restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
Thoughts of a Roving Missionary
These miscellaneous thoughts occurred to me today. Perhaps they will stimulate your thinking.
1. You can serve Christ and still end up in chains. Just ask Paul. Theres nothing easy about missions. I wont kid you theres a price to be paid for serving Jesus.
2. Leave it behind and keep it out of sight. Thats what Jesus told His disciples when He sent them out. Travel light, He said. Ive been instructed to wear only one shirt while Im teaching pastors in Ukraine. Its sort of a visual aid to show that the Gospel is not about material things. Very wise.
3. Evangelism best takes place in the web of human relationships. Just stick to the basics of loving, caring, and serving in the name of Jesus. The rest will fall into place.
4. If Peter needed his sheet from heaven, how much more do I need one? Missions means leaving our personal prejudices and judgmental attitudes behind. Holier-then-thou attitudes are incompatible with the Gospel of Christ.
5. Receptivity is totally a God thing. Divine preparation must always precede human activity.
6. The obverse is that we must expect God to do great things. Faith is expecting enablement when we 
need it. It also means expecting blessing even when were not qualified for it.
7. Evangelism is more than tell. Its also show. The Gospel must be demonstrated, not just verbalized. If we dont play the music people will never hear the words.
8. Dont try to do it all. Do what God has gifted you to do. He still uses loaves and fishes.
9. Love, love, then love some more. We fit into Gods redemptive purposes by loving Him and by loving others until they ask us why.
Now heres the deal. None of these missionary principles mean a hoot unless I practice them in my own community.
Now thats convicting!
May 24, 2007
David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.