In This Issue: Common Excuses for Not Getting Involved
- Common Excuses for Not Getting Involved
- Excuse #1 – Local Needs
- Excuse #2 – Limited Resources
- Excuse #3 – It’s No Use
- Rounding Out the Top Ten
- Events – Missions Conferences
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Practical Mobilization by Shane Bennett is published once a month.
Dear Readers,
Since October has five Wednesdays, the crack team at Missions Catalyst realized we had an extra slot in our normal rotation. I asked for the opportunity fill the gap so I could float by you some things I’ve been wondering and writing about lately.
As mobilizers, we’re passionate about inviting people to join in God’s purposes for the planet. If you make a habit of issuing such invitations, though, you’re bound to bump into some of the good reasons people have for not participating – along with a handful of bad reasons (which are really just “excuses” with lipstick).
Here are some of the excuses I’ve been hearing. I’d love to hear your thoughts about them as well.
Cheers,
Shane Bennett
Common Excuses for Not Getting Involved
By Shane Bennett
There’s a Grand Canyon leap of value judgment between labeling something a “reason” and calling it an “excuse.” You know, one man’s “reason” is another man’s “excuse,” and who am I to say which is which? (Unless of course we’re talking about me, then it’s nothing but rock-solid reasons, brother!)
It’s important for us as mobilizers to realize that, while some people might just be making excuses, most are articulating honest thoughts. Let’s honor them by listening carefully and responding with insight and grace.
Now, with that safety net in place, can I carefully step out onto the tightrope of this question: How valid are the common excuses people give for not being more involved in God’s Kingdom among other cultures? Let me float out three that seem to be prevalent and consider each of them briefly from a biblical viewpoint.
Excuse #1 – Local needs: “Why go far away when so much needs done here?”
Do you ever hear people say this? I wonder if we’ll hear it more as we work through the implications of the current global economic situation.
Here’s how I’d respond.
Are there needs in your community? Are there hurting, poor, lost people in your neighborhood? Certainly. Even if you live in the buckle of the Bible belt, you live among lost and lonely people. Is that a good reason to spend our resources only in our neighborhood and cities, and not direct efforts and funds to people living far away from us?
It simply is not. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” I don’t think this verse can be made to say that we’re to be witnesses in this order, and even less, “Do not proceed to Judea and Samaria until all witnessing has been done in Jerusalem.” God uses all of his people all over the place all the time.
There were still many needs in Jerusalem when believers began to fan out to Judea and Samaria in Acts 8:1. Paul, after he began to follow Jesus, could have busied himself with all sorts of good, profitable, and worthwhile work in Jerusalem, or even in the surrounding areas. He didn’t set his heart on Spain (Romans 15:24) because the needs were met all around him, but because his work was in Spain.
Some of us need to work within a stone’s throw of our homes because Jesus is there at work. Some of us need to go where none of us have gone before, because Jesus is there as well.
Does my response make sense to you? Does it hold water? How would you respond to this reason/excuse?
Excuse #2 – Limited resources: “We can’t afford it.”
If ever this was a valid argument, it is today. I’m writing amid news of what may seem the scariest global economic situation since the Great Depression. I wonder how our church will meet its missions budget, and what to budget for next year. As a worker supported by donations, I’m also wondering about my personal funding base.
But even now, this excuse simply does not hold water.
I think this argument usually refers to money. “We don’t have money to give to cross cultural efforts.” It could also refer to people. “We don’t have sufficient leaders to send some far away.” David’s opening line in Psalm 24 seems to torpedo both: “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” All the people. All the stuff. It’s God’s. He’s not worried about running out of either.
Because tossing out Psalm 24, wiping my hands, and walking away feels a little smug and trite, let me add: It is my belief and experience that sharp people and generous financing rally to great vision. If the potential of the thing is huge and fascinating and important enough to us, then yes, we can afford it.
Is this an accurate use of scripture? What are passages would you bring to bear on this excuse? Have you experienced situations in which you would say this excuse was actually a valid reason?
Excuse #3 – It’s no use: “The world’s dying anyway, so why bother?”
God has promised that he’ll be followed by some from every people on the planet. He told Abraham this in Genesis 12 and he showed it to John in Revelation 7:9. From beginning to end we see the relentless work of the Father to gather his wayward kids back home.
If you find in your view of the future the notion that the people of God grow weaker and fewer as history marches on, I contend that the source of your view is a modern and misinformed understanding of where we’re headed, and decidedly unbiblical. If we really think things end up with a faithful (very) few finally getting rescued from the onslaught of godless peoples and cultures, it’s no wonder we don’t rally to global vision and engagement. Huddling and holding on is far smarter.
But that is not the future ahead of us. God told Abraham in Genesis 15:5 his children would be like the stars of the sky and in Revelation 7:9, John said the multitude he saw could not be counted. God’s gathering a great harvest. He is not losing. He is not waiting for things to get bad enough to come and get us. He is keeping promises and gathering followers on a grand scale.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a sophisticated grasp on various views of “end times.” But it is logical that missions vision is squashed by a bleak outlook for the (terrestrial) future of the Church. When we feel as if the Muslims, Maoists, or modernists are taking over, we might naturally be inclined to contract and settle in for a siege, not engage other cultures with boldness and joy.
What do you think? Have you heard this excuse? How would you respond? To what resources would you point me (and others) in order to bolster our understanding of the Church’s future?
Rounding out the top ten…
Here, to round out our top ten list, are seven more reasons or excuses I’ve heard for why people won’t get more involved in missions. Some I think are valid, some not!
4. I’m afraid of people who are different from me.
5. I only feel safe in good old Muncie, Indiana (or wherever).
6. I’m already up to my ears in mission activity.
7. God has not called me to be involved.
8. Aren’t we all really missionaries in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools?
9. Isn’t everything the church does really missions?
10. I really have no idea what God is trying to do or how I might fit into it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on these issues and any others that come to mind.
EVENTS – Missions Conferences
From: Marti Smith, managing editor
Fellow Missions Catalyst staff member Pat Noble and I are part of the mission agency PIONEERS, which is throwing a party in Orlando, Florida right before New Year’s (December 28-31, 2008). Want to come?
Story ’08 will be something like Urbana, but for people of all ages, and a great chance to interact with field missionaries from all over the world. Check it out.
Of course, this requires surmounting Excuse #5 (unless Florida is in your back yard), Excuse #2 (the conference is fairly inexpensive but it will cost some money to get there), and maybe other obstacles as well. Still, anyone working through Excuse #10 (especially) might find it well worth their while. The theme is “find your role in God’s global drama.”
Another event that might interest many of you will take place a few weeks later: It’s the National Short-Term Mission Conference taking place January 23-25 in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the twentieth year of this conference, and they have quite a lineup.
Questions? Problems? Submissions? Contact publisher/managing editor Marti Smith.