Think Like a Missionary

Therefore, as a fellow elder and witness to the sufferings of the Messiah, and also a participant in the glory about to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you.... - 1 Peter 5:1

As if he needed to pad his CV, Peter began the next important section of his letter by connecting with the common experiences of the church leaders he addressed.

One of the most difficult tasks of a missionary involves culturally identifying with the people whom he or she is called to serve: eating their food, wearing their clothes, using their transportation, observing their customs (when biblically appropriate), and speaking their heart language. Why go to so much trouble?

The missionary does all these things in order that those to whom they have been sent might hear the message of Christ unhindered by artificial, man-made obstacles, and upon hearing it might (by grace) follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is also why every follower of Jesus (in every place that he or she is found) must think like a missionary.

We have been filled with grief as we have witnessed the decline of the North American Church that was once filled with missionary zeal and yet now seems determined to bury itself in a deadly embrace with the spirit of the age. - Peter Akinola (Nigerian Clergyman)