Summary & Review of THE MISSIONARY CALL by David Sills
I couldn't have read this book at a better time or at a worse time. I couldn't have read it at a better time because I had it in my grip during some of our final weeks of preparing to go to Japan with the International Mission Board. I couldn't have read it at a worse time for 2 reasons. First, I wish I had the time to write up & interact with every single chapter in detail - what is on the pages is good enough to do so, but because of all the things we are trying to get done before we leave for training in less than a month, I simply don't have the time. Another reason reading it now was the worst time was because I think I could have saved many anxious moments over the last 5 plus years as we sought God's guidance about our call to missions. But being able to read the book at the end of the journey of our calling (just the beginning of our actual ministry) & finding God's plan for us allowed me to validate how helpful this book is & will be for others wanting to know about God's heart for the nations & His will for their lives.
SUMMARY
Dr. Sills divides his book into 3 sections in which he covers: I) WHAT IS THE MISSIONARY CALL? II) UNDERSTANDING YOUR MISSIONARY CALL & III) FULFILLING THE MISSIONARY CALL. Four chapters are covered under the first heading. Chapter 1 deals with what is involved in a missionary call - how do you know what it is - how you can identify it. Chapter 2 in many ways is foundational to the book as Sills helpfully explains how to know the will of God at all - not just for missions, but the will of God for anyone's life. Chapter 3 deals with the Biblical basis of missions, again, another chapter that the whole book must stand on - if there is no Biblical case for missions there's no reason to read Sills book. And Chapter 4 is a 101 crash course in the history of missions. I loved this chapter since the Lord used the life of Adoniram Judson to call me into missions. We cannot discount the importance of those who have gone before us as the Lord is pleased to use their life, even way beyond their living years, to bring others into obedience to obey the missionary call.
Part II deals with understanding your missionary call. Chapter 4 is helpful as Sills deals with how specific does your call have to be. If you are not certain the exact city, people group, or organization or God is calling you to, then does that mean you are not called? Sills addresses these issues. Naturally following is a chapter on timing, followed by how to deal with the compatibility of calling with a spouse (what to do if one is called & the other is not).
Part III is a discussion on getting to the field, the hindrances that can slow that process, the challenges once there, etc...The final chapters take excerpts of missionary heroes of the past - unfortunately, no Adoniram Judson, but did you know that Amy Carmichael originally thought she was heading to Japan? I wonder if history for Japan or for Amy would be different on a large scale had she gone there instead. The last chapter pulls the whole book together & ends with a pastoral-like plea by David Sills to obey God's calling in the reader's life. Clearly everyone is called to missions in some capacity, & Sills had clearly, Biblically, & historically laid out that argument throughout the book, but he admits that there is also a personal call, & encourages his readers & even prays for those who God is calling, to respond in obedience.
REVIEW
Reading this book at the last stages of a 5.5 year process to get overseas gave me a sound ability to see how special & helpful Dr. Sills' book is & will be over the years to those who are willing to seek the Lord's face about their role in seeing Christ's Kingdom come to all nations. I enthusiastically encourage any Christian to read this book. I think many have not even prayed about missions because they don't understand what the missionary call is & they can't conceive that they should have a role in it, either at home or abroad. Therefore, read & take heed.
Some of the things I appreciated most about this book follow...First, I think the book was written in a very interactive style. Sills did a great job of pulling the reader in, grabbing their attention, & seemingly speaking to Christians in whatever vocation or stage of life they are in. By interactive, I also mean that I feel like the book served as a sort of counselor. You can tell the flow of the book was well planned & that all possible questions that may rise were addressed on some level. Most of these questions were ones that I have gone to mentors in my life with earlier in our missions call & Sills anticipates what the reader is thinking so well that it is almost as if he is across the table in dialog with you.
I also appreciated the way that Sills was balanced. Thankfully, he spoke truth in saying that every Christian is in fact called to missions, whether that be going, sending, praying, etc...Yet, Sills didn't demonize those who have truly prayed & wrestled with God about their role in missions, & yet God desires for them to stay. He also didn't let those off the hook who haven't wrestled with God in knowing His will without challenging them to do so. And again, those who stay, send, & support & not treated as "lesser Christians" than those of us going. Sills is wise to point out that we need both in order to be successful.
I do not intend to say that certain chapters are more important than others, but I am grateful especially for the chapters on knowing God's will & for the Biblical basis of missions. Often times, it is those of deep, theological bents who can tend to thumb their nose at the notion of things like a missionary call, or may question that God can speak to His children specifically about a people group or a place to serve overseas since those details about our personal lives are not in the Bible. Because Dr. Sills has years of both missionary experience & theological training & teaching, he brings a perfect balance of a missiology fueled by strong Biblical theology, which again, makes this book highly commended reading.
Hopefully, even if it is sporadically over the next year, time will allow me to post some more entries based on this book since there are so many nuggets of gold in it worthy of attention. I am grateful that I have had the chance to read it & that Dr. Sills took the time to write it.
You can find more information on this book below:
The Missionary Call Website
Author Dr. Sills blog
Author Dr. Sills Ministry Website: Reaching & Teaching
Buy the Book
