What do The Four\u2014Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google\u2014have to do with missionary effectiveness and sustainability in the 21st century? A lot. Global connectivity is one of the present realities that mission leaders need to address as they adapt their ministries to be relevant to the culture in which we live.<\/p>\n
Consider the story of John Allen Chau, the 26 year old missionary who was recently killed while attempting to bring the gospel message to the Indian North Sentinel Island people. The incident has sparked a global conversation around missions and missionaries\u2014a conversation that is dominating Goole searches, Twitter feeds, Facebook posts, and the blogosphere.<\/p>\n
Mission historian Ruth Tucker observed: \u201cHis story, however, has certainly gotten traction. I googled the island, and at the time of this writing noted upwards of forty million results. By the time I entered \u2018john a\u2019 his name popped up and there were more than seventy million results.\u201d[1]<\/a> Google, a means of measuring the impact of a story, is being used as proof that this story is relevant.<\/p>\n The BBC headline asked, \u201cJohn Allen Chau: Do Missionaries Help or Hurt?\u201d[2]<\/a> Good question. I found this story because some missionaries that were cited in the story attended the same pre-field training program that I did. So when the training program posted the story on Facebook, it popped up on my feed.<\/p>\n The Washington Post published missiologist Ed Stetzer\u2019s article, \u201cSlain missionary John Chau prepared much more than we thought, but are missionaries still fools?\u201d Stetzer states \u201cFrom his social media postings, journals and reports of friends and family members, it is clear that Chau had a genuine passion to evangelize people who had little or no access to the Christian gospel.\u201d[3]<\/a> Notice that social media postings are being used to measure a missionary\u2019s motives posthumously.<\/p>\n As I consider the way that global connectivity has quickly moved the story of one missionary\u2019s death to a conversation about the credibility of mission work in general, I\u2019m convinced that missionaries and mission agencies should actively consider the opportunities\/threats that The Four present for modern missions. Author Scott Galloway offers much food for thought in terms of how missions should or shouldn\u2019t interact with the technology giants.<\/p>\n In his advice to young professionals, Galloway writes, \u201cYou need a medium to spread your awesomeness, as the path to under-compensation is doing good work that never gets explicitly pimped or attached to you. Yes, it\u2019s unseemly, and your work and achievements should speak for themselves. They don\u2019t.\u201d[4]<\/a> I chuckled as I read that, because one of my mottos in ministry has been, \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how much you can get done if you don\u2019t care who gets the credit.\u201d I think Paul had a similar perspective: \u201cFor even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me\u2026\u201d[5]<\/a> Galloway tells young professionals to get out there and toot their own horns, while Paul refuses to boast.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, as missionaries are typically dependent on the generosity of others, there are many who are following Galloway\u2019s advice instead of Paul\u2019s. There\u2019s a fine line between using email, blogs, and social media to stay connected with supporters to keep them informed about your work and using those same media to \u201cspread their awesomeness.\u201d Those missionaries that learn to walk that fine line will protect their own souls from the traps of pride and self-righteousness while sustaining healthy relationships with their support base.<\/p>\n Galloway also encourages young professionals to ignore the need for balance during the early years of their careers, saying, \u201cMy lack of balance as a young professional cost me my hair, my first marriage, and arguably my twenties. And it was worth it.\u201d[6]<\/a> It was worth it? Losing a marriage was worth it? Worth what? The words of Jesus came quickly to mind: \u201cFor what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?\u201d[7]<\/a> Humans were created for relationship and balance. Six days you shall work\u2014the seventh you shall rest. This isn\u2019t a suggestion for mid-life career people. This was ordained for all people and all times. Sabbath is an act of faith\u2014a way to live into the reality that God is God and I am not. One day a week, I take my hands off the wheel. I stop. Lack of balance is an epidemic among pastors and missionaries alike. We wear busyness like a badge of honor instead of confessing it as sin. The pervasiveness and seduction of constant connectivity make it harder than ever to simply stop and rest. Missionaries who choose healthy rhythms and prioritize a weekly Sabbath will succeed at creating sustainable ministries in the 21st<\/sup> century\u2014but they\u2019ll have to swim against the stream to do it.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Jesus Creed, \u201cJohn Allen Chau: A Missionary Historian\u2019s Perspective,\u201d Jesus Creed<\/em> (blog), November 28, 2018, https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2018\/11\/28\/john-allen-chau-a-missionary-historian-perspective\/.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Toby Luckhurst, \u201cMissionaries: Serving God or Playing God?,\u201d November 28, 2018, sec. World, https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-46336355.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> \u201cSlain Missionary John Chau Prepared Much More than We Thought, but Are Missionaries Still Fools? – The Washington Post,\u201d accessed November 28, 2018, https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/religion\/2018\/11\/28\/slain-missionary-john-chau-prepared-much-more-than-we-thought-his-case-is-still-quandary-us-missionaries\/?fbclid=IwAR0ZqqZ7h22OBqYb4fmm9zVECsxtqTr_gFu3QpCGzjI_E1O5Q-qOFxC5kqI&noredirect=on&utm_term=.188b6a8848a4.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Galloway. 229.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> NET Bible\u00ae copyright \u00a91996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http:\/\/netbible.com All rights reserved. Romans 12:6.<\/p>\n