The reports and briefings from staff were extensive; correspondence was massive from everyone in the Southern Baptist Convention who had suggestions about how we should be doing missions. The meetings were endless, email and phone messages accumulated and obligatory travel began to change my lifestyle. Not having had a routine preaching role previously, I was ill-prepared for the preparation and forethought needed to speak sometimes up to a dozen times a week.

As I became stressed over 15-hour work days and the time-consuming responsibilities, wondering how to cope, where is the margin, how to find time to prepare messages and be nurtured spiritually, I thought of an experience early in my field assignment in Indonesia. The Chinese commercial community was an easy target of evangelism compared to the dominant Muslim population. They would readily respond and receive Christ, but I wasn’t very successful in getting them to close their business to worship and become involved in church on Sunday. I tried to convince them that God would bless and prosper their business in six days if they would honor Him with a Sabbath rather than by working seven days a week, but they seldom took me up on that suggestion.

I also thought of when I moved into a field leadership role and began to travel extensively, sometimes for two or three weeks at a time. My wife, Bobbye, would preview my itinerary of travel from country to country, full of activities and appointments encouraging missionary families, participating in conferences and trouble-shooting administrative issues.

Invariably she would ask, “Where is your Sabbath?”

In order to accomplish all that I needed to do on those trips, I seldom scheduled any margin in moving from place to place. Although I definitely worshipped on Sunday, that certainly wasn’t a Sabbath rest as it was usually the busiest day of the week. My wife knew me well; she was aware that if I didn’t have some downtime for refreshing and what, at home, was quality spiritual time with the Lord, my patience and wisdom began to diminish; decision-making and advice became characterized more by human reasoning than Godly insight.

As God brought those experiences from my background to mind, I realized after a few months into my new leadership role that I did not have a Sabbath. Certainly I worshipped on Sunday, usually preaching somewhere, but even time on the plane and in travel involved catching up with reading and email, planning agenda—trying to get ahead of Monday morning. In my frustration and fatigue I sensed God asking, “Jerry, where is your Sabbath?”

I came to a commitment not to do on Sunday what I did other days of the week. I still had to travel and fill preaching engagements, but instead of doing office work and catch-up tasks, I put aside what filled the other six days—email, writing assignments, reading office material. When tempted to get a jump on Monday by checking my inbox, there was a check in my spirit to get out my Bible or devotional reading instead. And since the Jewish Sabbath began at sundown on the night before, I found significant spiritual refreshing by shutting down other tasks and concerns on Saturday evenings in preparation for Sunday.

It was amazing how time seemed to expand; maybe I became more adept at personal discipline, but God blessed me with a sense of confidence, well-being and constant awareness of His presence throughout the week that became sufficient for the demands and responsibilities.

I get exasperated with the modern-day attitude toward what a “Sabbath” is all about. We usually approach it in terms of what activities are permissible on Sunday. Of course, we are to worship, but growing up I can remember the discussions on whether or not we should shop, eat out in restaurants, play cards or get out and play touch football on Sunday. Such a legalistic approach is to miss the point.

God created us and knows exactly what we need to function and live as we should. Just as He made our bodies to need a daily cycle of sleep and rest, He ordained the Sabbath as a weekly cycle necessary for our wholeness and well-being. Not only does it provide physical rest and a time of withdrawal from the busy, hectic pace of life mentally and emotionally, it is necessary for spiritual renewal.

Observing the Sabbath Day wasn’t just a component of the Ten Commandments, it was a frequent admonition throughout Scripture. Exodus 31:13 puts it in perspective: “You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” It is not a legalistic imposition of what we can do or should not do on Sunday as eventually distorted by the Pharisees. Observing the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant relationship we have with God and our recognition that He is the One who sanctifies and makes us holy.

This was so important to God that He said it was better that one be put to death than to fail to observe the Sabbath. Such failure is an assumption that we can live a holy life on our own; it fringes on a subtle humanism in reflecting we are sufficient to know God’s will, live for Him and walk in holiness without doing what He said was necessary. How arrogant to think we can live a holy and empowered life and ignore what God Himself said was necessary!

Many tend to dismiss the idea of a Sabbath observance as Puritanism or Old Testament legalism, but this passage, and others, goes on to speak of it as a “perpetual covenant” between God and His people. That means forever. It wasn’t just for Israel. The Bible teaches that we are the spiritual children of Abraham and that Jesus came to fulfill the law, not set it aside. He did not advocate the legalistic requirements but rather keeping the spirit of the law.

For pastors, missionaries and church workers, Sunday may not be a Sabbath; in fact, it may be the busiest and most stressful day of the week. It may be difficult to make a day off one’s Sabbath as there is sermon preparation, family time, recreational needs and things to do around the house. But without a frequent and regular “Sabbath” it is unrealistic to think we can cope with the demands of ministry and maintain physical, emotional and mental well-being and an intimacy with the Father that allows Him to provide what we need for a holy and sanctified life.

When is your Sabbath?

Many have been his personal friends and colleagues over the years, but I am one of those who had the rare privilege of knowing and working with Avery in the four stages of his ministry. God was able to entrust a unique vision and passion to Avery because Jesus was truly Lord of his life. He was in love with Jesus and absolutely serious about following Him as an obedient disciple. Many who worked with him would have issues of disagreement when it came to programs and planning, but no one would question his spiritual depth, devotion to prayer and genuine commitment to a Spirit-filled life.

