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Called and Confirmed The Church Discerns Missions · Reformed Thinking

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43%, I mean that is almost half. It really is a staggering
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number. Clearly half of all long term
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missionaries pack up their lives, cross an ocean with, you
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know, massive zeal, and end up coming home prematurely.
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They return burned out, unsupported, and just broken.
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Welcome to reformed thinking. Thanks for having me, this is
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such a critical topic. In today's deep dive, we are
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looking at why solitary zeal is basically a recipe for disaster.
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We are going to examine the genuine nature of a missionary
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calling and figure out how we fix a broken system.
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Right, because that statistic alone should completely alter
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the way we view global missions. When we hear that 43% attrition
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rate from organizations like the Association of Baptists for
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World Evangelism, we really cannot just shrug our shoulders.
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No, we absolutely cannot. We are talking about families
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who have sold their homes, raised thousands of dollars and
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moved across the globe only to watch their entire vision
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collapse. It is heartbreaking, and for
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this deep dive we are pulling insight from a stack of weighty
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theological texts. We have an essay titled Called
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and Confirmed the Church Discerns Missions along with a
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dogmatic treatise titled Is God Calling me to Missions?
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The indispensable mark of ecclesial and godly
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confirmation. Those are fantastic sources,
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very rigorous. The mission for our conversation
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today is straightforward. For you, the listener, We want
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to completely dismantle the modern romanticize idea of The
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Lone Ranger missionary. You know the type we're talking.
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About Oh yeah, the rugged individualist.
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Right. The person who just goes out and
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conquers the spiritual wilderness alone, armed with
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nothing but a Bible and a subjective feeling.
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We need to reconstruct a robust, historically grounded
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understanding of how the Holy Spirit actually utilizes the
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physical, visible local church to test, ordain, and send
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laborers into global ministry. To do that, we first have to
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well diagnose the underlying sickness in the modern
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evangelical landscape. The text we are looking at point
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to a dangerous trend that has taken root over the last century
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or so. What kind of trend?
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We have seen the elevation of the solitary subjective impulse
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above the objective physical order of the local church.
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What happens is that a young man or woman feels a raw,
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sentimental zeal for global missions.
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OK, that makes sense. They might read a thrilling
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biography of a historical figure like Adoniram Judson, or they
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might watch a highly produced video about unreached nations.
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Suddenly, they experience a massive surge of adrenaline and
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emotion. And to be fair, having a strong
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emotional reaction to the lostness of the world is a good
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thing. I mean, we want people to care.
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We want people to feel that burden.
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Absolutely. The desire itself is entirely
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valid. A hard heart toward the nation's
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is a tragedy, but the danger arises in how that individual
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interprets their emotion. How so?
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Well, these young men and women frequently claim an
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unchallengeable direct word from heaven or an internal impression
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that bypasses any external earthly scrutiny.
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They rely entirely on that subjective feeling to justify a
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move to the mission field. So they are essentially
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operating in a vacuum. Spun on, they operate under a
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hyper individualistic paradigm. They presume that the Holy
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Spirit operates primarily in the isolation of the human heart,
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completely detached from the localized, visible body of
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Christ. I want to visualize what this
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actually looks like in a practical setting for our
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listeners. You end up with a scenario where
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individuals treat the local congregation like an ATM.
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Yeah, that is a great way to put it, an ATM.
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They walk into a church building on a Sunday morning.
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They set up a, you know, a glossy trifle display board in
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the lobby. They stand up in front of the
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congregation, give a highly emotional 10 minute
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presentation, ask everyone to sign up for a monthly financial
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pledge, and then they leave. That is an incredibly accurate
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depiction, the current system driven by this mystical or
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sentimental zeal. These individuals view the local
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church simply as a passive wallet to fund their personal
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ambitions. Which is such a low view of the
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church. It really is.
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They do not view the Church as the authoritative embassy of the
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Kingdom of God. An embassy has the right to
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evaluate, test and even say no to the plans of its citizens.
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Right, an embassy has actual authority.
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But in this modern framework, the Church is stripped of its
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authority. The candidate basically says,
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God already told me to go. Your job is just to write the
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check. And the real world consequences
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of that mindset bring us right back to that staggering 43%
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failure rate. When an individual bypasses the
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structural oversight of a local church, they are removing their
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own safety net. Yes, the text argue that a
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massive portion of this preventable attrition stems from
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a failure to cultivate a deep structural partnership with a
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primary sending local church before setting foot on foreign
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soil. That structural partnership is
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key. Very much so.
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When individuals go out as independent entities, they lack
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an anchored network of local church elders, prayer warriors
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and structural shepherding. Without those things, they
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easily collapse under the weight of financial shortfalls, marital
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strain and deep emotional isolation.
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Because it is incredibly hard out there.
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It is brutal. They do not have the shock
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absorbers of a local congregation to sustain them
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when the highly romanticized vision of missions collides with
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the harsh reality of cross cultural ministry.
