Should Missionaries Fundraise?
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | - We have a big week ahead on Christmas related themes
00:00:07.520 | on the podcast, but we start the week
00:00:09.200 | talking about fundraising, something that happens a lot
00:00:12.440 | this time of year, and a couple, Luke and Katie,
00:00:15.400 | write in to ask you this, "Dear Pastor John,
00:00:17.960 | "I know you are familiar with men such as Hudson Taylor
00:00:20.300 | "and George Mueller.
00:00:21.920 | "Should we ask our brothers and sisters in Christ
00:00:24.300 | "to help fund the work we feel God has called us to,
00:00:27.440 | "or should we simply believe that he will fund
00:00:29.500 | "the work as we seek him in prayer
00:00:32.200 | "without making our needs known to men?"
00:00:34.580 | What would you say to Luke and Katie?
00:00:36.700 | - Two clarifications about Mueller,
00:00:38.460 | George Mueller and Hudson Taylor.
00:00:40.800 | Both of them, and they knew each other,
00:00:44.300 | had resolved that they would never ask anyone for money.
00:00:50.360 | That's true.
00:00:51.440 | But they most emphatically did make their needs known
00:00:58.480 | in general.
00:01:00.700 | Both of them published monthly records
00:01:04.540 | of what had come in to the mission
00:01:07.620 | and what it had been spent on,
00:01:10.800 | and where they were in the big picture financially.
00:01:14.540 | So it's misleading to give the impression
00:01:16.860 | that the donors to the orphanages
00:01:20.740 | and to China Inland Mission were kept in the dark
00:01:24.020 | about the overall needs.
00:01:27.180 | It is true, and I don't wanna sell these men short,
00:01:29.980 | they were incredible.
00:01:32.280 | It is true that from day to day,
00:01:36.240 | there were specific needs that were not made known
00:01:41.120 | except to God in prayer.
00:01:43.760 | This is where the miracles became most evident.
00:01:46.520 | But it would not be accurate to say
00:01:50.480 | that there were no regular communications to the donors
00:01:55.600 | about the general financial situation
00:01:58.000 | or what had been given.
00:02:01.600 | That's the first clarification.
00:02:02.720 | Here's the second one.
00:02:04.520 | Neither George Mueller nor Hudson Taylor
00:02:08.040 | prescribed this approach of theirs
00:02:10.800 | as the only biblical way, neither of them.
00:02:13.680 | George Mueller was especially explicit about this.
00:02:16.660 | He said that his main motive in starting the orphanages
00:02:21.660 | and running them this way
00:02:24.840 | was so that the Christian church in his day
00:02:28.600 | would have some fresh evidence that God answers prayer.
00:02:32.800 | It was, he felt, a very special calling,
00:02:36.000 | a calling on him that was appointed for him
00:02:40.540 | and not necessarily for everybody else
00:02:44.180 | to glorify God in this extraordinary dependence day to day
00:02:48.920 | without telling everybody that the breakfast
00:02:51.680 | for tomorrow morning in the orphanage wasn't on hand.
00:02:54.760 | So we saw remarkable things.
00:02:59.160 | Now with those two clarifications,
00:03:01.200 | my answer is that neither Mueller nor Taylor
00:03:05.160 | would say it is sinful for a Christian missionary
00:03:08.200 | to write a letter to possible supporters
00:03:11.260 | to explain the mission, to give vision,
00:03:14.040 | and to invite people to join them in financial support.
00:03:18.480 | In fact, I would go beyond saying
00:03:22.160 | that it's permitted in the Bible.
00:03:24.720 | I would say it is modeled in the Bible
00:03:28.500 | as the normal way of doing missions.
00:03:32.680 | And I would base that mainly
00:03:35.800 | on 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.
00:03:40.800 | I think every Christian who hopes to receive gifts of money
00:03:46.360 | or support some ministry
00:03:48.720 | becomes a master of these two chapters.
00:03:51.200 | So let me just show you what I mean
00:03:53.160 | by walking quickly through.
00:03:54.900 | Paul explicitly urges the Corinthians.
00:03:58.360 | So you could say 2 Corinthians in chapters 8 and 9
00:04:03.280 | are a ministry support letter
00:04:06.040 | because he is trying to raise money
00:04:08.800 | for the offering that he with others are gathering
00:04:12.120 | to take to the poor saints in Jerusalem.
00:04:14.840 | You can read about that elsewhere in Paul's letters.
00:04:17.520 | So he says in verses 6 and 7 of chapter 8,
00:04:21.040 | "As you excel in everything, in faith, in speech,
00:04:24.400 | in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in your love,
00:04:27.920 | see that you excel in this act of grace also."
00:04:31.920 | Now that's a virtual command.
00:04:33.880 | Get on board with the giving.
00:04:36.200 | Or verses 8 and 9, he softens it, but doesn't remove it.
00:04:40.880 | He says, "I say this not as a command,
00:04:44.800 | but to prove by the earnestness of others,"
00:04:48.000 | namely the people up in Macedonia
00:04:50.120 | that I've just told you about,
00:04:51.260 | "by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.
00:04:56.260 | For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus
00:04:59.080 | that though he was rich, yet for your sakes,
00:05:00.640 | he became poor, so that you by his poverty
00:05:04.280 | might become rich."
00:05:05.120 | And the implication is so clearly,
00:05:08.120 | since they have done so well, Jesus did so well,
00:05:11.800 | you're gonna do so well in the giving
00:05:14.020 | when I arrive.
00:05:15.280 | Or verse 12, he encourages them
00:05:18.560 | that the willingness is what counts.
00:05:21.240 | And yet, here's what he says, verse 12,
00:05:23.320 | "For if the readiness is there,
00:05:26.840 | it is acceptable according to what a person has,
00:05:31.440 | not according to what a person doesn't have."
