Qualifications of Workers and Methods of Work in Oriental Fields

Qualifications of Workers and Methods of Work in Oriental Fields Qualifications of Workers and Methods of Work in Oriental Fields
George S. Benson This is really a double subject. We shall discuss the qualifications of workers first and the methods of work on the Oriental fields second. In the first place I wish to emphasise the fact that tne Oriental field is a hard one. There are. many discouragements and the evange' list who enters any part of the Orient will find plenty of difficulties. In the beginning I wish to name two general qualifications for workers in the Orient which would also be applicable elsewhere. The first is a deep concern for the salvation of souls. No one who is not deeply concerned about the salvation of the lost would desiie to remain long as a missronary in the Orient. The apostle. Paul said, “Woe is unto me if I preach not the Gospel.” Again I hear him saying, ' I am debtor to all men.” He was so deeply concerned regarding the salvation of the lost that he believed he could not be saved himself if he did not labor through the Gospel to save others. We need to feel that same concern today.

It was in the summer of 1925 that Mrs. Benson and I first sailed for China. I felt convinced in my own heart at that time that it would not be right for me to remain in America. We had then about 2,500 preachers of the church of Christ in the United States, but not a single one in China It was very clear to me that someone should go to China, for Jesus made no distinction between the different na' tions. We were making a great distinction, retaining the whole of our preaching force within the bounds of our own country. It was clear to me that someone should go to China at once, and I could think of no reason why I should urge others to go and should not go my' self. This burden became so keen that I could no longer conscien' tiously remain in America. Consequently on August 18, 1925, Mrs. Benson and I sailed from San Francisco as the first missionaries of the church of Christ to China. I wish we had a hundred young preachers in Amerca today who were so deeply concerned about the lost souls in the Orient that they could no longer remain in America.

Second, the missionary to the Orient should possess the ability to rely upon God in difficult and tiyrng times. Once on the field he will find himself overwhelmed with the hugeness of the task before him; will find himself in the midst of a people satisfied with their own re' ligions and with no knowledge, of the value of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; will find it difficult to establish contacts, to make friendships and to lead people to believe in Jesus Christ. He will also find trying health conditions, physical dangers and may sometimes find himself with insufficient support upon which to live. He will also be faced with many perplexing problems and may be faced with sickness 01 death in his own family. He may have no one nearby who will un-derstand his difficulties or know how to sympathise with him. In such times one will find it necessary to take comfort through reliance upon God. The apostle Paul said. “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord.” The apostle found good in all of his persecution and in all of his imprisonments. In Php_1:12-14 we find him saying that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through his bonds, had become more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear. The apostle was apparently convinced that through this boldness on the part of the brethren the Gospel was being more extensively preached than if he had been enjoying his own liberty and thereby had been enabled to travel and preach as he had done in former years. Again Paul said, ‘ I can do all things through him that strengtheneth me.”

If the missionary to the Orient can rely upon God to supply all of his needs, to comfort his heart in all trying hours, and to make all things work together for his good, and if he is filled with a deep concern for the salvation of lost souls he should be able to accomplish much good in the name of the Lord.

Now there are some special qualifications particularly peculiar to the Orient which I must mention T he first is physical. 1'he climate is very trying. In many places the humidity is great, insects are numerous, food is different, housing is strange, etc. All of this brings a special trial upon the physical endurance of the new worker who is not acclimated and who is not accustomed to such conditions. Any physical weakness will become more serious in the Orient. In the second place, the missionary to the Orient must have unusual ability to adjust himself to new circumstances. The customs and manners of the people are very different from our own. Yet it is essential that one adjust himself to che customs and manners of the people among whom he labors. T he apostle Paul said, “I am become all things to all men.” This is strictly essential, of course, where the people are proud of the.ii own culture, proud of their own customs and manners. Truly there are many remarkable features in Oriental civilisation. The missionary should be able to appreciate these remat kable features and should be able to adjust himself to the customs and manners of the people. One who has been unable to adjust himself to his own people among whom he was born and reared will find it even more difficult to adjust himself to a foreign people, after he is already matured. In the third place, the missionary to the Onent must have unfailing courage. Ilhe will find his work slow. He will find the people oftentimes unfriendly. He will probably find his support sometimes inadequate. If he coifid be discouraged he will find himself losing his grip. In the fourth place, the missionaiy to the Orient should have some knowledge of the particular part of the country to which he is going. He should understand the climate, the housing conditions, the food which will be available, the dangers to health, etc. He should also understand the religions of the people. It is very difficult to approach people with the purpose of leading them out of their old religion if one does not understand the origin and doctrine of these religions. Therefore, one should make opportunity to study the religions of the people among whom he expects to work. It is also important that the missionary to the Orient understand the attitude of the people toward the foreigner and toward the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of the Chinese people believe that one of the most important qualifications of a missionary to that field is his ability to appreciate Chinese culture. The attitude of the Oriental people toward the foreigner will be largely determined by his attitude toward them and by his ability to appreciate the good things in their civilisation. The Oriental people do not look up to foreigners (and you will realise that when we reach the Orient we are the foreigners).

