Mission Societies have always been important in establishing and maintaining missions in the early days of work in many areas. They can also be a source of difficulty and confusion when the missions they were instrumental in creating mature into churches in their own right and are developing mission emphasis of their own. Mission Societies are starting to come under some scrutiny as theological emphases are put into the background for the sake of “heart felt passion” for the lost and the erring. It is refreshing to see the issue put forward by others that are not necessarily Lutheran. This from Paul Washer in “Heart Cry”. He has four reasons that he says have made missionary activity a “contradiction if not and absurdity”. Pretty hefty words those. Here is his first example –
First, it has become popular opinion that doctrine or theology divides believers and
destroys heartfelt passion. However, those who hold to such opinions fail to realize
that “doctrine” is just another word for teaching, and “theology” literally refers
to a study of God. Should we banish these disciplines because not all agree?
Furthermore, we should realize that all men are theologians (i.e., all have some
opinion about God). It is just that some are more diligent than others to study the
Scripture and to abandon their own opinions in favor of God’s truth. Finally, is it
really possible that a greater understanding of the person, work, and will of God is
destructive to the soul and the enemy of heart-felt passion? Theology and doctrine
are not the problem. The problem resides with the bad theologian and his bad
theology! (Paul Washer, “Missions: A Theological Endeavor”. Heart Cry Magazine April 25, 2014
