EMQ » April–June 2018 » Volume 54 Issue 2
[memberonly folder=”Members, EMQ2YearFolder, EMQ1YearFolder”]By Michael T. Cooper
In the 1980s, young American evangelicals were optimistic about seeing the Great Commission fulfilled in our generation. The extension of the gospel over the previous decades was nothing short of miraculous. Stories of the faith of 19th and early 20th century missionaries like William Carey, Hudson Taylor, and CT Studd ignited our imaginations. But perhaps even more so, some university students of the 1980s were captivated by the faith and courage of the likes of Jim Elliott, Bruce Olson, and Chet Bitterman. Reading their exploits compelled many of us to missions.
The Past 30 Years
It is now thirty years since those same missionary heroes motivated us to leave careers and head to the mission field. In the 1990s, communism began to crumble and we moved in to seize the day. In the 2000s, we came to the unsettling reality of a post-Christian West and the rise of fundamentalist Islam in the Middle East with the corresponding need for the gospel in both areas. And now, one of the largest humanitarian events of our generation has brought 65 million refugees within the proximity of the gospel.
Still, with all that has happened over the past thirty years, Kent Parks informed us to the reality that Christianity is not progressing.[i]
In fact, it is regressing. The inspiring stories of those early missionaries and the youthful optimism of university students of the 1980s could not compete with the growing population of those born without access to the gospel. No doubt, there are many causes to the shrinking of the Christian world. Along with population increases of the non-Christian world, the fact that our missionary force focuses in areas where the gospel had long ago reached is certainly a contributor to our regression.
Regression of Global Christianity
I was in Romania when I read Parks’ enlightening observations recalling the incredible events surrounding the collapse of the communist regime. The fall and winter of 1989 was an unbelievable time for those of us who worked in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. After years of praying, the unimaginable happened. That December, the bloodiest of all struggles from the oppression of communism occurred on the streets of Timisoara. For several days, Romanians protested the oppressive dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, only to be met with deadly military resistance until finally the army joined with the people. There was such excitement and enthusiasm as thousands of Romanians gathered in Opera Square and began chanting in unison, “Exista Dumnezeu, exista Dumnezeu.”
Back then, Romania had a population of 23 million and one of the highest percentages of evangelical Christians in Europe. It was also a country that captured the hearts of people around the world. The appalling images of orphans and the stories of persecution compelled many to get involved in missions. In the past 28 years since the revolution, Romania’s economy has become vibrant and the markets are full of goods. However, similar to many parts of the world, Romania’s evangelical population has not grown. It would not be an exaggeration to say that millions of missionary dollars were invested in the country, yet the impact has been minimal.
This story could be repeated around the world. I was recently in one African country meeting with Christian leaders. Christianity was introduced there in the 15th century and no doubt revolutionized life and culture. Over the past two decades, Islam has grown rapidly to an estimated 30 to 45 percent of the population. During a lunch with a prominent Christian leader who had retired from fulltime ministry, he reflected that after all the money that had been invested by Christians from around the world, the impact of the gospel was relatively nominal.
Perhaps no other place in the world provides a telling example of the stark and rapid decline of Christianity than Turkey. Granted, it was more than 600 years ago when the Ottoman Turks invaded the once Christian area today known as the “Forgotten Holy Land.” The conquest of the Turks is even more remarkable when we consider the region’s impact on the formation of early Christianity. All of orthodox theology was articulated there, but theology was not enough to prevent Asia Minor from being overtaken by Islam.
The global decline of Christianity should be of deep concern. In the 1990s, data indicated that more than 234 thousand people were committing their lives to Christ every day only to be outpaced by the global birthrate of 257 thousand per day. This downward trend has continued. Parks’ recent analysis suggested that in 1980 only 24 percent of the world was out of reach of the gospel. Today, that number has increased to 29 percent. Data indicates that Christianity is losing ground.
The New Testament alludes to at least three distractions that could have thwarted the missionary efforts of the early church that are relevant for us today. Theological, Social, and Material Distractions each have potential to undermine what God has prepared for those who love Him. While being preoccupied on any one of these distractions impacts our outreach, I’ll conclude with suggestions for those of us who want to join together to say, “Not on our watch.” First, let us take each distraction in turn.
Theological Distraction
One only needs Facebook to see the number of instances where Christians debate with their brothers and sisters over points of theology to understand how distracted our missionary efforts have become. The endless banter about the end times, Joel Osteen, Donald Trump, politics and race, even a liberation theology being articulated with a “social justice” moniker, ultimately results in a church who has reified human constructs at the expense of the divine command to make disciples (Matt 28:18). We have become divided by our particular theological penchant and paralyzed in our efforts to be God’s fellow workers in proclaiming the foolishness of His incarnation.
