Lottie Moon – more than just a name on an offering.

Standing less than 4’6” tall, Charlotte Diggs “Lottie” Moon served our Lord and Southern Baptists as a missionary to China from 1873 until 1912. Her 39 years of sacrificial service showed itself in her greatest act of empathy for the Chinese she loved: as local Christians were facing starvation due to famine caused by floods and war, she stopped eating, giving instead her meager resources to others. Refusing the pleas of her superiors, Lottie’s health deteriorated to the point that she was evacuated – but it was too late.

On December 24, 1912, on a hospital ship docked in Kobe, Japan, Lottie Moon opened her eyes, smiled, and raised her fists together in fond Chinese greeting – and met her Savior. In 1918 the Southern Baptist Convention officially named the Foreign (International) Mission Board’s annual Christmas offering in her honor.

That is the synopsis, but here, as the late Paul Harvey would say, is “the rest of the story”.

Lottie Moon was a woman of incredible influence – to both the Chinese people and Southern Baptist missions. Consider some of the ways she made a permanent mark in how we do international missions today:

Ø  Unaccustomed to outsiders, residents of the Tengchow area of China distrusted her, calling her names such as “devil woman.” Instead of convincing them with word, Lottie responded by baking tea-cake cookies. The smell of the cookies attracted many children and soon her concern for them and their families earned her the name of the “Cookie Lady”.

Ø  She established the pattern of missionaries wearing local clothing, instead of western style clothes, which went far toward gaining acceptance among the Chinese.

Ø  She was a leader in the effort to ban the ancient practice of foot-binding of young girls – a painful practice designed to keep their feet very small even as they grew (as small feet were a symbol of acceptance for Chinese women.)

Ø  She broke down barriers against the education of Chinese girls.

Ø  She was among the first missionaries to suggest the idea of a furlough, allowing missionaries a time to go home and rest, as well as share with their churches what God was doing on the field – a practice, still done today, which aided greatly in the support of international missions.

Ø  She belonged to the first small class of Southern women to receive a university-level Master of Arts degree, compelling a leading Southern Baptist educator to call her "the most cultivated woman" he had ever known.

Ø  She was so respected, the corresponding secretary of the Foreign Mission Board consulted her repeatedly for her wise counsel with mission administration.

Ø  She inspired the formation of the Woman’s Missionary Union in 1887. Her encouragement led to that organization’s establishment of the annual Christmas offering that bears her name.

Ø  The first Christmas offering, taken in 1888, had a goal of $2,000. But through the tireless work of Henry Allen Tupper, Foreign Mission Board corresponding secretary, and Annie Armstrong, the WMU’s first recording secretary, that inaugural offering received $3,315.26, enough to send three single missionaries for one year!

Ø  Since that first offering, more than $3 billion has been given to support SBC international missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

In 2010, $145.6 million was given to the LMCO, which enabled our nearly 5000 international missionaries to plant more than 29,000 new churches, resulting in more than 500,000 new believers in discipleship!

This year’s goal is $175 million. The focus of the Week of Prayer (December 4–11) is “radical obedience”. As you and your church focus on international missions this month, may God lead you to be “radically obedient” to do your part in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours

As my family celebrates our first Christmas as part of the Florida Baptist Association, our hope and prayer is that God blesses our churches, our pastors, our association with immeasurable joy and peace. May the Christ of Christmas be the dominant focus of all we are – not just in December, but throughout the year.

Sean & Fairra McMahon and family

FSU BCM

·         World Religions and Sectarian Groups: Every other week this semester, we are examining various world religions and sectarian groups. I know this sounds a bit dangerous and counterproductive at first to be looking at this with a bunch of college students but the purpose behind it is twofold: 1) Our students learn the biblical response to these various faith traditions; 2) Our students learn how to engage others who hold to these various faith traditions with the gospel. I introduce a world religion or sectarian group to our students, covering their basic beliefs and the biblical response. The following meeting, we actually have a representative from that faith tradition come and share their beliefs and open it up to a question and answer time for our students. This semester, we have been able to interact with the Hillel Jewish group on campus at their building, the Muslim Student Association at the mosque near campus, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses who came to the BCM. Our students have enjoyed getting to know where others are coming from and how best to approach them with the gospel.

·         Spiritual Life Project: About a month ago, I was given a unique opportunity to share the gospel with a group of staff, faculty, and students from across various areas of the campus at FSU. How? Because they asked me! Actually, this group meets once per month to determine how to best develop the spiritual component of each student. At the beginning of each meeting, a representative from a different faith tradition shares a couple of minutes about his or her beliefs and then the floor is opened to questions. They asked me to share the Baptist faith tradition so what is more “Baptist” than the gospel of Jesus Christ? I shared with this group of 15 the story of creation, fall, and redemption and when it was opened to questions, there were more hands raised than at any other meeting. I answered questions for 30-45 minutes that ranged from “Why are evil people able to be forgiven by God?” to “What determines whether you go to heaven or hell?” This was an amazing opportunity and they all agreed that they learned some things they had never heard before. This is sad, given the fact that I shared the heart of the gospel. It was also amazing because God opened this opportunity!

·         “BCM’s Got Talent”: Our second annual talent show held October 21 at City Church Tallahassee was another huge success with 13 acts. Students competed in the talent show where audience members voted for their favorite act with money. We raised another $1000 for summer missions! Thanks to City Church for your hospitality!

·         Edge Café: This has been our biggest year yet with over 200 in attendance each week. This is our weekly lunch for FSU students, faculty, and staff on Thursdays, 12:30 PM at the BCM. This has provided an opportunity to reach out to students across campus, including a large number of internationals. We are looking to fill slots for the Spring Edge Café weeks. Any church who would like to provide lunch and a speaker for our Edge Café is invited to contact the BCM at (850) 222–4444.

·         International student ministry: This is one of the most unique and fastest growing ministries we have in Tallahassee. We truly are impacting the world right here at FSU. Students from around the world including China, Pakistan, and South America come to events where they get to know American culture, make new friends, and most importantly, hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of these students hear the gospel for the first time through this ministry. If your church wants to impact the world, please contact us! We could use your help in a variety of ways. Call us at (850) 222–4444.

Association Calendar

December

24         Christmas Eve

25         Christmas Day

26-2      Office Closed

31         New Year’s Eve

Jan

1          New Year’s Day

16         Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Office Closed)

19         Association Director Meeting, Noon, Assoc. Office