Missionary or Ministry?
This Friday, Jan 20th, the movie End of the Spear opens in limited theaters (www.endofthespear.com). It tells the story of five missionaries (including Jim Elliot) who 50 years ago gave their lives attempting to bring the gospel to the most violent tribe ever documented by anthropologists – the Waodani tribe in the Ecuadorian jungle. While these men were killed in their attempt, their families carried on their mission, converting the tribe so that they became one of the most loving and peaceful. The story continues to this day, with some of the children still living with the tribe that killed their fathers. I would urge all age-appropriate Christians to attend this movie (it is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence) not only to be inspired but also to send a message to the movie industry. However, my purpose for writing this morning goes much deeper. Anticipating this movie has moved me to think about mission work and ministry
Sadly, many Christians view “mission work” as the responsibility of only those select few who are “specially called” or gifted for such work, or of full-time evangelists. We also usually think of mission work as going to foreign fields for a temporary period ranging from a week to a few years before coming home again. The English word “mission” itself does suggest this, as it comes from the Latin missio, which means to “send” or “send away”. In this sense it is more akin to the Biblical word apostle, meaning “one sent”. This word does usually refer to a specially chosen group – the twelve apostles of Christ. However, it also more broadly describes anyone sent on any mission, such as the “messengers (Gk. apostles) of the churches” in 2 Cor 8.23 who carried a contribution to Jerusalem. Another word that could be translated “mission” in the New Testament is the Greek diakonia, which means “ministry, office, service”. In the NASB diakonia is translated “mission” only in Acts 12.25, referring to the mission of Paul and Barnabas in taking a contribution from the disciples in Antioch for the relief of the brethren in Jerusalem. More often, however, this word is translated “ministry” and is used very broadly to describe any service performed by Christians.
Why am I bothering to go into all this technical stuff about Greek words? My purpose is to get us thinking about our role as Christians. Most Christians tend to leave “mission work” to others. If they are mission-minded at all, it is most often in terms of staying home and helping to financially support those few who are willing to be “sent out”. But perhaps we ought to rethink this. Granted, not everyone can “go”, even if the “Great Commission” of Mt 28.18-20 clearly applies to everyone. I think a lot more people can go on at least temporary missions than are actually going. And they would find nothing more rewarding or exciting. But whether or not you want to be a missionary or do mission work, you ought to devote yourself to ministry. Ministry doesn’t require going anywhere. It doesn’t necessarily require any unique, specialized skills or training. It can and should be done by every Christian all the time. It doesn’t require an organized program or necessarily any money. What it requires is devotion. The entire household of Stephen in Corinth had “devoted themselves for ministry to the saints” (1 Cor 16.15). Ministry is a lifestyle. We all have various unique talents, skills, abilities and opportunities which can be used in ministry (cf. Rom 12.5f; 1 Cor 12, etc.). So go see the movie End of the Spear and get inspired to devote yourself, if not to mission work, then to the work of ministry.
© 2006 Randy Hohf