Blog | Reproach of Men

Home Missions

We live in a funny country. I don’t mean that in the way of humor, but that Americans have a funny way of thinking. I say this because I see it every day in the job I have, in the community I live in, and particularly among the Baptist brethren who believe as I do.

What is it that is so strange about the way we think? Consider this: We think it is a commendable thing to feed people half a world away, yet will not attempt to insure that all Americans eat. Now, I know that this is a free country, and you are free to succeed, and to fail. If you succeed, well and good. If you fail, you must bear it. I don’t have a problem with that, and I believe that individuals will never work at anything if we bail them out every time they fail. Rather, what I am getting at here is a set of mind that never seems to want to attend to those immediately about us, yet sees no problem in generously, repeatedly bailing out people halfway around the world.

You know, it is the same with Missions. As a fundamental, unaffiliated, Baptist, I expect for local churches to support missionaries directly through the church that sent the missionary. That way, 100% of the support given is received by the missionary in the field. That is rightly and properly the way it should be. However, this is where the sensible thinking seems to end. You see, there is a heavy bias for supporting missionaries to foreign fields, and little to nothing given in the way of support for missions right here in America. In this regard, fundamental, unaffiliated Baptist churches parallel the rest of American society – we care for those on the other side of the globe, and ignore the folks just down the road.

As one who is directly involved in a home mission, this is disconcerting to me, though I have know it for years. Of course, it was disconcerting when I discovered it years ago. How I found out was through a newsletter put out by a Baptist ministry in the western states of Wyoming and Nebraska. This ministry is one of providing preachers to go through the small communities and towns in the rural West and preach the gospel where there were no established churches, and no Bible preachers. One of the greatest needs they have is the support of churches to accomplish the burden the LORD God laid upon them for the rural people of the West.

It is no different for any home mission. It is difficult to establish a church and conduct a ministry when one works full time, and then conducts the work of the ministry during the evenings and Saturdays, with Sunday dedicated to conducting services.

Why is it this way? Because this is America! Don’t you know, just start a church and they will come! No, I’m not being flippant, or a smart-aleck. What I have seen among brethren is an underlying attitude that somehow home missions will just take care of themselves, and they really don’t need the support a foreign missionary needs. After all, any home missionary can get a job, and provide for his needs that way and conduct the ministry on the side. Yes, that is actually the attitude of many pastors and brethren in this country. It is utterly shameful and really does help the Devil accomplish his purpose of taking this country straight to Hell. There is a decided lack of understanding that America is one of (if not the) most difficult mission fields in the world.

Now, if you read this, and your attitude toward home missions and missionaries is what is described above, I have some questions for you:

Which do you think is the greater sin:

Allowing someone halfway around the world to go to Hell because they didn’t have the gospel preached to them?

Or allowing someone in the town just down the road to go to Hell because you don’t think home missions require support?

If you don’t support home missionaries to plant proper churches in this country; how long do you think it will be before there are not enough proper churches to send missionaries overseas?

And finally, if we don’t work to save our own country, how can we save the rest of the world?

The Government We Deserve

There is a perception in this country that we somehow do not deserve the government we have. Now I know that this will be hard to take for some people, particularly those who think that they are not at all evil or wicked, and they do not do anything wrong. There are others that will not like what is written here because they believe that God ought to bless us — no matter what we do. Somehow they have gotten the idea that we are God’s chosen, and we ought to be blessed — regardless of all the evidence that we have grossly violated the will of God.

However, we should understand by the Scripture that it doesn’t matter what nation it is, whether Israel (God’s chosen) or any other nation, the LORD God will not stand for a nation violating His express commandments. He warned Israel about this very thing before they entered into the promised land.

Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomiteth out her inhabitants. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you. For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 18:24-30)

Of course, if you have read the Bible, you should know full well what happened to Israel when they did these exact things – they also were spued out of the land. We should also know that the Lord gave Israel wicked rulers that matched the hearts of the vast majority of the people.

So there is no misunderstanding, I don’t like the situation in this country at all, and I don’t like it that our government acts unlawfully the vast majority of the time. Nonetheless, I know of a surety the reason for this is that we, as a people, are also unlawful, wicked and evil. The LORD God has given this nation the government it has earned. If the people of this country (particularly those who call themselves Christians) would actually repent and turn back to following the Bible as written and not as they interpret it, then the Lord could actually bless us and we would have a right government again. But, as long as the people of this country want to play games with God like apostate Israel did, we cannot expect to have a righteous and good government. Moreover, the longer Americans, and Christians in particular deny it and resist what the Lord is plainly showing this nation, the worse it is going to get — until America either repents, or is destroyed.

Honestly, at this point I really don’t care if people get mad or don’t like what I say, I know it is the truth and it is fully in accordance with the word of God. I know full well it makes people incredibly uncomfortable to even entertain the thought that we have the Government we have because we are the way we are. However, all that those who rant and rave and refuse to acknowledge their culpability in this mess are doing is condemning themselves. If they would actually read the Bible they would find Romans 13:1-7, which was written during the reign of Nero, one of the most corrupt rulers of all time.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. (Romans 13:1-7)

The above passage is quite clear — our rulers, our leaders are ordained of God, just like God raised up Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, and every other ruler, king and president from the time the nations began, He has raised up those who rule over us to put it in our face what we are like as a people. Thus, for those who have a problem with the way our government behaves, they need to look in the mirror. If they truly want to know the reason our government is the way it is they first need to examine themselves in light of the word of God, and be honest about what they find. I think the vast majority of them would find that they need to repent and actually obey the gospel.