If you live in the southeast (or elsewhere for that matter) and are interested in missions, you may want to attend To Every Tribe’s annual mission conference on October 29 – 31. The conference will be held in Dalton, GA (about 30 min. south of Chattanooga) at the NorthWest Georgia Trade & Conference Center. [...]]]>

If you live in the southeast (or elsewhere for that matter) and are interested in missions, you may want to attend To Every Tribe’s annual mission conference on October 29 – 31. The conference will be held in Dalton, GA (about 30 min. south of Chattanooga) at the NorthWest Georgia Trade & Conference Center. The theme of this year’s conference will be The Privilege of Suffering.

This year’s conference speakers include TETM directors, David Sitton, Rod Conner, and Ron Sanford, as well as Dr. Erwin Lutzer, pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, Dr. Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School, Dr. Hershael York, professor of preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. David Sills, professor of missions at SBTS, and Mr. Fred Zaspel, pastor at the Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia, PA.

This is going to be  a challenging and edifying conference. Hope to see you there!  For more information about the conference and accommodation options, please see TETM’s website.

To whet your appetite, you can listen to one of the messages from TETM’s 2008 missions conference, The Purpose Driven Death:

• Brett Harris: Not Too Young to Die
• Gregg Harris and Rod Conner: Hitting the Bull’s-Eye in Missions
• David Sitton: Dead is Better
• John Piper: Filling Up What is Lacking In the Afflictions of Christ

Once, after preaching from Acts 14:16 and 17:30 that God commands all men everywhere to repent, Carey was [...]]]> William Carey certainly can’t be accused of being unevangelistic.  And yet he was an unabashed Calvinist (yes, all 5 of ‘em), and in fact, it was his God-centered Calvinist (Pauline) theology drove his passion for people, missions, and evangelism.

Once, after preaching from Acts 14:16 and 17:30 that God commands all men everywhere to repent, Carey was confronted with the following comment by a Brahman who heard his message: “Indeed I think God ought to repent for not sending the gospel sooner to us.”

Carey’s response is classic:

“To this I added, suppose a kingdom had been long overrun by the enemies of its true king, and he though possessed of sufficient power to conquer them, should yet suffer them to prevail, and establish themselves as much as they could desire, would not the valor and wisdom of that king be far more conspicuous in exterminating them, than it would have been if he had opposed them at first, and prevented their entering the country? Thus by the diffusion of gospel light, the wisdom, power, and grace of God will be more conspicuous in overcoming such deep-rooted idolatries, and in destroying all that darkness and vice which have so universally prevailed in this country, than they would have been if all had not been suffered to walk in their own ways for so many ages past.”  (from A Vision for Missions, by Tom Wells, p. 13.)

Carey’s wise words betray the following convictions:

1. God is sovereign not only in salvation but also in the course and progress of the gospel throughout history.
2. God’s goal in missions is ultimately to make his wisdom, power, and grace conspicuous.
3. God sometimes sovereignly withholds the gospel from going to certain people in order to accomplish his own God-glorifying purposes (cf. Matthew 10:5-6).
4. At any moment that he sovereignly chooses to do so, God is perfectly capable of “overcoming…deep-rooted idolatries” and “destroying all that darkness and vice which have so universally prevailed” in the world.
5. God accomplishes this through “the diffusion of gospel light” which requires that gospel-bearing messengers participate in his mission (cf. Rom 10:14-15).

This afternoon I read the following comments in a fine little book called The Gospel & Personal Evangelism:

One of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism—the conversion of unbelievers—for evangelism itself, which is the simple telling of the gospel message…. [...]]]> NOTE: Originally posted here on January 31, 2008.

This afternoon I read the following comments in a fine little book called The Gospel & Personal Evangelism:

One of the most common and dangerous mistakes in evangelism is to misinterpret the results of evangelism—the conversion of unbelievers—for evangelism itself, which is the simple telling of the gospel message…. Evangelism must not be confused with its fruit.

According to the Bible, converting people is not in our power. And evangelism may not be defined in terms of results but only in terms of faithfulness to the message preached. John Stott has said, “To ‘evangelize’ . . . does not mean to win converts . . . but simply to announce the good news, irrespective of the results.”

Paul wrote, “We are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Cor. 2:15-16). Note that the same ministry has two different effects. As with the parable of the soils, it’s not that certain evangelistic techniques always lead to conversions. The same seed was planted in various places. The response varied not according to how the seed was planted but according to the nature of the soil [italics added]. (From Mark Dever, The Gospel & Personal Evangelism, 78-79.)

This means that my greatest task as a missionary is to fully understand the gospel and to proclaim it clearly.

So how should you pray for missionaries? Let me suggest the following:

1. Pray that they would clearly see the difference between evangelism and its results. Their job is to proclaim the gospel; God’s job is to convert.
2. Pray that they would be liberated from pressure to succumb to evangelism techniques that emphasize superficial results, thereby undermining the sufficiency and power of the gospel (1 Cor 1:17).
3. Pray that they will learn to rest in the sufficiency and power of the gospel (1 Cor 1:18), thereby being freed from the temptation to trust in their own personal eloquence rather than “Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:1-2)
4. Pray that their own Bible study, sermon preparation and personal experience of the gospel’s power and sufficiency in sanctification would lead them to an increasingly profound understanding of the gospel so that they can effectively proclaim its message.
5. Pray that God would powerfully and sovereignly bless their evangelism (a) by opening a door for their message (Col 4:3), (b) by giving them words to proclaim the gospel clearly and boldly (Eph 6:19), (c) by convicting sinners of their need for the Gospel (Jn 16:8-11), and (d) by opening hearts to respond to the Gospel (Acts 16:14).

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing [...]]]> NOTE: Originally posted here on January 31, 2008.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col 1:9-12, ESV)

For several years Paul’s prayer for the believers at Colossae in Colossians 1:9-12 has challenged my prayer life. Paul is praying for a church that he had not personally founded. In fact, they were Christians that he had not personally met. And yet he expresses a genuine interest in and knowledge of their spiritual progress that indicates that their spiritual well being was an important priority for him.

Those of you who follow and support our ministry are very much like Paul. You’ve taken a personal interest in churches you don’t know and people you haven’t met. Since you’re genuinely interested in our ministry and in the spiritual well-being of those to whom we minister, how can you pray for us? Here are a few “tips” drawn from Paul’s prayer for the Colossians on how to pray for us and especially for those to whom we minister. I use this prayer often as a guide to pray for my family, my students, and the people in our church.

1. Pray that they will be filled with the knowledge of the will of God (1:9).
2. Pray that that knowledge will, in turn, enable them to live their life in a manner that pleases God and that is worthy of Him (1:10).
3. Pray that their life would be characterized by a continual growth in grace that is characterized by spiritual fruit (1:10).
4. Pray that they would continually and increasingly grow in their knowledge of God (1:10).
5. Pray that they would experience a divinely given power and strength that will enable them to grow in steadfastness and patience (1:11)
6. Pray that their lives would be characterized by a joyful thanksgiving (1:12a) as they continually grow in their comprehension of the magnitude of the gospel and of their salvation in Christ (1:12b-14).