No Closed Countries!

No countries are closed to people, including Christians, who bring needed skills and products. They welcome anyone who can provide the products and skills they need.

If you told your secular neighbor or colleague, “Saudi Arabia is a closed country,” or “China is closed,” they would say, “What do you mean? I know about lots who go there and who work there. What do you mean, ‘They are closed?’”

Closed is very limited insider missions language. No one else uses the word this way outside the missions-aware population of the church. It makes no sense to nonbelievers and even to most Christians. If you said, “North Korea is closed,” people would understand. North Korea’s paranoid, despotic ruler, Kim Jong-un, severely limits outsiders entering the country, though even he still allows access for vital trade and expertise. If you said, “Cuba is closed to Americans,” people would also understand.

In reality, every nation needs and welcomes outside trade and expertise, at least to some extent. But many do not issue visas for professional religious workers—not just Christian, but all religious professionals except of the state religion. Seventy to eighty percent severely restrict any missionary visas, but welcome other professionals whatever their religion.

The world is wide open to Christian non-religious professionals with needed skills or products. They can enter legally. Global Opportunities-Tent knows of no country where tentmakers cannot enter including North Korea.

Words impact thinking. The word closed distorts our thinking about “closed” countries. We perceive “closed” countries as evil and totally closed to the gospel. But this is skewed. These nations reject not just Christianity, but any foreign religion. Further, rejecting Christianity is not the same as rejecting the gospel.

People have no other way of understanding Christ’s message except as a foreign religion until they see it demonstrated and communicated through living witnesses. This is why tentmakers are crucial. Even if missionaries were allowed, their testimony is always undercut as paid religious professionals. As one Taiwanese responded when asked what they thought of missionaries’ work in Taiwan, “Oh, they get paid to make converts.” Only tentmakers can demonstrate the reality and power of the gospel in everyday life.

All nations are “closed” to outside politics, culture, and religion being imposed upon them. They want to decide their own destiny and to develop themselves in their own right. Yes, evil motives of greed, self-gratification, power, and status greatly corrupt and shackle them. And totalitarian nations are often the most oppressive, corrupt, and underdeveloped. But people’s desire to determine their own destiny and to create real worth is an expression of God’s likeness in us. We, as Christians, should understand this better than anyone. We should stop thinking of these nations as totally closed to the gospel.

Two more negatives accompany the closed country view—that to spread the gospel missionaries must be the ones to go, and that, similarly, we must develop full-time, donor-supported workers to continue its spread. Nowhere does the Bible teach this. In fact, the great expansion of the gospel beyond Judea and Samaria recorded in the second half of Acts was carried out by tentmakers, i.e., self-supporting workers who integrated work and witness.

Tentmaking adds power and credibility to the gospel. It multiples evangelism by activation “lay” disciple makers. And it creates a pattern of “lay” leadership and pastoring without waiting to raise support and get professional ministry training. Godly “lay” leaders provide powerful examples of discipleship as unpaid, real world subjects of the Lord of lords. And the tentmaking approach provides a vastly larger pool of leaders for the church and for missions.

So let’s stop calling countries “closed” or “restricted access” or other terms which see them through a colored lens of “full-time” workers. Let’s recognize the tremendous calling and capacity of “lay” workers, both sent and indigenous. And, finally, let’s grasp the reality that countries are wide open to Christians with needed skills and products.

The Most Important Thing in Discipling

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/follow.jpg

It is not great talents God bless so much as great likeness to Jesus.  —Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-43)

When Christians think about discipling, they think about method, about how to—what topics to cover, how to organize them, how to cover each one, assignments, and time structure. But the apostle Paul didn’t think this way. He thought about following Jesus, imitating him so that people could see how to follow Jesus by watching his example and following him. Paul distilled it this way, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” and he repeated this consistently (1 Cor. 11:1)[a]

Missionary George Patterson loves to say, “People are apers. They are always aping someone.” Paul understood this. He knew believers would copy him. So he imitated Christ in all of life, doing everything to the glory of God,[b] and called his churches to imitate him just like he imitated Christ. His churches knew how to work hard and do quality work. Paul showed them. They knew how to serve customers well, how to handle the joys and struggles of work, how to suffer wrong with genuine contentment. Paul showed them. And they knew how to integrate work and ministry. Many were recipients. They saw as well as heard God’s grace through Paul.

