When we accepted God’s calling to serve as missionaries in Poland, Tim and Lynne Graves immediately sent a financial gift to the organization. They told us they wanted to be the first people to support us in our new ministry.
Over the ensuing thirty years they have been faithful monthly supporters and, on many occasions, given extra gifts to meet specific needs. (The time my notebook computer was stolen, Tim found out and sent a gift to buy a replacement).
Giving is to God, but one of the primary purposes of those gifts is the support of God’s people. We looked at I Corinthians 9, last week and studied Paul’s teaching on this important topic.
Today we look at the issue’s Paul was addressing in today’s world.
The road well-traveled has rightly advanced the biblical teaching that vocational ministry workers are due financial support from the people they serve. This principle is in fact one of that road’s greatest legacies.
However, much education about this 1 Corinthians 9 teaching remains to be done in the local church in countries across the globe. I have met far too many pastors who are asked to serve vocationally in church ministry.
They prepare sermons; lead weekly Bible studies; visit the sick and shut-ins; counsel members of the congregation and community; organize the Sunday worship; recruit and develop volunteers for the ministry to children and youth; plan and lead seasonal events for summer, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Days of Thanks; organize and lead prayer meetings; handle church finances; meet with other church leaders; maintain the facilities—and receive little or nothing materially from the church.
And it’s nearly impossible for these pastors to teach about congregations supporting their pastors for fear of alienating the congregation.
A fresh look at Paul’s perspective—pastors and Christian leaders are to be financially supported for doing the vocational ministry work God has called them to do—might be useful to churches and ministries around the world.
Unfortunately, a small minority of pastors all around the world have a living standard far above that of their own congregation. In some circles people view this wealth as a sign of God’s blessing and a spiritual badge of honor for the church. Reconciling that way of thinking with Paul’s concerns is difficult.
Even more troubling is the number of parachurch leaders whose relatively extravagant lifestyles are supported by foreigners who may be unaware.
I have met a number of national Christian leaders who have secretaries, notebook computers, travel budgets for international travel (often including the wife and kids), and homes that no local pastor would ever have.
And I don’t mean a pastor in a tiny church; I mean any pastor. I’ll share an example. One of many.
Three years ago, I was at the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I was walking across to be met by our director and a few board members for a two- or three-day visit.
As we were filling out the requisite forms, I looked out at the parking lot into the no-man’s-land between the borders—and it looked like a high-end SUV convention! Except for the stickers on the sides of the vehicles—that was a key difference.
Most of the messages proclaimed by the SUVs started with the word save—Save the World, Save the Children, Save the Sick, Save the…. Without exception, every vehicle was an NGO vehicle of some kind. (NGO stands for nongovernmental organization, and the acronym is, generally, an international equivalent to what we call a nonprofit in the United States.)
Many had European or American passengers, but many of them were African workers. I did some quick math and realized that I was looking at—based on an average price of about $50,000—about $2 million in vehicles.
I walked over to the other side where our little team was waiting, and we got into a ten-year-old Toyota mini-station wagon. I felt pretty much like a failure as a couple of those SUVs dusted us.
We drove to my quarters, and if you have ever traveled to the DRC, you know that it’s one of the most economically challenged countries in the world.
Among the evidence of the hurting infrastructure are the numerous bumps, ditches, and holes in the road, literally and figuratively. As we bumped and bounced along, I noticed a couple of those SUVs driving into gated compounds complete with security personnel.
I caught a glimpse of one building through the gate, and it looked like a villa in northern Italy. I gently inquired of my hosts, and they replied, “In the DRC, relief work and ministry are an industry for many. The wealthy and upper class are working high up in government or in the NGO world. All on the back of others’ poverty and foreign money.”
I know this is a complicated issue, but Paul’s teaching in 1 Corinthians 9 should be a guiding principle as we sort it out.
One truth, however, is clear: individuals whom God calls out of a Christian community and into vocational ministry should be supported materially by that community.
Working for the Lord
We’ve seen in Scripture that God calls churches and Christians to materially support those leaders serving in vocational ministry—and that remains true today. The bulk of your local church’s budget, for instance, goes to pastor salaries.
In other words, supporting church leaders is the principal purpose of your tithes and offerings. In addition to meeting a pastor’s practical needs, though, providing support for the workers in your own church can also be a source of real joy—and I will vouch for that!
Over the years, providing support for other missionaries and for the workers in our own church has given Marla and me great joy, and it continues to do so today.
We can sum this all up with two simple truths:
- First—and this is the mindset of those on the road less traveled—the gift given for a worker’s personal support is a gift given to God.
- An even more crucial truth is that while vocational servants of God are accountable to those they serve, each servant is primarily accountable to God and should take that truth very seriously.
I have some Christian businessmen friends who are radically committed to the Great Commission. They give sacrificially, and they travel the world to be part of the kingdom work. They tell stories about hard-working missionaries who serve at a significant cost to themselves yet work for the Lord with great diligence and commitment.
Unfortunately, these friends also tell me about the disturbing number of missionaries who appear to have such a poor work ethic that it’s difficult for the businesspeople to understand what exactly those missionaries are actually accomplishing.
I’ve seen it myself, and it grieves me to talk to a Christian businessman who works very hard, gives half his income to support Christian ministry work, and visits the overseas site only to discover that the workers aren’t working very hard.
Businesspeople like my friends are working for the Lord and before the Lord. They give generously and faithfully to God, and we are blessed to receive that material support from God.
Vocational Christian workers, be they pastors or missionaries, are accountable to the Lord, and we should work like it!
That relationship between the giver, the worker, and, at the center, God Himself creates a sense of partnership in sharing the gospel that can change the world.
The Road Well Traveled: Support vocational workers with resources God has given you and be part of their ministry work. The primary partnership is between the giver and the missionary.
The Road Less Traveled: As you support vocational workers with the resources God has given you, realize that your support is your gift to God, received from God by the workers.