Archives For Missions

What Happened to the Young, Restless, and Reformed in the SBC?

Tim Brister —  October 15, 2014 — 17 Comments

In recent weeks, I have found myself reflecting quite a bit on the past 15 years of my life. I am not exactly sure why (perhaps it is because I have been an adult for almost 50% of my life?), but as I shared with a college-aged student yesterday, there is no way I could have mapped out the course my life has taken.

When I came to embrace the doctrines of grace, I did not enter the typical “cage stage” that people talk about. For me, the sovereignty of God was my lifeline. Either God was in control of every detail of my life for my good and his glory, or I had really no point in believing or living out my faith. In a short period of time, my world was rocked time and again.

In my first position at a local church, I served with several of my roommates and friends, all who came to embrace the doctrines of grace at some point in that journey of college life. While I was the least Reformed at that point, I guess you could say I had the roughest experience. My tenure at the church did not last long as I was physically threatened while being “kicked out” (not excommunicated but threatened to leave) by the senior pastor and education pastor (who called me “Absalom” and verbally assaulted me for 3 hours). That’s not the way you want to begin a lifelong call to gospel ministry to say the least. What happened in those early days were formative moments that would mark my life forever, and I am profoundly grateful to God for the brothers He placed in my life.

Over time, all of my brothers from those college years went their separate ways. We represented, I suppose you could say, the early stages of the young, restless, and Reformed movement. In the following years, the debate over Calvinism would hit a feverish pitch, mostly with charges that Calvinism stifles missions/evangelism and kills churches. This blog was very involved in the early years of the debate to offer rebuttals to many of the critiques that were leveled against Calvinists in the SBC, and it is without question that people loved to debate Calvinism (my stats were way higher then than they are today).

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David Platt as President of IMB: Feedback from the Front Lines

Tim Brister —  August 28, 2014 — 1 Comment

Yesterday, I provided 4 reasons why David Platt should be the next president of the IMB. Within a few hours of posting that article, it was announced that he was indeed elected to this position. News about his election reverberated across social media to the point that his name was trending nationally on Twitter. I tried to keep up with several of the responses to the breaking news, and you can find those highlighted responses and articles at the bottom of the right sidebar where my twitter “favorites” can be found. But of all the responses I am most desiring to hear is the men and women who are on the front lines with the IMB giving their lives for the unreached peoples of the world. What do they think of David Platt as their new president?

This morning, one of my dear friends sent me this note (unsolicited by me). He has served with the IMB for nearly a decade and is a strategy coordinator who working among unreached peoples of South Asia. As you will see, he has actually worked with David Platt there. I asked for his permission to share this publicly (name and located removed of course), and he was glad for me to share this with others. I hope you are as encouraged by it as I am.

Hey Tim,

I appreciated your article about David. We have been blessed over the past few years to have him come and work along side our teams in [South Asia]. Through these encounters with him I have learned all the things you highlighted. His books have challenged us and his willingness to get in the trenches with us has blessed us. For these reasons we have prayed for years that God would lead him to lead us as our president. The news from yesterday of his election brought tears of joy and a renewed excitement for the future of our organization.

While we are excited about David being president, we are more excited about what this means for the 1.2 billion lost people in our country who desperately need an advocate like David to challenge the body of Christ to wake up and in joy sacrifice to make Christ know. I hope all is well with you and your family. We pray for you often.

Blessings in Christ,

May God indeed use David Platt to awaken us to the plight of those desperately need Jesus!

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Why David Platt Should Be the Next President of the IMB

Tim Brister —  August 27, 2014 — 5 Comments

It is no secret around SBCers on social media that IMB trustees are planning to (if not already) vote on who they believe should be the next president of the International Mission Board. And it is also no secret that David Platt has been a top candidate for the position this time as he was the last time the position was available a few years ago. There are some who are not happy about Platt’s potential nomination, and they have voiced their reasons why they feel the way they do. I would like to offer an alternative argument on what I do believe David Platt is the best candidate to lead Southern Baptists most important agency (IMB).

