Who is Tommie Naumman?

Published: April 8th, 2005

Often the people who are most effective for God in the world are the people nobody has ever heard of; the most famous Christians are those who sit behind desks writing books or standing on platforms at conferences. But think about it for just a second... if they spend their time doing that, then that is probably mainly what they do with their lives! Not so with Tommie Naumann, one of the faceless heroes God has raised up as a forerunner for for our generation. Here Tommie talks about his call to take the gospel to the lands of the Bible, and also explains the true meaning of apostolic ministry...
 

Gunilla & Tommie Naumann
When Tommie Naumman arrived at a YWAM base in the south of England in 2003 to share at the 24-7 mission teams training, he was relatively unknown to his western audience; he had  lived an apostolic lifestyle in eastern Europe planting and developing churches for a number of years, and was about to leave his then current base in Macedonia to continue the trend in Greece. Tommie is working apostolically with churches in the same area of the globe as the New
Testament records the movements of the apostle Paul working with the first Christian churches. Paul’s work was a pioneering work, being a catalyst for the growth of churches in unreached areas, before moving on to the next destination. His letters to the churches in the New Testament show that whilst he always harboured ambition to move on, he never forgot his role to mentor and encourage those he had left behind.
 
"...we look at his life and example and find it almost impossible to mirror..."
If you speak to Tommie today you will hear him share about his plans to move to 3 middle-eastern countries in the future; he soberly jokes that he will be happy to wait patiently to arrive in his third destination, because he isn’t ready to die just yet. This apostolic leader is always planning the route ahead whilst never forgetting the journey left behind. Paul never forgot, and Tommie is now overseeing a network of churches in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, whilst knowing that God will one day move him on to more unchartered territory.
 
The apostle Paul is probably regarded as the most radical Christian to have ever lived; it was his pursuit and calling to the apostolic lifestyle that made his journey so heralded and amazing; many of us would look at his life and his example and find it almost impossible to mirror, but there is still a need for many to follow in his footsteps; the most intimidating thing we can observe from Paul’s lifestyle is his passion for the calling God had given him.
 
Floyd McClung, who is known for his pioneering missionary work on three continents, explains this apostolic passion like this:

Floyd McClung
‘Paul says in Romans 15 that it is his ambition, his passion if you will, to make Christ known. It began for him with a revelation of Jesus that he nurtured all his adult life. Paul not only encountered Christ on the road to Damascus, he kept on meeting Jesus every day. This revelation of Jesus, and his study of God's purposes, gave birth to Paul's apostolic passion. Knowing Jesus and making Him known consumed the rest of Paul's life. Human enthusiasm cannot sustain apostolic passion. When God invests His own passion in you the desire to see His name glorified among
 all people you must build and develop what God has given you.’
 
"The passion that fuels the journey of an apostle is God-given"
The passion that fuels the journey of an apostle is God-given; many would disqualify themselves from following the call to pioneer, but the need for Christians to nurture this passion is very real indeed; between Greece and Turkey is a stretch of land measuring the same distance from London to Edinburgh that has no evangelical church. Over 40% of the peoples of the world are still without the gospel. Often the people who accept the call to this challenge are the unknown leaders of the church; their anonymity is because of their desire to make Christ famous. Floyd McClung writes about these people:      
 
If you have apostolic passion, you are one of the most dangerous people on the planet.
‘If you have apostolic passion, you are one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The world no longer rules your heart. You are no longer seduced by getting and gaining but devoted to spreading and proclaiming the glory of God in the nations. You live as a pilgrim, unattached to the cares of this world.
 You are not afraid of loss. You even dare to believe you may be given the privilege of dying to spread His fame on the earth. The Father's passions have become your passions. You find your satisfaction and significance in Him. You
 
Your reward is the look of pure delight in His eyes
believe He is with you always, to the end of life itself. You are sold out to God, and you live for the Lamb. Satan fears you, and the angels applaud you. Your greatest dream is that His name will be praised in languages never before heard in heaven. Your reward
is the look of pure delight - you anticipate seeing in His eyes when you lay at His feet and the just reward of His suffering: the worship of the redeemed.’
 
Tommie Naumman will be bringing his experience and testimony to Transmission this summer; the call to transform our mindset from mission as adventure, to mission as a life call will be one of the key ingredients of the gathering in July. A team of ‘lifers’ will be sharing their heart and knowledge with around 600 young people ready to accept a sustainable enthusiasm for the task ahead.
 
To find out more about Transmission,
24-7's festival for mission go to:
 
To read an article on Apostolic Passion by Floyd McClung in full click here

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