You cannot hold anyone accountable, and you cannot hold yourself accountable for growth, unless in advance you've determined your mission and goals and the criteria to measure them.
—Gordon MacDonald
When I was in college, I participated in a campus ministry whose aim was the evangelization of the whole world. The audacity of the dream ignited new passion within my personal faith, and for that I'm grateful. But sometimes I suspect the motivational approaches went a bit too far.
One day, for example, a staff member read us a story from the biography of C. T. Studd, one of the great English missionary pioneers of the nineteenth century. We'd all come to revere Studd as one who gave up everything—including a great sports career —to evangelize the nations. We listened intently for further insights that would enable us to imitate this man and his faith.
As I recall, Studd went off to Africa and remained there seventeen years without seeing his English homeland. He never saw his wife, either, since ...
1Support Our Work
Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month