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Accountable…not called.

October 2, 2019 by Joel Potter

I like to say that I was never “called” to be become a missionary. It confuses some people. “Why would you do that with your life if you weren’t supposed to?” That’s the confusion right there. “Called” and “supposed to” aren’t the same thing. And I actually think that neither one is right when you look at what God’s Word says about the matter.

Two keystone passages of Scripture especially illustrate this. Matthew 28:19, 20 drop a cyclical instruction, an order that’s meant to continually be repeated by everyone whose life is changed because of it. If each person who hears and believes the teachings of Jesus Christ really obeys it, they then find a way to “go therefore.” And the cycle repeats. It’s not a special calling. It’s unavoidable.

2 Corinthians 5:14, 15 teaches us about a love that should warp the trajectory of our lives. In the NKJV the phrase “the love of Christ compels us” pushes away notions of waiting for a call. Instead, sacrificial love should propel us into service as “ministers” of reconciliation. And when you combine that with the “where” in Jesus’ final words in Matthew  — “into all the world” — you get where I’m going here?

I grew up in a solid home where parents made building blocks of understanding God’s grace and salvation readily available for the building of a foundation for life. I knew as I made my way into the grownup world of my early college years that I would probably head into some ministry role in my future. But not trusting myself to make the decision on what role, I went to Bible college.

It was at then-New Tribes Bible Institute where I was adding to my Biblical foundations that I had my life trajectory altered in a big way. When missionary after missionary in chapel, in class and around the campus challenged me with the reality of unreached people groups and of how little work was being done to reach them, I realized I had a choice to make.

I could take the new facts I possessed and ignore them, even though I was a member of a very small segment of people who had a grasp of how many people were truly in the dark about Truth, and head into a career of my own choosing. Or I could act on the new truth I possessed and do something about it. In the end, I felt a great sense of accountability to the facts. The stark reality is that whole people groups are living and dying, eternally separated from their Creator.

In the end, I felt a great sense of accountability to the facts. The stark reality is that whole people groups are living and dying, eternally separated from their Creator.

I knew that this has been happening for literally hundreds of generations. That’s not easily ignorable. So, I took my next step — and got married 😉 — but chose to make my life — the prime career phase of my life — about stopping that cycle of life and death and eternal separation for even just one of the thousands of people groups still unreached.

So, am I called? No. Am I accountable? Yes.

Filed Under: Ministry

More Posts:

« Serious and Timely
Grounded in God’s Word (Guest Post) »

Comments

  1. Lesley says

    October 11, 2019 at 11:05 am

    This is great! When we see God’s instructions in Scripture and see that everyone is called because we are to obey God’s word, but more than that the more that we learn about the reality that there are so many people that don’t know about God yet, we are responsible with that new information were given, what will we do with it. Need to either be at sender or a goer or both. Accountable, responsible.

The Potters…

are missionaries helping every people group around the world have the chance to understand the gospel and have access to a thriving church. We are serving with the International Ministries Office as it assists Ethnos360 and its Global Partners.

joeldpotter

This weekend, we celebrated some milestones. Both This weekend, we celebrated some milestones. Both my Dad and Lynn, Bethany’s Mom recently reached 75 years. 

That’s a big deal, right?!

I didn’t know this at the time, but in the picture with “Mom” looking at the camera over the cupcakes, that was a long moment in which she and I held eye contact. I genuinely thought it was something special. 

It turns out that this morning, we found what we think will be a safe, comfortable, home-like and loving assisted living facility where she is able to move in very soon. This is one of the biggest answers to prayer in recent years for our family. Caring for her for the last 11 years, even though it hadn’t always been as hard as the last few, has cost us. The Lord enabled us to pay that cost but it has cost none the less. 

That moment locking eyes with her means a lot though. 

I have to also recognize the tender gift that my Dad has exercised as he and my Mom have cared so often for Lynn. His ability to gently draw her out on a walk in the neighborhood or to sit and sing a hymn with her, has blessed more than her. 
______
#tendingalovedoneindecline #everymomentholy
We just posted a big Year in Review post on our bl We just posted a big Year in Review post on our blog and to the email list. As you know, a whole lot of life happened in 2022 and it's likely that 2023 will be no different. We'd love to fill you in. 

Take a look at it on the blog OR you can listen to it. Listening is a super-simple way to keep up with us when you can't read. Like while you're taking the kids to school or walking your pup. 

You can find links to LISTEN or READ at my profile site.
______
#thepottermission 
#yearinreview
A couple of weeks of running and riding. Grateful A couple of weeks of running and riding. Grateful for the ability and opportunity. 
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#getourandrun
#getoutandride 
#stravacycling 
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