Said one of our brethren to me the other day,.”I am not in favor of sending our best men to the Orient. We need them at home. Less gifted men are good enough.\u27\u27 The brother is a man of acknowledged zeal for the work of the Lord and always willing to bring a personal sacrifice in order to win a soul for Christ. His firm conviction is that we  need our best men at home.  The subject challenges careful thought

Brand, F

English

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis: Scholarly Resources

Concordia Theological Monthly Volume 1 Issue 1 Januaru Article 44 5-1-1930 "Whom Shall We Send?" F Brand Concordia Seminary, St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm  Part of the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Brand, F (1930) ""Whom Shall We Send?"," Concordia Theological Monthly: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 44. Available at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol1/iss1/44 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Print Publications at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Concordia Theological Monthly by an authorized editor of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact seitzw@csl.edu. 846 "Wham 8ball We Send t" "Whom Shall We Send?" Said one of our brethren to me the other dq, ,.I am not in fawr of 1181lcling our beat men to the Orient. We need them at home. La gifted men are BOOd enough.'' The brother ia a man of aolmowledged seal for the work of the Lord and always willing to bring a penonal eacriflce in order to win a aoul for Ohriat. Hie firm conviction ia tha  we "need our beat men at home." Tho subject challenges careful thought. A miaaionBr7 to the non-Christiana in the Orient muat be a man of deep spiritual ezperience. A man who ia to be an ambaaaador for Ohriat muat know Ohriat; he muat have intimate acquaintance with Him aa with hie own personal Savior. The Orient ia overrun b7 people who claim the Ohristian name ond point to Obrist oa to their l!aater, but who manifestly hove no living apirituol contact with Him. They do not know the Goepel. A miaaionary muat be a man of vital apirituol experience. Beca118C of hie ains he must hove seen himaelf on the brink of perdition. He must know himself to be aaved on],y by the unfothomoble grace of God in Christ Jesus. He must rejoice in the foct that he hos forgiveness of sins because of the blood of the Lomb. He must be oble to soy with Poul: "When we wero deod in sins, hath He quickened us together with Obrist," Eph. S, 5. Only a man of thot experience cun truthfully witness for Ohriat, the Savior. A miSBionary to the non-Ohriation world muat bo a convinced Lutheran. There aro thousands of Christion mi88ionories in pagan lands. Well-nigh oil European and American religious organisation.a are carrying on aome form of foreign-missionary endeavor. A fow years ago the total number of foreign mi88ionories of overy description waa hed at 20,188. Nor do the miBSionorics conceal the foct that they have variant religious convictions. All forms of American and European doctrinal error are B88iduously propogoted. A Lutheran miaaionary must needs have contact with these mon on hie journe,a, at the hill resorts, in the villages, in the cities; in short, wherever he JDQ happen to be, he will occoaionolly meet a mi88ionary of one or the other religious denomination or members of churches establiabed by them. Then, again, there ia a strong tendency to demand a united front of all Protestant and Ohriatian miaaionaries against the crass heathenilllll in Oriental lands, to the injury of all distinctive doo-trinea. Unionism of the rankest kind ia being largely practised in heathen countries. In the midst of this religioua :Babel a Lutheran miaaionary must of neceaaii;y have a heart centered in, and atrength-ened by, the Word of the living God. He muat be divineb' con-vinced that true Lutheran doctrine ia none other than truly :Biblical doctrine. He muat baae whatever he teaches not on this or that 1Brand: "Whom Shall We Send?"Published by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary, 1930"Whom Shall We Bend.!" 84.7 1llcher or the Fatbera, but on the infallible Scriptures alan.e; he m1III be able to ahow from the inspired Word of God that the doctrinee of the Lutheran Ohurch are divine truth. BecaWl8 of his "Lutheran" CIOIIIGimoe he must be willing to be ostracized and to stand alone. 