God Loves the Cities...Shouldn't We?

Big cities...it seems people either like them or they don't. I tend to be of the later persuasion. I grew up on the outskirts of a big city, Los Angeles, and lived in the heart of the 5th largest city in the world, Seoul, South Korea. I don't find them exciting and pulsing with energy. Instead I find them crowded, dirty, loud, crime-ridden, did I mention crowded...but I'm asking God to change my outlook, especially after reading an article, entitled The Challenge of the Cities by Roger S. Greenway. I'd like to share some of what he said. 

Cities are the new frontier of Christian missions. Because of their size, influence, diversity, and needs, cities present enormous challenges. To neglect cities would be a strategic mistake, because, as cities go, the world goes. They are the centers of political power, economic activity, communication, scientific research, academic instruction, and moral and religious influences. Whatever happens in cities affects entire nations. When Christ's kingdom advances in cities, the number of people worshipping and serving the true God multiplies. 

Over the last few decades, the world has seen the largest population movement in history, that of migration from rural areas to cities. In America we tend to think we have the large cities...Los Angeles, New York. But we are only the tip of the iceberg. Today, 17 of the world's 50 most populous cities are in China. Some 33 of them are in Asia, in fact. A mere seven are in the Americas, along with four in Europe, three in the Middle East, and three in Africa. (https://www.msn.com/en-xl/asia/photos/50-largest-cities-in-the-world/ss-AAA3m6f) 

To give you an example of the numbers, here are the 8 largest cities with their population in millions Shanghai - 24 million. Shanghai's population of 24 million makes it the top populous city proper not only in Asia but in he world as well.
Beijing - 21.5 million. ...
Delhi - 16.7. ...
Lagos - 16 million. ...
Tianjin - 15.2 million. ...
Karachi - 14.9 million. ...
Istanbul - 14 million. ...
Tokyo - 13.6 million. ...

As you can see...the cities are gigantic and growing every day. Unfortunately, some of the worst suffering is found among people who have recently arrived in cities. The ghettos of New York and Los Angeles pale in comparison to what you will find in Bangkok, Calcutta or Dhaka. 

Yet, God is and can do tremendous works in these cities if we will only walk in obedience to where He is calling the Church, because there is an openness to the Gospel in the cities. As a general rule, people who are recently dislocated (which describes a large part of mega cities where the population continues to grow as people from the country move to the city), and are experiencing major changes in their lives, are more open to the Gospel than they were before. New people in the cities are open to new ideas, including ideas about God and religion. And as a result, God is behind the migration of masses of people to the cities, allowing the people He loves to journey to a place where they will be more open to hearing about Him, if only people will tell them. 

God is creating new opportunities for spreading the Gospel among unreached people coming from remote towns and villages. It is our task to take hold of the opportunity and carry out Christ's missionary command. Through urbanization, God is drawing people from every race, tribe and language to places where they can be reached with the Gospel. 

This is what really hit me...missionaries, instead of going to a remote rural location to reach an unreached people group, can go to cities where there are representatives from thousands of people groups, representatives that because of their difficult lifestyles are more open to the Gospel than they might have been while living in their rural homes. The opportunities in the city are tremendous if God's people will have the wisdom and courage to reap the harvest. 

But it takes sacrifice on many believer's hearts to go to the cities. Traditionally, most mission work was done in rural areas. In the past, that made sense because most people lived in rural communities. But the biggest challenge is now in cities, and there we find a shortage of workers. Many missionaries are so disturbed by the noise and traffic in cities, the pollution, social problems, crime and crowded housing, that they prefer working in rural areas. Unreached villages certainly need to hear the Gospel. But in view of the masses of unsaved and unchurched people in cities, more attention must be given to urban centers. 

God's heart for cities is not absent in the Bible either. Urban missions began with the story of Jonah being led to Nineveh, much of Christ's ministry was done in poor urban conditions in Jerusalem, and the missionary strategy of Paul was completely urban. 

Our response should not depend on whether we prefer to live in cities or not. As it was for Jonah, and no doubt for Paul, the question is whether we will go where workers are needed and where God wants us to go. 

If what I have shared has touched your heart in any way for the cities and the billions who need a Savior there, please read my next blog as I will share some practical steps each of us can take in our desire to reach the cities for Christ. 

