus might see the reward of his sufferings! Oh! that sinners might be saved, so that God might have new tongues to praise him, new hearts to love him! Oh! that sin were put an end to, that the holiness, righteousness, mercy, and power of God might be magnifi ed!’ This is the way to pray; when thy prayers seek God’s glory, it is God’s glory to answer thy prayers.” C. H. Spurgeon
"As we have a high old time this Christmas may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christless night without ever a chance. May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was. May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness. Beyond the smiling sce...nes of Bethlehem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha" – Nate Saint, two weeks before he was martyred by the Aucas
