Season: 10 Episode: 150
Listen to episode 146 in Spanish:
Summary:
Last month, a young Haitian missionary couple were killed in the field. A lot of people condemned them for being in a dangerous country where their lives were at risk, saying they had no business being there. The real question is: is Christianity comfortable? Are we supposed to pick and choose where to take the gospel as long as it’s safe and we know it won’t cost us anything? Shanda discusses the core of Christianity and why looking for comfortable Christiantiy is dangerous. We look at missionaries who gave their lives for the sake of Christ as well as what Paul said in his epistle to the churches about his own missionary journeys. This episode is both encouraging and convicting as we push past our comfort zone into the uncharted territory of uncomfortable Christianity.
Recommended Resources:
Cross Examined Article: Is Teaching Your Kids About God Child Abuse?
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A few weeks ago, two young American missionaries to Haiti were killed in Port a Prince while leaving a youth gathering. Some people, and even Christians, have said they had no business being in a country like Haiti. Are they correct? Does the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations only apply when there is no danger involved? We’re going to talk about all of that today. I’m also going to share with you the way I feel God has been convicting me over my own comfortable Christianity the last few weeks, and what a radical view of Christianity looks like from the apostle Paul.
Are we too comfortable and what is the danger of comfortable Christianity?
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Ok, now let’s get back to today’s topic: beware of comfortable Christianity. I want to talk about:
- The Haitian missionaries killed in the field and some other missionaries you should know about.
- The mentality of a comfortable Christian and why it’s dangerous.
- What the Bible shows us about facing dangers and still sharing the gospel.
The Haitian Missionaries
A few weeks ago, the news about Davy and Natalie Lloyd were leaving a youth group gathering when they were met by gangs who tied Davy up and beat him. From what I’ve read, he was able to free himself and call his dad. The couple and one other man ran to a house, I believe it was Davy’s fathers, and hid. The gangs shot up the house and then came inside and set the bodies of Davy and the other man on fire. Davy’s parents started the nonprofit Missions in Haiti Inc to help the countries biggest need – the children. They’ve had this nonprofit for around twenty years or a little more. According to Davy’s sister, he learned to speak the Haitian language before he spoke English. They loved the children of Haiti.
I personally read reports where people said they had no business being there.
Others have said they wanted attention, money, to be white saviors. All of this is ridiculous and unfounded accusations by people who have no idea what it means to be self-sacrificing. If they think being a missionary in a country like Haiti that’s been taken over by gangs is an easy way to earn a quick buck, they are the most ignorant fools I’ve ever heard of.
Every Christian ought to take note of their sacrifice and learn something from it. It has convicted me. The day after I heard about this news report my brother, sister, and niece went to Honduras on a missions trip for a week. They stayed in a village with no running water, no AC, and they said it was so hot and uncomfortable. My brother called my SIL and cried at times because the people who live there are so joyful about the smallest things that we take for granted. My sister called me and told me she saw one person in a village with a cell phone. No one else had one.
The kids were excited to get candy. It put into perspective for them, and for me to hear these stories, that we want to be comfortable. We are so very blessed, and I’m thankful that America and the West is so blessed. It is obvious that God’s favor has covered this nation since its inception, not because of its perfection, but because of the fundamental idea that our founders acknowledged God. But I think comfort is a snare in many ways.
It keeps us from moving forward.
It keeps us stuck in boundaries of comfort zones that will never take us beyond those comfort zones and they will stay unknown and uncharted territory since they are outside the comfort zone.
One of the things a lot of homeschooled families do is study missionaries who have left a mark on the world. I want to briefly discuss some of those missionaries with you so you can see what Christians do when they leave their comfort zone and do the work of Christ.
Jim and Elizabeth Elliot
Jim Elliott was raised in a Christian home in Oregon and gave his life to the Lord at the age of 6. He was inspired by the life and sacrifice of other missionaries and Jim felt called to take the gospel to the primitive tribe of Auca/Waorani. He was very talented and gifted in speaking, music, and poetry. Jim Elliott wrote in a journal and documented his ever growing devotion to Christ. He often wrote this quote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
This is what Got Questions says about how he came to be a missionary: “Elliot heard the story of a small but fierce tribe in the Ecuadorian rain forest—an unreached people group known pejoratively as the Auca Indians (Waorani or Huaorani is what they call themselves). At the time, the tribe was considered a hostile indigenous group that had thus far killed every outsider who had ever ventured into their territory. Jim Elliot felt his course delineating; he wanted to reach these people with the message of Jesus Christ’s love.”
The story goes on to say how they dropped supplies and messages in the tribes language to show their intentions were good.
They made contact with the tribe a few months later.
They were eagerly received and welcomed but a few days later, ten men from the tribe came and pierced Jim and his team of about 5 men through with spears, fatally wounding them.
Less than three years later, Jim’s wife Elizabethe and their daughter moved to the area with the tribe and continued his work and mission. Many came to accept Christ as they lived among them.
What an amazing example of sacrificial love. Here are some quotes from Jim:
“I seek not a long life but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.”
