Category archive - missions

Missionary Appointment Service

I was planning on spending some time this morning writing a post about last night’s missionary appointment service, but that plan has changed. When I turned on my computer this morning, I found an email from Sharon Bain. Sharon is my 5-year-old daughter’s Sunday school teacher, and she also serves the Frisco Baptist Association as our secretary. She was one of four church members who went with my wife and me to Sunnyvale, and she had attached the following to her email, which I post here with her permission. Enjoy:

While showering early this morning before coming to work I realized something major. I was the unofficial chaperone on the trip to Sunnyvale, Texas to see and hear my first ever Missionary Appointment Service. I was the elder in the van. The van should have made me feel younger since it rattled as much as the yellow bird that took me to school a few years ago. I sat on the back seat again, defying anyone who thought I could not crawl over the wheel hump and through the narrow space to get there. Actually, there was room for three of us to have seats to ourselves and I knew it would be good to stretch out on the way home. Stretching out was good but the van noise and lack of insulation in the flooring and asphalt on the highway did not allow any real sleep. Pastor’s children were spending the night with substitute grandparents so I hollered out, “Are we there yet?” frequently so he and his wife would not miss them too much.

Sunnyvale First Baptist is a very beautiful church. It has everything you would need to make a bunch of Southern Baptists happy; plenty of clean restrooms, comfortable seating, visual aids and because of its arrangement, there were lots of back row seats. A friend of our pastor saved us seats on row nine in the center aisle (that never has happened to me at a Paul McCartney concert). There was a huge choir loft hanging above the lower band level. Flags of the nations where we have missionaries were hung or stood all around the pulpit area. Just pondering that was an awesome thing. Then the choir came in, dressed in their everyday clothes; not the robes you might have expected. They looked and sounded radiant and it was contagious for everyone, even those with voices like mine, not that I heard any like mine. Our musically gifted pastor and his wife were rising on their toes as the choir and congregation sang the same beautiful songs we sing in our little church. But, there was a difference. Everyone was there for a wonderful purpose and that was to witness the appointment and dedication of these 92 special people. They marched in later as couples and singles. They were young and they were old. They were of various colors, heights and weights and walks of life. Some knew as little children that this day would come, and others testified that it had been an emotional struggle for one or both involved. When they introduced themselves in a brief few words some of them cried and some of us did, also. It was a very touching event to witness.

Throughout the evening the choir of 75-100 and we praised God for all that was happening. There were lifted hands sprinkled throughout, as well as many over hearts at special moments individually felt.

We were welcomed by Sunnyvale’s pastor, Charles Wilson, challenged by SBC President Frank Page, updated by Gordon Fort, reported to by John Floyd and charged by IMB president Jerry Rankin. I am not just name-dropping; they were there. An IMB trustee, from Texas of course, led us in a prayer of dedication for the new missionaries. When the missionary altar call was issued, those who went forward were…children and youth. At least, that is who I saw. And, isn’t that the way we should go for God, as little children? I thought of my Sunday School class and wondered if there was a missionary among them. We must pray for that now. That may be what my part is. I will look at them even closer Sunday morning. They all seem to have the loving hearts for it. Maybe someday I will go to a commissioning service for one of them. Would that I could.

After a closing prayer by Bob Dean, Executive Director of Dallas Baptist Association, we loaded back up on the TBC war wagon. I am thankful for our clean, efficient machine and would have been even more thankful 40 years ago when I was in high school. I will not mention that pastor follows less than three car lengths behind other vehicles or a few other things. He got us there and back with lots of technical help and I appreciated him very much.

He asked us what we thought of the service. I could not put all my thoughts together then. I had to wait till this morning in the shower.

Thank you for taking us, Bro. Wes. We love and appreciate you, even if that dude from California does not think so.

Sharon

To Sunnyvale

Tonight I will be taking a group of my church members to a commissioning service for new IMB missionaries. This service is being held at the First Baptist Church in Sunnyvale, Texas, a suburb on the east side of the DFW metroplex.

I’ve been closely following events in our convention, and specifically related to the IMB, for more than two years now. There have been great friendships built, there have been challenging and difficult moments, and there have been some great times as well. Without question, one of the greatest of these great times was when I was able to attend a commissioning service in Albuquerque, New Mexico in May of 2006. There can not be many experiences more humbling and challenging than to hear from those who are leaving all that they know in order to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, simply because God said, “Go!”

