Addressing the Perception of the Missionary Territory & Task

This past week, I have been enjoying reading through a book entitled, "Overcoming the World Missions Crisis: Thingking Strategically to Reach the World". I wanted to share a portion from chapter nine, The Necessity of Theological Training for the Missionary, by J. Ronald Blue, in order for you to better understand some of the complexities that we face here in Chile and that you can know how to pray for our family in a better way.

He writes...

Fallacy One: The Perception of Missionary Territory

To (some) individuals, missionary is synonymous with mediocrity in relation to theological training. They think that a little biblical knowledge and a lot of brawn are all that a missionary needs. But nothing could be further from the truth. Of all of the people who are engaged in the Lord's work, the missionary is probably in greatest need of sound, thorough, theological traning. (p.175)

Although much remains to be done in primitive areas of the world, the vast majority of missions work today is accomplished in the arena of sophisticated societies and progressive peoples. Of the more than two billion "unreached" people (i.e. those who have not yet heard a clear presentation of the gospel), most are not primitive pagans. They are more likely enlightened individuals who are quite religious but wrapped up in complex countrerfeit religious systems. The God-given vacuum in their souls has be stuffed with a virtual smorgasbord of religions that supposedly give meaning to life.

The modern missionary is called upon to penetrate these complicated religious systems, which seem to grow like weeds from strange theological substructures. The roots might be hopelessly entangled, but they all claim to draw from mysterious revelation, issued by a divinity or god...Much missionary endeavor is directed to areas of the world where "Christianity" has become as garbled and confused as non-Christian religions.

In addition to those who claim some kind of religious affiliation, the missionary challenge encompasses the estimated one-fourth of the world's population who are enmeshed in "secularism". More than one billion secularist - men and women who have fallen prey to the gods of humanism, Marxism, existentialism, hedonism, and materialism - too, are mission territory.

The mission field is hardly some uncultivated plot of enriched soil waiting to receive the good seed. Rather, it is a jungle infested with weeds and parasitic plants that have matted the soil of people's souls, repelling the true gospel. The modern missionary is called upon to wade into that jungle of diverse ideologies and divergent theologies. (pp.175-176)

Fallacy Two: The Perception of the Missionary Task

The missionary endeavor involves more than gospel proclamation. And although missionary evangelism is perceived as glamorous, it has often been reduced to sharing a standardized presentation of the gospel or spouting a few key verses to the unfortunate and unsuspecting pageans of the world. Colorful tracts are dropped over jungle villages; sound trucks race through dusty streets, blaring recordings of John 3:16; powerful transmitter hum on remote islands, sending the Good News to isolated souls who huddle around their radios. The outreach is alluring, but the task is exceedingly more complex.

The missionary must acquire a new language, adapt to a new culture, analyze a new religious system, appreciate new values, avoid new dangers, adopt new habits, account for new emotions, attain new expectations, ascribe to new regulations, abstain from new taboos, address new problems, anticipate new opposition, answer new conflicts, apply new criteria, advocate new solutions, advance new goals, effect new changes, admit new defeats, acknowledge new limitations, while proclaiming the gospel message.

And this is but the beginning. Once the missionary has penetrated the target culture and effectively proclaimed the good news of life in Jesus Christ, they must work with those who have responded, bringing them to productive spiritual maturity.

The territory in which missionaries work is as big as the world, and the task that they must perform is as wide as God's diverse work in that world. Neither the arena nor the assignment is for theological neophytes. (pp. 176-177)

We hope that this gives a more realistic picture of what missions entails and how serious the task should be perceived by the missionary, as well as his/her prayer supporters.

Please continue to pray for our family as we, with the Lord's help, take on the challenge of understanding and ministering to those here in the Chilean culture, with the long-term goal of planting a local church.