FROM LEA EDEM.
1 year ago
Monday, September 15, 2008
Is Missions For Everybody?
The Southern Baptist Convention is one where the whole emphasis and focus of their existance is on the concept of missions, both local and abroad all for the advancing of the gospel. Scripture talks a great deal of missions and in a way I believe is the entire focus of Scripture. The heartbeat of God lies in mission work. The whole idea of our salvation is to realize what Christ has done for us and to not SIT on that information but to go and tell. Almost half of the New Testament was written by Paul when he infact was on his missionary journeys. Missions is the goal and should be the focus of every Christian believer, but what constitutes as mission work? Programs such as the Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon, and Annie Armstrong are offerings and means to take in income to support missions but does that get an individual off the hook. I have no problem with those programs and means of raising funds but when the concept of GIVING, PRAYING, and SHORT TERM MISSION when God has called you full time becomes a supplement for you so you are off the hook, I have big issues with. When your duties and responsbilities turn into the check list of "I have given my money, Im good now" or "I have prayed for the missionaries, Im good now" or "God has called me to be in Africa for 2 years but I went for 2 weeks instead so Im good now" you are not full filling the Great Commission. You are short changing God. We must have a heart for the nations and do it will full obedience to Christ. Missions is for EVERYONE no matter their skills, talents, abilities or limitations. God has not instituted ANY means to excuse you from missions but rather has created means for you to be involved. Go and do the Lord's work. You are the vehicle and means that God has created to share the Gospel..Go and Do and Be Obedient.
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I could not have read this at a better time. I have been fighting discouragement at North Greenville this week as I see and hear people all around me tell me that last week's Global Missions Week is "the mecca for Christian studies" or sarcastically stating that "that week is the most important thing North Greenville does" since the pictures covered the front of this week's school newspaper. I am disappointed with the so-called "christian" people here who view missions as... well honestly that is what is frustrating me. I don't know what they view it as. Obviously, they do not see it as a calling of God on every single follower of Christ. After a conversation with a friend from home about baptism in the Southern Baptist church and after beginning to read through the gospel of John, I was thinking about the baptism of Jesus. Jesus was baptized as an example to us and to make who he was public, but I have realized another element to that. He was baptized at the start of his ministry. As new Christians, we are baptized to publicly profess our faith but ALSO to be the start of our life of ministry. The Great Commission in Matthew 28 says for us to "GO make disciples...baptizing them...teaching them to obey everything He has commanded us." Those are the steps for our Christian walk- Become a disciple, get baptized, and if someone else is being obedient or as soon as you read the Word , your next step is to obey everything He has commanded us. So the very next step after baptism is this command - GO. I made a commitment last week to surrender my life completely to the service of the Lord, whatever that may entail. Is this exciting? Is it good that I did this? Sure, but aren't I a little bit late. It is definitely not something to get arrogant about! If anything I should be ashamed that after over 13 years as a Christian, I am just now making that commitment. It should have been my LIFE all along! That should be the entire purpose for life of every single Christian, just as John Marks said in this blog. I think we, as the church, as American southern baptist, we have cheapened grace by the pathetic walk that we call our faith.
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