Did the Apostle Paul make his material needs known?

Did the Apostle Paul, as our model missionary, make his needs known on the mission field? Furthermore, did he expect a response to those expressed needs?

I Corinthians 1:15-16:

15And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit;

16And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.

And again,
Romans 15:24:

24Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you,

Paul expected help in being sent on his way. What does that mean?

The greek word (sorry, I've got no Greek font here) is propemfthenai, derived from propempo, and Baur and other Greek scholars state that this word denotes an expectation of "help on one's journey with food, money, by arranging for companions, means of travel, etc." Thus, Paul is stating an expectation that the church will provide for him materially as he goes out beyond them with the Gospel.

What is more, Paul had never even personally visited this Roman church before, and still has the audacity to expect help from them as he continues westward!

Furthermore, Paul is so bold as to assert, in Philippians 4:15-17,

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

Paul wants the Philippians to give in order that they may be blessed by giving.

Furthermore, though he desired not to appear like the travelling paid teachers (sophists) and so personally made tents, the Apostle Paul did vigorously defend the right of other servants of God to be recompensed; "the laborer is worthy of his hire."
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I have heard some missionaries pride themselves on not "begging like other missionaries," meaning that they either never vocalize their needs or else never ask supporters to give towards those needs. They, in contrast, were just "praying and trusting in God."

Wow, now imagine how that makes this missionary feel? I, after all, always make it a policy to be very open and transparent about all my needs? I have never thought of myself as a begger before. And the last I checked, I am still "praying and trusting God" also; I merely add the common-sensical and permissible means of informing supporters of those needs, since the normal means by which the church moves is through known information.

Concerning personal views regarding missionary support raising, my wish is that we allow the same measure of freedom that the Apostle Paul allows for (and which the Apostle even practices on occasion, making known his hope of material support on the occasions quoted above) when it concerns this thorny issue of missions and money.

George Muller does not trump the Great Apostle, and Muller's personal calling should not be made normative for all missionaries.

Missionaries are not beggers, but we are extensions of the established church who are sent out to do the work of missions in the name of the church.

May I be so bold as to say that, when I communicate missionary needs on the field, I am not at all begging, but giving churches the opportunity to be blessed. After all, if I am truly working towards the spread of the Gospel and following the Apostle Paul's motives, then I, too, "...seek a profit which increases to your account" (Phil. 4:17).

C.T. Studd on the "Romance" of Missions

"The "romance" of a missionary is often made up of monotony and drudgery; there often is no glamor in it; it doesn't stir a man's spirit or blood.

So don't come out to be a missionary as an experiment, for that is useless and dangerous. Only come if you feel you would rather die than not come.

Lord Wolsey was right: "A missionary ought to be a fanatic or he encumbers the ground." There are many trials and hardships. Disappointments are numerous and the time of learning the language is especially trying. Don't come if you want to make a great name or want to live long. Only come if you feel there is no greater honor, after living for Christ, than to die for Him. That does the trick in the end.

It's not the flash in the pan, but the steady giving forth of light and the shining on and on that we need out here. Our job is to make all hear the Word and God's job is to give penetration to His Word."

The PCA General Assembly (overture 9) to address the issue of Muslim Insider Movements

"Overture 9 from the PCA's Potomac Presbytery expresses grave concern concerning the practices of the “Insider Movement” regarding their translation practices..."

"The issue comes to the fore in the matter of Bible translating...they want to translate “son” as “messiah” in reference to Jesus because it is offensive to Muslims."

The Sonship of Jesus is more than a mere minor linguistic concern, but is central to Christian Trinitarian theology. Huios Tou Theou should not be rendered Messiah rather than "Son of God" based on audience preference.

Praise God for the PCA who is making a stand against radical contextualization.

"A Common Word" between Christians and Muslims?

“A Common Word Between Us and You” is a letter sent to Christian leaders everywhere on October 13th, 2007, by 138 Muslim scholars.

This document states that Muslims and Christians enjoy common ground in several areas, such as our "love of God" and our "love of neighbor."


However, can a false religion that denies the Trinity and denies the substitutionary atonement of Christ for sinners really be said to love the true God? Can a religion that allows for Jihad really be said to be one which cultivates love towards all their neighbors (including the khafir)?

This trend towards focusing on "common ground" rather than contending for legitimate points of difference is a hallmark of modern evangelical missions towards Muslims. We may look for legitimate "open windows" rather than beating on closed doors, but let us never do so at the expense of truth.