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It sounds like someone trying to launch a high stakes
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multimillion dollar startup and actively refusing to have a
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board of directors. They desperately want the
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venture capital money, but they absolutely refuse the oversight,
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the audits or the accountability.
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That is a perfect analogy. But let me press you on this
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because I know what a lot of listeners might be thinking
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right now. Let us be brutally honest for a
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second. Well, let us say you have a 22
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year old guy who wants to go to a highly restricted nation in
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the Middle East. OK, sure.
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He brings this to a board of elders.
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Often these are men in their 60s who are looking at spreadsheets,
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balancing church budgets and thinking about risk management.
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If they tell him to wait, or if they say no, are they doing that
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out of spiritual wisdom or are they just operating out of
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earthly financial fear? How does this system of
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requiring committee approval not just extinguish radical faith
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and replace it with middle class safety?
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That is the most common objection raised against
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ecclesiastical authority and you know it is a completely
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understandable fear. Human leaders are fallible.
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Elders can be short sighted. Yeah, they are just men after
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all. A committee can absolutely
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succumb to a risk averse mentality.
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However, the sources address this head on by pointing out the
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true faith is not a create to presumption.
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The task of missions is a corporate covenantal warfare.
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It is not a solitary crusade. A.
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Solitary crusade. I like that phrasing.
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The modern church has absorbed this idea that the most
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spiritual thing you can do is act on sudden, reckless impulse.
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We equate danger with divine approval, but the biblical model
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is much more deliberate. Sincerity does not grant
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omniscience. Say that again, Sincerity does
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not grant omniscience. That is huge.
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It is a critical distinction. A young candidate may clearly
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see their burden for a specific country, but they are often
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completely blind to their own crippling character flaws.
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So running to the nation's without explicit, sober
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validation is actually an act of presumption, not faith.
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Precisely to run forward without the validation of mature, godly
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counselors exposes the candidate to the deceptive, the flattery
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of their own heart. Yes, the board of elders might
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make a mistake, but the theological reality is that God
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chooses to work through the fallible, visible structures of
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His church to protect His people.
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The alternative, trusting the volatile, unchecked emotional
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state of a 22 year old, is statistically and theologically
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far more dangerous. That reality demands a solution.
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If isolated individuals are failing at an alarming rate, how
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does historic theology actually define a true calling?
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I mean, how do we differentiate between a fleeting emotional
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high and a genuine spirit LED directive to cross an ocean?
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To solve this, the essays introduce a historic Protestant
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distinction that has largely been lost in modern circles.
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We have to separate the calling into two distinct phases.
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OK, what are those phases? The internal call known in Latin
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as vocatio interna and the external call known as vocatio
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externa. Let us break those concepts down
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conceptually. What are the mechanics of the
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internal call? The internal call is the
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subjective desire planted by the Holy Spirit and the mind and
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affections of a believer. It is that zeal when hearing of
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unreached peoples. It is that specific burden to
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cross cultures. It involves A willingness to
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suffer for the sake of the Gospel.
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This is a very real, very vital component.
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Without the internal call, you just have a dry bureaucratic
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institutional assignment. Yeah, you cannot send someone
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into a war zone who has absolutely no desire to be
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there. You.
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Really cannot. Right.
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You cannot force someone to be a missionary purely through
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administrative decree. The fire has to exist inside of
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them. But here is the massive culture
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clash. Think about what modern society
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constantly shouts at us from every direction.
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Oh, it is deafening. Every movie, every self help
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book, every graduation speech preaches the exact same message.
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Follow your heart. Do not let anyone question your
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truth. Ignore the haters and trust your
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gut. We are meticulously trained to
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believe that authenticity means giving absolute authority to our
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internal desires. We are conditioned to view any
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external restriction on our internal desires as a form of
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oppression. But the texts are crystal clear.
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Zeal alone is never a substitute for a true calling.
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That is a hard pill for a lot of people to swallow.
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It is the human heart is precious, but according to the
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prophet Jeremiah in chapter 17, verse 9, the heart is deceitful
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above all things and desperately sick.
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Who can understand it? Therefore, an inward impression,
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no matter how intense, remains a mere claim until it is
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systematically tested. That is where the external call
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enters the picture. The external call is the formal,
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authoritative validation by the local church and its ordained
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officers. It is the objective recognition
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of the subjective desire. I want to read a striking phrase
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from the text that perfectly captures this tension, the
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author writes. To refuse counsel is pride
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dressed in zeal. To demand universal approval
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before obeying is cowardice dressed in caution.
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That is a brilliant distillation of the two primary ditches a
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candidate can fall into. So let us talk about those two
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dishes. The first error is mystical
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presumption, that is the pride dressed in zeal.
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The person thinks I had a dream or I felt a shiver during a
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worship song. So I do not need anyone else's
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input. I have met that guy.
