Tag / BAM; Business as Mission; Cross-cultural missions;

by johnkking

Obeying Jesus

Globalization conjures up many ideas to diverse people. For some, it is the greatest curse to our world because it violates our isolationist tendencies. To others it is a wonderful way to get cheap products. Years ago I asked the folks at Stones River Church to reach up and grab the tag in the collar of their shirt/blouse and show it to a person near them. Then I asked them to share the names of the countries where these items had been manufactured. There were more than 30 nations in a group of about 100 people. Globalization made that possible.

My thoughts on globalization are taking a different angle as I write. I am sitting in a McDonalds in the Bangkok airport, waiting on my next flight. To get here I had stops in Dallas and Tokyo. It is sort of crazy to think about the opportunities available today to take the gospel to the nations. Obeying Jesus’ commission to “Go make disciples of all the nations…” has never been easier than right now!

This week I will be training Buddhist background believers in Disciple Making strategies. The goal of organizer of this training is that some of them will join him in his passion for reaching Muslims who live in Southern Thailand. Only God can pull this one off! But then again, He has always had a soft place in his heart for reaching the nations.

I am convinced God’s decision to confound the language of the people and force the development of so many cultures (Genesis 11) was an act of God’s grace. He knew that their rebellious spirit was intent on using blessings for self-aggrandizement and left undeterred, they would bring horrible punishment upon themselves. He prevented their wicked purposes and then goes even further in His grace—he calls Abram and promises to bless him and through him all the nations (Genesis 12). God’s gracious nature is always on display—even in times of judgment, if we will look at the whole picture.

The amazing thing about this story is not that God is this way—just look at the cross! The remarkable thing is getting to have a part with Him in what He wants to do in Thailand. I covet your prayers!

 

by johnkking

Blessed to Give

Last Tuesday I wrote about giving. I want to return to the subject since we have had time to “chew on this cud” for a while.

I believe that Paul’s care calls us to engage this issue thoughtfully. He was concerned to prevent his apostolic band from being discounted as more religious charlatans–notorious con-artists. He, also, raises the issue of his desire to preach the gospel at his own personal cost so he could go “above and beyond the call of duty.” The apostle to the Gentiles models a very nuanced theology of giving.

Maybe I am misreading Acts 20:34-35, but it appears to me that Paul’s business enterprise in Ephesus was adequate to support his personal needs, also financed a sizable apostolic team and produced enough to “help the weak.”

My dream is to see apostolic workers (those commissioned to get the gospel into truly unreached people groups) who are able to enter communities with business models that are simple, easily reproduced and adequately resourced so they are truly financially sustainable. They will be of such a nature that they involve the workers in providing a valuable service for the people of the new community. They will provide excellent opportunities to look for Persons of Peace. They will become valuable for the community on a long-term basis. They will provide the opportunity to model hard work and helping the weak.

Maybe Paul had not taught about giving at earlier stages during his three year stay in Ephesus. Maybe his statement about “remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive'” was a personal remembrance. But I suspect he is pointing their minds back to earlier teaching he had done when he quoted this from Jesus [NOTE: This statement on giving is not found in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Is this something Jesus said to Paul personally after his Damascus Road encounter?]

I am thankful that my time in Arkansas prompted me to return to this issue. What are your thoughts on the matter?

by johnkking

Hand It Over!

Next week I will return to this issue of discipling givers. But today I want to explore the matter of turning work over to the people among whom missionaries work. This has long been a troublesome topic. The team that worked in Kenya is but a microcosm of missions history.

Before we consider what has happened, let me share that my friend, and mentor, David Watson takes an extreme position on this matter. He counsels that you never start anything without a local partner, so you are raising up a leader to keep it going from day one. Since they are involved in leadership with you, it is never yours to turn over. Wrapping your brain around that counter-intuitive approach will “field dress” many of the Western pioneer mission strategies. We have to turn it over, because we do too much to begin with. We hold on too long because we want to make sure the local people will be able to do it our way when they are in control.

For some of us, that last word is the bottom line! C-O-N-T-R-O-L is the point of many struggles.

We wonder why so many Western boards have such struggles with local boards. We wonder why local leadership systems are stacked against foreign ownership. Maybe there are examples where we find ourselves in control battles because our controlling nature attracts local controllers!

