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Potpourri- Missions,Women Missionaries, Families, and Leave it to Beaver

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

               I received the following response regarding an answer to a question. I felt it deserved a post of its own as there are many valid questions that deserve an answer. I will try to the best of my abilities to answer them. I will list the questions in their entirety and then break it down point by point. Since the person asking has asked this on a public forum I assume there is no issue answering it on the same.

“Thank you for the answer above.  I have another question that I am unable to answer, and would like your thoughts.  First of all, what is a missionary supposed to be?  I know that we are all “missionaries” in our own sphere of influence, but what about foreign missions?  Some men say that they and their families are “called” to foreign missions.  Some men leave their families in order to go to the foreign mission field for weeks or months at a time, and leave the wife at home to teach/train/minister to the children.  Some husbands and wives go to the foreign mission field and work together while their children are being taken care of by nannies or if older they are sent off to a Christian boarding school.  What is the biblical standard for foreign missions?

 While I am here one more question, if you please:  Whose job is it to homeschool the children?  I know that the women are to be keepers at home and that entails a lot of work.  Who is responsible for the biblical training and overall learning of the children?  If the father is working outside of the home, he doesn’t have much time to give.  If the mother is responsible for the entire household, she doesn’t have much time either.  Maybe more than the father, but not dedicated hours at a time.  We see this problem in a homeschooling family who lives near us.  The children haven’t learned much academically.  They have 9 children, and the parents seem to be worn out every time we visit with them.  The children are unkempt and so is the home.  They are a nice family, but I don’t want my family one day to resemble that.  What advice do you have?”

First of all, what is a missionary supposed to be?

Great question, but for the sake of not being redundant please reference the post “Women Missionaries – are they Biblical”.  But a short form answer is that a missionary as we know it today is nothing more than a church planting and soul winning pastor in a foreign field.

I know that we are all “missionaries” in our own sphere of influence, but what about foreign missions?

You are correct that the occasional misuse of that word could cause confusion. We are all “missionaries” in the sense that we are all to be a witness for Christ in our actions as well as in our words. But in the application of a foreign missionary who is representing a church office it is an entirely different thing.

Some men say that they and their families are “called” to foreign missions.

Not exactly a question, but a statement that deserves a response. A family in actuality is not called to be a missionary family as much as its called to follow the Biblical leader of the home. It is he who is called of God although God indeed does use the wife and family to help confirm the call. We must never forget the needful counsel of a wife who is walking with the Lord.

Some men leave their families in order to go to the foreign mission field for weeks or months at a time, and leave the wife at home to teach/train/minister to the children.

Once again a statement that requires clarification. It is one thing for a man to travel in short term trips as long as he does not neglect his role as a father. That is no different than a man who takes business trips. I would say that a man in a secular field who travels constantly cannot be the husband and father that he needs to be. A man’s first ministry is his family. I believe it is not Biblical to abandon the family in the name of ministry. Personally I do not know any men that do that. But there may be some outside our circles who do not know that Biblical principle.

Some husbands and wives go to the foreign mission field and work together while their children are being taken care of by nannies or if older they are sent off to a Christian boarding school. 
I addressed this before and this is totally un-Biblical. The wife and mother is to be a keeper “at” home. This is her God ordained ministry and one of the most important as well as impacting ministries there is. This is basically just feminism in the church as well as lack of responsibility.

What is the biblical standard for foreign missions?
Hate to be too simple, but the answer is the Bible. Clear cut examples such as those by Paul, Phillip, Peter, and many others whose first name doesn’t start with a “P”. Thought a bit of levity would serve well here. But in all seriousness, we have the Bible that shows us who missionaries are as well as their Biblical qualifications. We also have Biblical examples of foreign missions. But in studying missions as well as other New Testament things we must be careful studying as many erroneously try to establish their doctrine from the Book of Acts for example. Now while we can and should draw much from the book we must also remember that it is a transitional book and weigh that and compare it to the many other books in the NT. We must always compare Scripture with Scripture. To make a long answer short….. the Biblical standard is a man that meets the Biblical qualifications of a pastor found in I Timothy and Titus.

While I am here one more question, if you please:  Whose job is it to homeschool the children?

Ultimately it is the father’s responsibility and he is accountable to God for his family. But let me use this analogy. Who is the head of the USA? Obviously the president is the head and in charge as well as the key person responsible. But does not the president delegate responsibility without delegating his authority? Doing this does not violate Biblical principles as it would when the same argument is used to try to have a woman be a pastor for instance. The Bible clearly speaks to the fathers in many cases regarding their “training”. I prefer to use that as it suits the topic at hand better. Our goal is not just to educate their heads, but to win their hearts.

Deut 6 – 9: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Christian education or homeschooling is a full time job. It is the Biblical nurturing of the children. While we want academically accomplished children we want more importantly Spiritual children. Neither need be sacrificed. But sadly we oftentimes choose academic children who are lost over spiritual character.
Mr 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
So in summary it is the father’s ultimate responsibility, but it is the family’s job.