I’m looking forward to hearing these testimonies, and to hearing a challenging message from Dr. Jerry Rankin. And I’m excited about being able to share these experiences with some of the people of my church this evening.

I’m a Man

One of my favorite parts of the BGCO annual meeting is that one of our entities that gives a report to the convention always does something out of the ordinary to spice it up a bit. This year, it was Sam Porter and the Partnership and Volunteer Missions team. With apologies to Mike Gundy, enjoy their report:

[HT: Scott Gordon]

That Which Unites

Since That Which Unites Us Is the Gospel of Christ, I thought I would provide some quotes to help clear up exactly what it is in which “we” are “united.”

The following is from an interview conducted in 2006 by Wil S. Hylton for GQ magazine. The article is entitled The Gospel According to Jimmy. Click here for the full interview.

Do you think that if you had been raised in an Islamic culture, you would been comfortable in that faith?

I would surmise that I would.

But based on what you believe now, you would have been wrong.

That may be true. But Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” It’s not for me to say that an ignorant Ethiopian who lives around a lake at the origin of the Blue Nile, where I was four days ago, and has never heard of Christ is condemned. I can’t believe that. And I can’t say that a child as you just described, that grew up with Islamic teachings and that believes in Mohammed and Allah, would be condemned. It’s not my role to condemn people. That’s a role to be played by God almighty.

But this would be about a sense of loss on your own part.

There would be. To know what I know now, I would be aggrieved if I had never known about Jesus Christ, because I have tried to apply, in a faltering way, the teachings of Jesus Christ. It’s been an inspiration to me, it’s been a guide to me, it’s been a stabilizing factor in my life. It has permeated my consciousness.

This will sound like the same question, but if you had been raised by atheists, do you think you would have had an inner feeling of faith?

I think so.

Here are a couple of excerpts from an interview with Lisa Miller of Newsweek:

A new book, “Religious Literacy,” by Stephen Prothero, argues that religion should be taught in public schools. Do you agree?
I wouldn’t have any aversion to that. To teach a comparative religions course, to compare Christianity with Judaism and Islam and Hinduism and so forth, would be constructive. It would show that there is a compatibility among them all. I can’t claim to be a scholar, but when our hostages were being held by Iran when I was president, I read the Quran, and I had Islamic scholars come and talk to me. The basic human-behavior principles were the same. The Islamic Bible, the Quran, teaches peace and justice and care for one’s neighbor and helping the poor. I would not be in favor of public schools endorsing Christianity.

Do you think a Mormon is a Christian?
Yes, I do. I have a cousin who is a Mormon and she married one of the Marriott family. I don’t know anyone who’s more devout in their faith than she and her family. I admire them very much.

Not all of President Carter’s public statements about faith distort and contradict the core message of the Gospel the way those above do. Some of his statements are simply bizarre twisting of biblical truth. For example, at the funeral for his predecessor, President Gerald R. Ford, Carter had this to say during his eulogy of the 38th president:

Jerry and I shared a common commitment to our religious faith, not just in worshipping the same savior, but in attempting, in our own personal way, to achieve reconciliation within our respective denominations. We took to heart the admonition of the Apostle Paul that Christians should not be divided over seemingly important, but tangential issues, including sexual preferences and the role of women in the church, things like that.

Here is some great insight from a veteran Sunday school teacher on the authority and truthfulness of God’s Word, this from an appearance on Larry King Live:

Well, there’s some things, and, you know, there’s some things in the Bible that you can’t take literally. And I don’t think God intended for us to.

The earth is not flat. And stars can’t fall out of heaven on the ground like figs falling off a tree and things of that kind, but people can believe that if they want to.

I, personally, don’t believe that the earth was created in 4, 004 B.C. I think it was created a lot earlier than that. But some of those things are symbolic.

And every believer in Biblical text whether you’re Jewish or Christian, has to make some rational assumptions. And if science proves that the stars are a long distance away and that earth was created earlier by geology and so forth, then I don’t see it’s incompatibility with Christianity.