00:05:33.520 | In other words, he's saying,
00:05:34.360 | "Look, I'm not expecting any particular amount from anybody.
00:05:36.960 | I know you're in different places financially.
00:05:39.480 | What matters is your heart.
00:05:41.100 | So if you have a little, give a little.
00:05:42.760 | If you have a lot, give a lot,
00:05:44.240 | 'cause it's your heart that matters."
00:05:46.880 | Or verse 19 and 20,
00:05:49.400 | he puts his own financial integrity on the line.
00:05:53.300 | He says, "This grace is being ministered by us
00:05:56.300 | for the glory of the Lord himself
00:05:58.420 | and to show our goodwill.
00:06:00.560 | We take this course so that no one should blame us
00:06:04.740 | about the generous gift that is being administered by us."
00:06:08.020 | In other words, you can give to us
00:06:09.480 | because we got all the safeguards in place
00:06:13.280 | for the integrity of those who are handling this money.
00:06:17.280 | Or chapter eight, verse 24,
00:06:19.440 | he returns to an explicit exhortation.
00:06:21.480 | "So give proof before the churches of your love
00:06:26.280 | and of our boasting about you."
00:06:28.640 | And then in chapter nine, it's just so amazing to me.
00:06:32.000 | He goes so far as to say that the reason
00:06:35.100 | he's sending someone ahead with this letter
00:06:37.440 | is so that their giving would not humiliate him
00:06:40.760 | when he gets there.
00:06:41.760 | He says, "I'm sending the brothers
00:06:43.920 | so that our boasting about you
00:06:45.880 | may not prove empty in this matter
00:06:47.860 | so that you may be ready as I said you would be.
00:06:51.240 | Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me
00:06:54.360 | and find that you are not ready,
00:06:56.160 | we'd be humiliated to say nothing of you
00:06:58.840 | for being so confident."
00:07:00.160 | I mean, that's incredible,
00:07:01.660 | the way he's motivating them to give.
00:07:03.880 | Look, he says, "Look, I've boasted about you guys.
00:07:06.480 | I've told them you're generous.
00:07:08.080 | If you're not generous, I'm gonna look like an idiot.
00:07:10.360 | And you're gonna be shamed and I'm gonna be shamed
00:07:12.680 | because you are generous in Christ.
00:07:15.480 | Become what you are now."
00:07:17.180 | Or he goes on and gives arguments
00:07:19.720 | that we should have great generosity
00:07:22.720 | in the freedom of giving.
00:07:24.820 | And that's a real familiar passage.
00:07:26.720 | God, each one must give as he has decided in his heart,
00:07:30.100 | not reluctantly or under compulsion,
00:07:32.920 | for God loves a cheerful giver.
00:07:34.640 | And so maybe just one more, verse 12 of chapter nine,
00:07:38.560 | "For the ministry of this service
00:07:40.160 | is not only supplying the needs of the saints,
00:07:43.480 | but is overflowing in many thanksgivings."
00:07:46.200 | In other words, get on board with this
00:07:48.000 | because you're gonna meet the needs of saints
00:07:49.880 | and God's gonna get a lot of thanksgiving.
00:07:51.900 | So, unless Luke and Katie feel
00:07:56.640 | an unusual calling from the Lord
00:07:59.860 | to demonstrate his extraordinary need-meeting power
00:08:03.660 | along the lines of Mueller and Taylor,
00:08:07.500 | the clear biblical pattern
00:08:10.400 | for the support of Christian ministry
00:08:12.660 | is to enlist Christian churches like the Corinthians
00:08:16.740 | to be part of it.
00:08:18.200 | And how to go about it, I think, is laid out
00:08:21.400 | about as clearly as it could be
00:08:24.060 | in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.
00:08:27.200 | Really, the issue comes down to
00:08:29.560 | where are Katie and Luke going to put their trust?
00:08:34.560 | Will they put it in glossy brochures and fancy websites
00:08:39.900 | and cleverly written letters?
00:08:42.540 | Or will they have a brochure and have a website
00:08:46.780 | and send their letters and put their trust
00:08:50.620 | in their heavenly Father who promises to meet every need
00:08:54.420 | as they seek the kingdom first?
00:08:56.340 | Yeah, that is so good.
00:08:57.460 | Thank you, Pastor John.
00:08:58.740 | And thank you for the question, Katie and Luke.
00:09:00.460 | You can send your questions into us via email
00:09:02.660 | at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org.
00:09:06.020 | Or you can go to our online home
00:09:07.500 | at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.
00:09:11.920 | Well, the Christmas season is fully engaged,
00:09:13.920 | and tomorrow we are joined by a historian
00:09:16.180 | to talk about one of the most controversial figures
00:09:18.300 | of the Christmas story.
00:09:19.740 | It's Herod the Great.
00:09:21.140 | I will ask this historian of the story
00:09:23.760 | of the slaughter of the innocents,
00:09:25.440 | the killing of all boys two years old and younger
00:09:27.880 | in the region of Bethlehem.
00:09:29.580 | If that is historically true or if it's a fiction,
00:09:33.220 | and if it really happened,
00:09:34.300 | why are there no other historical records of the event
00:09:37.060 | outside of the Bible?
00:09:39.020 | It's an interesting question,
00:09:40.020 | a rather big historical question,
00:09:42.220 | and it's on the docket for tomorrow.
00:09:44.220 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke.
00:09:45.100 | Thanks for listening to the Ask Pastor John podcast.
00:09:47.660 | (upbeat music)
00:09:50.240 | (upbeat music)
00:09:52.820 | [BLANK_AUDIO]