“That’s a huge honor,” Tebow said. “I see it as a great responsibility to be a role model for future generations. That’s something I care about more than winning football games. What I want to do with my life is impact lives. When a kid in a hospital is fighting for his life and I’m trying to win a football game, what really matters? This game isn’t as important as a lot of us make it out to be. If I can give him a little bit of hope, I can do something that matters. That’s what I want my legacy to be about. That’s how I want to be remembered.”

To impact lives for time and eternity is what it’s all about. Money doesn’t last. Fame doesn’t last. The praise of men is fleeting and fickle. But a single life brought into relationship with the Creator of the universe will last forever. How do you want to be remembered?

Every human who has ever lived has been given the exact same amount of time each day — 24 hours — to do what needs to be done. How odd that some seem to have so much of it and others so little.

Having time for people is indispensable when it comes to our disciple-making task. The story “No Facades” illustrates this so well. “I can’t believe he would take time to be my friend,” said the desperately lonely man who recently came to faith.

In a world where time has become an increasingly rare commodity, it is sadly true that when someone takes time for us, we’re often surprised — even amazed. Yet the level of trust and relationship that creates fertile soil for truth cannot happen without taking time
for people.

Do you want to amaze someone? More importantly, would you like to see God open doors for disciple-making? Take the time to show people they’re important.

The next time you check out at the grocery store, try looking the cashier in the eye and sincerely asking her how her day is going.

When you’re out to a restaurant, stop the waiter and ask him if there’s something you could pray for him about.

Invite your co-worker out for lunch. Ask your neighbor if he’d join the summer bowling league with you.

Slow down enough to give another human being the precious gift of time. You too may be amazed at what God does.

For 40 years, those who shared the gospel with Vicente had no idea he had believed. Read the story.

Eternity will certainly hold some incredible surprises for those who refuse to quit.
Vicente’s story should encourage us to keep going even when we see no visible fruit. Though not seen by those faithful witnesses who shared the gospel with him 40 years ago, God was at work through the gospel seed that had been planted in his heart. And today, 40 years of unbroken faithfulness amongst this tribal people has borne fruit, not only in Vicente, but in hundreds of others like him.

I’m reminded of a story that came out of the 1989 Armenian earthquake that killed 30,000 people.

Moments after the deadly tremor ceased, a father raced to an elementary school to save his son. When he arrived, he saw that the  building had been leveled. Looking at the mass of stones and rubble, he remembered a promise he had made to his child: “No matter what happens, I’ll be there for you.” Driven by his own promise … he began to pull back the rocks. Other parents arrived and began sobbing…. “It’s too late,” they told the man. “You know they are dead. You can’t help.” Even a police officer encouraged him to give up.

But the father refused…. Finally, after thirty-eight wrenching hours, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son’s voice…. “Dad, it’s me!” Then the boy added these priceless words, “I told the other kids not to worry. I told them if you were alive, you’d save me, and when you saved me, they’d be saved too.’”*

Perhaps in your efforts to rescue souls with the life-giving message of the gospel, you find your strength waning and your hope running dry. Let me urge you to not give up. Keep loving. Keep praying. Keep sharing. Keep hoping. God is at work. The gospel is His power. And He has promised: “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

*Story taken from Max Lucado, When Christ Comes, (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1999), 21-22.

“I most certainly cannot!” she replied, shocked by his brazen request. Then, second guessing herself because of his puzzled look, she asked, “What did you say?”

“I said can you give me a boost? My battery’s dead.”

My wife laughed and our kids groaned all the way home.

Here’s the truth: Sometimes people can’t hear the message for the messenger. It’s a lot easier to hear booze than boost when spoken by a teenager in a high school parking lot. That may not excuse a hasty response, but it does explain it.

The same principle applies to our gospel mandate. Sometimes what appears to be rejection of the message may actually be a reaction to experiences that have colored their perception of Christians and the gospel. An over-zealous witness, an abusive religious figure, or any number of real or perceived offenses can keep them from truly hearing the message.

Believe it or not, many Muslims associate the Christian faith with godless icons of the West like some Hollywood actors. If they have also heard representatives of Christianity blasting Islam and burning their holy book, it should not surprise us that they have a hard time hearing our message.

