Questions: do we stop to ask them?
by Justin D. Long
Last week's Monday Morning Reality Check focused on the issue of martyrdom
and the possible impact it will have on future mission efforts. Many people
wrote in comments which were quite intriguing. As a result, I have begun
compiling data for a possible position paper to be published in the near
future on this issue.
In the meantime, in the course of considering this issue, another question
developed: how many times do we read something, yet fail to ask ourselves
critical questions about what we are reading?
Reading without analyzing and applying is really just entertainment.
Although there's nothing wrong with entertainment, if we are reading to
keep abreast of our field, to keep learning, then it's a waste of time if
it doesn't make an impact on our lives and on our ministry.
When reading an article - either an essay, like the Reality-Check, or an
editorial, or even some newspiece - then we must stop and ask ourselves the
following questions, at the very least:
- Is what I am reading true? What holes are left in the knowledge? What
statements are close to being true, but with exceptions? Does this author
have a vested interest in being perceived as right, even if he/she isn't?
- Does this material have an application in my life and/or ministry?
What can I do--immediately, or in the near future, or over time--to apply
this knowledge? How can this make me more efficient, more effective, and/or
have a more quality ministry?
- What is the next stage in pursuing this topic? Is it worth the time
to pursue? Who else knows about this, or would be interested in knowing
about it?
If you stop and think about it, I'm sure you'll come up with other
questions. The trick is to do just that: stop, and think. In our busy,
hectic schedules, we often don't think we have the time to do either. Yet
we must! Any military advisor will tell you that if you, as a general in a
war, begin REACTING to the opposite side, rather than taking proactive
steps which make your opponent react to YOU, you've lost the initiative. If
you don't get the initiative back, you've likely lost the war. This has an
application in our ministry too. If we begin reacting to the Enemy, and
forget to launch new initiatives of our own--Spirit-inspired, God-ruled,
imaginative, quality, effective initiatives--then our own ministry's
effectiveness will be severely dampened.
Considering the question of martyrdom, I've begun with the following
questions. Any mission agency considering this question would probably have
come up with these, and perhaps more. All deserve answering by every
agency, and every missionary:
- Will there be a decline in the missionary force?
- How do recruit new missionaries who are willing to face a security risk?
- How do we encourage churches to support the sending of missionaries to hostile locations?
- When do we close mission stations in hostile countries?
- How do we deal with the tightening of restrictions in traditionally less-sensitive countries?
- When will Western governments refuse to intervene on behalf of missionaries?
- How do we prepare for the likely persecution of Westerners?
- How do we deal with the decline of missionary morale?
- How do we appropriate time to security issues while still having time for the missionary job?
- How do we stay out of civil unrest, while ministering to those involved?
- Should we pay ransom demands?
- How do we prepare missionaries for persecution?
- Should we allow children and teens on short-term trips to hostile areas? Are we prepared for our children to die?
- Should we deny ourselves help from the West in order to identify with national believers who don't have access to that help?
- How do we balance the sanctity of human life against the need to face persecution?
- Who gets autonomy, the missionary or the mission? Who decides when to evacuate?
- How do we deal with paranoia?
- How much support do we give to indigenous workers whom we sponsor financially?
- Do we have a theology of suffering?
- How do we deal with the tension between Westerners (who will only be expelled) and nationals (who will likely be dealt with much more severely)?
- How do we deal with the tension between short-term workers (who can do things that cause problems) and long-term workers (who have to deal with
the problems)?
- Is it true that the "blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church?" How does this fit into our theology?
- How do we keep people from seeking out martyrdom?
- What steps have we taken to prevent the loss of work during hostilities?
- How do we deal with the security risks of monitored communications?
- How much can we associate with governmental agencies, and how much should we keep ourselves isolated?
- Do we have a well-thought-through plan for responding to persecution?
- How do we balance the open and clandestine, the legal and the illegal?
So when looking at a Reality-Check, or any piece, don't be afraid to ask
questions. And don't be a "lazy literate," either! Take the time to examine
what you're reading, pick it apart, and consider it carefully. Otherwise,
it could be little more than a waste of your time--entertaining, perhaps,
but of no real eternal significance.