His calling to reach a lost world led him to Indonesia as a church planter in 1964, at a time God was moving in a phenomenal ways following a time of social upheaval after an aborted communist coup. His family spent their first term in Bogor, south of Jakarta, then moved to East Java to open work in Jember. They were there for only 10 months when health issues of their growing family made it advisable for him to move to Semarang to teach at the Indonesian Baptist Seminary.

My family arrived in 1970 and after a year of language study picked up the Jember assignment. I wasn’t impressed that the location had been abandoned until I realized the impact of Avery’s brief ministry there. Everywhere I went in the region—from remote villages and throughout provincial towns—everyone wanted to know if I knew the American “Pendeta (Pastor) Willis.” In a short time he planted the seeds of the gospel that I had the privilege of reaping for the next nine years.

In teaching seminary students he realized a more practical level of Bible-based training was needed. He developed a discipleship curriculum that became the prototype for MasterLife; it was one of the developments that precipitated a house church movement in Indonesia. Avery came home for further equipping, earned his PhD at Southwestern Seminary and wrote his dissertation on this movement. It was later published as How Two Million Came to Christ.

After serving a subsequent term as president of the seminary, Avery returned to the U.S. burdened for the American church and with a heart passionate for making disciples. This led to 15 years at the Sunday School Board (now LifeWay) guiding MasterLife to prolific use. Thousands of churches were revitalized and tens of thousands of nominal believers discovered a deeper dimension of living for Jesus and serving Him. This second stage of Avery’s mission calling saw this discipleship tool translated into 50 languages and used in more than 100 countries.

The third era of Avery’s ministry was as Vice President for Overseas Operations with the International Mission Board, a position he filled for 10 years until retiring at age 70. Those of us who knew and worked with Avery recognized how well-qualified he was for this responsibility, but we were unprepared for what we would encounter as the vision and passion for reaching a lost world began to flow. He was never satisfied with the status quo; he was a workaholic who kept our feet to the fire. He saturated every meeting with off-the-wall ideas and challenges that were over-the-top. He was the primary architect for what came to be called “New Directions” in 1997, a restructuring that accelerated the engagement of unreached people groups and began to produce church planting movements.

When he retired after 50 years in the ministry, 25 years with the IMB and 10 years as vice president, it wasn’t in order to rest or coast through his remaining years; it was a time to accelerate his efforts to reach a lost world. His renown as author of MasterLife, innovation in extension theological education on the mission field, and executive with the IMB had brought him into a wide array of relationships with global leaders and Great Commission entities.

Avery recognized that many of the people groups yet to be engaged with the gospel were unreached because they were oral cultures; they could not read the Bible or utilize Christian literature, even when it might be made available. Some field workers had developed chronological Bible stories as a method of evangelical witness among these peoples, but no one had found a way to disciple them, train leaders and plant churches without literacy tools.

Avery took this gap in global evangelization as a personal challenge and devoted himself to work with others in developing an orality strategy. What Avery did as a missionary in Indonesia, in the proliferation of MasterLife, and through his overseas leadership with the IMB pales in comparison to the global impact made in becoming an advocate and leader of orality strategies.

His pace of travel, activity and study accelerated in “retirement” as he directed ION, the Lausanne Conference’s International Orality Network. Guiding consortiums of mission agencies to deploy storying teams among unreached people groups, training churches, writing curriculum and producing materials, he never slowed down. Avery ran through the finish line, still casting the vision, challenging colleagues and modeling what it means to be sold-out to the Lord and His mission.

In commemorating Avery’s life, Tom Elliff appropriately chose for the funeral message a passage from Genesis, when Joseph’s brothers saw him approaching them and said, “Behold, the dreamer comes.” Anyone who was blessed to know and work with Avery would acknowledge such a fitting tribute. He had a God-sized vision, he dreamed of what to others was impossible. He envisioned every born-again believer becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ. He saw the church being on fire for reaching the lost and functioning as a God-glorifying body of Christ. And he never wavered in His vision of people from every tribe, language and nation gathered around the throne of God.

Those dreams are much closer to reality because of the life of Avery Willis. The impact of his witness and ministry continues to multiply in Indonesia, throughout America and around the world through those he won, those he led and those he influenced just as it is portrayed in the multiplying discipleship pyramid. May those of us who remain be stirred to greater vision and deeper devotion to our Lord because of the privilege we have had of knowing such a spiritual giant.

We were young and naïve when Bobbye and I went to the field in 1970 with a 2-year-old toddler and 10-month-old infant. Meeting us at the airport were seminary friends Marvin and Linda Leech who had preceded us to the field by six months, along with Jakarta missionaries Bill and Liz Corwin and Leon and Anne Mitchell. Bill and Leon are now deceased, but the Leeches, Liz and Anne are here at Windermere Conference Center for the reunion. Also attending is Mary Alice Ditsworth, still vibrant and engaging at 80; as veteran language advisor, she held our feet to the fire in learning to speak Indonesian. When her visa was canceled years later, she became my administrative assistant in Singapore.

It is a joy to be with Von and Marge Worten—I learned most of what I came to know about church planting in Indonesia on the back of Von’s motor scooter. Then there is Fred and Linda Beck, Charles and Barbara Cole, Hal and Carol Jacks, all senior missionaries who had a part in mentoring and encouraging us as novices. It was a joy to see Drs. Don and Sarah Duval, Oliver and Virginia Harper, Ken Hinton and Merm Misner, medical personnel who cared for us over the years at our Kediri Baptist Hospital.