0Dl7 a man of that ~ can properly represent our Lutheran Ohurch abroad. A missionary to the heathen must be equipped to meet the objec-ticma and doubts of tho non-Christian with respect to the truth of the Ohriatian religion. In the Far East there are religioua systems that were founded and elaborat.ed JDaDY conturiea before the birth of Obrist and that since have received a moat searching investigation at the hands of highly gift.ed adherents and are moat aubt]y de-fended by them. And though all pagnn religions are to-day more or lea in a state of decay, to the miaaionary they nevertheless present a def.ermined and aggressive front. .All heathen countries are also pervaded to a larger or leaser degree by the materialism of Karl Kan: and his achoo}. Unleaa  miaaionary properly gages and enluatea the mind and religious background of the people among whom he labors, he will be unable to meet their arguments with IJJllpatbetio understanding and with the required precision, and his labon will frequent]y be altogether in vain. Ho therefore must be • IDIID who is well acquainted with the history, the religions, the literature, the customs, and the social trends of the people; he must be able to recognize such values as he may find and at the same time in proper spirit to moot the opposition with Scriptural and other ■rpmenta that will be convincing. Only a man of this character will measure up to the occasion. A missionary to heathen countries must boa man of conaecrated and Christlike life. There are thousands upon thousands of Europeans and Americana in the Orient who profeaa Christianity, but live a life of ain and shame. Also tho heathen themselves are naturally given to all forms of vice and licentiouaneaa. And they do these things fzequent]y under the color of religion. When reproached, they point to the euy morals of the foreigners as a cloak for their own shame. Into the foulness of this moral atmosphere the Christian missionary ia aent. Temptation approaches him by day and night. The remnant.a of hia own evil nature draw him violently to the deadly delights of all Dllll1Dl!r of sin. One unguarded prayerleaa moment may find him mared so deeply and so pitifully that he soon becomes a byword. Though many foreigners and all heathens cater to the ileah un-a■hamed. th87 are quick to detect and criticize any moral wealmeea in the milaionary and to exploit it to their own ends. As a repreaenta-me of the holy Ohriat the miaaionBl'J' must therefore be a man of couearated life and of highest rectitude. His daily motto muat be: 'Tor me to live is Obrist." He must be a light in the darkness round 2Concordia Theological Monthly, Vol. 1 [1930], Iss. 1, Art. 44https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol1/iss1/44II "Wham BJaa11 We Bend!" II about him. In hie oJBaial and printe life he m111t be able to IQ': 11Be :,e followan of me, 1mm u I also am of Ohriat, n 1 Oor. U, L In abort, peno~ and with hie family he must be a Ohriatim model The life of Obriat muat abine out in hia life. Only a mm of 1ml Qll8 ia good enough to do :miaaiOD&1'7 work in pagan countriea. A :miaaionB17 to the heathen must be free from clue pride. While the ancient civilisation in many respect& m~ truthfulb' be uid to be far euperior to our own, it is Oriental and frequently a product of the idolatrous religious systems obtaining in those landa and eapeciolq in a aociol acnae pitifully backward and deplorable. Often aocial conditiom beggar description. Also the economic statue of millions ia far inferior to anything a Wcatcmer ~ obaem, in his own countr;r. Not only ore the Orientals of a color diiferent from that of the miuionory, in many instances their persona, their. home life, their intelligence, their whole outlook on life, is far beneath anything with which the miaaionory can meet at home. I do not mean to say that tho Orient boa no wealth, no }coming, no culture. In fact, thero is much of it. But tho nvcrogc misaionary will not be called on to deol with it in his daily routine work. Rather will he constantly live and labor among tho lowly and tho depressed and the despised. To labor nmong people 0£ this kind requires a heart free from claaa spirit; a heart filled with love for Obrist and for His redeemed; a heart that has a pD88ion for souls, oven though they be encased in a body of filth; n heart that considers it a distinct privilege to be permitted to preach nmong i he Gentiles the unsearch-able riches of Obrist, Eph. 3, 8, and that, thereforo, strives to bo made all things to all men in order to save some, 1 Oor. 0, 22. Only a man who for the aako of his Savior can forget clD88 ond sociol statue and day by day, :,ear by year, all his lifetime secs in the lowliest nnd moat repulsive heathen a person for whom tl10 Son of God suffered and died 1111d whom He, sitting at the right band of God, still earnestly desires to save, ia fit to be a miaaionary. A foreign missionary daro not be opinionated; bo must be able to do team-work. At best, the number of foreign misaionariea is small. Called, as tho missionary is, to do pioneer work, to lay the foundatiom for a truly Lutheran, that is to say, Ohristian Ohurch 1111d to build upon that foundation, he needs to counsel frequently with his fellow-laborers and with hia homo board. Ho must be willing to profit b:, their euperior experience and, as long as his conscience ia not involved, to aurrender