We are in the midst of several dangerous trends regarding missions to muslims, such as:

-Radical contextualization,
-Re-translating the Greek "Hiuos Tou Theou" the Son of God into "less offensive" renderings and similar "dynamic equivalence" offenses against the Scriptures,
--Some western missionaries refer to themselves as Muslims and have said the Shahada,
--There is a concerted effort by Western missionaries not to have local believers take the name of "Christian" or join an established church. Some "believers" remain unbaptized, use the name "Muslim" and take part in mosque worship, long after they have "confessed Christ."

While using the Qur'an as a bridge to the Bible might be permissible (if that bridge is quickly crossed and does not become a parking lot), many are misleading Muslims regarding the content of the Qur'an. Look at this quote from the popular book on missionary methodology among Muslims, referred to as "The Camel Method":

"Barrier #4: What Do You Say about Mohammed? This is the big question. Muslims take great offense at those who would profane their prophet. The best bridge to overcome the barrier of Mohammed is to simply say: "I agree with what the Qur'an says about Mohammed." - The Camel (2007), 144. (Note: I believe later editions of the Camel Method may have revised this paragraph, hopefully)

This is the methodology that new missionaries to the Muslim world are being taught today.


In the past, it is granted that missionaries went out to the muslim world without adequate anthropological knowledge and often merely exported external forms of the institutional church. But what we are seeing today is not merely anthropological deficiency, but major doctrinal and theological betrayals.







See John Piper on the youtube link below to hear his critique:



http://youtu.be/rTY-9FY13kw

Offering Yourself For Missions

Willing to Go

More than a century ago, a missionary meeting was held in the First Baptist church, Richmond, Virginia. When the offering for missions was taken, the people gave generously and sacrificially.

When the ushers were counting the offering, they found in one basket a card on which was written the word Myself. It was signed, "John Lewis Shuck."

The card was immediately carried to the pastor. With deep feeling he read it to the congregation.

John Lewis Shuck had heard God‘s call: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" and he had responded, "Here am I; send me" (Isa. 6:8). He was the first Southern Baptist missionary to go to China.

The gift which God wants most of all from us is the gift of self: "I seek not yours, but you." (2 Cor. 12:14)


(Taken from the newsletter of the Spurgeon Baptist Association of Churches, www.sbaoc.org).





Since not every Christian is able to go, those of us who are, indeed, able should ask the question, "Should I go?"

Generosity and Dependency in Missions

Many mission fields are very poor. Many missionaries come from very rich nations.

Even if many missionaries live below an "average" economic baseline when compared to their own countrymen, we must realize that the average "poor" missionary from America is still often a "rich" man overseas.

This economic disparity creates a ripe breeding ground for dependency.

What is dependency?

Dependency is the loss of local initiative and ownership that can unintentionally result from our giving. People are given a hand-out instead of a hand-up. Or they are given help only based on certain conditions which serve to disempower them. The recipient becomes "stuck" - and is left feeling helpless - in a state of having his identity defined as being merely a pitiable recipient of the charity of others, rather than a person of dignity who is providing for his own family and determining his own future. Motivation and initiative is thus squelched. Resentment may even arise in the hearts of some recipients because such giving is an insult to their dignity and self-worth.

It is not merely the fact that we give that is important. HOW we give is also important. We are not loving others if, by our giving, we are demeaning their self worth.

We do not want our generosity to produce unintended negative consequences, such as enabling idleness, stealing local ownership or communicating a message that defines others only through their poverty and need.

Imagine yourself as a father and breadwinner unable to feed your own family. Imagine the shame of having others provide where you have failed. Imagine having to endure such charity regularly. Imagine being the object of someone else's prayer letter or blog back home; your existence and identity being defined by your want and your privation rather than by your achievements and successes. Imagine the cumulative toll and the hopelessness and despair that such a situation could provoke.


Stinginess is not to be our default:

Let it be noted that, in our attempts to avoid dependency, we are not to take a default position of stinginess, but that generosity and self-sacrifice ought to be clearly evident as we engage in ministry.

Two books that I highly recommend are (1) When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett and also (2) To Give or Not to Give: Rethinking Dependency, Restoring Generosity & Redefining Sustainability by John Rowell

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Here are some further suggestions drawn from the two books above for avoiding dependency, even while exercising generosity:

• Christians are giving people. And there are appropriate pathways to channel this generosity. In our efforts to reduce the risk of dependency, we ought never to limit generosity. Given the great needs in the world, better channels of giving, rather than reduced giving, is the better pursuit.

