This Week in the Mission Blogosphere

This week the Mission Blogophere gave us several interesting posts. In addition to these I wanted to include an old post from the "Voice of the Martyrs" blog that was challenging. So here it goes:

1. Solving the Southern Baptist missions dilemma (and others?) - One Mission blogger, Grady Bauer, posted a possible solution to the Convention's missions problem. The same day, another blogger, Alan Knox, affirmed Grady's thinking on his own blog. What was the solution? Encourage missionaries to get secular, income-producing jobs. On Alan's site, this caused quite a bit of raucous in the comments. Some accused him of some "personal agenda", an axe to grind, etc. But is it really a bad idea? Not only is it very practical, but it is also very biblical. The greatest church planter in history (Paul) worked for an income almost everywhere he went. I concur that this option should be considered by all missionaries and sought by many (most?). This will be discussed in much more detail on this blog with an up-and-coming series.
2. The unreached may be more reachable than we think - Justin Long of "The Network for Strategic Missions" posted about the location of unreached peoples. He notes that nearly all (90%) missionaries are working with people groups that already have access to the Gospel, while almost no missionaries (1%) work among unreached people groups. The reason often given is that these groups live in restricted countries. However, Justin pointed out that an enourmous number of these people live in relatively open countries, waiting to be reached. What will we do about them?
3. If you lost your Bible would it change your life? - This was a question posed by an old post on the "Voice of the Martyrs" blog quite a while back. A persecuted Christian prisoner made this statement: "In prison, the most difficult thing was to live without a Bible." Would it affect you as much?

Should missionaries consider working in a secular field for an income while they are church planting? 

What will we do about those unreached peoples who are reachable?

If you lost your Bible would it change your life?

Three important questions. What will you do?

Your Debt to Pay

Perhaps more than any other missionary, Paul was driven to preach the Gospel to those peoples who had never heard (today called unreached people groups). He said:

He wished "To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you (the Corinthians), and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand." (2 Cor 10:16)

"Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand." (Rom 15:20-21)

His passion and call were to take the Gospel to the "uttermost part," to the "regions beyond," to "all nations." Sacrifice, suffering, and death weren't too high a cost for him.

One of the motivations that took Paul to extremes for the sake of those who had never heard was his debt.

"I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." Romans 1:14-15

He isn't speaking here of a debt to God, Who had done so much for him. He was concerned about his debt to those who had no access to the Gospel. But how could he be in debt to those whom he had never even met?

• The Gift Exchange - Bob has a gift for Mary. Bob gives me the gift to give to Mary. Whose gift is it? Not mine, but Mary's. Until I give it to her, I owe it to her. I am her debtor. Likewise, Paul was a debtor to those who had never heard because Paul had receive the Gospel from God to be given to the world (Rom 1:5, 1 Tim 1:11-14). Until they received what God had given to them, Paul was their debtor.

• Moral Obligation - Jim has found 'the' cure for cancer. There are millions of people with cancer, with perhaps thousands dying of it every day. Would he be wrong to withhold it from the world? Absolutely. He has a debt to pay to them now. He is morally obligated. We see this in Scripture as well. Did not all the men have a debt of love to pay to the half dead man? But only the good Samaritan paid his debt. So Paul had a debt, for he had the power of God unto salvation, and there were millions who had no access to it.

Paul's possession of the Gospel, combined with the presence of those who had never heard, made him a debtor. The equation looks like this:

The Gospel + The Lost = Debt

In Paul's day there were more than 300 million human beings in the world. Few of them had access to the Gospel (though that was rapidly changing). The presence of these people and his possession of the Gospel drove him toward the 'ends of the earth.'

Our debt is created by the same formula. But think of this. While there were over 300 million people in Paul's day, there are over 6 billion now. 1-2 billion (with a 'B') of these are members of unreached people groups, with little or no access to the Gospel.

Also think of this. Paul had the Gospel. But we have the Gospel in a way that he did not. We can hand the completed revelation of God to an unreached man (though it may need translated yet). We have travel and communication abilities that Paul couldn't use to get the Gospel out. So, what if the equation for us looks more like this:

More Gospel + More Lost = More Debt

Here's a riddle: what do a Mathili man in North India, a Baharlu woman in Iran, and a certain American lady in your neighborhood have in common? None of them have heard an adequate presentation of the Gospel.

What else do they have in common? I am their debtor. Until they are reached, my debt remains, and the glory of God in the nations is at stake.

In response to his debt, Paul said, "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel" (Rom 1:15a). His debt equation drove him to go and suffer and die joyfully. What does your debt equation do to you?