Who is Jesus?

A conquering Messiah, a fiery judge filled with wrath against the evils of humanity, a stone that would crush all opposition, a ruler who would firmly defeat all other authorities on the earth, especially Rome...this is what John the Baptist, and others, expected to see in the Messiah. This is what they had been taught to expect since they were young. This is the image, the idea, the belief about the coming Messiah that they had put their hope in.

The mission of Jesus was to bring the “Kingdom of God” to earth. John based his understanding of the Kingdom of God on the Old Testament. Through prophecies like Daniel 2:31-35, the Kingdom of God was viewed by Israel as a time when “God’s reign will displace all other reigns, kingdoms and authorities. He will break the proud sovereignty of evil people that have dominated most of history...will sweep away every opposing rule. God alone will be King in those days,” (George Eldon Ladd). Based on this understandings, John, along with the nation of Israel, was looking for a Messiah who would crush Roman rule and rescue them from its oppression; a Messiah who would reign over all the earth with Israel at his side.

When Jesus began His ministry, He did not fit this expectation. Born to humble means and living a life of obscurity for 30 years, His arrival on the pages of history was not accompanied by shouts of war, wrath and judgment, “He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets,”
(Matt. 12:19). He entered the synagogues and began to preach “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
near,” (Matt. 4:17). He healed the sick, cast out demons, showed compassion to the downtrodden and
walked from village to village, telling the people of God’s love for them.

Where was the takeover of the Roman government; the punishment of those who practiced evil; the
establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth...his palace, throne, armies and wealth? None of this
happened...at least not in the physical realm.

It’s no wonder that even John, the one sent by God to walk in the way of Elijah and announce the
coming of Jesus, had his doubts. Jesus didn’t meet his expectations at all. Maybe John had gotten it all wrong. Maybe he had misunderstood God and His plan.

Thankfully, instead of turning away and trusting in his own expectations rather than God’s truth, John
was bold enough and humble enough to ask the question...”Was I wrong? Did I have the wrong
expectations? Are you really the Messiah even though you don’t seem a bit like a Messiah? Or should I wait for someone else?”  (see Matthew 11:2)

Jesus understood his doubts. He didn’t harshly chastise John for his unbelief and questions, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out,” (Matt. 12:20). Instead, he challenged John to change his expectations; to rethink who the Messiah truly was and what the Kingdom of Heaven truly meant. He asked John to form a new paradigm, to bask in a new revelation of God’s character. He is a God of mercy, compassion, gentleness and incredible love for His people.

Jesus came, not to judge, but to “proclaim justice to the nations...till He leads justice to victory,”
(Matt. 12:18, 20). He brought compassion and concern to the outcasts of society. He battled sin in each individual, but it was usually done with love, compassion and gentleness rather than force. When dealing with demonic beings, He was every bit the conqueror, not allowing them any foothold but driving them out with power and force. But with most people He was gentle; a shepherd caring for His sheep; a suffering servant.

There were the exceptions. With the prideful, arrogant, unloving leaders of the Jewish faith, He exhibited more of the fiery wrath that many expected of the Messiah. But even with these individuals, if there were any who were willing to humble themselves and ask Jesus true, heartfelt questions, like Nicodemus, He did not turn them away but showed them compassion and concern as well.

When Jesus’ time on earth was done, at least for now, He left behind a group of men and women who
embraced the Messiah as He truly was and were willing to share that truth with those around them, even to the point of death. History has proven, time and again, that the gentle way of Jesus, when practiced by His Church, calls many to follow Him. But history has also shown that when the Church tries to spread the Gospel with force, when it “breaks the bruised reeds” and “snuffs out the smoldering wicks,” great damage is done.

A good example of this is the Crusades. The Church called thousands of men and women to journey to the Holy Land, following the “will of God,” and take it back from the Muslim “infidels.” They did this not in love, compassion and understanding for the lost but through force. Thousands were killed on both sides. The cross was worn proudly by those with bloody swords in their hands. The legacy of this quest still weighs heavily on the Muslim world of today and has hurt the name of Jesus in immeasurable ways.