1. CHARACTER

If you spend any time with David Platt, the first thing you realize is that guy is genuinely humble. As prideful human beings, we are fairly discerning to spot false humility. However, as the Lord has continued to give David influence in the evangelical world, it seems that God has also given David increasing self-forgetfulness as well. This is a rare thing in our evangelical celebrity age, and I believe this to be the first and most compelling reason why David should be considered for the position. He is not overcome with power or position. He is not lifted by the praise of men or brought low by their criticisms. He is marked by a life of otherness that makes everything about him attractive to those who know and love Jesus Christ.

2. COMPETENCY

David has demonstrated an extremely high level of competency on the key areas surrounding this position–namely, head, heart, and hands. He has one of the sharpest minds in the country with a rigorous commitment to Scripture. His knowledge of God’s Word and competency in handling difficult ecclesiological and missiological issues are paramount in global missions and engaging the unreached peoples of the world. When it comes to his heart for the unreached peoples of the world, David is a man with fire in his bones. You cannot hear him speak without being warmed by the heat that flows from his heart. We need a leader who will light a torch under the glacier of the SBC to melt cold hearts to embrace the mission Jesus has given us. When it comes to his hands, David has invested his life in some of the hardest places of the world. He does not merely talk about it. He’s been there. He has experienced the plight of the poorest of the poor. He has preached to those who have never heard. He has and continues to train dozens of men and women to live cross-culturally. And he is aggressively leading his church in exemplary ways on what a Great Commission Church looks like. Whether head, heart, or hands, David Platt, in my opinion, is without comparison in the SBC.

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Jesus and Integral Mission: Some Observations, Part 3

Tim Brister —  January 23, 2014 — Leave a comment

Part 1: Relief and Development
Part 2: Incarnational Mission | Word and Deed | Responsibility and Sovereignty

In this final part of my reflections of integral mission from the life of Jesus, I want to turn once more to Luke 9:1-17 for some further observations related to the church. We see from the feeding of the multitude that Jesus had a plan and a people. He had provision and power to do all that was needed to see that the people were cared for and utterly satisfied.

STRATEGIC & SUPERNATURAL

When Jesus went about feeding the multitude, it is interesting that before He performed the miracle, He instructed His disciples to have the people to sit down in groups of 50. Seems like an unnecessary detail Luke included, no? Well, actually I find it really beneficial for integral mission. Jesus could have feed 20,000 in an unhelpful sea of chaos and confusion, but instead He chose a method that would best serve the people and make the greatest impact. I don’t want to read too much into this observation, but I believe it is accurate to say that this represents a strategic plan. Following this strategy came the supernatural work of God.

There are some who might think that strategic thinking and planning is unspiritual. Some may argue that it leads to pragmatism or doing work without God. While that is possible, simply because it has led some to pragmatism does not necessarily mean that it causes it. In fact, those working in difficult situations must have a strategic plan in place or the work will fall apart on its own. Having said that, we should pray and believe God to do what only He can do. He puts us in desperate situations where, if He does not come through, we are sunk. If you are not in a place where you are desperate and dependent on the sovereign, supernatural work of God, then you are in the wrong place.

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Jesus and Integral Mission: Some Observations, Part 2

Tim Brister —  January 22, 2014 — Leave a comment

In my first post, I shared how Jesus demonstrated integral mission by balancing and affirming relief and development in His earthly ministry. Drawing from the same text (Luke 9:1-17), I want to continue with more observations for integral mission from the life and ministry of Jesus.

INCARNATIONAL MISSION

God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. God also sent His Son to dwell among us (John 1:14) so that we could see His glory. In Luke 9, we find Jesus in a desolate place among scores of people with all kinds of needs. While it may be easy to overlook this, let us not play it down. Jesus made Himself accessible to everyone in society, especially those on the margins. He was accessible and approachable, even for those who could not walk (the lame) and those who could not be touched (the lepers). Even those in the grave were not beyond the scope of Jesus’ reach!

Jesus had a plan. It was to pour into His disciples. Yet the multitudes pressed in on Him. What would He do? Would he tell them to get in a line and schedule an appointment with one of His disciples? According to Luke 9:11, Jesus welcomed them. He welcomed them because He was with them. He was with them because He was for them.

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