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We all have. The second error is unbelieving
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rationalism. This happens when a person is
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paralyzed. They will not take a single step
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forward unless every single person they know gives them a
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standing ovation and guarantees their absolute physical and
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financial safety. And that is the cowardice
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dressed in caution. Spot on.
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The historical biblical path cuts right down the middle.
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It is prayerful, church governed, scriptural and
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obedient. OK, so if making plans in a
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vacuum is doomed, we need to look at how God actually
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established this system. This requirement for objective
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external validation brings us to the ancient wisdom of the Old
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Testament. Yes, let us look at the Old
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Testament model. Let us look at how God set up
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counsel for His covenant people during the United monarchy of
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Israel. We are talking specifically
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about Proverbs chapter 15, verse 22.
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The historical context of the Book of Proverbs is crucial for
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understanding why this matters. These wisdom writings were
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compiled during the zenith of Israel's power, primarily under
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King Solomon. Right, a time of massive growth.
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Exactly, or rather absolutely, this was a period characterized
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by intense structural consolidation.
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Israel was no longer a loose band of nomads wandering through
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the desert. They were a highly organized
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Kingdom. They had borders, courts,
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administrators, yes. Wisdom, or chokma in Hebrew was
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not treated as an esoteric, mystical experience meant for
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hermits living in caves. It was a practical, relational
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reality deeply embedded in the public life of the community.
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So it was not about retreating to a mountaintop to hear a
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silent voice in the wind. It was a public necessity for
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the survival of the nation. Correct.
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The historical setting of Israel's monarchy demanded
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administrative order, judicial precision and spiritual
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fidelity. To act apart from the Council of
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the Elders was associated with the folly of Pagan nations.
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Because the Pagan nations operated differently.
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Very differently, the surrounding Pagan cultures
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relied upon solitary diviners, individual Mystics, and
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subjective omens to make decisions.
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But in the covenant community of Israel, God's wisdom was
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mediated through the organic structure of elders, judges and
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priests who suited the city gates.
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That is a huge contrast. It is when we read Proverbs 15
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verse 22, we are not reading secular corporate management
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advice from a modern CEO. We are reading a covenantal law
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designed to protect the people of God.
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Let us get into the actual mechanics of the verse.
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Irise. Without counsel, plans fail, but
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with many advisers, they succeed.
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The essays provide a rigorous breakdown of the original Hebrew
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text to show just how weighty this concept truly is.
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Let us start with the word translated as counsel.
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What is happening in the original language?
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The Hebrew text uses a highly specific noun here, sod, while
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modern English Bibles frequently translated simply as counsel.
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It's semantic range is far more intimate and authoritative.
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So it's not just casual advice. Not at all.
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In ancient Near Eastern context, a sod referred to a very tight
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circle of close, trusted advisors or even a divinely
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convened counsel. It implies a setting of
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confidential, rigorous and highly honest deliberation.
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OK, got it. The author deliberately chose
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this word over the more common Hebrew word for general advice
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or casual opinion, which is ETSA, let.
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Me, make sure I understand the distinction.
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ETSA is like leaning over the fence and asking your neighbor
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what they think of your new landscaping ideas.
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It is casual. It has no stakes.
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Yes, perfect example. But Saud is walking into a
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boardroom with seasoned experts, locking the door and asking them
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to audit. Your entire life, your finance
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and your character. That is a phenomenal way to
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illustrate the difference. By choosing the word SOD,
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Solomon highlights that the plans of an individual must be
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brought into an intimate, structured assembly of mature
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covenant partners. Which requires a lot of
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vulnerability it. Requires total vulnerability.
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These partners must possess the authority in the relational
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capital to speak deep, unvarnished truths into the
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candidate's life. You cannot receive saw it from a
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stranger on the Internet. You receive it from people who
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know you intensely. The text then contrasts 2
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entirely different outcomes based on 2 entirely different
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approaches. Let us talk about what happens
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to plans that avoid this intimate council versus plans
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that submit to it. The Hebrew text sets up a
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perfect binary opposition. The first part of the verse
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states that plans made in the absence of an intimate council
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are structurally destined to be frustrated, broken, or made
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void. The word for that is happer.
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Right. Yes, Happer.
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The core idea is that human plans have no intrinsic
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stability. If you build a plan in
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isolation, the very foundation is cracked and.
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The opposite. In direct contrast, plans
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submitted to a multitude of counselors are established.
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That word is Taco. They're made to stand firm.
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Their endurance is structurally dependent upon the external
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framework of collective deliberation.
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If you want your mission to survive the brutal realities of
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the field, it must be established by the brethren.
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OK, so Solomon sets up this incredible safety net of
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counselors for ancient Israel, but does that Old Testament
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bureaucracy actually survive the explosive spirit LED border
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breaking era of the New Testament?
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That is a fantastic question. We need to look at a city where
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everything was chaotic and rapidly expanding.