• We will distinguish between relief and development. Those who are experiencing disaster may need an immediate outpouring of monetary and material aid. This can come from the outside and come with little local initiative or ownership. However, for long-term development, sustainable strategies that increase local initiative and ownership ought to be encouraged (giving a hand-up rather than a hand-out).

In general, we are to avoid doing anything for the people which they can do for themselves and any monetary or material aid merely ought to be used as a catalyst to encourage or sustain existing locally-initiated efforts or as a bridge enabling local communities to work towards the eventual goal of self-support.

• Money ought never to be used as a tool to dominate. We ought to avoid any giving that reduces local leadership, initiative or ownership. We should not give to enforce our wills on others, but to make possible what is agreed upon by both the mission and its indigenous partners.

• Works of compassion are not to be treated merely as a means to an end. We help because we love. Humanitarian work is not to be used as a bait-and-switch technique to lure people to Jesus through material gain, but naturally springs forth from Christian compassion.

• Those who will not work should not eat (II Thessalonians 2:10). We ought to ensure that our generosity does enable locals to depend on us or feign greater levels of poverty or self-pity in order to increase their dole. If someone is, in fact, working but their work is inefficient, it is permissible to give a hand to the industrious, remove barriers from the inefficiencies of work, or to help remove hindrances or even oppressive power structures which contribute to inequities and deprive the poor of the fruit of their labors.

23 Reasons Why YOU Should Become a Missionary

#1 Because God will not leave dumb idols to steal his praise! (Isa 42.8)

#2 Because God will not allow the usurper Satan to keep reigning (Gen 3.15; 1Jn 3.8), but Christ has bound him & is plundering his kingdom (Mt 12.28,29).

#3 Because the Father loves his Son so much, that he honors him with an inheritance of men from all peoples (Psa 2.7,8; Jn 6.37; 17.6).

#4 Because God, who cannot lie, promised to bless all people groups through the Messiah, the Son of Abraham (Gen 12.1-3).

#5 Because when we multiply believers we multiply God’s praise (Psa 96).

#6 Because one people group is too small a chorus to sing the praises of our God; He will fill the earth with his glory, and all peoples with his praise (Isa 49.6).

#7 Because Christ has already paid the price for men of every family on earth; they are his! (Jn 12.32; 1Jn 2.2)

#8 Because the end is certain: God shall be praised by all peoples (Rev 7.9,10; 5.9,10).

#9 Because, to this end, God gave all authority to the resurrected Man Jesus Christ (Mt 28.19,20; Acts 5.31), making him the Lord & only Savior of men from every
people group (1Ti 2.5).

#10 Because, to this end, God gave the Holy Spirit to his people (Acts 1.8), that they would be equipped to proclaim Christ to the ends of the earth.

#11 Because Christ has sent us all into the world & he fills the earth with his Kingdom through us, just as the Father sent Him into the world to take dominion over it all (Jn 20.21; 17.15-18).

#12 Because God prepared from all eternity for us to do this work (Eph 2.10).

#13 Because we are all slaves of Christ, and compelled by his great love for us to proclaim his greatness to others (2Co 5.14,15).

#14 Because, by proclaiming the Gospel and reclaiming Lost Sheep, we fill heaven with joy, more than 99 Christians sitting in church (Lk 15.7).

#15 Because there are other Sheep that Christ will bring to himself (Jn 10.14-16); and he will make one Sheepfold of all peoples, and Christ himself will be our One Shepherd (Isa 40.9-11; Eze 34.11-16,22-31).

#16 Because the Body of Christ will not be complete without the others, who've not yet come (Heb 11.40).

#17 Because our message really is Good News that speaks to the hearts of all men, and their lives (Lk 2.10,11,30-32).

#18 Because without Christ, our brothers & sisters according to the flesh will perish (Rom 9.1-3).

#19 For the joy of remitting sins (Jn 20.21-23), and defeating Satan (Mt 12.28,29).

#20 For the joy of bringing the Good News to a people who’ve never heard of Jesus.

#21 For the joy of working together with God in his great work (1Co 3.5-9).

#22 Because investments in his Kingdom now, pay unimaginable dividends when Christ returns (Lk 16.1-12; 19.17; Mt 19.28,29).

#23 Because your time is short! (Jam 4.14; Psa 103.15,16) What will your life count?


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(thanks to Michael Pfleegor, missionary appointee with World Team. To help his cause, contact him at gracepreacher@hotmail.com).