Send out your… wait, did you say “dead” or “best”?

Posted by Alan Knox on Dec 22, 2011 in blog links, missional | 1 comment

Felicity at “Simply Church” is at it again in her post “They dirty secret of missions.”

Most of the post is a quote from Rick Wood, editor of Missions Frontier magazine. In the quote, Wood laments that many of the “missionaries” who are sent out by churches and organizations have very little (or no) experience actually discipling other people.

But, then, Felicity asks two pointed questions and makes an astute observation:

Will we in the simple/organic church do any better? The church in Antioch sent out their best when they sent out Paul and Barnabus. Are we training up people who can make disciples and start churches in our own context before we send them out onto the mission field?

We’ll never know whether or not Paul and Barnabas were “the best” in Antioch. However, we do know this: Paul and Barnabas were already serving others in Jesus name when God and the church in Antioch sent them out. (See Acts 13:1.)

I especially like Felicity’s second question. We begin by recognizing that God is sending all of his children out – whether across the street or across the globe.