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?