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Let us move the time line forward to the 1st century
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church at Antioch. We are looking at Acts chapter
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13 verses one through 4. This passage is a massive
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literary hinge in the biblical narrative.
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Prior to this passage, Luke's historical account in the book
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of Acts focuses primarily on the localized ministry of Peter and
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the early development of the church in Jerusalem, Samaria,
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and coastal Judea. So it was very localized.
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Yes, but Chapter 13 marks a grand transition.
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This is the pivotal moment where the gospel shifts from a
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localized Jewish movement to a global Gentile mission.
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Luke's deliberate literary purpose in placing this
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narrative here is to establish a permanent normative paradigm for
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how the Gospel is to be carried into new territories for the
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rest of Church history. We really need to ping a picture
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of Antioch for the listener because it was a fascinating
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place. It was not Jerusalem.
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It did not have the ancient cobblestones at the Temple or a
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monolithic Jewish culture. No, it was a totally different
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environment. Antioch was allowed mixed urban
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outward facing metropolis in Syria.
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It was a place where Jews and Gentiles were hearing the same
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gospel side by side. The city was characterized by
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intense Pagan idolatry and moral degradation, but the church
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planted there was incredibly robust.
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And that robust nature is highly evident in its leadership
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structure. The text lists the prophets and
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teachers present, Barnabas, Simeon who is called Niger,
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Lucius of Cyrene, Manaean and Saul.
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Just looking at those names displays the incredible
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diversity of the Antioch Church. Absolutely.
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You have men from different geographic regions, different
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racial backgrounds, and completely different social
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histories. This diversity proves that the
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mission to the nation's is not entrusted to an isolated dreamer
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sitting in a room alone. It takes a community.
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Right. The mission is discerned within
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a spiritually serious, highly gifted collective body of
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leaders. Let us dig into the Greek
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grammatical structure of this passage because the texts spend
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a significant amount of time proving that missions must be
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church governed. Based on the specific words Luke
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uses, verse 2 sets the scene. While they were worshipping the
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Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said.
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What is the significance of the word worshipping in the original
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language? The Greek word utilized there is
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leiter guntam. In classical Greek society, this
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term referred to public civic service performed a great
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personal expense. Like funding a public building
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or. Something yes, like that.
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However, in the biblical context it denotes priestly liturgical
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ministry before the Lord. The leaders at Antioch were not
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casual. They were not hurried.
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They were not just hanging out. No, they were not intoxicated
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with pragmatic techniques or church growth strategies.
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The use of this specific word indicates that the very first
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global missionary call was birthed within a structured,
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solemn environment of corporate devotion and priestly ministry.
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So this global mission was born out of intense structure
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devotion to God, not a pragmatic brainstorming session where a
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committee was looking at global demographics, unreached people
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groups and market strategies. Precisely.
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Their primary attention is Godward before it ever becomes
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outward. The texts argue that a church
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that is fascinated with human needs but not captivated by God
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will eventually devolve into a mere humanitarian organization
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rather than a spiritual sending body.
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That is a brilliant point. The Antioch leaders were
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ministering to the Lord and in that posture of submission, the
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directive came. And then the Holy Spirit
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actually speaks into that environment.
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The Spirit commands set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul for
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the work to which I have called them.
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Let us talk about the Greek word for set apart.
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The verb used there is afrazate. It means to separate by drawing
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a visible boundary line. It implies marking someone off
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from a larger group for a specific holy destiny and the.
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Grammar of that word is important, right?
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Crucially important, the grammatical form here is an
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aerist active imperative. This indicates A decisive,
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highly authoritative command given directly to the church
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leaders. Now this is the part that
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completely shatters the modern Lone Ranger paradigm.
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The Holy Spirit did not tell Barnabas and Saul to set
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themselves apart. That is the most critical
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observation we can make from this text.
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The Holy Spirit does not bypass the leadership.
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He does not whisper in Saul's ear.
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Go draw a boundary line around yourself, pack your bags and
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leave. He commands the existing church
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officers to perform this boundary drawing act of
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ordination. The Church itself is the active
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agent commanded to do the setting apart.
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The subjective internal calling of the Spirit is inherently
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bound to the objective physical ordination performed by the
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local church. And then we see the physical
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manifestation of that command in verse 3.
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The text says. Then after fasting and praying,
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they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
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The essays highlight the specific word used for sending
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them off. What are the mechanics behind
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that word? The original language does not
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utilize a generic verb for sending, which might just refer
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to a simple change of geographic location, like telling someone
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to walk to the next town. Instead, Luke utilizes a highly
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specific term, a play stand that carries the legal and semantic
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weight of a former release of authority.
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It signifies a transfer of ministerial custody.
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A transfer of custody that is heavy.
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It is very heavy. The physical act of laying out
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of hands was a visible, tangible manifestation of the transfer of
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spiritual backing. By laying their hands on
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Barnabas and Saul, the elders were marking these men as the
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official certified representatives of the Antioch
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church. I want to give the listener a
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modern equivalent to understand the weight of this.
