Letters

Blessed by MF

I was deeply moved by the article “The Urbana Story” on the Mission Frontiers website. Thanks for the wonderful website, which is a great source of blessing. I am an Indian by origin and currently working in the Middle East. One day, together, we will take the Gospel to the nations.

God bless you all, Sunil F.

Thanks so much for these exciting resources [PDF charts] which I am presently using on our Wycliffe UK young volunteer missions training course, not to speak of its use elsewhere in my church etc. Bless you for these tools, and such good quality.

Yours in the task, Brian

I want to express my appreciation for this wonderful discovery of your website. I am so amazed at the work you are doing that I could not resist to sending you a brief note. I have just been elected as missions director at our church. It is quite a challenge to me to investigate your articles and information about mission. How do you do it? I can only think that God does it through you.

God bless, María

Greetings! I want to really thank you for sending me Mission Frontiers for these many years. It has been a blessing to my life, and ministry and has also changed my perception and concept of ministry. We place it in our Bible School library for our students to read. God bless you richly.

Rev. McDonald Imaikop

The Revival Mission, Inc. Nigeria

I am an Indonesian student in Germany at the University of Munich. I am so interested in your publication Mission Frontiers. This publication opens my eyes to see the accomplishment of worldwide Christian mission. More importantly, Mission Frontiers also helps me to better direct my intercession. I myself am open and praying to God if He would lead me to get involved in the mission field (directly or indirectly).

V. Samuel Munich, Germany

Overcoming Satan

Dr. Winter’s editorial comments came at a very appropriate time in my life. Without going into details on why I say the following, it is my opinion that we give Satan too much attention in some areas and not enough in others. While I know how to attack him against sickness and some other kinds of attacks, I don’t know how to attack him:

To reclaim my kids from his clutches.
To get violence out of the schools, homes and off the street.
To get the news media to stop giving him so much coverage.
To release the unsaved.

“By the blessing of the upright, the city is exalted. But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 11:11). Early on, God gave me Proverbs 10:12, and I never never believed that God caused pain or hurt. We cause war and much sorrow all by ourselves. How do we explain famine and pestilence? By asking the devil to flee?? I haven’t read Philip Yancey’s book, but if we see God in the whirlwind, why can’t we see him in the pain—not making it, but curing it. Satan destroys our usefulness by keeping us in pains of one kind or another. Your pastor said, “Satan’s greatest achievement is to cover his tracks.” His greatest tool is afflicting people with sorrow. “Lord, give us wisdom and teach us how to rebuke the devourer. Fill us with joy. Thank you for your promises and for your unfailing love.”

Ollie Fallon Lancaster, CA

For our sake or His?

In recent issues of your fine publication, there seems to have been a “pendulum swing” away from the orginal goal of missions to “fulfill the Great Commission” to “God’s cosmic cause to draw worshippers from every people group...” (Steve Hoke in “A Glorious Pursuit” p. 23 March 2001 issue). Are we in danger of painting God as a gigantic cosmic ego whose sole desire is to have the world acclaim him? When was the Great Commission amended? What happened to John 3:16?

My human father did not love and care for me so that I would extol him. My husband did not marry me so he could receive my praise. Their love is pure and unselfish, and whatever “praise” I may give them is a result of my unsolicited gratitude, not of their desire to hear it. Could our heavenly Father’s love be less pure and unselfish?

People cannot “worship in spirit and in truth” before they truly know the awesome God they are extolling. It is true that mission leads to worship, after people have understood the love, mercy and amazing grace of God and the greatness of His salvation, but to make that “result” become the “goal of mission” is not a true picture of God who loves unconditionally, yearns over the lost, and rejoices over the prodigal who returns. He longs to gather the lost into his arms for their sake, not His (2 Peter 3:9)....

Lois Admasu Surrey, BC Canada

Muslims choose Jesus

I wanted to say how truly edified I was to read the article on Muslims being converted to the Christian faith. Here at Temple University there are a lot of different religions. You want people to know the truth about Jesus Christ, but a lot of times the truth will not be heard. It is good to know that God is still revealing Himself to people in a miraculous way and that people are coming to know Christ, God incarnate for who He really is. Praise be to God.

One Love, Cornell Davis III

Great article on how Muslims are turning to Christ. We are seeing many of the same attributes in the Punjab with Sihks coming to Christ (as well as Muslims). The brothers on the field are asking us to pray that the Sikh people continue to receive dreams/visions from the Lord and that also the Lord would, by His grace, provide the power for healings. Both of these avenues have seen good fruit with Sikhs and Muslims turning to Jesus.

Grace and Peace, John Schwartz

Great ethno-worship issue

Your June 2001 issue “Recognizing the critical role of indigenous worship in church planting,” contained some excellent articles. Our aim at Gospel Recordings has always been to present the Good News of the Gospel not only in the language of the people, but also within the appropriate framework of their cultural setting. This applies not only to the spoken word, but also to music. Taken as a whole, the different articles presented a spectrum of experiences and contained many excellent ideas on why and how this can be accomplished, and indeed, is being accomplished. We can certainly learn a lot from those who have put ethnomusicology to the test and found that it works!

Allan Starling
Assistant Executive Director Gospel Recordings

AD2000: Time for introspection

I just received the June 2001 issue of MF (mail comes slowly to Central Asia), and read with interest the article “Passing the Baton” and the accompanying “Final Statements of the AD2000 Leadership.” I was surprised and pleased to learn that, although I knew little about the organization directly, many of the accomplishments and initiatives that came from the movement have affected me positively in my work as a missionary.

As I read, however, I sensed that there was something crucial missing in the evaluation of AD2000’s history and accomplishments. Of the four men who wrote about the movement, not one addressed what I believe is the most important question to address as AD2000 closes its doors: “Has AD2000 met its primary goal of establishing a church-planting movement within every unreached people group by the year 2000, and, if not, why not?” I understand that this may be an uncomfortable question to face, especially when we can all agree that God has done great things to advance His Kingdom through the movement. But, if we really think about it (and are honest with ourselves), this is, as is any other movement dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission, God’s movement. If it is His, and we have been faithful in following His will, He is responsible for whether we did or did not reach our goals. Did God fail? Of course not! But, if He did not fail, we have some prayer and introspection ahead of us to know why God did not fulfill this goal that we believed to be His will.

I would argue that it would be a useful exercise to analyze why God chose not to fulfill the primary goal in the time frame agreed upon at the inception of the AD2000 movement. Furthermore, I believe it would be disingenuous not to. To set an ambitious goal at the outset of a campaign, only to ignore its existence at the end, besmirches the name of the One who is responsible for the results, as if we must protect His honor.

If there was failure to reach the primary goal of the AD2000 movement, we must have the humility to own up to the fact that we may have missed something.

I do not believe this process should be one in which we beat ourselves over our collective heads and don sackcloth. I believe it would be His pleasure to use some healthy evaluation of, and prayer over, a “failed goal” to learn how to “succeed” in bringing the unreached people groups into the Body of Christ.

Name withheld For security