Rating: ★★★★

Who: Michael Griffiths, former director of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Before becoming director of OMF, Griffiths did student work in the UK, and served as a missionary in Japan for several years. (He has a number of paperbacks on missions, but this is the first I’ve read. You can read more about his story here.)

Overview: Griffiths has practical experience in vetting missionaries, and has profound biblical insights about missions. Griffiths desired to see  The first half of this book deals primarily with the missionary call, dispelling the idea that only missionary candidates can hear from God and know if they are “called.”

The second half of the book explains how he believes pastors should be ministering to missionaries who are on furlough, by giving them space and continuity to practice ministry. This part of the book is less applicable to non-traditional missionaries or those who are not doing directly pastoral work, but it is nonetheless interesting.

Meat: Griffiths says that the missionary call in the Bible is not a command issued directly to one person. Nor is “volunteering” on its own sufficient grounds to leave for the mission field. According to the New Testament, the church shares in choosing and sending the missionary, and in some ways, should be more responsible for this than the missionary himself.

We focus on an individual sense of call, but at the same time we realize that many who claim to be called are not fit or ready for life on the mission field. Griffiths’ little book is a much-needed corrective for a naive, individualistic view of missions and the missionary call. (See the quoted section below from pages 12 and 13.)

He adds later in the book that, instead of running themselves ragged on a deputation trail, missionaries should spend furloughs ministering continually to one or a few churches, and the church should reciprocate by supporting them on their furlough. “Here is another ministry for pastors and congregations—retreading tired missionaries!” (p. 33)

Bones: As mentioned, the second half of the book primarily targets church pastors; it was interesting and biblical, but mostly irrelevant to me.

Quotes: “Ministers and congregations have the chief responsibility for the selecting and sending of new missionaries.” (p. 11)

“In practice, we recognize that the subjective conviction of a call is not in itself sufficient.” (p. 15)

“… The emphasis made by Scripture is never upon an individual volunteering or upon his own subjective sense of call, but always upon the initiative of others. Saul goes to Antioch because Barnabas takes him there (Acts. 11:25-26). It is the whole group of prophets and teachers in Antioch to whom the Holy Spirit says ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’ (Acts 13:1-4). Later, when Barnabas and Paul parted company, we are told that Barnabas ‘took Mark’ (Acts 15:39) and Paul ‘chose Silas’ (Acts 15:40) ‘and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.’ Subsequently, Paul ‘wanted’ Timothy ‘to go with him’ (Acts 16:3), though we are pointedly reminded that ‘he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium,’ so that the congregations were consulted and involved in his going out. …

“Whereas we seem to have emphasized exclusively the individual’s subjective sense of a highly personal call of God, and often reinforced this by emotional appeals for individuals to volunteer, the New Testament by contrast stresses either the corporate initiative of congregations or the informed initiative of missionaries in selecting suitable people.” (p. 12-13)

“The call of an Old Testament prophet should not be regarded as normative for a New Testament missionary.” (p. 13)

“… Both the Bible and common sense, therefore, suggest that the best method is not to call for volunteers but to set up a draft! The most that an individual can do is express his willingness. Others must determine his worthiness. The individual may be free to go, but only his church knows if he is really fitted to go.” (p. 15-16)

“We all want to see a vital and exciting relationship restored between churches and mission societies, and this can be effected practically where there is increased living contact between individual Christians and individual missionaries.” (p. 6)