Last night, Lairdy preached a sermon which challenged me to examine the way I partner with other Christians, particularly in regards to overseas mission.
Sometimes I find it hard to get excited about overseas mission, especially when I don’t have a personal relationship with the person or couple who are sent overseas. Often, this is to do with my hardness of heart. It is easier to care for the people I know about, for the people in my own backyard. This is not a testament to my selfishness, but rather my small-mindedness. The problem is my lack of vision. My heart is not big enough to transcend geographical barriers.
But Christian partnership, as Lairdy preached, is bigger than that. My enthusiasm for the gospel should not be limited by my own affections. Jesus loved the whole world and so should I – not out of duty or obligation, but out of a true understanding of how majestic is His searing vision of bringing the nations together under one Lord. Sam and I hope to correct this area of our lives, to be doing more to love our missionaries in prayer, emails, financial generosity and action. Thanks Lairdy for the much-needed rebuke.
Last night’s sermon also made me think that we should be careful not to create a paradigm of “global is godly, local is selfish” (not that the sermon last night did this, these are just my thoughts).
Sydney is a tough mission field. We must not get too comfortable in our Christian bubble and forget there is a huge need here. I was also encouraged last night to hear Sophie, one of our MTS workers, describe herself as a missionary to the media community. This is so right! Thank God that while he sends some of us overseas, he also charges others with the task of staying and ministering here. Sam and I often wonder if we will fall into the latter category. We love Sydney. This great city is both our passion and burden. Hopefully, our life’s service will be to see its people come to know the Lord Jesus christ.
Sydney is also teeming with other nations, right on our doorstep. They live in “undesirable” areas for middle-class Anglo Australians, like Cabramatta, Fairfield, Blacktown, Lakemba. They drive our taxis, run our Seven Elevens and clean our offices. They come here by the hundreds to study university every year. They arrive in boats in desperate search for a better life, only to be locked up in detention centres. And they are largely forgotten about by many people in our society, so much so that it is probably very un-PC of me to even talk about the working class migrants that flood our shores.
In our effort to love other nations, let’s not forget the ones right on our doorstep.
Great post, Soph.
I was struck by my own wealth on Saturday as we spent some time in a less well to do suburb of south sydney. We parked amongst a sea of bombed out cars, and didn’t see a Anglo Aussie for the entire duration of our visit – just migrants. People were visibly poorer.
These poor people from the nations are only 20 minutes away down Canterbury Road – I just generally choose not to visit there.
As the ‘college student’, I’m used to considering myself among the less well off members of my city. But when you pull up in front of a housing commission estate in a Peugeot and step out in brand name clothing while a family of 8 migrant children look on from their 1 bedroom flat window – I realised how much I simply turn a blind eye to both social and gospel issues beyond my comfortable part of Sydney. It’s not just overseas where there is a great need!
Great stuff guys. Whilst the mission field in our backyard is almost as vast as that overseas, I think we often think of mission as being to people of other nationalities and/or cultures, but what of those who aren’t?? Those that are local Australians?? Is it ‘down-graded’ to just evangelism?? I often think about the Australian club-scene as a tough mission field and would love to see some kind of ‘mission’ reaching out to the hundreds of thousands of people in the every growing culture that idolises sex, drugs, alcohol and these superstar djs that aren’t so super….
Absolutely Chong. It’s an unhelpful divide to see mission as only happening abroad.
I think that’s the false dichotomy Soph was getting at with the global is godly, local is selfish. Sadly ‘mission spots’ in local churches can tend to view things this way. We need to see the whole world as a mission field which begins once you step out the front door.
Are you up to be the first missionary DJ?
Hi Soph,
Thanks for this and for keeping the discussion going:)
I do hope people didn’t hear me saying that if you don’t partner in gospel proclamation interstate/overseas that you’re being selfish. Rather, what I wanted people to hear is that partnering in gospel proclamation interstate/overseas helps us (along with hundreds of other things!) guard ourselves from selfishness, because we’re partnering in work which we mightn’t recieve much personal benefit from.
Not to mention also it’s a great joy! If I’d had more time that’s a point I would have liked to have made stronger, but it’s something I hope to flesh out in the third talk which is all about joy in Philippians.
I just stumbled across the following comment on the Drummoyne Presy Church website this morning which I think makes the point really well. In all the commentaries/books on Philippians I read most seem to agree that the Greek word for partnership/fellowship is being used for service beyond one’s own sphere –
“The New Testament normally uses the word “fellowship” (koinonia) for serving together in the work of the kingdom, and often for Christians serving together in the work of the kingdom at a distance. This is the opposite of its popular usage as “face-to-face ministry/interaction”. The Philippians sent finances and human resources to assist the congregation at Ephesus – this kind of service is what Paul calls fellowship. He commends them for their commitment to the gospel growing beyond their own sphere. Fellowship in this sense will be something where we should expect to receive little in return, but simply be prepared to give of ourselves for the joy of knowing that the kingdom is growing somewhere else.”
Thanks again for keeping the conversation going on this issue:)
Lairdy
I think that’s a great point to make Lairdy, about being prepared to give of ourselves for the joy of knowing that the kingdom is growing somewhere else. I suspect that’s why I (and maybe others) struggle with overseas mission – in that we can’t see and enjoy the pay-off. But this is the model Paul sets out for us in Philippians. How can we be encouraging each other to give ourselves to what we can’t see – both in the local and global mission field?
How can we be encouraging each other to give ourselves to what we can’t see – both in the local and global mission field?
Great question! I really don’t know the answer. I think part of it is sharing with one another the joy that comes from partnering in the work of the gospel. And I think that joy stems from continuing to have a clear view of the end – that it’s a GREAT thing people are being saved from an eternity in hell no matter what age, race, gender they are.
Oh and in hindsight I don’t think I made it clear enough that partnering in overseas mission is A way of guarding ourselves from selfishness, not THE only way, so I’ll correct that for next time:)
Also reading John Piper’s “Let The Nations Be Glad” I think is a good tool in thinking about this more. I’ve not read it all but what I have read is really good.