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It is the difference between a guy printing his own business
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cards in his basement, buying a plane ticket and claiming to be
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a global ambassador versus a seasoned diplomat receiving
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official state credentials, A diplomatic passport, and full
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financial and military backing from their national government.
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Pat paints the picture perfectly.
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The first guy in his basement might be incredibly enthusiastic
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about foreign policy. He might read books about it all
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day long, but he carries absolutely no authority.
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When he speaks, he speaks only for himself.
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The second guy, the diplomat, carries the full weight,
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authority and resources of a nation.
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That is an exceptional analogy. The missionaries from Antioch go
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forth not as independent rogue agents, but as formal
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ambassadors of the church. They are fully subject to its
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spiritual oversight and they benefit from its full
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protection. They are not out there alone.
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No. Furthermore, the biblical text
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stresses a double sending that we must recognize.
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In verse 3, Luke records that the church sends them.
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Then immediately in verse 4, Luke clarifies that they were
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sent out by the Holy Spirit. We have two distinct sendings
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happening simultaneously. The human confirmation is the
22:37
physical instrument of the divine agent.
22:40
The Church sends and the Spirit sends.
22:43
In the biblical world view, there is absolutely no
22:45
contradiction between those two realities.
22:47
The first sending is visible and earthly.
22:49
The second sending is ultimate and divine.
22:51
The people today try to separate those.
22:54
They do. The modern hyper individualistic
22:57
mind desperately wants to force a choice between institutional
23:00
confirmation and spiritual calling.
23:02
We think that if an institution is involved, the spirit must be
23:06
quenched. But Scripture outright refuses
23:08
that false dichotomy. The church is the instrument.
23:12
The Spirit is the divine agent. The missionary is not merely
23:15
well, the missionary is not simply approved by a human
23:17
board. He is genuinely sent by the
23:19
Spirit. Yet he is not sent by the Spirit
23:22
in contempt of the church. He is sent by the Spirit through
23:25
the obedient physical confirmation of the Church.
23:28
OK, we need to take a massive step back and connect all of
23:31
this to a much larger theological reality.
23:34
This level of Church authority, this requirement for external
23:37
validation, is not simply about maintaining administrative order
23:41
or creating ecclesiastical bureaucracy.
23:44
No, it goes much higher than that.
23:45
The texts we are studying make a weighty argument that this
23:49
structure actually points us directly to the character, the
23:51
authority and the person of Jesus Christ himself.
23:54
We are stepping into the realm of Christological fulfillment.
23:58
Every single thread of biblical wisdom we have discussed so far,
24:01
you know the necessity of counsel and proverbs.
24:03
The church governs sending in Antioch, the transfer of
24:06
authority. All of it finds its dynamic
24:08
beating center in the person work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
24:11
Submitting your life and your plans to the local congregation
24:15
is not just a matter of following rules.
24:17
It is an active demonstration of submitting to Christ.
24:21
Let us look back at the book of Proverbs for a moment.
24:24
Christ is the supreme fulfillment of all Solomonic
24:27
wisdom literature. Right, he is greater than
24:30
Solomon. Yes, the prophet Isaiah declared
24:32
that the coming Messiah shall be called wonderful counselor or in
24:36
Hebrew, Paleoez. This title indicates that Jesus
24:39
himself is the divine source of all true wisdom, counsel, and
24:43
direction for the universe. He is the ultimate embodiment of
24:46
that intimate divine counsel we talked about earlier, the Saud
24:49
Yahweh. Yes, He's the only begotten Son
24:51
who has dwelt from all eternity in the intimate, perfect counsel
24:55
of the Godhead. And what is truly fascinating is
24:57
how Jesus operated during his physical, earthly ministry.
25:00
How did he operate? He was God in the flesh, yet He
25:04
did not act on his own private, subjective impulse.
25:07
In perfect, beautiful submission, Jesus repeatedly
25:11
asserted to the crowds that he did nothing on his own
25:13
authority. He stated that He spoke only
25:15
what the Father had commanded him to speak.
25:18
Christ himself modeled the perfect submission of earthly
25:21
plans to the ultimate council of heaven.
25:23
That is a staggering thought. If the perfect, sinless Son of
25:27
God submitted His plans and His words to the Father, how much
25:31
more should we, with our deceitful and easily manipulated
25:34
hearts, submit our plans to the council He has provided?
25:37
It really puts our pride into perspective.
25:39
And we have to answer the question, how does Jesus
25:42
actually provide that counsel to us today?
25:44
He's not physically sitting in the room with us.
25:46
He operates as King by mediating His rule through the physical,
25:50
visible structures of His blood bought church.
25:52
As our great High Priest, Christ has ascended into the heavenly
25:55
sanctuary. From that position of absolute
25:58
authority, He has poured out His Holy Spirit upon the Church.
