Missionary Material
by Dick York

“What”, someone asked me one day, “is a missionary training session?” What they seemed to be asking is, “Can you train men to be missionaries as you would train a man to be a carpenter or a lawyer or a school teacher?” The answer, of course, is no; because being a missionary—or, for that matter, any other kind of ministry—involves the call of God and the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

Nevertheless, even in the Old Testament we read of “The Schools of the Prophets.” We understand when we read that, that nobody became a prophet by going to school, but there were schools to which prophets went. In like manner, nobody becomes a pastor, or a missionary, or any other type of minister by going to school. However, there are training facilities to strengthen and hone the ministries of those who are called by God.

Ideally these facilities are simply a part of the local church. However, not everything is always ideal. Therefore enterprises are sometimes raised up to assist the local church and supplement what may be lacking to develop the gifts of those whom God has called.

In the Shield of Faith Missionary Training Program we address four basic areas of development:

1. The Mission
2. The Message
3. The Method
4. The Man

I want to say something about each vital subject.

The Mission
We must know what we are about. What is it we are expected to accomplish? Is our mission to clothe the naked? Or to feed the hungry? Obviously these are responsibilities along the way. Jesus told us to do them, but are they our mission? I suppose the best way to put these things in perspective is to look at Jesus. Why did he come?
Jesus himself said, “I came…to call…sinners to repentance.” The angel of God said, “He shall save his people from their sins.” The apostle Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

When Jesus came into the world the first time it was to accomplish the redemptive sacrifice, which he did. When he comes again it will be to establish his kingdom. Luke 19:10-27 illustrates that fact. He is the Lord who has gone away to a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

There are many, of course, who say, “We will not have this man to rule over us.” But, nonetheless, when he shall return—having received the kingdom—he will call his servants to himself, and his people will experience the kingdom age in which they will receive their rewards. This is that glorious age in which we will rule with him in the presence of the king.

Our mission, in a very real sense, is to bring back the king, not by taking control of the kingdoms of this world to present to him at his coming, but by carrying the Gospel of redemption to, and making disciples in all nations. Jesus said, “When this Gospel of the kingdom shall have been preached in all the world for a witness to all nations, then shall the end come.” We know, then, what our mission is. When we have obeyed, the King will come.

The Message
The message is a powerful one. It is more than four spiritual laws, or sharing the contents of a discipleship booklet. Those who are sent out to preach the Gospel and establish the church must know what the Gospel is, and they must also know what the church is as it is presented to us in the New Testament.

It is not the job of the missionary to “Christianize a culture” or to establish a corporate structure that resembles what we have always seen as a western church. When we bring new believers together where there has never been a church before, we have a tremendous opportunity—no, a responsibility—to eliminate all that is not biblical that has become such a large part of the church as we know it in the west.

I don’t say this as an attack on the church in this land, but we must face it, for a nation with such a large percentage of churchgoers, there seems to be little power to influence the nation in righteousness. That may well be because, as Jesus warned us, the salt has lost its savor. Is it possible that this taste of the church is the result of traditions, which have crept in to soak up the spiritual juices of the body of Christ?

Do we, then, wish to transplant a church that eventually produces the same results abroad? It is of vital importance that the message we carry does not include that which cannot be taught from the Word of God. On the contrary, it must include the whole council of God and nothing else. The Word of God cuts across all cultures including our own. We must know its message.

The Message of God is so simple, yet so profound. We must trust its simplicity. I remember well my early entrance into Korea. I was conscious that when I was preaching to the country people, I had to keep it simple (K.I.S.S.—keep it simple, saints). That’s what I made an effort to do.

One day my co-worker, Bro. Shim, said, “You must try to keep it simple, or else we are wasting our time here.” That’s what I had been trying to do; what’s more, I thought I was succeeding. But no, as he pointed out, I was using words that meant virtually nothing to them. Words like ‘Bible’, ‘sin’, ‘God’, etc., all of which, if they did mean something, meant something quite different than I had in mind. My God was not one of their gods. So no matter how simple I thought I was being, I was starting on the fifth floor, while they were still outside at ground level. I was beginning to learn why God put the Bible together the way he did. We must learn the message and how to present it.

