CHAPTER 78
Apostolic Ministry in the Twenty-First Century
Rick Love
Rick Love served for over 25 years among Muslims. He specialized in leadership development, coaching faith-based organizations in cross-cultural communication, and Christian-Muslim relationships. He was the author of two books and numerous articles.
Adapted from “Blessing the Nations in the 21st Century: A 3D Approach to Apostolic Ministry,” International Journal of Frontier Missiology 25, no. 1 (Spring 2008).
Who can doubt that it’s time to rethink our models of “apostolic” ministry for the twenty-first century? Notice that I use the term “apostolic” rather than the broader and more baggageladen terminology of “mission.” I define the term “apostle” as a cross-cultural disciple-maker serving in a pioneer context—a “sent one” who helps form communities of Jesus’s followers where Christ is not already named.1
Serving in a Changing World: Terrorized, Globalized, Pluralized
Three massive global trends have profoundly been changing our world: terrorism, globalization, and pluralism. They radically impact how we live, think, and communicate in the twenty-first century.2 They also challenge our traditional ways of doing apostolic ministry internationally.
Terrorist attacks in recent years have deeply marked this generation. Only a few decades ago, few people outside church circles were interested to know what Christians were doing in the Muslim world. But now anyone living or working among Muslims is of interest—either because of their roles as cultural bridge-builders or because they may be perceived as agitators who threaten national interests. International media are curious about their part in the supposed “clash of civilizations” between Muslims and the West.3
Terrorism is not the only thing that makes apostolic ministry more challenging. We live in an interconnected, globalized world.4 Perhaps the most powerful and relevant example of this is the internet search engine “Google.” Type in a few words about anything and you can get a string of articles and information in seconds. In this “googleized” world, whenever we describe who we are, or what we do, or
why we do it, our words move quickly beyond our intended audience and enter the huge global marketplace of ideas.
The third trend, pluralism, refers to the convergence of different ethnic, religious, or political backgrounds within one society. Terms like “Eurabia” or “Londonistan” highlight the influx of Muslim cultures into Western societies. In the not-too-distant past, the world was neatly divided into sending countries and “mission fields.” This is no longer true. Significant populations from every major bloc of unreached peoples are living now in the nations that have been historically missionary sending countries. Of course, the nearness of the unreached world presents a wonderful opportunity to expose unreached people to the gospel. But that same proximity means that dual identities of cross-cultural workers—recognized as missionaries by sending churches at home but by their tentmaking identities in other lands—are often exposed to the new global realities.
Here are some examples of the challenges cross-cultural envoys face in our current world:
- A seminar about Islam at an Australian church encourages church members to love Muslims and reach out to them in friendship. Some verses from the Qur’an were read, describing how Muslims are instructed to treat women and infidels. Recent Australian converts to Islam are in attendance. They press a civil suit against church leaders under new “hate speech” laws. The pastors are convicted of “vilifying Islam.”
- A leader in a faith-based organization serving Muslims allows a freelance journalist to attend a seminary course he is teaching. A negative, inflammatory article results. The article is translated and reprinted throughout the Muslim world. He is invited to respond to the article in venues such as The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, and 60 Minutes, but is unprepared for such high-profile media attention. As a result, a community development NGO in an Islamic country is exposed as being connected to this same faith-based organization.
- A family serving in a Muslim country returns home for a season. They attend an event for international students sponsored by their home church. At the event, students from the same Muslim country were introduced with great enthusiasm by a member of the “missions committee”: “We would like to introduce you to our missionaries to your country!”
True Identity with a Triple Audience
The interconnectedness of our globalized world means that we are increasingly challenged to do three things simultaneously: to present the gospel (in our primary setting, to the unreached community), to defend the gospel (to the secular world listening in) and to recruit for the gospel (within the church). In our modern world, it is impossible to communicate with any one of these audiences separately. What we say in one setting will eventually be heard or read around the world. In the past we may have been able to restrict our message to a particular audience, but no longer. What is spoken to one audience is overheard by others. Since we can no longer present a different message or persona for each different audience, we must have the same message and personal identity as if we had a single combined audience. Three questions will help us deal with the complexity of multiple audiences in our globalized world: How will we frame our message? How will we express our intentions? And how will we present our identities?