26:01
The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians that Christ gave gifts
26:03
to men, specifically naming pastors, teachers, and
26:06
evangelists. Real, physical people.
26:08
Yes, He gave these physical leaders to the Church for the
26:12
equipping of the Saints and the building up of his body.
26:15
The King of the Universe does not rule his people chaotically.
26:19
He governs through means. What kind of means?
26:21
He uses the preaching of the word, corporate prayer, fasting,
26:25
the oversight of ordained leaders, and the collective
26:28
wisdom of local congregations that guide his sheep.
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Let me synthesize this for the listener, because this is the
26:34
core of the entire issue. If you feel a burning desire to
26:38
go to the mission field and you actively reject the examination,
26:41
the questioning, and the potential delays imposed by your
26:44
local elders, you aren't fighting against human
26:46
bureaucracy. No, you are not.
26:47
You are actively rejecting the practical, shepherdly care of
26:51
Jesus Christ. You're essentially saying I
26:53
gladly accept Jesus as my Savior who forgives my sins, but I
26:56
completely reject Jesus as the King who placed these specific
27:00
fallible men in my life to guide me and tell me no.
27:02
That is the precise theological reality of the situation.
27:06
When a missionary candidate humbly submits their subjective
27:09
calling to the rigorous examination of local church
27:11
elders, they are not simply jumping through institutional
27:14
hoops. They are submitting to the
27:16
active kingly rule of Jesus Christ Himself.
27:19
By honoring the church, they honor the head of the church.
27:22
Spot on. By tethering the missionary call
27:25
to the authority of the local church, we honor Christ as the
27:28
true head of the Church. We recognize that the Great
27:31
Commission was not handed out to a bunch of isolated individuals
27:34
to figure out on their own. The Great Commission was
27:36
entrusted to the corporate body. Understanding this heavy
27:40
theological weight, we have to transition to the intensely
27:43
practical side of this process. How does a candidate actually
27:46
execute this in the real world? That is where the rubber meets
27:49
the road. If a listener realizes they need
27:51
a multitude of counselors, who specifically should they be
27:55
asking? The text provide a highly
27:58
practical framework for testing an internal calling.
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They detail the five pillars of godly counselors.
28:04
Let us break down the specific profiles needed to create a
28:07
genuine protective sod. The first pillar is the veteran
28:11
practitioner. This is someone who has
28:13
personally endured the grueling Crucible of foreign missions.
28:17
They have been deployed. They have lived through the
28:19
exhausting, agonizing process of language acquisition.
28:23
They know the struggle first hand.
28:25
They absolutely do. They have faced intense
28:27
spiritual warfare on the front lines.
28:29
Their primary role in the council is to systematically
28:32
dismantle the candidates romanticized, highly unrealistic
28:36
expectations. They provide raw, unvarnished,
28:40
practical counsel regarding the brutal realities of the field.
28:44
They asked the logistical and psychological questions that
28:46
young idealists completely overlook.
28:48
OK, the veteran provides the reality check.
28:51
Then we move to the second pillar, the intimate observer.
28:53
The text defines this as parents, siblings, pastors, or
28:57
lifelong friends. Now I have to bring up the
28:59
greedy pushback on this one. Again.
29:00
Let us dig deep into the psychology here.
29:03
I know where you're going with this.
29:04
If my goal is to get a completely objective theological
29:08
evaluation of my readiness for the mission field, why on earth
29:11
would I ask my mother or my childhood best friend?
29:13
Are they not going to be massively biased?
29:16
It is a fair question. A mother might think her child
29:18
is a flawless St. and encourage them blindly.
29:21
Or conversely, a mother might be terrified of losing her child to
29:25
a dangerous country and try to sabotage the entire process just
29:28
to keep them close to home. How is this person a reliable
29:32
pillar? You're hitting on the exact
29:34
reason why the intimate observer cannot be the only person you
29:37
ask. They absolutely possess
29:39
relational bias. Yeah.
29:40
However intimate observers are utterly crucial to the process
29:44
because they possess something no one else has.
29:46
What is that? They see completely past your
29:49
polished Sunday morning persona. Distend admirers or visiting
29:53
pastors may easily mistake your loud enthusiasm for actual
29:57
spiritual maturity, but your family and your closest friends
30:00
have watched you operate in ordinary, highly stressful,
30:03
unvarnished situations for 10/20 or 30 years.
30:06
So they know what happens when the microphone is off and the
30:08
spotlight is gone. Precisely.
30:10
They know about your hidden character flaws.
30:12
They know if you are drowning in consumer debt because you cannot
30:16
control your spending. They know if you have a history
30:18
of relational instability and burning bridges.
30:20
Ouch. They know if you are
30:22
fundamentally lazy when no one is watching.