The Method
Is there, in fact, a method? I am sure there are many methods that are effective for transmitting the Gospel and for establishing churches. However, transcending all the methodology is the ability to know, and be led by the Spirit of God. But we do teach a method, guidelines by which to approach the work. I wonder how many men have gone to the field, and have been discouraged because they had no specific plan in mind. We refer to the guidelines as “The Five Point Program.”

The Man
But this is the bottom line. None of the above mean anything unless the man is a worthy vessel of the Lord. Jesus spoke wonderful words and did marvelous works; but it was not just his words and his works that bespoke his identity as the Son of God: It was his character. If he had said all that he said, and had done all that he did, had he not lived the life that he lived he could not have accomplished the will of God at the cross. He would have left no mark on the world, nor would redemption have been accomplished.

Therefore, of all the above, the Man is most important. Why? because we bring forth fruit after our own kind. We may teach others to do what we do, but we are also inadvertently teaching them to be what we are. Our life is our message. If we talk about faith, but live our lives by the same principles as those who have no faith, we teach others to live without faith.

Who is this man that desires to be a missionary?
Is he great in his own eyes? In I Sam. 15:17 Samuel said to Saul, “When thou was little in thine own sight wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?” And you know the rest of the story. When God had blessed Saul, and he became “successful”, then God could use him no more because he became important in his own eyes. The same was true of Uzziah, king of Judah. II Chron. 26:3,16 records these tragic words, “…he did that which was right…and he sought God…and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. But when he was strong his heart was lifted up to his destruction…” Sad words. Few men can bear God’s blessing. Whose work will this missionary do; whose kingdom will he build? His or God’s?

Can he bear criticism without reaction?
Some of us have learned the hard way that even our reaction to criticism may result in planting good seed or bad. If we do not react, or we respond in a godly and humble manner, we produce that in those we influence. If we react, we produce reactionaries, and those seeds bear thorns for years to come. In I Pet. 2:18-23, we are told that Jesus, “…when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”

Can he wait patiently for reward?
Or does he require rights and recognition now? In I Sam. 18:3-9 we see part of the profile of three men; Jonathan, David and Saul. Two of these men, David and Jonathan present to us a tremendous example of trust. Jonathan, heir of Saul’s throne, is able, by the grace of God, to realize that God is calling David to be king and joyously submits to God’s choice. David, too, is able to serve humbly and to wait for God’s promotion. There was no sense of urgency to hurry things along, or to overthrow Saul, even during the years of abuse that he endured at Saul’s hand. Saul, on the other hand, jealously fought to preserve his position against David, and against the will of God, to his own destruction.

Can he endure hardness as a good soldier?
Does this man realize that the work to which he aspires is, in fact, warfare? And does he know that war is shortages, cold, hunger, boredom, fear, disappointment, discouragement, courage, patience and a multitude of inconveniences that cannot be circumvented? And does he also know that all things are working together for his good to conform him to the image of Christ?

It is in times of trial that our testimony shines. It is then that the folks to whom we minister notice the difference. Therefore it is evident that these are the things we must be trained to endure. Victory is not in never going through battles. Victory is enduring in them and emerging unscathed and even strengthened. If we seek blessing, we must seek it God’s way. Jesus demonstrated God’s way in his journey to the cross, through the tomb, and then on to triumph in his glorious resurrection. The apostle Paul, coming behind him, declared, “…I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” Rom. 8:18.

This is what Missionary Material is. It is men and women who expect victory, but are willing to endure hardness to gain it. They do not seek hardness, but when it comes, it cannot turn them back. Their eyes are fixed on him who is their resource. These are not heroes. They are weak men who have no confidence in their flesh, but simply trust their God and teach other men to do likewise.

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