What is Driving Our Deputation?

I have been restless in my spirit because of a nagging question that continues to haunt my heart. It is the same question that haunted the mind and heart of Adoniram Judson, the first American missionary to the foreign mission field. The only difference is that this question did not hit him until he had been in Burma for over a decade- the question has hit me before I have even boarded the plane to head to Cambodia.

Here is the question: "What is the motivation behind my desire to be successful?" Or, more precisely for me, and possibly for other missionaries on the deputation trail, "What is the motivation behind my desire to have a successful deputation?" Sadly, as I take an objective look at my own heart, I must say that my motives are not always pure. There are days when I am driven by the thought of my own personal success. "I have scheduled three meetings today- now I can rest well tonight because I have succeeded."

"Another church took us on for support- man, I am really getting the job done!"

Now, we missionaries would all like to think that we are always motivated by the fact that the people to whom God has called us are waiting on us, and we must hasten to get to our respective fields; and that is good. I still don't know if that is the best motivation either.

I believe the motivation that we should all pray to have as we endeavor to finish our deputation and get to the people to whom God has called us is a heart that is earnestly seeking God's approval, and a heart that is consumed with being yielded to Him.

Here is a tough question. If I schedule ten meetings in one day, but I was so busy doing so that I did not obey the voice of the Holy Spirit when He was clearly leading me to stop and pray for a specific person, was I really a true success that day? Or, if my motivation in scheduling the meetings was to satisfy some egotistical hunger for personal success, was I really a true success?

I like what Paul Chappell wrote in his book, The Spiritual Leader: "Spiritual leaders (missionaries) practice the moment-by-moment presence of God and live constantly with a sense that every moment belongs to God. As God's ambassador, I am on His mission in even the smallest of details and circumstances, and I must listen to His guidance and obey His direction in the minutia of life as well as the big picture."

Here it is in a nutshell. Getting to the mission field is the big picture. Obviously, we would say that God is the One Who motivated us to go to our respective fields. But here is the kicker. Scheduling meetings, going to meetings, mailing out packets, teaching Sunday school classes, staying with church families- all the details of deputation- are the "minutia of life." Can we truly say with a pure heart that we are doing all of this for His ultimate glory? Or are we driven by our lust for success. You know, that little voice in the back of your mind that says, "Wow, they are going to be impressed! You finished up deputation in record time!" May we stay close to the Lord, and earnestly live every day with the thought that we are only successful when we are right in our hearts with the Lord; and pride will not allow that to take place.

God's Economy

A couple of people have commented to me about the discouraging fact that "this is a horrible time for a missionary to start deputation." On the contrary, I can't think of a better time; because right now, I am not trusting in the affluence of the churches, but in the supernatural provision of God.

I have been amazed at several of the churches we have been in while on deputation during this recession. On more than one occasion, churches that have had several of their men lose jobs increased their faith promise commitments by substantial amounts. One church in South Carolina- a church of about 300- jumped from committing $130,000.00 per year to over $200,000.00 this year! "Well, they are probably a very wealthy church to do that," one might say. But this church is feeling the brunt of the economic downturn as much as any. But praise the Lord, the Holy Spirit worked during the missions conference, and the people responded in faith. I believe, according to Philippians 4, that this church is going to be just fine during this economic crisis. Why? Because they are functioning according to God's economy, not our governments economy.

Over these first two months of deputation, God has given us over 20% of our support. He has provided for our every need. He has allowed us to be in some of the best-spirited missions conferences I have every had the privilege of being in.

I have been so encouraged by the faith of God's people. I pray that churches all over America will see this economic downturn as an opportunity to see God keep His promises. We have stepped out by faith to begin deputation at this time, and to go to Cambodia with the Gospel. I pray that pastors and Christians all over America will step out by faith as well, and not take a step backwards in the area of missions, but a step of faith forward. May we learn to function according to God's economy. The number one requirement to succeed in God's economy is faith.

More Blessed

Without a doubt, one of the most precious moments of my 2006 survey trip to Cambodia was seeing Candace, Deborah, Emma, and Faith Benefield as I opened up that suitcase. That suitcase was solely dedicated to bringing long-anticipated goodies from the States- Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, children's books (Candace and Deborah are avid readers- I'm sure by now Emma has become one as well!), various types of chocolate, and a plethora of other things.

One of the coolest items in the suitcase was some Patch the Pirate tapes that Shelley Hamilton personally gave to me a few days before I flew to Cambodia. Ron and Shelley Hamilton attended my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary at the campus of Bob Jones University. I was to depart just four days after that event, and my grandfather was telling everyone to pray for me. When Shelley Hamilton heard of the trip, she offered to take me over to the Majesty Music store and let me pick out some gifts to take to the missionary kids.

I will never forget the look on Candace's face when I said, "Candace, Sissy Seagull (Shelley Hamilton) personally gave me these tapes and wanted me to deliver them to you." Her face lit the entire room with joy.

