Examining Our Identities – Missionary

The last Christian identity is that of a missionary. And let me just say I am so very excited the Christian life is so simple; love God and love others. Under loving others, we find the call of God to be missionaries to those who don’t give glory to God.

I’d first like to share my frustration with this identity and it comes in the forms of two extremes. The first is those who see their life purpose to win souls to the neglect of loving Jesus and His church [which happen to be our other two identities]. This comes in the form of many missionary agencies and evangelism seminars/teaching series who focus solely on evangelism as the end all of the Christian life.

The second is those who feel they are called not to be a missionary. This comes in the form of many church staff who know very little of their city because a Christian bubble has overtaken them. Also, there are saints who believe with all their hearts that preaching Jesus is a gift given to certain few people and they happen to not be one of them.

However, the commission of God is the expansion of His kingdom through the preaching and teaching and baptizing in Jesus’ name from all the saints. This was never given to a select few of gifted individuals, but to all the Body. Jesus said we would be witnesses of Him in the entire world and how can the nations hear without a preacher?

The missionary mandate breaks out into two categories which are very important to the one who longs to live who God’s called us to be. The first is being a missionary where we live, the second is taking the Gospel to the nations. Yet, it is physically impossible for one person to do both at the same time. The answer to this dilemma is being a missionary where you live and supporting and sending missionaries where you are not.

Once these two categories are grasped, it’s time to begin living as missionaries. Much discouragement has set into the hearts of our brothers and sisters though because of other saints manipulating people into their own tunnel-vision evangelism method and not understanding the biblical teaching of contextualization. First off, there is more than one way to be an effective missionary [and it’s each Christian’s daily job to figure that out]. Secondly, the church must begin teaching [where it previously has not] the art of contextualization. Tim Keller said, “I see contextualization [as] adapting my communication of the gospel without changing its essential character.” The Gospel is the same, but the communication/method is different depending upon the hearer.

I will close with something the book Total Church addresses when discussing the topic of living our identity as missionaries, "By making evangelism a community project, it also takes seriously the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in distributing a variety of gifts among his people. In this model, everyone has a part to play: the new Christian, the introvert, the extrovert, the eloquent, the stuttering, the intelligent, the awkward. I may be the one who has begun to build a relationship with my neighbour, but in introducing him to community, it is someone else who shares the gospel with him. That is not only legitimate; it is positively thrilling! Pete may never verbally share the gospel with Duncan, but his welcome and love are an integral part of the evangelistic process and should be honoured as such. Meanwhile Susan can develop friendships and introduce them to the community confident that others will present them – at an appropriate point in an appropriate way – with the challenges of the gospel. It is lovely to think of us making up for one another’s deficiencies with our collective community strengths [Total Church]."

Everyone has a part to play, no one is left out. And we must not let others push upon us the weight of manipulation and condemnation because we do not share the way they do or as often as they do. In fact, it would be a beautiful work if we began working together, taking into consideration one an others’ gifts instead of comparing ourselves against ourselves as if we were on different teams. God help us! [There is so much more to say, but this must suffice.]