SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT: "N" is for Nurturing

By Charlie Costa

      In a suffocating world where, more often than not, the motto is “the survival of the fittest,” we are called upon, as churches, to be MISSIONARY. We are to be Motivated, Impactful, Servant-hearted, Strategic, Intentionally Indigenous and Observant, and now, as the picture starts to take a fuller shape, the challenge is to be Nurturing. How can a church be nurturing in its missionary endeavor? Is it a knee-jerk reaction to the need for some missionaries? Is it an afterthought in the church’s mission strategy?

      I encourage pastors to think long and hard about the fact that nurturing is like building an edifice that can withstand the test of time. It starts with laying the foundation in the minds of the younger generations. Nurturing those minds is a must with the reality of a sinful world in need of Jesus. Missions — local, national and international — can achieve that goal.

      The depth of the depravity and sinfulness of man is not harped on enough. There is complacency and justification for a lot of human actions and behavior. Some even give these actions biblical permission. Many teaching trends sweep our younger generation. The world wants them to believe it is okay to practice certain things we’ve been told are sinful. The world wants us to believe, if we believe there is a God, that He is a God of love and will never send anyone to eternal damnation. Of course, now that has evolved to the point where the world wants the new generation to believe that man is his own god! Wasn’t that part of the first lie? “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5 NKJV). So, the young minds are being fed the lie that they can be the god who decides their gender, who can decide what fetus lives or dies and what sexual orientation they can have —to mention a few things. If that were true, can you see what kind of power and freedom that would allow them to have over their lives? I am reminded of the closing words of “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

      The world wants our young to believe the lie and be oblivious to their sinfulness and, therefore, the world’s and to the need for Jesus. Then, who would need missions?

      A church that is missionally nurturing is a church that nurtures the idea that missions is the utmost priority for a New Testament church. Not to belittle other spiritual and social priorities, but the primacy of missions in the life of the church is not only a principle but a controlling factor that governs many facets.

      When we hire a pastor, is the pastorate a job and a salary for him, or is it a launching platform for reaching the community and beyond for Jesus? What are his dreams on that front? Are we only concerned that the new potential pastor adheres to the right set of doctrines, or do we also check to see if those include, at the top of the list, the missional priority of “Go…” (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15)?

      How about nurturing the idea that we are not called to make people BMA Baptists but to lead them to become children of God through the work of Christ? Those who respond to the gospel that is shared through the work of the BMA may not understand or know what the Baptist Missionary Association is, but I can assure you that when our job is done right, they will know what Jesus stands for and what man needs to be saved.

      A nurturing church promotes the right priorities in its life, such as the primacy of missions, a biblical understanding of doctrine rather than a denomination and the priority of where our dollars should go.

      Here we go again — money, money, money. When we give an account to Christ, how shall we justify the church funds sitting in banks and investment firms collecting interest… for a rainy day? Just asking!

      A nurturing church promotes associational mission work. You know that, as one local church, we cannot do it alone, so let’s join forces to reach the world for Jesus. It takes humility, mutual submission, joint vision and a fearless heart dependent on the power of God’s Holy Spirit. The urgency in these words is so based on the words of Scripture, “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand” (Ezek. 3:18). Think about that for a moment. God is not playing games.

      If you put the shoe on the other foot, you will realize that is why you want churches to nurture. When they nurture their people with these principles, they indirectly nurture the missionaries. That will bring results — warning sinners of impending doom if they do not repent — for the glory of God. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

      Last May, I celebrated 44 years of ministry. I can summarize those years in one word, with no regret — Missions. When you look back on your ministry, what one word summarizes it? I pray it is, in the least, “Nurturing.”