To give or not to give: dollars, dependency and doing the right thing in twenty-first century missions

John F Rowell

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To give or not to give: dollars, dependency and doing the right thing in twenty-first century missions

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

John F Rowell. To Give Or Not to Give: Dollars, Dependency and Doing the Right Thing In Twenty-first Century Missions. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/d790eba3-13f3-46a7-8eda-9386aefa9f8b.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

J. F. Rowell. To give or not to give: dollars, dependency and doing the right thing in twenty-first century missions. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/d790eba3-13f3-46a7-8eda-9386aefa9f8b

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

John F Rowell. To Give Or Not to Give: Dollars, Dependency and Doing the Right Thing In Twenty-First Century Missions. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/d790eba3-13f3-46a7-8eda-9386aefa9f8b.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

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John F Rowell

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Abstract

Modern mission theory is guided in large part by a nineteenth-century 'three-self paradigm' that suggests indigenous churches can be healthy only if they are 'self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting.' The last of these three criteria is presumed to mean that outside financial support is usually debilitating for national churches because it imposes a danger of dependency. Consequently, Western missionaries, their churches and their agencies have been increasingly indisposed to giving generously -- even when they are dealing with the most impoverished people living in the least evangelized cultures. The thesis of this paper asserts that this nearly sacred formula is misunderstood and that it, therefore, is being misapplied. We must rethink the interplay of dollars, dependency and what it means to 'do the right thing' with our money as we pursue twenty-first century missions. In re-evaluating our stewardship priorities, missionaries should be more concerned for the definite disparity of wealth that their propensity to 'buy and keep' creates than they are for the potential dangers of dependency that a decision to share might engender. Using an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the dilemma posed by trying to keep wisdom and wealth in proper balance as we face a world full of needs, the following material attempts to answer the question whether Westerners ought to give or not to give in support of global evangelism. Encouraging maximum generosity as the path most reflective of God's heart on the matter, the author proposes a 'missionary Marshall Plan for the twenty-first century' to guide us in principle toward funding a 'war chest for world missions' with Western wealth. Reaching toward the unsaved poor, we must show that we care about their burdens by being willing to share from our bounty. The material which follows shows us how to do so.

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