Seeing pictures and sharing stories, we’ve been reminded of some who were not present this year but enriched our lives in so many ways. John and Glenn Ingouf met us at Glorieta following our appointment, took us under their wings during language school in Bandung and then later moved to East Java and served as mentors and confidants. Bobby and Jo Jones, and later Harry and Barbara Bush, became our neighbors as they lived only three hours away; our kids shared birthdays and special occasions together. Ken and Judy Milam, Charles and Barbara Cole and Ray and Joyce Rogers were among those also assigned to the East Java strategy team. It reminded us no one fulfills the Lord’s work alone; each calling is in the context of a body for accountability, encouragement and the benefit of insights beyond the capacity of any individual.

Sometimes as many as 200 gather for this reunion as families want children and grandchildren to know something of the legacy that has made them who they are. As Clarence Griffin, Ken Ellison, Carl Lee and other old-timers shared anecdotes, it brought us back to the joys and challenges of our mission beginnings. This was a generation who followed an open door after the aborted communist coup in 1965 and had the privilege of being a part of one of the most amazing eras of harvest in the history of global missions. It was a time when we enjoyed open opportunities to preach and proclaim the gospel in the largest Muslim country in the world, and God richly blessed.

Many of those with whom we served were old China hands, forced to relocate. Dr. Catherine Walker just celebrated her 95th birthday. Not only had she been instrumental in establishing the Indonesian Baptist Theological Seminary, she started a camp—Camp Miki—for missionary kids, nurturing in them an understanding of why their parents had brought them to a foreign country. At last count 25 of these MKs from the Indonesian mission are now serving as missionaries themselves somewhere around the world.

We remembered and celebrated the lives and ministry of others who contributed leadership, innovative mission practices and vision to our organization—Keith Parks, Avery Willis, Ebbie Smith, Bill O’Brien, Frank Lewis and John Smith. Especially significant in that era was the leadership of Ed and Jaletta Sanders; not only was Ed mission administrator for more than 20 years, he was our ad hoc pastor, always challenging us to a deeper walk with the Lord. All three of his children now serve in Southeast Asia.

We were, and still are, a family. We had our squabbles and disagreements at annual mission meetings when it came to formulating a budget and determining personnel requests, but we walked through illnesses, the tragic loss of family members, strained relationships with national pastors and threats of government restrictions together. What we remember most is the body life, precious times of visiting in each other’s homes and staying up into the wee hours of the morning sharing burdens and praying together.

God moved in a marvelous outpouring of His Spirit on our mission family in 1971, bringing reconciliation between many, convicting us of a pretentious lifestyle, and revising our heavily subsidized church planting methodology to a more indigenous approach that resulted in phenomenal growth.

We heard once again the stories of when a government crackdown resulted in more than half the mission losing their visas. A few became Indonesian citizens in order to stay. Others were dispersed all over the world, taking a passion and wealth of experiences to influence work in other countries. Although scattered to other assignments, and many returning to the States for retirement, the mutual identity as the Indonesian Baptist Mission has continued to mark us with a unity, vision and commitment to our Great Commission task because of a calling to a special niche in God’s world.

A new generation continues to build on previous foundations. With a less stable government and growing Muslim fanaticism, it is a different challenge than my generation. But the power of the gospel continues to draw people into the kingdom. A strong network of Indonesian churches and leaders who are well-trained and discipled lead the effort. What a privilege to have been called and placed in such a context for the beginning of our mission journey!

A time of transition is a time to look back and reflect on the rich legacy of our past, to celebrate the present and to renew our vision for the future. Enough has been said about the past in IMB reports and commendations on the occasion of my retirement. I give God the glory for the growth and global impact we have seen; it far exceeds what any of us would have imagined just a few years ago. However, being in a position to have a global overview has given me some insight regarding possible trends, trials and the triumph of the future.

I am not a prophet and do not have the ability to discern the future, but being in a position to have a global overview of what God is doing around the world, I have been able to recognize the trends of a dynamic world of accelerating change that will radically impact how missions is done in the future. In the 1980s we had a Global Strategy Group that was responsible long-range planning. These were the visionaries and strategists who attempted to anticipate the future. Yet as they outlined goals for the end of the century, no one envisioned the possibility of missionaries in what was then the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. No one even dreamed that one day we might have personnel back in China. Our tendency is to become entrenched in current realities; the result is to become marginalized as global paradigms change.

As we forecast and develop scenarios based on what the world could look like in the coming years, consider these possible future realities:

•    North Korea will cease to exist in the near future as it either succumbs to peaceful reunification with South Korea or is assimilated into China.

•    Cuba will become more open to the world, at which time outside Christian entities will flow into the country claiming a piece of the action and destroy, through patronizing subsidy, one of the most spiritual, authentic movements to Christ we have seen in this generation.

•    The Muslim world will change from within as moderates will become more assertive, squelching radical elements and bringing Islamic societies into more compatible relationships internationally; there will still be resistance to the gospel, but the gospel will find an increased response.

•    African and Latin American countries will continue to be responsive, but church growth will be inhibited by increased secularization and syncretism as these continents flounder under continuing political and economic crises. Likewise, Russia and the former Soviet Republics will become more and more dysfunctional politically, socially and economically and experience a declining influence and role in international affairs.

•    China will become more liberalized politically and, along with Korea, India and Vietnam, use their massive workforce and heated economies to supplant the G7 western nations that have dominated global finance in the past. With the changing demographics of Europe, I believe it will become the harvest field of the future as a spiritual hungry immigrant population replaces the post-Christian humanism seen today.