I like David’s idea. But I have to confess it is a hard goal. It makes the front end very slow. It precludes our American efficiency model. It keeps us from rushing and making something happen by our drivenness, resources and/or ingenuity. But it may also save us from ourselves. Maybe we would not be seen as the brash, know-it-all Americans. Maybe we would be saved from witnessing the dead, empty carcasses of ministry ideas that were too foreign to work where we might attempt to force them to work. Maybe God will raise up locals who can be bridges into their communities.

by johnkking

More Blessed to Give?

Every teacher is selective! It does not matter whether you are using an inductive or deductive approach, you choose what will be taught and the order in which it is taught. Acknowledging this reality is significant. While it will not change it, you may become less accidental in how you exercise selectivity.

When I shared the critique of the Kenyan leader I was not wanting to be critical of the mission team–at all! I rejoice in what God has done through them. I rejoice in their willingness to be vulnerable. I rejoice that this subject was raised.

I, too, have encouraged missions organizations to carefully consider the importance of giving in the earliest stages of discipleship. As you might have noted in one of my replies to a comment made on my last blog, I believe God’s giving nature is one of his core character traits. John 3:16 is pretty specific when it says, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” Answer the question, “What do you learn about God?” based on this verse and you observe He is an extreme giver!

While I was not present when the referenced rebuke took place, the statement prompts me to believe these Kenyan churches struggle with a lack of needed financial resources which arise from a lack of giving. The problem with waiting to teach on giving is it does not become easier with time, it may actually become more difficult.

Acts 20:17-35 has long been the text that has most significantly challenged my thinking on giving. Here Paul meets with the leaders of the church of Ephesus and reviews their history and pulls back the curtains on some prophetic insights believers have been receiving regarding his near future. Paul is about to face “prison and hardships,” according to the Holy Spirit. With the potential that this may be his last time ever with this group, he warns them to be on their guard against those who will seek “to draw away disciples after them[selves].” By contrast, he reminds them of his lifestyle.

“I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”

Do we deprive people of the greater blessing when we fail to facilitate their discovery of the grace of giving? Are we as intentional in our behavior and explaining the purpose behind it as Paul was?

by johnkking

The Greater Blessing

The time I spent in Arkansas last week was rich. As I have reflected on it, one session was particularly memorable. Three young missionary families who are preparing to move to Tanzania interviewed several missionary families who moved to Kenya thirty years ago as a team.

There were light-hearted moments when cultural/linguistic missteps were shared. There were points when the one sharing would choke up when the memories from decades ago came rushing back.

Two answers to one question really stood out for me, though. “If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently?” the new team asked. The older responder (currently serves as a professor of missiology) said, “We would teach them to give from very early in our time with them, and we would turn the leadership of churches and projects over to them much more quickly.”

This former missionary who continues to explore missions shared that the issue of giving had been raised recently. He had traveled to Kenya for a large gathering of the congregational leaders from the churches that had been planted. One African leader rebuked him sternly: “You did not teach us to give. We would not be facing some of the challenges we are right now, if you had taught us what the Bible says on this from the beginning.”

Acknowledging the truth of the rebuke, this older, wiser brother reminisced over the difficulty this topic raised. The team arrived with vehicles, finances and resources the people of this tribe might never have. “How can we call them to give when they live on less than $2.00 per day?” summed up the struggle.

This former missionary stated that their team had been intentional in turning over leadership more quickly than was the norm thirty years ago. But he affirmed they still waited too long.

These have lodged in my mind. Next week I plan to share some reflections on these two. What are your thoughts? I would love to hear from you before I express myself.

by johnkking

Why Are You Here?

DMM counter-intuitives—“Small for-profit projects often yield much higher long-term access and goodwill than free services.” Paul worked as a tentmaker in Ephesus.

When disciple makers go to new villages or urban areas they expect to be asked the question, “Why are you here?” Without a legitimate answer, they will be watched with great suspicion or will be driven out of the community. Residents of that region will be justifiably suspicious of people without a visible means of supporting themselves hanging around.