It is true at the present time that Oriental people are turning away from their old religions. This is particularly true of China and India. However, this does not mean that they are seeking after Christianity—they are merely coming to realise that their own religions are based upon superstition. They consequently decided that all religions are based upon superstition. The new missionary who is not aware of the attitude of the Oriental people toward the foreigner and toward the Gospel may find it difficult to make his adjustments after reaching the field. While if he understands these things beforehand it will be comparatively easy for him to make his adjustments.

Some knowledge of the language should also be obtained before one sets out for his chosen field. For instance the Chinese language is tonal. But many people have no sense of tones, and therefore, find the Chinese language exceedingly difficult. Not having expected this feature in the language one has not fortified himself at this point and may tend to become discouraged. In Chinese the same phonetic sound may have as many as nine different meanings, depending upon the tone in which the word is spoken.

It is also an advantage to the missionary to understand something about the history of the country to which he is going, as he must become a teacher among the people with whom he works. Suppose there should be a teacher among our own people who was totally ignorant of the history of George Washingtn, of the Furth of July, of Abraham Lincoln, of the Civil War, ignorant of our institutions, etc. He would find great difficulty in gaining the respect of our people and in becoming a leader in whom we would have implicit confidence. The Chinese people have 4,000 years of consecutive history— a history of which they are exceedingly proud. The missionary who knows nothing of Chinese history will find himself greatly handicapped and often tremendously embarrassed.

Nt»w I wish to take up the methods of work on the Oriental field. Jesus has given an example of how a foreign missionary should labor. He left his abode with the Father, came to this distant globe and lived as a man among men. He lived on the level of the people among whom he labored. He sought not his own welfare. I believe that Jesus understood every principle of nature, for he was with the Father when the world was created and without him was not anything made that was made. Therefore, I feel confident that he could have invented the aeroplane, the radio, the steam engine, the railroad, the automobile, etc. He could have ushered in the great machine age in which we live today. He might have become wealthy and famous, but he chose the part of service and suffered hardship as a good soldier of the cross. He did not come to usher in a new social, political or economical era. He came to seek and to save the souls of lost men. In like manner the missionary should go to the foreign fields to seek and save the souls of the lost—not to devote his time and energy to the creation of a new social or political order. One time a missionary to a certain tribe in Africa was commenting upon the influence he had had upon a certain band of cannibals. When asked if this particular tribe still ate human flesh, he replied, “Oh yes, they still eat human flesh, but they now take their meat with forks.” This worker had the wrong message.

Paul is our outstanding example in actual methods of evangelising among Gentile peoples. He went to the main cities and chief centers in the provinces of Asia, Galatia, Macedonia and Achaia. He introduced the Gospel into these four provinces—established churches there, trained native workers there and wrote letters of instruction. This represents three distinct phases of work—first, preaching publicly and from house to house; second, teaching faithful disciples in such a manner that they should be able to teach others also. (2 Timothy 2:2.) Third, he wrote letters of instruction in order that the written pages might remain in the hands of those concerned.

I believe that our work on foreign fields today should follow these same three lines. We should preach publicly and from house to house both day and night, with tears. We should provide regular daily Bible classes in order that faithful disciples may be so thoroughly taught the word of the Lord that they would be able to safely teach others. We should also provide Christian literature in the native language of the people among whom we labor. They need tracts, booklets, books, and if possible, magazines in their own language. At Canton, China, we have adopted and have as nearly as possible followed out just such a three-fold program. We have preached on the streets, in rented halls, and in homes. We have established the Canton Bible School in which there are now forty-nine students studying the Bible daily and also taking such other courses as are calculated to make them most effective in the service of Jesus Christ. Some of our young men are already going out and doing effective work as teachers of the word of the Lord. We have published a series of more than twenty tracts, a series of a do2,en booklets, and several books in the Chinese language. Our largest book is McGarvey’s “New Commentary on Acts of Apostles.” We also publish a quarterly magazine in Chinese.

It is my opinion that missionaries with the qualifications already suggested and using the methods which have just been described could succeed in doing an effective work in any part of the Oriental field. The great Yangtze River Valley with 150,000,000 people and without a single missionary from our churches of Christ and with multitudes of people who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ stands as a great challenge to our churches of Christ today. Shanghai, Nanking, or Hankow would be a suitable city in which work might immediately be opened. One or more Chinese helpers from the Canton Bible School could be furnished to help a new missionary in opening work in either one of these places. It is my prayer that the Lord may in' spire our hearts to respond according to our ability in entering into these great open doors, and in preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus to those who sit in darkness. The apostle Paul said, “Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed, and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard, and how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent?” If we all preach and teach on this subject as we should there will be plenty of young people who will want to go. There will be plenty of churches who will be anxious to send out missionaries, and there will be plenty of additional people who will want to give to help supply every need of those who go. Let us do what we can now while we have time and opportunity that it may be said of us in that great day that we have done what we could.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
1. How is the church’s possibilities to send workers limited?
2. What is the greatest hindrance now to the churches’ sending the one hundred families needed to evangelize
the world? Are the churches unwilling to send the hundred families? Why don’t they send the hundred at once?
3. To what extent may we apply Paul’s missionary methods on foreign fields today?
4. To what extent did Paul’s ability to perform miracles give him an advantage over foreign missionaries of today?
5. What would be the strongest incentive to get your congregation to want to help in more distant work?
6. Could your congregation help in some expansion program without decreasing its present program of work?
If so, can you meet God’s approval and fail to do it?