from the editor, Brant Holladay

What is a Missionary?

Someone has attempted to define a missionary.

Somewhere between saintliness and foolishness we find a curious creature called a missionary. Christians love them, governments tolerate them, parents miss them, and Christ protects them. A missionary has the patience of a fisherman, the audacity of a tightrope walker, the carefulness of a bookkeeper, the vision of a dreamer, the strength of a builder, the intelligence of a teacher, the wit of a humorist, the irresponsibility of a child, and when he attempts something, he is all prayer.

He likes letters from home, children, plain preaching, mission recruits, faith promise conferences, tracts, printing presses, radio stations, translators, E-mail messages, cameras, airplanes, maps, Bible studies, cities, peanut butter, correspondence courses, and book shops. He is not much for high pressure promotion, red tape, devaluation of the dollar, lukewarm faith, hypocrisy and discrimination.

A missionary is an unusual creature. You can send him to a far-off country, but you had better not forget him. You can get him out of your hair, but you cannot get him out of your heart. He is your servant, your right hand, your dependent; a Bible-preaching, God-fearing, self-sharing ambassador for Christ. When you come to church with that smug feeling that you are a fairly decent Christian, he can shatter that idea with the simple words, "Come over and help us."

Missionaries are not born. They are made. They are made out of the ordinary run of individuals. The basic qualification is not intellectualism, but a yielded spirit, a devotion to the will of God, and a deep sense of a divine call.

Not every Christian should be a missionary, but every Christian should be willing to be one.