Type:
If I were to ask my students to give me a list of the top ten theological rock stars, I suspect I know who most of the names that would appear. In many respects, this is understandable. There are many gifted and talented ministers who have very public ministries and have blessed many in the church through their sermons, essays, lectures, and books. But when I think about theological rock stars, an entirely different type of person comes to my mind—the missionary. Why does the missionary come to mind?
When the Bible presents the various things that reveals a person’s fidelity to the Lord, I find that missionaries really fit the bill. Most of the missionaries I know do some very amazing things. They go to seminary for three to four years of theological education and then make their preparations to go into the foreign mission field. Missionaries typically invest a lot of time in learning a foreign language, culture, and history. They then relocate to the mission field, which means living in a foreign country far away from family, friends, and all things familiar. For the missionaries who labor in places like Africa, it’s not a question of whether they’ll get sick but when. Malaria is a common African missionary illness that affects them for the rest of their lives. While the missionaries build friendships with the people on the field, at the same time they often feel a great sense of isolation. Missionaries also often live in less than ideal conditions. I remember one missionary telling me that he had to wait nearly a year to get a phone line installed at his home, and then once the line was installed, he regularly had to walk the line to make sure it wasn’t accidentally cut—the line did not hang from a pole but was run on the ground from the central hub to his house! When I think of all of these sacrifices that missionaries make, I also think of how willing they are to embrace these things for the sake of preaching the gospel. The missionaries I’ve met also pursue their calling with joy and excitement.
To me, all of these things amount to the spiritual equivalent of hitting a home run, sinking the game-winning shot from three-point country, or playing to a sold out stadium. Missionaries, in my mind, are the true theological rock stars. Does this mean that you can’t or shouldn’t hold theological rock stars in great esteem? No, not at all. But at the same time having theological heroes doesn’t keep you from expanding your pantheon of heroes so you can include missionaries. When you meet a missionary, therefore, thank them for their sacrificial service to the Lord. Regularly pray for them so that your prayers would undergird their ministry. Prayerfully consider financially supporting your denomination’s missionaries. And see what you can do to encourage missionaries—write letters, send care packages, or when they’re home on furlough invite them into your home for fellowship and hospitality.
