Your Voice

By Karen O. Allen
Birmingham, Ala.

The singing softened. I curiously looked at the guitarist. He walked over and whispered in my ear that the Indian people wanted to hear me sing.

Not only had I learned a song in Assamese, but I was playing it on the harmonium, an instrument used in the Indian culture.

I pressed through my overwhelming emotions to sing as requested, realizing that perhaps many in the room were unfamiliar with the “Probhu” of whom I was singing.

The mission of sharing God’s love burned in my heart.

Missions heart

Missions has been part of my life since I was a child. Involvement in missions organizations and summer camps was as normal as riding a bicycle. Hearing the fascinating stories from missionaries was as mesmerizing as magic tricks. “I want to be a ‘missionary teacher’ when I grow up,” I told my mom.

We recognize Matthew 28:19–20 as the Great Commission. The other gospels have a version as well.

Simply stated, the Great Commission is the instruction Jesus gave to His disciples to spread His teachings to all nations. Nobody knows who coined the term “Great Commission,” but every believer knows the key to its success is the power of the Holy Spirit.

Go, baptize and teach

The basic elements are go, baptize and teach. As I examine those three verbs closely, I discover five spiritual truths that rouse my sleepy soul.

No. 1: I am a missionary.

The Great Commission leaves no room for negotiation. It is a requirement to intentionally engage in sharing the good news. The command is directed to every follower of Christ. And since I am a follower, I should view myself as a missionary.

No. 2: The presentation of the gospel is only a partial fulfillment of the Great Commission.

I once thought evangelism qualified as complete fulfillment, but no. The command is not obeyed until disciples are made.

No. 3: By making disciples, we are multiplying and perpetuating the gospel to every people group in every nation.

Jesus could have said to disciple all “men,” but He said to disciple all “nations,” which includes people groups with the same language and culture regardless of geographical location. More than 3,000 unengaged, unreached people groups exist. Multitudes have yet to hear the name of Jesus. Taking the gospel to the entire world is the most important task Christians face.

No. 4: Teaching must include all the things Jesus taught.

Jesus taught His disciples by example. He taught such things as healing the sick, feeding the poor, forgiving the offender and ministering to the outcasts and widows. He also taught His disciples about raising the dead. We should teach the miraculous things, too, and always through the leading of the Holy Spirit.

No. 5: Learning lessons from   Jesus’ example is not enough.

Obedience and righteous living must correlate with the lessons learned. One can learn theory to play the piano, but one cannot play a tune until that theory is applied.

I never imagined my dream to be a “missionary teacher” would become a reality. I admit it wasn’t the way I imagined at age 7, but here I am at age 60 having served as a youth leader for a missions organization, gone on many short-term missions trips, been involved with efforts to minister to an unengaged, unreached people group and now writing for a missions publication.

I’d say the Great Commission has shaped my life in exciting ways.

EDITOR’S NOTE — Read Karen Allen’s full article at tabonline.org/continuing-call.

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TAB board member

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Client coordinator

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I just love serving and being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Cheryl Wood
Volunteer, Colorado Baptist Disaster Relief

As a church, you want to so impact your community that if you were to close your doors, the people in your community would scream and holler.

Steve Pearson
Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Faith doesn’t mean I know where I’m going; it means I’m trusting God with wherever He’s taking me.

Mike McClure Jr.
Birmingham, Ala.

I’ve had the privilege of spending time with persecuted believers in Asia. Any contrasts in how they pray versus how many pray in the West?

They deeply REVERE God. Many of us seem CASUAL with God.

They consistently pray for the IMPOSSIBLE. Many of us seem SAFE and REASONED.

They pray for POWER in PERSECUTION. We pray for “God to be with us” in the church business meeting.

They CRY OUT in prayer FOR the lost. We CRY OUT in prayer when WE have loss.

They pray on WAR FOOTING. We pray from LUKEWARM HEARTS.

As we lament the moral shifts taking place in western culture, wed with the awareness that to be a convictional Christian now brings persecution in the west, perhaps it is time to consider that persecution may be a much needed gift to a western church that is very, very, ill.

“There is a revelation of Jesus that the persecuted church knows that the prosperous church will never know.” — Mark Nysewander

Paul Lawler via Twitter

No matter how many Scriptures you can quote, if you can’t love and treat people right what good are they? A good gift and great knowledge mixed with a nasty spirit is still a hot mess.

At some point, what we say must be followed up by what we DO. The question is, how are we loving others?

Pastor Jarman Leatherwood
House of Hope and Restoration
Huntsville, Ala.

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From the Twitterverse

@Blackwell_Kevin
God’s ultimate goal is not for us to be healthy, happy and full. His highest goal is for us to be holy, joyful and hungry.

@BillyGraham
“You can use your tongue to slander, to gripe, to scold, to nag and to quarrel. Or you can bring it under the control of God’s Spirit and make it an instrument of blessing and praise.

@Jeff_Iorg
The focus of pastors and other ministry leaders is not doing all the ministry but equipping their followers to do ministry, creating strategies to use them effectively and celebrating their combined success.

@DannyAkin
When people who know you best are the ones who love you the most, that tells me something about you. When people who don’t know you don’t like you and speak unkindly of you well, that tells me something about them.

@Brook_Hills
Praise God for lovingly calling us to faith in Him. Thank Him for the salvation He has worked in each of our lives. Ask Him to grow us in mercy, peace and love. Pray for God to grant us courage to stand and contend for our faith.

@MichaelHyatt
So many of us have settled for what is, rather than what could be.

@waderials
“‘The Lord told me’ is no substitute for ‘the Bible says’”! — Voddie Baucham

@edstetzer
“Preach the gospel, die and be forgotten.” — Count Zinzendorf

@brocraigc
“The judgmental heart owns a hundred microscopes and no mirrors.” — Gunner Gundersen

@MattSmethurst
Genesis ends with Joseph’s death. Deuteronomy ends with Moses’ death. Joshua ends with Joshua’s death. Gospels end with Jesus’ resurrection. And that changes everything. —@TonyMerida