An excellent reason to be in a new community is to engage in a for-profit business. Providing needed products and/or services is a quick way to earn a hearing for the gospel. Business also gives disciples excellent opportunities to demonstrate kingdom values.

Access to resistant nations is one of the great challenges for bringing the gospel to the least-reached people groups. Here we can learn from Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus (Acts 19 & 20). Do not overlook the role of his tent making (recognize that it is likely he sold as many sails for ships as he did tents for caravans). It was their shared trade that brought him together with Pricilla and Aquila—a couple with whom he accomplished much. He reminds the Ephesian elders that he supported himself and his mission team through his business. He also points out that his example modeled for them the importance of hard work (Acts 20:33-35).

Missionaries have often used compassion ministries to gain access to people in communities. But such an approach is viewed with great mistrust in the most resistant nations. Beyond this suspicion, there are ongoing struggles with unintentionally generating destructive dependencies that prove damaging to local economies. A small for-profit business can provide excellent opportunities to locate Persons of Peace among customers, vendors and/or government officials encountered through the normal interactions of set-up and operation.

I know a shop owner in West Africa who supports seven disciple makers. He also brings those with business acumen in to work with him for three months and trains them in reproducing this tactic. Muslim people in the region help support the spread of the gospel through this small enterprise.

We need thousands of creative entrepreneurs to envision business models that will generate reasons to live in new regions. We need these opportunities for believers to demonstrate kingdom values through their work. We need disciple makers who will use their employment as their format for conspicuous spirituality. Christian community development should be a long-range goal for making disciples in new regions.

by johnkking

We All Need a Specialist!

DMM counter-intuitives: Focus on discipling ordinary people not developing “professional” Christians.

We love experts! We need experts! The more important the issue is to us the more we demand highly trained, extensively experienced and recognized experts.

When our daughter was born she had a rare genetic malformation that resulted in part of her esophagus turning and connecting her stomach to her wind pipe. The upper portion of her esophagus just dead ended down in her tiny chest. Because a developing child breathes and swallows amniotic fluid prior to birth, her life was at risk if those fluids were pushed back into her air-filled lungs. Major surgery was essential.

I was thankful to discover that the specialist to whom she was referred was the pre-eminent surgeon on the east coast for this type of surgery. He was a confident doctor who set me at ease through his bed-side manner and the way he explained what would take place. He even gave me a photo-copied a diagram from his medical journal that allowed me to visualize the problem.

We all need the pre-eminent specialist to experience spiritual healing! His name is Jesus.

People who have not heard of Jesus, yet, need to see living testimonies of his handiwork. They need to see families that are evidence of his transforming power. They need ordinary people doing extraordinary works by his resurrection power to be able to envision themselves being part of God’s answer to the world’s greatest needs. Taxi drivers and shop keepers become wonderful disciple makers. Quarter backs and hair dressers can learn to lead people to Jesus.

Pastors and cross-cultural missionaries all have their place in kingdom work, but we must re-capture the biblical teaching on the priesthood of believers (1 Peter 2:9)! When you look at the twelve men Jesus chose to disciple, their normalcy jumps out. There was not one expert in the group. There were no specialists. Except Jesus!

Being willing to hear and obey Jesus—that’s what is needed. When ordinary folks hear Jesus and obey some fruitful promises are fulfilled (John chapters 14 & 15)!

In evangelism, my position in pastoral ministry was an obstacle more often than an aid. For thirty-one years I watched people pull back when they asked, “What kind of work do you do?” I know of a taxi driver who discipled many passengers who brought their households to faith. Then somebody offered to support him to make disciples full-time. After a while he turned in his “professional” badge because it became a hindrance.

When ordinary people make disciples, the ordinary people they disciples realize they can do it too! Whether they are discipled by “ordinary” people or “professionals,” they are ultimately treated by the same specialist—Jesus!

by johnkking

Business as Cross-Cultural Mission (BACCM)?

An adage says, “Words don’t mean things, people do!” Like hockey players, some will “drop their gloves and get it on!” for even a hint that the preceding might be true. I do not want to debate that, but I have intentionally chosen it to draw you into my thinking.

When you write a graduate research paper, thesis or dissertation you always have to define the significant terms you use. Laying out the connotations you attach to important words gives your reader insight into the degree of specificity you attach to the key words in your writing.

