Principles for Missions

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” John Piper accurately brings the truth of missions   in this quote. Because worship is eternal and the Bible tells us that people from every tribe, nation, and tongue will worship the Lord, missions is temporary on this earth. In this paper, I will explain six axioms of missions that are crucial to understand to rightly understand missions.

            First, the primary issue is not missions, the primary issue is knowing God. People who have been changed by the power of the gospel will have a right perspective on missions because they will see the need for sharing the gospel with the nations. As people passionately live out their faith, others will see it and want it, and because God won’t hold truth back from them, they’ll receive Christ and the cycle starts over again. Knowing God and growing in the gospel should characterize the life of a Christian, only then will missions be effective.

            Second, missions is more about God than it is about men. Hudson Taylor, David Livingstone, and William Carey are a few of the great missionaries of the Christian faith. All these men gave their lives not for themselves, but for the sake of His name that He would be made known in all the nations. Instead of missions becoming about the greatness of the missionary, it ought to be about the greatness of our God.

            Third, missions is overflow. When a person has something incredible happen to him, it is only natural that he wants to share his experience with others. The same is true when a person is changed by the gospel of Jesus. How selfish of someone to hold back life-changing news! Missions will happen when a person is consumed with knowing God and being filled with the Holy Spirit. It is the natural overflow of the heart.

            Fourth, a missionary is an initiator. A missionary is one who brings the Good News of the gospel to a certain group of people. He initiates the work of the gospel, finds and trains the nationals to reach the core group of the people, and then he goes to repeat the cycle somewhere else. The nationals are the ones who can best reach their own people. Therefore, it makes sense for the missionary to invest in the lives of a few nationals that are able then to better reach the city or village.

            Fifth, the principle activity of missions is discipleship. One of the things that is neglected to notice from the Great Commission is the fact that Jesus commands His disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations . . .” That second part of the command is important to apply to missions. Making disciples is the most important part of spreading the Kingdom of God. By this, people are evangelized, converted and then taught the Scriptures, and then are able to function as a church to further the Kingdom and worship the Savior.

            Sixth, the Holy Spirit is the authoritative Agent in missions. It is the Holy Spirit who directs, restrains, calls and sends the missionary. He is the one who has the authority to send people to reach those who are lost. He is the one who works in and changes a heart. The power of missions comes from the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is Him we ought to rely on for power, not ourselves.

            Most importantly though, is the fact that everyone is a missionary. Once a Christian realizes this, it has great implications on his life. His entire life should be one that is spent sharing what has happened to him by being changed by the power of the gospel. Through people passionately living their faith out, sharing what Jesus has done in their lives and by making disciples out of converts; the gospel has the power to change the world. And it starts with you making the decision today to initiate conversations with the lost. 

Much love,

Cam

You Are A Missionary

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a missionary as “one who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country”.  So, even the dictionary recognizes that a missionary is generally known as someone who goes away from home carrying some form of message to share with the desired people.  Too often this is what our Christian culture believes a missionary is: one whom we send out, support financially and maybe, just maybe occasionally pray for. Is this the only kind of missionary there is? Or is it possible for you to be a missionary in your neighborhood, school, or workplace?

            This point is crucial to understand before we begin discussing anything about witnessing. Anywhere you go/attend regularly is your mission field. At my high school, there was a sign above the doors entering the hallways saying “You are now entering the mission field.” I used to think it was backwards, but then it hit me, that saying was right on. I was entering my mission field as a student by going into the hallways. There were plenty of unbelievers at my school and they were the ones God wanted me to reach.

            Our sub-culture of American Christianity tends to forget about the lost souls just across the street. When you think of an unbeliever, you probably naturally think of someone from a far away country that worships some wooden idol. And yes, no one will argue that this guy doesn’t need Christ. But, are you going to be in contact with him today to reach him with the gospel of Jesus? That’s the point I am trying to make in this post. There are millions of lost souls in the world and we as Christians are called to reach the ones in our sphere of influence today. That’s not to say that you can’t have a burden for the people in the Amazon. And I firmly believe that we should pray for those people now. But if those people are not in your circle of influence now, then I would argue that God hasn’t called you to reach those people right now.