It is my hope that these quotes will put an end to any confusion about what it is that unites us. Or, not.

The Task

In the last twenty-four hours, my blog has had unprecedented overseas traffic. I think it is fair to assume that the overwhelming majority of that traffic is generated by overseas personnel of the International Mission Board who are searching for information related to the Albuquerque meeting.

I have been given an entirely new appreciation for those who serve on the field as a result of my experience in Albuquerque. I have led my church to give sacrificially to missions, and we have exceeded our goal for the two mission offerings we have collected since they called me as their pastor. But to be in the room with 95 of those who willingly give their lives for the cause of Christ and His Gospel was humbling beyond description, and I shall never forget it. I shall also make every effort to attend every future Appointment Service practicality allows.

I cannot begin to thank you all for your service, and indeed, it is not my place to do so; your reward is eternal. My prayer is that I might be an unbiased, neutral observer and reporter of those issues which sometimes directly affect your lives and calling.

You continue to be in my prayers every day, both those of you whom I have gotten to “know” through your blogs, and those of you who remain anonymous servants of Christ throughout the world.

May God richly and extravagently bless you as you serve “The Task” to which He, and no one else, has appointed you.

Speechless…

I can tell by the traffic I have received today that there are great expectations within Blogtown related to what I have to report. As my wife would tell you, get used to disappointment…

I am left speechless by the appointment service I attended this evening at Hoffmantown Church. The testimony of those who are eager and willing to leave all the comfort and safety we enjoy in order to see the gospel spread through their obedience is humbling and overwhelming. I have said that I would follow God’s call wherever He leads, but to be in the presence of those of whom God has required great sacrifice to fulfill those words humbles me.

I am also left quite literally speechless by the conversations in which I have engaged this day. The issues that began the current conflict within the board seem to me to be as intractable as ever. I don’t know that they will ever be fully and finally dealt with; tomorrow’s plenary session will tell. As the board proceeds with a change in leadership, it is conceivable that the entire issue will be glossed over and there will be an attempt to return to business as usual. As for Wade Burleson’s status on the board with relation to committee service and such, tomorrow will likely tell the future of that. As to Wade’s attitude concerning those issues, he indicated tonight at dinner that he is happy to lounge by the pool while the committees do the hard work, showing up only for the plenary sessions. I suspect that observation was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, however…

I will share observations about tomorrow’s plenary session, probably after my long drive home, and certainly not before Marty Duren has broken anything of note that happens. He’s in Georgia, and I’m actually in Albuquerque. How does he do that?

Continue in prayer for the trustees as they meet tomorrow, and I would appreciate your prayers for me as I travel home. I will post an update as soon as possible.

A Visit with a Former Trustee

I had a wonderful visit this afternoon with a former trustee of the International Mission Board. This trustee was intimately involved in the process that led to Dr. Jerry Rankin becoming IMB President, and had some interesting things to say about the current situation in which we find ourselves as a convention.

While I’m not at liberty to share everything this former trustee told me, I thought one of the things worth sharing was this trustee’s opinion about Dr. Rankin’s so-called “private prayer language.” I was told that Dr. Rankin stated categorically that he did not speak in tongues. As to the prayer language, the person I spoke with had an understanding that led them to believe that the experiences Dr. Rankin described were groanings when he was in intense prayer and unusually heavily burdened about something, but were not necessarily any kind of language. The description of this former trustee made me think much more of Romans 8 than 1 Corinthians 14, and the person told me that based on their understanding, Dr. Rankin would not be disqualified as a missionary under the new guidelines.

That being said, I should point out that the former trustee with whom I spoke was not in favor of the new policies, believing that the previous guidelines on charismatic practice were sufficient for dealing with any problems that came up. And while the new baptism policy accurately reflects this former trustee’s own understanding and practice, they recognized that faithful Southern Baptists disagree, and were uncomfortable with this policy being a test for service with the IMB.

The overarching concern for this former trustee, as it should be for all of us, is that we not allow ourselves or the IMB to be distracted from the vital work of carrying out the Great Commission. We should not go to Greensboro spoiling for a fight, but rather we should go ready to do our part in seeing that the work of the International Mission Board, all of our entities, and our churches is carried out in a way that honors Christ and takes His Gospel to the ends of the earth.