I know that the women are to be keepers at home and that entails a lot of work.  Who is responsible for the biblical training and overall learning of the children?  If the father is working outside of the home, he doesn’t have much time to give.  If the mother is responsible for the entire household, she doesn’t have much time either.  Maybe more than the father, but not dedicated hours at a time.
     Now here is a one of the more profound areas of discussion. If the family is trained and run in a Biblical manner you would be more than surprised what can be accomplished by the team. I am blessed with 11 children and above that blessed with a Proverbs 31 wife. Let me let you in on a little known secret. She was not born that way. She became that. And how did she do that? We committed to making our home a Godly Christian home and that required Godly parents. We have not arrived, but we are both trying our best in spite of our weak flesh. In all honesty life is much simpler with 11 than it was with 2. Our children are a part of all that we do. My wife is not the “keeper at home” who slaves all day while the kids hang out. Neither is she the “keeper at home” who sits around eating Bon Bons while the children slave away.
        We have trained our children in the ways that they should go. They have been taught that as an integral part of our family they all have a responsibility. So not only do they homeschool (as a whole most homeschoolers are all ahead academically although that should not matter), but they all have their daily chores. We have a schedule of responsibilities for everyone in the home and because of it there is peace and security. So a home run in a Biblical fashion is a peaceful home where all help carry the load. Whether its 2 kids or 20 it’s the same God and the same truths.

We see this problem in a homeschooling family who lives near us.  The children haven’t learned much academically.  They have 9 children, and the parents seem to be worn out every time we visit with them.  The children are unkempt and so is the home.  They are a nice family, but I don’t want my family one day to resemble that.  What advice do you have?

     If I may I would like to break this apart as there is a topic within your question that needs to be addressed. You mention a “homeschool” family who is lacking academically. You mention “9” children. And you say their home is unkempt as well that they are worn out. Lets tackle this first.

      The above stated observations have nothing to do with homeschool or secular schooled as there are many that fit that bill in both categories. Go to Wal-Mart and see for yourself.  It has nothing to do with 1 or 9 children as many fit in both those categories. You mention unkempt and I can show you endless examples of single people who are and they have no excuses. And you mention worn out and that applies to at least half of America. The reason I point this out is that there is a misconception that their natural circumstances are dictating their spiritual lifestyles and that would be erroneous to accept that. Before giving any advice it is much like figuring out the problem before figuring out the solution.

    Without knowing the family or their spiritual condition let me just say that you need not worry about becoming that or anything else if you choose to follow God’s Biblical methods. Now with that said that does not mean that you are guaranteed to be Mrs. Ward Cleaver and wear a spotless white dress and have an impeccable house with brilliant Rhodes Scholars for children. Nor does it mean that these people are wrong. Your husband needs to evaluate what his goal is for his family. You need to have a target in order to hit it. If you aim at nothing that is just what you will hit. If the goal is a Biblical family then you must understand what that is. Sometimes we have to realize that what pleases us may not be what pleases God. Perhaps you want a Rhodes Scholar for a child. But have you considered that God may not have wired every child to be one? So are you and your child a failure? No.
      Will little surprises come up and maybe your house will be a mess? Yes. The Bible does teach about things being done decently and in order, but this very week our entire family came down with the flu. That’s 13 of us sick. Guess what? Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver and the kids looked rough. Is that the rule? No nor should it be. But neither will it be a rare exception. Does God dictate how many children we should have based on our cleanliness as a home? If so which child do you kill first when the milk spills on the rug? We should be obsessed with the cleanliness of their hearts more so than of their rooms. Ironically their room will oftentimes follow the condition of their hearts as a Godly home will be one of order.
        But also remember that you do not know the struggles that a family goes through behind closed doors. They have struggles as well as you do. Regarding being worn out? You should see us after a deputation trip. We are frazzled!!!!  The bottom line is to obey God. I believe it is best to be married should God dictate. Accept as many children as God would give you if you indeed believe God is in charge of your body (don’t freak out, he won’t give you 20 unless He wants to). Homeschool your kids and love them where they are. Keep an orderly Godly home and do the best you can with what you have to work with. And remember, we are not trying to live by what the world considers a family and home, but by what God considers a family and home. It is all about love and obedience. Loving and obeying the world or loving and obeying God. We are doing this for our God so don’t worry about how others see you. If you are doing it for God then its for God to worry about and not you. Be sure that you are saved and in a good Bible preaching church that exhorts you to grow and loves you where you are at. We are very blessed in that area as we have a very supportive church.  
     And one more thing. If you remember that God loves you where you are at it will be much easier to love others where they are at. Oftentimes we look down the stairs at those who are a step or maybe even several beneath our spiritual level. All we have to do is to look up the stairs to realize that God has to look down the stairs to see where we are at as well. Hope this helped.