            In Matthew 28, Jesus gives His disciples one final command: Go and make disciples of all the nations. I don’t mean to downplay global missions, because it’s a way God brings souls to Himself. But how can you think that God will use you on the “global stage” when you’re not bringing the gospel to your neighbor. We, as Christians, are all on a mission to bring the good news of the gospel to those who have not heard it. So maybe we should focus solely on the first word of Jesus’ command here in Matthew 28: Go.  

            Go. Go to the grocery store to speak to the clerk that works every Wednesday; go to the park to play soccer with that guy on Saturday mornings; go and find ways to give the gospel of Jesus to those who desperately need it. Because if we don’t go and tell them how will they hear? And if they don’t hear, they’ll spend forever separated from God in Hell. Do you see that this simple word Jesus says has life-altering implications depending on if we choose to obey Him or not.

            So the question is: will you go? Will you go develop true friendships with the people in your community? Sure, the easy way is by giving them a tract and never talking to them again. But, I believe the Biblical way is by developing a lasting friendship with them. I understand this is a lot harder than just giving a tract. But how far are you willing to go for the sake of the Kingdom of God? Will you sacrifice your time to invest in a soul that will spend somewhere for eternity? Or will you just go about your day, living as though they don’t even exist?

            What I want you to see is that God has placed unbelievers in your path for a reason. He wants you to share His love with them. He wants to use you to further His kingdom. The unbelieving people in your circle of friends is not a coincidence, it’s directly from God. He’s given you that influence for the sole purpose of sharing the gospel message with them. Do you see it now? You are called to reach these people! This is your mission field. 

(Tentative Chapter 1 for From French-Fries to the Gospel - Cam Lawson)

A Wasted Generation?

It seems as though the generation commonly known as "the Millennials" is one with a ton of potential. Yes, I am part of that generation so there may some bias, but I also think we are well on our way to being, what I call, a "wasted generation". Too many of us just live solely for the weekend to where we can party it up, forgetting the week behind and not thinking about the week ahead. I'm here to tell you: there's so much more to life than that. If you can't wait until the day you can get wasted on your 21st birthday, I think it's safe to say, you'll living for yourself. Which frankly may not be that big of a deal to you. But I return to my point: life is much bigger than your weekend.

So, why do I care so much? It's because I see so much potential in our generation to make an impact in the world. And it kills me to see the Christian Millennials accepting the cultural standards our world has set for them. It's no longer rebellion to have sex before marriage, smoke, etc. It's almost as if rebellion is now living a holy life not embracing the pleasures of this world. Because hardly anyone is doing that now. I dare you to rebel against the cultural standard the world has set for you. Together we can make a difference in this world by the power of the gospel, but it requires us to humble ourselves and stop living for us and start living for Him.

So will we settle for being a "wasted generation" or will we embrace the fact that God has called us to a higher calling and expects us to rise above the cultural standards by living a life pleasing to Him? We need to grow up and realize that we are the next leaders in the world. And we desperately need Christian leaders who are not content to waste their lives living for themselves, but are passionately seeking to love God and others with their lives.

Much love,
Cam

Why I'm Not A Fan of Tracts

A tract. In our Christian circles it's something that gives the gospel message to another human being. Not a huge fan of these and I'll give two reasons why. But first, I understand that people can be saved by reading one of these. And praise God for that! And I realize that this is just my opinion and others may come to a different conclusion, which is fine. Not something worth arguing for. Just thought I'd throw my two cents in for what's it worth.

First reason I am not a fan of tracts would be that Jesus called the church (the people of God) to reach the lost. Yes, a tract can be used to do that. But I firmly believe that God created us to relate to people, build relationships with them, and give them the gospel. In the early church I don't see tracts. I see people passionately caring about a lost world and going to them in their culture to build relationships with them to lead them to Christ. Why has anything changed?

