Missions Roles: Which One?

Praying, sending, going -- which role does God want each of us to play?  Each of us must discern what He is calling us to do.  Or do we?

In his book Radical, David Platt argues that the idea that missions requires a special call from God is a mistaken notion that makes missions "an optional program" for a faithful and passionate few.  This view reduces God's command (for all) to a calling (for a few).  He writes, "Each follower of Christ in the New Testament, regardless of his or her calling, was intended to take up the mantle of proclaiming the gospel to the ends of the earth."  According to Platt, we tend to take the privileges of Christianity as being for all while taking the obligations of Christianity as being for a few.

Are we all supposed to move overseas?  Platt says the very question shows our faulty thinking:  "We have created the idea that if you have a heart for the world and you are passionate about global mission, then you move overseas.  But if you have a heart for the United States and you are not passionate about global mission, then you stay here and support those who go.  Meanwhile, flying right in the face of this idea is Scripture's claim that regardless of where we live--here or overseas--our hearts should be consumed with making the glory of God known in all nations."

Platt shows on the basis of the Creation Account (Genesis 1) that God has a two-fold purpose for His people: to enjoy His grace and to extend His glory.  The first comes from the fact that the first words God spoke to His human creation were in the form of a blessing.  The second comes from the command that followed to fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion as His agents.  Like Cornell Goerner who I have written about earlier, Platt sees this purpose as the key to the whole Bible: "In every genre of biblical literature and every stage of biblical history, God is seen pouring out His grace on His people for the sake of His glory among all peoples."

God is not asking us to play a role.  He is asking us to refocus our lives on His purpose.  Missions is not just a program to do; it is a purpose to live.  In Platt's words, we are "to spend all of our lives for the sake of all of God's glory in all of the world."  That means praying, sending, and going.  We don't have to choose just one.  We can't choose just one.

Let's pray today that all the church will do all we can so that all may know.