{"id":1947,"date":"2011-10-11T22:36:10","date_gmt":"2011-10-12T06:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/2011\/10\/11\/if-the-shoe-fits\/"},"modified":"2011-10-11T22:36:10","modified_gmt":"2011-10-12T06:36:10","slug":"if-the-shoe-fits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/2011\/10\/11\/if-the-shoe-fits\/","title":{"rendered":"if the shoe fits&hellip;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dave Doran has a <a href=\"http:\/\/gloryandgrace.dbts.edu\/?p=593\">post<\/a> on the subject of missionary pastors. Here is his description:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>One major concern I have is regarding the too common practice of missionaries serving as the long-term pastor of a mission church. I\u2019m not speaking about the short-term practice of planting a church and serving it until it can call a pastor. I\u2019m concerned about the practical reality that some men are essentially serving as a pastor on the mission field while remaining supported by churches back in their sending country. I\u2019ve seen cases where the same man has served as the pastor of a mission church for decades\u2014so long, in fact, that the church itself would no longer really consider itself a mission church. The congregation looks and acts mainly like an independent congregation, but its pastor is actually supported by other churches, not them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In principle, I think I agree with Dave on this concern. His point resonates with me, because in many ways, \u201cI resemble that remark.\u201d I am a missionary pastor. I am (in part) supported as a missionary. I have served at our mission church now for literally decades (25 years this last August).<\/p>\n<p>I say that I agree with Dave\u2019s concerns \u2018in principle\u2019, but I would like to point out some factors that in my mind must be taken into consideration on this question. This isn\u2019t a \u2018one size fits all\u2019 question.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Dave\u2019s further points are these:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The missionary pastor model is not consistent with the biblical pattern for missionary work. <\/li>\n<li>The missionary pastor model is not consistent with Baptist polity especially concerning local church autonomy and independence. <\/li>\n<li>The missionary pastor model is pursued apparently without thought to raising up a pastor from within the local congregation. <\/li>\n<li>The missionary pastor model is not honest when the \u2018mission church\u2019 owns its own building and supports other missionaries. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>(Note: this is my paraphrase of Dave\u2019s points. He might state them differently than I have here.)<\/p>\n<p>Dave concludes:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>This should not be happening, but it won\u2019t stop happening until we stop supporting it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Well, that would put an end to the practice, I suppose. Whether that is the right solution or not depends on varying circumstances. I have seen some churches where it seems little to no thought is given to raising up pastors from the congregation, the church is quite comfortable with pursuing its life with a missionary pastor and fails to take on responsibilities it should be taking on. In fact, some have been very resistant to taking on their responsibilities. They have developed a kind of \u201cwelfare mentality\u201d of entitlement. I agree that such problems need to be addressed.<\/p>\n<p>But let\u2019s consider each point Dave makes and consider some other factors in the equation.<\/p>\n<h4>The Biblical Pattern<\/h4>\n<p>The pattern we see in the book of Acts for church planting is, to my knowledge, <em>never<\/em> followed anywhere. One of the reasons for that is our circumstances are entirely different from that of the first century. Paul\u2019s example of church planting is the one of which we have the most information. We have a bit of information from the work of the deacon Phillip and even less information about the work of the other apostles.<\/p>\n<p>Paul\u2019s pattern was to arrive in a city, go to the synagogue and start preaching there until he was kicked out, then continue to preach to Jew and Gentile alike until he had a group formed. From these converts he would appoint elders for each church and would move on in his evangelistic efforts. From our records, the longest time he stayed in any one location was his ministry&#160; in Ephesus where he only stayed 3 years at the most.<\/p>\n<p>Paul traveled in the Roman Empire, benefited from a common trade language (Greek) and as a Jew had ready access to the synagogues where there were men already knowledgeable about the Scriptures. While I don\u2019t think every elder of a local church in the book of Acts came from the ranks of the former Jews, it is quite likely that a number of them did. The Gentile converts might be capable men in other ways, but certainly would take some time to get up to speed in the Scriptures. This would be a factor in Paul\u2019s pattern of church planting.