Somebody's Stealing God's Glory

WHEN the walls of Jericho fell, God's people exclaimed in praise, "What God has done!" But today, when something notable happens in the work of the church, people say, "How did you do it?"

What fascinates us, what occupies our time and energies, is methods. The principle of our complete dependence upon God to do His work is lost in the shuffle.

The British, especially in the conduct of world missions, have a reputation for stressing principle while being rather vague about method. Americans, on the other hand, are noted for their innovative and aggressive attention to method.

When one aspect is emphasized at the expense of the other it be comes a caricature or even a heresy. Today, methods in the church receive so much emphasis that we have reached a place of great danger. The Bible says little about method but dwells continually upon principle. This is why the Biblical church has been so adaptable, flourishing both in highly civilized societies and in primitive tribes.

A few years ago I wrote a book based on the Biblical principles of world missions, called Man's Peace, God's Glory. Later, I coauthored another book, titled Missions in Crisis. It dealt with current events and outlined steps to be taken to present the Gospel in the contemporary context. It became quite popular and a reprint was ordered.

Shortly afterwards, during a visit to Japan, I was presented with a copy of my first book, newly translated into Japanese. I asked my Japanese brothers why they had chosen this one, since many excellent books on missions had been published in the interim, and my later book on missions seemed to have been more successful. My host replied, "Books such as Missions in Crisis are concerned with problems, events, methods and men. All will soon pass away. Your book dealt with principles—these will never pass away."

What Is Our Focus?

In recent years the words of my dear Japanese friend have burned deeper and deeper into my mind. Today the evangelical church is choking on its preoccupation with methods. In a word, the focus is on self, not on God and His glory.

One organization uses four steps to lead people to Christ. It not only presses people to use the steps but even copyrights them! A book is written about the ten churches that raise the biggest missionary offerings. Another extols the ten churches with a remarkably successful evangelistic program. And now there's a movie about one of these churches, too, so that people from coast to coast can be persuaded to copy its methods.

In our mission work we assume that God's supreme purpose in the world is to save men, and accordingly we emphasize methods that promise to accomplish this. The fact is, however, that God's supreme purpose is to glorify Himself.

Yet we continue to saturate our missionary trainees with methods. In most cases the Apostle Paul would not have been accepted by our mission schools or our mission boards. When we bring a person from overseas for training in the West, he rarely returns home knowing more about God; rather he returns knowing more about the ingenuity of man.

Some time ago I was given responsibility for speaking at a great congress on evangelism. Be forehand one of the best known youth leaders in the world urged me not to talk about motives. I was stunned and asked why he had this concern. "Because I have a method for leading men to God. It works and therefore it must be the sovereign will of God." I was so amazed that I had a most remarkable experience—I was lost for words.

"If it works it must be of God." A handy, all-purpose slogan, suited for the board room of McDonald's Hamburger chain and for all kinds of political deals! But what a perversion for the "kings and priests of God"!

The real problem is that we have become so man-centered that we are blind to the importance of keeping God central. As a result, we copy business methods that are in extremely bad taste, and act as if we, armed with the latest copy righted approach, can lead a person to God. But, of course, only God can lead a person to Himself.

Our chief purpose is not to help man. The Bible teaches that our top priority is to glorify God. Until we realize this we shall think in terms of statistics, men, and methods. Instead, let us be obsessed with the Lord Himself, "to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."