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About C4USM
The Center for U. S. Missions
is a partnership between The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS)
World Mission, Concordia University Irvine, and the North American
Mission Executives of the LCMS. It provides research and training for
mission work among unevangelized people in the United States. We are
Christ-centered, mission-driven and service-oriented. |
Contact Us
Center for U.S. Missions1530 Concordia WestIrvine CA 92612-3203Phone: 949-854-8002 x1780Email:
office@centerforusmissions.comWeb:www.c4usm.com |
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"Sending Out Workers, Not Professionals"
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By Mike Ruhl
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 There are
times when I am struck by simplicity. Such a
moment came while reflecting on a familiar mission text in Luke 10:1-3, "After this the Lord appointed seventy
others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place
where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, 'The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into his harvest.'"
The word
laborers (or ergatai in the Greek
text) refer to people who are actively engaged in labor and work.
It is
significant to me that so few people in our culture want to do actual labor. We hire immigrant workers
with strong work ethic to do much of the actual laboring for us. The cultural
transition from the agricultural age to the industrial age to the information
age may have contributed to this de-emphasis of labor and hard work. We
call it 'working smarter instead of harder' ... but for some that mantra has
become doing less and expecting more. And even in our churches, too many saints
see their discipleship as being a 'consumer of religious goods and services', not
working at transforming lives.
I am
blessed to spend a lot of time with church planters. And I have yet to meet a successful
church planter who is not a true laborer, working hard and investing long hours
in the mission field. They push doorbells. They hustle to initiate
relationships with the unchurched in order to have opportunity to share the
Gospel. They create missional web sites. They train and equip the saints for Missio Dei (not only congregation
maintenance). They create 'net fishing events' at their churches in order to reach
out to their communities. They live on the edge in terms of commitment and work
ethic. People see them hard working as they labor in both the vineyard of the
Church and the mission field of the marketplace. In fact, many of them are
marginal workaholics by some standards. But they do not sit and wait for the
telephone to ring or the inbox to swell before working up a spiritual sweat.
A
wide-ranging study on American religious life finds that the Roman Catholic
population is shifting out of the Northeast to the Southwest, that the
percentage of Christians in the
United States has declined from 86% in 1990 to 76% in 2008, and that mainline
Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians) have dropped over 17% over
the last seven years from just over 17% down to 12.9% of the US population.*
Now,
granted, being 'struck by simplicity' is not the same thing as
oversimplification. Perhaps the time has come for the church to send laborers instead of professionals with theological degrees.
The arm-chair
attraction model of missions is not Kingdom-effective. Missions is hard work
and hard labor - balanced by the joyous fulfillment of seeing men, women, and
children brought into the arms of Jesus Christ
for time and eternity - all in response to the active, intentional witness of
the Word.
Such work
is the ultimate 'work stimulus package' of the Holy Spirit. Our gracious God
has already made provision for igniting, supporting, and expanding this all important
labor.
So, let
us get to work in Jesus' name.
Rev. Michael Ruhl is the Executive Director for the Center for U.S. Missions.
*Zoll,
Rachel; "More in U.S. say they have no religion"; Orange County Register; March
9, 2009.
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Discuss this topic in our blog
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Click here to add your thoughts about this topic.
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Questions for Reflection
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- What's your church's work ethic in relationship to the harvest?
- What is your church's strategy for reaching new people with the gospel?
- How much of your church's time, energy, resources, and money, are being invested in the harvest?
- How much of your church's pastor's time is spent amongst the unchurched?
- What "net fishing" events does your church do to engage its community?
- How does your church measure its effectiveness in the harvest?
- What one thing will you do to help your church be more effective in the harvest?
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News From The Center
BENEDICTUS,
GLENN LUCAS
Please join all of us in giving thanks to God for
the life and mission training ministry of Rev. Glenn Lucas, who will be leaving
the staff of the Center for United States Missions, effective April 1, 2009.
Glenn has served faithfully, professionally, and effectively in his ministry
with the Center, commencing in August, 2005. We are mindful especially of
Glenn's excellent work in training church planters, assessing church planters,
training churches to plant new churches, training new district mission executives,
and his incredible grasp of 'mission technology'. Blessed be God for Glenn's
ministry among us.
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 C4USM Connections
C4USM Connections is our new e-newsletter sent out periodically. It is designed to keep you informed about the training, research, and resources offered by the Center for U.S. Missions. Click here to subscribe.
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Mission Moments is a monthly electronic newsletter sent by the Center for U.S. Missions to bring information and encouragement to all who desire to share God's great love in Jesus Christ with others. Permission is given to copy this article for distribution within your congregation or organization. Please credit the author and the Center for U.S. Missions. The Center for U.S. Missions provides research and training for mission work among unevangelized people in the United States. A partnership of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) World Missions, Concordia University in Irvine, California, and the North America Mission Executives of the LCMS, the Center serves all Christian denominations. Center for U.S. Missions 949-854-8002 x1780; office@centerforusmissions.comMike Ruhl, Executive Director, mike.ruhl@cui.eduGlenn Lucas, Director of Training; glenn@pastorg.comMichelle Connor, Coordinator; michelle.connor@cui.edu |
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