That leads me into my second point being that building a meaningful relationship with someone is a lot harder than just handing them a tract and walking away and never seeing them again. Why should that person listen to you and what the tract says? They have no idea who you are. Think of it this way: when someone hands you a flyer, what's your reaction? You probably take it out of courtesy, then dispose of it and the next available trash can. Maybe without even glancing at it. But on the other hand, when someone cares enough about you to invite you to something or let you in on some knowledge they have acquired, you're more apt to listen to them right? It's the same way with unbelievers. You build that meaningful relationship with them to where there's a degree of trust, you have a golden opportunity to share Jesus with them.

So, in conclusion. Please don't get me wrong. I'm not against tracts, I just feel that we, as the church, ought to utilize the meaningful relationships we have to the fullest. Work at those relationships with unbelievers to bring it to the point where they respect you enough to listen to what you have to say. It's a lot harder than just handing out a tract, but it seems to be the Biblical way in my opinion. So strive to build relationships with unbelievers and for those you come in contact with only briefly, a tract may be the best option. But don't neglect building a relationship with someone in your circles out of laziness or fear, cause it's sin.

Much love,
Cam

Jesus Is The True and Better - Tim Keller

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

The Bible’s really not about you—it’s about him.

Radical Faith

What is faith? Well as the dictionary defines it: confidence or trust in a person or thing. Let's look at Genesis 22 and examine Abraham's faith in God and how we can relate to it now. To understand the context, God had miraculously provided a son for Abraham way later than normal. It's not normal to have a baby at 90 years old. But anyways, God had promised Abraham "I will make you a great nation." (Genesis 12:1-3). So Abraham now finally had a son to call his own and God's promise would be fulfilled.

But then, getting into our text, God commands Abraham to do something very odd. He tells Him to go and sacrifice Isaac, his one and only son, as a burnt offering to the Lord. What!? And what is Abraham's response? He gets up early the next morning to start the 3 day journey! He didn't delay the trip. When they got there, he told the servants that he and Isaac would return and worship together. Whoa! That's faith with the expectation that God will come through for them. That I would argue is true faith. If you take your faith in Christ away from your life, would your life look any different than it does now? Abraham proved his faith again by responding to his son saying "God will provide the lamb for the sacrifice." Again, faith with the expectation of God coming through. That's radical faith right? This is Biblical faith. It's radical because this type of faith is not seen nowadays and is so foreign to most churches.

This is the type of faith God is after. Now we'll look at God's response to Abraham's act of faith. The Lord saw his radical obedience to kill his own son because He told him to do so. God is glorified through our acts of faith and obedience. God provided a ram for the sacrifice because He saw that Abraham truly feared God. Abraham believed God would provide. To get very practical, when you pray do you believe wholeheartedly that God will answer that request? Abraham was willing to give up his most prized possession, his son, because God called him to. Would you? God is glorified when we prove our obedience through radical faith. This is the Biblical model of faith.

I leave you with Jesus' words on faith: He said to them, "... For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."(Matt 17:20)

Biblical Philosophy of Missions

"I believe" Statements

1. I believe that God has called me to give my life for the sake of sharing the Gospel.

2. I believe God has called me to a local body of believers, but also to share Christ with the unsaved.

3. I believe that I play a part in advancing the Gospel.

4. I believe that through the power of Christ, I can be unashamed of the Gospel.

5. I believe the local church is the hub of God's activity in missions. 

References for Study

1 Chronicles 16:23-24, Psalms 96:3, Matt. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8, Acts 26:17-18, Romans 1:16

Other Resources

http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/index.php/subscribe/ 

(Getting an email sent to you each day with a specific group of people to pray for)

I would highly encourage you to take part in this. It's a very good way to remind yourself of the need in the world for the Gospel.

Ways to have a day-to-day Global Missions Mindset:

1. Pray, Pray, Pray for the advance of the Gospel

2. Expose yourself to certain missions (i.e. books, people, events, etc.)

3. Reminding yourself each day that there are people dying and going to Hell today because they are lost.