Empires & Missions

Were the missionary efforts of the 20th century successful, the wealth of the West enabled the churches to have money to send missionaries, not that they paid them very well, but they have money to send them.

But the complicating factor was that many local people saw the missionaries as simply Imperial agents saw the missionaries is coming to advance the cause of the West, not the cause of Christ was a young boy I remember missionaries coming to our church and one in particular from Africa and his family would hear stories of jungles held animals and people groups that had never heard about Jesus. Books were written about missionaries like that which inspired a large missionary movement in America and Europe today and Renewing Your Mind, Dr. W. Robert Godfrey will explain how these missionary efforts, though sometimes slow, sometimes clumsy the cause of Christ.

Recently I have been reading a book by Lawrence James entitled Churchill and Empire, I began to think there was nothing new that could be said about Winston Churchill wrote a lot about Winston Churchill but this book is quite fascinating because it focuses on Churchill's ideal of the British Empire and what it ought to be and what it could accomplish in the world and how it influenced his life and near the beginning of that book. James makes an amazing statement. He said in 1985% of the worlds surface was controlled by 10 Imperial powers Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, US. Now that doesn't mention China and it doesn't mention the Ottoman Empire. If you added those to it must be that almost hundred percent of the world surface would have been controlled at least formally by an empire the world had been Imperial lysed and you notice that with the exception of Japan.

Those empires were almost entirely Western. Now some of those empires were in significant decline. The Dutch empire. I hate to tell the Dutch people here was in decline. The Spanish and Portuguese empires were also in decline, but other empires were significantly expanding the British Empire, the German Empire. The Russian Empire.

So when we enter the 20th century, although we may not think of it very much still today while we were in a world that was very Imperial that we as Americans, of course, would say we didn't have an empire, but probably if you were in Cuba or Philippine's you might've felt like you were part of an American empire. Certainly, America had a sphere of influence. That was very powerful and this same author says that part of what was going on in the late 19th century was a rapid effort to accumulate colonies and to control more of the world and that this competition is part of what set up Europe for the first world war. The conflict of empires and James as far as legacy of secular historian observes about the late 19th century contemporaries explained this rush for land in terms of Darwin's evolutionary theories, so this is the struggle of the strongest to defeat the week of stunned takeover. I mention this because what a different world we live in Britain still has a queen, but doesn't have much of an empire when I was in graduate school. My wife had a friend who is British and said to her, we still have Hong Kong and Gibraltar will now they only have Gibraltar so empires are in decline.

The German Empire. The Russian Empire. The Austrian Empire disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century. These empires seem still quite powerful. Now, historians can look back and see various forces at work that might well have anticipated the dissolution of empires, but the Romanoff family had been czars in Russia for centuries. The Hohenzollern's in Germany had been around a long time. Although they had only been emperors for a few decades, but the Habsburgs in the Austrian Hungarian Empire had been around for more than 1/2 a millennium as a major force in European history at the beginning of the 20th century old Empire seemed fairly stable, very powerful, likely to continue. And yet, that old world was to collapse like a house of cards in the first world war and out of the first world war. Germany would come forth as a Republic not an empire. Russia would come forth as a People's Republic not quite a democracy, but certainly not the old Romanoff Empire, the Habsburgs would be gone. World War I was a watermark in the history of Western civilization in terms of change. I don't think it's too much to say that World War I didn't end until 1945 in a profound sense. There was just a 20 year troops. World War II really is phase 2 of World War I trying to cope with the aftermath of collapse, but at the beginning of the 20th century. It is interesting that at the same time Europe was reaching out around the world for colonies and Empire. The 19th century was the great century for missions and of course scholars today recognize that the Imperial growth of Europe both profoundly helped the cause of missions and profoundly harmed the cause of missions. It profoundly helped the cause of missions because it made missionary activity so much more possible. It was easy for Europeans and Americans to travel to many parts of the world that previously had been difficult to reach were closed off because of this Imperial spread the wealth of the West enabled the churches to have money to send missionaries, not that they paid them very well but they had money to send them. But the complicating factor was that many local people saw the missionaries as simply Imperial agents saw the missionaries is coming to advance the cause of the West, not the cause of Christ that was not true of most missionaries may be true of some, but most missionaries were genuinely motivated by desire to make Christ known.

They may not always been greatly wise about how they set about to make Christ known, but they went for Christ that went to serve Christ and they did an amazing amount of good. There's just been a recent book again by secular historian who's been arguing that the foundations in many parts of the world led by Christian missionaries are bearing important fruit in political stability and economic growth. A kind word, a commemorative book.

I can't find it because we don't get many kind words. And we ought to remember that when they're spoken, but this this missionary activity was profound and was huge and was remarkable.

