Christian missionary John Allen Chau is believed to have been killed by the members of the North Sentinelese tribe on November 16th when he attempted to establish contact with them. His long-term vision was to translate the Bible into their language. Although the media informs us that Mr. Chau is no more, his mother, who is also a Christian, believes that her son is still alive.1
A section of the Christian community voiced their disapproval. Without much information about John Allen Chau being available immediately after his death, one cannot fault the legitimate common-sense-based questions that suspect the wisdom of such an endeavor.
Questions such as, ‘How could he evangelize a hostile tribe (that’s been perennially secluded from the world) without knowing their language?’ or ‘Was he adequately prepared for such a dangerous mission?’ were asked.
John Allen Chau’s martyrdom was compared to that of Jim Elliot and his five friends, who were speared to death in the year 1956 by another isolated tribal group – Waorani.2
Was John Allen Chau crazy to undertake such a dangerous life-threatening missionary endeavor? What does his martyrdom mean to us, Christians?
These were the last words of John Allen Chau:3
Bryan and Mary and Mom and Dad,
You guys might think I am crazy in all this but I think it's worth it to declare Jesus to these people.
Please do not be angry at them or at god if I get killed-rather please live you lives in obedience to whether He has called you too and I'll see you again when you pass through the veil.
This is not a pointless thing-The eternal lives of this [Sentinelese] tribe is at hand and I can't wait to see them around the throne of God worshipping in their own language as Revelation 7:9-10 states.
I love you all and I pray none of you love anything in this world more than Jesus Christ.
SOLI DEO GLORIA (Glory to god)
John Allen Chau loved the Lord Jesus more than anything else. His last words reveal this fact with great clarity.
It’s one thing to love the Lord Jesus, but it’s totally another thing (so radical) to love the Lord Jesus more than anything else – our family, our life, included. If we are totally convinced about Christ’s calling in our life, we would be willing to let go of anything and anyone.
He was not brainwashed by certain radical elements within Christianity. Rather, he loved the Lord Jesus so much so that he was willing to lay down his life for HIS sake (cf. John 13:37,38, 15:13-15).
Oswald Chambers explains the notion of laying down our lives for the Lord Jesus, “If I am a friend of Jesus, I must deliberately and carefully lay down my life for Him. It is a difficult thing to do, and thank God that it is. Salvation is easy for us, because it cost God so much. But the exhibiting of salvation in my life is difficult. God saves a person, fills him with the Holy Spirit, and then says, in effect, “Now you work it out in your life, and be faithful to Me, even though the nature of everything around you is to cause you to be unfaithful.” And Jesus says to us, “…I have called you friends….” Remain faithful to your Friend, and remember that His honor is at stake in your bodily life.”4
John Allen Chau loved the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 18-20) and the Sentinelese tribe. His love for the Great Commission motivated his love for the Sentinelese tribe. He loved them so much so that he dedicated a good portion of his life preparing to take the gospel to them.
Here’s an excerpt from two articles in Christianity Today. These articles present pertinent background information about Chau’s preparation:
From What John Allen Chau’s Missions Agency Wants You to Know:5
Chau was working with All Nations, whose stated mission is “to make disciples and train leaders to ignite church planting movements among the neglected peoples of the earth.”
Mary Ho, the international executive leader at All Nations, described Chau as a “very interesting young man” and “very focused.”
“Since he was about 18 years old, I believe, he took a mission trip and on that mission trip he really felt a call to be a missionary,” Ho said. “Around that time he started researching all the different people groups and he came across the North Sentinelese people.”
Chau really felt that “his life’s call was to take the love and goodness of Jesus Christ to the North Sentinelese,” said Ho. “Since then, every decision he has made has been to prepare himself for his life’s call.”
From John Chau, Missions, and Fools, authored by Ed Stetzer:6
In an interview for Christianity Today, Mary Ho…shared that Chau was intentionally preparing for many years by getting a degree in sports medicine, training as an EMT, and studying at a respected linguistic institute in order to learn this previously undocumented language.