In the story “The Right Words at the Right Time,” Denise and Mabili modeled one of the best things we can do to enhance our gospel witness: give as much attention to how we approach the hearer as we give to the message we’re sharing. “Let your speech always be with grace as though seasoned with salt,” said the apostle Paul, “so that you will know how you should respond to each person” (Colossians 4:6). If we are “full of grace and truth” as Jesus was, we will avoid needless offense.

1. The term missionary can inhibit credibility.
   As we seek to express love and build relationships based on trust, people see us live out our faith in the real world and we become credible witnesses who can relate in everyday ways with an incarnational gospel.

   Today, this previously endeared term has become pejorative to most of the world’s population and even to people in North America with its overtones of proselytism, culture change and pith helmets. It simply is not helpful in building relationships worldwide.

2. The term missionary can challenge integrity.
   About 65 percent of the world’s population lives in more than 70 countries that do not allow religious worker (missionary) visas. Some people call these countries “closed,” but Bob Roberts in his book Glocalization reminds us that they are not closed at all — we just have to change our methods.

   We must be people of integrity in our identity: We must enter with and participate in real professions like medicine, engineering, education, research and business — not as a cover-up but actually doing what we say we are doing as professionals who live and love like Jesus. Story after story tells of people coming to faith because such workers set out to “bless the nations” and in so doing made disciples.

3. Missionary terminology can restrict authenticity.
   Missionaries have often held an elevated position of spiritual authority and status in our churches. However, all believers are called to obey Jesus by making disciples. To keep using the term missionary risks perpetuating the false dichotomy between the sacred and secular. Professional missionaries alone will not get the job done — the Great Commission needs all of us.

Jesus said to His church and everyone in it, “In your going, make disciples…” and “Be my witnesses.” He did not say to a select few, “Go and be a missionary.” Let’s abandon the distinction and all take up our part.

Read the entire series:

Part 1 | Who is a Missionary?
Part 2 | The Danger of “Missionary”
Part 3 | “Missionary” in the 21st Century

Note: While Crossworld agrees with this perspective on the use of the term missionary in relation to restricted areas, there has not yet been a uniform policy statement on the subject.

About the author

Larry serves as Crossworld’s Vice President for Business Partnerships. He is a frequent contributor to Church Connections News and speaker on the topic of Business as Mission.

2013 speaking schedule | Invite Larry to speak
Feb 20: Multnomah University | Portland, Ore.
March 9-10: Calvary Church | Lancaster, Pa.
March 16-17: Olathe Bible Church | Olathe, Kan.
April 1: Prairie Bible College | Alberta, Canada
April 19-20: Desert Springs Church | Albuquerque, N.M.
May 24-26: Chinese Gospel Church | Toronto, Canada

“While we may love the speed and convenience of by-passing people, we can’t let our culture squeeze us into its mold.”

I don’t know what you thought when you read Hallie’s story, “God Says ‘Be Mine’ in Every Language,” but I suspect that at least of few of us wondered how it applies to our world. The fact is that our culture seems to be less and less relational and increasingly jaded when it comes to the message of the Bible. We have a hard time imagining a group of neighbors accepting an invitation to our house, much less the offer of a Bible.

I admit that I need to learn from Hallie. First, I need to learn to be relational. In a world of ATMs, self-serve check-outs and electronic communications, I must push myself to pursue real relationships. God created us to live in relation to Him and to other human beings.

While we may love the speed and convenience of by-passing people, we can’t let our culture squeeze us into its mold. Make a point to
choose the live checker at the store instead of the automated one. Walk across the street and greet your neighbor. Step across the hall to speak to your colleague instead of doing it by email. Gospel opportunities often start with relationships.

Second, I need to learn that God’s Word can speak for itself. Hallie didn’t apologize to her neighbors for an ancient message that spoke of God’s love for them. Why should I? I am far too quick to assume that people aren’t interested, and far too slow to believe that God’s
Word is still living and powerful today. God does not have a PR problem and He does not need me to shield Him from people’s criticism. I need to let Him speak.

Valentine’s parties might not work for everyone, but some things never change: people still need relationships, and God’s Word still speaks.

Two New Jersey men sued Subway this week, claiming the fast-food chain’s foot-long sandwiches are not a foot long (read the news article). The suit comes on the heels of a picture that was posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, showing one of their sandwiches next to a 12-inch ruler. The sandwich came up short by a few millimeters. According to the mens’ lawyer, Stephen DeNittis, Subway owes customers about 45 cents per sandwich. Says DeNittis, “It’s not about the money. Class actions are to correct mass wrongs that involve small damages.”  