On a practical note there are many methods or scheduling in the home that can make your life easy. My wife has found one called Managers of their homes which has been a blessing to us.

Thanks for the questions.

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Chapter One of my new book

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

I wrote this book quite some time ago and have decided to finish it. I thought I would share the first chapter with you all. Time permitting I would like to publish it. Please feel free to tell me what you think of chapter 1.

CHAPTER ONE

What is that?

Would Paul recognize the church today?

 

Matthew 21:11-13 “ And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

            The date is December 25, 2005 (never mind that ironically many churches will cancel Sunday services because Christmas is on a Sunday). Somehow, someway, the apostle Paul has been able to do the unthinkable. He has traveled through time and has been taken to a typical American Church. He appears in the parking lot and is immediately confused as he sees people coming and going in these strange shaped objects made of metal with round rubber wheels.

 He is amazed that the carts run without horses and are totally enclosed. He wonders why no one is walking to this strange looking building, but all are coming by means of those strange carts. Everyone leaves their strange cart in a field that has hard black soil with white colored stripes.

            Paul looks intently at a sign that reads St. Paul’s Independent Baptist Church2 and wonders who this St. Paul is and that this certainly doesn’t look like any church he has ever seen or been part of.

He observes the manicured landscaping, the ornate windows, and the brick façade. Webster’s defines the word façade quite adequately:

“the face or front of anything: especially, an artificial or false appearance or aspect”3

Is it possible that even Webster’s had the modern day church in mind? Paul proceeds into this strange building and observes as the family ahead of him are met at the door by two smiling men with metal badges who kindly greet them and proceed to ask them the ages of the children and their family status and thus assigns each family member to a different room in that building. He wonders why the family came together only to be separated by these men. Paul is suddenly startled as he hears a loud ringing sound coming from this building. When the men at the door meet Paul they observe his clothing and ask if he wants to be in the Sunday School class for the homeless. He says to them that he is not homeless as he has a home in heaven.

Bewildered, the men point him to the main auditorium for the adult Sunday school class. During his walk toward the auditorium he sees people dressed in very strange ways. Women with the attire of a harlot and young people dressed for stable cleaning. He wonders if he indeed is in a building meant for believers to honor God.

He reads the bulletin board and sees sign up sheets for Ladies Tea Parties, Youth Activities, Summer Camps, Early Softball Signups, etc. But what catches his attention most is that there is not a sign up sheet for soul-winning or for ministering to the widows and orphans. Paul assumes that because it is missing it must be a given that they go soul-winning and care for the widows and orphans. He continues to walk toward the main auditorium and cannot help compare this church building to one of Herod’s palaces.

He finds a place to sit on some very strange chairs. These chairs are nothing like the ones he has known. These are very soft and comfortable and he can’t imagine how someone can stay awake in something that is more comfortable than his own bed. It is very warm in this room and he cannot understand how it can be so cold outside and so very warm inside. He looks around and can’t see a fire anywhere. He thinks to himself that this room must get very hot in the summer if it is this hot in the winter. Finally everyone sits down and seems to be avoiding him yet greeting others who they already know. He wonders where the pastor is as he has not been greeted by him.  At last a man stands before the people and Paul is sure this man must be the pastor. This man suddenly starts waving his arms and music begins to play. All the people walk towards the chairs. It seems that all the people have their favorite chairs as someone seems upset that Paul has sat in his chair. He gets up and surrenders his chair out of love and finds that there are many empty chairs towards the front of the room. He wonders why no one is sitting in those chairs, but everyone seems to be sitting toward the back of the room. The music continues and the man calls out a number and everyone begins to sing about God yet no one apparently seems to be singing to God.

The sound is quite beautiful yet the feelings are not there. The man then begins to speak and mentions something about the pastor and Paul realizes that this wasn’t the pastor after all. After two songs they say some words and then several men come to the front of the church for what they call a Sunday School offering. Paul is confused as he’s never heard of a Sunday School let alone a Sunday School offering.

The people pass around a gold colored dish and place money in it. Paul thinks that this must be an offering to give to those taking the Gospel to others in their city and in other lands or to house and feed the widows and orphans.

After the offering and another song, a lady stands before the congregation and Paul is about ready to start asking questions when she begins to sing. He thought for a moment that perhaps the church had deteriorated and a woman was in leadership. After all this would have never occurred in the first century church. After she sings a man comes before the people. Paul thinks to himself that this must be the pastor. This man also makes reference to the pastor and Paul begins to wonder if they even have a pastor. The nice man talks for about 30 minutes about various topics. He says things about sports and everyone laughs, he says things about his job and everyone laughs, it seems that he spends quite a bit of his time making everyone laugh. He speaks a few words about something called Christmas although Paul doesn’t quite know what that is supposed to mean. He spends a few minutes reading words that sound quite familiar to Paul. It seems that he might be referring to the Pentateuch.

