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Stifling heat and humidity collaborated in an unholy alliance in August to kill my morning rounds in the park. But the weather failed to imprison the high school football players and the band. Nor did it suppress the Herculean efforts of the construction workers frantically trying to complete work on our nearby elementary school.

Like an unstoppable juggernaut, the fall school term marched inexorably toward its opening. Malls welcomed the entourages of moms and kids on their back-to-school spending frenzies. The bus company, faced with a deluge of kids and a dearth of drivers, frantically begged for help. JOIN THE TEAM! NOW HIRING! shouted the placard on the doorknob.

I began to quiver for the safety of our children when the ad further disclosed: “Transportation experts needed. No experience necessary.” Huh? To be fair, the company does offer paid training. Still, I think at least some driving experience would be useful. The appeal reminded me of similar appeals I’ve read for missionary recruits. In fact, it’s part of what might be called the new face of missions. In some circles, opportunities inspire urgency, and urgency inspires shortcuts. We’re not like farmers and fruit growers. We want to see instant results with minimal investment in training and patient seed-sowing and watering.

This is not true everywhere, of course, but churches and donors sometimes are pressured to finance short outbursts of missionary energy. They find it hard to be patient with years of schooling and experience, as if the work can be done with less than the best training.

Some mission agencies are tempted to act like the bus company, because they need new recruits to stay afloat. Why wait patiently for a doctor or journalist to hone their skills when you can take on someone strong on enthusiasm but weak in experience – especially if the prospects bring their financial support?

So many shortcuts tempt churches and agencies. But dropout statistics should tell us to flash the yellow caution light when people volunteer for service without adequate preparation and experience. Why should we employ a church-planter for France if the person has not previously planted a new church in the US or Canada? Why deploy people to Cairo or Bogota if they have not spent time in New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago?

Reports filter in about serious declines in the number of full-time career missionaries, some of them from respected agencies. This decline heightens the pressure to lower standards for acceptance. Do missionaries really need all that Bible, theology, anthropology and cross-cultural communications theory? Do they really need some language aptitude? Do they really need some ministry successes here before we send them over there? Yes, yes, and yes.

“No experience necessary” will not wash; it will only lead to failure, financial loss and hard feelings. Despite the pressures, we must wait patiently for people to grow spiritually, to develop strong internal resources, to establish strong marriages and to earn some scars in spiritual warfare before we turn the bus over to them, so to speak.

We need not panic, because God mightily inspires people to follow him into his harvest fields. By faith, we know that every day he speaks to people about obedience to Christ, about earning the right to serve in his name. We need to ask God to deliver us from taking second-rate people in the name of “somebody is better than nobody.” Only the most highly qualified people should be accepted in God’s cause. We need drivers with loads of experience and tons of faith.

September 7, 2001