30:25
They know if you have explosive anger issues when things do not
30:28
go your way. These are the specific, granular
30:31
character flaws that will cause a catastrophic, highly public
30:35
failure on the mission field. That makes total sense.
30:38
They know if you are too proud to receive basic correction from
30:41
your roommate at home, and if you cannot handle correction in
30:44
your own language, in your own culture, you are absolutely not
30:48
ready to receive severe hearts and in a foreign context.
30:51
OK, let us move to the third pillar, the older generation.
30:55
These are the older Saints in the congregation who have walked
30:58
faithfully with Christ through decades of profound trials,
31:01
immense suffering, and massive societal shifts.
31:04
Now, simply growing older does not automatically guarantee
31:07
wisdom, but a lifetime of faithfulness often produces A
31:10
deeply tested, highly refined perspective.
31:12
They bring stability to the table.
31:14
Yes they do. The older generation provides a
31:16
necessary mature gravitas to temper the raw, highly volatile
31:20
emotionalism of youth. They know that a Sprint of
31:23
enthusiasm is useless if you do not have the capacity for a
31:26
marathon of endurance. The fourth pillar is the Gospel
31:29
Passionate. What is their specific function
31:32
in this Council? These are believers whose daily
31:34
speech and private lives are thoroughly saturated by orthodox
31:39
theology and a genuine zeal for the souls of the lost.
31:43
Their specific vital role in the evaluation process is to ensure
31:47
that all of the candidates proposed methods remain tightly
31:50
anchored to theological fidelity.
31:52
Because the temptation to drift is real.
31:54
It is very real. The mission field is filled with
31:57
pragmatic temptations. The Gospel passionate counselor
32:00
ensures the candidate actually understands justification by
32:03
faith alone. The Ensure the candidate is
32:06
committed to preaching the finished work of Christ,
32:08
actively rejecting secular, pragmatic church growth methods
32:12
or mere humanitarian uplift as a substitute for the actual
32:15
gospel. And finally we reach the fifth
32:16
pillar, the long term faithful. These are the men and women who
32:19
have demonstrated decades of quiet, uncelebrated constancy in
32:23
local church ministry. They are the ones who show up
32:26
early to set up chairs, who teach Sunday school for 20
32:28
years, who visit the sick without ever asking for
32:31
recognition. The unsung heroes of the Church.
32:33
Spot on. Global missions requires dogged
32:36
perseverance far more than it requires A charismatic
32:39
personality. The long term faithful imparts
32:42
the vital secret of endurance. They warn the candidate against
32:46
impulsive, short lived enthusiasm that burns bright and
32:50
fades quickly. When a candidate gathers this
32:52
diverse, highly specific group of counselors, they are forced
32:56
to cultivate a posture of radical, teachable humility.
33:00
If several mature believers independently raise serious
33:03
concerns about your theological understanding, your financial
33:06
debt, or the health of your marriage, you cannot just
33:08
dismiss them as haters or obstacles from the enemy.
33:11
Right, That would be arrogant. God is likely using their voices
33:13
to actively protect you from destroying your own life and the
33:16
reputation of the church overseas.
33:18
But we have to recognize that the burden of proof does not
33:21
rest solely on the shoulders of the individual candidate.
33:24
The institution of the church has a massive non negotiable
33:27
obligation. Here as well, the sources pivot
33:29
sharply to address the immense responsibility placed upon the
33:32
local congregation. Yes, the essay state with
33:36
absolute clarity that congregations must vigorously
33:38
recover their divinely ordained role as the primary centers of
33:42
missionaries. Over the last century, the local
33:45
church has adopted a highly lazy practice of outsourcing its
33:49
missionary responsibility to independent para church
33:52
agencies. They just passed the buck.
33:54
They do. The church writes a check, hands
33:57
over the candidate and washes its hands of the theological and
34:00
pastoral oversight. The texts argue that the local
34:03
body must step back into its rightful place.
34:06
The congregation must identify, train, rigorously test, formally
34:10
ordain, and take full spiritual custody of its workers.
34:13
This sounds like a lot of work. It is a tremendous amount of
34:16
work, but a church that has received the life altering grace
34:19
of the gospel must inherently become a church consumed with a
34:22
responsible advance of that gospel.
34:24
I want to paint a picture of what this actually looks like
34:26
when a church takes this mandate seriously.
34:29
Imagine a local congregation that refuses to just hand a
34:32
generic check to a visiting speaker they met 20 minutes ago.
34:36
OK, let us imagine that. Instead, imagine a church that
34:39
spends 3 to five years actively training a candidate.
34:42
They test the candidate's doctrine in the classroom.
34:45
They observe the candidate's evangelism in the local
34:47
community. They watch how the candidate
34:49
handles conflict within the church body.
34:51
That is thorough. And then, after years of
34:53
verification, the elders gather the entire congregation.
34:57
They physically lay hands on the candidate, formally binding that
35:00
worker to the local body. They publicly declare.
