As I write this article I am on a plane flying to Korea. This coming week I am scheduled to preach three times at the Korea Christian Convention and at the Wednesday night service of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, reputed to be the largest church in the world. But just let me say that I don’t particularly like going on mission trips. I don’t like fourteen hour flights. I don’t like eating food when I don’t know what’s in it. And I don’t like struggling to communicate with people who don’t speak the same language.

Six yeas ago when I was in Korea the first time, I spoke at a similar convention and felt extremely inadequate. In the opening service, it was obvious the convention-goers were more expressive in their worship than what I was accustomed to. The preachers leading in prayer were forceful and dramatic. The people in the congregation were shouting “Amen” and were more demonstrative in singing praise songs than I had witnessed in most Christian Churches in the states.

That’s not the kind of audience where I normally go over well. My preaching is more conversational and unemotional. Early in my ministry an elder from another church told me, “My impression of Bob Russell is that you never let yourself ‘go’ in the pulpit.” Actually I was giving it all I had but in his estimation it wasn’t enough.

Just last week a young woman told me when her father was dying he requested they put on Bob Russell sermon tapes. I felt encouraged until she said, ‘That was the only way he could go to sleep.” At that point she caught herself and we both burst into laughter…but that’s just who I am.

Not only was I supposed to get up and talk to several thousand excited Koreans who knew almost nothing about me, I was going to speak through an interpreter. And I knew that would be additionally methodical and laborious. Seeking some encouragement and maybe a little sympathy, I jotted a note to Don Waddell, my administrative assistant who was sitting right next to me on the front row. I wrote, “I think I’m in trouble.”

Don picked up a pen and started writing, “Just….” I knew what he was going to say, “Just be yourself, and you’ll be fine.” But when he slipped the note back in front of me, it read, “Just pep it up a little!” I wish I could, but the truth is, when I preach it’s more like a casual conversation than a pep talk.

But you know what? I’ve been invited back to Korea; I’m going again. Now, in the middle of this long flight from Dallas to Seoul, I am reviewing why I’m taking this trip. It’s for the same reason I’ve taken mission trips to Kenya, Cuba, The Dominican Republic, China, India, Poland (twice) and a few other destinations. These are the same reasons I’d encourage other believers to take a mission trip at least once in your lifetime.

Why go on a mission trip?
1. Obedience.  Gary Weedman, President of Johnson University, is accompanying me on this trip. He and I became convinced this is what the Lord was calling us to do. God did not speak to us in an audible voice but through a series of repeated invitations and open doors it became obvious this was God’s will. And God has instructed all of us, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.”

2. Encouragement.  I hope I can reinforce the Korean Christians who serve in a culture much tougher than where I’ve ministered for fifty years. God has spoiled me and I know it. Therefore I feel a responsibility to encourage those who serve in less fertile fields. Perhaps when I show interest in them and applaud their efforts they will be uplifted and refreshed.

Last week we learned that two of our homegrown missionaries were recently robbed and held hostage at knifepoint. This young couple serves in a third world country (which for security reasons will go unnamed) but they plan to stay in the same area because they have such a passion for lost people. Courageous couples like that need and deserve our encouragement – not just with prayers and finances but with personal visits.

3. Evangelism.  It’s difficult to communicate the gospel through an interpreter. But occasionally when the gospel is presented by a different speaker it penetrates someone’s heart who wouldn’t be reached otherwise.

I’ll never forget my sense of frustration after trying to preach through an interpreter in a house church in Cuba. I felt I’d been so ineffective that I went into the kitchen to be by myself…and pout a little. The Cubans sang a song and then the preacher called me back into the main room. He pointed to a handful of people standing up front. “What do you want me to do?” I asked. “Well, pray with them!” the minister fired back. “They have come to accept Jesus.” I was reminded that the gospel is so powerful it can come through the least impressive channel and transform lives.

4. Edification.  I don’t like going on mission trips but I like what mission trips do for me. I’m always deeper spiritually when I return. There’s something about being a long way from home that helps us appreciate what we have. There’s something about seeing other cultures worship that makes us see the World from God’s perspective. There’s something about seeing the joy of Christians who have a lot less in the way of material goods that helps keep things in their proper perspective. There’s something about taking risks that forces us to depend on God and not ourselves.

5. Adventure.  The day before I left for Korea, my sixteen year-old granddaughter hugged me goodbye and then said matter-of-factly, “Have fun… And don’t die!” Kids have a way of going right to the heart of the matter. Planes sometimes crash, terrorists attack, health issues surface. Mission trips involve some degree of risk.

It’s safer just to stay home and go through your normal routine. But do you want to live your entire life on the safe side, never taking any risks, never getting out of your comfort zone? Jesus commended the five talent man for taking some risk with what he’d entrusted to him. He chastised the man who buried his one talent in the ground and labeled him a “wicked, lazy servant.” Followers of Jesus Christ should sometimes be risk-takers.

The Apostle Paul risked arrests, beatings, shipwrecks, illness, humiliation and flogging to advance the gospel of Christ. But no one would ever suggest that Paul’s life was boring. When he reached the end he wrote, “Whatever has happened to me has served to advance the gospel.” And that’s what mattered to him.

What matters to you? Do lost people matter? Do missionaries matter? Does your spiritual maturity matter? Then consider taking a missionary trip in the near future. I’m confident you’ll be glad you did. More importantly whether you like it or not, Jesus Christ will be exalted and that’s what really matters.

 

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