Probably the greatest advance the greatest growth of Christianity in a single century in the history of the church and one scholar has said 4/5 of all the missionaries who went out in the 19th century were English-speaking that shows how much the importance of America and Britain were to the missionary because in the 19th century there were other missionaries. Of course, from the Netherlands from Germany from Scandinavia, but that the backbone of the modern missionary movement came from English-speaking parts of the world, and it it's a very interesting history, but a little hard to tell because it's a history of individuals who go to different places and have different kinds of experiences so it's a little hard to generalize but we can say a few things both particular. In general, we can say that in America the great image of the missionary that inspired many in the 19th century was David Brainerd, I might have heard of David Brainerd David Brainerd was a young man born in America in 1718. And he lived to be only 29.

He died in 1747 and he was a missionary really for only four years but gave himself wholeheartedly, passionately, sacrificial suffering way to trying to evangelize American Indians and his devotion was so inspirational particularly to Jonathan Edwards the Jonathan Edwards after the death of David Brainerd wrote a biography of David Brainerd and that biography became one of those hugely influential books that gripped many many people with the vision and the desire to become a missionary and to go and serve Christ and another even more famous figure that inspired folks, particularly in Britain was William Carey a William Carey is often called the father of modern missions will be right those names on the board. I don't want any of you making any mistakes in your notes.

William Carey was born in 1761 was an Englishman was not highly educated, had grown up in a nonconformist church became a Baptist became passionate as a Calvinist to go and preach the gospel to be used by God to bring the message of salvation to the elect around the world. He was confronted in England by a number of hyper Calvinist who said that we don't need missionaries got together his elect on his own and William Carey was a better Calvinist. I hate the word hyper Calvinist hyper Calvinist or not Calvinist at all their fundamental disorders of Calvinist and shouldn't be allowed to be called Calvinist at all. That's not really part of church history but but William Carey was passionate about his desire to go and preach and to make Christ known and became particularly foundational in carrying missions to India in 1793, where British influence was just beginning to grow and the Carey had a passion for all of those who were to be found in India and who did not know the gospel and he pursued a a strategy of missions. It would be influential in later terms amongst many people. He studied the background and thought of the non-Christians who were there so we could understand how to communicate with them. Key preached far and wide traveling and distributing Bibles. He established churches as quickly as possible and set about trying to train an indigenous ministry to staff those churches as quickly as possible so Carey right from the beginning established really model of of missionary activity and again his story inspired people far and wide in the English-speaking world and beyond to be concerned about missions and to be involved in missions by the middle of the 19th century missions were growing much more dramatically on some of the famous names of 19th century missions foundational missionaries going really without much support without any foundation going. Having to learn the language we think of Robert Morrison going to China in the early 19th century at in Ireland Judson going to Burma and then of course very famously David Livingstone going to Africa and these famous missionaries.

These these foundational missionaries often have biographies written about them in their own lifetime or immediately after their death, and those biographies had a tremendous impact on the churches impacting people on the need and on the heroic character of missions. Now we all know that when you actually get to a foreign country as a missionary. Every day is not heroic. Their tufted is there difficulties that are frightening days there were discouraging days, but these biographies are not that they were all dishonest, but these biographies were inspirational to many people and really helped to attract and to inspire and to direct many people to head to the mission work after the middle of the 19th century a new development in missions was the willingness of churches to send single women to the mission field. Earlier they had thought that was inappropriate or undignified or dangerous and the role of women on the mission field, particularly single women came to be really remarkable and very very powerful on the mission field in one of the most famous missionaries on the mission field in the early 20th century was Mary Slusser. How many of you ever heard Mary Slusser suggest a few. Remember Mary Slusser, Mary Slusser was born in 1848 lived down to 1915 talk about her conjecture lived in the 20th century were supposed between about 20 centuries on cheating a little bit but tell Mary Slusser was born in Scotland. She was a Presbyterian and as she felt the call as a single woman when she was just 28 to head out to the mission field and I went to what was known then as the Calabar Mary Slusser of the Calabar. She was famous in the early 20th century in Christian circles as Mary Slusser of the Calabar David Livingstone's nephew, I think, wrote a very famous biography of her and that to carry her story and inspired many many people today the Calabar as part of Nigeria and I Mary Slusser went into a part of Nigeria that was notoriously dangerous violent tribes who were very suspicious of any strangers who would come into the tribe and Mary Slusser moved in initially to a kind of missionary compound on the coast that had been established by man and was relatively safe but was not able to accomplish very much because it was relatively isolated from the people and Mary Slusser soon convinced herself that it was time for her to go up country. As she put it, and after she had been there about 10 years.

Both her mother and her sister had died in Scotland and she said that heaven is now near to me than Britain and no one will be anxious about me.