A Core Message
By “core message” I mean the irreducible gospel message that is conveyed to all three audiences: to unevangelized people, to a suspicious onlooking secular world, and at the same time, to sending churches. We will invariably communicate contextualized applications of our core message to each respective audience, but our contextualized messages will always reference our core message. We need to identify and be clear about this core message.
One of the greatest ways to discern the core message of your life is to answer this question: What message am I willing to die for? In my case, I would rather not die for being affiliated with a mission agency or for my country’s foreign policy. Frankly, I am not willing to die for the religion of Christianity. But by the grace of God, I would be willing to die for Christ and for the right of everyone to know of Christ’s love.
Google-Proof Transparency L. Mak
L. Mak served for nearly 10 years in a restricted-access country teaching in a university setting. He currently serves in higher education primarily in Europe and East Asia and is involved in equipping and mobilizing cross-cultural workers, organizations, and churches.
While I was teaching at a university in a “restricted access” country, a non-Christian friend met with my wife for Bible studies over a two-year period. Toward the end of this time, the woman said to us, “My friends tell me that you are missionaries, but I keep telling them that you’re not.” Intrigued, I asked her why she felt this way. Her answer stunned us, “You cannot be missionaries because you love God and love people.”
Why was she so sure that we were not missionaries? Could it be that missionaries in that setting were regarded as those who corrupt children, in addition to destroying local culture and social structure?
Around the same time, a friend from home urged me to “google” my name. I was shocked to find myself described as a missionary in more than one place on the internet. A teenager who heard me teach at a church had written this on his web diary. A well-meaning church, where I had spoken once, had also posted this on their website.
Initially I thought I might lose my job. But what concerned me more was the question: If my friends, students, and colleagues see me described as a “missionary” on the internet, would it draw them closer to Jesus? Or would it raise mistrust and turn them away? This highlights how our interconnected world can express our identity in ways that may weaken the credibility of our message.
Most would agree that the internet will get increasingly more powerful. More information will be more readily available to people everywhere. How will we respond? Sending churches and agencies may need to use new words to describe those they send. Dual or bivocational identities may be increasingly difficult to maintain. Establishing credibility as people who love God and people is crucial. Of critical importance is integrating or “singularizing” one’s identity as a Christ-centered educator or businessman, etc., especially before our home and host cultures. May this result in Christ being boldly communicated through word and deed as His glory is reflected through excellence in our vocation.
Our core message may be articulated in diverse ways. For example, Jesus adapted His message of the kingdom of God in different ways to His different audiences. Jesus was able to say of His message, “I have spoken openly to the world . . . I said nothing in secret” (John 18:20 NIV). In the same way, we can adapt to our audience, as long as everything we say fits with our core message.
While this is difficult, it is possible, and I believe it is necessary in the twenty-first century. Recently I spoke at a church about what God is doing in the Muslim world. While my focus was on encouraging and challenging Christians, I did my best to communicate in a way that would be sensitive to a secular or Muslim audience. After my message, a Muslim who happened to be visiting the church came up to me and said, “Thank you so much for your word this morning. This message needs to be heard throughout the United States!” That experience and many others have helped me to develop an awareness that I may be, at any time, addressing multiple audiences.
A Core Mandate
Historic missions tended to describe their work using military metaphors and triumphalistic slogans. Such metaphors and slogans can shape how mission workers view the people to whom they are sent. It’s not helpful to describe the people or places where missionaries are sent as “targets.” Warfare imagery may subconsciously lead us to perceive unreached people groups as the “enemy.”