Furthermore, it appears that Chau was not unaware of potential health risks his presence could pose to the tribe (which has been a major point of criticism) and planned his trip accordingly. According to the interview, Chau had received multiple vaccinations, and intentionally quarantined himself for many days prior to his multi-day trip to the island…
In personally talking with some of Chau’s friends I learned that his purpose with all of this training was to live on the island for years, build a relationship with the people, help them through his medical training, learn their language, and then tell them about Christ.
Chau is described by Ho as a “soft-spoken, very gentle man,” not rash or impulsive. In fact, Ho indicated that he underwent a rigorous screening process through the agency which included mental, psychological, spiritual, and physical evaluation to determine whether this type of training was appropriate for him and his personality.
So, according to Ho, there are years of preparation, training, independent assessment, and logic behind what happened on the shores of the Andaman Sea…
We live in a world today where some people are simply unable to wait for more information, even when something seems odd. The result can be hot takes that cause more harm than they help.
Now we know more. We know that Chau was not a rogue individual, cavalierly traveling to a protected island as an adventure stunt. According to Ho, he was an intelligent, educated, humble, and gentle man who intensely focused over years on one, singular goal: to reach the North Sentinelese with the message of the gospel.
Now, that does not mean that everything was done as we might prefer. Furthmore, [sic] it does not answer many of the important questions on which we still do not have clarity. However, it does start the conversation at a different place.
He was willing to lay down his life for the sake of HIS Lord and for the sake of his friends – the Sentinelese tribe. The Great Commission was his driving force.
Some within Christianity ardently disapprove of Chau’s endeavor. Ed Stetzer’s words should provide an apt response to them:7
It is easy to criticize from our desks when someone makes a dangerous missionary choice…But now we know more firsthand accounts and have accurate, detailed information on Chau’s training and experience. How might we process his failed plan to live among this tribe and also what the response to his death tells us about the new world we live in?
We have to start with the reality that this entire idea of sharing the gospel with the world is offensive to many. However, it is something that is central to the very words of Jesus…
Propagating one’s religious beliefs through missionary activity is practiced by segments of the world’s largest religious groups, including Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. Even the United Nations affirms missionary activity as a legitimate expression of religion or belief.
Christianity has been a missionary movement since its beginning. As I noted above, Jesus, in his final address to his followers, commanded them to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19-20). And, speaking to Christians everywhere and in all eras, the apostle Paul said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16)…
…Here’s the reality. At the end of the day, I am among those that believe the world needs Jesus. I believe we are called to get the gospel to the ends of the earth and to every tribe.
Today, Chau’s martyrdom challenges us to question our own love for the Lord Jesus. Do we love the Lord more than anything else? The key phrase is ‘more than anything else.’
This verse provides us with the context, ““Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39, NET).
Just as Chau’s life was totally committed to our Lord Jesus, is our life solely committed to serving the Lord Jesus? In other words, are we doing what the Lord Jesus wants us to do in HIS Kingdom?
Jim Elliot and his five friends were speared to death in the year 1956 while unsuccessfully trying to evangelize the Waorani tribe. Today, some members of this tribe are Christians.8
Similarly, let us hope and pray that the work commenced by Chau will result in some or all of the members of the North Sentinelese tribe knowing and loving the Lord Jesus.
Endnotes:
1https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/chance-us-missionary-shot-dead-on-north-sentinel-island-may-still-be-alive/news-story/3633b82a3432edb4d5355e2ce63127b9
2https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november-web-only/john-allen-chau-jim-elliot-missionary-martyr-dilemma.html
3https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/john-allen-chau-sentinelese-killing-full-letter-1394833-2018-11-23
4https://utmost.org/will-you-lay-down-your-life/
5https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november-web-only/all-nations-john-allen-chau-north-sentinel-island.html
6https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2018/november/john-chau-missions-and-fools-part-1.html
7Ibid.
8https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november-web-only/john-allen-chau-jim-elliot-missionary-martyr-dilemma.html
Websites last accessed on 30th November 2018.
1 comment:
A person being what Jesus Christ ask us all to do. It's not up to me to make him a martyr for only God can do that. Let his life not be in vain For we must spread the gospel by any means, Amen
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