•    What is the future with regard to missions? America’s political influence will rapidly decline along with the mortgaging of its financial future. Continuing polarization of society and a fragile economy will diminish our country in its potential for sending missionaries to be replaced by Koreans, Chinese, South Asians and Latin Americans who will emerge at the forefront of fulfilling the Great Commission.

•    The nature of missions will radically change. There will be increasing and widespread hostility toward a Christian witness. More sophisticated governments are recognizing Americans who venture overseas with presumed humanitarian motives have unwelcome evangelistic agendas. The future missionary must come out of a marketplace ministry; credible global platforms for medical work, education, technology and business consultation must become the channels for sharing the gospel and planting churches.

•    The IMB will move from being a missionary-sending agency that screens and vets those worthy of sharing the gospel overseas to become a facilitator for mobilizing the vast resources and potential of Southern Baptists to reach a lost world. The adoption of recommendations for a Great Commission Resurgence is just the beginning of new incentive for a changing denominational structure and revised priorities in the future. Churches will have a heart and commitment for missions as never before; we must serve them and assist them as they send out missionaries and engage the world or be marginalized in our relevance.

The second category of envisioning the future is recognition of the trials that are inevitable in our resolve to claim the kingdoms of the world and the kingdoms of our Lord. We will encounter increasing hostility to our Christian witness overseas, ridicule from media and society and indifference on the part of self-centered and ingrown churches. We have had eight missionaries martyred and others abducted and victims of violence since we entered the 21st century. This is likely to become more common if we continue our commitment to push to the edge of lostness with life-changing message of the gospel. As our own country is subjected to policies and judicial judgments unfriendly to our faith convictions, we are moving to the point at which it will cost to be a Christian. However, that may be the very condition that will bring purification to the church and create the spiritual revival we long to see.

There is every evidence that our economy will continue to flounder; we will continue to struggle with limited budget resources. Rather than implementing contingency cutbacks year after year, we need to relinquish the idealism of return to the glory days of unlimited growth and create a new paradigm for doing missions through mobilization of churches, partnership with national churches overseas and other evangelicals committed to the Great Commission.

Finally, having presented some challenging trends and formidable trials, I want to end my vision of the future by expressing confidence in an assured triumph. Just as we are already seeing today, God is using the political upheaval, chaos and confusion, economic uncertainty and natural disasters to turn the hearts of a lost world to a search for something that will give them hope and security; and we have the answer. What we see happening today is what was expressed by the prophet Haggai—“God will shake the heavens and the earth, destroy the powers of nations and overthrow the thrones of kingdoms” (Hag. 2:21-22).

Throughout my tenure I have been driven by the prophetic words of Jesus who said, “The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to every nation, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). That has not been a presumptuous arrogance that we will hasten the return of Christ, but it has given us assurance that our vision to reach all peoples with the life-transforming message of Jesus will be fulfilled. We have had the privilege to live and serve at a time when God has chosen to move in unprecedented ways to fulfill His mission. We can only be humbled and grateful for that privilege, and it should stimulate us to even greater commitment to be found faithful in our devotion to the task in the future, whatever the cost.

People had a lot of nice things to say about my tenure as we reflected on what God has done and from where we have come. I am the first to admit that I was ill-equipped to step into a global leadership role and a position of denominational leadership after 23 years overseas. In fact, I had not even attended a Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting until the year prior to my election. My calling was overseas, and I never desired to return to the States or to a leadership role that would pull me off the field.

I was resistant at that time to allowing the search committee to even consider me, but recognized it would not have happened had God not been in the decision. It was and continued to be a steep learning curve, but the most notable impression as I look back on these 17 years is an awesome sense of God’s providence. He was at work throughout the world to fulfill His mission; He is sovereign over the nations and didn’t need Jerry Rankin. He didn’t need the IMB or Southern Baptists. We were just given the privilege of joining Him in the task of reaching the nations.

I had a vision of what we were striving for and I have sought to lead with confidence and faith; after all, we are given assurance the mission will be fulfilled when a multitude from every tribe, people, language and nation are among the redeemed. While the administrative functions were overwhelming, I have had a passion for the task and the type of personal discipline to maintain focus. But no one is more amazed than I at the growth of our missionary force and global impact that has been made in terms of people groups engaged, new believers baptized and churches planted around the world.

It is evident that this is not due to anything I have done and can claim credit for, as it is God who has worked in us, through us and in spite of us. It has been an unbelievable journey as we have seen God’s grace manifested in the health He has given, safety in travel, wisdom in decisions, and especially in the staff, missionaries and leadership team with which He has surrounded us. It has been a rare day when something doesn’t happen to remind me that there must be thousands of Southern Baptist praying for me.

It hasn’t been easy as the endless meetings, public scrutiny, constant travel, and prolific number of letters and reports to be written eliminated any illusion of having margin and a balanced life. A respected advisor once reminded me that, “These are things you have to do in order to do what you want to do.” God provided the grace for personal discipline and whatever I considered burdensome was worth it for the sake of seeing the gospel advance to the ends of the earth.

The challenges provided an environment of growth and opportunity to witness God’s faithfulness. Criticism served to keep me humble and broken, reminding me of my inadequacy and keeping me from succumbing to pride. Frequent misunderstandings reminded me to forgive as I need to be forgiven, to be more patient, communicate better and that relationships are more important than programs, issues and agendas. Being confronted with a sense of failure and disappointment always brought me to the point of restoring the compelling vision that drove me, and to a deeper walk of faith and reliance on God.