I think the scriptural theme of “blessing the nations” could be the best way to describe our core apostolic mandate.5
The mandate to bless the nations began with Abraham. God’s promise to bless all nations through Abraham (Gen 12:1–3; 18:18; 22:18; 26:4; 28:14) provides the biblical foundation and the proper heart attitude for ministry. Here we find God’s loving purpose to bless all nations. Here we see God’s global purposes for humanity.
In the Old Testament, “blessing” refers to God’s gracious favor and power bestowed on those who respond to Him by faith (Gen 15:6; Ps 67). The blessing of His favor draws us into relationship with Himself, resulting in peace, well-being, and salvation. The blessing of His power affects the practical realities of every dimension of life. Thus, blessing is both a relational term and a power term.
I think the scriptural theme of “blessing the nations” could be the best way to describe our core apostolic mandate.
This promised blessing finds its fulfillment in Christ.6 In Christ, we find the fullness of God’s loving favor. In Christ, we discover the demonstration of God’s liberating power. Paul highlights the relational and powerful dimensions of blessing in Christ most explicitly in Galatians (Gal 3:5, 8–9, 14).
Implicit in the Abrahamic blessing, we find our mandate as well as our message. Paul makes this clear in Galatians 3:8 (NIV), “Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’” Thus, our core message of the blessing which is in Christ aligns with our core mandate to bring Christ’s blessing to all nations.
A Core Identity
Anyone involved in apostolic endeavors faces identity issues, especially those who work in contexts that are hostile to the Christian faith. In the past many of us felt we could successfully live in two worlds with two identities. To our sending churches we are usually known as missionaries, but in the cross-cultural ministry context we are business people, educators, relief workers, or “tentmakers” of some sort. The tension of maintaining this dual identity has been heightened due to the interconnected world in which we live.
One high-profile example demonstrates this inability to maintain two identities: Two American women were kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2001. After a dramatic release, they told a television reporter that they were aid workers, yet the global media immediately broadcast a prayer card that identified them as missionaries. The two worlds collided.
Such a dual identity results in low-grade anxiety for some who feel as though they are hiding their true identity in order to declare the truth about Christ. Nagging fears of appearing to be dishonest can muddle anyone’s conscience and gradually erode boldness to share the gospel. A dual identity reflects not only a split personality but a split spirituality—a false understanding that spiritual aspects of our life or our work are more important than the practical parts of life.
No matter what role apostles take in order to bless the communities where they live, they need to be able to fulfill that role with heart-felt integrity: “I am an English teacher-apostle for the glory of God.” “I am a businessman-apostle for the glory of God.” “I am an aid worker-apostle for the glory of God.” Their identity remains the same among all three audiences.
An integrated identity worth living for means that we have an alignment between our motivation, our tentmaking role, our personal gifting, and our apostolic calling. In other words, moved by the love of Christ, we seek ways of living and serving that fit how God has made us and that allow us to carry out our apostolic calling with full integrity. Wisdom is still required! “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col 4:5–6 NIV).
Where is the line between integrity and discretion? God’s wisdom is needed to discern this. Jesus had a core message He was willing to die for: the kingdom of God. The way He described Himself and His work varied, though. It depended on the context and the people He addressed. Following His example and heeding His exhortation, we need to be wise as serpents but innocent as doves (Matt 10:16). Walking in integrity does not require us to reveal every aspect of our lives to everyone we meet. But in the end, we must remember that Jesus did die for His message.
The type of core identity mentioned above has eluded many modern apostles for multiple reasons. Old-fashioned missionary paradigms, dualistic views of the spiritual life, distorted views of tentmaking, and inadequate training are the most obvious hindrances. All of these need careful thought and attention.
Changes Ahead
I’ve gone through some changes over the past decades. Learning to communicate a core message and a core mandate in a Christlike manner to any of the three audiences at all times is challenging. I’ve found that it demands change, not merely in my “wording” but also in my “being.” My organization made some significant changes as well, far beyond the obvious switches in vocabulary on the website. We’re going to need to retheologize and reorganize for apostolic work in the twenty-first century.