Speaking of mass wrongs, has anyone taken a look lately at the world just beyond the end of their Subway bun? I find it hard to get worked up about losing a few millimeters off a sandwich that is bigger than I should be eating anyway, when I am painfully aware of a world that is poor, oppressed, broken and desperately in need of hope. People like the 140,000 in Congo whose homes were recently pillaged and whose wives and children were raped by marauding rebels. People like the thousands of 12-year-old girls in Asia whose bodies are being trafficked to fulfill the lusts of Western tourists.

I guess somebody has to take care of the “mass wrongs” perpetrated by culinary criminals here in America, but somehow it seems terribly myopic to me. Myopia is a vision condition in which close items are seen clearly, but objects farther away appear blurred. Applied to the way we see the world, spiritual myopia is a condition in which our own injustices appear razor sharp, but those of others are terribly blurred.

God give us 20/20 vision when it comes to discerning what really matters! Or as that other fast-food chain says, help us “think outside the bun!”

It’s another new year — the time when many of us resolve to make important life changes. The Barna group has just released a new study that examines the temptations Americans say they most commonly struggle with and how they plan to change.

The top five on the list? Procrastinating (60%), worrying (60%), over-eating (55%), over-spending (44%) and spending too much time on media (44%).

The big surprise was how low on the list were such things as sexual sin — pornography (18%) and inappropriate sexual behavior (9%) — or some of the classic sins like lying (12%), anger (11%) or stealing and idolatry, which did not rank at all!

When asked how they dealt with temptation, only 2% said they depended on God, 3% said they recalled Scripture, and 4% said they called on a friend.

What does all of this have to do with disciple-making? Quite a lot actually, especially if you view the disciple-making process as we have defined it: Helping people everywhere to live and love like Jesus by imparting God’s truth through authentic relationship wherever life happens. The three key elements are truth, relationship and life. Growth in Christ-likeness comes through learning and applying God’s truth in life-on-life relationships with other followers of Jesus. Yet apparently only 2%-4% of Americans see God, His truth or other people as key to dealing with sin.

Do you want a resolution for the new year that can actually affect lasting change? Try this one: Commit yourself to learn and obey God’s Word in a relationship with one or two others who want to follow Jesus.

Have you ever heard enthusiastic but tone deaf soloists? I have, several times. What sounds divine to their own ears sounds like a disaster to others. I can picture the apostle Paul with pen in hand, wincing at the memory of similar “music,” as he wrote that truth without love is like a “noisy gong or clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Disciples are made by imparting God’s truth through an authentic relationship, and that is the catalyst that enhances the transmission of truth in love. One natural place for this is the workplace, and another is in the community of shared interests or hobbies. This is what Bill did (read Bill’s story). He used the musical gift God gave him to build connections with other musicians in the context of life.

What do you enjoy doing? Whether it’s photography or fishing, reading or rodeos, that God-given interest has a purpose beyond your own entertainment. Ask the Lord to transform you from a hobbyist to a disciple-maker who speaks truth in love. When all of us do our part in this way, it must surely be music to His ears.

In a needy world, waste is inexcusable. So when Jesus lamented that “the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few,” I can’t help but think of waste. The problem as Jesus stated it was not one of minor imbalance, but one of tragic inequity — a huge harvest and a tiny work force. When there is far more fruit to harvest than there are workers to harvest it, there will inevitably be waste — much waste. That thought should deeply trouble every serious follower of Jesus.

It is estimated that the total world population when Jesus issued His call to prayer for harvesters was roughly 200 million people. Today there are 140 million people born into the world every single year! If the harvest was huge then, how much greater is it today? And how much is being lost for lack of harvesters? The late songwriter Keith Green once said, “This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on earth.” It is not that there are not enough harvesters.  It’s that there are not enough who will obey the Lord of the harvest.

The close of this year marks another gathering of globally-minded followers of Jesus at the Urbana conference, arguably one of the greatest events to impact the world of missions in the modern era. First started on the campus of the University of Toronto in 1946 with 575 in attendance, this triennial gathering will attract well over 20,000 potential harvest workers to this year’s conference in St. Louis. Oh that God would use them to put an end to the waste of lost souls in our generation!

Shortly after the birth of Urbana, Oswald J. Smith, pastor of the Peoples Church in Toronto made this statement: “No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once.” To Smith, the waste of a human soul for lack of harvesters was unconscionable. God help us stop the waste.