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Being a Missionary: Amateur or Professional

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Title: Being a Missionary: Amateur or Professional


1
An Introspective Look At Amateurization
Professionalization A Call for Missionaries or a
Divine Calling?
2
Definitions
  • Amateur a person that is in pursuit of a
    particular field that does not receive formal
    training and is usually without pay
  • Professional a person that receives formal
    training and has extensive education in a
    particular field

3
In Regards to Missions
  • Ralph Winter
  • Missionaries have either too much training or not
    enough
  • encourage candidates to learn the language and
    culture prior to the end of college and once on
    the field to continue their education.
  • John Piper
  • we are not professionals
  • he is suggesting that our attitudes must be in
    tune with the mindset of Christ
  • humble us, O God, under your mighty hand, and let
    us rise, not as professionals, but as witnesses
    and partakers of the sufferings of Christ

4
Amateurization vs. Professionalization
  • A (human call for workers)
  • Our mission
  • Individualistic
  • Inadequate preparation
  • Short-term goals
  • Based on supporter-appeal
  • Inclined to proof-texting
  • Self-acclaimed teachers
  • Monoculture orientation
  • Superficial analysis
  • A divine calling
  • Gods mission
  • Interdependent
  • Adequate preparation
  • Long-range goals
  • Based on biblical priorities
  • Biblically grounded
  • Learners, then teachers
  • Bi-(multi-) cultural orientation
  • Competent analysis

5
Reform
  • Martin Luther
  • (reform in Wittenberg)
  • 95 Thesis
  • Taught that the Great Commission was already
    accomplished
  • Justinian Von Welz
  • Is it right that evangelical Christians hold the
    gospel for themselves alone and do not seek to
    spread it? (2) Is it right that theology students
    are not encouraged to labor for Christ in other
    lands? (3) Is it right to spend so much money on
    dress and on delicacies in eating and drinking
    but give no thought to the spread of the gospel?

6
William Carey
  • Persistent Young Baptist
  • Challenged the status quo
  • An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to
    Use Means for the Conversion of the heathens
    (1792)
  • which justified overseas evangelism and became
    the first manifesto of the modern missionary
    movement

7
Professionalism and Historical Analysis
  • Theological tensions
  • Organizational tensions
  • Recruitment tensions
  • Training tensions
  • Support tensions
  • Strategy tensions

8
Foundational Teachings
  • Bible Without the foundations of the word a
    person becomes a wanderer like a boat without its
    oars
  • Grace (Xa) or Charis favor, blessing, and
    goodness that God extends to undeserving
    creatures and thankful response of those who
    receive grace to the one who gave it
  • Spiritual Gifts
  • In Romans 123-8 and 1 Corinthians 141-19

9
Cultural Values
  • First, as member of a source culture, we must
    understand ourselves and our own culture as it
    progresses (or regresses).
  • Second, we must endeavor to understand respondent
    cultures and peoples to whom we take the message
    of Christ (Hesselgrave 221)

10
Biblical Missions Like a Rushing Wind
  • First, leaders must address questions regarding
    the relative authority of churches and missions
    agencies.
  • Second, the realities of financing missions
    create inevitable tension and problems, so we
    should carefully manage money.
  • Money is often the most important single factor
    in determining who does, and who does not, get to
    the field.
  • The potential for obtaining monetary or material
    gain of some kind marks the way in which many
    nationals assess the contributions of
    missionaries and visiting ministers and lay
    persons.
  • High missionary salaries (by local standards)
    often make national workers envious of
    missionaries. They want to emulate the missionary
    lifestyle.
  • When financial prosperity is connected with
    becoming a Christian, the connection between the
    biblical gospel and a prosperity gospel becomes
    more confused. This is especially true in
    economically depressed areas of the world.
  • Availability of Western money to nationals often
    drives a wedge between national workers who
    receive foreign funds and those who do not.
  • Faithful missions supporters are sometimes urged
    to stop sending missionaries and just support
    national evangelists in order to get the job
    done quickly and efficiently.

11
Biblical Missions Like A Rushing Wind
  • Third, we must recognize the difference between
    volunteerism and voluntarism, seeing that here
    are problems and potential in either.
  • Fourth, there is both opportunity and danger in
    global partnerships, so these efforts must
    continually be evaluatedespecially as Western
    churches relate to non-Western churches and
    missions.
  • Fifth, there is great opportunity in the growth
    of short-term missions, but the resources and
    management required must be kept in balance with
    long term work

12
Entrepreneurship and Contemporary Missions
  • The skeleton key or golden key approach to
    missionary methods and strategy
  • Creative access to closed and partially closed
    countries
  • Planting church-planting movements
  • The oral bible movement
  • The emergent (or emerging) church movement

13
Work Cited
  • Garrison, David. N.d. Church Planting Movements.
    Richmond, Va, International Mission Board of the
    Southern Baptist Convention.
  • Hesselgrave, David J. Paradigms in Conflict.
    Grand Rapids Kregel, 2005.
  • McLaren, Brian D. 2004. A Generous Orthodoxy.
    Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Zondervan.
  • Moreau, A. Scott, Gary R. Corwin, and Gary B.
    McGee. 2004. Introducing World Missions A
  • Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey. Grand
    Rapids Baker.
  • Neil, Stephen. 1959. Creative Tension The Duff
    Lectures, 1958. London Edinburgh House.
  • Piper, John.2002. Brother, We are Not
    Professionals A Plea to Pastors for Radical
    Ministry.
  • Nashville Broadman Holman.
  • Smalley, William A., ed. 1967 Readings in
    Missionary Anthropology. Tarrytown, N.Y.
  • Practical Anthropology.

14
Questions for you!
  • Are you an amateur? Or
  • Do you consider yourself a Professional?

15
Questions
  • Sly Remarks?
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