So foremost in discipling is living and exhibiting godly discipleship. Accordingly, fervent, godly pastor Robert Murray McCheyne said, “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.”

When we see a Christian living some tough truth in Scripture like putting God’s kingdom first and hear how they think and respond, it is easy for us to do it. When I arrived at Johns Hopkins University as a new InterVarsity staff member, I ended up launching a new group. This made it easier to build new patterns. But the Christians were very intimidated by academic demands and by relativistic secularism. None of them believed that they could seek first the kingdom of God and all these things they needed would be added unto them. (Mt. 6:33) They did not believe that they could put God first and still be good students. And they did not believe that the gospel could transform people on campus. They had not seen this practiced in their youth groups. We faced a huge hurdle.

So I started a discipleship group which they committed to attend faithfully and to do whatever God showed us in the Bible. Then we began studying what God wanted us to do in personal Bible study and prayer, evangelism, working together, etc. Slowly, they began taking small steps of faith, stepping out into the “impossible.” God honored, and they took more steps. My faith and example helped and so did members’ examples as they shared stories. They began giving time to God’s agenda in their lives and they began reaching out.

Over the next two years, incredible growth occurred. They developed patterns of personal Bible study and prayer, of studying together and praying, of witnessing. And they discovered that still be good students. In fact, they became better students. They also saw that God did work in students’ hearts and they came to Christ!

The impact on new Christians on campus was amazing. They found it much easier to build these practices into their lives. When they first arrived they also did not believe these things were possible, but they saw Christians doing them and copied. The group quickly grew to 60 with nonbelievers steadily coming to Christ and believers being changed and following him.

Christians must see the truth lived to understand and do it. They cannot do what leaders teach but do not do. Actions negate words. When leaders teach something they don’t practice, they have not figured out how to do it in real life and cannot show others. They cannot pass on what they do not know. Instead, followers they copy what they see.

This explains much weakness in the church. We are attracted to method, technique, and organization. Many pastors talk about God’s great power to save people, but run a program powered by polished performance, trendy music, feel-good messages, and emotive group dynamics. Nonbelievers respond to the emotional pull rather than the convicting work of the Spirit. And Christians equate strong feelings in worship with genuine love for God even though their life does not match.

Leaders tell people to trust God because he is in control, but clearly worry about money or health or whatever. So their hearers do the same.  A friend has gone through a very tough time facing the risk of bankruptcy and losing property. She kept saying that she just put it in God’s hands and trusted him. Yet she worried so much that she lost weight and could not focus in her work. She was not able to rest in God in the midst of the threat. She was simply emulating others—worrying intensely while thinking she wasn’t because she kept saying, “I’m just putting it in God’s hands.”

Nothing can substitute for likeness to Christ. Only by living example can people see the reality of Christ’s teaching, believe it is possible, understand how, and do it. Christ-likeness is more caught than taught.

I have seen wonderful examples. I remember a speaker during a Spiritual Emphasis Week at Bible school who radiated joy in God as he opened Scripture. He awakened in me deeper longings to pursue God. I also knew someone in high school who lived in such enjoyment of God that friends would stop and ask him what caused such joy and peace in him.

I learned how to dig out what the Bible is saying with questioning, diligence, and carefulness from Christians who showed me and opened it to me. I’ve learned more of relating to, loving, and moving nonbelievers toward Christ through the example and teaching of Ruth Siemens and Ari Rocklin. John Alexander, President of IVCF, powerfully reinforced the absolute priority of godliness in leadership. Over and over he said, “Godliness comes first.

