{"id":5601,"date":"2018-01-04T12:47:26","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T18:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5601"},"modified":"2018-01-04T12:47:26","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T18:47:26","slug":"mission-minded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Minded"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Brad Harrub<\/strong><br \/>\n<i>Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children \u201cgoing through the motions\u201d in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with you what I hope to instill in the hearts of my own children and those whom I love.<\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335551550&quot;:6,&quot;335551620&quot;:6,&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nWhat drives an individual to want to pack up all of their belongings and move overseas and work in primitive conditions? Most individuals cannot imagine giving up the thought of having a\u00a0Wal\u00a0Mart less than five miles away, much less living without daily hot showers. And yet, all over the world are individuals who want nothing more than to preach and teach the Word of God. Missionaries. These are individuals who have devoted their lives to taking the Gospel to areas in which the church is weak. These individuals look\u00a0at the great commission\u00a0put forth by Jesus Christ and they literally \u201cgo\u201d:\u00a0\u201c\u2019Go therefore<b>[<\/b><b>c<\/b><b>]<\/b>\u00a0and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,<b>\u202f<\/b>teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,\u00a0<i>even<\/i>\u00a0to the end of the age.\u2019\u00a0Amen.\u201d<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nSadly, for many Christians in the United States, the only true interaction\u00a0they have with mission work is when someone comes to their local congregation to deliver a mission report. Others sum up their mission experience by writing a check for whoever is currently listed as missionaries on their church bulletin.\u00a0Mission work is often viewed as something \u201cthey\u201d do. Well, who exactly is the \u201cthey\u201d and does it include \u201cme?\u201d<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<b>Here\u2019s what I intend to teach my<\/b><b>\u00a0children regarding<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><b>mission work<\/b><b>.<\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nI\u2019ll never forget a devotional that someone led during one of my very first mission trips. While I don\u2019t remember the individual who led the\u00a0devo, his message\u00a0has remained with me. He used the text from Luke 17:10, \u201cSo likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, \u2018We\u00a0are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.\u2019\u201d\u00a0His major point in that devotional was that\u00a0the mission workers on that campaign\u00a0shouldn\u2019t be patting\u00a0themselves on the back,\u00a0because ultimately\u00a0we were just doing what we are commanded to do. It totally transformed the way I look at mission work.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0our duty.<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nYou all know that your mom and I put a high value on mission work\u2014both foreign and domestic. We are thankful to be able to support several works and have some dear friends who serve as missionaries.\u00a0Most of you had a passport before you could walk, as our family would\u00a0journey\u00a0off together on mission campaigns. (We still love looking at those early passport photos.)\u00a0Early on,\u00a0as we were starting the work of Focus Press we committed to doing at least one mission campaign per year as a way to give back,\u00a0for all that the Lord has blessed\u00a0our family\u00a0with.\u00a0It is our prayer that you will follow in our footsteps and support mission work both financially and physically.\u00a0No matter what your \u201ccareer\u201d ends up being, you are still expected to be a missionary and servant for God.<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nOne of the biggest obstacles most people have for doing mission work is the rough\u00a0conditions\u2014whether that be India, Africa, or\u00a0even being isolated and alone in some New England state. I pray that you never find yourself so married to \u201cstuff\u201d that you are unwilling to \u201cgo.\u201d\u00a0 Work hard to embrace Isaiah\u2019s attitude when he said,\u00a0 \u201cAlso I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:\u00a0\u2018Whom shall I send,\u2028And who will go for Us?\u2019\u00a0Then I said, \u2018Here\u00a0<i>am<\/i>\u00a0I! Send me.\u2019\u201d (Isaiah 6:8).\u00a0When an opportunity presents itself don\u2019t look for excuses not to go\u2014rather look for reasons why you should!\u00a0As you start thinking about your life and how you might get involved in mission areas, let me first encourage you to inspect your heart\u2014and make sure you are doing it for the right reason. Mission work is all about Him, and spreading His Word.\u00a0<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nOver and over,\u00a0Scripture remind us of the importance to spread the good news (which by the way, if you really view it as Good News then you will be more willing to share it!), [See Luke 24:47, Mark 16:15,\u00a0Acts 13:47, Acts 20:24, etc.]. There are many ways this is carried out. Some\u00a0missionaries,\u00a0take up permanent residence in an area to preach and teach.\u00a0This is a major commitment in which the individuals spend years in a foreign place. Others conduct short-term missions to specific areas\u2014often going to the same area multiple times. And\u00a0still others\u00a0use various forms of media (e.g., radio, print, television) to help spread the Word. I encourage you to get involved in some of these\u00a0various forms of mission work. Find a\u00a0work that you are passionate about and devote some time, money, and energy to that work!