If I go up country so she felt a kind of liberty now to adjust to what she felt the Lord was calling her to do and does she set off upcountry just a little short Scottish woman who went on the freight and it's really an inspiring story. By the time of her death she founded 50 churches and schools with 1500 communicant members and several thousand other people attending, and inquiring and had really become a huge influence over about 200 mi.² place out of her courage out of her conviction out of her love and out of her kindness and one of the things she wrote about her strategy has always stayed with me and has always intrigued me.

She begins her observation by saying Christ was never in a hurry. I think that's a fascinating statement. Christ was never in a hurry.

There was no rushing forward. No anticipating no fretting over what might be done every day's duties were done as every day brought them and the rest was left with God that was for her confidence. That was her assurance. I mean, there's a good Calvinist attitude is not.

It is not by my fretful frenetic activity. The gods were but by doing faithfully what is called me to do and going forth in his service, she wrote, I am ready to go anywhere, provided it be forward in that a great attitude I'm willing go anywhere, provided before and so she went into areas where the men missionaries were afraid to go and it was probably wise on both sides. The men would've been more threatening and here she was just this little woman who could be threatened by her. But the gates of hell were threatened by or the devil was driven out by her and go. She was a good Presbyterian. So whenever she would gather a group of believers. She would start a church and send for Amanda pastor the church and then she said now the place of safe for the men all move on someplace dangerous. There was there was a great story where a man came to visit her where she had started a new station and found her painting and the he said to her, Mary Slusser, your painting on the Sabbath day and she said oh I lost track of time. I didn't know was a Sabbath.

I thought Sabbath was tomorrow and she was undone, not carefully keeping the Sabbath and realized she was so isolated, so long it was difficult to keep the days straight. And yet she was doing the work of the Lord and although she was not really trained in medicine. She had enough just Western sense about medicine that she could do a great deal of good for people in the area and they saw her love and were so persuaded and the spirit of God was at work to protect her and to use her in remarkable ways. When she observed the violence, even including cannibalism amongst the people.

She said man can do nothing with such a people had I not felt my Savior close beside me. I would've lost my reason. And yet she did feel him close.

One of the interesting things is she had to prepare very carefully for her own death because she was very afraid that they would dig up her bones to use them in superstitious magic of those who had not been converted and so she made careful care to make sure that she was buried where her grave could not be molested as her health deteriorated. She said don't talk about the cold hand of death. It is the hand of Christ. Now you can see why those stories made such an impact why those stories moved others to go on the mission field and why there was success and such power on the mission field. There were problems on the mission field.

There was the problem of how do we disconnect the church from these imperial powers. How quickly do we move indigenous ministers into taking over the church. How dependent should the church be on the mission agency. How quickly should we try to get them to be independent and some missions did a lot better with those questions, and other missions in India. The missionaries provided a lot of food for people, but the concern became are the people coming to the missions just rice Christians as they were no do they come just for the food or do they come for Christ. How do we how do we balance our social concern with our religious concern and do as I say the missions sometimes kept the churches to dependent on the Westerners didn't allow local leadership to take control soon enough and we can look back and we can be very critical. A lot of these people but they went and they preached and they loved and they made a difference and I think it's really important for us as Christians today to think that while many in Europe were going just for wealth and power and influence in Empire. There was an army of people going for Christ and for his gospel and to plan his church and today we see the fruits of that all around the world. It's estimated that I think close to half the population of South Korea today is Christian by filiation certain regions of Nigeria are strongly Christian. The impact will really only be known in eternity, but to the 19th century and on into the early 20th century, you know, changing from one century to another on the calendar doesn't mean that all historical events immediately shifts gear but the 19th century and onto the early 20th century were really the rate. Of missions and the great. In which of the Lord was not only bringing many people to faith but also laying foundations that would be powerfully used. Later I remember talking to a pastor in Indonesia and I said to him, you know, there's very little fruit in the 17th century to Dutch reformed missions did that was that effort really worth the effort and he said all they translated the Bible into our language. They gave us assaulter in our language. Those foundations. Although not powerfully fruitful in their own day wonderfully productive later in history of the church and that's that's part of what makes history so challenging. We can always see how little beginnings will sometimes centuries later, Ray plus so it's wonderful to remember as we go into the 20th century, a variety of discouragements is the great input is a good reminder is in it than our efforts for Christ. No matter how weak and frail, can produce fruit. We know that the word of God does not return void. As we discovered today. Those early 20th century missionaries influence so much of the church culture through the 1950s and beyond, and it's easy to see why people's imaginations were were sparked when they heard of men and women sacrificing for the gospel. Religion joined us for Renewing Your Mind on this Tuesday timely web and the all week were featuring a portion of Dr. Robert Godfrey series of survey of church history, it's a complete examination of the growth of the church and when you give a donation of any amount today will be glad to send you a portion of the series recovering this week on the 20th century. There are 12 messages onto DVDs and you can request them when you go online to Renewing Your Mind.org or when you call us. Our number is 800-435-4343. Regular ministries.

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