[a] 1 Cor. 4:16; 1 Th. 1:6; 2 Th. 3:7, 9; Phil. 3:17; Of imitating other examples: 1 Th. 2:14; The writer of Hebrews uses this idea in 6:12 and 13:7. Example and model are used similarly in Phil. 3:17; 1 Th. 1:7; 1 Tim. 1:16, 4:12; Tit. 2:7

[b] 1 Cor. 10:31

The Most Important Thing in Discipling

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/most.jpg

“It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.”  —Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-43)

When Christians think about or discuss discipling, they think about method, about how to—about what topics to cover, how to organize them, how to cover each one, assignments, and time structure. But the apostle Paul didn’t think this way. He thought about following Jesus, imitating him so that people could see how to follow Jesus by watching his example and following him. Paul distilled it this way, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1) He repeated this principle consistently.[a]

Missionary George Patterson loves to say, “People are apers. They are always aping someone.” Paul understood this. He knew believers would copy him. So he imitated Christ in all of life, doing everything to the glory of God,[b] and called his churches to imitate him just like he imitated Christ. His churches knew how to work hard and do quality work. Paul showed them. They knew how to serve customers well, how to handle the joys and struggles of work, how to suffer shortfalls with genuine contentment. Paul showed them. And they knew how to integrate work and ministry. Many were recipients. They saw as well as heard God’s grace through Paul.

So foremost in discipling is living and thus exhibiting godly discipleship. Accordingly, saintly, fervent pastor Robert Murray McCheyne said, “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.”

When we see a Christian living some tough truth in Scripture like putting God’s kingdom first and hear how they think and respond, it is easy for us to begin to do it. When I arrived on the campus of Johns Hopkins as a new InterVarsity staff member, I ended up having to launch a new group. This made it easier to build new patterns. But the Christians were very intimidated by academic demands and by relativistic secular humanism. None of them believed that they could seek first the kingdom of God…and that then all these things they needed would be added unto them. They did not believe that they could put God and his purposes first and still be good students. And they did not believe that the gospel could transform people on campus. They had never seen these things practiced in their youth groups. We faced a huge hurdle.

So I started a discipleship group which they committed to attend unfailingly and to do whatever God showed us in the Bible together. Then we began studying what God wanted us to do in personal Bible study and prayer, bearing witness, working together, etc. Slowly, they began taking small steps of faith, stepping out into the “impossible.” God honored, and they took more steps. My faith and example helped and as members shared stories, others emulated them. They began giving time to God’s purposes in their lives and they began reaching out.

Over the next two years, incredible growth occurred. They developed patterns of personal Bible study and prayer, of studying together and praying, of witnessing. And they discovered that they could seek Christ’s kingdom first and still be good students. In fact, they became better students. They also found that God did work in people’s hearts and they came to Christ!

But the impact on those who came to Christ and on new Christians arriving on campus was amazing. They found it much easier to build these practices into their lives. When they first arrived they did not believe these things were possible either, but they saw Christians doing it and copied. Within two years the group grew to 60 with nonbelievers steadily coming to Christ and believers being changed and following him.

Christians must see the truth lived to understand and do it. They cannot do what leaders teach but do not do. Actions negate words. When leaders teach something they don’t practice, they have not figured out how to do it in real life. They lack the faith to do it and cannot show others. They cannot pass on what they do not know. Followers can’t see the truth, understand it, or put it into practice. Instead they copy what they see.

This explains much weakness and failure in the church. We are attracted to method, technique, and organization. Many pastors talk about God’s great power to save people, but run a program powered by polished performance, trendy music, no offense messages, and emotive group dynamics. Nonbelievers often respond to the emotional pull rather than the convicting work of the Spirit. Also, Christians equate strong feelings in worship with genuine love for God even though their life does not match.

