This is the fifth article in a series based on the book, Detours: 10 Roadblocks to the Great Commission, by Paul Seger. Real pastors were asked, “Why would a church NOT want to send missionaries from their congregation?” “Detours” explores the roadblocks these pastors have experienced and seeks to provide solutions for the church to fulfil this vital role in the Great Commission.
5-1/2 – Minute Read
Anyone in a leadership position for the first time will encounter situations they have never faced before. Successfully navigating these situations requires careful consideration, research or study, and counsel from those who have been there before. But as is often the case, leaders are thrown into new circumstances regularly, and may not know where to turn. Sometimes, some unique dynamic or missing information makes the experience ambiguous and uncomfortable. A leader will either become acutely aware that they “don’t know what they don’t know,” or (even worse) they will move forward in confidence with a knowledge base that is lacking. Pastors in our think tank mentioned this as one of the common reasons they aren’t training leaders and sending out missionaries. They didn’t know they were supposed to do this, and no one taught them how. There was an assumption that sending a missionary was good if it happened, but pastors did not see this as an integral part of their job description. Yet there is a cost to having to say, “I didn’t know” in ministry and missions.
KNOWLEDGE IS JUST THE FIRST STEP
A typical seminary education focuses on theology, exegesis and homiletics. The emphasis of Western education (which is based on the Greek model) is on content, not as much on skills development. You can graduate in the Greek education model because you acquired enough information. It is possible to secure your degree from a Bible college but not know how to preach, evangelise, counsel, teach, perform weddings or funerals, lead a church or administrate communion. Our educational system focuses more on the mind and less on the heart or the ministry skills.
Knowledge, however, is a stepping stone. It is not an end unto itself. The purpose of knowing is to “do,” not just to “know.” James warned against just acquiring information without doing something with it:
Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do (James 1:22-25).
Paul also warns of the danger of pride when merely acquiring knowledge without application. In 1 Corinthians 1:8, he tells us that knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
KNOWLEDGE IN ACTION
Ephesians 4:11-12 articulates one of the key components of the pastor’s job description – equipping the saints for ministry. In this passage, the job description is about ministry skills, not knowledge alone.
The Western (or Greek) education model revolves around knowledge in a formal, institutional setting. It is typically conducted in a classroom with a set curriculum, lectures that last 45 minutes, accreditation and finally, graduation. The Eastern (or Hebrew) approach to education was that you were not considered educated unless you could do something with what you knew. Information was a pathway to being and doing. Greeks would ask questions about God to know the answers, and Hebrews would ask questions about God to know Him. Greeks would learn through listening, while Hebrews would learn by doing. Western education is training for service, while Eastern education is training in service. For example, if the goal is to teach about Mormonism, the Western approach would be to have a series of lectures. The Eastern model would tell the student to find a Mormon and seek to evangelise him. When that happens, the student begins to understand what he doesn’t know and is highly motivated to learn. Additionally, he is learning to minister to someone, not just to get a good grade.
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES
The apostle Paul used the Eastern approach when he grabbed Timothy at the beginning of his second missionary journey and invited him to accompany him. Education took place on the fly as they did ministry together.
Jesus also took this approach with his disciples. Instead of spending three years lecturing, Jesus took them with Him as He did ministry. Periodically, He would send them out on assignments. At times, they would return rejoicing over success, but other times, they would return humiliated by failure. The lecture would typically come after attempted ministry, not before.
HEAD, HEART AND HANDS
Be assured that Bible colleges and seminaries should be highly valued and are a tremendous asset to the church. We greatly benefit from the scholarship and academic excellence. I’m not arguing AGAINST formal institutions of education but rather for adding local church training and pastoral mentoring. We need BOTH Eastern and Western models of education. Perhaps doing more church-based training would increase enrollment at Bible colleges since we are building a learning culture into our churches. This article is a plea to pastors to recognise the value of the strategic nature of their participation in training people for ministry.
This is also an urging to do all three facets of training concurrently. In other words, it is not the head first, then later the hands and heart. They all interact with each other in the educational process and should be done simultaneously. Approaching it otherwise is like sending a head off to college to sew it back on the body to develop hands and heart later. There is a synergy that takes place when all three happen at the same time.
I remember a moment in one of our think tanks where a pastor suddenly realised that accepting this idea would radically change his ministry. He confessed that he spent most of his time at a computer monitor. Training leaders would mean getting out of the office to do ministry side-by-side in real life with real people in real time. It may be that “I didn’t know” is a valid excuse . . . until now.
MISSIO-IGNORANCE
In addition to simply not knowing that training and sending missionaries is part of the job description, there is a general lack of knowledge about missions. Missions-minded seminary professors have frequently grieved that it is next to impossible to get missions courses into the curriculum for pastoral training. Most Bible colleges require that pastoral students take an “Introduction to Missions” course, but that is about all the formal education on the subject.
This is a bit incongruous since the Great Commission is THE mission, the main agenda, of the church. It should be the outcome of local church ministry. It should be the overall purpose and driving force of church ministry. Besides this, missions has often been on the leading edge of theological rabbit trails and compromise. The missions world has driven much of the ecumenical movement. The gospel, simple and clear, has even been distorted or redefined first in the missions world. Pastors must be educated, invested, and engaged in this topic to train leaders and missionaries to hold to the truth uncompromisingly.
CLOSING THE GAP
An abundance of resources is available to pastors who want to wrestle with missions issues. Some seminaries have added degree-level work on international ministries. Organisations like MissioNexus provide many resources for learning about missions and contemporary issues. Every pastor would benefit from subscribing to the Evangelical Missions Quarterly. Thousands of books have been written about missions and missionary work. With these resources readily available, opportunities abound to fill the knowledge gap. You don’t have to look back and say, “I didn’t know.” You can walk forward well-informed to teach, train and raise up the next generation of leaders who will take the gospel to every nation.
As a missions organisation, we’re dedicated to supporting local church leaders as they meet this challenge. We have seasoned missionaries with rich field experience who are ready to serve you, assisting through free workshops, speaking opportunities, training sessions, or mentoring as needed. Contact Us to learn more, and let’s get the conversation started!
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