“Lord, make my way prosperous not that I achieve high station, but that my life be an exhibit to the value of knowing God.”
“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”
George Mueller
George Mueller is best known for starting and directing a large orphanage in England. He became a Christian later in life, after being a thief and getting into mischief. And he was born in modern day Germany, formerly known as Prussia. He eventually became a preacher and started to give away Bibles. The estimate is around 250,000 Bibles given away by George Mueller.
Got Questions says this about Mueller: “Mueller, alongside his first wife, Mary, began caring for orphans in Bristol in 1832. Orphans during this time experienced terrible hardship and poor living conditions. Often, they were sent to workhouses or factories, which had harmful working environments. Scripture repeatedly commands Christians to care for orphans (Psalm 146:9; Isaiah 1:17; James 1:27), and George Mueller and his wife obeyed those commands, caring for orphans in their own home until they exceeded their housing capacity and received complaints from neighbors. Mueller knew they would need a larger building and so, over the course of time, built five houses in the Ashley Down area of Bristol. Throughout its history, the Ashley Down Orphanage helped to care for around 18,000 children.”
He never asked for money but prayed for donations so that the orphanages were funded with the help of the Lord. He later took the gospel to more than 42 countries in Europe, India, China, and Australia.
Hudson Taylor
Hudson Taylor’s parents prayed that he would become a missionary to China. He founded the China Inland Mission at 21, sailing to China. He began by wearing a long black coat – looking like an English man, but eventually dressed like the Chines and shaved his head, leaving a long black ponytail. And he began translating the Bible into Chinese and his passion was to get as many missionaries to China as he could. It became illegal for missionaries to preach the gospel in China in 1949 because of the communist revolution. CIM is now known as OMF (Overseas Missionary Fellowship) and focuses on missionary efforts throughout Asia.
Here are some quotes from Hudson Taylor:
“All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them.”
“It does not matter how great the pressure is. What really matters is where the pressure lies—whether it comes between you and God, or whether it presses you nearer His heart.”
“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.”
According to statistics, America sends the most Christian missionaries. According to Nations Outreach – 50% of missionaries leave the mission field within the first 5 years.
They also say that 1 in 5 people on earth do not have a Bible.
According to the Joshua Project, 42% of the world’s population have never heard of Jesus Christ or the gospel. This is what they say, “One of the primary reasons why is 60% of the countries in the 10/40 Window (unreached people groups) are closed to North American missionaries. This requires partnerships with local ministry partners to share the Gospel like we have in Pakistan and Kosovo.”
This is a list of the top 10 unreached populations, according to the Joshua Project in 2024:
- India – 1,352,947,000
- Pakistan – 236,972,000
- Indonesia – 193,937,000
- Bangladesh – 172,173,000
- China – 140,553,000
- Japan – 120,652,000
- Iran – 88,612,000
- Turkey – 85,014,000
- Nigeria – 68,296,000
- Thailand – 61,585,000
So why do these people go? Is it because they are chasing fame? Is it because they’re making a ton of money? Missions, from the beginning, have been funded by churches who partner with them. They have to get support from people who will fund the mission. I know missionaries in Equator and other countries, and not one of them is sipping margaritas by the swimming pool on the mission field.
To say these people are white saviors, money hungry, or are seeking fame is completely foolish, ignorant, and just plain uneducated about the nature of Christianity and missions.
The mentality of a comfortable Christian
Comfortable means providing physical ease and relaxation. Now, let me say there’s nothing wrong with being comfortable. But when we choose comfort over doing what God has called us to do, then we’re in dangerous territory. Jesus said this in Matthew 8:18-22. Now keep in mind this is not a parable, meaning Jesus had these conversations and His disciples recorded this conversation for us to learn from what He said. “When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
What was Jesus’ point? That there is a cost to following Him. You might wonder why Jesus wouldn’t allow someone to go bury their father, bur the Greek shows that this man’s father wasn’t dead yet. He wanted to wait and follow Jesus until after his dad was dead. Whatever reason he decided not to immediately follow Jesus, he chose tradition over Christ. Jesus comes first over everything – yes, even family.
That’s hard, but that is a cost to following Him.
But the encouraging thing is that God will do what’s best for us and our families.
A teacher of the law came to Him and said, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus said that He had no place to lay His head. Jesus’ mission was not to make a home for Himself and get comfy here on earth. There is a cost to following Him. These conversations with Christ help us see a few things:
- That the cost to follow Christ must be considered. Jesus said to count the cost. Christianity is not a comfortable religion. Jesus said that if the world hated Him it will hate us too. Can you handle that? The great and wonderful thing is for American Christians we haven’t experienced a lot of hate. We’re experiencing more now, but not to the point of the cost being high.
2. We can all read these responses from Christ and realize that it is hard to think about. If the Lord asked me, could I leave my family to do what He wants me to do? If that’s what it takes. Could I sacrifice not having a home for the sake of Christ? Missionaries don’t have homes like we do. They live among the people and for those missionaries in Haiti, they lived in the homes like you would imagine a home in Haiti to look like.