and submerge his own best thoughts and finest plans to the common interests 1111d to fraternal harmony. Y-, he m111t be willing ocouionall7 to forego the pleasure of seeing his really pertinent; and constructive suggestions accepted and, in case he ia unable to win the b?ethren over to his point of view, neverthe-leu remain nreetly reasonable and companionable rather than be-3Brand: "Whom Shall We Send?"Published by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary, 1930"Wham Shall We Bend T" 849 eame danded 1111d disdected-and refuae to play. There is no pater internal bane to the miaeionary enterprise than the mia-aiouq who becomes soured and will not cooperate because he is not appreciated. Only the man who is ablo to labor in harmony with his :feDow..miaionarioa should be sont to tho foreign fiolds. A miaionary to the Orient m118t bo willing gladly to forego some of the conveniences of tho modern Western cit:, and to put up with rather primitive conditions; yes, he muat bo willing even to suffer pmeoution and death for his Lord. In tho largo Oriental cities all modern urban convenioncea and improvements aro found. But not ., in the outlying districts. Whilo miBBion-aocioties generally •meatly strive to houao their miaaionarics in a comfortable faahion and thmefore provide tliem with roomy dwellinp, spacious com-poundl, and auch other conveniences as cnn bo given them, still it muat be admitted that many thinp that would bo desirable cannot be offered. Much unhappiness has been tho lot of missionaries who lacked the willingness to adapt themselves to Oriental living condi-tiona and to accept inconveniences as a necessary part of their great calling and aa a mattor of course. They fret and pine under their imaginary aacrifi.cca and make themselves and others thoroughly miserable. As a result they lose joyful interest in their labors and long to get back to their Western homes. As they do their work in a half-hearted and perfunctory manner, not much succeu can attend their labors. Thon, if it should happen that persecution arises and that they m118t suffer ignominy and 108808 because of the name of Ohrilt, oven being put face to face with death, they are very prone to tum their back upon their high cnlling and to seek their own safety and welfare at the cost of tho work of tho Lord and to tho injury of tba aoula under their spiritual co.re. Ho who cannot deny himself the conveniencea of modem Western city life and is not prepared to ■u!er for the cauao of tho Lord is not fit to bo a missionary • .A. miBBionary to tho heathen muat be an able teacher. "Teaching them to observe all thinp whatsoever I havo commanded you," Matt. 28,iO. Although the Orient has much that is beautiful, a real heritage and one that is well worth preserving, it does not have the Word of God and can neither create nor sustain spiritual life. That is done b,y the Word of God alone. Missionaries must bo equipped to teach the Word. They muat bo equipped to teach the Word in the vernacular, not only to tho youth of the land, but also to the adults. Schools of ,svery character must bo organized and auperviaed. In Oriental countrioa the political authorities have long ago introduced educational codes. A miBBionary muat bo able to measure up to the zequireme:nta of these codes with respect to his own knowledge and with :reapect to the conduct of the schools. Lutheran misaion-schoola ■bould bo manned by Lutheran schoolteachers. Unless properly I 4Concordia Theological Monthly, Vol. 1 [1930], Iss. 1, Art. 44https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol1/iss1/448150 "Wham Bba1l We 8eDcl t" equipped men ue tramed 'b the miaaion&r7, he will have to labor without them. Lutheran congnp.tion.e mun be aupplied with Lu-theran puton. If the miaicmar., does not educate them, where wiJli he find them I Furibermore, if the :recently founded Ohriatian con-gregationa are to become aelf-propagating and to endme, they muat be abepberded and guarded 'b nati'9'8 men nble to search the original founta of the aaored Word. How can the need be met if no prcmaioDs, ue made for it I High schools, colleges, normal achools, theological MJDin■..;..., must be founded and 1D11DDed b:, miaaionnriea qualified to perform theae T&rioua difficult and often highly specialised taakl. .Although not ever:, miaaionar:, to the F r En.at needa to be fit to fill every pouible teaching poaition, each one must bo qualified to teacb-10mewhere-if not at 11CCODdar:, achools, then at leaat at one of the-118Teral stations - and muat bo nble to supervise the activi1i', of hia native fellow-laborera. Aa long na foreig  miaaiona nre conducted, the abili1i', to t.each and to 111perviao teaching muat be required of all mia-aionnriea. A miaaicmar., lacking in this gift will be woeful]:, out of place. A miaaion&r7 to the Orient must po811e88 tact and must be well' qualified to play the r6le of a