All the while the man is speaking the people are looking at their wrists. It seems that many people there have wrist problems as they all have something shiny on their wrists and they spend most of their time looking at it. The man speaking looks at a round object with numbers on the rear wall and says that he is finished until next week. The people get up and start to walk around. Paul notices that there were only adults in the class and wonders what happened to the children he saw out in the black field with the white stripes.

Paul is disappointed as he begins to leave while wondering if this was a church why wasn’t there any preaching and genuine worship, and why they didn’t have a pastor. He wonders why they didn’t have communion and why they won’t be back the next day and are going to wait until next week to meet again.

He is met at the back door by the men with the shiny badges who ask him if he is going to stay for the Worship Service. Paul is suddenly relieved to know that this wasn’t the service at all. This must have been fellowship time for the kids and the adults and that soon all would be reunited to worship God together as was done in the first century church.

Within a few minutes many more people begin to enter from the black field with the white stripes. Paul wonders why they didn’t come for the pre-service fellowship time. These people do not seem to have any children as none accompany them into the big room. Once again the man who waves his arms leads everyone in singing then a different man comes forward. Paul decides that at last the pastor has arrived. Yet this man mentions the pastor as well and speaks of various activities.

Paul finds it odd that as with the bulletin board there was no mention of widows and orphans. He is encouraged to hear the man mention soul-winning yet is discouraged when he says that they do it 2 hours a week and that last week they had only a handful of people participate.

He also notices that all those who intently listened to the announcements about Ladies Tea Parties and softball now seem to be ignoring the part about soul-winning. He finds that odd as they listened to everything else with great interest. Once again several men come forward with the gold colored plates. Paul thinks that this church is quite generous to take up another offering for people taking the Gospel to others or for the widows and orphans.

Paul’s excitement is shattered as a man states that they need more money to finish something called a softball field and to replace the carpet whatever that is. He is also surprised to hear that they will take a missions offering later and wonders what all the money already taken will be used for. What strikes Paul odd is that although many people are giving no one seems to be giving joyously. He also wonders how many Ananiases and Sapphiras are out there as some make a point to be seen giving their money.

Again another lady sings although he is stunned to see a woman immodestly dressed standing before the people. He feels that she must be a newly converted woman restored from an immoral lifestyle and has not yet been taught God’s truth about modesty and defrauding. After she sings a strange man comes before the people. He is adorned with gold jewelry and very fine clothes.

He greets the people and Paul overhears someone quietly criticizing the man and referring to him as pastor. Paul thinks that they must be visitors as no Christian in his day would speak so poorly of their pastor. Paul continues to await the pastor’s arrival.

The large man at the front welcomes visitors and indeed introduces himself as the pastor. He asks Paul to stand and tell everyone his name. After he does one of the men with the shiny badges give Paul a piece of paper and pen and Paul is asked to sit down.

Paul finds it odd that the pastor didn’t ask if he was a believer nor did he ask any of the other visitors if they were. After all wouldn’t it be odd to see an unbeliever in the called out assembly? And wouldn’t it even be more odd to not offer Christ to them immediately? Paul resigns himself to the fact that this is going to be a very different experience.

The pastor begins speaking again and he also says things to make people laugh. He begins to wonder when they will recite the Word of God. At one point the pastor gets an angry look on his face as he speaks of the love of Christ.

A bit later he gets a look of worry as he discusses something called a building project and needing a loan to pay for it. Paul thinks that loan must be the modern day word for prayer. But Paul still can’t understand the look of worry if they are expecting God to supply it according to His perfect will. Paul’s ears perk up as he hears something quite familiar. The pastor makes reference to Paul’s writings in his letter to the Phillipians:

Philippians 4:19  “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

            The pastor proceeds to talk of the needs of the building and other projects. The pastor speaks of something called air-conditioning and how little time they have to get a better one before it gets warm outside. He speaks of the need of something called new computers that can play something called DVDs. He speaks of the need for projectors which contain the latest technologies. He speaks of trips and activities, yet he doesn’t speak of one of the primary purposes of the church which is to win the lost to Christ.  Paul now begins to understand that the word loan didn’t mean prayer, but lack of faith as well as lack of understanding. Paul wonders how in the world they could use a sentence out of his letter to the Philippians to justify their wants as these things were definitely not needs.

This never happened in the first century church. This modern day church which he was visiting had no needs. These people were well dressed. Many looked very well fed. And all of them had very nice metal carts with wheels of rubber. They were warm in winter and had a very comfortable building to worship God and edify believers in, although it didn’t seem to Paul that it was used for that reason.

The pastor continued to use Paul’s writings contrary to what he wrote. At long last Paul could stand no more. He stood before the people and asked where was the Word of God in context, where was the worship, where was the self sacrifice, where was the caring and love for one another? Paul asked where were the soul-winners? Where were the pastors? Where were the evangelists? Where were the missionaries? The pastor then asked Paul to keep quiet or leave. The men with the shiny badges were no longer smiling and began to walk toward Paul. After all who was Paul to think that he knew anything about the church? What did he know about sacrifice, hunger, sickness, faith, etc.?

