It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 2: The Money

There once was a landowner who hired workers early in the morning, agreeing to pay them a set wage for their work. And again, in the afternoon, he hired more workers, to help complete the task.  Later that day, when the time came to be paid, he paid them all the same set wage for their work.  The ones hired first began to grumble, saying, “You have made them equal to us, though we worked longer and harder”.  But he answered them, ‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?’

            Working overseas as a missionary one has to face a hard reality, nothing in this world is our own.  When Audrey and I first embarked on this journey we quit our current jobs, gave up our apartment, sold many of our things, put the rest into storage, and “left” our family behind.  We either gave up or left behind pretty much everything we considered our own, save for what we could fit into our suitcases and embarked on a new journey that we felt God was leading us to.  I do not say that to boast or to brag, just to illustrate the view that all we had was temporary.  But given all of that, this was still a hard thing for us to learn; and as creatures of habit, as soon as we arrived we quickly started making ourselves at home again, collecting and hunting down items to make our stays here more convenient and comfortable.  However, there is always the looming feeling that it is all temporary.  We do not know when or where the Lord will call us next, so we try to live life with palms held open. 

            Living here we have partly come to the realization that nothing we have is really ours to cling to.  It can be here one moment and gone the next.  In the same way being individuals that are supported financially by friends, family, and churches it takes it to an even deeper level that we are not even “earning” our own income.  Everything we have is a gift. It is not ours, and ultimately it is all God’s, unearned gift. This means we have the need to be accountable and transparent for every penny of it. Now as I say this, I am so very thankful for all the friends, family, and churches that support us, and all of their hard work and giving that makes every day possible, and I hope we are doing the work you have commissioned us for well.  But I want to raise a question.  Is not all money God’s anyway?  And if this is true, does it not then mean those same two big things are true for you as well?  Do you not also have a responsibility for how you are spending God’s money?  Is it not also a gift from God? 

            As Americans across the board we all deal with entitlement to some extent.  And I am sad to say this is not only applicable to the “millennial” generation as we so often point out.   It is evident in every generation, just because we have put in the sweat, does that really mean we are owed something?  If it is all truly God’s money, then even if we “earned” it, can we truly spend it any way we please?  I think if we view “our” money as God’s money, this changes how we use and manage it.  No longer does it become as easy to borrow money for something that may be unnecessary or to put things on credit that do not really matter.  For after all, where are we storing our treasures, and with Whose money are we purchasing them?  To push the item even further, is it okay to spend money on things to make our lives more "comfortable" because isn't comfortable sometimes just another word for distracted?  As we become more comfortable are we becoming like the rich young ruler who was "comfortable" with his good deeds?  

            I do not say any of this to elevate ourselves here, or pretend like I have the answers. We are struggling with the very same things.  It is hard to be accountable to a level where everyone can look at your finances and say you are using God’s money correctly.  There are always things we, and our flesh want, that may or may not be wise uses of the resources we have been given.  It becomes even harder when you are trying to please both God and others who have given to you as well.  But I do want to challenge each of you today to live like all the money given to you is a gift from God, that you are accountable for and wanting to honor him with.  It is not your own, whether you have worked hard for it or not, it is all a gift.  

It’s all God’s: Realizations of Missions Part 1: The Work

            Let’s ask a question. “Why missions?” or I guess let me go even broader with that question, “Why professional ministry in general?” How have we gotten to a point where there are an estimated 2.2 million “Christians” on earth, roughly 31%, and we have to hire people to spread the gospel?  Now I must admit, this must sound very strange coming from the mouth of one of those fully supported ministry staffers, who is receiving income from sharing God’s word.  But I want to look at why this is a need.  Is ministry something for a select few paid professionals to engage in, or is it a collective community oriented call of God?

To give a very generic, Sunday school answer to start, I would say we must first look at the great commission.  “Go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Okay, so it seems pretty evident there if we believe what Christ said, we have a mission to make disciples, it is a job of everyone who believes.  Most people stop the argument there.  But let’s continue, lets look deeply and honestly at this.  Why in the world with 31% of the population of the entire world “serving” God in this mission, can we not get the job done without paying people for full time work to complete it?  The only answer I think we can conclude is that we, as the 31%, are not following our commission. 

            Now, Chase, listen, I work hard, 60+ hours a week, so that I can support my family and our lifestyle.  And then I go to church and fellowship on Sunday, and I even gave some money to the homeless guy on the corner.  Are you saying I am not following God’s commission?  Yes, bluntly, that is exactly what I am saying.  Unless we are purposefully engaging in the work of making disciples, growing up other leaders to join in the work of making more disciples and growing the kingdom of God, and being discipled ourselves, we are not following His commission. Now I do not know each of your lives personally and I cannot begin to judge anyone but myself.  But being honest and looking at my life, I cannot honestly say that even though I grew up in a Christian home and have professed Christianity for over 23 years now, that I have truly lived up to the commission that Christ has invited me to.  All I know is that by looking at the world today, looking at the state of our own country today, that we as a body of believers, we as a Church, have failed at living out the great commission daily in our lives. 

Maybe this does not apply to you personally, maybe it does, but the truth is it most certainly applies to the church at large.  We have failed in the great commission.  It is because of this, because we as individuals and as a larger collective have failed at our objective, that we have to outsource our personal jobs to a paid professional.  And the sad thing on top of it, I hate to admit, is that many times the paid professionals are not much better at their work.  Yes, they may be more intentional, but they are still bogged down by their own sins, failures, and desires that they still often cause just as much hurt as joy sometimes. 

            I believe it is because the world is broken, because our church is broken, because we are broken, and failing at our objective, that we need paid professionals to take the intentional time to carry out this work.  It should not have to be this way, yet it is because we have failed.  We are now reliant on these professionals to do the work that was entrusted to us.  My prayer is that this is not always the case. Yes, we may still need some missionaries to travel to remote places where the gospel has not yet reached.  But anywhere a well established church is planted, and the word has taken hold of believers lives, and the Holy Spirit is moving mightily, the church should be able to do its work from that point forward.  Let's awake church, awake, rise up individuals, believers, Christians, and do the work that we were called to do.  Let's love radically, make disciples, do it in the every day, as a part of living and breathing, so that one day we might not need the paid professionals of ministry today.  Let us engage in our call of community work, that flows naturally as an outpouring of being in communion with our Heavenly Father.