I praise Him for enabling me to hold to the three core values I wrote in my personal journal years before missionary service—purity of life, absolute integrity and unwavering obedience to God’s Word. It would be impossible to highlight the verses of Scripture God used to speak into my life over the years, but one of the most important was Job 4:6—“Is not the fear of the Lord your confidence and the integrity of your ways your hope.”

As I reflect on the journey, I praise God for the call confirmed, the disciplines acquired, the lessons learned, the victories won, the places traveled, the people met, the events witnessed, the missionaries served, the partners mobilized, the people groups engaged, and most of all the multitudes of those who now know Jesus Christ as Savior around the world.

It has all been my desire that when I came to the point of retirement, no one would be able to identify what Jerry Rankin has done. Certainly there have been organizational changes, strategic developments and global advance toward fulfillment of the Great Commission; however, it is due to God’s providence and power—I have had the privilege of filling a position and holding a title when God chose to work among us. As Isaiah 14:24 says, “The Lord of Hosts has sworn saying, ‘Surely as I have thought so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.’”

It has also been my conviction that the mark of one’s leadership is not what happens and what is accomplished during one’s tenure, but by what the organization is positioned to do in the future. As I have seen God working in amazing ways, I had envisioned possibly coming to this time of retirement unable to identify a people group that doesn’t have access to the gospel. We are not there yet, but are closer than we would ever have dreamed 17 years ago.

I am confident God’s hand will be on the selection of a new IMB president. An outstanding leadership team is in place in Richmond and around the world. The vision and passion for the task is undiminished. I pray that not only those with the IMB, but all Southern Baptists will stay focused and be found faithful in finishing the task.

This time of retirement has clearly been led of God just as He has led in other life decisions, and I am excited in anticipation of what God is going to do in the next stage of life; I anticipate significant opportunities consistent with His calling and gifting. Yet, for 40 years my life has been one dimensional in fulfilling that call in the context of the IMB. It hurts to leave those with whom we have worked so closely. Someone has said, “If you don’t want to hurt so badly, then don’t love so deeply.” We have chosen to love, so we will accept the hurt of bringing closure to the relationship and role that has brought such joy and blessing.

There is a fine distinction in being a spiritual leader and leading spiritually. A verse that has been a constant reminder to me of the necessity of being in touch with God for needed wisdom and guidance is Isaiah 30:1-2: “Woe to the obstinate children, declares the Lord, who carry out plans that are not Mine, who form an alliance but not of My Spirit, who go down to Egypt without consulting Me.” Too many times we make plans and determine our direction and actions, assuming because we couched them in a perfunctory prayer that God is leading when, in fact, He has nothing to do with our decisions.

Isaiah 11:1-4 puts into a spiritual context those elements that are common to any leadership role. Although this is a Messianic reference, it is relevant to others called to lead in a spiritual task. There is a need for (1) knowledge—having information and awareness of reality; (2) understanding—insight and perspective on the situation and challenge; (3) wisdom—discernment of the options and their potential outcomes; (4) counsel—guidance in the process and implementation of action plans; (5) strength—the ability and courage needed to lead.

Most effective leaders in any endeavor would have a good mix of these characteristics, but note that it is the Spirit of the Lord that gives each one. They must come from God for leading a spiritual task. But more important than all is the fear of the Lord! That’s what motivates and keeps one obedient to God’s will and guidance. But note, the passage concludes—“He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear, but with righteousness…and fairness” (Is. 11:3-4). That’s the distinction of the spiritual leader. Decisions and plans come from the Lord, not innate ability and insight.

Obviously, to lead spiritually one must be a spiritual person with a leadership role. That means recognition of a compelling need to seek the Lord in prayer and an insatiable thirst for God’s word. It is tragic, as surveys and research have revealed, that so many pastors and those in leadership roles become so busy that they neglect time with the Lord in a quality quiet time of devotion. How arrogant and presumptuous to try to fulfill a role on His behalf without regularly and consistently seeking the face of God and His hand of guidance and wisdom!

My friend, Crawford Loritts, has written a valuable book on Leadership as Identity in which he denotes four essential characteristics of spiritual leaders: brokenness, uncommon communion, servanthood and radical obedience. God will keep truly spiritual leaders broken so that pride cannot emerge. A sense of unworthiness and inadequacy will keep one humble and on their knees. There is a communion with God that goes beyond that which is normative for others, a servant heart and passion to be obedient regardless of the cost, criticism or misunderstanding.

A critical aspect of leading in a spiritual task is how to lead spiritually. One can be a spiritual person, but it is not a matter of wearing one’s piety on one’s sleeve or invoking a personal revelation from the Lord and then expecting everyone to follow submissively. It has got to go beyond the weekly sermon exhortation and impersonal presentations in staff meeting to a relationship of influence. One may not be a “people person” in terms of extroversion, but the people being led must know you care. Leadership does not flow from isolation in the office to an occasional public proclamation, but in relationships. Time must be spent with people sharing one’s heart, understanding their role, the challenges they face and praying for their needs.

Credibility for leading a spiritual task comes when people observe a leader roll out new programs and plans with sensitivity to its impact on those affected. They observe one who is willing to listen to others and build consensus rather than dictating decisions from a position of authority. They see initiative balanced with patience, vision balanced with pragmatism and confidence balanced with humility. When a leader is criticized it will never be accompanied by self-defense or vindictiveness, because it is not about them but the God they serve.

