“Some people want to live within the sound of chapel bell,
But I want to run a mission a yard from the gate of hell
And with everyone you meet, take them the gospel and share it well
Look around you as you hesitate, another soul just fell
Let’s run to the battle”
-Steve Camp, Run to the Battle
The lyrics above are from the inspirational song by Steve Camp. I heard this song recently and was reminded how much I used to like that song. It also reminded me of our study of the battle for Jericho. To hear a good online version of the song, try the YouTube videos only please don’t take the intro and the visuals too literally. Someone got carried with the “battle” imagery. Instead, close your eyes and think of it instead in terms of the spiritual battle we’re engaged in, which is conflict enough.
The opening lines of the song aren’t really Steve Camp’s words. These powerful lyrics were originally spoken by C.T. Studd, a champion rugby player of the late 1800’s who shunned the fame and limelight of celebrity and gave his life as a missionary in Africa.
This song is a stirring call. But it is a call that is dated. I don’t think many would say these words today. Actually, the times had already turned when Camp wrote this song about twenty years ago. There was a time when “within the sound of chapel bells” seemed safe from the gate of hell, but those times were beginning to come to an end even then. Now they’re long gone.
Personally, I even doubt the reality of that feeling of “chapel” safety. Every church in every city has always been a mission post. Yes, there is something exciting and unique about cross-cultural mission events where the mission team leaves the familiar behind and takes the good news of Christ to previously unreached peoples. This is the ministry by which the Great Commission will be fulfilled (Matt. 28:18-20).
There was a time, though, when the church thought crossing cultures with the gospel meant going “over there.” As a result of that mindset, we forgot that it also meant to reach out to others unlike ourselves back at home. We have carefully built our churches for people who are comfortable in churches. We do our best to get people to come to where we are most comfortable. We have produced our programs, played our sports and had our Vacation Bible Schools. From these endeavors, we have seen some fruit from it all and thanked God for what he was doing if only one person came to Christ — as well we should have done.
We thought “within the sound of chapel bells” meant we could reach our neighbors with “church” ministries and we did reach a few. But we lost many and I think it’s largely because we forgot we were still just a yard from the gate of hell. We forgot to think like missionaries.
We must think “mission-minded” everywhere. Missionaries know that when they travel to a new culture they have to learn the local language, and speak the gospel in that language. They know they must learn the local culture and live out the gospel in a manner that is true to the timeless reality of the gospel, while also connecting with the culture where they are. This is Missions 101.
The missionary is one who is a student of both local culture and language. The missionary is one who is discovering the principal local objections to Christianity and discerning how best to answer them. The missionary is learning how to answer those questions in terms that the local people can understand.
C.T. Studd traveled thousands of hazardous miles to plant the gospel flag “a yard from the gate of hell.” God is still calling people to travel thousands of miles for the same reason. But our church is just a yard from the gate of hell right where it is. Will we “Run to the battle”? We most certainly are in the fight!
We must think mission-minded in our neighborhoods. “With everyone you meet, take them the gospel and share it well.” That’s good advice. What then does “share it well” mean where you are?
What questions are our neighbors asking? Do we know? What are their principal objections? Do they need to see the good news lived out more clearly before them? Is “everyone you meet” ready to hear the whole how-to-receive-Christ gospel message, or do they need to see its authentic reality on another level first? The answer to that will differ from person to person. Do we know what to do for each person or each neighborhood around us? Are these not standard missionary questions?
“Run to the battle.” I really love that song. But maybe there should have been another verse that has to do with recognizing that “chapel bells” don’t mean everyone around you is “chapel-ready.” I won’t try to make this rhyme but I’ll just give you the points of it:
• Equip yourself for the battle.
• Study the battle.
• Fight the real battle: not the one that others have previously fought years ago, answering questions that matters to our neighbors today.
Camp says, “look around you as you hesitate, another soul just fell.” I’m here to tell you that taking time for equipping, study, and preparation are not “hesitating.” I don’t think Steve Camp would say they were, either. I think he’d say they were expressions of wisdom in action.
And I think that’s what the Lord would say, too, which is what really matters.
Tom Renew
Deeper In God’s Word
Resources:
C.T. Studd, Cricketer and Pioneer, By Norman Grubb
Zach Hochstadt, Mission Minded, missionminded.com
Todd Wilson, sermon – Mission-Minded