Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28

Rebekah and I are in the middle of the huge task of sorting through my mum and dad’s home, preparing it for likely sale in the next month or so.

It’s an enormous undertaking, essentially an archaeological dig. The project has been emotionally fraught, physically demanding, time consuming. In a word, difficult. There is a lot happening, from carting things to the dump to trips to donate usable items, to reserving treasures, to – and we’re doing this a lot – saying, “Why on earth did they hold on to that???”

Saturday I tackled my dad’s desk and filing cabinets. Wow! Other than asking things like, “Who would keep every power bill and water bill and bank statement from the past 30 years?” I also ran into files of important, and interesting, and eye-popping history.

Kill, cook, and eat!

I won’t/can’t even begin to get into it all. But I will share this one story, a letter to my grandfather (F.W. Maul, 1894-1983, above) penned by the legendary world-class cricket player and missionary to Africa, C.T. Studd.

The letter was written from the interior depths of “Congo-Belge”, on April 23, 1917. I have the original, handwritten by Studd, along with the typed copy my grandfather immediately transcribed.

My grandfather – so committed to worldwide missions that, after his retirement, he wrote literally hundreds of letters to support and encourage mission workers – was a contributor to Studd’s work. But the letter is so much more than a receipt.

I’m going to highlight this one paragraph. Studd writes:

We have also just now sent off 3 native Christians to the Ituri Province to begin definite hostilities with the devil there, the brother of the big chief “Abiengama” having invited us. Abiengama a few years ago killed, cooked and ate 40 native porters returning from carrying some goods for the people at the gold mines some 8 days from here.

C.T. Studd, 1917

“Killed, cooked and ate”!

I understand that we feel a lot differently today about “how” we can best share the story of Jesus, and how to extend God’s invitation for people to turn their hearts and find their home in his love. But there is no getting around the beauty and the inspiration of C.T. Studd’s passion for the Good News!

I am going to church this morning because, many times, somebody shared the Good News story with me. That’s what Studd was all about, that’s what my grandfather supported with everything he was, and that is the answer to every question we may have about the future of The Church.

Share the story; live it. Share the love; live the love. Share the good news about Jesus; live the good news – DEREK