On the Deputation Trail

Tomorrow Sarah and I will be rising early, packing our van, bundling our two little children into that van, and taking off for a long “road trip” that will take us from our home in Canada to Michigan, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. This will be the first extended trip that we have made as a family since our little boy, John, was born. These extended trips are part and parcel of the process that we call deputation.

Deputation is essentially the process that most missionaries go through in seeking to raise the financial support that is needed to minister in the field to which they are going. This is the essence of deputation, but if a missionary looks at it from this perspective alone, I believe he will quickly become disheartened.

There are several difficulties that a missionary on deputation encounters. First, the traveling itself can be hard on a family. Sometimes trips to churches will find us traveling as much as ten hours in a day. The driver has to balance his desire to arrive at the church at the right time with the need of children to get out and run around! Second, deputation can be hard on the family physically. In traveling from church to church the family is exposed to every sickness that is out there, it sometimes seems! There is also very little physical activity and much food! I returned from a trip a couple of months ago to realize that I was weighing over 230. This was not all muscle! Thankfully, I have had a little more time at home lately with the birth of John and was able to eat a little healthier and get some exercise. I dropped over twenty pounds and feel great right now. I can expect my weight to go up a little over the next several months, but hopefully not too high! I know that some missionaries have gained over fifty pounds on deputation. Third, deputation almost always takes a missionary longer than they expected. A missionary hears stories of how some missionaries raise their support in less than a year and will sometimes secretly expect that it will not take them a whole lot longer than that. Then as months go by and the support level does not jump as quickly as they had hoped, there is a temptation to be discouraged. This is one of the reasons why a missionary should not look at deputation as a just a support-raising venture. Fourth, the family often has to sacrifice their privacy for extended periods of time. They essentially live under scrutiny for weeks at a time, not just because of staying in other people’s homes, but also because of simply being in a place of prominence in church after church and feel as though they have to be nigh unto perfect or their support may not come in!

Now if the deputation was just about the last paragraph, it would be pretty harsh! Thankfully there is a lot more to it. First (maybe not in importance), deputation does allow you to raise the money needed to work on the field. When the process is done, the missionary can devote his time to the work of the ministry, rather than having to spend most of it working in secular employment. Second, it solicits the prayers of God’s people. God accomplishes so much through the prayers of His people that we will never understand this side of Heaven. A missionary is powerless without prayer in his own life, and is incredibly aided by the prayers of others on his behalf. Third, it enables you to meet many fine men and women of God that you would not have otherwise been able to meet. Many of these people will continue in contact with you. God often uses these people to encourage you by their sending an email at a key time, just letting you know they still think and pray for you. Fourth, it allows you to regularly and publicly emphasize the needs and opportunities of the field that God has burdened you for. Fifth, deputation gives you opportunity to encourage and challenge people for the great cause of world evangelism. I often pray that God might in some way use me to encourage someone to give their life to missions. Sixth, since you are “in the spotlight” at churches it gives the incomparable privilege to show Christ as the only all-satisfying Treasure of life.

These are a few of the challenges and privileges of deputation. It has been a testing and rewarding experience in which God has shown Himself incredibly gracious over and over again. That being said, I don’t want to do the deputation thing forever! :-) It is not the end, just a means to it.

The Blessing of God-centered Friends

"Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." Proverbs 27:17

"I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts." Psalm 119:63

"And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God." I Samuel 23:16

I am very thankful for the influential friends that God has given me. They are not all alike in every respect. Their ages range from late teens/early twenties to late fifties. Some are athletic or interested in sports, others are not. Most hold to varying degrees of Calvinism, others are decidedly opposed to that doctrinal position. Most are Baptistic in their view of church government, some hold to a Presbyterian view. Most would hold to a form of Dispensationalism, some would be more Covenantal in their hermeneutic. Some are veterans in the field of God's service, others are preparing to give their lives in "full-time" serice, still others magnify Christ daily in secular employment. And there are many, many more contrasts that could be drawn! The number that could be listed in the group of influential friends could be counted on two hands; the closest of these on one hand.

Friends are important as "iron sharpeners," encouragers, strengtheners, and even rebukers! As I consider this, I am often a little dismayed by the types and levels of friendships that many professing Christians seek out. It is not uncommon to be among a group of Christians for an extended period of time and not hear a single element of edifying conversation. I do not suggest that every element of conversation must focus on Scripture, soul-winnin', and sanctification! It is a little troubling, however, when the spiritual and Scriptural is never spoken of. I do not claim any sort of perfection in this area. I know that too often I am fixated on the trivial, temporal, and foolish to the diminishment or exclusion of important, eternal, and wise. Yet I know the influence of friends, and by God's grace I desire to cultivate friendships with those who would influence me in the right way.