Effective spiritual leadership comes when it is evident one’s vision comes from God; when that is the case one’s passion becomes contagious. A spiritual leader is able to stay focused and is resistant to seductive distractions that would divert the task. He is driven to spiritual disciplines that enable him to be a worthy recipient of God’s wisdom and counsel. He recognizes that discouragement, perceived setbacks and failure are times when God is teaching needed lessons and providing opportunity for growth. Personal desires, comforts and aspirations pale in comparison to the joy of sensing a partnership with God and serving Him.

I had always been reluctant to move into each sequence of expanded leadership responsibility. Nothing could be more fulfilling than the church planting assignment we had among people who did not know our Savior. To be the first to share the good news with those who had never heard, and to see lives changed and churches begun…well, it just doesn’t get any better than that! After all, this is what God called us to do many years ago.

Why would one leave that to work with other missionaries and take on a burden of responsibility for something over which they have no control? If leadership is about status, power and reputation, I guarantee you, it is not worth it! Often in times of disappointment, criticism or personal attacks I have come to the point of saying, “I don’t have to put up with this; I’m out of here.” But invariably there is a still, small voice that says, “No you’re not.”

Somewhere along the way I learned obedience to wherever God chose to lead me and to whatever He called me to do. It made no sense to me to be placed in a leadership role for which I was unqualified and ill-equipped, but it has always been evident that I wouldn’t be in this position had it not been for divine manipulation of the process. My wife’s perception is unequivocal in that leadership roles have continued to be a series of demotions from the highest call of personal involvement in cutting edge ministry in order to serve others.

I had to become reconciled to the fact that my greatest kingdom impact was not what I alone might be able to do, but what I could do in guiding, equipping, facilitating and resourcing others to be more effective. The challenges have been formidable, but the rewards have more than offset the constant travel and speaking, consuming administrative burdens and occasional adversities. God has been faithful to lend us His grace and sustain us in the journey.

I have learned the difficult lesson that with responsibility and empowerment goes accountability. Leadership means being blamed for what you would have been against if you had known about it! It means being responsible for things over which you have no control. It demands comprehensive knowledge about an incredible scope of issues from strategy, personnel management, finance, and technology to public relationship, current events and global trends. It entails learning the appropriate mix of group decision-making and personal initiative and the balance between humility and self-confidence.

A few years ago we sought to identify the primary characteristics of leadership needed at every level for our global mission task. This included aspects such as dynamic spirituality, ethics and integrity, global mission thinker, quality decision-maker, effective team builder, priority setting, motivator, problem-solver, conflict manager, and visionary. Not every leader would be strong in every area, but deficiencies provide opportunities for growth and development and for God to be glorified in making up for what we lack.

In my personal reflections I have concluded there are three essential leadership characteristics if an organization, or church for that matter, is to grow and be successful.

The first is vision. A leader must be a visionary that sees the desired result—that image of the future toward which we are striving. A visionary leader doesn’t seek to manage current realities but sees what is not yet a reality and asks, “Why not?” The IMB has truly become a vision-driven organization. We know there one day will be a multitude that no one can count from every tribe, people, language and nation represented around the throne of God, and we can settle for nothing less. We are driven to see that vision become a reality.

A second characteristic is focus. A leader must be a strategic thinker who understands cause and effect. He doesn’t manage and direct work for whatever may result, but has insight in how to get from point A to point B, how to move from the current reality toward what is yet to be. The leadership comes in keeping many team members and the entire organization focused on what gets it to where it intends to go. Inertia is vicious, and many good things come along that would create diversion from the direction that produces results.

A third characteristic is passion. One is a leader only as others follow. A leader must communicate so that others understand what they are to do and why. But if a leader is to inspire and motivate others, his communication must be with a passion that is personal and authentic. It has been inspiring to me to see that passion in a “whatever it takes” commitment to our mission task among our missionaries, staff and a growing number of church partners.

I am more mindful of mistakes and failures than successes and wish my giftedness in these areas had been stronger than they were. It is humbling to realize that God has chosen to bless us anyway, and along the way He has allowed me and our leadership team to serve Southern Baptists and to move us closer to that vision being fulfilled of reaching a lost world.

We were assigned to church planting on the eastern tip of Java in an area of 5.5 million people, several hours from other missionary colleagues. Each year as we gathered for our annual mission meeting, each one would report on their work. It was a time of celebration as each missionary unit shared testimonies of the churches that had been planted, the number of new believers baptized and new mission points opened. Reports flowed into discussion as we shared methods and learned from one another.

I’ll never forget the year one of my smart aleck colleagues asked each church planter following their report, “How many disciples did you make this year?” It wasn’t an easy question to answer. I knew better than to suggest the number was equivalent to those who had been baptized. In fact, I’m not sure any of the typical church members gathering to worship in village house churches demonstrated Christlike character and kingdom attitudes I would identify as a disciple.

I thought of those who had professed their faith and been baptized but under community social pressure had reverted to their Muslim faith. I recalled making house-to-house visits and walking into one of our member’s home to find him gambling and drinking beer with his friends; in fact, he cordially invited me to join them. My disappointment and indignation dissolved into a realistic awareness that he had never been taught these practices were inappropriate. He was a new, genuine believer but had no background for understanding the Bible and expectations of the Christian life.

