Helping You Fulfill the Great Commission

Having Trouble with our Gadgets

by Terry Childers

Evidence abounds of a growing dependence on sophisticated electronic gadgetry; in some cases it borders on addiction. Consider that when an announcement is made like, “The latest [name any cutting-edge device] will arrive at retailers next week” that scores of people begin lining up days in advance—many of them will actually sleep on the ground and eat stale food in order to remain in line—so they can begin an up-close and personal relationship with the latest wonder-gadget.

Don’t think for a minute that I am railing against gadgets, tools or people who own them; there is nothing wrong with the ownership or use of them. Being an avid gadget-lover myself I frequently check yard sales and online forums for bargain deals. An eight inch tall plastic figurine on my desk symbolizes the gadget-lover in me. It was given to me by a friend who marveled at the various gadgets and gizmos I used for building projects, car repairs, layout work etc.—the figurine is the amazing Inspector Gadget himself! Enough confession for now.

Gadgets are known to be troublesome. However, I’m writing about the possibility of having gadget trouble of another kind, not with the gadget itself, but from overdependence of needing gadgets when it come to the ministry. I am thinking particularly in the area of cross-cultural missions, how an undesirable side effect might show up in nationals whom we are training for the ministry, i.e. that we would inadvertently give them the impression that manmade devices are an absolute must to the success and productivity of God’s work.

A.W. Tozer tells this story: “I heard a man boast this afternoon on the radio to come to his place because they were bringing in a lot of equipment… to serve the Lord with. What equipment do you need to serve the Lord with, brother? Do you need a bushel basket full of stuff to serve the Lord with?” (from Success and the Christian, pg. 30)

I personally became aware of this syndrome at a fellowship meeting in a foreign country. I asked the national pastors to write down two or three of the most important needs they had in their ministry. As my eyes scanned their notes I was hoping to see at least a few spiritual expressions, such as: My greatest need is the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit; or, greater wisdom from God, etc. To my dismay what they perceived as being their most important needs covered the length and breadth of needing more stuff; i.e. a motor vehicle, generator, P.A. system, keyboard, projector, computer, etc. While I wondered why their thinking was so carnal, a haunting thought came over me: Am I and/or my fellow missionaries guilty of setting such an example for them to follow?

Each of us has a personal responsibility to see to it that our life and ministry is God-dependent rather than gadget-dependent. Confining our gadgets to their rightful places might allow God opportunity to fill His rightful place as our Enabler and Sustainer. We could really use an app that would restore our vision to a much needed Biblical perspective on the necessity of God’s personal presence in our life and labors; I believe such an app is available, it works like this: spend a mere two minutes writing down great accomplishments as they are recorded in the Scriptures—for example Noah’s Ark, the Exodus, shepherd boy kills 10′ giant, the Temple, Daniel in the lions’ den, the evangelization of the first-century world, etc. Whatever ends up on our list, we can be certain of at least two things: 1.) ALL of these, and I mean ALL… were done without any of the must-have, modern-day inventions, such as printing presses, radios, telephones, automobiles, airplanes, audio/video equipment, computers, internet, ad infinitum. 2.) The active involvement of the Person of God can be clearly seen in each event. These were NOT primarily what men did for God; rather, they are what God was pleased to do through men who were dependent on Him.

Think about this: if all our equipment really makes us more productive, we should be exponentially more productive than the primitive believers we read about in the book of Acts; but are we?

Brother Paul pursued personal intimacy with the Person of Christ; we all would do well to follow his example as he simply cried out, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.”

Are Short-term Mission Trips Effective?

By David Peach

Many missionaries on the field today give the testimony that God called them to the field as the result of a mission trip. I too can point to very specific direction God gave and decisions I made because of short-term trips. Therefore, I certainly believe there is value in taking mission trips. However, not every mission trip is beneficial. Some can create unintentional burdens.

Benefit: God can call new missionaries through a short-term trip

As already stated, many missionaries point back to a particular trip that God used to give them a burden for the people they are reaching today. Even if they don’t return to the same country they previously visited, God has used mission trips in the lives of many missionaries to give them direction.

Burden: Unrealistic view of missionary life

When you are holding a return-trip ticket in your hand, you cannot fully grasp the pressures of life on the mission field. A mission trip intentionally is very focused and planned. However, real life on the field is often very unfocused and frustrating. One of the jokes among missionaries is that if you have a to-do list with 20 items on it, you have had a productive day if you can scratch one item from your list. A short-term trip doesn’t always give a realistic view of what missionaries face on the field.

Benefit: Short-term trips raise awareness of the need

Many times people will return home from a trip and become more burdened for missions and witnessing to those around them. Maybe God doesn’t call that person to the field as a full-time missionary, but He will use the experience to help the person see how they can financially or prayerfully support missions in a greater way.

Burden: Mission trips can create dependence

A team of 20 teenagers can swarm into a town and create a lot of excitement for an activity. People will come to the event and a local church will minister in a greater way than they normally do. Yet, the same local church on the field may think that they are not able to do any ministry without the help of the foreign team. Or, worse, the church people become so dependent on the money and labor that an American church can provide that the local church members choose not to do any work for themselves.

Benefit: Large projects can be completed

One missionary working alone is limited in what he can accomplish in a week. However, a team of 15 people can do many man-hours of work in a short amount of time. Need to paint a building? Pass out thousands of tracts? These types of projects can be completed with a mission team in a fraction of the time it takes a missionary to do the task alone.

Benefit: Encouragement for the missionary

Even though hosting a mission team is very time consuming and draining physically, it can be a tremendous encouragement for the missionary and his family. Teams usually arrive with delicious chocolate, extra money, and an ability to understand the jokes that the missionary has been waiting a year to tell. Even with all the work involved, most missionaries love having visitors.

Burden: A glorified vacation

Unfortunately, there are mission trips that are no more than a vacation package organized by a church. There is certainly nothing wrong with taking a vacation, but don’t call it a mission trip if it only serves to make you feel better about your missions involvement. Spending a week at a resort in a foreign country is not a missionary effort.

When looking at a short-term mission trip, you should consider the purpose of the trip and whether the work you are trying to do might be better accomplished by the local church members. Trips should be used to bring honor and glory to God and to advance His kingdom. Don’t be guilty of taking a trip for your own benefit without considering the burdens that can be created from such an excursion.

Missionary Humor

“I’m reminded of the most special gifts ever sent over to a bereft Tennessee missionary. We hadn’t been over here [Japan] but a few months when I complained to my best friend back in Tennessee that I couldn’t get root beer anywhere. God bless ‘im! He sent a whole box of root beer over. I got the note from the P. O. to come pick it up, and my poor heart was all a flutter.

Now the problem was that the Japanese culture, as rich as it is, has no knowledge whatever of root beer. So at the P. O. they slapped an alcohol surcharge on my box of root beer. And I had just started language study–certainly didn’t know enough to explain root beer to a stern customs man! So now I had a moral dilemma. Do I pay alcohol tax for root beer, or do I refuse the shipment? More importantly, would my supporting churches ever find out??? Did I pay the tax and take the root beer? You’ll never know! (Man was it good, though!).” — BWM Missionary John Himes