 2 Cor. 11:23 – 30 “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.”

 Perhaps they never read or truly understood these verses. Paul then realized that he was not welcomed in the modern day church. He realized that it had changed dramatically. It had become materialistic. It had become preoccupied with the things of man and not the things of God. It would not accept rebuke or correction. Their focus was on comfort, ease, and honoring self. They wanted the acknowledgement of men rather than of God. Or perhaps they had replaced God with self.

Paul then realized it was time for him to go. As Paul walked out of the building that day he thought to himself that what the church needed was someone to write something about the condition of the church and the dangers of it.

Paul felt that John the beloved could probably be best used of God for that.

Revelation 2:4 “ Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 

            Has the church indeed left its first love? The thought is quite interesting of just what the Apostle Paul or better yet the Lord Jesus Christ would actually say and think if he were to walk into any of our churches today.

While times do change, and with it architectural and technological changes, should not the characteristics of the church be the same? We all know that the church itself is not a building, but as the Greek word for church Eccelsia states as translated “a called out assembly”. Would Paul recognize the church or individual Christians? That would be a question that each of us must answer. Would we ask Paul to leave our church and take his comments with him? Would we ask Christ to do the same? Or have we already done so? The last things Paul saw that December 25th were the words “Merry Christmas” on the church sign. He walked away wondering if those words as well as the modern day church had anything to do with Christ.

Matthew 7:16 – 23 “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

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So Dear Paul Letters Are Not New?

Friday, February 5th, 2010

A PINK SLIP FOR AN APOSTLE

by Rick Moeller

Missionary to South Africa and Scotland[Note: every missionary who has served for very long has been “fired” by one or more churches; sometimes, it is an economics-driven “layoff,” and every missionary is sympathetic to churches suffering due to the state of the economy beyond their control; but far too often, the reasons given--if any are given at all (some very unethical pastors drop support and never notify the missionary)--for terminating regular support to a missionary are patently absurd or blatantly disingenuous.  When we read Bro. Moeller’s satirical letter--of course containing caricature--illustrating this situation, it struck a cord with us and we wrote for permission to reproduce it here; we think it will prove thought-provoking to our readers.--Editor]

From: Rev. Alexander Demas

New Ekklesia Church, Thessalonica

To: Missionary Saul Paulus (The Apostle Paul)

C/c: Church at Antioch

Dear Brother Paul,

 Greetings, from your former disciple, Alexander Demas.  You will be excited and encouraged to hear that I have recently been called as pastor of the church at Thessalonica that has faithfully supported your ministry for many years.  Our church has recently heard of your health issues and your incarceration in Rome. Please know that we have been faithfully praying for you.  (I have especially been concerned for you, because I still fondly remember the short time that we served together in missions work before the Lord led me elsewhere).

 New Ekklesia Church is so grateful for your years of service to our Lord.  I know that you have had many long time friends in our church.  (Unfortunately, many of these friends have recently left our church for various reasons.)

 Since becoming pastor of this church, I have done my best to attempt to reorganize the church in such a way that it can function more effectively and efficiently.  One of the first things that I have done is to establish a Missions Committee in our church that I encouraged to make a detailed study concerning current Missions techniques and practices and how we can most effectively reach this modern world for Christ.

 After this intense study, our Committee concluded that we need to concentrate on certain specific areas of world Missions outreach at our church.  Our greatest desire is to find the neediest people of this world so that we can concentrate on taking the Gospel to them through modern business principles and current technology.  Missions scholars and our own meticulous research have made it clear to us who these persons are and how we can best reach them.  Of course, we know that souls need to be saved around the world, but we have come to the conclusion that New Ekklesia Church must concentrate upon the area of the “20-25 Window” for our Missions outreach.

 We have further concluded that in our modern world, it will be best to concentrate on supporting short term projects, rather than lifelong ministries since short term projects yield the most visible results in the shortest possible time period.  The Missions experts that we consulted have confirmed that this will be the best way to reach the world in our generation.

 We also feel that such short term projects are the most efficient way to get the members of New Ekklesia Church to be involved consistently in giving to Missions since they will be continually excited by the ever changing Missions opportunities that are presented to them.  We will support condensed, pithy Missions projects, not time-consuming, long term investments.

 Brother Paul, please know that we love you with all of our hearts.  (This is especially the case with me, because of our past history since you were such an incredible blessing on my life; I know you feel the same way toward me).  So, you can imagine how difficult it is for me to inform you that, after compiling our report, our Missions Committee has come to the conclusion that we can no longer financially support your ministry.  I know that this is a great disappointment to you and I apologize for that, but we know that you have many other supporters who can stand in the gap for you.

