Annihilate Other Nations and Praise God We Don't Have To Go!

"Then I told them about ministry opportunities God had recently given me around the world. I told them about people's receptivity to the gospel in places that are traditionally hostile to Christianity. I told them that, whether in the inner city or overseas, God was drawing people to himself in some of the toughest areas of the world.
Expecting them to share in my excitement, I paused to listen for their response. After an awkward silence, one of the deacons leaned forward in his chair, looked at me, and said, "David, I think it's great you are going to those places. But if you ask me, I would just as soon God annihilate all those people and send them to hell." That's exactly what he said. I was shocked and speechless. I had no idea what to say in response. ! wish ! had said something, but I'm still not sure what ! would have said. Annihilate them? Send them to hell? After a moment of silence, the rest of the room resumed conversation as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
It got worse.
The next morning we arrived at the church building, and the worship service began. The pastor rose to welcome everyone, and during his introductory remarks he began talking about how thankful he was to be living in the United States. I am not sure what sparked the rousing patriotic address that followed, but for the next few minutes he told the church that there was no chance he would ever live anywhere else in the world. Amens were firing left and right from the crowd. Engulfed in nationalistic zeal, I was just waiting for Lee Greenwood to burst into song in the background.
Minutes later I got up to preach on going to all nations with the gospel.
When I finished, I walked down to the front while the pastor got up to close the service. These were his words: "Brother David, we are so excited about all that God is doing in New Orleans and in all nations, and we are excited that you are serving there." He continued, "And, brother, we promise that we will continue to send you a check so we don't have to go there ourselves."
He wasn't finished.
"I remember a time at my last congregation when a missionary from Japan came to speak," he said. "1 told that church that if they didn't give financial support to this missionary, I was going to pray that God would send their kids to Japan to serve with that missionary."
Wow.
Did the pastor just threaten his congregation with the punishment of going to the world?
He continued, "And my church gave that man a laptop and a whole lot of money."
Apparently the threat worked.
The service was dismissed, and my wife and I climbed into the car to drive home. I could hardly believe the things I had heard. A range of emotions consumed me--anger, sadness, disappointment, confusion.
But as I began to process what had happened over the last twenty-four hours, I was struck by a frightening realization.
Could it be that this deacon and this pastor expressed what most professing Christians in America today believe but are not bold enough to say? This may sound a bit harsh, but consider the reality."

(Radical, David Platt. Kindle line 877)