When we read these things, we see idols that we have – things we hold onto – that we put before God. It can be very revealing and convicting.
And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It’s hard, but it’s not bad.
A few weeks ago, as I read and followed the story of Davy and Natalie Lloyd, and then heard about the people in Honduras from my family, I did some soul searching. I went before the Lord and I asked God to examine my heart. Am I too comfortable. Do I give out of my need? Am I inconvenienced and go out of my way to help others? I’ve said this before, but it’s easy to sit behind a microphone and speak the truth to an unknown crowd. And there are many of you I do know through this podcast and I am very grateful for connections all over the world. Some of you are in South Africa, Canada, England, Australia. And I love knowing that we are a body of believers connected by our love for Jesus. But I had to answer these hard questions – am I living a comfortable life where I am only willing to give out of my abundance rather than my need? Am I only willing to follow Jesus when there’s a place to lay my head?
God doesn’t call all of us to the mission field. He doesn’t ask all of us to sell everything and give it to the poor. But He does call all of us to count the cost and to live a life willing to go where He calls us, when He calls us, to whatever He calls us to. And when we see the sacrifices of others, it helps put things into perspective.
Here’s what the Bible says about facing dangers and still sharing the gospel:
Paul is one of the best examples of a life committed and sold out for Jesus. We get a taste of what he faced when he said this in 2 Cor 11:22-33, “22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more, and I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea.
26 I have been constantly on the move.
I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.”
Paul wasn’t boasting about his hardship.
That wasn’t the point of writing this to the Corinthians, yet we see what he faced on his missionary journeys. In fact, when Paul converted to Christianity in Acts, we see where Christ told him all of the things he would suffer for Christ’s name and Paul still said yes.
One of Pauls’ most notorious events of evangelism and missionary work that shows his tenacity, bravery, and unrelenting fulfillment of the Great Commission is recorded in Acts 14. To give you the back story, because I can’t read it all, Paul and Barnabas were in Lysta and just healed a man who was lame from brith. When the crowds saw this, they started yelling that Barnabas and Paul were gods that came down from heaven. Paul and Barnabas began to tell them that the Lord is the only God, sharing the gospel with them. When Jews came from Antioch, they won the crowds over and they stoned Paul, leaving him for dead. (I have to put a side note in here: never trust the fickle crowd. Just like when the crowd yelled, “Hosanna” one week , and “Crucify Him” the next. The mob mentality is real). Ok, back to the story. Paul was left for dead but once the disciples prayed for him, he got up and went back into the city.
I’m not gonna lie – I don’t think I would have went back in the city. I’d be like -well, Lord, they don’t want you. It’s time to shake the dust off my feet and head on. But Paul didn’t do that. I just think that’s crazy.
Paul told us to imitate him as he imitates Christ.
That’s bold. But it was because he knew his commitment to the gospel and the call on his life.
Finally, I want to remind you what Paul said about comfortable Christianity in Philippians. In 4:10-13 he said, “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Paul is saying that throughout his ministry he has been in comfort and discomfort. He has had plenty and he has had nothing. But not matter what, he stayed the course. He trusted in Christ and he finished the race. And he wrote this letter to the Philippians while in prison. The Philippians were able to support him financially and he thanked them for their support in this letter.
Close:
The whole purpose of this episode is to evaluate the question: What is Christianity about? If it’s not real, why give up so much? In fact, if it’s not real, don’t give up anything. Live your life because nothing is required of you. But if Christianity is true, that means the reason we take the gospel to the nations, and those that are hostile toward it, is because eternity is at stake. These are real people with real souls who need to know Jesus. But that’s only if Christianity is true. And if it is true, every Christian ought to find out how we can share the gospel or support those who do the difficult work of taking it to others, often putting their lives at risk.
I like to bring these conversations down to a basic level with a question like this: if we are uncomfortable to share the gospel, speak the name of Jesus, or just stand up for simple truths such as gender and sexuality, are we doing Christianity right?
Did Jesus tell us to go and preach the gospel to all nations except if it’s not dangerous?
He told us that he who loves his life will lose it but he who loses his life will find it. It’s always that dichotomy that pins the physical against the eternal.
To think about the lives of Davy and Natalie Lloyd puts Christianity into perspective for me. It reminds me that Christianity is not a passive religion and it’s defiantly not for the weak or the faint of heart. Christianity is for those who say, “God, I’ll follow you wherever you want me to go because living this life for you is worth giving you all that I am.” It’s not easy, but it’s complete surrender. And I pray God gives us all the boldness, the love, and the commitment to Him to stay the course. But it does begin in the smallest of the uncomfortable situations – like posting truth on social media and not caring who unfollows you. Or having a conversation with a friend about Jesus, and not caring if they think you’re crazy. Because when we are faithful with the small things, we will be trusted with much.
I hope this episode gives you something to think about and pray about. If your church supports missions, pray for them and if you can, support their ministries. Send them messages of encouragement and let them know you’re thinking of them.
If you have any questions for me, email me at hello@shandfulbrigt.com. And I’ll catch you not he next one.
e next one!
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