April 12, 2007
by Ian Fallis
You know what’s silly?
Thinking that planting a church in a different culture with an unwritten language is simpler than leading a church in your own culture.
Who on earth could think that? Everyone who questions why New Tribes Mission has a four-year missionary training program.
We expect pastors to have two to eight years of training to lead established churches in the country they come from. Yet most missionaries go out with a few weeks of orientation to plant churches in different cultures, often in different languages.
How silly is that?
You know what else is silly?
Not valuing supporting missionaries in vital logistical roles.
That’s usually expressed as, “We want our money to be used on the front lines!”
OK, so let’s get this straight. A pastor’s primary role is equipping others for ministry and assisting them in their ministries, in a country where people have access to the Gospel, and the church pays him a salary. The church also pays other staff, perhaps even a secretary and groundskeeper.
And yet the same church doesn’t see the value of supporting missionaries in vital logistical roles?
How silly is that?
Could anything else be that silly?
Why of course!
Believing that what takes years here should take minutes overseas.
I exaggerate a bit, but the point is: Why would anyone think that the process of making disciples is a short-term task?
We know that Paul, working in a culture and language he knew, spent months establishing churches among people who had some knowledge of the God of the Old Testament. We also know how long and difficult a process it is to disciple our own neighbors.
Yet some people think we can do missions with short-term teams, and others expect to hear of great numbers of converts and church-goers soon after the arrival of missionaries.
How silly is that?
Let’s apply a little common sense, and a lot of Bible study, to our expectations about missions and missionaries. |
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