Bible Students

This week’s reading covered chapters 9-11 of  Encountering Theology of Mission. These chapters spoke into the vocational, spiritual, and contextual aspects of missionary work. Chapter nine covered the vocational aspects of mission. The task of evangelical missions has moved from the western world into the majority world. This means traditionally Christian nations have now become mission fields themselves. The money which usually went to western missionaries is now going to missionaries from the majority world, which are in turn treating English countries as mission fields. This shift from English-centered Christianity to majority-world-centered Christianity is very exciting! The gospel is breaking old ground and bringing to life cultures that had not yet found their true purpose. However, a quarter of the world is still completely unreached and untargeted. Missions should be long-term. Long-term missionaries to a certain culture are able to adapt and learn the language and customs, which is one of the most difficult barriers of the gospel. A missionary could be defined as anyone who participates in bringing people to Christ’s worship. This can be done domestically, especially now in America, where we are our own mission field. The church as a whole should be on mission to the western world as well as the east, and not just one or the other. Missionaries should be sent from every Christian church, whether international or domestic. There is a huge need for missions that will not be tamed until the whole world worships Christ. The role of apostle may still be a spiritual appointment today, in the form of a missionary, though it is hard to tell. However, the church should recognize the special spiritual calling of missionaries and support them in their journeys. Chapter ten covered the spiritual aspects of missions. Spiritual power is essential for missions. Christianity is growing stronger in the global South, where there is a strong emphasis on the spiritual world. Western missionaries must adapt from their western post-enlightenment mindset. As a western Christian, while I believe in the spiritual realm and believe it has practical common effects on every-day events (especially interpersonal relationships), it can be hard to realy  believe  there is a spiritual side to those events. The Spirit’s role in mission work greatly overshadows that of the missionary. It is the Spirit who brings dead souls to life, not the missionary. Missionaries must acknowledge the Spirit’s work in mission if they are to be effective. Even though Satan rules this world, the Lord is ultimately sovereign. It is a great comfort that the Lord has already been building up Christological connections in every culture and every person. A missionary can go with the Word of God, acting in the Spirit of God, in order that the Spirit would convict the hearts of the unreached. This is all that they would see the connection between their world and the gospel. Chapter eleven covered the contextual aspects of missions. This is a touchy part of missions. Contextualization is always open to syncretism, so one must always remember that contextualization is not inspired. Only the Bible is inspired. Culture is the most important part of context, and the biblical authors spoke through the context of the original audiences. Now that missionaries can interact with different cultures, they must focus on communicating the stories of the Bible. Paul only gave his letters after thousands of years of stories were ingrained into the Jewish mind, and so there was a concrete relation from his abstract letters to the real world. Every culture contains redemptive analogies where the gospel can be demonstrated. Contextualization that connects will always be done in community. Overall, I was most impacted by the contextualization section, as I believe this is the area where I desperately need the most experience in order to do cross-cultural work. However, I do believe chapter ten, on the significance of the Spirit in missions, is the most important chapter. When I communicate the gospel to anyone, including myself, I must rely on the Spirit’s convicting power to do the work He has promised to do. I can not convert anyone, only the Spirit can. I am thankful to be a part of this.