I have always been intrigued by the dedication of missionaries of the 19th century. When they left their home for another country it usually meant they were never coming back.
That reminds me of the conversation between a chicken and a pig:
The Chicken says: “Hey Pig, I was thinking we should open a restaurant!”
Pig replies: “Hmmm… maybe, what would we call it?”
The Chicken responds: “How about ‘ham-n-eggs’?”
The Pig thinks for a moment and says: “No thanks. I’d be committed, but you’d only be involved.”
Missionaries were not just involved in ministry they were completely committed!
I just recently read about Ludwig Nommensen who was a German born Lutheran missionary. He traveled to Sumatra to begin mission work with a tribe of people.
The village chief welcomed Ludwig and said, “You have 2 years to learn our customs and convince us you have a message worth hearing.” After 2 years, the tribal leader asked the missionary how Christianity differs from the moral rules and traditions of the tribe.
“We already know what is right,” the chief explained. “We too have laws that say we must not steal, or take our neighbor’s wives, or tell lies.”
The missionary replied, “That’s true. But my God supplies the power needed to keep those laws.”
This startled the chief. “Can you really teach my people to live better?”
“No, I can’t,” responded Ludwig. “But if they receive Jesus Christ, God will give them the strength to do what is right.”
The chief invited him to stay another 6 months, during which Ludwig preached the gospel and taught villagers how the Holy Spirit works in the lives of Christians.
“You can stay as long as you want,” the chief finally announced. “Your religion is better than ours, for your God walks with men and gives them strength to do the things He asks.”
Believe it or not, we are in a “post-Christian” society. What does that mean? We are not the dominant religion that we once were in the United States. Many people mourn and lament that the Church has a lot less influence today than it did 30 years ago.
However, I don’t see that as a bad thing at all. Why? Because it forces us to evaluate everything we do as a church and the same situation calls every Christian to assess what they truly believe. (Or at least it should.)
Although Jesus promises us that “the gates of Hades will not overcome” the Church, he does not guarantee that individual churches will always remain open. Many churches are closing their doors because they are not willing to see that the world is changing quickly and our methods must change to meet the needs of a broken world. (Notice: I did NOT say that our message changes.)
So what does that have to do with Ludwig Nommensen? We are missionaries in our own neighborhoods and community. We can no longer assume the people around us share the same trust in God. We don’t need to go to the ends of the earth to share Jesus with people.
The tribal chief gives us some GREAT advice. Get to know people first. Get to know what they value and what is important to them BEFORE sharing the love of God. Why is that important? Pr. John Maxwell said it this way, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Maybe you never thought of yourself as a missionary before but maybe you should. Exciting things happen when you trust God to be His spokesperson. . . but only after you have spent time getting to know someone first.
Pr. Ben