I became very conscientious that the basic objective of evangelism and church planting was to make disciples—after all, this is what our Lord commanded us to do. There seems to be two interpretations of what “discipling” means. Missiologist Donald McGavran interpreted discipling as evangelism and bringing people into the kingdom through repentance and faith; this was to be followed by a time of “perfecting.” However, traditionally, we have come to see discipling as the maturing growth process following conversion.

I think most pastors and missionaries still struggle with the issue of how to make disciples. I’m convinced it is not through a study course. There are many good plans and curriculums being used; unfortunately many of them are not much more than new-member orientation for assimilation into a local church. Knowledge and information alone don’t make disciples. One can know what they ought to do and how they should live without that ever being reflected in day-to-day living and witness.

Discipleship involves the work of the Holy Spirit in one’s life, convicting of sin, revealing spiritual truth inherent in God’s Word, developing Christian character and guiding in an obedient walk of faith, witness and service. That means that discipleship has to begin with an authentic experience of being born of the Spirit. Easy belief and cheap grace doesn’t normally yield faithful, sacrificing, growing, Spirit-filled disciples and witnesses. Perhaps we struggle to encourage faithful church attendance and bemoan the dissension and sin among carnal Christians because they have been led to pray a simple prayer in order to go to escape hell and go to heaven. What if we issued a disclaimer in leading someone to pray the sinner’s prayer trusting Jesus by saying, “If you do this you may be killed for your faith, you will have to give up most of your habits and the activities you now enjoy and will be expected to tithe your income and diligently share your faith with others?”

It is simply not possible to nurture to Christian maturity as a disciple of Christ one who has not been born of the Spirit. It appears that perhaps we have created a template for what a disciple looks like in terms of being faithful and active in our church programs, even assuming roles of leadership, in lieu of a transformed, Spirit-filled life that reflects holiness, joy, abiding peace, contagious victorious living, and zealous witnessing.

Though being baptized (water should symbolize being immersed into Christ) and teaching all that Jesus commanded—unequivocal obedience to His Word—discipling has to be more than a curriculum of study and head knowledge. As essential, in addition to a genuine conversion experience, and the work of the Holy Spirit is a disciple-maker—someone to walk alongside the new believer, modeling the Christian life.

Most Christians are the kind of Christian they are by imitation. We see someone who is constantly testifying of a dynamic intimacy with God and how He speaks to them through Bible study and prayer; it creates a desire to emulate that kind of discipline. We observe someone practicing the gift of evangelism and reflecting the joy of leading others to Christ, and it becomes an example and encouragement to others. Seeing a church leader exercising gifts in humility and with a servant attitude helps us understand what a servant lifestyle is all about. Too, often the model new believers follow are other church members who sit in their pews week after week as the essence of their Christian obligation but never do anything more to serve the body of believers and impact society for Christ.

In all the recent discussion about a Great Commission Resurgence, many have made the point that it will not happen without a spiritual renewal that results in grassroots witnessing sweeping our country and the world. That’s probably a correct assessment, but somewhere in the equation there needs to be a new paradigm of disciple-making rather than just passively waiting on the Holy Spirit to make up for our deficiency and neglect of what our Lord commanded us to do!

I grew up being trained as a child to practice “daily Bible readings.” It was something to which my parents held me accountable as much as taking out the trash, brushing my teeth or doing my homework. As I grew in my relationship with the Lord and began to formulate personal values as a teenager, a disciplined “quiet time” of Bible study, reading devotional books and systematic approaches to prayer became a regular practice, though done more often as a habit and formality than from a motivation and desire to know God more intimately.

With each ensuing responsibility of ministry that emerged in adulthood, culminating in missionary appointment and, later, demanding leadership roles, I recognized a greater need for God’s power and blessings, and I consciously determined to get more serious about my prayer time. The busyness and demands of juggling a multiplicity of tasks with limited time, demands of travel and irregular schedules always made my resolve short-lived to the point of resorting to grabbing a few brief moments to read a few verses and say a quick prayer before getting on with the more important and pressing agenda of the day. I came to the point of realizing at that moment that if I wanted the assurance of God’s hand upon me and my ministry, I had to have a heart for Him that would be reflected in a disciplined time of prayer and fellowship with Him.

I needed to spend enough time in the Word to allow God to speak to me. If I were going to preach, inspire and presume to lead and minister to others, I had to allow Him to speak into my life on His terms. I was shamefully impressed by my own arrogance in expecting Him to guide me, to bless me, to answer my prayers and meet my needs when I spent so little time seeking Him. How presumptuous to think I could utter a few stereotyped phrases of prayer to begin the day, and the God of the universe would be obligated to respond to my needs and desires!

To maintain a freshness and continued growth in what soon became quite familiar, I began to make notes on what the Lord was saying to me through my Psalm for the day. I would read different versions of the Bible and in subsequent series of going through the Psalms, I would paraphrase them in my own words, noting applications for contemporary life and writing prayers in an attempt to “pray back” the Word to God. Beginning my morning quiet time with reading and meditating on a Psalm has now become such a habitual and meaningful part of my life; it is something I could not fail to do. In fact, from time to time I have tried to get away from this pattern, but I always find myself drawn back, as something is lacking when I neglect the reading of one or more Psalms in my devotional time each morning.

