18 May Just Down the Street
Throughout the years, I have had several opportunities to travel overseas and to participate in “mission work”. Those opportunities to engage in ministry within a different culture have brought immeasurable amounts of growth to my personal walk, and, Lord willing, have helped to bring life-change to some of our brothers and sisters around the world.
This past fall, as I prepared to spend 6 months in Kenya, I experienced a certain level of role confusion as I shared my plans with other Christians. I can’t tell you how many times someone said to me, “Oh, you’re going to be a missionary?What a special calling.”…Or something to that extent. Comments like those have always made me uncomfortable; I didn’t feel special at all. Mostly, I just felt the need to be obedient.
When it comes the the Lord’s work, we all have specific roles to play that are dependent on our strengths and our season of life. However, we each have a role. Some roles require more responsibility or accountability (James 3:1), but being truly “missional” is not a job reserved for the spiritually elite.
Perhaps this idea is such a challenge to us because, as a culture, we don’t truly understand the concepts of seed-planting. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul uses the analogy of farming to discuss the variety of roles that are a part of ministry.
It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers. 1 Corinthians 3:7-9
I know for me, the analogy of farming and growing doesn’t necessarily resonate in my heart. I have tried to plant and grow things a handful of times in my life, but I have never encountered long-term success. And the little flower pot on my window sill doesn’t exactly require the amount of maintenance that would involve a variety of people in a variety of functions. (Although, maybe if I involved more people, my little plants wouldn’t shrivel up and die quite so quickly!)
The point is, in a largely non-agricultural society, this analogy of planting, watering and growing is a bit lost on us. The real heart issue that Paul is addressing here is the Corinthians’ habit of elevating the roles of different ministers within their church. Even today, we have a tendency to do this. We often save ministry for the professionals and full-timers, and we are content to remain on the sidelines and watch them work. But in reality, we each have a part to play.
We often save ministry for the professionals and full-timers, and we are content to remain on the sidelines and watch them work.
The longer I stayed in Kenya, the more I came to understand this. The fact is, when I was living there, I was still doing life in the same way. Sure, there were some things that were different, but at the end of day, I was responsible for influencing my co-workers and my neighbors for the gospel. There was nothing fancy or terribly strategic about what I was doing; I was simply living life alongside others.
I began to see that I have spheres of influence that I’m responsible for regardless of my current location. And I began to understand that those spheres actually don’t look very different from place to place.
There are a handful of people that we each interact with on a regular basis. Aside from our families, we connect regularly with others at work, at the gym, or at the local coffee shop. We run past the same homes each morning, and maybe even smile and wave to the same old lady across the street each day as we come home from work. We are influencers. But are we leveraging this influence that has been entrusted to us?
Door-to-door evangelism probably isn’t the answer. You don’t have to leave a tract with the barista every morning as she hands you your coffee. Yet there is a responsibility for us here; not a responsibility to lead each person we interact with to Christ. But rather, a responsibility to demonstrate Christ well to those who are watching. Like Paul says, one plants the seed and another waters- you may never know your role in this dynamic of seed-planting.
We are influencers. But are we leveraging this influence that has been entrusted to us?
[tweet this.]
However, we cannot shy away from the influencing opportunities the Lord has put in front of us. For me, there was a time when that influence was meant to be leveraged in a different cultural context; that’s what was in front of me. You may never spend longer than a week in a different country, and that’s ok. It’s not the location that makes the missionary.
The message that we have is one of light and truth; a message meant for the world and not only for our own consumption. The world is in your own backyard. It’s the grumpy neighbor who never mows his lawn. It’s your child’s teacher at school, the young teen who sits behind you at church, and your favorite server at your favorite restaurant.
The message that we have is one of light and truth; a message meant for the world and not only for our own consumption.
[tweet this.]
It’s as simple as striking up a conversation- as easy as knowing someone’s name. There’s a world out there that needs to be influenced by the gospel, and it’s just down the street.
-Megan Gaminde