Many words have a range of meanings. Some began with a very specific meaning in their earliest usage. Others began as very broad or general terms. But often these characteristics slip over time. Words that were very narrow and technical become more general. At other times, words that were quite general begin to be used with more specificity within certain circles. “Well, what does the word mean?” someone pushes back. The better question to ask is, “What meaning does this author attach to this word or phrase?”

Let me give you a couple of examples. I am dating myself by the first one, but that is okay. “Seven-Up the Un-cola” was an advertising slogan when I was a kid. The word “Cola” was a specific word—at least in the legal world of advertising. It had been legally confined to beverages that had caramel coloring and flavoring as an ingredient. Seven-Up could not legally be referred to as a cola. Their marketers coined the slogan to play off this. Most folks today use cola without regard to these issues. Common usage dictates the direction of the shift.

Today I encountered the second example. It was a blog written by Justin Forman (here’s the link: http://www.businessasmissionnetwork.com/2009/08/wrong-definition-of-business-as-mission.html. Justin shares an experience where his efforts to minister to Americans through business here in the U.S. are not equated with efforts to begin businesses as an avenue for church planting in the 10/40 Window. While affirming that he is a huge fan of those who do cross-cultural missions, Justin is convinced this person has a wrong definition for Business as Mission (BAM). He says, “in all our rush to define what Business as Mission is and what it is not, please don’t dismiss opportunities across the street or across the board room.” (Emphasis his.) For Justin, the BAM terminology is not reserved for cross-cultural mission, but it must have been for the other person. What does BAM mean? It depends on who is using the phrase.

Recently I read several books and many articles on Business as Mission and related themes. My experience reveals the preceding is one of several debates about the proper meaning for the phrase. Nobody knows which connotation will win out, but various camps stake their claim and critique others who will use the phrase with different nuances.

Some of the struggles over this matter become evident when you read the Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP) No. 59. This was the outgrowth of more than 70 practitioners of BAM: http://www.businessasmission.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Documents/Lausanne_Occasional_Paper_on_Business_as_Mission.pdf. This group had difficulty coming to consensus on what the definition of BAM should be, reflecting the context to which Justin’s blog alludes.

Justin’s blog is worded in a careful and measured way, but the title sets the tone for what is encountered in the subsequent comments. Evidence of at least two camps emerges in the discussion and exhibit significant passion for their divergent views. How do we emphasize the need for BAM in the 10/40 window without rebuilding a barrier that is similar to the sacred/secular?

“Words don’t mean things, people do!” Maybe this phrase sticks because it conveys an experiential truth. We want specificity when it bolsters our argument. We demand general meanings when they fit better with our position.

So what? Since this is my blog I believe I need to tell you my understanding of this matter. I tend to use the phrase in both manners, depending on my audience and my purpose, but my usage leans more heavily toward reserving BAM for cross-cultural purposes.

If I am attempting to get a local business person to be more intentional and strategic in spreading the Kingdom through work, I will talk about BAM in local terms. But even then I will usually plant a seed regarding the need to learn to do that here with an eye for taking it to a restricted-access country. It is too easy for us to use reaching the lost near neighbors as an excuse for not going to the places where people have little or no Jesus options. The ways money and missionaries continue to be deployed highlights this problem. The greatest concentrations of lost people get less than a nickel out of every $100.00 allocated for missions. Will we repeat this with our use of BAM? The staggering needs of the 10/40 window cry out for more of our attention, money and manpower. Would it be such a terrible thing if every BAM practitioner had to look toward the 10/40 window? Would that stop them from reaching near-neighbor people and building Kingdom businesses in the West as preparation for going to places with greater needs? I prefer to use BAM in the more restricted sense of reaching people in the 10/40 window. If others will not allow such, then another way has to be found to mobilize and equip ever larger numbers of business people to use their God-glorifying business skills to reach the lost in the places where there are so many who are lost!

If we have to coin a new phrase such as Business as Cross-Cultural Mission (BACCM), so be it. If we have to tag it 10/40 BAM, so be it. But be sure our fear of building another wall does not perpetuate our old blind spot—too many of our resources stay here rather than being leveraged to the lost there!