Such theological distractions are not new. As Jesus prepared to ascend to the Father, Luke shares the story of His last gathering with the disciples. No doubt that their lives had been changed by the events of the last 40 days. They had seen what they could not have imagined when Jesus rose from the dead. In spite of Jesus’ continual emphasis on gospel proclamation, the disciples were concerned with the establishment of the Kingdom. This was not the first time. Luke tells us in his gospel that the disciples were focused on the Kingdom rather than the work at hand (19:11–27). Clearly, Jesus wanted the disciples to focus on using the resources He was providing to expand His recognition as King.
In Acts, again, the disciples focused on a theological point concerning the end times and, again, Jesus directs them to focus on His mission. His final words before ascending to the Father are poignant, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:7–8). It is not the Kingdom that we are called to establish on earth. Though we are to anticipate and pray for its arrival (Matthew 6:10), our imperative is making the King known to all peoples.
Many of us are passionate about our theology and, no doubt, theology is important. It is our attempt to understand who God is and it should naturally occupy our time. However, it must be kept in balance. A preoccupation with constructing a theology leads to an impotent church if it is not combined with gospel engagement.
Social Distractions
We live in a day where information is transferred at unprecedented rates. It does not take long to learn about tragic circumstances around the world. We are in constant contact with news that can overwhelm our emotions. The fact that an average of 16,000 children under the age of five die every day from preventable diseases, that 2.4 billion live without proper sanitation, or the reality of living in what might be one of the greatest mass migrations of people in human history with refugees flooding over foreign boarders on nearly every continent, these events compel us to respond. After all, as we do to the least of these we do to Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:40). However, our genuine concern for the physical needs of the poor can distract us from our focus on the Great Commission.
In Matthew 26:8–9, the disciples chastised Mary for anointing Jesus with very expensive perfume. What seemed to be the consensus opinion of the disciples was that the perfume could have been sold to help the poor. They had seen Jesus heal the sick, give sight to the blind, and make the lame walk again. They had recently heard him say that they were to care for those on the fringes of society. They naturally believed this was their mission (Matthew 25:31–40) and, for some odd reason, they believed poverty would be solved with money rather than by following Jesus’ example. Jesus’ response teaches us that Mary’s heart was in the right place: on Him. “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me” (26:11). Then, if that were not a remarkable statement in and of itself, He focuses the disciples on His mission, “Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her” (v. 13).
All the social good we might do in the world will not result in the alleviation of global poverty. Jesus naturally directs our attention to the proclamation of the gospel as our primary mission. As a Kenyan pastor working in the slums of Kibera recently told a group of Christian leaders gathered from around the world, “It would be a terrible tragedy to meet the physical needs of people living in deplorable conditions only to see them miss the streets of gold.”
Material Distractions
The United States continues to be the leading power in the global economy. The amount of wealth is staggering when compared to the rest of the world. The annual GDP of the United States (nearly 20 trillion USD) is greater than the combined total GDPs of 176 of the 192 countries in the United Nations. How we use that wealth is even more remarkable. We spend $522 billion on entertainment, $48 billion on jewelry, and $30 billion on pets. Evangelicals alone spend an estimated $183 billion on entertainment, $17 billion on jewelry, and $10 billion on pets. Sadly, even with all that wealth, we only give $66 billion to the church and only $5 billion of that goes to foreign missions. We actually spend more on our pets than we do on taking the gospel to people who have never heard.2
The issue of material distractions was certainly a concern for the Apostle Paul. He gave very clear instructions to Timothy to instruct the wealthy to find their significance in doing “good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy6:18). A friend recently encouraged me when he said, “Don’t give until you hurt. Give until it feels good.” This sums up nicely what Paul meant in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” No doubt, the words of Jesus are in Paul’s mind as he imparts this wisdom with the Corinthians, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
As we saw in the disciples’ interaction with Mary (Matthew 26), money is not the solution to poverty. Nevertheless, it is necessary to continue the Lord’s work of taking the gospel to every people group on the planet. There are approximately 1,363 distinct people groups around the globe who have not had the opportunity to hear the gospel. It is totally feasible for us to finish the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. It only requires Christians making their financial resources available for the work that He has prepared for us as His fellow workers (1 Corinthians 3:9).