In contrast, there have been many, including men and women like St. Patrick, Columbo, William Carey, Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot and so many others, who brought the cross of Christ with compassion, sacrifice, gentleness and love. They did not come in fiery wrath but in humility and concern. Their legacy is quite different. Many were won to Christ through their compassion, and the name of Jesus became a name in which the “nations will put their hope,” (Matt. 12:21).

We, the Church of today, must follow the example of Jesus rather than our own expectations. Our
human nature desires judgment, a powerful takeover by Christ and expulsion of the enemy. This will
happen someday, at Christ’s second return, but it is not yet time for this. Our mission, like Christ’s, is to show the love of God, not His judgment. We are to show the world the love of Christ so that “in His name the nations will put their hope,” (Matt. 12:21).

Today people still have trouble with their expectations of Jesus. If I’m a Christian, than why do bad things still happen to me? Why is the Church so greatly persecuted in many parts of the world? Why does Jesus let children suffer? Why do only some follow Jesus and not everyone? Why, why, why?

We search the Bible, our hearts, ask other Christians, read books and listen to sermons. Yet, when we ask Jesus Himself, I believe that, just like in John’s day, Jesus still says to us, “Pay attention to ‘what you see and hear: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor’” (Matt. 11:4-5).

God is moving tremendously in the world, and He has been, since the beginning. Yet, instead of coming with mighty military power, His present Kingdom comes with quiet, gentle persuasion. Just as Jesus enters each of our hearts with love and patience, His Kingdom spreads in this world with love and patience...with persuasion rather than power.

"Do Not Pray for Easy Lives; Pray to be Stronger"

I wanted to share a writing that impacted me. This is by Samuel Marinus Zwemer (April 12, 1867-April 2, 1952), nicknamed "The Apostle to Islam." He was an American missionary, traveler, scholar, and a missionary to Busrah, Bahrein, and other locations in Arabia from 1891 to 1905. Famously turned down by the American Missionary Society, which resulted in him going overseas alone, he founded and edited the publication The Moslem World.  His greatest contribution to missions was that of stirring Christians to the need for evangelism among Muslims.

I believe that need should be stirred again today! The Muslim people are the most unreached people of the world. They comprise a vast majority of the 10/40 Window and in some places have as many as 3 missionaries per million Muslims. Their's is the second fastest growing religion in the world, after Christianity. 

The Glory of the Impossible

by Samuel M. Zwemer

The challenge of the unoccupied fields of the world is one to great faith and, therefore to great sacrifice. Our willingness to sacrifice for an enterprise is always in proportion to our faith in that enterprise. Faith has the genius of transforming the barely possible into actuality. Once men are dominated by the conviction that a thing must be done, they will stop at nothing until it is accomplished. 

Frequent set-backs and apparent failure never dishearten the real pioneer. Occasional martyrdoms are only a fresh incentive. Opposition is a stimulus to greater activity. Great victory has never been possible without great sacrifice. If the winning of Port Arthur required human bullets, we cannot expect to carry the Port Arthurs and Gibraltars of the non-Christian world without loss of life. Does it really matter how many die or how much money we spend in opening closed doors, and in occupying the different fields, if we really believe that missions are warfare and that the King’s Glory is at stake? War always means blood and treasure. Our only concern should be to keep the fight aggressive and to win victory regardless of cost or sacrifice. The unoccupied fields of the world must have their Calvary before they can have their Pentecost.  

The unoccupied fields of the world await those who are willing to be lonely for the sake of Christ. To the pioneer missionary, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to the apostles when He showed them His hands and His feet, come with special force: “As my Father hath sent Me, even so send I you”. He came and His welcome was derision, His life suffering, and His throne the Cross. As He came, He expects us to go. We must follow in His footprints. The pioneer missionary, in overcoming obstacles and difficulties, has the privilege not only of knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection, but also something of the fellowship of His suffering. 

(And what is that suffering but the) glory of the impossible! Who would naturally prefer to leave the warmth and comfort of hearth and home and the love of the family circle to go after a lost sheep, whose cry we have faintly heard in the howling of the tempest? Yet such is the glory of the task that neither home-ties nor home needs can hold back those who have caught the vision and the spirit of the Great Shepherd. Because the lost ones are His sheep, and He has made us His shepherds and not His hirelings, we must bring them back.  