35:04
We recognize the undeniable work of the Holy Spirit and these
35:07
servants. We bless them.
35:09
We deeply identify with their ministry.
35:11
We commend them to the grace of God, and we promise to sustain
35:15
them. That structural reality changes
35:18
the entire psychological landscape for the missionary.
35:21
It changes everything structurally, financially, and
35:24
pastorally. This robust local church model
35:28
is the direct structural antidote to that staggering 43%
35:32
attrition rate we discussed at the very beginning of this
35:34
conversation. Because they have a foundation
35:36
now. Exactly why do nearly half of
35:39
all missionaries come home prematurely broken and defeated?
35:43
Because they go out lacking A foundational covenantal
35:46
partnership. But consider the alternative.
35:49
When workers are deployed with a massive shield of spiritual
35:52
protection, strict covenantal accountability, and ongoing
35:56
structural shepherding from their home church elders, they
35:59
possess the deep resilience required to survive.
36:02
They are not out there hanging by a thread.
36:04
Right when the financial support drops during an economic
36:07
downturn, the church steps in. When emotional isolation
36:11
threatens to crush them in a hostile nation, the Church is
36:13
actively fasting and praying for them.
36:15
They do not run in vain because they know down to their bones
36:19
that they have of the unstoppable force of the Kingdom
36:21
of God behind them. They carry the backing, the
36:24
prayers and the full authority of the blood bought church.
36:27
Let us retrace the path of this entire deep dive to lock these
36:30
concepts into place. We started by diagnosing the
36:33
extreme danger of isolated mystical ambition and the hyper
36:36
individualistic Lone Ranger model that is ravaging modern
36:40
missions. We did.
36:41
We then looked at the historic Protestant distinction between
36:44
the internal subjective call of the heart and the external
36:47
objective call of the Church. We travel back to the Old
36:51
Testament to understand the protective covenantal wisdom of
36:54
the Biblical council found in Proverbs chapter 15.
36:57
And then we moved to the New Testament.
36:59
Right we witnessed the historical New Testament
37:01
paradigm of church governed sending it Antioch.
37:05
In Acts chapter 13. We connected all of these
37:08
earthly structures to the heavenly reality of Christ's
37:11
mediated kingly rule through the elders of His Church.
37:15
And finally, we outlined the highly practical steps for both
37:18
the candidate who must seek out the rigorous evaluation of the
37:22
five pillars of counselors and the local church, which must
37:25
step up and take full spiritual custody of the workers it sends
37:29
into the harvest. The overarching, undeniable
37:31
theme of these texts is that a divine spiritual calling and a
37:35
physical churchly confirmation are not enemies fighting for
37:39
control. They are cooperative friends in
37:41
the wise, sovereign government of God.
37:43
They work together beautifully. They do.
37:45
Godly institutional confirmation is not a bureaucratic human
37:49
obstacle designed to quench the Spirit's fire.
37:52
It is the precise physical means by which Jesus Christ protects
37:56
His bride, humbles his ambitious servants, and successfully
38:00
advances His gospel among the nations.
38:01
I want to speak directly to you, the listener.
38:03
Whether you are currently sensing a desire to move
38:06
overseas for missions, or you are simply a member sitting in
38:09
the Pew of a local congregation that financially supports global
38:13
workers, you have a strict obligation to value objective
38:16
biblical confirmation over subjective, unchecked passion.
38:20
Sincerity is simply not enough. Right.
38:23
Sincerity, no matter how intense, is simply not enough to
38:25
sustain a global mission. The safest, most effective path
38:29
is the path of public prayerful scripture governed confirmation
38:32
by the local body. And if you happen to be that
38:34
specific candidate who has bravely submitted your desires
38:37
to your local elders, and you have received a painful wait or
38:41
a not yet from them, I urge you to receive that answer as an act
38:44
of healthy discipleship. That is a hard but necessary
38:47
word. Wait in humility.
38:49
Study the Word relentlessly, actively kill the pride in your
38:53
heart. Serve faithfully and total
38:55
obscurity right where you are until the Church, under the
38:58
clear guidance of the Holy Spirit, finally says go.
39:02
As we bring this deep dive to a close, I want to leave you with
39:05
a final lingering question to turn over in your mind.
39:09
We have spent this entire hour discussing how the Holy Spirit
39:12
utilizes the physical, visible local church to authenticate a
39:17
missionary traveling thousands of miles to the ends of the
39:20
earth. So here's something to think
39:22
about. How does your physical, visible,
39:25
week in and week out participation in your own local
39:27
congregation authenticate your daily obedience to Christ right
39:31
where you live in your own neighborhood?
39:33
It is a vital question that every single believer must
39:35
answer. Thank you for studying these
39:37
weighty texts with us today. Thank you for joining us on The
39:40
Steep Dive. Keep seeking wisdom, keep
39:42
submitting your plans to Godly Council, and we will see you
39:44
next time.