The qualities of consecration, sympathy, discretion, adaptation, tact, insight, vision, and humility so necessary for the minister in his delicate task of searching out the lost sheep and shepherding the flock in the homeland, are doubly needed by the foreign missionary. Like Elisha, the prospective missionary should ask for a double portion of the spirit which has possessed successful and godly men who have given their lives to telling the gospel story in the dark places of earth.
An ocean voyage has little to do with fitting a man for service. Qualities that are not manifested at home will doubtless also be lacking, and patently so, in a foreign land. It may be felt that the desire to answer some Macedonian call is enough to fit a man for the task he is to undertake; but it is often learned, after great disappointment to the man in particular and to the church in general, that for the successful missionary certain qualifications are imperative.
As soon as the mission recruit is established in the field, he is under the spotlight. His characteristics, either good or bad, soon become known to the members of his little group. At home a man may be lost in the crowd; but in a. foreign land, where there is often only one or two with whom he must have constant association and under whose scrutiny he must daily work, any peculiarity is greatly magnified, and any eccentricity becomes unpleasantly obtrusiveness. Such indiscretions as tactlessness, careless speaking, sensitiveness, selfishness, penuriousness, suspicion, criticism, faultfinding, pride, cynicism, evil surmising, and a host of other everyday sins are multiplied a hundredfold as soon as a missionary takes up his abode in a small foreign compound, with a fellow missionary living just across the way.
How guarded one must be in his talk! how careful not to trespass on the rights of others! how thoughtful every moment of the day, lest his actions be misinterpreted! Any careless, proud, selfish characteristic will lead the missionary into many a rough sea. Every man or woman under appointment to a mission field should pray earnestly, "Lord, make me humble, teachable, and thoughtful of others."
Tact stands at the head of the list of qualifications necessary to success in a mission field. Tact is a small word, but the grace it names is like the root of a great tree, which bears every manner of good fruit and yields its fruit at all seasons.
How essential that the missionary possess tact! Tact is not dissembling. It is not scheming or wirepulliseg. It is a Christian grace which awakens the senses instantly to appreciate every circumstance that affects the lives and feelings of others, to perceive the trend of affairs, and to act in such a way as to bring harmony out of situations fraught with trouble. The musical definition of the word is illuminating: "The stroke in beating time." One who has tact knows how to keep time with others. Tact is the very essence of co-operation. It refines the character, quickens the perceptions, smooths human relationships.
One who is tactful is not brusque, III-mannered, or thoughtless, but is ever ready to shed abroad a spirit of fellowship and helpfulness.
Tact knows how to keep silent. This is one of its most precious fruits. Again, it knows when and how to speak a word of correction with sympathy, and a word of encouragement with sincerity. A proud person sooner or later proves himself tactless. Selfishness kills tact. Sympathy, co-operation, unity, thoughtfulness, discernment, perception, discretion, insight, adaptation, will be manifested by one who has tact. In fact, tact is the very root of a true missionary character.
Adaptability is another essential qualification for the foreign missionary. One who goes to a far-away land will have to live among people who are strange to him and under circumstances to which he is not accustomed. Naturally, he may feel a certain sense of pride in his own country, and be quick to see what he regards as peculiarities in those for whom he has come to work; but if he is wise, he will seek to adapt himself to the life and customs of the people among whom he lives, and will endeavor to understand and appreciate their national characteristics. Never by any act or gesture, must he convey an air of superiority, or show by word or look impatience or disgust for any peculiarity that he may observe. Without the spirit of adaptability, he is almost sure to give offense, and so make his service fruitless.
A missionary must be ready to take up the most necessary task at hand.
One cannot say, I have studied to be a doctor, or a preacher, or a teacher, or a printer, and I cannot do anything else. If a prospective missionary has any such conception, it would be well for him to take up almost any other work. The missionary spirit must take the place of professionalism. This does not mean that every missionary should not have a profession in which he is as expert as possible, but he must be first and foremost a missionary, which means that he will step into any gap, and that at all times he will use every means at his command to win souls to Christ. It is often necessary for a doctor to teach, for a preacher to doctor, a teacher to canvass, or a canvasser to print. The most successful missionaries have been those who have adapted themselves to whatever need arose. This is just as true in modern missions as it was in the days of pioneering missions.
Humility! How essential is the spirit of humility to the successful mission worker! When a missionary enters upon service in a foreign land, he should leave behind him both national and personal pride. No man who goes to another land with an overdose of "nationalism" and "egotism," can ever hope to accomplish much in the work he is there to do. The only land a missionary is to represent is heaven, and the only pride that he should ever manifest is that which will cause him always to act as an ambassador from Him whom he wishes to introduce to those in need of the Saviour.
As never before in the history of missionary endeavor, native peoples are sensitive. The question of national and racial equality has become very acute, and all nations are awake to the value of national life. Any lack of appreciation on the part of the missionary for the customs of the people for whom he is to labor, immediately hampers him in the work that he hopes to do. The missionary must realize that all men are equal before God. Social and educational advantages have nothing to do with making one race inherently inferior and another inherently superior. Any one who persistently holds such an outlook on, life will never make a missionary. Of all men the missionary should have a consciousness of the brotherhood of man. Though peoples may be ignorant and unenlightened, he should never boast against them because he may have had privileges which have not been theirs. He has come to rescue and enlighten, and only as he does this in a brotherly spirit, can he hope to save the perishing.
The missionary must be extremely careful in expressing himself on perplexing racial questions. He cannot enter into any political problems, nor should he feel free to discuss the shortcomings of a nation. He has come to redeem men for the kingdom of heaven, and should leave all political problems for others to settle.
The missionary must be teachable. Native peoples have much to teach the missionary. He must go to them first as a learner, or he will be unable to impart to them the message he has to give.
In the first place, the missionary must be taught a new language. Until he can understandingly express himself in the language of the people, he will be greatly handicapped: He must also learn the customs and characteristics of the people for whom he is to labor. If he cannot understand the background of their daily life, he will be utterly unable to fit into that life, and thus come into close heart contact with those whom he desires to save. He must learn new methods of work. Systems and plans that have been successful at home may need to be adapted or even discarded in the mission field.
In fact, the missionary must be a learner before he can become a teacher. It does not make any difference how many scholastic degrees he carries, or how many years of experience he has had in the homeland in either conducting or administering the work, he comes to a new land to enter a new school; and until he can prove that he has learned well, he will be unable to work successfully. This of course calls for sacrifice of time and effort, but it is absolutely necessary. On the other hand, one who has been a true and sincere learner at home, not leaning so much on scholastic attainments as on the development of character, will make rapid advancement in the mission field.
Much more might be written on the characteristics necessary for the missionary, but with these three qualities, tact, adaptability, and humility, any man who can bear much fruit in any land can be shaped and fashioned into a missionary.
Shanghai, China.
