Pastors and Missionaries

You hear it all the time. You don’t need to be a pastor or a missionary to serve God. Your workplace is your missionfield. But how much do we really live like that?
When people go on mission trips, they are so excited. They live in uncomfortable situations, eat food they don’t necessarily like, walk long distances in the hot sun, interact with people who are just different from them. They sleep with less than a pillow and a blanket, and don’t have electricity for hours on end. But what is their reaction? They LOVE it! They are so excited to face trial and persecution and discomfort “while doing God’s work.”
And then they return from their short-term mission trip. There is no more excitement going into a world where people need Jesus so badly. There is no urgency. They look forward to the next mission trip, while the lost around them continue to walk blindly.
If our desire is so that everyone will know of the grace of God and the power of His saving blood, then we need to go into the places where the people don’t know this. These are the 3rd world countries overseas, the ghettos and inner cities, the educational system, corporate offices, coffee shops, and every place else. We need to enter these places with excitement, with the same willingness to face discomfort, trials, and persecution.
Professionals have access to a much different audience then full time pastors and missionaries. This generation will not put themselves in a church to hear a message, or read a tract that is handed out. But they are willing to engage in spiritual discussions among co-workers at a restaurant or on a break. If we remove ourselves from those situations, or even remove our desire and kingdom perspective in those situations, we are losing out on an entire demographic in need.
We need to stop looking at the mission trip to come, and experience the mission field we’re in.