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To advance the Gospel of Jesus and his kingdom into the nations through spiritual generations of labourers living and discipling among the lost

Our Navigator Heritage

by Lorne Sanny, former President of The Navigators

My dad was a musician, soldier, cowboy, farmer and glass man. That’s part of his history. From him I learned honesty, respect for others, diligence and courage. That’s part of my heritage.

Our Navigator heritage consists of those things we have received that characterize us today. Within that heritage are five legacies, without any one of which we would no longer be The Navigators.

Legacy 1—Loyalty to Christ and the Bible.

Jesus himself put these two truths together when he spoke of 'me and my words (Mark 8:38). Paul joined them again when he wrote that God’s household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

John Stott says the authority of the Scriptures and the authority of Christ stand or fall together. Like two wheels on a bicycle, loyalty to Christ and loyalty to Scripture work in tandem. Navigators are faithful to both.

Legacy 2—Commitment to the Great Commission.

The Navs exist to help fulfill the Great Commission. It includes both winning the lost and building the saved. It also requires bifocal vision for all nations and for our own Jerusalem.

The Great Commission is a perpetually unfinished task. Therefore each generation must commit itself anew to helping carry it out.

Legacy 3—Faith in the Promises of God.

My first exposure to specific promises for the Nav ministry came when Daws said to me, 'God has given me some promises I know he is going to fulfill. Terry Taylor has identified four promises for this ministry that have come through Daws, me and other Navigators. They are Isaiah 43:4-7, Isaiah 54:2-3, Isaiah 59:12 and Isaiah 60:22. Without claiming the promises,

The Navigators would not be what we are today in nearly 100 countries. To God be the glory!

Legacy 4—Vision for Spiritual Reproduction.

Jerry White calls this third generation discipling. Jesus commanded it when he said ‘I. . .you . . . them’ in Matthew 28:20. He prayed for it when he said ‘I . . . these . . . those’ in John 17:20. Paul described it when he wrote ‘you [Timothy] . . . faithful men . . . others also’ in II Timothy 2:2. Spiritual reproduction is a concept, not just a method. It is a concept rooted in the worth and possibilities of every individual. It is also embedded in the promises.

You can exchange your life for people (Isaiah 43:4. Those people in turn can multiply (Isaiah 60:22). Once while on loan to the Graham Team, training counselors and following up new believers, I said, ‘Daws, in this context it’s easy to lose our vision for spiritual reproduction.’ He replied, ‘Sanny, I sometimes wonder if you have that vision.’ I had worked with Daws for ten years but was failing to look for the one out of the many! Spiritual
reproduction one by one is at the very heart of what we do. We must not drift away from it.

Legacy 5—Practice of Spiritual Disciplines as Illustrated by The Wheel.

These spiritual disciplines have been Christian life builders for us for over sixty years.

Christ the Centre

It is impossible to be spiritually vital and fruitful without abiding in Christ our life giver. Abiding is a discipline.

Obedience

When I obey, God proves true, Christ becomes more real to me and the Holy Spirit empowers me.

The Word

There is nothing like the discipline of Scripture memory to equip a person for spiritual warfare. Billy Graham told me just recently, ‘I’m reviewing the Topical Memory System.’

Prayer

Prayer is speaking to God. If we haven’t said anything, we haven’t prayed. To some, prayer is as natural as breathing. To me, it is a discipline.

Fellowship

The early Navs thrived on true New Testament fellowship. I had to learn over time that it is an indispensable basic.

Witnessing

This should be the natural overflow of our walk with Christ. It is also something we must discipline ourselves to do.

Each of these five legacies is an indispensable part of the Navigator heritage. We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away—Hebrews 2:1.