A Comment on My “Big Questions” Post

Do you remember my previous post on “big life questions for the Barthel family” like why are we here; where are we going; what is God calling us to do; is it time to move or should we stay where we are, etc. etc.?

Well, I received a number of personal notes in response, but one of them had some thoughts and ideas that I thought you might find particularly interesting/helpful, so I’ve copied them here. I’d love to hear your thoughts too. 🙂

Hope you enjoy!

Yours,
Tara B.

From TS:

“Wow. . .considering big changes (maybe)? I started to respond in the comments, but it was getting ridiculously long and thought email was more the place for an extended comment.

What to do, what to do. . .how to best honor God with our short, precious lives. . .such personal considerations. But since you asked, here’s my little old two cents!

Jesus commanded us to GO with the gospel – to our neighborhoods, towns, regions, and regions beyond. He said the first commandment is to love God wholly and the second to love our fellow man. He said that to follow him is to be emptied of and forsake all else. For any individual Christian or Christian family, doing these things could mean a number of different choices, but for my family, doing this means TAKING THE GOSPEL where there is NO OPPORTUNITY for it to be HEARD or SEEN in the lives of others. It means missions, in the most traditional sense.

Why would we do something like that? Don’t we like living near grandparents, eating our familiar foods, speaking in our native language? Don’t I enjoy my backyard, my 2000 square feet of house, my furniture (well, not ALL of it!)? Aren’t I wild about my church family, my comfortable corporate worship, my easy access to all kinds of fellowship and learning in the Lord? Are we some kind of masochistic maniacs?

You know, I really am thankful, deeply, for all those things. Some days, I just want to applaud the Lord for His blessings. Right now, seeing my list above, I have tears of gratitude for God’s physical, tangible goodness to us. (I didn’t know this was going to upset me!) But, I do know that it is all very temporary and that my life is so short. I think I was eight years old – yesterday! In light of eternity, and in light of God’s love for me, how can I respond?

My area of the country and my state and my city are saturated with opportunities to hear the gospel. I think there are 180 evangelical churches serving our area of 60,000 people. If someone wants to hear about Jesus Christ, there is no lack of opportunity. We are pretty well “huddled up” here with the gospel.

In Europe, there are towns of 100,000 . . .40,000. . .15,000. . .with no evangelical witness. Not a Christian in sight. Most countries are less than 5% evangelical, some less than 1%. Spain is about 3/10 of 1% evangelical. And here’s the kicker — most Europeans won’t go to a church — many for historic reasons (church=government — which often generates some less than favorable feelings). But, the hope is in this – that the Lord WILL see people drawn to him – and that we can be creative in the way that we do “ministry.” Church planting is basically one believer, living out Christ, and befriending one European at a time. Maybe it will grow into a bible study. Maybe it will meet at a bar. Maybe it will meet in a home. Church may be 5 people or 30. But for sure, to be a growing, reproducing community of believers, it won’t look like church as we know it. But if people are coming to Christ, or at least interested (major apathy there), there will be some planting and watering of seeds. And then there are the relief ministries, the rehab ministries, etc. there too.

As for who is doing what in cross-cultural missions – that is a seriously wide open arena. But from all my searching and reading and conversations, I know that there is something for everybody to do, with every kind of skill-set & giftedness, to take the gospel where it isn’t, to let the Light shine before men in dark places. In particular, I do see how your family could fit!! But, I know that God has a specific plan for your family and He will guide you in His time.

We have found that “the call” comes in stages – willingness & openness, restlessness, affirmation, and periods of waiting marked by brokenness. We maintain our obedient posture only with His strong arm. When things don’t move along physicially, God is at work IN us. This may be as much about being conformed to Christ as it is about sharing Christ as I’ve imagined sharing. Maybe my conformity speaks better than I can. I am learning to value that conformity as it comes hard and fast as God readies us for His next steps. I am alternately broken and contrite, and THEN glad about it. I keep hearing and reading – it is not about our doing for Christ, but our being in Christ. So I try to keep perspective and not get wrapped up in anything but Him. Whether my life, my efforts, look like success or failure, the verdict is in and I am accepted and loved. I know this is crucial to remember, having just had a long lunch with a friend on the field in Europe. She is struggling with fear of failure. She is a very godly, mature woman who knows her God is sovereign. And yet, with our American ideas of success and with church missions expectations for numbers of conversions, and with supporters who may be concerned about “bang for the ministry buck,” it is hard to live only for the approval of God. Missions is an excellent pathway for stretching your faith!

There it is. My pros and cons style of sharing my heart for missions. I hope it is not too scary! My prayer is that God would use me to cast a vision for willing hearts to be involved in His desire to see the nations worship. I’m so glad you asked.

Seeking Him and His plans beside you,
T.S.”