 Let me outline some of the factors that have led us to this difficult decision:

 1. YOUR AGE — Our Committee is afraid that because of your advanced age, you are no longer able to identify with the current generation.  You have had a significant ministry, especially when you served in Asia Minor, but we, as a Committee, do not believe that you will be able to make the difficult transition necessary to minister in Europe.  We feel that you are too tied to Oriental culture and so, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for you to adapt to ministry in Europe.

 Our research has led us to believe that the greatest hope for world outreach is to use young missionaries who can identify with the current generation.  You have had your chance, now it is time for us to go in a “different direction” with our financial support, and give someone younger a chance. I know that you, who have discipled so many young preachers yourself (myself included), will surely understand our decision.

 2. YOUR HEALTH — Our Committee is so thankful for your many sacrifices, but as a result, you have had too many life threatening situations which have caused too much wear and tear upon your body. To be completely honest, in your current health situation, we on the Missions Committee, feel that you would not be a good investment of our Missions denarii because your health will prohibit you from expending the energy that is necessary to do the ministries that our church envisions.  Again, we are thankful for your sacrifices, we know that the Lord will honor them, but we must think about the future of our Missions program.  There are so many projects that we desire to accomplish in the harvest fields of the world and this will require healthy bodies.  We cannot waste our hard earned denarii!  We know that you will understand and that the Lord will surely continue to provide for you from other sources.  (Besides, I am sure that you have an adequate retirement plan in place).

 3. YOUR FIELD  — You have left a fruitful ministry in Asia Minor, especially in Ephesus, where you proactively influenced a whole culture.  Our Committee does not feel that this move to Europe can possibly bear the same results.  Your talents were perfectly matched to the Asian mission field.  We believe that you will be a “duck out of water” in Europe. Now, we have learned of your incarceration in Rome.  This development will definitely further reduce your effectiveness.  How will you ever be able to have an effective ministry while being chained to those licentious Roman soldiers?  We are sorry for your situation, but we must think about getting the most “bang for our denarii“.  A missionary whose freedom of movement has been so curtailed just cannot get the job done that we have envisioned.  We feel that we would not be good stewards of God’s money if we continued to pour our resources into your ministry, since you are now incapable of free movement.

 New Ekklesia Church agreed to support you in Asia Minor, but since you chose to change your field of service to Europe, our contract with you can legitimately be cancelled.  This is not a judgment upon you or your future ministry.  We will continue to pray for you and for your release, but we must move on to fields that we think are more deserving of the Gospel than Rome.  (Please do not take this personally; we have had to take the same step with other missionaries who left a very successful ministry in Samaria to move on to Ethiopia).  After our research we have determined at New Ekklesia Church that our target field must be Asia.  So we are concentrating on Asian ministry, not European or African ministry).

 4. YOUR STATUS — Our Committee also believes that you have probably been out in field service too long.  Many of the people of our church no longer even know you or your ministry.  It has been such a long time since you last visited us. We just cannot pump our people up for Missions without regular personal contact.  So, we feel we must concentrate our efforts on new missionaries and partner with them to reach our targeted fields. We even plan to send teams from our church out to instruct these new missionaries in what our research has indicated is the best way to reach these targeted people for Christ.  I am sure that with your vast Missions background you can understand, accept, and appreciate this fact.

 5. YOUR CONTACT — Our Committee must also point out that you have been inconsistent with your reports from the field lately.  We realize that you have been in some awkward situations, but it is still absolutely essential that we receive regular reports from you in order to keep Missions before our people.  This is a very vital way for us to know whether our investment in your project is consistently bearing fruit.  Regular “prayer letters” are a “must” and their neglect for any reason whatsoever must result in missionary termination.  I might also say, as a word to the wise, that when we do receive your letters, they are good, but our Committee feels that they are much too long and wordy.  We feel that the best letters are those that are short and pithy; our people will never read them otherwise.  Furthermore, our people need to hear of exciting results from their missionaries, not to be preached to!!  You can see where I am coming from, I am sure.

 I hope that we can part ways as friends. Your termination is only a business decision that is in the best interests of our church; it is NOT personal.  We still love you in the Lord and will continue to be praying for you.  We do love you, my brother!  You are still important to us.  We apologize to you that we could not speak with you about this in person, but you understand that, due to your situation in Rome, this was impossible.  Also, our exciting and growing church does not have anyone that we can spare, at this moment, to come and visit you in your Roman prison.  When you are released, if you get back to Thessalonica, I would be happy to meet you over a cup of coffee.

 May the Lord continue to bless you, as He is blessing us.

 Yours in Christ’s service,

 Rev. Alexander Demas

New Ekklesia Church, Thessalonica

—

 I wonder how the Apostle would have felt if he had received such a dismissal. Perhaps he would have remembered this occasion when he sadly looked around his dark, damp cell in the cold Mamertine prison in Rome and wrote, ” .  .  . Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica . . .” (2 Timothy 4:10).

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Is the mission field not far enough away?