RETURN TO LESSON 11: Building Bridges of Love
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As Unknown, Yet Well-Known: Commending Ourselves as Servants Bob Blincoe
Bob Blincoe is president emeritus of Frontiers USA. He moved to northern Iraq following the 1991 Gulf War and is the author of ethnic realities and the Church: Lessons from Kurdistan.
I moved to Northern Iraq—”Kurdistan”—in 1991 following the first Gulf War. We were welcomed into a Kurdish neighborhood as though we were liberators. We set about doing what we could to improve the Kurdish people’s lives. Soon, that meant vaccinating the sheep and goats that were still alive after the uprising. But from Baghdad, the Iraqi government made plans to make us sorry we had ever left America. Saddam Hussein shut down the electricity in Northern Iraq for the next four years. Then explosives were planted in the United Nations offices. Was it time to for us leave? One night Samir, one of our Iraqi employees, didn’t come home. His job was to travel by car to Mosul, through Saddam Hussein’s checkpoints, and purchase the live-stock vaccines that we needed. Samir’s wife came to tell me that Iraqi secret police had jailed him and threatened to kill him unless he agreed to take a bomb and plant it at my home. He told the police, “I won’t; I’m a Christian.” The police said he had no choice and told Samir to take an explosive device. Samir came straight to me, white as a sheet, and told me everything. Because his life was in danger on account of me, I arranged for him and his family to leave Iraq and move to Australia.
What to do next? I called a meeting of the men in my neighborhood. I opened my heart to them, asking, “Maybe I am making your lives more dangerous; do you want me to leave?” They protested loudly that they wanted us to stay and that they would protect us. I was deeply touched. From that day local men began to patrol our street. From then on, the outcomes that we most desired—opportunities to bring the kingdom by word and deed—multiplied. We hired one hundred Kurdish veterinarians and sent them out two by two. They began to vaccinate up to five thousand animals a day. The flock and herds increased all over Kurdistan. Milk, cheese, and meat became part of everyone’s diet once again. In partnership with many other kingdom-minded people, we were present “at the creation” of the Kurdish church. For example, one day we went down to the river with a drummer and music and watched the first Kurdish believers in one town baptize a dozen more. Sometimes God just wants us to be amazed that He does more than we can ask or imagine.
Because we had always been straightforward about our identity as servants of Jesus Christ, the Kurdish movement to follow Christ was not an entire surprise to the community as it gradually became known.
The Kurdish community surrounded us with their protection because they felt they knew us well. Our work among them had proven that our intentions were indeed for the good of the Kurdish people. Because we had always been straightforward about our identity as servants of Jesus Christ, the Kurdish movement to follow Christ was not an entire surprise to the community as it gradually became known. In the language of Paul in 2 Corinthians 6, we had commended “ourselves as servants as unknown, yet well-known” (vv. 4, 9) We were “unknown” to those of Saddam’s regime who wanted us killed, but to our Kurdish friends who received us we were “well-known “
Notes
1. For an excellent summary of apostleship, see Daniel Sinclair, A Vision of the Possible: Pioneer Church Planting in Teams (Waynesboro, GA: Authentic Media, 2005), 1–14.
2. Two other massive global trends that affect the expansion of God’s kingdom are beyond the scope of this paper: the rise of the church in the Global South and postmodernity.
3. See Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Viking Press, 1997). I disagree with many points in Huntington’s book, but his thinking is influential and worth noting.
4. Thomas Friedman’s The Lexus and the Olive Tree and The World is Flat are two of the best books available about globalization.
5. See Rick Love and Glen Taylor, “Blessing the Nations and Apostolic Calling in the 21st Century” (2007). A paper available through Frontiers.
6. The New Testament describes the gospel in terms of blessing in five passages: Acts 3:25–26, Rom 4:6–8, Gal 3:8, 14, and Eph 1:3.