Missions = Christian Crack Cocaine?

Missions, "Christian Crack Cocaine," may seem a little to X-treme, but is it really?

Oh, what am I but dust and yet You care about me, the wretched man that I am!

In 1998 I went on my first ever mission trip - Honduras... It was eye opening, challenging, mind boggling experience of a lifetime a memory that will linger forever in my heart and mind. I still can not comprehend the significance of this trip in my life, but since then I've been on mission trips every summer and have even launched a ministry - The Net's Mission Baltimore - that's entire purpose is to recruit, host and connect mission teams with local urban churches, ministries, and community organizations. Before - I served the citizens of Baltimore as a Police Officer and Now - I'm a missionary and pastor. So you could definitely say that this first mission trip changed my life's trajectory.

I remember coming home from Honduras and flying into Nashville, Kentucky. I spent some time at the Grand Ole Opry, even went into the huge outlet mall next door. The sights, sounds, and lavishness of American living overwhelmed me, my heart sunk low and tears slowly rolled down my cheeks. Weeks later I was in New York City, I spied the extravagance of Time Square and once again, I found myself overtaken by sadness. I stood peering up at the mega screens, the billions of light bulbs, giant marques and thought how much money have we spent on these things and the electricity it costs to power them? What about the poor, homeless and hungry how do we care for them?

I am a wretched man! Oh, how desperately I need God's GRACE...

Mission Baltimore...The last summer mission team left Baltimore for home yesterday. It often seems as though missions, like Starbucks is Christian crack, just a high, an experience to put under our belts; add to our lengthy list of works; a feel good drug that's all about the infamous "me" doing what I'm suppose to do as a good Christian.

Do I grasp the reality of peoples desperate need to be loved and the reality of the power of God's love to change the lives of my neighbors? Missions, a word you won't find in the Bible, God's Word, but is implicit through out. Passages like Acts 1:8, "...you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Or my sons favorite verse, Mark 16:15, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Or these words that Jesus also spoke from Matthew 28:19, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..."

Missions must be born out of a TRUE burden the burden of our Father to bring the Gospel of healing and hope to our lost and lonely neighbor, this Gospel of LOVE... Yet truly caring is hard for we only glimpse very briefly into the lives of our neighbor carrying a message of hope through food, prayers, giving away Bibles, Vacation Bible Schools, Sports Camps, Medical Clinics, Clean Up Projects, Building Projects, Clean Water Projects, Evangelistic Crusades, etc... We are In and Out!

Are we only selling a product or giving it away with no concern for our neighbor, no real love? Do we even see their faces, gaze deeply into their eyes, truly feel the burdens that their hearts bare? Do we enter into their experience and see as God sees? Has missions become a task on the Christian "Works" To Do List without connecting or even risking heart to heart connection with our neighbor for fear that it may cost us more than we are willing to pay?

Most Christians, including myself are involved in missions at some level. We support missionaries or mission organizations through donations of: food, Bibles, money, clothes, volunteering a week or two of vacation time to serve. We have the professional missionary, of which I am one, who loves our neighbors for us so we don't have to. The real cost of missions, giving your heart to another, is to high a price for most of us to pay. We often reduce loving your neighbor to a heartless task that appears on our "Works" To Do List.

Even when we do go on a mission trip once we get home to our A/C, nice clothes, cars, I-Pods, Sports, Wide Screen - Flat Panel - Digital - Surround Sound - Home Theaters, Computers, Cell Phones, DVD Collections, CD Collections, Get Anything You want Shopping Malls we forget the lost, the lonely, the penny less, the hungry, the starving, the disease ridden, the helpless, hopeless and heart broken neighbor we met or hopefully served on the mission field.

Is this just another high adventure experience to add to our Christian "Works" Been There Done That - list?

Are we really loving our neighbor or just playing another nice Christian game of Make Believe called "Love Thy Neighbor?"

My prayer is that this wretched man that I am will see in each and every face, whether serving on a mission trip or walking down the sidewalk at home, the suffering Christ in the eyes of each of my NEIGHBORS and that I will be overcome with the burden of my Father's heart to connect compassionately, heart to heart with my brother or sister and live out Christ's example of loving at all cost, because love which costs me nothing is NOT love at all!"