Saturday, June 20th, 2009

 

                 This is a question we must ask ourselves. Is the mission field not far enough away? Could you imagine telling someone that you turned down a very good paying job because it was too close to home? Or would you not go to a grocery store because it was too near to your home? Or would you reject a church solely because it was not far enough away? These questions would, or rather should seem ridiculous. But in our day that is in essence what we say about stateside missions. We are living in a very unique period in time. We may be seeing God giving us here in America a unique opportunity for the last great harvest of souls. What we have happening is that God is sending the mission field to America. Never before have we seen such an influx of foreigners in both numbers and variety. Now it is sad enough that many churches do not feel “led” to help plant churches in America for “Americans”. That is a travesty in itself. Some pastors feel that “bless God if he wants to plant a church then he should just get a job and support himself”. Yet the same pastor would not consider getting a secular job to help support himself as he needs the time to be able to minister. He knows the time required for the ministry. Many pastors walked into a church with a salary, albeit low, and had the flexibility to minister. But the local home church planting story is a sad one all by itself. But we are now experiencing a new travesty. Souls are coming to America by the millions. It is estimated that there are around 20 million Mexican nationals in America. Let alone the millions of other Spanish speaking immigrants, European immigrants, Asian immigrants, Mid-Eastern immigrants, and many more.
                 These are the very people we are sending missionaries to reach in other countries. These immigrants seem to be the victims of bad timing. Had they been in their native country they would have been the object of video presentations, prayer cards, countless millions of dollars of missions money spent to reach them, and most important lives dedicated to reach them. But due to “bad timing” they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see, they are not far enough away. A pastor once said that one reason they wanted to support “foreign” missionaries is because his people enjoyed getting prayer letters from far away places. But is the issue a far away place or a far away people? They are all the same. It is not a matter of the geographical location of the man, woman, or child but the spiritual condition of the man, woman, or child.
                 These immigrants oftentimes do not speak the English language and must be reached by those who do speak their language. Some will say “bless God they are in America let them learn English”. That’s all well and fine in the aspect of assimilating into a culture, but is our first focus to make them Americans or to help them become Christians? When working with foreigners the topic of their legality often comes into play. The problem of illegal immigration is a legitimate issue. But so is the topic of any illegality. Any illegal activity is wrong. In my experience I have made a point to lead them to Christ first then teach them what God says about living an honest Christian life. It is hard to tell someone to live like a believer when they are not a believer. But let me pose the following question. When and if you witness to strangers do you do a background check first? I mean after all they may be a child molester, maybe a thief, perhaps even someone who just fudges a bit on their taxes. I would think we would want to win drunks, thieves, fornicators, etc. to Christ. After all God tells us in His Word that we ourselves were those.

I Cor. 6: 9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

 

I think that we oftentimes forget from where God saved us. Some will say that “I never did those things”. Well the truth is you were still a sinner destined for hell. So will we now make comparisons as to who is worthy to hear the Gospel based on our view of severity of levels of sin? The Great Commission did not make a caveat to who we should reach. We are commanded to go and reach everyone we can.

 

Mt 22:9  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

 

The verse did say “as many as ye shall find” did it not?

 

Mt 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

 

It also said to reach all nations. So is a nation a people or a place? Is there a limitation?

 

Ac 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

            We oftentimes hear the previous verse used to justify where we will send people. We often hear differing descriptions of what our Jerusalems, Judaeas, Samarias, and uttermost parts of the earth are. I have heard of pastors telling missionaries seeking support that they cannot have them in because they already have one missionary in that country. That was a country with tens if not hundreds of millions of inhabitants. So is one enough? Well then lets carry this thought over to the home and foreign mission field in America? How many are enough? We already know that we do not have enough fundamentally sound churches in America for “English” speaking people and we know that in many cases we do not feel a need to financially support those endeavors. Sadly this is also the case for reaching the foreign mission field that has come to us.

            We are now guilty of following the letter of the law versus the Spirit of the law. I chose to capitalize the word spirit in the previous use intentionally as we are not only dealing with the spirit of the law, but also with the Holy Spirit of the law. Or rather that Spirit that gave us the law to begin with. Historically we sent missionaries to reach foreigners in far away lands. We established Missions policies to reflect that. As a matter of fact many churches will not support a missionary unless he is ministering in a foreign field because of the policy. But the ground rules have changed. God has chosen, by His grace, to bring the mission field here to us. The problem lies in that God is not playing by the rules that we established. He has set before us a people that need to be reached and in many cases cannot be reached except by those who can speak their language and understand their culture. If you have not noticed they have also brought their language and culture to America. Just take a look for example at Hispanic immigrants. Wal-Mart now has bi-lingual signs throughout the stores. Many businesses are now seeking bi-lingual employees to meet the need, they are not sitting on their hands saying “bless God let them learn English”. Though their goal is different than ours they are being more productive in reaching foreigners in America than we are. For that matter the cults are doing a much better job in reaching the incoming mission field.