(We go out) not with hatchet and brand, but with the Sword of the Spirit and with the Belt of Truth. They went and blazed the way for those that followed after. Their scars were the seal of their apostleship, and they gloried also in tribulation. Like the pioneer Apostle Paul, “always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, and approving themselves as ministers of God in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in watching, in fasting.”

If the uttermost confines of the Roman Empire were part of (Paul's missionary)  program who had already preached Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum in the first century, we surely, at the beginning of the twentieth century, should have no less ambition to enter every unoccupied field that “they may see to whom no tidings came and that those who have not heard may understand.”

In the first days of Christianity, there is an absence of the calculating spirit. Most of the Apostles died outside of Palestine, though human logic would have forbidden them to leave the country until it had been Christianized. The calculating instinct is death to faith, and had the Apostles allowed it to control their motives and actions, they would have said: ‘The need in Jerusalem is so profound, our responsibilities to people of our own blood so obvious, that we must live up to the principle that charity begins at home. After we have won the people of Jerusalem, of Judea and of the Holy Land in general, then it will be time enough to go abroad; but our problems, political, moral and religious, are so unsolved here in this one spot that it is manifestly absurd to bend our shoulders to a new load.’”

It was the bigness of the task and its difficulty that thrilled the early Church. Its apparent impossibility was its glory, its world-wide character its grandeur. The same is true today.

He that ploweth the virgin soil should plow in hope. God never disappoints His husbandmen. The harvest always follows the seed time. “When we first came to our field,” writes missionary Hogberg from Central Asia, “it was impossible to gather even a few people to hear the glad tidings of the Gospel. We could not gather any children for school. We could not spread gospels or tracts. When building the new station, we also had a little chapel built. Then we wondered, will this room ever be filled up with Moslems listening to the Gospel? Our little chapel has been filled with hearers and still a larger room! Day after day we may preach as much as we have strength to, and the Moslems no longer object to listen to the Gospel truth. ‘Before your coming hither no one spoke or thought of Jesus Christ, now everywhere one hears His name,’ a Mohammedan said to me. At the beginning of our work they threw away the Gospels or burnt them, or brought them back again - now they buy them, kiss the books, and touching it to the forehead and pressing it to the heart, they show the highest honor that a Moslem can show a book.”

But the pioneer husbandman must have long patience. When Adoniram Judson was lying loaded with chains in a Burmese dungeon, a fellow prisoner asked with a sneer about the prospect for the conversion of the heathen. Judson calmly answered, “The prospects are as bright as are the promises of God.” There is scarcely a country today which is not as accessible, or where the difficulties are greater, than was the case in Burma when Judson faced them and overcame.

The prospects for the evangelization of all the unoccupied fields are “as bright as the promises of God.” Why should we longer wait to evangelize them?

Is there a more heroic test for the powers of manhood than pioneer work in the mission field? Here is opportunity for those who at home may never find elbow-room for their latent capacities, who may never find adequate scope elsewhere for all the powers of their minds and their souls. There are hundreds of Christian college men who expect to spend life in practicing law or in some trade for a livelihood, yet who have strength and talent enough to enter these unoccupied fields. There are young doctors who might gather around them in some new mission station thousands of those who “suffer the horrors of heathenism and Islam,” and lift their burden of pain, but who now confine their efforts to some “pent-up Utica” where the healing art is subject to the law of competition and is measured too often merely in terms of a cash-book and ledger. They are making a living; they might be making a life.

Bishop Phillips Brooks once threw down the challenge of a big task in these words: “Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle.” He could not have chosen words more applicable if he had spoken of the evangelization of the unoccupied fields of the world with all their baffling difficulties and their glorious impossibilities. God can give us power for the task. He was sufficient for those who went out in the past, and is sufficient for those who go out today.

When David Livingstone visited Cambridge University, on December 4, 1857, he made an earnest appeal for (Africa), which was then almost wholly an unoccupied field. His words, which were in a sense his last will and testament for college men, as regards Africa, may well close this book:“For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink, but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.”

Would a Christian Government Solve Everything?

The year is 2018, the place - America or any other nation whose majority is Christian. The problem - our nation is faltering, backsliding, failing. The solution, in many minds -- a Christian government. If we could just get a Christian back in the White House than everything would change. If there were just more politicians who were Christians than our country would return to the way it was.