<\/p>\n<p>Consider our day\u2026 Do you think missionaries should enter a country and immediately begin an itinerant ministry preaching a few weeks in each place, upon leaving an area establishing a church and appointing an elder of maybe only a few weeks of Christian experience? Do you think the missionary should leave that fledgling church to itinerate in some other local, repeating the same process after only a few weeks or months, and them moving on again? Do you think the missionary should enter synagogues first (if there are any), attempt to preach to the Jews there, then preach to the Gentiles of that city?<\/p>\n<p>It is a little too easy to dismiss a current practice by saying it doesn\u2019t fit the Biblical pattern. I would challenge anyone to point to ANY missionary today who is really following the Biblical pattern. I don\u2019t believe Paul\u2019s methods are mandated as <em>the only way to do it for all time.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Baptist Polity<\/h4>\n<p>The points Dave makes about accountability, autonomy and independence are (in my opinion) his strongest. It is an anomaly to have a church functioning for decades on missionary support. The pastor is accountable in this system primarily to those who are supporting him financially, not so much to those to whom he is ministering. The church isn\u2019t being taught to take care of its responsibilities, especially when the whole operation is being entirely run out of missionary support. Different mission fields have different requirements, third-world is not the same as first-world, but the local body should be taught to take responsibility for itself and for its own ministry from day one.<\/p>\n<p>One failing I have observed in this area is a failure to keep before the people the need for their own pastor and raising support for a pastor. (I speak mostly of my experience in Canada, I can\u2019t speak so much for third-world countries.) There should be annual business meetings (and other business meetings) held in the local church where the people themselves are made aware of their needs and are led to make decisions concerning their financial responsibilities. A budget should be presented, the local church operation should primarily be funded out of the local church offerings. The missionary\u2019s personal budget should not include too much support for the local ministry, other than his own tithe. (This may not be entirely possible at first.)<\/p>\n<p>Rent, teaching materials, costs for group gatherings, outreach materials, evangelistic meetings and other evangelistic efforts, all of these should be funded locally. The local congregation should be led to have a \u201cPastor\u2019s Fund\u201d as well as a Building Fund. This fund should build up funds with which to call a local pastor at some point and fund his relocation or settlement costs. The fund may not need to be built up to some massive amount, but should be a regular budget item to remind the people of their need to take on this responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>Having said that, one must bear in mind the requirements that each ministry might have for a future pastor. Suppose you take a man qualified to be an elder in a third-world mission church and transplant him to a first-world mission church (assuming no language barrier). Would the educational, financial, and cultural requirements be the same between a pastor in a third-world country and a first-world country? Would the costs be the same? A group of thirty believers in a third-world country might be able to take on a whole ministry there much easier than a group of thirty believers in a first-world country. This is not to denigrate believers in the third-world! There are, however, differences to the ministry in differing cultures and circumstances that must be taken into account. In some countries it seems easier to gather a group of believers together than in other countries. Some ministries take off faster than others. Who can explain it? We have to deal with the realities we are faced with. And of course, we do have to follow our polity as closely as we can, allowing for temporary situations. (\u2018Temporary\u2019 should not normally be decades, I agree.)<\/p>\n<h4>No Thought for Raising Up a Pastor<\/h4>\n<p>I can\u2019t speak for every situation, certainly. I suppose there are some who take no thought for raising up a pastor to take over the work. That is a foolish proposition in my opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Some circumstances will militate against any soon arrival of a local man capable of leading the mission church, however. I know of a missionary situation in very small villages where there is rampant alcohol and drug abuse, not to mention all kinds of child and sexual abuse including every imaginable problem in these areas. I know that God can change lives, but really, in these villages, it will take a generation to raise up a little boy who gets saved, keeps his testimony clean enough to meet the Biblical requirement of blamelessness, and is qualified to lead the local ministry. At the same time, such a young man may still need outside support because the villages (and churches) are so impoverished that they could never support that young man, once he is qualified. He could take secular work as a supplement, perhaps, but should he work full time and be the pastor? What if there are no jobs available? Should villages like that expect that a missionary will come in for four or five years max, then leave? What would be left? Who could take over the ministry? Should the missionaries just not bother to go to such places? How long should we give the missionary to raise up a young man? Would you be willing to give him decades? (I would.)