Texas Baptist Forum

Posted: 7/20/07

Texas Baptist Forum

Long-term missionaries

Ken Hall’s suggestion that long-term missionaries have a minimal place in the future of missions (July 9) concerned me.

Letters are welcomed. Send them to marvknox@baptiststandard.com; 250 words maximum.

“We have to demand full religious liberty here at home for non-Christians. That sounds kind of like the Golden Rule. … You can’t be for separation of mosque and state abroad and come home and oppose separation of church and state here at home. Let's be consistent.” Melissa Rogers Visiting professor of religion and public policy at Wake Forest University, at a forum on ministers and politics sponsored by Christian Ethics Today (RNS) “I would absolutely reject any idea that God sends suffering our way. The issue for me is not, ‘Why me?’ It is, ‘Why not me?’ I’m not exempt from the difficulties that come to everyone else.” Tom Graves Former president of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Va., who departed his post because issues related to multiple sclerosis (Baptists Today) “Faith and reason are knitted together in the human soul. So don’t leave home without either one.” Tony Snow White House press secretary (The Washington Post/RNS)

Some of the Apostle Paul’s missionary endeavors were brief, but strategic distinctions exist between his context and ours. He probably didn’t learn new languages for his ministry, and his upbringing prepared him for bicultural missionary life. These differences enabled Paul to engage immediately at a level of culturally sensitive ministry that demands a lengthier period of adaptation for us.

Whatever we emulate from Paul’s example, we should adopt his clear ambition not only to preach Christ, but to proclaim him where he has not yet been named (Romans 15:20-21).

In contrast, Hall proposes that we focus on partnerships with national churches. Many of these churches exist only because of God’s work through the faithful ministries of long-term missionaries.

Exclusively partnering with national churches virtually ensures we will ignore 1.5 billion people in unreached groups with no realistic access to the gospel. One-quarter of our world’s population does not have a local church that worships in their language. Missions to these peoples will demand more than occasional, short-term engagement, but rather the continuous investment of our churches’ best resources—their sons and daughters.

Rather than seeing short-term missions as a replacement for career missions, let’s see it as an opportunity for vocational discernment, character formation and strategic mentoring. Let’s not allow partnerships to completely substitute for pioneering work among the world’s 6,000-plus unreached people groups.

Silas Bishop

Houston

Global warming

The Southern Baptist Convention’s resolution on global warming (June 25) rejects government-mandated limits on carbon dioxide and other emissions because “it might not make much difference” and could lead to “major economic hardship.”

The majority of scientists all over the world say addressing carbon dioxide emissions is our only hope of averting disaster. The window of opportunity to avert this is limited. Some scientists say we have about 10 years. The most optimistic say no more than 50.

Concerning “major economic hardship,” what is going on right now in Africa, due to carbon dioxide emissions from our SUVs, coal-fired power plants, etc.? If we do not attempt to control our emissions, this will do far more damage to our  economy, not to mention the whole world. China is said to have lost about 750,000 people last year due to air pollution. That is more than stem-cell research.

Global warming is the most critical situation mankind has ever faced. God gave us brains; we are supposed to use them.

We can do it, but it is going to take all of us.

Leon Logan

Tucumcari, N.M.