Here is a quote from Gary Corwin, on “Mission Hype.” “The presence of too many examples to cite of exaggeration and truth shading by leaders of mission organizations has troubled me for years. The hubris evident in the predictions and pronouncements concerning the year 2000, for example, was breathtaking. We should know better and do …
Category: Money and Missions
The role that money has in missions… both constructive and destructive
Should Missionaries Fund Their Church Plants and Schools?
I was talking to a missionary friend of mine who is involved in what is one of the largest Evangelical Churches in the Philippines. He mentioned something interesting to me that I did not know. He said that that particular church was founded by missionaries but those particular missionaries specifically made a point of not …
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Three tests of Quackery: Too Much, Too Well, Too Costly
All three of my children were afflicted with atopic dermatitis. Two of them have got beyond most of the symptoms. One of them still has problems with it. Over the years we got an awful lot of advice on how to treat it. A few were thoroughly unhelpful... but most had at least a bit …
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Short-Term Missions that is Missions
I hear a lot of stories (sometimes comedies, sometimes horror stories) regarding short-term missions (STM). I nod and smile, or shake my head and scowl. But I am happy to say that I can't really relate to these stories. My experience with short-term missionaries has generally been quite positive. But my own experience with STM …
Imagine a World With Limits
Picture two artists tasked to create works of art. Artist A is given limitations. He is told that it must be a painting on a 1 meter by 1 meter canvas. He is also given time constraints-- perhaps 4 weeks. Further he may be given subject constraints--- perhaps the one who commissioned it is …
Business as Missions
I was reading an article on Lausanne.org. I must admit that the reason for me reading it was because they referenced an article I wrote years ago. I have never really written on Business as Missions. However, I wrote on the use of merchant traders on the Silk Road, who were used by Nestorian mission …
…Then There are Days I am Glad I Don’t Know How to Raise Support (Part 2)
So why are there days I am glad that I don't know how to raise support? Number 1. This is the main reason--- I learned that God is faithful. Sure, that sounds like a saccharine-like aphorism. I can hardly say that God promises to have money fall from heaven to fund people who are too …
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…Then There are Days I am Glad I Don’t Know How to Raise Support (Part 1)
My wife and I have been involved in missions for over 14 years. In the early years we did not know much of anyting about raising support. We never went out on deputation. Our home church provided over 80% of our support. We did okay. I taught missions and sometimes spoke of raising support. I …
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Tertullian, Love Feast, and Social Ministry
Excerpt from Tertullian's 39th Apology The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor not by purchase, but by established character. There is no buying and selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made up of purchase-money, as of a religion that …
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Picture Picture!! 6 Cautionary Tales
On mission, or on short-term mission trips, what is the ethics of picture-taking? At its best, it serves as a capturing of key memories of God's work and important relationships in the field. It also may inspire others , drawing people into the experience through pictures. On the other hand, pictures can be: Exploitive/Self-serving Humiliating/denigrating …