Ohriatian statesman. :Man:, queatiODB emerge that require tactful and wise treatment. The Orient ia not uncultured. FreqUODtly the customs and the social conventiona are fare more refined then in our matter-of-fact West. Also, there are man:, high offlciala of state with whom the miaaionar:, must of neceaait:, deal. A miaaion&r7 who does not study the social forms of the Orient and does not try to plenae b:, observing them with scrupulous care will immediately be written down na a barbarian, a  uncultured peraon, and as a :result will aerioual:, prejudice hia sacred caue. Kuch injury has been done to-the cnuao of our Lord 'b careleu and supercilious miaaionnriea with their rude conduct in their social intercourse with Orientals. Aga n, there is nothing that so quickJ7 l'8Dl0Tes natural Oriental BUSPicion and contempt of the foreigner and wins interest and confidence as the careful obaervnnco of innocent Oriental aocial conftlltiona and a manifcat desire always to present the poliahed Ohriatian gentleman. Ever:, foreign miaaionar:, must poueaa these moat elementary qualifications of the well-bred Ohriatinn. I am far from haring ezhaust.ed m:, subject. l£uch more might be added, eapeciall:, with respect to the ph:,aical requirements for a foreign miaaionar:,, hia post.graduate work, his language study, hia IOcial aerrice, his uecutive, administrative, and bookkeeping abili1iY, and man:, other subject&. However, I believe I have shown, u I intended, that the work of a miaaion& 7 to the Orient requires a V8r1 high degree of mental and spiritual equipment. The taab of a foreip miaaicm&l'3' ue ao varied, 10 multitudinous, and so great that one m,q well er:, out aa ·doea the apostle: "And who is aufflcient for tbeelt 5Brand: "Whom Shall We Send?"Published by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary, 1930!la Padtlcm cd the Clarlltlaa Wom&D 1D the Church. BIS1 tbinpl" 9 Oor. 9, 18. But wa rejoice to be able to amwer with PalJl: -Our daillllQ)' is of God. n No man m,r yet was aent out to the foreign field f~ equipped .to labor. ETen St. Paul, the greatest of all foreign missionaries, m:-periencad much epiritual growth. And it ia our comfort and the com-fort of fl'lfrq foreign miaai0Dar7 wprthy of the name that the Spirit of God is with him, labors with him, and graciously continues to endue him with hia gifts. No miaaionary should therefore despair becauae « hia wealmeaaea and because of the lnck of tbia or that apeciflc nquirement and gift for hia high calling. Only let him look up to God for guidance and for help. Our Savior promiaea: ''Lo, I am with J'OU alway." Nor should any one who baa aecretly harbored the wiab to be permitted to labor in the foreign field be deterred from 't'Olunteering hia services for tbia great enterpriac. If it is altogether in agreement with the mind of the Lord that one may "desire the olica of a bishop," 1 Tim. 3, 1, it is no lcu proper for ono to desire the otllce of a foreign miaaionary. 'But lot ua, who are charged b7 God to call and send out laborers, do it with the conviction and determination that only the very beat men available should be sent out to the heathen aa witnesses for J' esua Obrist. FRBDBRJOK BRAND. The Position of the Christian Woman, Especially as Worker in the Church. The position of women in most heathen nations and tribes waa 1md ia one of almost unbelievable degradation and unapeakable miser7. In moat cases, even among the more enlightened nations of antiquity, ahe was nothing more than a mere chattel Under the old Roman law, for eumple, a husband had absolute power of life and death ewer hia wife and absolute control of hor property. (Brace, Gata. Cl,,ri,fi, 20.) In Athens, during the age of the orators, the woman was obliged to accopt without questioning a position distinctly subordinate to the men, both intellectually and socially. "The life of the Athenian woman waa not only exceedingly circumacribed and isolated, but she was actually.treated throughout her lifo aa a minor and UDder -conatant tutelage, being subject, at various times, to the authority of her father, brother, grandfather, husband, aon, or guardian; abe had practically no authority, except in the sphere of domestic econo1117." (Savage, T1a1 .Athenian Fa.mil71, 25.) Aa for the present-da.7 savage tribes of .Africa, Australia, South America, and elsewhere, even the IIIOlt auperficial acquaintance with the history and progreaa of mis-sions will afford a view of a serfdom and slavery on the part of women which in m~ instances place her below the level of beasts in her intellectual and aocial sphere. In only a few of the Teutonic and 6Concordia Theological Monthly, Vol. 1 [1930], Iss. 1, Art. 44https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol1/iss1/44

Whom Shall We Send?

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Whom Shall We Send?

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