{"id":505,"date":"2012-12-05T08:20:31","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T00:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/?p=505"},"modified":"2021-10-19T05:29:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T21:29:49","slug":"everyone-is-not-a-missionary-and-thats-ok-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jacksonwu\/2012\/12\/05\/everyone-is-not-a-missionary-and-thats-ok-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Everyone is a Missionary . . . And That’s OK (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In the last post<\/a>, I said that while I love the emergence of missional language, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s helpful for people to say, \u201cEvery Christian is a missionary.\u201d Missionaries are missional but missional people are not necessarily missionaries.<\/p>\n

Think of concentric circles. The big circle represents those who should be missonal (i.e. all Christians). The inner circle represents missionaries (i.e. those crossing cultures).<\/p>\n

\"1280px-James_Legge_missionary\"<\/a>First of all, I want to respond upfront to an assumption I\u2019ve heard voiced many times. People often assume themselves or attribute to me the notion that somehow being a missionary is a \u201chigher\u201d or \u201cmore holy\u201d calling than non-missionaries. That is an utterly false if not deplorable suggestion. Those who might wrongly accuse me have a fatal flaw in their thinking. They seem to correlate role with rank of importance and honor.<\/p>\n

Christians are holy by virtue of Christ alone.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

If anything people like missionaries and pastors are the worst hypocrites because, as trained sinners, they typically know and\/or teach far more than they can ever obey. More knowledge and responsibility means they will try and fail more. I\u2019m not criticizing missionaries and pastors; I\u2019m just speaking to a reality that such leaders must humbly recognize. Even though they have a unique role within the Church, they nevertheless fall short of God\u2019s glory (like everyone else). Do not confuse role and rank of value. Listen to Paul\u2019s words on the Church:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cOn the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another\u201d (1 Cor 12:22-25).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Does it matter to say everyone is a missionary? <\/span><\/h3>\n

The promise that most basically frames the entire Scripture was given to Abraham in Gen 12:3. In Gal 3:8, Paul expressly calls this promise the gospel:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, \u2018In you shall all the nations be blessed.'\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A few verses later, we read that Jesus become a curse. Why? It\u2019s not simply because he loves us and wants every individual to be saved. By explains God\u2019s agenda:<\/p>\n

\u201cso that<\/em> in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles<\/em>, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith\u201d (Gal 3:14).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>In short, God made a covenant to bless all nations, even sending Jesus to die in order that it would be fulfilled. If the nations are not blessed through Jesus, Abraham\u2019s offspring (cf. Gal 3:16), then God is a liar<\/strong>. By what means has God chosen to complete this task? Christians crossing cultures with the gospel, i.e. missions<\/em>. Among the Church\u2019s various potential ministries, the specific work of missions has a unique place.<\/p>\n

If missions doesn\u2019t happen such that the nations do not hear the gospel and receive the blessing of Abraham, Christ died in vain and God is not faithful to his promise. Choirs and car washes could cease, youth ministries and pregnancy assistance centers could shut down, as wonderful and important as they are, yet God would not have broken his promises.<\/p>\n

Nearly every missionary has heard it said once or a hundred times, \u201cWhy are you going over there? There are still people here<\/em> who don\u2019t know Jesus.\u201d People are always looking for reasons not to go or send missionaries. I\u2019m not saying<\/em> missions is the only ministry of the Church; however, it is essential to its constitution as a people living between Christ\u2019s ascension and return. Over the past 15 years, as \u201cmissional\u201d literature has grown, I find it ironic and stunning how often those who talk a lot about being \u201cmissional\u201d say so little about \u201cmissions.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Note to prevent misguided comments: I am not saying all people who use missional language don\u2019t support missions.) I am pro-<\/em>missional living and missional churches. I have been greatly shaped by \u201cmissional\u201d writers, like Lesslie Newbigin<\/a> (e.g., The Gospel in a Pluralistic Society<\/em><\/a> and books like Gruder\u2019s The Missional Church<\/em><\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I understand the good intention behind the statement that people can be missionaries wherever they live. I applaud the goal. However, \u201cmissionary\u201d is not a higher calling or title than that simply of \u201cChristian.\u201d Why can\u2019t we make much of the fact we each bear Christ\u2019s name? That\u2019s the name that should inspire. To build on Piper\u2019s opening paragraph in Let the Nations Be Glad<\/em><\/a>, missionaries exist because all nations do not yet worship Christ. When Christ returns, there will be no more missionaries. However, those who bear his name will endure forever.<\/p>\n

The matter of what is or is not \u201chelpful\u201d is worthy of debate but not division (cf. 1 Cor 1o:23\u201333). The topic of calling and titles may be analogous to spiritual gifts, which are assigned by God for the building up of the body (cf. Rom 12:3\u201310; 1 Cor 12:4\u201331). We may have different functions or roles, but we have one identity\u2013\u2013in Christ. Let us not confuse our job with our identity.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is a missionary . . . and that\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n

\n

Photo Credit: commons.wikimedia<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last post, I said that while I love the emergence of missional language, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s helpful for people to say, \u201cEvery Christian is a missionary.\u201d Missionaries are missional but missional people are not necessarily missionaries. Think of concentric circles. The big circle represents those who should be missonal (i.e. all Christians). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2368,"featured_media":6776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[170,237],"class_list":["post-505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-missiology","tag-missionaries","tag-theology-of-missions"],"yoast_head":"\nNot Everyone is a Missionary . . . 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