Not on Our Watch
For good or bad, right or wrong, I have a deep sense that I am, in part, responsible for our current missionary inefficiency. Perhaps it is due to naivety or ignorance. It could very well be that I fell victim to theological, social, or material distractions, maybe all three. The regression of global Christianity is alarming and should trigger us to question our missionary focus. Nevertheless, it is not too late. An awareness of the current state of global Christianity and the need for us to make a corresponding response to join with God in His work has caused me to exclaim, “Not on my watch.”
Here are three final thoughts for us to consider as we strive to leave distractions behind in order to focus on the task ahead. First, we have to realize that the Great Commission will one day be fulfilled, whether we are participating in it or not. The Apostle John’s final book of the coming apocalypse provides a picture of people from every nation, tribe, and language before the throne of God (Revelation 5:9; 7:9). The only way to that throne is not through social action or theological acumen, but through Jesus Christ. The message of salvation is a sweet message to those who understand; something our material wealth cannot acquire. It is at the same time, a difficult message. It is a calling of surrender and commitment, a laying aside of ourselves for the sake of others. It will bring persecution and martyrdom, but it is a message to be declared to all people and languages and nations and kings (Revelation 10:11). We know it will eventually happen. The challenge we face is whether or not we want to be a part of bringing the good news to those who do not have the opportunity to hear.
Second, we must turn our focus to a biblical understanding of the mission of God as one clearly announcing the good news of great joy that is for all the people (Luke 2:10). At the center of the heart of God is His desire to restore His relationship with those who bear His image. It is not changing the social agenda of a country, although that should be a result of a redeemed people. It is not increasing the wealth of a nation, although there is certainly evidence that this happens. Nor is it aligning all beliefs under a unified theological system, although this will one day occur. God’s mission in the world is using the inabilities of the weak to declare the foolishness of Christ (1 Corinthians 2) crucified and resurrected (1 Corinthians 15) to bring forgiveness and new life (Romans 5).
Third, we do not have an option to not participate. Scripture is clear. We are all to participate in fulfilling the Great Commission. That does not mean that we will all become vocational missionaries. However, missionaries alone are not enough to finish the task. This is an “all hands on deck” call for everyone to take their rightful place as God’s fellow workers. Some will plant and others will water. Ultimately, God is responsible for the results (1 Corinthians 3:7).
There are those of us who God has gifted to take the risk of bringing the gospel to a people group who has never heard of Jesus before. There is danger and we do not take this lightly. Nevertheless, just as God told Paul that there were those He had prepared to receive the gospel in Corinth (Acts 18:10), so, if we truly believe that every people group will one day stand before the throne, He has already prepared them. We simply need to go. There are others who God will use to help send these missionaries to unreached people. Both the goers and the givers are vital to the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. He is not looking for our abilities or our pocketbooks, although He will certainly use them. He is looking for our availability. Are we available to go and give?
Conclusion
Our particular theological persuasion influences our understanding of the mission of God. Over the past century, we have witnessed various theological, if not missiological, adjustments to Christianity from fundamentalism to the social gospel, from the emerging church to social justice. Some adjustments have had a profound influence on missions from those that focus on social actions to those that focus on the proclamation of the gospel. There certainly must be a balance as Jesus not only proclaimed the offering of forgiveness of sin and new life, but He healed people and cared for the marginalized. However, the apparent pendulum swing between proclamation of the gospel in word or deed raises serious concern. We see in contemporary evangelicalism a growing focus on building the Kingdom through acts of social justice at the expense of the verbal proclamation of the gospel; a reversion back to the social gospel in new garb. In essence, the gospel becomes the good news of the Kingdom of God being established on earth as evidenced in the betterment of the social conditions of people rather than the transformation of a person in preparation for the coming King (Matthew 26:29).
Ultimately, our calling is not about some obligation we must fulfill. It is not about us at all. It is about the God who created the peoples, languages, tribes, and nations; being ignored by them and not receiving glory due Him. It is about He who was crucified and whose blood ransomed people for God; not receiving the varied and diverse worship from every people group (Revelation 5:9). Our primary role then becomes helping to make that happen, not theological prowess, social change, or material wellbeing although by God’s Spirit those things can certainly follow.
Michael Cooper, PhD is Vice-President of Equipping at East West Ministries International where he leads a team focused on training and empowering local believers and church leaders in evangelism, discipleship, leadership, and catalyzing church planting movements.
Notes
[i] Kent Parks, “Finishing the Remaining 29 Percent of World Evangelization: Disciple-making Movements as a Biblical, Holistic, and Radical Solution,” (May 2017) https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2017-05/finishing-the-remaining-29-of-world-evangelization
See Michael T. Cooper and William J. Moulder, Social Injustice: What Evangelicals Need to Know About the World (Grayslake, IL: The Timothy Center Press, 2011).
