FOUR MISSION ‘MYTHS’

In his remarks to trustees, Rankin said that before “fading away into the sunset” he intended to use his remaining board reports to review “where we are in our mission task, why we do what we do and the foundational principles of our mission.” He used the first such opportunity to confront four “prominent myths” that “create misinformation and distort perceptions” about IMB strategy and work:

-- “Evangelism and missions are one and the same.”

“One does not do missions without evangelism. Witnessing, winning and discipling people into the kingdom as Christ-followers is the heart of the mission,” Rankin stressed. But failing to understand the “subtle distinction” between the two leads many churches and Christians to conclude they are primarily responsible only for evangelizing the people who live right around them — or people around the world who are immediately responsive to the Gospel. It also leads to another assumption that has long hindered missions: Since salvation is the “sovereign work of God, we don’t need to be concerned about results.”

Such misunderstandings continue to lead many Christians to relinquish the mission task to “an elite few ministry professionals and missionaries who work on their behalf,” Rankin lamented. As for concentrating exclusively on responsive regions and peoples, he added, “we could probably double the number of reported baptisms each year by concentrating our missionary force in a handful of open and responsive countries, but that would hardly be fulfilling God’s mission, as it would result in multitudes never hearing the Gospel.”

-- “Church-planting movements are a humanly designed strategy to speed the completion of the Great Commission.”

The notion that authentic, rapidly growing church-planting movements — led by lay believers, often amid persecution — are just another mission program or strategy “is a blatant misrepresentation of the work of God,” Rankin charged.

“There will never be enough missionaries to reach the whole world. The only possibility of everyone having access to the Gospel is through a grass-roots network of indigenous, reproducing churches being planted in every community,” he said. “It is a matter of pride to assume that an almighty, sovereign God is dependent on the human instrumentality of educated, mature Western missionaries to teach and train and lead before [local believers are] qualified and capable of sharing their faith with another.

“I find it appalling that there are those who actually advocate slow growth, taking years to disciple new believers to maturity, requiring seminary training of leaders before they can pastor a church or share their faith. … Certainly training is valuable, and our reports reflect the priority that is being given with the number of those being trained [by IMB missionaries and their ministry partners] growing from 30,000 to more than 200,000 in the last decade. We believe in theological education. … But which church is healthier and more spiritually vital — the one reproducing and sharing their faith, or those which never start another church and see negligible numbers coming to Christ?”

-- “Our mission strategy of reaching all peoples is based on Matthew 24:14 and a desire to hasten the return of Christ.”

In Matthew 24:14, Jesus Christ declares that the Gospel “will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Reaching all peoples in order to hasten the end of the age, however, “has never been voiced or intimated by me or anyone responsible for strategic leadership at the International Mission Board,” Rankin stressed. “Yet it continues to be voiced by critics of our passionate devotion to what our Lord has mandated us to do. The time of our Lord’s return is in the Father’s hands, and we will do nothing to change that timeframe. We could never presume to interpret the Father’s criteria for what it means to fulfill the Great Commission. My frequent use of Matthew 24:14 is simply to glorify God that this prophecy is being fulfilled as the Gospel is being proclaimed among all peoples and nations.”

-- “Advocating a certain priority or objective nullifies or excludes others.”

Prime examples of this myth, Rankin noted, include the perceptions that because IMB missionaries focus on evangelism, reaching unreached peoples and partnering with Southern Baptist “mega churches,” they are no longer committed to theological training, medical and humanitarian work, aiding established churches in evangelized areas or working with smaller Southern Baptist churches to mobilize for missions.

“Such reasoning is illogical and so far from the truth as to be ludicrous — were it not representing the perception of so many, even among some of the ranks of our missionaries,” Rankin said. “It doesn’t seem to be simply a misunderstanding, but an intentional way of holding on to a narrow, personally convenient position. …

“We must realize there will always be critics and detractors,” Rankin concluded. “We must do a better job of communication. We need to be sympathetic and patient with those who resist change. We need to minister to those who are challenged and stressed by change. But we must not be deterred from moving forward in the task our Lord has committed to us.”