POST RACE THOUGHTS
NOVEMBER 2022
“There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”
-Hudson Taylor
“We are fierce. We are warriors for Christ. We are the next generation. Daring to pioneer the unreached world with a purpose of sharing the love of our savior. This is our story.”
-Ben Towne, reflecting on the launch of World Race Expedition, 2015.
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Our feet are soggy and wet as we trudge up the stream. The dim light in our headlamps flicker in the air as we navigate where to put feet next. One wrong move can send us crashing into the frigid waters. Our bodies are covered in mud; the result of crawling and walking through over a mile of cave passage underground. Yet we round the corner and there in an airtight container is the register for the back of the cave. A few minutes later, we regroup with a group of cave surveyors, who are commenting on passages that had never been mapped before. They have labored consistently for over four years to produce an updated cave map, and are now inching towards their prize: the back of the cave. Hours later, we emerge aboveground. A fun night of camaraderie, fellowship, and swapping stories awaited over the Halloween weekend.
One day, I was home and found the latest edition of the “NSS News” (the magazine of the National Speleological Society) waiting to be read. Inside was a 9 page spread with lots of pictures and commentary about this year’s Expedition to explore the Sistema Huautla cave system in Mexico. Immediately, memories transported me back to the auditorium in Cookeville, TN during the 2019 NSS Convention. Cave explorers presented their findings from all over the world, as we clapped and eagerly asked questions. We gasped, cheered, and clapped as photos were unveiled from the deepest, darkest recesses of the earth. Some of those places were untouched by humans- seeing light cast out the darkness for the first time. Upon closing the magazine, I reflected and confirmed that there is a rich, vibrant underground world and community of explorers underneath our feet. Yet could this also have spiritual ramifications?
To go where few (or none) have gone before. To see what few have seen. To be part of something great, grand, mysterious, hard, grueling, yet beautiful at the same time. To take risks and put it all on the line. This is the Frontier. And reaching it for the Gospel is part of the DNA of the Great Commission. I was in college when I began reading about the World Race Expedition and its vision to penetrate into the unreached areas of the world. The blogs and videos of young men and women sold out for Christ in the far flung reaches of the world fascinated me. Yet it showcased the mantle of the Pioneer- spying out the land, seeking the Lord in where to go, and buckling up for a wild, crazy ride into the unknown.
The route played out in 2021 and 2022, and there were some moments like this thrown into the mix- particularly in Albania and North Africa. Yet as the journey unfolded, I stayed in a lot of cities for much of the time- with most daily conveniences easily available. My goal of radiating out into the country “hub and spokes” style with sometimes only a tent to sleep in did not align smoothly at times with those (that do play important roles in the Body of Christ) who saw the city as the place to stay and invest their time. But going deeper, trends (that I hope to lovingly challenge here) regarding the American church (not just on the World Race) emerged. Over the decades, risk came to be viewed as a liability instead of a way to put courage & sacrifice to the test. Martyrdom and being physically “wounded in action” seem to be something that we avoid rather than something that we hold with honor (like soldiers fighting in a war; and we are fighting in a very spiritual but very real war). We have often turned ourselves inwards and prioritized ministry inside the church’s four walls, buying the lie that one cannot look outward to expand God’s kingdom and inward to seek healing and growth at the same time. Perhaps we have emphasized the practical things like partnerships, money, and addressing socio-economic needs at the expense of simply asking God to move mountains in times of prayer and walking by His Spirit in blind faith.
There is also a temptation to view God-given concepts (like pioneering & ministry partnerships, inner growth & outward ministry, dating & living a focused missional life, supernatural moves of God & sacrificial service of the saints, evangelism to strangers & engaging people we know, local community & global missions, etc) as things that oppose one another instead of complementing one another. As the route moved forward, I felt a general shift in missional orientation at multiple levels (squad, organization, Church) towards taking the more established paths with pioneering being pushed further and further towards the fringes. The Race ended, and I found myself at home wondering: “Has this pioneering vision that people who have gone before us and gave their lives to started to fade”?
Yet I walk away from this Race, the trekking in Colorado, and now settling into the Boone community with hope in my heart. This is hope that comes from redemption. Redemption is a powerful concept and expression of God’s power: creating beauty from ashes, writing a new chapter where the story should have ended, reassembling a masterpiece out of shards of smithereens. As the church in America, we are grappling with how to navigate an era beyond the colonialism / imperialism that defined Western thought and guided exploration for hundreds of years. We are coming to terms with some of the atrocities or bad practices that happened as a result (i.e. destruction of Native peoples by Christopher Columbus and others; and today’s movement to rename Columbus Day as Indigeonous People’s Day in response). Yet through all of this, the Lord is here. And He can redeem exploration, frontier thinking, and good ole’ Indiana Jones style adventure while restoring these qualities back to their original purposes. This purpose being advancing a Kingdom that is not of this world to a world that desperately needs to hear the good news of Jesus. It’s no longer about fortune and glory, but about something way, way bigger- and ultimately grander.
Heroes are not born; they are forged- cultivating inspiration in their wake. Looking Eastward, we discover the tale of a Kiwanis affiliated young lady who selflessly did humanitarian work in Syria and ultimately witnessed to ISIS before being martyred. Kayla Mueller’s story left a big impact on me while navigating faith as a high school Key Club (Kiwanis) student. Today, we look eastward towards Ukraine and those who are courageously serving for Christ (https://youtu.be/875q2u0s4Rk). Look further eastward towards Asia, and we see tales from Brother Yun, CT Studd, and Hudson Taylor- who all threw their lives in for the Gospel. We see a persecuted church on fire for the Lord and pressing into the most unreached areas of Earth. Just like the caves and those who dare to explore them, the underground church is a powerful community under the surface- penetrating the darkest places with the light.
The risk is real- but is it worth it? Is the Gospel and reaching the Frontier worth the pain, the uncomfortability, the suffering, seeing loved ones leave but not knowing if they will come back, the wrath at the hands of those who hate you, living a much different life from those closest to you, and the facing of rejection of something for something better. Yet is it worth it, we say? In 1993, a group called the “Red Team” assembled to go to Bosnia in Eastern Europe. The Balkan Wars were raging, and a rocket car stuntman was recruited to the team to drive them. After crossing “sniper alley”, they reached a school and began distribution. A young lady who attended walked through the cold to school, her life shattered because of the war and destruction around her. Yet she peered into a colored shoebox filled with school supplies- given to her by those people with a heart for Christ. From that point forward, she embarked on a new path of discovering and ultimately coming to know the Lord. After that first trip into Bosnia, the “Red Team” returned to America, and the rest is history. Since then, Operation Christmas Child has grown into a strong missional force each year to bring hope and the Gospel to children across the world. Many of its testimonies, including this one, can be discovered in the book “Operation Christmas Child: A Story of Simple Gifts” (authors: Franklin Graham and Donna L. Toney). Yet it started with a simple team ready and willing to say “yes”. Yes, indeed, Jesus and the Great Commission is worth it all. And may we, as members of the Body of Christ, proclaim: “yes”.
“It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’ This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.” Romans 15: 20-24
PHOTO- Hiking in the mountains of Montenegro with many Kosovar youth that soon became close friends.
Well written with such a heart and passion for the Gospel! I love what God is doing through you Brett. You are definitely his hands, feet and heart to this world!