<\/p>\n<p>In some countries it takes a long time and a lot of money to build up a local congregation. I have witnessed it first hand in my own ministry and in church planting efforts in Mormon country in the USA. Most of the missionaries I know in works such as these are actively encouraging young men to grow in the Lord with a view to seeing some of them called to the ministry, trained, and (hopefully) returning to the field from whence they came. One burden we have had is seeing young men (and women) head off to get advanced Christian\/ministerial training only to have them get involved in some established ministry somewhere else and never return. It is especially heart-breaking when they settle down in the locale of the college or university they attended and never leave the comfort zone those regions afford.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, it is a struggle in hard areas to build up the congregants in the faith. There are competing voices everywhere. If we are trying to build up faithful disciples we see an attrition rate of converts who are attracted to things they see in larger (and looser) evangelical churches, on the internet, or what have you. Often our ministries seem like \u201ctwo steps forward, three steps back.\u201d Should we bother with church planting in such areas? When there are relatively conservative gospel preaching churches in an area, should we leave it alone and seek some other place of service? Should we plant churches in North America at all, knowing that it will be costly, will take time, and may not produce local elders qualified to serve as pastors in five years or less?<\/p>\n<p>With respect to North American church planting, one solution has been to offer a man support for a specified period of time (say five years) and then to cut him off, sink or swim, at that point. There is some merit to that approach, but it might be better to guarantee full support for four or five years, followed by a four or five year process of gradually reducing the support. In some areas that will be more realistic than simply cutting support at an arbitrary date.<\/p>\n<h4>Mission Church Buildings and Missionaries<\/h4>\n<p>On this point I have to strenuously object. The fact that a church has a building it owns as opposed to a meeting place it rents is irrelevant to the question. It costs money to meet anywhere. Often, after the down payment hurdle is overcome, it is less costly to own than to rent. Which is more prudent? Which furthers the ministry more? I can testify that owning one\u2019s own building in Canada is a step up for a mission church and helps in the ongoing church planting effort. Our experience led us into a building at a certain point in our history that really was of the Lord. By virtue of having our building, our ministry is finally at the point where I would say we are 80% self-supporting. By God\u2019s grace we hope to be able to reach 100% soon. But the building itself has been a step forward in reaching that goal. It is an <em>asset<\/em> in the process, and should not be denigrated.<\/p>\n<p>And the fact is, if we didn\u2019t own a building, we would have to rent somewhere. It would cost us more to rent than to own. So we should rent just to say we truly are a mission church? I don\u2019t buy that.<\/p>\n<p>And missionaries\u2026 I believe churches should tithe, just like we ask our people to tithe. We have a modest missions program. We have used it to teach our people that they have a responsibility beyond our four walls. We have been giving to others almost since day one. I think it is the right thing to do. Should mission churches be exclusively concerned about their own ministry until the can \u201cafford\u201d to support missions? When will that day every come?<\/p>\n<h4>Conclusion:<\/h4>\n<p>I am not writing to oppose Dave\u2019s arguments. I think his concern is genuine, and I agree with it in principle. I just think there are a number of factors to consider in raising and receiving missionary support.<\/p>\n<p>I also acknowledge that I might be just a bit defensive, because \u201cI resemble that remark\u201d, but I have to say that these concerns are not something that we are unmindful of. Our burden originally was for planting churches, plural. In God\u2019s providence (and perhaps given my limitations) our burden has changed. We hope now to have fully planted one church before I die. We are taking steps even as we speak to make changes in our ministry to make that a reality.<\/p>\n<p>And regardless of any debate of these points, I do thank God for the privilege of having been able to win some souls to Christ whose fellowship I will be able to enjoy for eternity.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline\" title=\"don_sig2\" alt=\"don_sig2\" src=\"http:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/don_sig22.png\" width=\"150\" height=\"50\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dave Doran has a post on the subject of missionary pastors. Here is his description: One major concern I have is regarding the too common practice of missionaries serving as the long-term pastor of a mission church. I\u2019m not speaking about the short-term practice of planting a church and serving it until it can call [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[50,41],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2fYWj-vp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oxgoad.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}