Missions

I talked to God recently and told Him that I am weary of the challenges that church-planting presents. I reminded Him of what we have been through in the past year with relocating, raising support, gathering a core group, and trying to lead people when you have more questions than answers. So in case He forgot, I rehearsed the details. I’m not sure you are supposed to do that, but I did. I wanted relief. I wanted rest. I wanted calm.

In August a new fundamental Baptist missions effort launched on the Web: Missions Mandate. To introduce this ministry to the SI readership (and because I was curious), I interviewed director Tim Aynes about MM’s history and the reason for being as well as missions matters in general.

The issue of adequate preparation for missionary candidates is not new. Years ago J. Herbert Kane lamented the practice of sending unqualified individuals to engage in cross-cultural ministry:

Andrew Walls states that “one of the few things that are predictable about third-millennium Christianity is that it will be more culturally diverse than Christianity has ever been before” (Walls, p. 68). If Walls’ assessment is correct, then greater attention must be given to preparing cross-cultural workers for the complex challenges they face in effectively crossing cultural boundaries with the gospel.

As I sat on the train this morning, I looked into the face of a Chinese man. He looked old, tired, and alone. I wondered, If Calvinism is true, is this man one of the ones God loved enough to send His Son to die, or is this man excluded from any possibility of grace? Does God care about this man, or is he one who is not the object of God’s love? What a troubling thought!

by Dr. Stephen M. Davis

Read Part 1.

by Dr. Stephen M. Davis

Reflections on Ministry in Poland

Maybe a year and a half in Poland has left me somewhat nostalgic, but I love America, I miss America. As we learn the language and observe this culture so foreign to our own, we often catch ourselves comparing the two. One culture is home, and the other, well … it’s growing on us. We can observe many similarities, but a few stark differences exist.

What makes some missionaries such attractive candidates for support?

“Stover, are you sure you know what you’re doing? You mean to tell me that my grandkids are going to be ‘Pollocks’?”

That was my father-in-law’s response (himself a missionary in Thailand for more than thirty years) to the news that my family and I were leaving our ministry in Chicago to join a church planting team in Poland. He was joking, of course, but the reaction was a common one as we prepared to head to the field.