The year is 30 AD, the place - Jerusalem and Judea. The problem - the nation was faltering, backsliding, failing. The solution, in many minds - Jesus, a conquering Messiah. If we could just get Jesus in charge of Israel, overthrow Rome, than everything would change. If He would take over political power than Israel would return to the way it was under King David...large and in charge.

But, the question that needs to be asked today, as it was at the time of Jesus Christ, is: was Christianity meant to be used as a political force? Did Jesus come to take over politically and force faith in Him on every subject of the empire or did He come as a servant, speaking the truth, loving others and placing the power struggles in God's hands?

Does Christianity flourish when it is the law of the land or does it flourish when it is spread, one humble servant to the next, in love, humility and sacrifice?

One example from history is the Roman Empire. Christianity, once a persecuted religion under men like Nero, became the official religion of Rome. Yet, during that transition, the Christian faith was altered. “The political triumph of what eventually came to be known as Christianity was in fact a mixed blessing...(because) when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire it became ill-equipped by its very form to complete the Great Commission among any populace that was anti-Roman,” (Ralph D. Winter).

The people of other nations saw Christianity as strictly a Roman religion and thus, whatever wrong things the Roman government did, in the minds of the other nations, it was Christianity that was doing the wrong. This same unfortunate truth can be seen throughout history with the Muslim view of Christianity due to the Crusades, the Indian view due to England's colonization of India, the Eastern European countries and the way they view Christianity due to Russia's Orthodox church, etc.

When Christianity takes on political power and might, it often times becomes corrupt and power hungry (as seen in the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages and some Western churches today). Our human nature wants to make our religion supreme and in charge. We want power and authority, but of a worldly kind. This is what the Jews were looking for when Jesus arrived. When He did not provide this, many of them rejected Him.

The sad truth is that when Christianity becomes the main religion of the masses, officially recognized by the government, and the persecution stops, often times so does the fervor of outreach. When it becomes easy to be a Christian, it also becomes easy to be content in this world. When we are content in this world, we are not seeking after the Lord and anticipating His arrival as we should. When this happens, the fervor for the Great Commission seems to dwindle. Difficulty draws us closer to the Lord and thus His heart for the nations. Ease in life makes us complacent and content with the status quo.

It may be for this reason that Jesus never sought political power and authority for Himself on earth. He did not want faith in Him to be linked to the Jewish or Roman authorities. God is not linked to any one government or people group. He is King. He is Lord. He does not need the help of any government to spread His love and truth throughout the world.

America has been greatly blessed by God, in freedom and prosperity, for a number of years. We, as a nation, have done much that is good, in bringing the Gospel and freedom to many other nations. But we have also failed God in many ways, especially lately. The moral decline in our culture and the  large scale embracing of a rich and decadent lifestyle, does not speak well of America or the Western World.

But this is not a time for worry or despair on the part of the Church in America. While the “entire Western world in its present political form may be radically altered (and) we may not even be sure about the survival of our own country...we have every reason to suppose from past experience that the Christian, biblical faith will clearly survive” (Ralph D. Winter).

While America has reached out to the non-Western world with the Gospel, we could have and should be doing so much more! “If we in the West insist on keeping our blessing instead of sharing it, then we will, like other nations before us (Israel, Rome, etc.) perhaps have to ‘lose’ our blessing in order for the remaining nations to receive it,” (Ralph D. Winter).

We don’t “deserve” any of the blessings we’ve been given. Each American Christian could, just as likely, have been born a girl in a very different country and culture. But God chose to place each of us in a prosperous country in order that we might share His blessings of prosperity and freedom with those who have never heard His name. If we are not doing this, He has every right to take those blessings away and give them to a people (like the Chinese and Indians) who are boldly reaching out to the unreached, even at the risk of their own lives.

But this should not be a source of injured pride or sadness on the part of the American church. We need to look at the big picture. We are first and foremost, part of the body of Christ in the world. In Heaven, for eternity, our nationality will no longer make a difference. Thus, on earth, we should be overjoyed at the growth of the Church in non-Western lands. We should join in prayer, financial support and even in person, with those who are spreading the Gospel in the non-Western world and celebrate with them as God, once again, seems to be shifting His blessings to yet another part of His vast world.

