Not a Game or a Hobby

Do not let the priesthood of all believers devolve into the “missionaryhood” of all believers. They are not one and the same; ask any biblically grounded pastor. They all know they have an office to uphold, and such sacred duties they do not share and relinquish easily.”

So why does it matter whom we call ‘missionary’? It matters because the glory of God and the good of the nations are at stake; it matters because the lifelong, fruit-bearing missionary office will fade into silence behind the adventurous buzz of what sometimes appears to be a short-term Christian vacation. If there is no definition of the historical office and biblical responsibilities of a ‘sent one’,when indescribable adversity and soul-crushing loneliness plunge the supposed missionary into depression, why would he have the resolve to persevere if it is just a voluntary endeavor that he is trying to get out of? If anyone can be a missionary, then nobody truly will be. This is not a game. This is not a hobby. The glory of God is at stake.

—E.D. Burns, The Missionary Theologian