I have so many fond memories of my first trip to Cambodia; but none that equal the joy I experienced in my heart that evening we opened up that suitcase. Truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Where We're At & Where We're Goin'

Just a quick update on where we are and what we are doing. So far, we have been in the following churches:
North Hollywood Baptist Church- North Hollywood, CA
Central Baptist Church- Houston, TX
Victory Baptist Church-Loganville, GA
Zion Hill Baptist Church-Greenville, SC
Bethel Baptist Church-Hampton, VA
Harvest Baptist Temple- Jonesboro, GA
Vision Baptist Church-Alpharetta, GA
Fannin Road Baptist Church-Montgomery, AL
New Life Baptist Church- Conyers, GA
Western Hills Baptist Church- Kennesaw, GA
Crooked Creek Baptist Church- Athens, GA

Praise the Lord for giving us the following meetings that we will be in starting next week and going through mid-December.

Whitfield Baptist Church- Dalton, GA
Victory Baptist Church- Charleston, SC
First Baptist Church- Long Beach, CA
Lancaster Baptist Church- Lancaster, CA
Sequoia Baptist Church- Visalia, CA
Gospel Light Baptist Church- Selma, CA
First Baptist Church- Castaic, CA
McKee Road Baptist Church- Bakersfield, CA
Bible Baptist Church- Victorville, CA
Bible Baptist Church- Gardena, CA
Lighthouse Baptist Church- Santa Maria
Los Angeles Baptist Church- Los Angeles, CA
Berean Bible Baptist Church- Duarte, CA
New Testament Baptist Church- Armona, CA
Liberty Baptist Church- Norwalk, CA

Linda and the kids are doing wonderful. Ellie is definitely the most challenging part of our deputation right now, but it's not really her fault. How would you like to be a year and a half old and have to be dragged from church to church and state to state, and not have your own room to play in or a consistent schedule? With that being said, she is actually doing great. Just pray that we will be patient with her. As for Judson- well, he just goes with the flow.

More Precious Than Gold

Oskar Schindler was a man who understood that life is more than simply aquiring silver and gold. He was a wealthy man to say the least- he was a successful German businessman who moved to Poland in the middle of World War 2 to take financial advantage of the German takeover. He did much more than that.

Schindler purchased an old factory, and, because of his powerful connections with certain Nazi officers, was able to bribe the commander of a nearby concentration camp to allow Jewish prisoners to work in this factory. In the end, approximately 1,100 Jews escaped death at the hands of the Nazis because of the work of Oskar Schindler. Untold tens of thoundands of dollars were spent by Schindler to purchase the factory and bribe Nazi officials so that these 1,100 Jews could live.

After the Germans surrendered, Schindler, still a "part" of the Nazi party (in name only), knew he had a better chance of surviving if he dealt with the Americans as opposed to the Russians. Just before his departure, he addressed the 1,100 Jews he had rescued. Just before boarding his vehicle, it has been said that he wept, and in self-condemnation lamented that he didn't save more.

"This car- if only I had sold this car! I could have payed for five more workers in my factory! Five more people would be alive! This ring- at least two more people if I had just sold this ring! I could have done more!"

The onlooking crowd of Jews- now known as the Schindler Jews- comforted him and thanked him with tears as he departed. Today, over 6,000 people, including the children and grandchildren of the Schindler Jews, are alive because of the selflessness of one man who wanted to make a difference.

Christian, what are you doing with your time, talents, and treasures, to make an eternal difference in the lives of people all around us. Our cause is much greater than preserving life on this temporary earth. We have been called to use what God has given us- our lives, our time, our talents, our treasures- to rescue people from spiritual death. Will you come to the end of your life and say, "I could have done more!" Truly, the value of one person is much more precious than gold.

God Is Blessing

God is truly blessing our deputation so far. We have been in eight meetings, including the following:

North Hollywood Baptist Church

Central Baptist Church

Victory Baptist Church

Zion Hill Baptist Church

Bethel Baptist Church

Harvest Baptist Temple

Vision Baptist Church

Fannin Road Baptist Church

God has faithfully taken care of us financially, giving above and beyond what we every thought possible. I have preached two times, and we have had the opportunity to minister in Sunday school and in the Christian school classroom. We have met so many wonderful Christians who love missions and missionaries, and we are so happy and blessed to be serving the Lord on deputation.

God's Confirmation

Two months ago, our calendar was completely empty during September and the first half of October. In the past month, God has filled our calendar by giving us five unexpected missions conferences and a Sunday night meeting.

Two months ago, January through March was one big blank spot on our calendar. In the past month, God has written some things in that blank spot by giving us nearly ten meetings in those three months.

All in all, God has blessed us with over 50 meetings scheduled for deputation. It is awesome to see God confirm that we are in the center of His will by continuing to open doors that we never thought were possible.