'Consuming passion for God's glory' advocated
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___CEDAR HILL--A consuming passion for God's glory is the only proper motivation for Christian witness and missions, according to missiologist Mike Stroope.
___"It's not about being a missionary," the veteran foreign missionary said. "Salt water doesn't make you spiritual. Crossing salt water does nothing for you spiritually.
___"We are to be witnesses of the glory of God. And once we have witnessed it, we cannot get over it. ... We don't need more witness training. We need to see God. We don't need another program. We need to see God."
___Stroope, associate professor of missions at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary, was a featured speaker at Cedars XIII. The annual prayer and spiritual renewal retreat, held Labor Day weekend at Mount Lebanon Baptist Encampment, is sponsored by Texas Baptist Men.
___"It's all about God. It's not about us," he said. "God is not all that serious about missions. He is serious about the honor and glory of his name. He is not all that serious about church. He is serious about worship. He is serious about the earth being full of his glory.
___"We don't hold some kind of monopoly here. We participate at his invitation and on his terms."
___Stroope described how he originally became a Southern Baptist foreign missionary because he was motivated by the needs of lost people and by a desire to repay a debt to God.
___"When you begin with need, you end with need. When you begin with debt, you end with debt. But when you begin with love, you end with love," he said.
___Individuals and denominations need to examine their reasons for service, he advised, noting, "Many times we are in this for us."
___God will not share his glory with anyone, and he will not honor the work of a people who fail to give him all the glory. Denominational turmoil among Baptists grows out of pride, he said. "We will not know peace, power or purpose until we bow before him.
___"As long as we assert our names, our agendas, he will steer clear of us. ... He sends us to go and die to our names, our agendas, our world systems, that we might come alive in him."
___Other speakers at the four-day retreat included Don Miller of Bible-Based Ministries in Fort Worth, Randy Sprinkle from the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board and Greg Frizzle from the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.
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