“An Adventurer For The Lord”
Just before 2016 ended, my family and I took a trip to a brand new place for us, Tybee Island, again.
Tybee Island is at the end of the road. It is laid back, quiet, clean, and friendly. On Wednesday night we went and worshipped at Chapel By the Sea Baptist Church. Great folks, knowledgeable pastor (Dr. David Laughner) and a pleasant experience overall.
But it was Little Tybee Island that drew my family and I to that location to begin with. Little Tybee, which is ironically named since it is bigger than Tybee itself, is an uninhabited island off the coast of Tybee. It is only accessible by kayak, and is like stepping into a chapter of Robinson Crusoe.
My family and I brought our kayaks from home, and took a day to paddle over to and explore the island, and it was well worth it. But it would not be for everyone. For starters, there are no, ahem, “facilities” on Little Tybee. Nor are there power outlets, televisions, convenience stores, Walmarts, or hospitals. And so, while I was as happy as a clam at high tide, others would never even consider doing such a thing.
And that thought brings me to, of all places, the Midwest. As I write this I am bouncing along the back roads of Centerville, Iowa. I came out here to help lay a dear gentleman in my church the few blocks from where he spent most of his life.
It was my first trip to Iowa. And as a boy from the Bible Belt, I could not help but notice that despite the fact that everyone is friendly, the scenery is amazing, and the food superb, one can often drive many miles on end before seeing a gospel preaching church. We were blessed to be at a very good one, the First Baptist Church of Seymour, with Pastor Micaiah Stanley.
When I was in Bible college I met (and have many times since met) people who wanted to plant churches. The bulk of the times, the desire they have expressed to me is to start a church in a large city near millions of people and a mall. And there is nothing wrong with that; those areas need the gospel as well. But God loves people out in rural areas as well, just as He does people out in remote jungles. I have a friend that has for years been a missionary in the deep jungles of Guyana. He takes the gospel to places with no electricity and no running water.
In Romans 15:19-20, Paul said, “Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation...”
Paul had the spirit of an adventurer for the Lord. He wanted to find people who had never heard, and who may not be quickly receptive, and take the gospel to them. That spirit is desperately needed today, perhaps more that ever.
If God calls you to that kind of a life, pursue it. All it will take is a willingness to do without many comforts and conveniences, the character to work to support yourself and the ministry, a readiness to literally lay down your life in some cases, and enough humility to serve without ever being known, and perhaps without even being much remembered.
There is more temporal glory among the skyscrapers and alongside the interstates. But I am convinced that the greater eternal glory is found at the end of the road, in the jungles, on the plains, in hostile countries, and in the small towns where many would never consider going.
Bo Wagner is pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Mooresboro, N.C., a widely traveled evangelist, and author of several books, including a kid’s fiction book about the Battle of Chickamauga, “Broken Brotherhood.” He can be emailed at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.