2.2 Billion People Have Never Heard of Jesus

Psalm 117

Praise the LORD, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

For great is his steadfast love toward us,

and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

Praise the LORD!

Who Are the "Peoples," the "Nations"?

"Nations" and "peoples" in the Bible don't refer to political states like America, Spain, Brazil, China, but to ethnic or language or cultural groupings in these political states. For example, if you consider the country of China there are at sixty "peoples" in China (Han, Hui, Dulong, Li, Lisu, Shui, Salar, Yao, etc.). And in the Bible you read about, "the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites" (Genesis 10:16-18).

So when Psalm 17:1 says, "Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!" it means, "Praise the Lord, Hui of China! Praise the Lord Bahing of Nepal! Praise the Lord, Baluch of Pakistan! Praise the Lord, Maninka of Guinea! Praise the Lord, Bugis of Indonesia! Praise the Lord, Somali and Dakota of Minneapolis!" These are the kinds of groups Jesus was referring to when he said after his resurrection, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (panta ta ethne, same phrase in Psalm 117:1). These are the groups that Jesus meant when he said, "This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).

So a huge question for followers of Jesus today is - or should be - how many peoples are there and how many of them are still unreached with the gospel of the kingdom? How many still have no church who obey Psalm 117 and praise the Lord?

Let's just take one reliable research effort, the Joshua Project which has undertaken to catalog and keep current the unreached people groups in the world. According to their most recent findings Status of World Evangelization  they calculate 6,900 ethnic people groups in the world. Of these, 7,000 have less than 2% who are following Christ. By population numbers, that is 42% of the world population (3,140,000,000).

If you hear someone say that the day of missions outreach is over; that everyone has heard about Jesus, they are very mistaken. According to World Christian Encyclopedia, "81% of all Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus do not personally know a Christ-follower." One reason for that is while there are many people who serve on the mission field, "almost 90% of all cross-cultural missionaries labor among nominally Christian people groups, only about 10% among unreached people groups."

29% of the world, 2.16 billion people, have never heard the name of Jesus. If we truly believe what the Bible says, then we must believe that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus is to be praised by all peoples. This 2.16 billion people will perish for eternity without the gospel. God means for us to engage with him to bring about Psalm 117: "Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples!"

If you have children who don't know about the "nations," I suggest that you subscribe to the Global Prayer Digest or visit the website Unreached of the Day . Read a story to them and pray for a different people group each day. Oh, may we be a Church and families where children consider short-term missions as normal as vacations and who consider the dangers and burdens and joys of vocational missions a gift everyone should consider receiving.

May children and teenagers and adults in Christ's Church break free from our tiny little worlds of family and friends and church and Western culture! Jesus Christ is building his church around the world. We are meant to think and feel and work with Him in this cause. Who knows how many of our personal problems are owing to narrowness of thinking and smallness of affections in relation to God's global purposes. May God give us a mind and heart to know and love and reach the peoples of the world for the glory of our Savior!

Let's not be among the number who do not see that the world and the church have changed dramatically in the last 100 years - the greatest missionary century in history. Listen to Andrew Walls from his book, The Cross-Cultural Process in Christian History:

[The twentieth century] has seen this great recession from the Christian faith in the West, there has been an equally massive accession to that faith in the non-Western world. [At the beginning of the century] well over 80 percent of those who professed Christianity lived in Europe or North America. Now, approaching 60 percent live in the southern continents of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific, and that proportion grows annually. Christianity began the twentieth century as a Western religion, and indeed, the Western religion; it ended the century as a non-Western religion, on track to become progressively more so. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2002, pp. 63-64)

We are not at the center. God may or may not be done with us in our self-absorbed prosperity in America. But he certainly is putting others on the Christian map to humble us and call us to confess and rejoice that others may be far more effective in finishing the Great Commission than we are. The dynamics of church and missions will never be the same.

This is the new world we live in. It is the world that God is guiding and shaping for his glory. So let's join him in his great global purpose and not be limited in our thinking and feeling and acting to our local concerns. Let's give ourselves to missions, either as a goer or a sender.

This was taken from a sermon, by John Piper, entitled Everlasting Truth for the Joy of All Peoples. You can access it at this website Everlasting Truth