            We must ask ourselves a question. Do we reach the foreign field or not? Do we condemn a soul only because he came to the country from which a missionary was sent from to reach him?
Did he leave his country too soon and is no longer worthy to hear the Gospel? Will we be slaves to the letter of the law or will we be servants to the Spirit of the law? I can say without any hesitation that God would have us to reach the mission field wherever that may be. Whether they be Americans in America or whether they be foreigners in foreign lands or on American soil all of them are the mission field. God never said that a soul’s need for salvation was limited by international borders. The mission field is closer than you think. Hopefully it is not a case that it is not far enough away for you. The mission field is a people not a place. The mission field is here.

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Women Missionaries – Are they Biblical?

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

 

Women Missionaries

This may be one of the most controversial topics one can take on. It is not controversial because it is defendable Biblically, but because we have created new doctrine in order to provide for feminism in the local church. Before we delve into why it is wrong we must first establish what a missionary is. Once we do then the issue of women missionaries takes care of itself. I will leave the full issue of feminism in the church for another post. First we must realize that we do not have the word “missionary” in the Bible although we accept that Paul as well as others took what we now call missionary journeys. We can also accept the fact that Paul while being an apostle was a missionary.

We find in Acts 13:1 the beginning of Paul’s first missionary journey. In verse 5 of the same chapter we are told just what these missionaries did  “And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister”. This leads to the first issue. If a missionary is a preacher is a woman to preach to men? We will solely rely on the Bible for the answer. 1Ti 2:12  But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. Now does this mean she cannot witness? Of course she can, but keeping in mind her testimony and avoiding any improper appearance in regards to being alone with that man as we are to avoid any appearance of evil, but back to preaching .The Bible was quite clear so we see already that in the context of the first missionaries a woman could not be one in the truest sense of the word. Now without pulling up every passage we know that Paul also planted churches. Now to plant a church one must start it serving as a pastor and eventually Paul would pass the work on to another man. So let us look at the qualifications of the missionary/pastor. 

I Tim. 3 says:

Vs. 1 “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work”. The first key is that he is a “he”.

Vs. 2 “A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife,” Here is our next tip off or rather confirmation as “he” is a husband. “vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;” again this brings us back to I Tim. 2:12 in regards to a woman teacher. 

Vss. 3-4  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; Here is another key “one that ruleth his own house”. As is the case the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible and we read regarding ruling the house that it requires that it be the man. Eph 5:23  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. This should be clear enough.

Vss. 5-7 (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. The previous verse should be self explanatory as it refers to “his” house.

 

This is proof positive that the missionary can only be a man as he is to preach as well as pastor. For the sake of brevity these examples should suffice in establishing that a missionary is basically a pastor who is planting a church. Whether this is in a home or foreign field is of no consequence as all the world is a mission field.

 

Having established the definition of the missionary as well as his responsibility why is it then that we try to justify having women missionaries? Obviously as we mentioned already one reason is feminism in the church. Feminism has stomped into the church and has demanded equality in the church when in fact it is not an issue of equality, but of God’s order and that cannot be altered, at least not if one wishes to remain Biblical. We can see good and well that there is no such thing as a woman missionary in the literal sense. But what of women missionaries in history? These women were obviously out of God’s will as they clearly violated Scripture. Just because it is being done or even if it has shown fruit does not make it right.

In our fundamental circles we are seeing women in missions evolve into “teams” where the husband and wife are co-missionaries. I have heard of women that go to the mission field and put their children in Christian School so they can tend to “their” ministry when in fact they are forsaking “their” ministry which is “their family”. Being a keeper at home doesn’t change because your husband was called to the ministry. There are endless numbers of missionaries fighting daily to raise support to fulfill a Biblical ministry when mission’s money is already consumed by women who are establishing un-Biblical works. We have young ladies going off to Bible Colleges to train for their mission ministries in order to be able to teach the women and children. Needless to say this is also something that I disagree with in the local church as well. So why then did Paul teach the men, women, and children? He did not have a lady teacher to teach the ladies. He did not have to give special classes for special classes of people. So why do we? Obviously because we have created a new doctrine in order to accommodate the desires of people rather than the will of God.

In our self induced condemnation of following the footsteps of the ecumenical movement we should only be a few years away from women pastors. Who knows perhaps we will digress to homosexual pastors as well at this rate and based on the pattern we are following. Am I being a chauvinist? No actually a Biblicist. If this article offends then I would suggest searching the Scriptures and justify what you do based solely on God’s Word as well as Biblically correct examples found in the same Bible.

So what is the bottom line? A woman cannot be a missionary in the truest sense of the word. We need to get back to basics and forsake ministries modeled after the ecumenical movement. We can choose to be progressive to the world and fulfill our lusts or choose to obey God and receive His blessing. What then do we do with all these women in the ministry? Send them back to the home where they were made to minister. Let them minister as only they can to the family. Their mission field is “their” family.

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