As Heather and I embark on this missionary journey, there's one phrase we've heard over and over: "So, tell me about how you were called to missions." But I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that we've all been called... not to missions overseas, necessarily, but to follow Christ. We've experienced some of the stigmata attached to the word missionary. Sometimes, when we mention that we've been appointed as missionaries through AIM and plan to leave in about 1 year for Kenya, people shove us onto a pedestal... in their eyes we've just become godly, perfect people who've remarkably recieved God's call. I think this is a really unhealthy habit. As soon as anyone who is "called to ministry" is seen as some sort of better Christian, we're in danger of following them into some bizarre places spiritually. The truth is, we're all called to ministry as we follow Christ.
Matthew 16:24 says,"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.'"
We're all called to be servants, denying ourselves, living as Christ. That is our ministry, be it witnessing to unreached people groups in hostile spiritual environments or serving other believers in our 'safe' church body. Regardless of where we follow Christ, our lives as Christians should be marked by our unselfish, generous lives which serve as a witness for those who do not know. I had an old friend tell me, "As mama Teresa says, 'It's not so much where you are that matters, but what you're doing there.'" So, I guess the challenge to us - as missionaries now - is the same as every other Christian: Are we living in submission to Christ's broader call... denying ourselves and following Him?
I really appreciate this post. One of the admission essays at Denver Seminary is to write about our "call" into ministry and I spent probably half of it writing about how we all have the call when we become Christians.
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