13 Sept 2017 - Are You Involved in Missions?

A Practicing Christian ch 13 - Are You Involved in Missions?

"When I think of the word 'missions' it brings images of people who go overseas to work and spread the Gospel. This is what I have always been taught in church. This is one definition, but it can be only a small part of the completed word."

"I was so wrong in my previous thinking. We need to go to other countries to spread the word of God. We need to be great disciples. We need to hear the Word of God preached. We also need not to give up on the people of America, but to reach them all and be open to what God may require of us. You don't have to go to a foreign land to do missions work. You can do missions work at your church, in your community, and at your workplace."

Questions

1. What is the Biblical concept of a missionary?
1. A missionary is one who has picked up the task of furthering the mission of God through the Great Commission. They have been historically distinguished from pastors and evangelists by the fact that they have usually gone where there is no record of Christians having ever been - that is, they are the first witnesses of Christ in a community.
2. Today, missionaries encompass more than just foreign missionaries. A missionary is someone who moves from one place, their home, to another with the intent of embedding themselves in the community, sharing the Gospel within the context of that community and their culture. A missionary could move one town over or halfway around the world. What distinguishes a missionary is the calling.
2.  Explain Acts 1:8 in the framework of missions.
1. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you - You're not doing this alone, but through the power of God
2. And you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem - The city you're from, the towns and places you're comfortable in
3. Judea - Your country
4. Samaria - Those parts of the world that you dislike and that dislike you in return. So, for an American, somewhere in the Middle East; for an Indian, Pakistan; etc.
3. How has the United States become a mission field?
1. Increasingly there is a lack of knowledge about what true Christianity says, looks like, and believes. There is a large region of "cultural christianity" in which everybody assumes they are and is assumed to be a Christian, but few would probably be able to stand under close scrutiny. There is a growing population of professing christians who have fallen for progressive theologies, false gospels that exonerates sins God does not and that believe popular philosophy primarily into which they fit the Gospel. There is also a growing number of (honest) agnostics and atheists. There are many who believe in the existence of a spiritual realm, but who have false ideas of what it looks like or how it operates. There are many, even, who believe in other religions masquerading themselves [the religions, not the adherents] as just another brand of Christianity.
2. The harvest in the US is huge and there are many who are seeking who would be receptive to the true Gospel, but it seems like many Christians have become used to being the punching bag of popular angst and are increasingly muttering amongst themselves instead of reaching out.

1 Timothy 5:17-25

Paul seems to be giving direction regarding measures by which to show honour and respect to faithful elders in the church for their service

• Those who put in many hours of preaching and teaching should be considered worthy of an "ample honorarium" (lit. "double honour") and the immediate context suggests a financial gift might not be a bad consideration
• I know this passage is often used in support of a pastor's salary, but, seeing this, I wonder how many churches recognise faithful, dedicated deacons who have put in years of service, particularly in leading a Sunday School or Home Group ministry.
• Those who, by virtue of their testimony and service, have been offered the title and/or role of elder should be afforded a measure of confidence, that is, in the case of a singular accusation against an elder, the elder should be able to trust his leadership to have his back.
• I understand that sometimes matters of personal misconduct do not have witnesses readily available and may present as a singular accusation. I would agree that the best course of action for the leadership would be to investigate the matter, but it is still possible to treat the elder as innocent until proven guilty, whether by the discovery of evidence, eyewitnesses, or other offences that would warrant a temporary to permanent removal of eldership during the remainder and following the conclusion of the investigation. 
• Additionally, if church leadership is exercising a robust means of scrutiny and a great deal of wise, discernment-seeking prayer for those raised to and maintained in the role of elder and if the candidate for eldership and the present elder alike continue to pursue God, then such offences should not be anything but a rarity.
• Lastly, Paul gives instruction to Timothy to publicly rebuke those who sin. This action allows the church body to see that the leadership takes sin and conduct seriously, particularly for its leaders, allowing them to trust the leadership during times of internal investigation. If a leadership is in the habit of concealing sins, then uncertainty and doubt can easily set in to the congregation
• Those who have been appointed to the role of an elder must have been done so maturely, with thorough consideration of their character, witness, and testimony and through prayer, seeking the inspiration and affirmation of God. To do any less discredits the validity of the title and role. For, as Paul previously instructed Timothy, the elder is supposed to be a mature, wise, consistent, fruitful believer and a man of integrity (which, again, addresses one of the sub-points above)
• Paul specifically cautions Timothy in this context that some people's sins are not as obvious as others, coming to the surface later. Similarly, not everyone's good deeds are obvious immediately, but will eventually be made known. It is definitely for this reason I believe that much prayer should go into the appointing of an elder.

Remuneration, confidence, and a robust vetting process. These are the three ways Paul gave for Timothy as a means of honouring the elders in his church and, when all three are in place, it definitely seems that none of this is done blindly.