\u00a0Do not be satisfied with just sitting in the pew.\u00a0There is a lady who is eighty years old and still jumps on a plane at least 1-2 times per year to do overseas mission work. Don\u2019t make excuses\u2014make it happen!<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nOccasionally individuals will judge mission works based on numbers. I think you have been on enough mission campaigns to know the danger in that. In some areas it is easy to baptize individuals by the hundreds\u2014but how many of those remain faithful?\u00a0In other areas you have to work extremely hard for every single soul! If you ever make it about\u00a0\u201cnumbers\u201d\u00a0alone then mission work becomes more like a business. What if the apostles only went to cities where they could get the biggest return on their time investment?<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nFinally, when it comes to mission work I want you to remember that someone loved your dad (and mom) enough to take the time to teach me the Truth. We, in turn, took the time to teach you all. Now continue the tradition\u2014teach others about Him.\u00a0<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559731&quot;:720,&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\nLove,\u00a0Dad<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:120,&quot;335559739&quot;:120,&quot;335559740&quot;:360}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Brad Harrub Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children \u201cgoing through the motions\u201d in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[46,32,66],"tags":[904,58,1257,236,661,253],"class_list":["post-5601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-children","category-church","category-think-excerpts","tag-brad-harrub","tag-children","tag-december-2012","tag-heart-of-the-matter","tag-mission","tag-teaching","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mission Minded - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mission Minded - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Brad Harrub Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children \u201cgoing through the motions\u201d in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-04T18:47:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"focus\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"focus\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"headline\":\"Mission Minded\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-04T18:47:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1054,\"keywords\":[\"Brad Harrub\",\"Children\",\"December 2012\",\"Heart of the Matter\",\"Mission\",\"Teaching\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Children\",\"Church\",\"Think Excerpts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mission Minded - Focus Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-04T18:47:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/04\\\/mission-minded\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mission Minded\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/\",\"name\":\"Focus Press\",\"description\":\"Renew Your Mind\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13\",\"name\":\"focus\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"focus\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tampaseo.expert\\\/focus\\\/author\\\/focus\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mission Minded - Focus Press","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mission Minded - Focus Press","og_description":"By Brad Harrub Having looked into the tearful eyes of parents whose children have abandoned the Faith, I have learned there are a million miles between our children \u201cgoing through the motions\u201d in reference to their spiritual lives versus our children possessing hearts that dictate their actions. In this column, I plan to share with [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/","og_site_name":"Focus Press","article_published_time":"2018-01-04T18:47:26+00:00","author":"focus","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"focus","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/"},"author":{"name":"focus","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"headline":"Mission Minded","datePublished":"2018-01-04T18:47:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/"},"wordCount":1054,"keywords":["Brad Harrub","Children","December 2012","Heart of the Matter","Mission","Teaching"],"articleSection":["Children","Church","Think Excerpts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/","name":"Mission Minded - Focus Press","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-01-04T18:47:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/04\/mission-minded\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mission Minded"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#website","url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/","name":"Focus Press","description":"Renew Your Mind","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/#\/schema\/person\/410e95ca4492328087bb414318cdbf13","name":"focus","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e5532d3006379364a1bcb0a0f8e1b7d691f4349940d94d5b41a4267b04ead18?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"focus"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus"],"url":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/author\/focus\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5601\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}