{"id":9899,"date":"2021-02-10T08:30:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T13:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/?p=9899"},"modified":"2021-02-10T11:21:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T16:21:18","slug":"13-reasons-we-say-no-when-asked-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/?p=9899","title":{"rendered":"13 Reasons We Say \u201cNo\u201d When Asked to Go"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Shane Bennett<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Back in the day, both sets of my grandparents, newly married, attended a missionary revival meeting in their native Dover, Delaware. The preacher was fiery, and the call ignited in their hearts. At the end of the week, they packed their meager belongings in caskets and sailed with the tide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All four of them succumbed to disease before they\u2019d learned the language, seen the first convert, or had children of their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking: \u201cHey, wait a minute, Buddy! They didn\u2019t really pack their stuff in coffins!\u201d You\u2019re right, they had Samsonite like everyone else (sans wheels, though!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this story is not true. But it hearkens back to the day I imagine mobilizing for missions was simpler, more direct, with a much shorter on-ramp. \u201cThe Bible says it! The heathen need it! Let\u2019s do it!\u201d That must have been nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Teacher in Ecclesiastes 7 says, \u201cDo not say, \u2018Why were the old days better than these?\u2019 For it is not wise to ask such questions.\u201d I suppose he\u2019s right, the grumpy old man!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I\u2019d rather ask this question anyway: If someone who loves Jesus hears a kind and thoughtful invitation to devote their life to cross-cultural work in another country, what are some of the most common hurdles that will quickly emerge in their minds?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My personal data may be tainted by the years I\u2019ve spent pondering this. So I reached out to friends on Facebook. See the post<\/a>. Many generously responded. No question is perfect and mine may have missed by a mile, but aside from those trying to correct it, the responses are helpful and provide a window into how people see the invitation to join God in his global purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reasons may seem familiar. Luke mentions<\/a> some of them when listing responses Jesus heard when he said, \u201cFollow me.\u201d Mobilizer extraordinaire Todd Ahrend says he has heard some of the same excuses going from campus to campus<\/a> over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Facebook friends don\u2019t reflect everyone, but they\u2019re probably a good cross-section of churchgoers in the U.S. If you ask your average \u201cpal in the pew\u201d to consider becoming a missionary, odds are good a negative response will be undergirded by some combo of these 13 reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. I tried it. Didn\u2019t work.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This touches me deeply. One friend said, \u201cWell, I tried and the church wouldn\u2019t send me, so.\u201d Of course, there are some candidates even the most wild-eyed mobilizer wouldn\u2019t want to endorse. People living a double life. People who don\u2019t know the Bible from a beanstalk. But I wonder sometimes if our bar is set too high and our categories too stringent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. My spouse is not down for it.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An easy excuse? Possibly. But it\u2019s also a reality for many. There is no \u201cwayback machine\u201d on marriage, so let\u2019s be careful not to water seeds of discontent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What about my kids?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It can be crazy hard to imagine taking kids into another, often poorer, culture. I\u2019ve been there. One friend said, we \u201cdecided we will wait until our kids graduate.\u201d On the flip side, there\u2019s a long list of benefits to taking kids to other cultures. But to be honest, the benefits are paid for in tons of work and no small amount of risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. What about my family?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One friend imagined \u201cthe guilt of taking my toddler away from both sets of grandparents who waited so long to experience this role and close relationship.\u201d Another shared how she served as the main caretaker for an aging parent. Jesus talked about loving him more than family, but also had things to say about honoring those so close to us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. I\u2019m not equipped.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up being told I was worthless.\u201d Though buried deep, that shame still manages to exert a sneaky influence on us. Alternatively, we recognize capacity in our lives but have concluded it\u2019s not what\u2019s needed for mission work. We\u2019re not very spiritual. We don\u2019t know the Bible like Beth Moore. Try as we might, we struggle to be kind and good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. I\u2019m too old.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This used to be a better excuse than it is today. Old people rock in many parts of the Muslim world. But old people are often tired people. I get that, though surely not as well as I\u2019ll get it in ten years. And let\u2019s be honest, \u201cold\u201d is not entirely based on chronology. There must be a dozen other factors determining our \u201coldness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. My health issues say no.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From chronic disease to food intolerance, many of us struggle with situations that would be exponentially more difficult and embarrassing to deal with in a different culture. The world\u2019s getting friendlier in this regard, but challenges remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. I\u2019m not going to raise support.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ah, this is a classic one, isn\u2019t it? Usually, it can be cloaked in one of the reasons above, but some are as honest as my good bud who said, \u201cFundraising makes it a non-starter for me.\u201d For most of us reading this, support raising is still intrinsically a part of missions. And it\u2019s still painful for most of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. I\u2019m not called.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The second classic! I love how an uber-cool pastor friend of mine responds to this, \u201cIt isn\u2019t the only way to serve God and his Great Commission. Don\u2019t wait for some magical call. Rather, I would say that every believer should give themselves completely to the Lord and his authority and his biblical callings and get fully engaged in God\u2019s kingdom project. Then see where he leads you, wherever that might be, even if it means staying where you are or going overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. I\u2019m doing the thing God\u2019s called me to and it\u2019s here.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard not to be zealous when you really want to see the Great Commission completed. But it\u2019s true: God doesn\u2019t call everyone to be a missionary to the unengaged. While we all should hold our vision and assignment with open hands, we mobilizers should not be guilty of dissing everything that\u2019s not our thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Better to support and pray for indigenous workers.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s data to support this idea. But there\u2019s also a big God who can use anyone anywhere and seems to find fun in doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Everywhere is a mission field.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Missionaries earn a special badge for keeping their smiles on when a pastor follows their message with, \u201cBut really we\u2019re all missionaries in our homes, neighborhoods, and workplaces.\u201d We dare not deny God is at work all over, using his followers in a myriad of ways. That said, I love what my friend Jay asserts: \u201cThe mission field is foreign, cross-cultural work. It\u2019s difficult and taxing work, unique work, sacrificial work. I think we dishonor those cross-cultural workers when we don\u2019t distinguish their work from Christian work in one\u2019s own culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. I don\u2019t love people enough to make that sacrifice.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I appreciate this honesty. How many of us value comfort and security over the riskiness of following Jesus into unknown territory? Most, I suppose. Let\u2019s be honest about it. Without condemning, let\u2019s take a deep, long look, allowing the grace of a good God to do its work on our guarded souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d love to hear what you\u2019d add to this list. You\u2019ve most likely heard (and used?!) additional reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, to be clear: I don\u2019t mean to mock anyone for feeling and thinking what they do. I don\u2019t know their path. I have no idea, usually, of the battles raging behind the shield of their church smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I do want to change a few minds and open up the possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that end, I need to understand and connect. As Bren\u00e9 Brown reminds us in this cute, but potent little riff on empathy<\/a>, being next to someone in their hassles, issues, and excuses spawns connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May God give us grace to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen intently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote Jesus carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenge boldly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love relentlessly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Shane Bennett Back in the day, both sets of my grandparents, newly married, attended a missionary revival meeting in their native Dover, Delaware. The preacher was fiery, and the call ignited in their hearts. At the end of the week, they packed their meager belongings in caskets and sailed with the tide. All four … Continue reading 13 Reasons We Say \u201cNo\u201d When Asked to Go<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practical-mobilization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9899"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9907,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9899\/revisions\/9907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}