Leaders tell people to trust God because he is in control, but clearly worry about money or health or whatever. So their hearers do the same.  A friend has gone through a very tough time facing the risk of bankruptcy and losing property. She kept saying that she just put it in God’s hands and trusted him. Yet she worried constantly so that she lost weight and could not focus in her work. The threat was huge. But she was not able to rest in God in the midst of the darkness. She was simply emulating others, worrying intensely while thinking she wasn’t because she kept saying that she was just trusting him.

Nothing can substitute for likeness to Christ. Only by living example can people see the reality of Christ’s teaching, believe it is possible, and understand how to do it. Christ-likeness is more caught than taught.

I have seen wonderful examples. I remember a speaker during Spiritual Emphasis Week at Bible school who radiated joy in God as he opened Scripture to us. He awakened in me deeper longings to pursue God. I also knew someone in high school who lived in such enjoyment of God that friends would stop and ask him what caused such joy and peace in him.

I learned how to dig out what the Bible is saying with inquisitiveness, diligence, and carefulness from Christians who showed me how and opened it to me. I’ve learned more of relating to, loving, and moving nonbelievers toward Christ through the example and teaching of Ruth Siemens and Ari Rocklin. Dr. John Alexander, President of IVCF, powerfully showed the priority of godliness in leadership above all else. Over and over he said, “Godliness comes first.”

[a] 1 Cor. 4:16; 1 Th. 1:6; 2 Th. 3:7, 9; Phil. 3:17; Of imitating other examples: 1 Th. 2:14; The writer of Hebrews uses this idea in 6:12 and 13:7. Example and model are used similarly in Phil. 3:17; 1 Th. 1:7; 1 Tim. 1:16, 4:12; Tit. 2:7

[b] 1 Cor. 10:31

Captivated with Wonder

http://globalopps.org/tmbriefs/card.jpg

So profound is Jesus’ coming that we have celebrated it for centuries. God humbled himself to enter our world to reveal himself and to suffer his own judgment to redeem us rebels—What an absolute wonder!

There is no story like this. It is incredible! When we take time to grasp again this staggering reality, we are captivated with wonder. This is why we celebrate Christmas—to take time to “see” again the wonder of Jesus’ incarnation.

Today he has returned to the Father and we are his heart and hands and feet on earth. He can only go where we take him. This is what Christ-filled tentmakers do—they take Christ to those who do not know him. They incarnate him so that people see Jesus in them. They exhibit the supernatural difference so that people wonder and ask questions. And by working, tentmakers exhibit Jesus’ life and power in one of the most central aspects of life.

Business as Mission in Practice

“Robert” builds servanthood into the whole ethos of his company in Asia. It is a stated core value. Employees study and discuss it in optional Bible studies. And the Christians in the company practice it constantly. One day Robert saw an employee looking for something in the break room. When he asked what, she answered, “I’m looking for a clean glass.” When she couldn’t find one, she gave up and left. So he washed one for her and filled it with water. When he brought it to her, she could not believe it and asked, “What is this?” Robert responded, “You said you were looking for a clean glass for water.” Several weeks later in the Bible study, she broke down in tears as they were discussing how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. Concerned, they asked what was wrong. When she was able to answer, she said, “Robert, do you remember when you gave me that glass of water. No one has ever done anything like that for me before. Now I understand what you were doing.”

I am very grateful for every tentmaker connected with GO-Tent who has gone or is serving now or is considering going. Seeing them incarnate Christ in some of the darkest, hardest places on earth makes our work worth it. We are thankful to have equipped tentmakers from 36 nations to go to over 80 nations.

Many of you reading this Tentmaking Brief are part of this number and all of you desire to see more people captivated by the wonder of Jesus’ coming. You know that GO and Tent are untiring in calling Christians to go as tentmakers. Yet many, many more are needed. So we also want to give you the opportunity to help GO-Tent financially so that more people are captivated with the wonder of Jesus’ coming!

Have a Wonder-Full Christmas, captivated again with the wonder of Jesus’ coming.

Dave English