It would be impossible to capture in a few sentences why this is true, but it has something to do with how the Psalms reveal the nature and character of God. One is impressed by His power and authority and majesty as One who is worthy of all worship and honor and praise. The affirmation of His sovereignty and providence helps to put the circumstances and trials that we experience in the context of His purpose. Our fear and reverence for God is enhanced by the descriptions of His wrath and judgment, but His compassion and mercy draw us to Him. He cares for every detail of our life, and we can be assured that He will guide us according to His will; He will care for us, provide our every need, and vindicate our enemies. The graphic, picturesque language evokes images that stir our emotions and strengthen our confidence. To know that He is our rock, our shield, our fortress, and our strong tower all convey an understanding we need each day as well as the comforting and tender assurances that He is a shepherd enfolding us in His arms.

While on a sabbatical a few years ago, I attempted to capture my devotional reflections in a book titled In the Secret Place, which was published in 2009 by B&H Publishing Group. It was my desire that others might be encouraged to discover that “secret place of the Most High” that they might “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). These devotionals are not a detailed exegesis or verse-by-verse commentary, but simply a compilation of personal thoughts and reflections. They are written from extensive notes made over the years when I paraphrased the passage and noted applications. They are a summary of what I felt God was saying to me personally. It has been so rewarding to hear responses from others who have found value and insight as they have used my brief reflections as part of their own personal Bible reading. I hope you will consider getting a copy of the book; incidentally, I think you will find some valuable preaching material in the insights I share.

If you have not done so, follow me on Twitter: @rankinonmission and watch for free copies to be given away this week.

I always felt at home on the mission field and, in fact, identified with and enjoyed the unique cultural settings where we lived. The cleanliness, orderliness and prosperity of life in America were things we missed but readily adjusted to doing without. However, we were blindsided by unexpected emotions the first time we came home on stateside assignment.

I went to a ballgame and was surprised by a lump in my throat when the national anthem was sung after not hearing it for four years. Even yesterday, I got choked up saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag and singing, “America the Beautiful.” I wasn’t the only one in the congregation who had tears in their eyes as current and former servicemen and women were recognized as the choir sang the rousing chorus representing the various branches of military service.

It was good to be reminded of how blessed we are by the freedoms we enjoy and the price that has been paid to preserve those freedoms as we celebrate the birth of our country. But it is evident our nation is in trouble as it abandons the Christian heritage and values on which it was founded. We can attribute it to the declining witness and influence of Christians, the secularization of society, humanistic post-modern values, infringement of government into moral areas and a general malaise rather than a sense of personal responsibility. But it all boils down to having lost the fear of God.

Once an individual, a church, government officials and a nation no longer walk in fear of Almighty God, they are left to their own inclinations and fallible wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” All the sophisticated rationalization and wisdom of the world is misleading and a pretense. One does not have wisdom to deal with all the issues of life until one comes into a relationship of reverential awe and submission to God.

The fear of the Lord is the only real deterrent to moral failure. Proverbs 16:6 tells us, “By the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.” Laws and societal pressure can’t determine behavior. It is evident that the only deterrent to sin and self-centered living is to have a heart that is so desperate for God that we walk in obedient respect for His holiness and a desire to glorify Him; it is the fear of God that puts a hedge against sin around us. Abortions would cease and homosexual lifestyles would vanish if America were overwhelmed by the fear of God.

Most Christians would consider it strange that we are to fear the Lord. Our perception is that we shouldn’t be afraid of God. He is a loving Father who delights to show mercy. We have an image of a compassionate shepherd, gently leading and nurturing us, His sheep. We have experienced His grace and cherish a personal relationship with Him that is a source of blessing, peace and joy. What does it mean to fear the Lord?

It is difficult to make an appropriate analogy, but I think this is somewhat like the relationship I had with my parents. They loved me, cared for me and were devoted to providing for my needs, and I recognized their authority over me. There was a respect for them that motivated my obedience and desire to behave in a way that pleased them. I knew if I disobeyed them or did something wrong I would be punished, but my fear of them was not fear of punishment. After all, the pain of a spanking was short-lived; I loved them and respected them, and that was a strong deterrent to disobedience.

We are called to stand in awe of a holy and righteous God who has called us to holiness and obedience. Yes, He does assure us that there are consequences to our sin and disobedience, and one day we will stand before Him and give an account of what we have done in this life, but that is not why we should fear Him. To fear the Lord means to have an awe-filled, holy reverence for Him, recognizing His Lordship and that He has absolute authority over our life. The fear of the Lord is what brings us into willing submission to His will and elicits heart-felt praise and worship. It is recognizing that He alone is worthy of glory and honor. My study Bible describes the fear of the Lord as (1) a reverential awe, (2) obedient respect, and (3) a worshipful submission.

We have obviously lost the fear of God in our society and even in many of our churches. A lot of our conflicts would vanish if we allowed a fear of the Lord to subjugate our tendency of self-serving opinions and sense of entitlement to God’s expectation that we would die to self and devote ourselves to serving others. We would be more conscientious about a holy lifestyle and faithfully witnessing of God’s grace if we were overwhelmed by a fear of the Lord. And, I dare say, many more would be willing to offer their lives to fulfill our Great Commission task and go to the ends of the earth to share the gospel if we had a heart-convicting, life-controlling, vision-driven fear of God in which obedience to His will was not optional!

I am grateful for America. I can criticize the government and blame those responsible for our economic problems; I can grouse about the moral decline, loss of Christian values and departure from the heritage on which we were founded. But the only solution is to return to God, recognize His Lordship and authority and walk in the fear of the Lord. I can’t make that decision for others and the collective population of our nation, but I pray the fear of God will keep me walking in purity, integrity and obedience to this will.