Lausanne World Pulse – Perspectives Articles – The Tale of Two Brothers: Innovation in Missions and Church Planting

By Elizabeth Childs Drury
April 2010  

Years later, after they had started families of their own and had become successful in their careers, it was clear to everyone on Bible Boulevard that they had not gone into “the ministry.”

Ron
Although more of a reserved thinker than an easy conversationalist, Ron had advanced through the management ranks on the business end of an automobile manufacturer and had consistently (though quietly) made his faith known among his co-workers.

He had served on the administrative boards of his church and of the Christian college where his parents had devoted their lives. Because of his business and management acumen, individuals and organizations frequently sought his advice. But when Ron reached his mid-fifties, he began to wonder whether he had done all he could in witnessing to others and in serving the Lord.

One day, after hearing yet another pulpit proclamation equating devotion and holiness with professional ministry, Ron decided to take a radical step: he quit the highly administrative job for which he had honed his skills for thirty years (and which he enjoyed immensely) and announced he was embarking on the life of a full-time missionary. His destination was Mongolia, and his task (after raising support and attending language classes) was one-on-one evangelism.

His family, including Billy, was surprised at his decision. His wife, although wanting to support her husband, felt bewildered; she had no desire to go to the next county, much less overseas. And she felt that God had gifted Ron in administration, not evangelism. But Ron’s desire to be obedient—to “go all the way for the Lord”—was unwavering.

His first term turned out to be his only term. He completed it faithfully and returned to the U.S. He was a hero on Bible Boulevard. His marriage had survived the experience, and he had generally enjoyed the adventure. But he felt frustrated at his own limitations in sharing his faith freely with the Mongolian people. He wondered whether other missionaries felt such disillusionment.

Despite the awe-struck gratitude he received from the people of Midland, he felt guilty, for he had returned home with scant few salvation stories to report. The depth of his commitment and the enormity of his sacrifice had not made him effective as an evangelist. “It’s hard soil over there,” fellow missionaries would reassure him (and one another). “The Holy Spirit just didn’t seem to be moving,” others said.

Still, he found himself wrestling with the same question that had prompted him to go overseas in the first place: Am I doing all I can for the work of the Lord?

Billy
Like Ron, Billy received promotions and accolades for the expertise he developed in his career. Like Ron, he served as a committed and actively contributing member of his local church. But unlike Ron, Billy died suddenly in his mid-fifties. He never became a pastor or an overseas missionary; however, at his funeral the people of Bible Boulevard and the masses from Midland gathered to marvel at a mystery.

In the line that stretched down the halls, through the lobby, and into the parking lot of the funeral home, mourners told one another about how they had been influenced most for Christ not by a professional minister but by an industrial engineer. As second in command, Billy had raised the company to the highest industry standards of quality and integrity, and he had modeled and proclaimed the life-giving message of Christ to co-workers, clients, and neighbors. Billy’s family asked that donations (instead of funeral flowers) be sent to the college, so that a scholarship could fund Christian students wanting to serve and witness through excellence in business. 

Pages: ALL   Prev    1    2    3    4    Next   

Elizabeth Childs Drury is a Ph.D. student in intercultural education at Biola University. She has an M.A. in linguistics (University of South Carolina) and a B.A. in English (Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina). She and her husband, Scott, have four young sons.