Those friends in my life that have the greatest and most meaningful influence in my life are the ones who exhibit a God-centered focus on life. These men fear God and strive to keep His precepts. They focus their lives in a passionate pursuit of His glory. And it is they who sharpen my countenance in a proper manner, and truly strengthen my hands in God by their encouragement, and even rebuke. Faithful are their woundings, examples, and encouragements, for by God's grace they encourage me along the path of sanctification for the treasure of knowing and following Jesus.

How Does One Magnify Christ in Death?

Few stories had impressed themselves upon my memory more than the story of the dying joy of Roy Orpin. In 1961, Roy married his sweetheart Gillian and shortly thereafter they moved to what is today known as Thailand there to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people living in the jungles. The work was hard. They were treated rudely. Some disagreement even arose among the missionaries working in the area. Still they continued to serve and seek to proclaim the message. Gillian became pregnant with their first. As the time of her due date approached, the Orpins decided that it might be best for Gillian and the baby if they were to go to a more modern area until the baby was delivered. Roy made the difficult decision to stay and work with the natives. After taking a trip into the more modern populated areas, Roy was dropped off by bus as close to his place of service as possible. He would then have to make the long hike back into the jungle to the village where he ministered. Shortly after getting off the bus, Roy was accosted by robbers who shot him in the process of robbing him of a very insignificant amount of money. Roy was discovered and taken to hospital where he seemed to be recovering. However, the internal injury that he had sustained was greater than what the doctors realized. After three days, some of Roy’s internal organs began to fail. It became apparent that Roy would die. Gillian was at his side when he asked her to recite the words to the hymn “Jesus, I Am Resting.” She leaned over and whispered in his ear-

“Jesus, I am resting,
Resting in the joy of what Thou art.
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.”

When she finished, Roy smiled and said, “How good God is.” Moments later he had fallen asleep in Jesus.

How could Roy say that God was good in the midst of those circumstances? Roy was only recently married, looking forward to a lifetime with Gillian. Roy had only just started in ministry, and was looking forward to serving God in Thailand for many years to come. He was expecting his first child, and no doubt looking forward to watching that child grow up. All of this was being taken from him in death. How could he have such joy in Jesus when he was losing all of this?

I believe that Roy could have this joy because he had the same mindset as Paul. Paul wrote, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:20-23)” To be with Christ was not only better than life-it was far better. Roy lived and died to magnify Christ, and the evidence of this is that he gave his life in Jesus’ service and looked forward to being with Him more than anything on earth. To Roy, God’s lovingkindness was better than life, and he praised Him even in death (Psalm 63:3).

May God give me a passion for Him that is greater than my desire for anything on this earth. This is a passion and purpose to live die with!

Some Books That Have Influenced Me- Part 3

No compilation of books that have influenced me would be complete without John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life. I was given a copy by my sister and brother-in-law but did not actually read it until about five months later. I am glad I did not put it off even longer!

Five Big Reasons Why the Book Impacted Me:

1. Piper's book stands on a solid theological and Biblical framework. The arguments and appeals of the book are rooted in Scripture properly divided. (One exception, in my estimation, is his thoughts on fighting Satan on the biological front.) Page after page brings forth the demands of Scripture upon a person's life.
2. Piper shows the importance of Christ-centered living in practical everyday contexts. Two chapters in particular, "Living to Prove He is More Important than Life" and "Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5," are much needed in the contexts with which I am familiar. Too often the appeal to live a life devoted to passionate service for Christ is directed toward those who would enter "full-time service."
3. Piper emphasizes the needs and opportunities that exist in world evangelism, particularly in "frontier missions," preaching Christ where He is not named. I had a pre-existing burden for these areas prior to the book, but the burden greatly intensified with the reading of his words on the subject. I am thrilled to see what God is doing in these areas in my generation. It is not all happening in the indy-fundy circles that I am in, but groups like To Every Tribe Ministries are seeing some incredible progress and commitment of late. May God use them and a multitude of others to bring His Gospel where Christ is not currently named.
4. Piper's prayer at the end of the book is overflow of a spirit of love for and commitment to Christ. The authenticity of it has often caused me to consider my own prayer life, not out of a desire to simply emulate Piper, but having seen (read) a prayer of such passion and power, a desire to consider the level of my own power and passion in communicating with God.
5. Piper's writing style is fantastic. He writes with the heart of a poet and the head of a theologian. I believe that this is one of the key gifts that God has given Piper and is using in him.