Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Why Missionaries Fail Part 2

It helps to understand that the word "missionary" does not appear in the Bible. It is not a church office, and God does not promise to give missionaries to the church. God's Word sets no standards for missionaries, and so there is no Scriptural regulation for this office.

I was a missionary to Massachusetts one summer while I was in college. I spent forty hours a week knocking on doors, plus I ran a bus route. We have a teenager down here now who has lived in orphanages for the past few years, working without pay. Someone else just posted a comment about how she led her first soul to Christ on a mission trip.

And others go on a working vacation, doing less work than they would on a summer job. When they report back to their church, they spread their distorted ideas of mission work to their listeners. A happy congregation is pleased that their young people had a good spiritual experience and misses the fact that they came back empty-handed.

This is one reason why most missionaries, mission boards, and churches that support missionaries don't know what they're doing.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Why Missionaries Fail

When I took a Missions course in college, they presented a "nut" theory as an alternative to what we believed. The "nut" theory held that:

1) Most missionaries don't know what they're doing.
2) Most mission boards don't know what they're doing.
3) Most churches that support missionaries don't know what they're doing.

After six years in Mexico, I'm convinced that all three are true. Successful pastors down here believe they are true. Most missionaries who come down here leave little or no success behind them, and most never come back.

I'll be posting two or three times a week on "Why Missionaries Fail," and I hope you'll join in with comments and suggestions.